In the world of B2B marketing, there are some standard practices that are rarely challenged, to the point where they’ve become conventional wisdom. However, these unbelievable B2B marketing statistics may change your mind about what really makes sense for your business.
Statistic #1: Over 70% of companies still don’t collect data from social media
[Source: Digital Marketing Association]
This is a vast, untapped opportunity for the majority of businesses. For companies that are dedicating resources to creating social media content on a regular, if not daily, basis, this statistic is rather mindboggling. That’s because there’s a lot of great data embedded within each of your company’s social channels – everything from basic demographic data, to data about interests, preferences and behaviors.
The good news is that 47% of B2B marketers says that social media represents a big opportunity for short-term growth. To make that growth a reality, companies are going to have to learn how to make better decisions with their social media data. This can help them fine-tune B2B marketing campaigns and craft more effective messages for prospects.
Statistic #2: Anywhere from 60-70% of all marketing content actually goes unused
[Source: Sirius Decisions]
While business are getting a lot better at the production of content, it’s another issue entirely when it comes to putting all that content to work. While it may not be feasible to expect that a marketing team will be able to put 100% of all content to work, simply leaving the majority of all content unused is a waste of time, money and resources.
That content can be turned into a rich source for promotional offers or even for marketing automation. Any email newsletter, for example, could benefit from this content. Maybe it’s news about a new product offering, or maybe it’s details on how a new product work – it can all be used to inform, educate and perhaps even entertain customers.
Statistic #3: 20% of the B2B salespersons will lose their jobs by 2020
[Source: Forrester]
The other statistics may be concerning or even mildly alarming – but this third statistic is downright scary. It’s basically saying that one-fifth of all B2B sales team members are going to be looking for a new line of work in less than five years. The reason, says Forrester, is the phenomenal growth in self-serve e-commerce.
What’s happening is a fundamental tension between commissioned sales and self-service sales. With more of the selling process moving online, so too is the actual sale. Customers are educating themselves about your products online, and the next logical step is for them to click the “buy” button online also.
What this means for any business is a fundamental re-thinking of the hand-off that happens between B2B marketing and B2B sales. What types of leads are going to be handed off to the commissioned sales people, and what types of leads are going to be handed off to the self-serve e-commerce channel?
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The big takeaway from all this is that the world of B2B marketing continues to shift and transform to resemble traditional B2C marketing. The products and services may be bigger, more complex and more expensive, but the thinking about how to generate leads, nurture prospects and make the final sale is starting to converge around the same basic ideas.
Dane
Dane Cobain is a published author, freelance writer, book blogger, poet and (occasional) musician from High Wycombe, UK. Before going freelance, he worked as a social media marker, now specialising in writing about publishing, technology and marketing.