Tips for Building that 2023 Digital Marketing Strategy
Brands took some incredible journeys in 2022. Miller Lite opened a bar in the metaverse, Whole Foods dabbled in accepting Bitcoin, and Nike created a Web3 shoe and apparel store.
But in the face of high inflation and a potential recession, there probably won't be sustained B2B marketing momentum in such new, untested channels in 2023.
Although those channels may present opportunities down the road, marketing budgets are under increased scrutiny, forcing marketers to re-envision their strategies for the year ahead.
As 2023 dawns, marketers are scrambling to gain a clearer picture of what's to come. By understanding the trends that are reshaping the marketing landscape, you can lay the groundwork for your brand's success in the coming months.
Although it's impossible to predict how economic uncertainty and other factors will influence marketing strategies in 2023, it's a safe bet that marketers will need to be more selective and smarter about whom they reach with their campaigns.
That isn't necessarily a bad thing overall. Many marketers are better positioned to conduct a healthy reassessment of their tactics and technologies, implementing changes that will empower their marketing strategies in 2023 and beyond.
Here are my predictions for what that will look like.
1. Organizations that rely on data-driven approaches will attain long-term success
Despite having access to a large amount of data, most marketers are not effectively applying that data to their campaigns and initiatives. That will end this year.
Up to 90% of the buyer's journey is complete before a prospect even reaches out to a salesperson, LinkedIn research found, so successful marketers know how to engage with their prospects throughout the entire funnel. But without data that informs content strategy, marketers must guess at the most relevant content and messaging to engage their target audience.
By using data to match content to buyers' mindsets within their customer journey, marketers can balance the brand-building necessary for long-term revenue growth.
I anticipate more marketers will seek out martech solutions that consolidate and combine disparate data to gain a better understanding of which target audiences have the highest propensity to purchase and what content should be used to engage and convert them faster.
2. B2B marketers will return to tried-and-true tactics
Marketers are facing more pressure to demonstrate how their media strategies lead to pipeline improvements or influence. During a time when every dollar counts, marketers will need to optimize media spend and focus on high-performing channels rather than new approaches, such as sponsorships or influencer marketing. I expect most marketers will double-down on strategies that have proven their value time and time again.
For example, if your organization has historically relied on LinkedIn as an effective social marketing channel, the risk is minimal because you've likely achieved the right balance of marketing, expenditure, measurability, and return. It may not be the right time to heavily invest in new social channels because the impact of your investments is less certain.
I expect B2B marketers to lean on data-driven, full-funnel, always-on account-based marketing strategies this year. Using ABM, you can maximize your marketing budget by targeting the accounts and buying committees most likely to convert and save time and effort with a persistent in-market presence that delivers a personalized experience and drives engagement with the accounts that matter the most.
Best of all, you can more accurately demonstrate pipeline impact and deliver superior ROI through real-time measurements across channels and every stage of the sales cycle.
3. Persistence will be key
In B2B sales, every interaction with target accounts should be meaningful and effective, and it should also establish trust, so buyers select you as their best-fit solution.
But B2B buying journeys are complex, and organizations aren't always set up to engage the right audience with the right message at the right time to influence the purchase decision. Furthermore, those on a buying committee look for multiple pieces of content on multiple channels at different times, and marketers often struggle to deliver a consistent and effective experience. During times of economic uncertainty, purchase decisions become even longer and more complex.
As marketing budgets tighten, marketers will need to save time and effort with a persistent in-market message that delivers a personalized experience and drives engagement with the accounts that matter the most.
In 2023, the most sophisticated marketers will use more always-on approaches to avoid adding complexity to potentially stretched teams, and they will reap the results of better engagement.
4. Better Customer Experiences
Your clients always expect a seamless and personalized experience, no matter the stage of the buyer's journey. That means you shouldn't stop nurturing them once the deal is closed. Customer Experience (CX) has become one of the most significant factors in helping a brand stand apart from its competition. To provide a competitive edge, marketers need to think creatively and use the strengths of all marketing departments in 2023.
Forrester's Priorities Survey from 2022 explains that cross-selling and upselling are already high priorities for improving the customer experience and will continue to be in 2023.
Turning a potential lead into a client is the first part of the customer experience. Now that they have become your client, you can further engage them to help retain and grow existing accounts. Here are some ways B2B Marketers are doing this:
Personalizing Your Client's Experience. Doing so begins with the data you have about them. Make specific customer personas to create valuable and educational content for each customer and use marketing automation to trigger personalized emails based on your customer's behavior.
More self-service options. People today have significantly shorter attention spans than those in the past, expecting immediate answers to their questions. Customers would instead handle their issues independently than wait for a customer service rep. So make sure to invest in detailed FAQs, resource centers, and customer education webinars to uplevel their knowledge of your product and resolve their issues with as little friction as possible.
Offering Online Experiences. Brands are rethinking interactive ways to provide unique virtual experiencesadapted to their customers. Think of different ways to delight your top customers. Maybe offer virtual cooking or wine tasting classes, or host a product roadmap webinar, deep dive into the product and give them a chance to voice their needs and ideas for the future.
Creating advocates for your brand is a trend in 2023 that your brand must commit to. Marketing decision makers plan to increase the budget for customer engagement headcount by 10% or more in 2023.
5. Virtual Events Are Here to Stay
Webinars and virtual meetings have been commonplace in the work environment for years. It wasn't until people were forced indoors that virtual events really began to take off, and they show no signs of slowing down in 2023.
Different use cases for virtual events have expanded, and so have the reasons why companies are continuing to use them:
Increased accessibility for a global audience
Lower cost of production
Future marketing opportunities
Networking
Promotion of a new service or product
Environmentally beneficial
Virtual events are here to stay, and environmental sustainability is a big added benefit. According to Forrester, two-thirdsof B2B businesses identify environmental sustainability as a high priority in the next 12 months.
By hosting a virtual event, your company can avoid the pollution caused by travel and reduce its carbon footprint. You can also donate to causes that help offset any emissions from the event itself. Lowering the carbon footprint is a key benefit of virtual events for 36% of B2B marketers.
So while the temptation to revert to in-person events might be high, virtual events hold more benefits and will remain a crucial channel for marketing into 2023 and beyond.
6. Reimagining Webinars
Webinars are another marketing tool that have become widely popularized after the pandemic to engage customers and generate leads. While most webinars have followed a rather mundane template, trends show more creative webinar platforms and tools are transforming the experience.
Every aspect of the webinar will be reimagined, from the production to the speaker presentations and attendee experience. Polls, chat, and Q&A have become table stakes engagement features but they're now being redesigned to be even more interactive and immersive. Clickable CTAs in the platform help continue the buyer's journey, and companies are putting more resources into developing tools that can measure ROI accurately and effectively. You want people to show up, but more importantly, you want the webinar to translate into sales and revenue.
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Marketers will need to place a greater focus on what works in 2023. Few brands will plunge into the metaverse or begin to accept cryptocurrency this year. Instead, most B2B marketers will rely on strategies that drive predictable results and foster internal innovation.
By pivoting back to the basics, you can weather economic challenges and emerge on the other side ready to experiment again.