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A guide for marketing leaders
B2B MARKETING IN THE
NEW REALITY
Reimagining the next normal by reinventing your marketing plan
www.purplepatchservices.com
Introduction
Covid-19 Upending Lives and How We Do Business
1
2 Assembling a Marketing Strategy Under Uncertainty
4 Conclusion
Inside the Plan3
Digital Marketing
Content Marketing
Content Atomization
Content Personalization
Empathetic Marketing
Creating Digital Dialogue with the Customer
Think from the Customer’s Perspective
TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION
The intercontinental spread of the
new coronavirus in recent weeks
has left many offices inaccessible
and companies are rushing to find
ways to keep operations humming.
Organizations worldwide are fac-
ing new realities, five months on
from the first identified Covid-19
case in China. Companies are faced
with new responsibilities, includ-
ing making work-at-home setups a
requirement rather than an option.
As consumers spend more time at
home, businesses are seeing a shift
to online shopping.
US consumer optimism in the economy is
declining as the effects of the pandemic
escalate, according to McKinsey. As of April
1, 45% of US consumers reportedly expect
Covid-19 to hit the economy for 6-12 months
or longer and some 75% believe their finances
will be impacted for more than two months,
and this uncertainty is preventing them from
spending. This eroding confidence, alongside
the lack of spending in some categories like
travel and hospitality and spending decline in
other segments like brick and mortar, retail
and real estate, has put marketers under
greater pressure to do more with less and pull
back on their marketing budgets.
Beyond more obvious effects, Covid-19 is
leading us to the “next normal.” As the world
progresses with containing the virus, now is
the ideal time for marketing leaders to help
CEOs and businesses in reimagining the
future of B2B marketing.
In this whitepaper, Purplepatch takes to
the frontline of the impact of Covid-19 on
marketing, and shares ideas and tactics
to guide marketers in the coming months
and over into the future. As well as giving
practical advice, the intent is to identify
B2B marketing best practices that will help
mobilize your teams and drive success for
your brands.
Case in point: 55% of Chinese
consumers are believed to
likely permanently buy more
groceries online. This is the
new reality for everyone –
including marketers.
55%
3
The exponential spread of the virus has led to profound disruptions in the lives of many. Schools and universities have been forced to close, classes are being transferred to online platforms, businesses are shutting their doors, and people are being asked to limit their movement and engage in “social distancing” to flatten the curve and contain the virus.
The new coronavirus is upending lives
around the world, and this is the new reality.
Companies have started to radically think
about how to react. Marketers are no
exception – there are certainly gray areas
to navigate. Brands, products and services
deemed “non-essential” are bound to
experience significant drop in interest as
consumers start to shift priorities during this
time.
Covid-19 Upending Lives and How We Do Business
At the time of writing,
Covid-19 cases across
the globe have exceeded
2 million, and the
numbers continue to
rapidly increase by the day.
4
The marketing world is faced with new realities:
What Now?
How should we be reaching out to our customers?
Where should we invest our resources?
Should we change our focus and where we spend our marketing dollars?
How should we be working with our teams and our colleagues across the business?
How are we going to stay in the business?
Should we change our strategy? How exactly?
How can we support our family, friends, communities and planet?
Where to cut spending, and where to hold it steady?
5
ASSEMBLING A MARKETING STRATEGY UNDER UNCERTAINTY
New circumstances call for new plans
Study the current situation.
Review your marketing strategy – for short- and long-term.
Execute.
As businesses and their teams
adjust to remote working,
marketers should also learn
how to navigate this new way of
working. This could mean moving
away from areas that are no
longer an option.
Without planning a strategy,
marketers risk not breaking
through the game. To be effective
during this time, marketing teams
need to look beyond tried-and-
tested approaches of the past and
towards new options available
today.
Adhering to social distancing
means in-person meetings,
face-to-face interaction with
colleagues, and even client lunches
may not work today for marketing
teams.
6
The constraints imposed on people’s movements add
to the struggle experienced by marketing and sales
teams when reaching out to customers.
