Post By Lauren Kirkpatrick

Within the past 5-10 years, B2B marketing has undergone extensive amounts of change. Marketers have switched their focus from sales and cold calling to digital content marketing strategies and search engine optimization tactics to attract new customers to our business.

Digital content is now the driving force of every B2B strategy and it is important for your business to stay ahead of the marketing curve in 2021.

Here are a few monumental trends your company should explore in the new year.

B2B Marketing Trends To Consider For 2021

1. Retention Marketing

A bird in the hand is worth 2 in the bush, right? Well, what’s it worth to then keep that bird happy and healthy for a long time? That’s retention marketing.

Retention marketing has been around since the time the first person sold something to someone else. Why? Because the seller eventually realized that it’s easier and more efficient to sell to existing customers than it is to find new customers.

In short, retention marketing is the set of activities that seek to maintain customer relationships resulting in higher marketing ROI through continued sales at a lower cost per sale.

Retention marketing can increase both the amount of time a customer continues buying from you, as well as how much they buy. We often call this cross-sell and upsell. We want to sell more products and services to existing customers and also at higher prices and profit.

How much profit? According to Harvard Business Review, a 5% increase in customer retention can deliver up to 95% increase in profits.

B2B Marketers love to talk about acquiring new customers. But the bottom line is that Retention Marketing might be a better place to start in 2021. Especially if budgets are limited.

What are some of the best ways to retain customers?

1. Onboarding & Education

2. Customer Training

3. Constant Communication

4. Ongoing customer support

5. Surveys & testimonials

6. Customer appreciation

2. Content Marketing Is a Must-Have

Go big or go home! In 2021, only committed brands are going to win in content marketing. I hear it all the time from brand marketers who aren’t committed to Content Marketing. “There’s so much noise out there! How can I break through?”

Based on that argument you have 3 choices. 1) Give up and just let your marketing people start cold calling (trust me, I’ve literally been asked to do this!) 2) Advertise your way to growth. 3) Or commit to the long-term strategic ROI of content marketing.

And there are amazing examples of brands who have grown massive audiences from scratch in just the last 18 months.

What did they do differently? They published consistently based on keyword research. They mixed in long form and short form content. They profiled customers, executives, and partners. They focused on building subscribers. They put paid promotion on their top performing content.

How much do they spend? $4,000 – $8,000 per month is all the Marketing budget you need for a predictable Marketing ROI. Less than the cost of a Director of Marketing salary!

3. Interactive Content

In order to increase consumer interactions and engagements, businesses need to make their content more interactive. Your business can do this by encouraging followers to share your posts on social media, creating interesting quizzes, filming videos, and implementing infographics.

According to a study by Microsoft, the average human being now has the attention span of eight seconds. Interactive content can help customer retention by requiring them to participate and become actively more engaged. As consumers’ habits and tastes move closer towards interactive content, storytelling becomes an essential feature for business success.

4. Chatbots

Chatbots are an essential part of web design and will continue to act as an important business feature in 2021. Globally, 67% of consumers reported using a chatbox support system in the past year. Many clients are beginning to expect quick replies to questions and 24/7 customer service representatives on call. This can be a hard task to manage without the help of chatbots which will be programmed to match human behavior and offer similar services.

This tool is used by many industries to answer clients’ questions and help them navigate through a company’s website. Chatbots can help your business provide faster, improved online experiences.  As a result of this digital feature, businesses will see an increase in consumer engagements, business connections and overall client satisfaction.

5. Nostalgia Marketing

Nostalgia marketing can help B2B marketers relate their products and services to the world. Your company can start to participate in nostalgic marketing strategies by being authentic, capitalizing on cultural trends and reintroducing a product or service that was discontinued.

As the world navigates these unprecedented times, nostalgia marketing has become an even more valuable tool. Nostalgia is familiar, safe and comforting, which is exactly what our world needs now and in the future of 2021.

6. Voice Search Marketing

Voice search utilization data numbers are expected to reach 5 billion by the year 2021 and increase to 6.4 in the year 2022. When voice devices were originally created, they were used for grocery store lists and notes. However, consumers are now using voice searches to play favorite songs, ask questions and get directions.

Marketers see great opportunities in this tool as it gives us more information about our consumers and their needs. Alexa and Google Home have created a huge increase in the usage of voice search. It is extremely important to make sure your company is ready and has the tools needed to successfully compete with other businesses using this advanced technology tool.