Engaging business buying groups with new precision
B2B marketing has always been inherently complex. It requires tight alignment with sales and highly targeted and efficient programs that deliver quality leads and help accelerate deal velocity. And now with businesses putting more scrutiny on spend, it has become even more challenging.
I’m seeing firsthand the impact the current economic environment is having on the sales cycle. Customers and my own team often comment that transactions are taking longer and buying groups are getting more complex as extra decision-makers get involved. And just as we have seen with consumers, the expectations of business buyers continue to increase for both online and offline experiences.
At Adobe, we’ve been using account-based marketing (ABM) for a number of years and find it useful in delivering tailored strategies to address specific business needs of customer buying groups. Now this approach is evolving to focus on the orchestration of journeys for the buying group, and within that, the creation of tailored experiences for its individual members that address their specific needs and where they are in the buying journey.
The personalisation challenge in B2B
Adobe’s mission is to create highly personalised digital experiences, but we know this is a challenge, especially for B2B marketers. It requires a deep understanding of the buying group composition, and what drives intentions and behaviours of each of the individuals within that buying group.
Our research found marketers in the B2B technology sector have long struggled to identify all the specific decision-makers who influence or sign off on large purchases such as software or hardware. Compounding that is the mammoth task required to create personalised content for each individual, with variations across web, mobile, email, social, events and other channels. As a result, personalisation is an unmet goal among more than half of B2B tech marketers, with just 38% of brands having the ability to routinely personalise interactions in real time.
They are also struggling to reach the levels of hyper-personalisation their customers expect. Adobe’s research shows they continue to lean on broader approaches such as data-led segmentation (55%) or algorithms (47%) to personalise the customer experience (Figure 1).
As buying groups turn to online sources during decision-making, B2B marketers must refine their ability to identify buying signals. This requires deeper data analysis to identify, and then anticipate, individual goals and respond effectively.
In a bid to keep pace with buying groups and move quickly, B2B brands will depend more heavily on tools that automate manual tasks. However, many are leaving opportunities on the table. Generative AI is one example, with just 34% currently leveraging it for personalised copy and creative content.
Unlocking precise personalisation and engagement for enhanced B2B buying experiences
Given the challenges, optimising customer journeys and improving the speed and scalability of content creation has emerged as some of the most important digital initiatives for B2B tech marketers.
To help sales and marketing teams find a clearer path to engaging buying groups, Adobe has created a B2B edition of Adobe Journey Optimizer.
From assembling buying groups and orchestrating tailored journeys, to generating personalised content and optimising performance, the new application builds on the strengths of existing lead and account-based marketing strategies.
The generative AI component of Adobe Journey Optimizer B2B Edition speeds up the buying group creation process by using previous customer engagements and opportunity data on closed deals. It also plays a role in scaling content creation to speak to individual’s needs based on their role, product interests, and even previous interactions with marketing and sales teams.
By integrating data across touchpoints and making it accessible to teams and AI tools, companies gain a holistic view of their customers. This supports targeted, high-impact engagement with AI, pushing the boundaries of what is possible for marketing and sales teams.
Business leaders purchasing technology on behalf of their organisations have increasingly high expectations. If B2B brands can better engage individuals across buyer groups by understanding what is important to them, when, and why; then they are likely to deepen relationships and short-circuit protracted buyer journeys.
Duncan Egan leads Marketing for Adobe’s Digital Experience business in Asia Pacific and Japan. He is responsible for overseeing all regional marketing activities spanning strategic planning, demand generation, digital marketing, communications and thought leadership.
Recommended for you
