Navigating the ever-evolving landscape of modern business is a challenge that echoes in the minds of leaders across industries. As organisations recalibrate their strategies and aspirations for the year ahead, the burning question persists: What lies on the horizon for B2B marketing in 2024? While the future remains inherently uncertain, insightful predictions can be drawn from the trends and subtle currents shaping the marketing landscape. Here are 6 B2B Marketing trends we see emerging in the year ahead:
Growing Use of AI in B2B Marketing:
Marketing’s focus shifts to the transformative power of generative AI. In 2023, marketing teams delved into its potential, and in 2024, AI becomes an integral part of daily routines. Those resisting this integration risk falling behind in the competitive race.
According to recent research by Gartner, a significant 63% of marketing leaders have strategic plans to invest in generative AI within the next 24 months. Interestingly, over half of them express a perception that the rewards of incorporating AI outweigh the associated risks.
Email Evolution – Quality Over Quantity:
Despite predictions of its demise, email thrives in B2B. In 2024, the spotlight is on quality over quantity. The goal is fewer, more relevant, engaging emails. With Google and Yahoo imposing stricter requirements on mass emails, personalisation will be more important in the year ahead, making genuine human interactions the key to success.
Original Research and Data Take Center Stage:
B2B content marketing will be transforming in 2024 as a result of AI content generation that amplifies quantity while diminishing the quality of the written material. Lengthy eBooks and whitepapers will instead be replaced by content that is concise, engaging, and that directly delivers value. This will lead to a rise in content grounded in original research and data.
According to the Content to Conversion Report by Pavillion and Kickstand, executives, in particular, value and appreciate content derived from original research and data. It provides fresh perspectives and insights, contributing significantly to a company’s credibility and influence.
Brand Building by Investing in Social Media and Creating Engaged Communities:
Content distribution is a challenge, and organic social media cannot be relied upon entirely to reach the target audience. This is why leading companies will invest in paid social media ads to reach their target audience more quickly and form engaged communities online.
Additionally, due to the high frequency that can be achieved with social media, platforms like LinkedIn will become essential for B2B brand building in 2024.
Innovative Audience Targeting:
Marketers now grapple with the complexities of evolving privacy laws and the imminent demise of third-party cookies. These challenges necessitate innovation in how B2B marketers analyse, segment, and target their audiences to ensure maximum impact.
This will increase the demand for Interest Targeting on LinkedIn as a solution, reaching relevant individuals based on interests without specific personal identifiers. Predictive Audiences also gain traction for more precise targeting.
Sales and Marketing Alignment Progresses:
The dream of seamless sales and marketing alignment has been elusive. An analysis encompassing over 7,000 companies disclosed that the average overlap between sales and marketing was a mere 16 per cent, showcasing a persistent gap in collaboration between these two critical functions. While not a complete solution, 2024 anticipates meaningful strides. Technology advancements and evolving buyer expectations become catalysts, emphasising the necessity for businesses to bridge this gap for success.