Businesses that work to genuinely address customer needs can
strengthen relationships.
Create new client persona
Identify their current needs sustenance, belonging, safety, health, wellbeing
Understand their new needs productivity, connectivity, learning
Recognize new consumer sentiment increased online shopping, staying home more often, canceled travel plans
Develop marketing plans addressing all of the above
digital, content, empathetic marketing
Find new ways to connect
Client Meetings Online Calls
Marketing Conferences Online Conferences
Social Fridays Skype Calls
In-Person Presentations Zoom Meetings
Industry Events Webinars
Seminars Virtual Lunch and Learns
Team Lunches Local Food Deliveries
7
INSIDE THE PLAN
Determining which marketing
strategy is best for your business
can be a challenge. We share with
you some ideas and marketing
tactics that can help you re-
strategize and stay afloat during
these challenging times.
Empathetic Marketing
Should you be marketing during a pandemic? Yes, but do it right.
Increased sales are not driven by clever
advertising and appealing products alone.
At times such this, it is imperative for brands
not to appear unethical and opportunistic.
In a bigger picture, nations, economies, and
supply chains are being tested. Marketers
have the power to help – both their brands
and the public.
8
According to McKinsey, companies that lead with empathy can build a foundation of goodwill and long-
lasting emotional connections with communities they serve.
Brands Can Adjust Customer Experience
At a time when consumers are feeling afraid,
nervous or anxious about the coronavirus, Ford
Motor Company launched Built to Lend a Hand
program, which we think is a brilliant move
in showing compassion for its customers and
enhancing their experience.
Human-centered marketing offers three things to customers:
Don’t sell, help people with their problems.VALUE
Shift from products or services to what your audience cares about.
Deliver sincere, authentic messages that customers feel.
RELEVANCE
AUTHENTIC
Worried customers view familiar brands
as a comforting choice in trying times.
Marketers should look to reinforce trust
by reminding customers that buying the
product or services is a sound decision.
But how do marketers find the right tone
during this confounding time?
Comforting messages that encourage an emotional connection with the brand and express empathy are vital.
9
Brands Can Balance Concern of All Stakeholders
Tech giants and other tech companies, including
Zoom, Microsoft and Google came to the rescue
of companies and schools by supporting work-
at-home setups. Google, for example, was
successful in showing customers (both existing
and potential) that it’s less about profit and more
about taking care of customers.
Brands Can Let Their Actions Do the Talking
World leader in luxury, LVMH Group and its
#LVMHJoinsForces are another smart examples,
where customers feel the brand is on their side
in battling the Covid-19 virus.
10
Another way to highlight the human touch in your marketing strategy is to have actual conversation with your buyers.
Focus on enhancing customer experience to
sustain the brand not only though the downturn
but also into the recovery.
67% of consumers feel content
personalization is very important
marketers struggle to employ
emotional marketing as they
turn to automation to improve
customer engagement65%
Source: Forrester Consulting
Creating Digital Dialogue with the Customer
Rebuild brand and customer satisfaction – Discover and do what customers love.
Reinforce core value proposition – Focus on helping solve your customer needs.
Stabilize the brand – Be relevant, consistent, and build relationships.Stabilize the brand – Be relevant, consistent, and build relationships.
When communicating with a customer, use your marketing technology and database to:
11
There are no written rules on how brands should communicate with customers but the most human
company will win. To successfully convey a message, brands and marketers will need to be flexible to
adapt to the current situation and adjust strategies as needed. Acting towards this new normal will
better position businesses to keep customers they have, both old and new.
You know your customers, and they would
want to know you. Be authentic to existing
customers and this will grow to include
new clients as a result of how you maintain
relationships, operate your business and,
ultimately, respond during this time.
According to Klaviyo, cashmere clothing
company Naadam – and of course, its
marketing people – did this well in their
recent newsletter.
Glossier was one of the first brick-and-
mortars to inform its customers it will
be closing its retail locations, as well as
answering questions about company
plans. This announcement on Glossier’s
official page followed an Instagram post
by its CEO, Emily Weiss, who told her
followers: “It’s time to connect with us and
with each other online.”
