"Nurturing connections": maximizing digital touchpoints between B2B companies, clients, and stakeholders in the industrial sector

I. INTRODUCTION

In today's B2B landscape, a synergy between Sales and Marketing is more essential than ever. It is crucial for seizing opportunities in the digital age and ensuring steady growth, especially for companies that operate in highly specialized fields.

One key aspect to consider is how the rise of new digital touchpoints has transformed sales and promotional strategies. Even in the B2B realm, procurement managers are increasingly turning to online sources for information and typically only engage with sales representatives in the later stages of the buying process, often for negotiating terms.

Given these changes:

Where can digital strategies truly make a difference in Sales?
Which marketing-controlled touchpoints are worth investing in?

Let's explore these questions, with a specific focus on industrial B2B buyers.

This market has traditionally revolved around the exchange of specialized products and services among businesses. These are intricate, high-cost units with a historical emphasis on customization.

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II. THE GROWING SIGNIFICANCE OF CONTENT MARKETING IN B2B

The demand for customers to make informed purchasing decisions is no longer limited to the B2C sector. In today's consumer landscape, users extensively research products using various sources such as social media, company blogs, and industry publications.

Likewise, B2B buyers no longer rely solely on requesting quotes from partner companies or their assigned sales representatives. According to a study cited by Harvard Business Review, based on over 1,000 interviews, nearly all B2B buyers engaged in complex purchases search for information online with the same frequency as consulting in-person experts.

Buyers looking for solutions to their problems conduct thorough research and comparisons. Especially in industrial, manufacturing, and high-tech sectors, they are attracted to high-value technical content. This means providing information that is easily understandable to engineers and technical professionals, along with comprehensive SEO efforts that involve relevant keywords.

As a result, industrial companies must leverage all available resources to ensure they are discoverable by potential customers on their preferred channels. This entails implementing targeted content marketing strategies, ideally based on the inbound methodology.

“Inbound Marketing is a methodology that revolves around creating targeted and highly personalized content for the intended audience. Instead of interrupting the user invasively, the aim is to generate valuable content that captures the user's interest. The ultimate goal is to establish lasting and meaningful relationships with customers. In B2B contexts, Inbound Marketing is finalized by providing informative content that offers concrete solutions to buyers' problems”.
(Source: HubSpot)

Is this trend pushing sales representatives away from their traditional role of contact and persuasion? Absolutely not. The sales department continues to play a pivotal role in every B2B company.

However, the introduction of new digital touchpoints has transformed the traditional sales imperative into more of an "information challenge".

This is why the creation of digital content - such as articles, white papers, blog posts, video content, and social media posts - that explains the technologies used in products, describes production and sales processes, and offers solutions to industry-specific problems is essential. It helps establish a B2B enterprise as a reliable reference point and, ultimately, supports its sales process.

III. DIGITALIZATION OF INTERACTIONS AND ENGAGEMENT OF B2B INFLUENCERS

Can we say that B2B procurement managers today attempt to minimize contact with sales representatives? Not exactly.

Sales representatives and their roles are still central to the growth strategy and are vital for those acquiring products and services from other businesses. However, due to changes in the buying process, where key digital players now handle initial stages, especially in terms of awareness and consideration, sales representatives require support to be effective.

This support often comes in the form of collaboration with recognized influencers. These influencers help in building the necessary trust to facilitate a successful sales process. Using influencers does not provide a definitive solution to address all the challenges related to the synergy between marketing and sales activities. Nevertheless, content promoted by industry professionals has become crucial within broader and well-structured editorial strategies, even in B2B.

Thanks to the expertise of these professionals, who understand the company's products, the market context, and current trends, sales representatives can expand their network and establish closer connections with potential customers.

What sets the B2B world apart is that influencer marketing activities are particularly effective, as this environment has always placed a strong emphasis on references and word-of-mouth, with 91% of buyers influenced by such interactions.

IV. CONCLUSIONS: STRENGTHENING A COLLABORATIVE ECOSYSTEM

We understand the vital importance of aligning Sales and Marketing functions in the B2B context. However, for companies aiming to thrive in a digitized and ever-evolving environment, internal resource and process integration is just one part of the equation, albeit a crucial one, to achieve true corporate synergy.

This synergy should extend to all external opportunities that the digital landscape offers. As we've seen, the primary goal is to address users' informational needs and build enduring and meaningful relationships.

In the realm of B2B, content marketing and influencer marketing activities enable businesses to adapt to current market challenges by serving both customers seeking valuable online information and those desiring highly personalized engagement. When used in conjunction, they fulfill both objectives.

In a world where the final product is increasingly tailored to meet customer needs, interactions with users seeking such products must also be customized.

By employing approaches that facilitate the analysis of user intent, B2B companies can create a collaborative ecosystem where the sales department, working harmoniously with marketing, is effectively supported in delivering maximum value to the customer. This strategic approach can ultimately lead to increased sales.

We understand the vital importance of aligning Sales and Marketing functions in the B2B context. However, for companies aiming to thrive in a digitized and ever-evolving environment, internal resource and process integration is just one part of the equation, albeit a crucial one, to achieve true corporate synergy.

This synergy should extend to all external opportunities that the digital landscape offers. As we've seen, the primary goal is to address users' informational needs and build enduring and meaningful relationships.

In the realm of B2B, content marketing and influencer marketing activities enable businesses to adapt to current market challenges by serving both customers seeking valuable online information and those desiring highly personalized engagement. When used in conjunction, they fulfill both objectives.

In a world where the final product is increasingly tailored to meet customer needs, interactions with users seeking such products must also be customized.

By employing approaches that facilitate the analysis of user intent, B2B companies can create a collaborative ecosystem where the sales department, working harmoniously with marketing, is effectively supported in delivering maximum value to the customer. This strategic approach can ultimately lead to increased sales.

SOURCES

• Adamson B. (2022), Traditional B2B Sales and Marketing Are Becoming Obsolete
• Hubspot (n.d.), What is inbound marketing?
• Reuter Events, How social media amplifies the power of word-of-mouth