Analysis of key trends in UK B2B Marketing, October 2014

1. Current Trends in Business
to Business Marketing
OCTOBER 2014

2. B2B Barometer Q3 2014
Business is booming
87% of UK B2B marketers expect
revenue growth in the next 12 months
IDM, B2B Marketing, IDC, Circle
56% report budget growth in 2014,
by an average of 19%

3. Two macrotrends
From brand focused
to buyer centric
From B2B to business
to individual

4. Two macrotrends
From brand focused
to buyer centric

5. The world of Me
The hardest thing about
B2B sales today is that
customers don’t need
you the way they used to.
Harvard Business Review: The End of Solution Sales

6. The Invisible Customer
Business customers are self serving on the web
Technology has fundamentally altered the
business to business buying process
60-90% of the process is complete before the
seller even knows the customer is in the market
Sources: Google, IDG, CEB
Customers spend just 21% of the buying cycle
in conversation with providers
Providers account for less than 50% of the
information consulted before sale

7. Collapse of the B2B Purchase Funnel
AWARENESS CONSIDERATION DECISION AWARENESS CONSIDERATION DECISION
BUYERS
INFLUENCERS
Access to information is making the buying cycle more fluid, less predictable
Providers are having to react with strategies that
influence buyers indirectly or are more
responsive to customer needs
Customers come to the table better informed,
opening conversion conversations earlier
Sales cycle is up to 22% longer than 5 years ago
Source: Sirius, Google, McKinsey

8. Inbound is the New Outbound
A shift of emphasis toward buyer-initiated channels
1 in 3 business brands is actively decreasing
outbound spend in favour of inbound
Inbound strategies cost 65% less but deliver
as much as 3x as many business leads, who
are 14x more likely to convert
The challenge today is to be present
consistently, across a wide range of
channels, through a disjointed journey
The growth channels are content, search,
digital self-selection, social, influencers
Sources: IMA, CMI, Marketo, Hubspot

9. The world of Me
Content builds relationships.
Relationships are built on
trust. Trust drives revenue.
Andrew Davis. Content Marketing Institute.

10. The Rise & Rise of Content
In the context of an empowered buyer content bridges the gap
88% of UK B2B marketers employ content
marketing in some form - avg. 14 formats
76% of UK B2B brands have increased their
content marketing budget in 2014
Business customers spend 56% of the buying
cycle searching out and consuming content
80% of B2B decision makers say content is
their preferred way to receive information
Source: CMI, DMA

11. B2B Marketing is Digital
Digital channels are both driving,
and satisfying current B2B trends
Digital channels account for over 80% of
pre-contact research.
+90% of customers start their buying process
online, primarily in search
75% of B2B decision makers say digital channels
are their primary source of buying information
60% of B2B-funded marketing projects are digitally
led. Over 40% of marketing budgets spent online
On avg. B2B marketers now work across 12
channels. 65% reporting an increase y.o.y.
Sources: Google, CMI.

12. Getting Much More Social
Formal social strategies are now the norm for the majority of B2B brands
54% of B2B managers say social media is
now a primary source of new leads
Biggest B2B growth in 2014 on YouTube,
Slideshare, Google+ and Instagram
Sources: Aberdeen, Forrester, Cisco
85% of B2B customers use social media in their
buying process. 23% start their search in social
84% of B2B marketers employ some form of
social media. Typically 3-6 platforms

13. LinkedIn is the most used platform amongst UK B2B marketers
80
75%
70
60
50%
50
40
30
20
10
0
And has the highest reported ROI
Source: B2B Marketing Social Benchmarking Report 2014
25%

14. Mobile First
As professionals become more mobile
mobile channels become more pivotal
Business audiences expect the same integrated digital
experience as in their personal life
57% access work related mobile content out of the office
Over 60% of business email, business-related social
networking and video is mobile
40% increase in B2B mobile budgets y.o.y.
Yet still only 20% of B2B brands offer a
seamless mobile experience
Sources: Forbes, B2B Marketing, Gartner

15. Business is on Video
After a slow start B2B brands are increasingly using
video to deliver richer customer experience
22 million B2B customers watch videos on YouTube
every month - 3rd most used B2B social platform.
Over 50% of B2B customers regularly watch as part
of their decision making process.
76% of B2B marketers regularly use video. 70%
claim video outperforms other content for
conversion.
77% of UK B2B brands have a presence on YouTube.
Not just volume but breadth: brand stories,
testimonials, how tos, interviews, case studies.
Sources: Demand Metric, Forbes.

