As the end of the year quickly approaches, we would be remiss to not highlight the top marketing trends B2B marketers need to leverage for success in 2022. And much like new year’s resolutions, B2B marketers would greatly benefit from choosing to act on these trends and implement them as part of their marketing strategy for the new year.

Kickoff 2022 by developing an understanding of the latest marketing trends listed below to: 

• Unlock industry ownership through content alignment
• Span data across cross-functional roles and departments
• Drive customer retention by building trust and loyalty
• Leverage customer intelligence to drive marketing decisions

From data management to customer intelligence, we’re covering it all in this blog. Cheers to a successful new year!

1. Content Alignment Will be the Key to Unlocking Industry Ownership

The key to a successful start to 2022 is content alignment. If you want your organization to gain share of voice in your industry you need to align visibility, credibility, and authority through your content. Take a look at the thought leadership Venn diagram below as it illustrates how all three of these aspects — authority, visibility, and credibility — intertwine to achieve industry ownership. Think about it like this. Strategizing and developing educational and helpful content is critical to generating thought leadership authority. This means that through educational content, your brand is perceived as an expert in your industry. Next, by following SEO best practices when sharing and posting content, you can increase your organization’s online visibility. Lastly, by leveraging original data, testimonials, or expert knowledge, your content will highlight your brand’s credibility. Together, all three aspects create industry ownership and position your brand as the number one go-to resource in your particular field.

2. Data Will Span Cross-Functional Roles and Departments

According to Statista, the total amount of data created, captured, copied, and consumed globally has increased by more than 5,000% since 2010. And this number is expected to continue growing at an exponential rate through 2025. Due to this overwhelming amount of data, B2B marketers should expect the onset of data democratization. 

Data democratization is based on the idea that data will be spread throughout the organization, meaning that data can be easily accessed by all necessary departments. In fact, 77% of respondents from an MIT survey reported that they received a significant increase in access to data since 2020. The question is why should data be democratized? How does this benefit marketing initiatives and the organization as a whole? 

By giving various departments the ability to access data, teams like sales can better leverage data to align with marketing to enhance content effectiveness. For instance, if the sales team has the insight to see which content performs best in their outreach based on a prospect's behavioral data, the sales team can meet with the marketing team to develop more high-performing content. 

The democratization of data also allows for the:

• Gathering and analyzing of data without needing help
• Establishment of a cohesive data inventory versus silos
• Free-flow of information spanning departments

With data democratization, all necessary departments have access to data so that they can understand, collaborate and make data-driven decisions to bolster business outcomes.

3. Loyalty and Trust Will Drive Customer Retention

Customer retention is always a concern for B2B marketers. And in 2022, experts predict that the best way to drive customer retention is by fostering trust. In fact, Forrester predicts that budgets for loyalty and retention marketing will increase by 30%. Consider this. B2B buyers want to purchase and make deals with organizations they deem trustworthy. Once a buyer finds a brand they trust, they will be much more likely to stay loyal to this brand. 

So, how can you foster trust in your marketing campaigns? First, start by being authentic. Use original data and client testimonials to back up your claims. Then, provide exactly what you promise. For instance, if your subject line alludes to a downloadable guide inside, you better ensure the download link is present in the email and working properly. Think of your relationship with your customers like a friendship. Overall, be personable, consistent, and good to your customers to keep their loyalty. Otherwise, they’ll leave and make friends with someone else — your competitor.  

4. Enhanced Customer Intelligence Will Inform Marketing Decisions

Customer intelligence is defined by optimove as “the collection and analysis of detailed customer data in order to understand the best ways to interact with each individual customer.” Essentially, it’s the act of using customer insights to make data-driven marketing decisions.

Every B2B marketer understands the importance of making data-driven decisions. But the game-changer for 2022 will be tracking behavioral data to hyper-personalize marketing campaigns. With the help of CRM software like HubSpot, marketers can leverage customer behavioral data to accurately target leads and personalize lead nurturing campaigns. For example, say a lead becomes an MQL by interacting with resources pertaining to your organization’s use case of server compliance. Based on this behavioral data, you can nurture this lead with the most relevant content relating to server compliance. 

Plus, customer intelligence insights will also be able to pinpoint where in the buyer’s journey a buyer is depending on the resources they’re interacting with. If a buyer is checking out your blogs, they’re most likely in the awareness stage. If the buyer downloads one of your tip sheets, they’re probably in the consideration stage. Finally, if a buyer is taking a look at your case studies, they’re in the decision stage and are getting ready to make a purchase. Having this insight is crucial to following up with leads and passing them along to the sales team once they’re ready.