b2b marketing 2015
TRANSCRIPT
© DirectionGroup 2014
B2B Marketing in 2015 – predictions from DirectionGroup
December 2014
Top picks
from 2014
The viral campaign stampede
Wearable technology
Source: Apple Corp
Source: Apple Corp
Hubspot integrates CRM
Internet of Things & connected devices come to the fore
Source: Google Corp
Beacons, RFID, NFC and all things contactless
Source: www.mobilosoft.com
2015
“It’s tough to make predictions,
especially about the future.” Lawrence ‘Yogi’ Berra, New York Yankees
It’s almost impossible to be wrong!
Source www.redeye.com
2015
economic
factors
2015 economic factors
Ima
ge
: d
rea
mstim
e.c
om
Top
influencers
on B2B in
2015
Top 5 influencers of B2B Marketing in 2015?
Jean-Claude Juncker Jeff Weiner-
?Next UK Chancellor Joe Pulizzi
– Content
Marketing
Institute
Facebook at Work
Customers
in 2015
More
but
better
content
Longer
decisions
Omni-
channel
mediaSelf-
directed
buying
Buyer
funnel
not sales
funnel
Personas & Customer journey mapping
Source: Boston Consulting Group
Typ
ica
l C
on
ten
t a
ss
ets
Press/online
advertising
Event attendance Word of mouth
(Advocacy)
Search & social
Analyst reports &
white papers
Owned Research
Web presence
Industry bodies &
associations
Press/PR
Thought leadership
content
Campaign
microsites (pURLs)
Testimonials
Analyst reports
Targeted ads
Our own events &
webinars
Videos
White papers &
guides
Social media
listening &
participation
Case studies
Tailored product
proposition
Peer Forums
ROI aides
Practical ‘how to’ guides
Recommendations and
references
Formal sales presentations
Competitive
analysis
ROI/ROSQ
calculator
Welcome packs
‘Get the most
from’ guides
Customer portal
– and community
User group
events
Newsletters
Customer
webinars
Content for the buyer journey
Case studies/
videos
SALES ENABLEMENT:
- Apps
- Flipbooks
- Training
- Battle cards
- FAQ/TAQ
- Sales presentation
Comparison guide
Analyst reportsFAQs
Changes
over time
Recognition
of needs
Evaluate
options
Committing to a
SolutionProblem
defined
Justifying the
DecisionOnboarding
Changes
over time
Recognition
of needs
Problem
defined
Exploring
Possible
Solutions
Loosening of
the Status Quo
Committing to
Change
Defining the
problem
Early stage
awareness
Awareness and
early need
identification
Demonstrate we have the most
compelling proposition
Ensure seamless
customer
on-boarding – min.
time to valueOu
r ta
sk
Education Solution Vendor Selection
Influence how
they define their
problem and
solution
Close the sale
and maximise the
value of the deal.
Slideshare
Peer Forums
Buyer PersonaWho are our buyers?
Demographics and
interests?
What is their typical
background?
What is their typical
experience?
Job role - what are their
areas of focus and
responsibilities?
What are their typical
roles in the organisation?
What do they like about
their role?
What frustrates them
about their role?
GoalsWhat are our buyer’s
goals?
What are our buyer’s
personal goals?
What organizational
goals affect their buying
behaviour?
Buying ProcessWhat buying process do
our buyers follow?
What is their role in the
buying process?
What decision criteria do
they apply to purchases?
How does procurement
govern the buying
process?
Pain PointsWhich attitudes help/hurt
us on the part of buyers?
What perceptions &
beliefs do our buyers
have?
Perceived barriers to
purchase?
Typical day?What does a typical day
look like?
How do buyers balance
personal and
professional needs?
What interaction does
the buyer have with our
category on daily basis?
Unanswered
questions?What are the typical
unanswered questions
that buyers have?
What information would
answer those questions?
TimingWhat are the seasonal
patterns of our buyers?
How does formal budget
planning affect timing?
What is the normal end-
to-end buying cycle?
Channels/MediaWhich channels/media
do our buyers use to
acquire information?
What external sources
do they frequent?
Where are our buyers
socially?
Influencers, Stakeholders, Buying TeamWho are key stakeholders?
Who are internal influencers? External influencers?
Who participates in the buying team?
What role does buyer persona have on buying team?
Who participates in the approval process?
Content and informationWhat information and data references do buyers rely on?
How do buyers utilize and share content?
What types of content affects purchase decisions?
What are the types of content they seek and when?
Buyer Persona template Name: Job Title:
With thanks to Tony Zambito
Our Top Picks
for 2015
1.
The return
of the
‘Good Idea’
Consumerization of tech brings
B2C and B2B closer together
Buyers buying like consumers
The need to ‘Humanise’ the
messaging in language and
content
The re-emergence of the
importance of having a good idea
Source: img.docstoccdn.com
Examples of GREAT ideas in 2014
2.
