As a marketer, you are probably given incentives to go after quick wins, which means more sales. While there is a long-term strategy in play, there are KPIs to meet, and your performance is gauged based on these. However, numerous challenges are likely to come your way, and you need to be ready. Here are the top B2B marketing challenges in 2021 that you are likely to face and how to solve them. After reading this article and you still have challenges with your online marketing, you can always try a content marketing service provider.
Post-pandemic global economic slowdown or recession
The novel coronavirus has brought chaos to the world economy. The pandemic has disrupted the social, economic, political, and even industrial structures across the globe. Companies have felt the impact, and making sales will not be as easy.
B2B sales also depend on one-on-one interactions where you pitch your product in meetings and networking events. These gatherings and interactions are being greatly discouraged as COVID-19 spreads like a wildfire. Hence, most companies have canceled events, and getting that much-awaited appointment might be difficult.
Besides, many firms have recorded great losses, and others have closed down, reducing potential clients. Others have had to reduce their expenses to remain afloat, and not many are open to buying new technologies and products. However, B2B marketing will still occur, particularly in the tech world, as firms are interested in software that will enable remote working.
More so, the sales paradigms are evolving, and the sector gets complex over the years. Currently, sales happen even before you interact with the client for the first time. Your prospect is likely to have made their selection of vendors that they are likely to work with.
The best tactic for overcoming this issue is moving from the conventional sales approaches and embracing an advisor’s role. As a sales representative, you need to keep up with evolving customer expectations. That means connecting to clients using their preferred means while being authentic and helpful.
Finding leads
Generating sufficient quality leads is another one of the B2B marketing challenges in 2021. Marketers struggle with this issue daily. Generating hundreds of leads is one thing, but it is not always a good thing for you.
They might be many leads, but they might not be relevant. Hence, as a salesperson, you need to consider quality over quantity. That way, you can invest your time on useful leads that will likely turn into sales and avoid time wastage.
While you must work hard to retain your existing clients, you need to generate quality B2B leads to meet your target and close deals. With the current financial constraints in various organizations, this remains a major challenge this year.
The challenge can be best solved by doing content marketing. In the digital era, your content speaks volumes and differentiates your products from others. You need to have quality content such as informative articles, as that is what potential customers focus on.
Your content is the best opportunity you have to talk about your product, build authority, showcase your skillset, and build a relationship with customers. With the right content, you gather quality leads throughout.
Examples of content marketing methods include writing blog posts, sharing consumer-generated images on social media to attract customers‘ attention at the top of the funnel, and creating brand awareness. You can also engage in constructing case studies and putting demos for customers at the bottom of the funnel.
You can also do email marketing. Once you have quality content, you can start building relationships with prospects. Just use a reliable email marketing platform to present your product to potential buyers. This strategy is extremely effective and has an ROI of up to 4400%. You will not go wrong with it.
Low call connection with major decision-makers
Even if you get good leads, you will not go far if you cannot connect with the right decision-makers in an organization. You might have all the prerequisites and work with the right people to convert a lead into a sale and close the deal. As a B2B sales representative, you might be barred from meeting with the right stakeholders, and this could increase your lead conversion period and lower your morale.
There are various solutions to this problem.
Follow company hierarchy
Using hierarchy is essential as you can get past various departments in an organization. While you might interact with junior executives, the primary decision-maker is likely to hold a senior position within the company hierarchy. Likewise, do organization mapping and constantly engage with people and build relationships.
Build a good rapport across departments
Good relationships with company staff from receptionists to the top managers are essential. This will make it easy for you to get appointments without the hustle and gather organizational information to make an excellent pitch.
Poor or insufficient feedback from prospects
You might get discouraged if you reach out to a prospect several only for them to remain silent. Well, according to top sales researchers, it takes at least eight touches to get the first meeting with clients and prospects. Hence, do not get discouraged. You need to understand that a consumer has a concentration span of about eight seconds, and it can be snatched away easily.
One call or email is not enough to seal the deal. It would help if you would be in constant communication, do follow-ups, and ensure that your message addresses your prospect’s issues. Solving the issue entails the following.
Personalized emails
Personalized emails help improve your conversion rates. They should have custom content that shows how much you value your client and serve as an incentive to buy products. They improve customer experience when you send the right content at the right place and at the right time.
Provide the right content
Delivering appropriate content on time helps to improve the customer experience. In return, customers gain trust and are likely to purchase your product.
Conclusion
If you are a marketer, you can definitely relate to these B2B marketing challenges in 2021. The question is how will you overcome them? Coming up with solid strategies is the best way to start.
What are some key B2B product marketing issues?
Some of the key B2B marketing challenges include.
Generating quality traffic, customization of content, integration of technology, proving ROI, aligning sales and marketing and and management of content.
How do you market your business in 2021?
The best way to market your business in 2021 is to be up to date with google updates, focusing on customer retention, building trust and growing communities.
How B2B marketing has evolved over the years?
B2B marketing has drastically evolved as the buyers have access to more information coupled with changes in their consuming behaviors. This has also forced B2B organizations to adapt to their changes in order to stay afloat.