Just like any shopper, business-to-business (B2B) buyers are increasingly turning to digital platforms to discover, research, and make purchases. It’s a trend going in only one direction. According to a 2023-2024 shopping report, 49% of all B2B spending now takes place online, while 68% of buyers say they will increase their use of digital shopping channels in the future.
This hasn’t stopped many B2B marketers from sticking to outdated strategies, led by jargon-heavy whitepapers and meaty presentations. But with 64% of business buyers now either a Millennial or Gen Zer, the sector is ripe for innovation and growth. Here are three actions B2B brands can take to connect with a new generation — and retain the attention of others.
1. Drive engagement throughout the buying journey
It’s a stereotype that’s hard to shake: business buyers are serious, rarely act on emotion, and seek out solutions on a limited range of professional platforms. As a result, marketing efforts have been largely focused on channels at the bottom of the funnel with “no frills”, response-led messaging.
But the new generation of business buyers expects more. To drive consideration among this digitally native audience, marketers need to ensure the purchasing journey — which is generally longer due to the higher price point of B2B products — is personalised and engaging at every touchpoint.
And it’s rarely just one person making the buying decision — research by Google and Bain revealed that today’s B2B buying committees have an average of 17 cross-functional stakeholders, further increasing the opportunities to influence buying decisions.
As Matt Locke, founder of B2B content marketing agency Storythings, said in a recent Google Firestarters episode, winning the attention of business buyers throughout the purchasing journey requires brands to understand what their audiences’ days look like. With its in-house “attention-pattern spectrum”, Storythings helps clients get a clear view of consumer attention competition, from streaming services to social media and live sports. Conducting focus groups or desktop research to understand how target audiences engage with media can help brands identify where they can add the most value — and cut through by tailoring their messaging accordingly.
2. Focus on the bigger picture by balancing volume with value
Many B2B operations sit on a wealth of first-party insights from mailing lists, website purchases, and offline sales data. But they aren’t always tapping into their full potential, both due to the longer sales cycles and the time it takes to feed offline data back into marketing platforms.
This is a missed opportunity, particularly when it comes to measuring customer value — a key practice for B2B businesses with niche audiences. Whereas most B2C brands drive growth by focusing on scale, B2B businesses tend to focus on value through account-based marketing — a strategy used to hone in on a specific set of accounts within a given market.
AI-powered solutions such as Performance Max and value-based bidding allow businesses to achieve performance at scale, but a solid data foundation is key to success. For example, lead generation business MVF analysed 1 million historic leads and developed a scoring system based on online interactions, past sales, and offline customer satisfaction. These scores allowed it to identify high-value customers and enable value-based bidding for its Performance Max campaigns. The scoring system helped boost average predicted lead quality by 45%, increased ROAS by 37% and drove appointment rates for MVF clients up by 80%.
3. Harness video and put your business top of mind
A Gartner report found that 65% of B2B buyers were influenced by YouTube during a recent purchase decision. As our hybrid world means buyers encounter both B2C and B2B messaging throughout their day-to-day life, it’s now more important than ever for businesses to stand out.
Conventional B2B marketing tactics, such as focusing on professional platforms and long-form content, will no longer cut it — if they ever did.
Research by Bain & Company and Google also revealed that 92% of B2B buyers already have a shortlist of preferred vendors before they start the buying process, highlighting the importance of building brand awareness and trust early on. From implementing tried-and-tested B2C tactics such as social proof to reinforcing a brand image with the help of relevant “expert” influencers, using video to connect with buyers will help ensure your product is top of mind when they’re ready to shop.
To achieve this, B2B brands are increasingly partnering with influential figures in their given industries. Take Ali Abdaal, a London-based doctor turned YouTube creator specialising in content focused on productivity and personal development. By sponsoring Ali’s content, Adobe — also known for its productivity solutions — taps into his network of more than 5 million subscribers with content that feels authentic to both parties involved.
Traditional B2B marketing tactics are no longer enough
B2B marketers need to understand the new generation of buyers and deliver the customer-centric experience they expect. Conventional B2B marketing tactics, such as focusing on professional platforms and long-form content, will no longer cut it — if they ever did.
Those who recognise and embrace this change, adopt AI tools and video best practices, and engage consumers with high-quality content, will stand out throughout the buying journey, from awareness to decision-making.