Content
rationalisation:
Quality vs
Quantity
Infobesity- there are
27,000,000
pieces of
content shared
every daySource: Hubspot 2014
htt
p://tro
blin
reic
h.c
om
/
Qualities of truly effective content
RELEVANT
COMPELLING
TIMELY
3.
Talk like a
Human
The 80/20 Rule for Content Focus – talk about
them not you
20%
80%
About YOU
About THEM
TALK LIKE A HUMAN BEING NOT A CORPORATION
4.
B2B
Storytelling
3 scientific reasons why stories work
Mirror neurons- specific brain cells
which are stimulated
according to what we
see and hear
Neural coupling- Our brain patterns
quickly mimic those of
the story teller
Sourc
e:
.com
5.
Content
distribution &
Native
advertising
Native advertising
• Companies will learn publication is only first step; value comes from distribution
• Pay to play. The days of entirely free reach are over.
• Advertisements become less blatant as marketers favour ads integrated with content
The Native Matrix
Who is it written by?
Editorial staff Sales staff/
ad agency Brand execs
Who is it
published by?
Publisher Public relations
Sponsored
content/
Native advertising*
Brand journalism/
Thought
leadership
Brand Content
marketing Marketing Blogging
*Sponsored content is designed to be read; native advertising is
designed to be shared.
Source: Jay Rosen - Reuters
Native : “sponsored content, or a signpost to that content, placed in a relevant context
which does not interrupt the audience’s consumption of the editorial content”
“It’s already happening, but 2015
will be the year of paid
amplification. With content
marketing reaching near-ubiquity,
the success pendulum will swing
toward boosting consumption of
content. That will put a new focus
on math, testing and optimization as
content production and content
distribution become equally
important.”Jay Baer - President, Convince &
Convert & author of ‘Youtility’
6.
Mobile breaks
through –
finally!
Driven by:
• Social
• Responsive design
• Mobile content
• 4G penetration/5G pending
• Falling handset costs
NB mobile’ doesn’t necessarily
mean ‘on the go’ – away
from fixed line even if fixed
line is available.
2015 tipping point
Mobile is this break through year for B2B?
Google say a site will be ‘mobile friendly’ if:• Avoids software that is not common on mobile
devices, like Flash• Uses text that is readable without zooming• Sizes content to the screen so users don't
have to scroll horizontally or zoom• Places links far enough apart so that the
correct one can be easily tapped
http://googlewebmastercentral.blogspot.co.uk/2014/11/helping-users-find-mobile-friendly-pages.html
7.
Sales
enablement
The role for Sales is changing
Ima
ge
: th
egu
ard
ian.c
om
What is sales enablement?
The activities, systems, processes and
information that support and promote
knowledge-based sales interactions with client
and prospects
…a function that plays a critical role in readying
sales to succeed in an ever changing and
increasingly challenging marketplace’
“In 2015, digital marketing will
converge with digital selling in a
meaningful way. Marketing (one to
many) and sales (one to one) are
beginning to use the same techniques
of content creation and real-time
engagement. The best organizations
will not run marketing and sales as
separate “departments” but will
merge the two functions into one
customer facing organization
focused on revenue generation.”
David Meerman Scott,
Author ‘The New Rules
of Marketing & PR’
8.
Exploding
Martech
“The B2B Marketing organization of
the future will be organized around
data, content and technology.”
Michael Brenner, Newscred
Gartner predicts that, by 2017, the CMO
will have a larger IT budget than the CIO
‘NextGen’ CRM
Marketing
Sales
Customer Service
What technologies do you need to help you?
9.
Account
Based
Marketing
Source: SiriusDecisions
Summit 2014
Approximately half of respondents have an Account Based
Marketing strategy
ABM – ‘When a brand considers and communicates with individual prospect or
customer accounts as markets of one’
ABM strategies and programmes have evolved as sales and marketing
alignment improves.
10.
Visual
content &
Video
The power of visual content
90% Info transmitted into
brain is visual
(Source: 3M)
x69,000Faster visual processing than
text (Source: Zabisco)
x3 More inbound links
for posts with video
(Source: SEOMoz)
Ima
ge
: V
olv
o.c
om
What the industry is saying
Video is 6x more effective than print and online (Atlas)
Video content can increase the chances of Google ranking x53 times (Cisco)
75% of executives watch business-related videos every week (Forbes)
Of those, 65% visit the marketer’s website after viewing a video
50% then went on the make a purchase for their business
90% online shoppers found video helpful in making purchase decisions (Comscore)
What the industry is saying
Why Online Video is the future of online marketing… (The Guardian)
Video trumps, blogs, case studies, white papers… (Business To Community)
Video is the new leader in lead generation (Content Standard)
Is video now the most effective method of b2b marketing?(Mobile marketing Watch)
The type of video for the ‘journey’
Scarecrow
Contact
Geraint Holliman
@geraintholliman
/geraintholliman
Eoin Rodgers
@eoinrodgers
/eoinrodgers
@Direction_grp #dgedge Check-in