In the dynamic landscape of modern business, marketing automation has solidified its position as an indispensable tool for achieving success and maintaining a competitive edge. Businesses, particularly in the B2B sector, find it increasingly challenging to attract, convert, and retain customers without leveraging technology. The fierce competition and often unpredictable whims of consumers, compounded by the complexity of satisfying entire organizations in B2B, underscore this necessity. After years of widespread adoption and rigorous testing, marketing automation has reached a point of no return, proving its immense potential repeatedly and establishing itself as a modern-day business staple. Consumers, confident in automation's capabilities, now expect brands to deliver the impossible. Indeed, by 2026, it is anticipated that virtually all marketing efforts will be automated, with sophisticated technology at the core, facilitating analysis, creation, execution, and monitoring. In B2B, as in other sectors, automation significantly boosts engagement and enhances the customer experience, becoming synonymous with effective lead generation, robust sales, sustained customer retention, and high ROI. The following five B2B marketing automation trends highlight this evolution.

1. Customer Experience Management (CEM)

Marketing automation tools serve as invaluable repositories of consumer data, a particularly critical asset in the B2B sphere where the volume and complexity of data are even greater. Unlike B2C companies that focus on individual customers, B2Bs must strive to satisfy entire organizations. This raises the question of viability for tailoring B2B customer experiences, to which the answer is a resounding necessity. Businesses, much like individual consumers, expect a seamless customer journey. They desire comfort and confidence when investing in new products and services and need to feel heard, understood, and respected, especially when committing to long-term partnerships. Customer Experience Management for B2B, powered by the rich data provided by marketing automation tools, emerges as a pivotal trend to meet these diverse demands, representing an upgraded iteration of an established concept tailored for escalating consumer needs. Quality data from automation empowers B2Bs to meticulously craft smooth customer journeys.

2. A Multichannel Approach to B2B

While multichannel marketing has been a standard practice in B2C for years, its adoption in the business-to-business sector is a relatively recent development. Traditionally, email and face-to-face interactions were considered the most effective methods for engaging professionals. This paradigm has shifted. B2Bs are now increasingly recognizing their prospects as human beings who, like general consumers, utilize social media and various online channels to inform their purchasing decisions. Behavioral and firmographic data derived from automation tools play a crucial role in fostering this deeper understanding of B2B customers. The expectation is that B2Bs will increasingly implement comprehensive marketing strategies across all available channels in the coming years.

3. Account-based Marketing (ABM)

Similar to customer experience management, account-based marketing (ABM) is fundamentally rooted in a profound understanding of the customer to enhance their satisfaction. While CEM primarily serves as a retention technique, ABM functions as a powerful lead generation device. With the strategic integration of automation tools, account-based marketing can achieve formidable capabilities in both attracting and converting prospects efficiently. The abundance of consumer data is once again the key enabler; the more detailed information a B2B acquires about its prospects, the more effectively it can address their specific needs. It's important to note that ABM transcends mere personalization, involving extensive pre-planning and dedicating an entire marketing strategy to a single, high-value prospect. Utilizing data, B2Bs can meticulously develop and execute marketing campaigns with an exclusive target in mind. While this approach carries inherent risks, it proves highly fruitful because B2B customers value personalized attention.

4. Live Video Marketing for B2B

Live video has become a vital component of contemporary marketing, with its appeal stemming from the spontaneity and exclusivity it fosters, making it an unparalleled technique for boosting engagement. It is poised to supplant traditional B2C emails and advertisements, as customers increasingly favor video for its engaging and easily consumable format. B2Bs are making a judicious decision to follow this trend, particularly given that a significant 96% of individuals rely on explainer videos to gather information about products and services they intend to purchase. There is no logical impediment to applying live video marketing effectively for B2B lead generation and customer retention, as individuals responsible for procurement also appreciate and consume video content. Marketing automation tools can empower B2Bs to craft personalized videos, facilitate multichannel video distribution, and as viewership expands, collect and analyze valuable feedback. Even if a live video fails to result in an immediate conversion, it still offers profound insights into prospects.

5. Artificial Intelligence for B2B

Artificial Intelligence (AI) remains considerably underutilized within B2B marketing, though this situation is gradually shifting as industry leaders increasingly acknowledge the profound significance of both Machine Learning (ML) and AI. While the B2B sector may not yet be fully prepared for the widespread implementation of this versatile solution, pioneering innovators are actively exploring and establishing new and exciting fields of application. When it comes to the intricate tasks of data collection and analysis, no other tool can rival the capabilities of AI. For instance, an AI tool can be programmed to learn and accurately mirror patterns in human behavior. Although still in development, this capability implies that an AI could potentially manage an entire account-based marketing campaign autonomously, simply by learning from comprehensive behavioral and firmographic data.

In conclusion, while marketing trends may evolve, the trajectory of marketing automation points towards continuous enhancement and increasing sophistication. It is anticipated that B2Bs will soon catch up to and integrate every innovative application pioneered in B2C marketing. Furthermore, there is an exciting prospect of B2B marketers developing their own original ideas and applications. The future promises new marketing automation trends that will undoubtedly inspire and drive B2B success in the years to come.