The B2B Marketing Maze: How to Escape These Challenges? 

The-WHub

B2B marketing has always been a little complex.  

With the B2B industry constantly adapting to technological advancements, we need to navigate our way through effectively selling to businesses. To achieve this, B2B marketers focus on increased buyer awareness and tailored campaigns to entice prospects.  

And yet, when it comes to overall revenue, B2B marketing has a long way to go. All thanks to the various marketing challenges plaguing the industry. Let us explore the 4 major challenges facing B2B marketers: 

The Big Four B2B Marketing Challenges: 

If your marketing strategy is not performing according to expectations or analysis, chances are you might have some outdated elements. The B2B market is constantly shifting to accommodate the needs of its target audience, and understanding the challenges helps in better management.  

That said, here are some of the top B2B marketing problems, along with some solutions to help your brand gain a firm footing in the competitive B2B market: 

1. Absence of a Digital-First Experience 

Did you know that a whopping 43% of B2B revenue is amassed from e-commerce and video conferencing channels? 

Gone are the days when the audience waited to contact the sales team or entertain face-to-face marketing or sales attempts. In today’s digital era of limited patience, traditional marketing can feel slow and outdated.  

Potential buyers want immediate access to relevant resources to clear their queries. Even if you have a digital presence, it is vital to optimize and ensure a smooth journey for users. 

Some elements that add to an unpleasant digital experience are: 

• Broken links 

• A slow-loading website with immense clutter 

• Poor connectivity between website pages 

• Outdated content 

How to Fix It 

• Optimize webpages for a uniform experience across desktop and mobile devices 

• Switch to a better server to ensure all the pages load in approximately 3 seconds. 

• Practice smart internal linking to ensure every webpage is easily accessible 

• Update website elements to rank higher on SERPs 

2. Lack of Technological Integrations 

The advent of customer relationship management (CRM) software and similar tools have impacted how marketing teams function. If your business lacks these tools, you might be relying on increased manual efforts to track your marketing strategies and maintain your database with the correct information. 

However, manual tracking isn’t a viable method in the long run since it becomes obsolete as soon as you start working with a large dataset. Enabling B2B marketing automation lets you take advantage of features like real-time inventory and order history for each individual and even allows you to personalize offers and promotions. 

Solutions 

• Connect CRM software with content management software to streamline tracking of social media, website and analytics. 

• Leverage existing features to create custom reports and analytics to track outreach efforts better. 

3. Difficulty in Personalization

Account-based marketing (ABM) has emerged as a trusted method to generate qualified leads and increase conversions.   

However, the biggest hurdle with ABM is the need to narrow down prospective buyers and commit to a tailored outreach effort. It requires a comprehensive database gathered via several reliable sources, in addition to extensive market research, to ensure minimal bounce rates. 

Plus, the initial campaigns of ABM must be experimental to gauge market response, making it time-consuming. 

Solutions 

• Choose an existing data vendor to acquire a database pertaining to your target audience 

• Use a consolidated platform to collate the preferences of users who engage with your brand 

• Rely on gated B2B content targeting relevant industry topics to acquire information about users falling in the purview of your buyer personas. 

• Combine the findings of the marketing and sales teams to get more insights into the target audience. 

4. Dynamic Changes in Audience Behavior 

Key decision makers from core B2B industries are tired of h generalized pitches that just brag about the features of products, or services. The focus is on receiving personalized pitches that mention the product’s benefits and the solutions for the buyer. Modern-day B2B buyers are more involved in marketing and expect the brands to ensure a personalized experience. 

However, buyer preferences can shift according to market trends and interfere with seamless lead generation. As such, it can be difficult to figure out what drives the market at a certain point, making it hard to pick the best strategy to deal with B2B marketing challenges. 

Solutions 

• Proactive market research to identify trends and happenings in the B2B industry 

• Use Google Trends or similar software to help ease the transition in audience behavior 

• Adapting according to the shift in buyers’ behavior to stay relevant. 

Case Study – Shriram Finance 

The Client 

Shriram Finance, one of India’s leading and most diverse NFBCs, sought our services for content creation. They wanted to focus on enhancing their presence in the digital space. From ideating to crafting, we created multiple content pieces for them.  

WrittenlyHub Provided 

1. End-to-End Tailored Content for Mobile Marketing   

We defined action-oriented and event-oriented content that runs through the application to attract the reader’s attention. These included push notifications, prompts, and in-app messages. We further utilized mobile marketing via the SMS channels and emails. This promotional yet authoritative content helped build trust and persuaded the audience to act.   

2. Building Authority and Awareness with Forums Q&A   

To establish the brand as an authority and educate the target audience in 2nd and 3rd-tier cities, we created extensive Q&A forums. These focused on the finance products and common questions in the finance sector, helping to boost brand and product awareness across various platforms.   

3. Blog Posts to Enhance Search Presence and Rankings   

To drive relevant traffic and increase visibility on search engines, we worked on blog posts that were more focused on educating the target audience. They were SEO-optimized with relevant keywords and included FAQs to enhance organic reach and rankings on SERPs. 

The Results 

With consistency and a comprehensive content strategy, we helped Shriram Finance define their digital presence, establish authority, and ultimately grow their business. We supported their digital journey and played a key role in defining their digital success. 

Final Thoughts 

Adequate awareness about these B2B marketing challenges and addressing them head-on is essential in today’s competitive tech-driven world. It helps businesses focus their B2B marketing strategies in specific areas, ensuring nothing is overlooked.  

The B2B market is witnessing a shift towards digital operations and customer interactions. To stay in the race, set clear key performance indicators (KPIs) and use technology to improve workflows. Master these challenges, and you’ll refine your B2B marketing, boost your digital presence, and delight the customers in this tech-driven era. 

About WrittenlyHub 

Overcome all the B2B marketing challenges with top-notch digital marketing services from WrittenlyHub. Sit back, relax, and delegate your requirements to our team of experienced digital marketing specialists. 

WrittenlyHub prides itself on ensuring a special emphasis on amplifying your content marketing efforts. Our content services are tailored to custom fit your requirements, as we focus on creating compelling content to improve your organic reach and conversions. 

So, are you ready to give your B2B marketing a makeover? 

People Also Ask 

1. How to do B2B market research? 

Effective B2B market research involves identifying your target industries and key decision-makers within them. Use surveys, interviews, and industry reports to gather insights. Analyze competitors, market trends, and the specific pain points and needs of potential clients to tailor your marketing strategy. 

2. What is the most challenging part of B2B sales? 

The major challenge that B2B marketers face is getting the attention of the audience. As B2B pitches need to be formal, there is less scope of creativity. So, they need to do more with less. To convince the prospects to listen to the pitch, it must be personalized, short, and relevant. This helps to keep them hooked and compels them to ask questions. 

3. What are the factors affecting B2B marketing? 

In B2B marketing, it’s important to remember the factors such as the sales cycles, which are longer, products and services are complex, and decisions involve multiple stakeholders. You need tailored content that addresses specific business challenges. Staying updated with industry trends and tech advancements is also key. 

4. What are some ways to market successfully to B2B buyers? 

Successful B2B marketing relies on understanding your buyer’s journey, creating targeted content, and using channels like LinkedIn, industry events, and email campaigns. Building strong relationships through consistent engagement and thought leadership is crucial. Don’t forget to run a competitive analysis too.