No communication is too much
Articulate tough decisions concisely and accurately
12
Everyone is adapting to this new normal. Consumer behavior is shifting. Their budget is tight, and the majority of them are not ready to buy. Now is a good time to upend sales inertia by building meaningful customer relationships rather than selling them products in the same old way. How do marketers leverage the psychology of purchase decisions to secure more market share?
Think from the Customer’s Perspective
Ask prospects open-ended questions
Rather than marketing your offerings to move
products, reach out to customers and seek
product feedback. As well as opening a dialogue
with clients, this stimulates your customers’
brain to beat sales “inertia.” By asking customers
for their opinions, you develop a relationship
and acquire valuable customer feedback, which
your team can use to package your offering so it
would be relevant and valuable to clients.
13
Give content assets away for free
Do not send emails offering the features of the same product – now for free. Do not sell them your
products. Tell them your WHY. Provide customers with information and insight for their consumption.
Now is a good time to share educational webinars, best practices tips, and any type of thought
leadership without a hint of self-promotion. This is how prospects will get emotionally attached to the
brand, and then become interested with your products and services. In the following pages, we talk
about how to produce these key content pieces.
These practices not only help marketers build a sense of trust but are also a good way to reinforce brand
credibility. In the post lockdown world where the buying capacity is back on the table, marketing leaders
who are successful in thinking from the perspective of the buyer will reap the benefits of shortened
sales cycles.
Throughout this uncertain period, marketing
leaders should maintain an ongoing dialogue,
establish trust and subsequently, focus on
acknowledging consumer sentiment to create
true and lasting collaboration.
14
Tactics such as emails, social media, SEO, and paid media should be employed to continue to engage customers. The coronavirus has forced the cancellation of events across industries. Marketers can take advantage of digital marketing efforts that maintain communication with customers without the risk of travel.
Digital Marketing
In the following pages, we discusss some digital
marketing efforts you should add to your
strategy. These include:
Revisit Your Website
Invest in Chatbots
Ramp up SEO Efforts
Experiment with Advertising
Tap into Social Media
Get to Customers via Email
15
Revisit Your Website
Existing websites serve as lead nurturing engines, and it makes perfect sense that you continuously
work to finesse your website.
Hubspot recently revealed industry-specific impacts from Covid-19, highlighting decline in sales and
increase in website traffic.
From collecting high-level leads from campaigns, events and its digital content platform, your website
is where your audience needs to convert. If you want better conversion rates, review your website so it
offers opportunities to convert and offers opportunities that are actually relevant to the page.
Top things to consider to improve website
The number of closed-won deals and new
deals created declined.
Weekly average of deals created:
down by 17% globally on March 16
fell by 23% in March 30
Customers are initiating more interactions
with businessesAverage website traffic in March:
Up by 13% from February
Communicate core brand offering
Add value to audience
Support purchase intent
16
Invest in chatbots
There will always be customers who prefer to drive their buying journey on their own, and chatbots are
one way to support such an opportunity while the world is keeping its social distance.
Incorporate chat into your digital marketing
strategy to:
Let the customer lead the conversation
Allow real-time way to answer customer inquiries
Automate lead qualification and booking
The same Hubspot research shows
weekly onsite chat volume and Face-
book Messenger engagement in-
creased 5% from March 16, compared
to previous global figures before
Covid-19.
Customer-initiated cenversations have increased each week since March 9
Source: Hubspot
17
According to a 2018 MarTechAdvisor report, a personalized web experience can increase
sales by 19%. Marketers can leverage chatbots into their personalization strategy by
making them engage with customers in a more human way. Streamlining bots Marketers
can be a force for good.
How to personalize and humanize chatbots
Give them human traits through names, personalities, and character descriptions.
Use emoticons, GIFs or videos to make conversations with customers feel more genuine.
Program bots to ask questions and naturally move the conversation. This will also allow your marketing team to test their hypothesis.
Train your bots with information and tools so they understand context in conversations.
If successful in creating this natural two-way dialogue,
marketers will be able to move customers through
their sales funnel.
