B2B marketing is being asked to change.
A lot.
And for good reason.
For too long, B2B brands have focused on what they want to give their audiences instead of what their audiences actually want.
Here’s our list of the most notable B2B marketing trends putting audiences first.
B2B marketers are always learning from one another.
We seek out Slack communities, LinkedIn threads, weekly newsletters, podcasts, and more for new strategies, inspiration, best practices, trends, and more.
Our customers do the same.
They want to connect with like-minded peers who understand their similar goals and challenges. Cue the need for community.
Investing in a community not only builds customer loyalty (66% of companies report community impacts retention), but gives insight into what your audience, aka potential buyers, are looking for.
It gives you a forum to source product or service improvements, customer success feedback, content ideas, and more. With B2B buyer trends drastically changing over the last few years, investing more in the people investing in your company will only benefit you in the future.
There are a number of ways to apply this to events:
Half of the marketers surveyed for AMEX’s 2024 Global Meetings and Events Forecast said sustainability is important to their organization.
But they also reported that budget and reducing waste are two of their biggest challenges.
Sustainable options aren’t easily and readily accessible to every organization, but B2B marketers are still making conscious efforts to do better. They’re partnering with eco-friendly companies and suppliers, investing in recyclable materials, reducing single-use items, acquiring green certifications, and more.
When it comes to helping attendees reduce waste post-event, programs like Marine Layer’s and Trashie’s ReSpun partnership are helping make it easier too. (Source: Lex Winship)
For more inspirations and ways to get started, check out Forbes’ list of 17 Sustainability Initiatives Of Businesses That Are Going Green.
We’ve seen the event trend of having everything in excess: swag, food and drinks, paper handouts, booth materials, the list goes on and on.
But we’re starting to see a pivot to greener initiatives like:
If you’re not in a place to completely transform your programs, but want to take a first step, start small. Choose one of the above to implement into your events and build from there.
Earlier this year, Google released its new AI search, emphasizing the importance of quality content in B2B marketing even more.
Not only is Google surfacing results that exhibit E-E-A-T (experience, expertise, authority, and trust), but it’s also now specifically mining for human-created content.
That means AI-generated, keyword-stuffed content is quickly being pushed down the search results list in favor of well-researched content focused on knowledge sharing and firsthand experiences.
But quality doesn’t just apply to SEO and AI.
Make sure whatever content you’re putting out there — emails, social posts, videos, articles, etc. — is intentional and has a purpose. Just like us, buyers and customers are looking for valuable sources that teach them how to do their job better.
In a recent Think Media podcast episode, Ravi Abuvala shared a stat from the General Social Survey that said we’re at the lowest point of person-to-person trust in over 40 years.
That’s a bit of a problem when buyers need to trust a brand before making a purchasing decision.
The good news is trust can be built through relationships, and B2B marketers are skilled at creating and nurturing those relationships.
B2B marketers are increasingly investing in thought leadership and educational content to build more credibility with their audiences. They’re turning to more personable marketing channels like podcasts, videos, and events to put faces to their brand. Ultimately, they’re leaning away from large-scale and generic marketing tactics and leaning into personalized, human-to-human connections.
In Freeman’s 2024 Attendee Intent and Behavior survey, 80% of respondents said that in-person events are the most trusted marketing channel.
So it comes as no surprise that in-person trade shows and events are now one of the top areas B2B marketers are investing in.
Events let customers and buyers meet your team in person, giving them a space to authentically connect with you and your brand.
At Splash, we’ve found the most success with building authentic relationships through smaller events. It allows us to handpick our attendees by location, title, and industry, collect similar topics, challenges, and goals they care about, and have a candid discussion where everyone can participate. Our average attendance rate for these events is around 80%.
B2B buyers are smarter, savvier, and more selective than ever before.
They’re more inclined to do their own independent research and seek out products their peers recommend than they are to respond to a random sales or marketing email.
Here’s why:
Studies show only around 5% of buyers are actually in-market at any given time. That means 95% of your potential audience might not recognize they have a problem, know your solution, or know how your unique solution solves their problem.
The goal is to start the relationship before they’re even in-market to buy.
To do that, they have to know you know them.
This means researching customers to create personas and related messaging, updating your ideal customer profile scoring model frequently, segmenting and creating content geared for different parts of the funnel for different buyers, and mapping out the buying journey using buying behavior of recent customers as your starting point.
Events are a great way to source first-party data from your audience.
Registration forms allow you to collect information from prospects and customers alike to understand what they care about.
You can track attendance and duration across different events, topics, and event formats to understand the type of content they prefer.
Once you have that data, you can use it to send personalized follow-ups with related reports, blogs, videos, future events, and networking opportunities.
The best part? If they don’t explicitly request to speak with your team before, during, or after the event, you know to hold off on any sales outreach so you can continue to nurture the relationship until they’re ready.
Pavilion and TrustRadius released a report this year called 2024 B2B Buying Disconnect: The Year of the Brand Crisis.
Talk about an eye-catching title.
They explain how B2B companies have (understandably) emphasized demand generation due to the financial climate and have pushed brand awareness to the side.
The problem is buyers are shrinking their short lists to only a few providers. If a buyer doesn’t know, recognize, or interact with your brand, you’ve immediately taken your company out of the running.
There’s a reason some of the biggest, most recognizable brands in the world (e.g., Coca-Cola) still advertise.
Awareness is key.
Here’s the thing about events and brand awareness: you want to make your brand known, but you don’t want your event to be about your brand.
Brand awareness events should be a place to help, teach, and connect with your audience. Virtual events are arguably the best format for these types of events given they’re low cost and anyone, anywhere can attend.
When building out your virtual event or webinar it’s important to avoid doing these two things:
B2B marketing trends are pushing toward a more honest, buyer-focused approach.
At the core of all these trends is one common denominator: giving buyers and customers what they want, when they want it, how they want it.
