Marketing during periods of uncertainty and change. How are the most agile B2B tech marketers meeting today’s challenges head-on?
Today’s B2B tech landscape is defined by constant change. No sooner has one crisis been averted, another comes to take its place. A fluctuating geopolitical climate, the relentless pace of technological advancement, and never-ending financial pressure all mean that marketers are being asked to do more with less and deliver an endless supply of leads to their insatiable sales teams. Often with fewer resources, how can B2B tech brands today drive measurable impact, while remaining flexible enough to adapt to tomorrow’s curveball?
To be blunt, you can’t build a skyscraper on shaky ground. While it may feel like what you need to do is move faster, this can actually be counterproductive. Sole focus on commercial outcomes is how you get stuck in a vicious cycle of supply and demand. Moving forward with your audience as your main focus, rather than being the Santa Claus of leads in your organisation, will build a brand for the future and a pipeline ready to face the challenges of what may come next.
All well and good, but what does this look like in practice?
1. Know your audience
In an uncertain climate, data is your greatest ally. Instead of relying on assumptions, deep insight into your audience, their pain points, objectives and needs should guide your decision-making. Partnering with a good agency will help you to analyse your customer journeys, map market sentiment and get to grips with what truly resonates with your audience. When you build your marketing strategy on a foundation of data, you can move with conviction, knowing your message is timely and your investment justified.
2. Brand positioning is King
Tech is a crowded and often noisy market - cutting through the clutter requires a powerful, distinctive voice. The brands that are winning today are the ones that have invested in a clear, consistent brand positioning. When your brand's position is a central focus, every campaign, from a short social media post to a flagship whitepaper, works to build a cohesive, memorable identity. Babel’s recent research showed that almost 70% of tech buyers rate consistent messaging as key in their path to purchase.
3. Integrated campaigns
The best performing marketing teams are breaking down the silos between PR and marketing and even sales and marketing. Instead of operating in units, many marketers are successfully adopting a more united approach to their marketing, in an effort to meet their buyer demand for more consistent messaging. At Babel, a campaign might start with some market research, which could then inform a whitepaper and blogs for the website, but also a press release and thought leadership articles for generating earned media coverage. This can all be amplified through social media and digital advertising and then leveraged by a finely-tuned email nurture campaign and sales team outreach. This full-funnel approach ensures a consistent narrative that educates and moves the audience closer to a commercial action, no matter where they are in their journey.
4. Rejecting the status quo
B2B has a bad rep for being boring - and sadly with good reason. With so much at risk in the uncertainty of today’s market, it can feel safer to just follow the crowd, be where they are and say a version of what they’re saying. But what if now is actually the time to be brave? Say the scary thing, do the crazy thing, become the brand you want to be in a sea of same. Now, I’m not suggesting that you hold a televised, live escape room, suspended above the Thames (although, that would be quite cool). Rather, with backing from an experienced team with a considered approach, a defined audience and rich data, it’s never been safer to reject the status quo.
To navigate today's unpredictable climate, B2B tech marketers must build strategies that are not just effective, but resilient. By focusing on research, quality data, your brand positioning, and by integrating your campaigns, you can ensure your brand doesn't just survive, but thrives. For more support on marketing in today’s shifting landscape, reach out.