18
Experiment with Advertising
Historically, ad spend declines during
recessions. With competitors cut back on
their ad spend, pushing paid digital media
investments gives you the opportunity to
enjoy less noise in the market and stand out as
a brand. Look to promote thought leadership
more and the buy-now call to action less. You
should also pay attention to PPC, PPV, CPV,
CPA, PPAs.
Ramp up SEO efforts
Readers stumble upon your website content,
so want to make sure they are search engine
optimized. A recent report by Junto revealed
57% of B2B marketers experienced SEO to
generate more leads than any other marketing
initiative.
In the short term, marketing channels should
react in real-time due to the impact of
Covid-10. In the longer run, evaluate paid and
organic coverage to balance both strategies.
How to make SEO cover the right bases of
your marketing initiative
Examine your industry
Find out what’s important to the audience
Create an SEO strategy that puts the right content in the front of the right audience
When times are good you should advertise, when times are bad you MUST advertise.
19
Marketing successes and failures since the “great depression”
Source: Forbes
Tap into Social Media
HubSpot says 75% of B2B buyers use social media to support their purchase decision.
Marketers can turn to social media to outline the value and demonstrate the impact of an offering to
their business, by using strong CTAs. Facebook, for example, is the most used social media channel by
B2B marketers, according to MarTechAdvisor. It is a perfect tool for retargeting.
Placing ads in front of high-intent customers will lead them to book or buy your offering.
Its profits grew by 30% replacing the category leader, Post, which cut back on its ad budget.
Kellogg’s doubled its ad spend
Dry Cereal: (1920 Great Depression)
On top of previous strong sales, Toyota surpassed Volkswagen as the top carmaker in the U.S. by 1976.
Toyota maintained their ad budget
Imported Automobiles: (17th month recession of 1973-75)
The fast-food giants saw increased sales by 61% and 40% respectively, compared to McDonald’s -28%.
Pizza Hut and Taco Bell took advantage of McDonald’s decision to drop its ad spend budget
Quick Service Restaurants: (1990-91 recession)
Amazon decided to innovate with new Kindle products
Technology: (2009 Great Recession)
By introducing low cost alternatives to printed books, the tech company saw 28% increase in sales.
20
Provide relate content customer might enjoy
Engage them by offering referral marketing
Other things marketer can use social media for
Deploy retargeting ads to reach out to past purchasers
Engage website visitors that did not convert
of B2B leads generated through social
media come from LinkedIn
(Source:Oktopost)
80%
people use Instagram every month (and
half of them use it everyday)
(Source:Hootsuite)
1Billion33% of companies are on InstagramSource: Social Media Examiner
20x more engagement in Instagram than LinkedIn Source: TrackMaven
High Instagram click-through rates seen at 2:00 to 1:00 PM, 5:00 to 6:00 PM, and 8:00 to 9:00 pm Source: CoSchedule
Instagram has power in the B2B setting:
21
Get to customers via email
No, email is not a thing of the past. Email marketing is still effective for targeted communications.
Whether you are promoting a new product, checking up on your clients, or sending direct emails to high-
level executive customers about a new content asset on Covid-19, email advertising allows you to put
your content in front of prospects and effectively grab their attention.
What kind of engagement do you get with a certain type of newsletter?
How many people click through on a certain email?
What direct mail topics or products drive high open rates?
What customer responds to which messaging?
What kind of offers do your target clients respond to?
Some ways to identify new growth opportunities via email marketing
78% of executives say an unsolicited email has led to an in-person meeting or event attendance at some point. (Source : ITSMA)
22
Content Marketing
Under the wider umbrella that is digital marketing, content marketing is the driver of profitable customer action. Think of differentiating content as the fuel to develop an on-going relationship with customers.
According to a study by Content Marketing
Institute, 88% of B2B marketers use content
marketing as a lead generation tactic. To be
successful, brands should shift the goal of
content marketing to become storytellers
and produce content that provides value at
every touch point.
Create Landing Pages
According to a recent Marketo study,
strategic landing pages are used by 68% of
B2B businesses to acquire leads.
