8 Top B2B Marketing Trends in 2024/2025

We’re well into the back half of the year, barreling toward “another turn around the sun,” as they say, and it’s putting us in a bit of a retrospective mood. It felt like a good time to take a look at the trends we’re seeing in B2B marketing this year that have made a big impact and will likely continue to be a big deal into 2025. Honestly, each one of these could probably be a full-blown article in their own right, but we’ll save that for another time and keep this at the high-level overview for now. 

Are you surprised to see this one here at the top? Probably not. Artificial intelligence is a disruptive and transformative technology, the kind that doesn’t happen every day. And while a lot of people see “AI” and exclusively think of its generative capabilities, in B2B marketing, the biggest factor will likely be AI’s ability to process enormous volumes of data; deliver analysis and insights; and contribute to improved forecasts, marketing campaigns, and customer experiences. 

Important to note: Large quantities of data isn’t automatically a good thing. To make the most out of AI-driven insights, work with your marketing partners to ensure the data you’re using is clean and accurate. 

ABM is not a new concept in the marketing field, but it is seeing increasing popularity in B2B marketing in particular right now. If you’re not already familiar with it, account-based marketing is a strategy that forgoes a more generalized advertising approach in favor of concentrating resources and messaging on a set of targeted groups that have a chance for a much higher ROI. It’s setting aside the idea of a broad, splashy TV commercial in favor of the right message on the right channel, seen by the right eyeballs. 

Important to note: A lot of ABM platforms and software options are cropping up in response to this rising demand, which are making it even easier to get granular with your strategy. 

This goes pretty hand-in-hand with ABM, but personalization is so, so key in B2B marketing these days. You can’t just throw spaghetti at the wall; you have to look at each business, each company or organization, that you’re targeting and speak directly to them. What content will they find relevant? What challenges are they facing that you can help them with? At the end of the day, the decision makers at businesses are just people, and people want to build a connection, not just receive an advertisement. 

Important to note: Personalization is heavily tied into AI as well, which is making it a lot easier to do things at scale and set up automated, highly targeted campaigns. 

Important to note: Podcasts and audio content are also seeing a big uptick in B2B marketing. It can be a really cost-effective way to boost your profile, establish your expertise in your field, and showcase your thought leadership. 

We’ve already talked about AI and ABM and a lot of the tools and software surrounding those advancements. All of that feeds into trends toward automation, digitalization, and efficiency in B2B marketing. It’s about wasting less time sorting and sifting through busy work and instead being able to reallocate those resources to the kind of big-picture thinking that can transform marketing campaigns. These technologies are making it possible for us to push digital marketing even farther – more personalized, more timely, more effective, but not more time-consuming. 

Important to note: Giant platforms like Google, Tiktok and Facebook have all announced digital and automation tools to help brands improve their ad targeting, mostly by leveraging AI. 

The importance of data has been on the marketing radar for a while, but expect data analytics to continue to get more detailed, more nuanced. A lot of platforms are connecting with direct data integration, meaning that you’re getting constantly up-to-date information inputted into your systems. By analyzing and refining the dozens and dozens of data points collected, B2B companies are gaining key insights into content consumption, customer feedback, social engagement, web behavior, and more. 

Important to note: Even small businesses are finding opportunities to capitalize on the data analytics movement by leveraging platforms and software technologies that make installation and operation easy and seamless. 

Important to note: Establishing local presence is crucial, so even something as simple as claiming your Google My Business listing and ensuring the information on there is accurate can be impactful. 

Data privacy and the ethics around where and when data is collected and shared is a key issue in the B2B marketing space. Businesses need to stay aware of the regulations around data privacy, how they are expanding or changing, and how to stay in compliance. Because of the ethics around data collection, first-party data – that is, information collected directly from your customers – will be crucial for B2B companies because they have more access and control over this type of data. 

Important to note: Google is ending third-party cookies very soon (the end of Q3), so if you haven’t already made plans for that phase out, today is a good day to bring up that topic with your marketing partners. 

Trends are always kind of fun to look at. It’s interesting to take a step back, distill the noise, and pull out the biggest waves we’re seeing in the field. But more important than that is what you do with those trends once you identify them. Because, like any wave, you can either reposition yourself and ride the crest of it – or miss the mark and get pulled under. How are you responding to the changes happening right now in B2B marketing? Do you have the tools and strategies in place for your campaigns? Are you making the most out of the dollars you spend out there in the digital landscape? 

If you don’t have answers to those questions – or if you have a few answers but think there might be better options out there – don’t hesitate to reach out to us. We’re ready to ride some waves with you. 

---

This entry was posted on Friday, August 30th, 2024 at 11:09 am and is filed under Digital Marketing, Industry News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.