5 Digital Must-Dos to Align B2B Sales & Marketing for Better Business in 2016 [Infographic]

Digital marketing is both an art and a science. Marketing is an art, but the science behind its strategies determines conversions and closes. This is especially true in the B2B sector, where the target is high-level professionals who have their company’s bottom line on the line. While the rise of digital has opened many opportunities to connect with the B2B market, the number of digital options can make it hard to determine which tactics are the most promising. But digital can’t afford to be ignored—not with 98% of B2B companies increasing their digital marketing budgets last year, with that number expected to be matched in 2016. To guide B2B sales and marketing professionals toward the most important digital tactics, MDG Advertising created a new infographic, B2B Marketing 2016: 5 Digital Must-Dos.

The infographic was compiled from dozens of industry research reports and expert insights, which were condensed into five key digital B2B marketing tips. So which five digital tactics are worthy of attention in 2016?

1. Increase the quality of content, rather than the quantity.

Content is considered the most exciting digital opportunity in B2B marketing today. As a result, 51% of B2B marketers plan to increase their content marketing budgets for 2016. But value trumps volume, according to 72% who plan to focus on developing higher-quality and more engaging content in the coming year. Emphasizing quality over quantity in content creation makes it easier to turn digital traffic into higher revenue.

2. Land quality leads by following the customer journey.

Securing quality leads is the most important metric to B2B marketers, but also one of the greatest challenges. Still, 87% of B2B marketers believe the best way to improve the quality of leads is to understand the customer’s purchasing methods, which can be determined by charting the customer journey. Expect savvy B2B marketers to invest more in developing psychological maps of the customer’s path to purchase in 2016. Understanding the customer’s thought process and preferences is key to digital success.

3. Forecast the future.

Marketing analytics have yielded enormous benefits for years, which is why 55% of B2B organizations plan to increase their predictive analytics resources in 2016. B2B companies can use predictive analytics to understand how high-value customers engage and optimize their marketing, for maximum reach and locating new leads.

4. Make marketing happen automatically.

It’s difficult enough to capture quality leads, but then you need to nurture them throughout the customer journey. Marketing automation allows businesses to streamline the development and management of their digital campaigns. The ease and effectiveness of marketing automation has led 66% of B2B organizations to plan for larger investment in marketing automation in 2016.

5. Work with what’s working well.

Two B2B digital marketing tactics to consider in 2016 are SEM and webinars. Today, marketers rank SEM as the most effective paid digital marketing tactic, followed by webinars. These two tactics will become even more important as digitally-minded Millennials make up more of the B2B workplace since they’re more inclined to research online before interacting with sales reps. SEM fulfills Millennials’ search needs, while webinars respond to their quest for information, making these digital marketing tactics even more valuable in the coming years.

Infographic by MDG Advertising

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