A dedicated Coronavirus landing page would
be useful in capturing the traffic searching
for coronavirus today. For businesses
significantly impacted by Covid-19, this is
an important piece to add to their marketing
puzzle as it provides the opportunity to
redirect audiences to key areas of your
website.
23
Lay out blogs well
Produce videos
Blogs are what create the magic – trust with your
buyers. According to Hubspot, marketers who
prioritize blogging efforts are 13x more likely to see
positive ROI.
While people maintain social distancing, videos are your best bet. This is especially true with 85%
of businesses using video as a marketing tool and 83% of video marketers saying videos have
helped them generate leads, according to animated explainer video company Wyzowl.
of current video
marketers will continue
using video in 2020
plan to increase or
maintain their spend
Source: Wyzowl
99%
95%
of customers say video
helps them make buying
decisions
say that seeing videos
make them more likely to
buy
Source: Forbes
of B2B marketers are
considering incorporating
videos in their marketing
and sales strategies in 2020
Source: Sagefrog Marketing Group
41%
of marketers worldwide
name video as the type of
content with the best ROI
Source: Syndacast
52%
One of Microsoft’s early responses to Covid-19, for
example, came out as a blog that expressed support to
work from home setups.
90%
64%
24
Record Podcasts
Publish eBooks
Turn your podcast into an effective lead-generating
tool by inviting customers onto your show. This
demonstrates your openness as a brand and opens a
great opportunity for relationship-building.
eBooks are great for building authority and thought leadership; gaining customer trust and attention;
and, ultimately, covering in-depth topics while demonstrating your brand’s expertise.
According to Edison Research, 49% of podcast
listeners do so while at home. Yes, social distancing
and home quarantine. Leverage this tool to learn more
about your customers’ pain points and how to help
them address such challenges.
Yes, eBooks remain great lead
magnets, with 95% of B2B buyers
willing to hand over their name,
company and email address in return
for an eBook or whitepaper, according
to Demand Gen Report. Additionally,
85% are willing to share their job title
or industry.
25
Write white papers
As Forbes would put it, white
papers are tried and tested. In
fact, its recent study revealed 79%
of B2B buyers share white paper
with colleagues, which extends the
opportunity to generate leads.
Webinars are an integral part of most B2B marketing strategies
Source: Demand Gen Report
of B2B marketers
use webinars
as part of their
marketing mix
77%
believe webinars
provide better
quality leads
based on
engagement
48%
acquire higher
quality of leads
from webinars
38%
said webinars
provide an
ability to gather
customer insight
37%
experience
better
conversion
of leads to
opportunities
from webinars
33%
Run webinars
Attendees, who give you their undivided attention while on livestream, throw
comments and suggestions as the webinar progresses.
Online conferencing calls feel familiar and
friendly, making webinars a powerful tool to
incorporate in marketing strategies. Webinars
have grown into a popular format for marketers
as they are designed to produce quick results.
26
Pivot B2B lead generation
According to Content Marketing Institute, 85% of B2B marketers consider lead generation as their most
important content marketing goal.
With social distancing and community quarantine in place, chances are your target market is more
receptive to online conversations now, and in the coming months.
Align with industry
Use job titles to influence decision makers
Target people based on their interest
Find leads based on their business size
Basic targeting options that lend themselves well to B2B marketing:
27
Content Atomization
We have established that content is the fuel that guides leads throughout their buying journey. In this section, we highlight the value of content atomization for B2B marketing.
We think atomizing content provides
marketers greater opportunity for deepening
customer engagement and positioning the
brand to have a meaningful, engaging buying
journey.
We all are overflooded with information. A
study by software provider Showpad shows
86% of buyers get overwhelmed anytime
there is more than 10 pieces of content to
read. Experimenting with content formats
will effectively drive engagement with
prospects.
Marketers can break rich, detailed
content into smaller pieces to efficiently
communicate big ideas.
Atomize content strategically so it surfaces whenever, wherever, and however customers want.April Henderson, @CMIContent
28
But how do you atomize content?