16. Two macrotrends
From B2B to business
to individual

17. The world of Me
In the future there is no
distinction between B2B
and B2C. Everything is
marketed to individuals.
Jeannine Rossignol, VP Marketing Xerox

18. Up Close & Personal
Right content. Right channel. Right time.
Responsibility for individual relationships with
customers is shifting from Sales to Marketing
Advances in data & technology are increasing the
potential for relevance across all channels
‘Understand my unique business needs’ is the #1
provider selection criteria
76% of B2B customers expect to receive content
directly relevant to their stage in the buying cycle
52% of marketers say personalised content is
fundamental to their digital strategy
Sources: Pardot, Econsultancy, ITSMA

19. From Promotion
to Emotion
The emotional component in B2B decision
making is as important as the rational
Growing understanding that on avg. B2B
customers are more emotionally connected to
their brands than B2C consumers
Move from emphasising business value to
highlighting personal value
Emotionally connected customers are 5x more
likely to consider, 13x to purchase, 8x to pay a
premium
Business customers are 50% more likely to buy
from a provider where they see personal value
Sources: Google, CEB

20. People not businesses
Consumerisation of B2B is driving a more
human tone of voice for communications
Recognition of the individual requires B2B brands to
communicate person to person not business to business
Increasingly more relaxed, less formal, less corporate
language. Less business jargon. Strive towards simplicity
Moving B2B propositions & creative closer to B2C
Accelerated by less formal channels - social, blogs
Changing not just what brands say, but who they say it to.
Greater emphasis on connecting with end users not just
purchase decision makers.

21. The world of Me
The B2B organisation
of the future will be
organised around data,
content and technology.
Michael Brenner, Head of Strategy Newscred

22. Data: Bigger than Ever
By 2017, predicted that the CMO will
spend more on technology than the CIO
Richer behavioural data is supplanting traditional
firmographic, LOB and revenue led segmentation
43% of enterprise B2B organisations are already using
big data to mine customers. 40% more will be in 3 years
69% of enterprise marketers see big data as central to
shaping their organisation’s commercial strategy
63% see primary application of big data as developing
& strengthening customer relationships.
Sources: Gartner, Circle/DNX

23. An Automated Approach
Marketing automation, used not only to direct the
customer journey but to respond more fluidly to it
50% growth in the adoption of MA tools in 2014
Not just email - multiple channels. Allowing brands to respond
to customers in real-time
MA can raise lead qualification rates by over 400%, and
conversion by up to 50%
But only 1 in 4 have fully integrated functionality and less than
10% adoption outside of IT
Sources: Gartner, Sirius, Annuitas

24. A Predictable Future
Access to big data & the tools to analyse it opens
the door to more accurate predictive modelling
Traditional Lead Scoring - unreliable & subjective. Access to
connected data makes B2B propensity models possible
B2B brands are experimenting with ‘precognitive marketing’
now, and the experts agree it’s the next big trend
87% of US B2B marketers expect to increase investment in
predictive analytics over next year
Of those who have adopted, 66% report high/very high value
With MA, predictive analytics makes determining the right
action for any individual at any time realistic
Sources: Prediction Impact, Econsultancy

25. The content and communications agency
with an individual point of view
For more information contact: Nik Myers
nik.myers@me-jpmh.agency
07748 933714
Stephen Foy
steve@me-jpmh.agency
07894 593047
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