Repurpose assets to draw attention with infographics. Hubspot reports that blog articles with
infographics generated an average of 178% more links than standard articles. Marketers can repurpose
assets to fuel customer journeys – in this case the discovery stage by hooking their attention and then
connecting them with a bigger picture.
Reuse assets to create content for partners. Marketers can capture leads exploring products and
services with dedicated content for partners. Reusing thought leadership pieces as content to deepen
focus on value on campaigns and initiatives is one way to drive customer explorations.
Source: Business2Community
of B2B buyers use more information sources for research and
evaluation before making a purchase decision75%
Recombine assets to fuel sales teams with brand-supported content. Marketers can leverage ROI case
studies to create self-serving sales tools that provide critical guidance when leads are ready to buy.
By doing this, marketing teams empower salespeople to shift from a presentation to conversational
approach that serves customers better.
Source: Demand Gen Report
Source: Showpad
of B2B buyers want content with more input from industry
thought leaders96%
B2B buyers spend up to 20 hours researching before they contact a sales rep 20hrs
29
Maximizes investment in content marketing
Fuels customer buying journey
Delivers consistent communication across channels and customer lifecycle stages
When you effectively atomize content, the brand:
30
Content Personalization
Marketers should work to prioritize personalization strategies, with 59% of consumers feeling that companies have lost the touch with customers, according to PwC.
Take blog campaigns for example. The blog
article, even if well written and personalized in
a few places, still often doesn’t feel right. Why?
Because the content is scaled.
67% of consumers feel content
personalization is very important
get annoyed when content
isn’t personalized42%Source: Gartner
of consumers feel content
personalization is very
important67%Source: Gartner
31
Focus on the customer journey
Marketers should pay attention and help
customers achieve their goals – by providing a
better customer experience at each step of the
journey. Tools like Uberflip empower marketers to
offer buyers custom content experience directly
on site, ultimately improving response rates.
According to SiriusDecisions, 80% of B2B buying decisions
are based on a buyer’s direct or indirect customer
experience. Only 20% is based on the price or the actual
offering.
Website features must have for B2B buyers:
How do you create a more human-centered B2B marketing?
want easy access to
personalized portal
content
45%
want access to an ROI
calculator for buying
decisions
44%
wants onsite video
chat features
33%
want instant
messaging with sales
rep
22%
Source: Showpad
32
Address specific buyer pain points and interests
Combine personalization with AI
Advocate for your customers, especially their
needs and wants. This way you can connect and
work in their best interest while becoming their
business partner rather than a seller. Vidyard is a
popular tool used by marketing and sales teams
to integrate personalized video messages into
email.
Drift is known to be a valuable sales
enablement tool used by marketers for AI-
driven site personalization. This is helpful
in addressing B2B customer preference for
relevant, consistent and valuable content at
each stage of their buying process.
You are not your customer. Marketers should focus their
energy on learning customer challenges and interests.
67% of consumers feel content
personalization is very important
of B2B buyers say they want
a personalized, B2C-like
customer experience73%Source: Accenture
Marketing leaders can micro-personalize content by
leveraging artificial intelligence (e.g. Pathfactory) to
create Netflix- and Amazon-like customer experience.
33
CONCLUSION
This novel coronavirus is the one
of the most challenging times
the world has faced in decades.
It is wreaking havoc on many
businesses – including marketing.
There is no one size fits all
marketing, and no two downturns
are alike. However, with the right
plan, marketers can weather any
storm and come out stronger on
the other side.
The disruption caused to businesses by
Covid-19 drives home the reality that
empathy creates and builds trusting
relationships. Companies that put
customer interests under the microscope,
take a scalpel rather than a cleaver to
marketing budgets, and adjust their plans
of action in response to change in demand
are more likely to flourish both during and
after a business slowdown.
Of course, execution is everything, and
the marketing world will see how all these
play out in the upturn when it comes.
Looking to plan ahead for this new reality? Purplepatch is happy to
set up a quick call with you to discuss your current marketing plan.
Book a meeting!
34