B2B marketing has entered a new era, requiring new tools and
approaches, according to the legendary copywriter Bob Bly.
Back in the 1970s, “We created a trade journal print ad offering a free color brochure, Bly writes in
an article in Printing Impressions. “We mailed the brochure to the prospects who requested
it. Then a sales rep followed up to make the sale.”
And now? The need for salespeople has been reduced.
“Today, with content-rich B2B websites, the prospect can get a
lot further long with his product research on his own, before speaking to a sales rep,” Bly writes.” In fact, some B2B e-commerce enables customers to place orders online, with no
salesperson involvement.”
Another change is that email is less important.
Veteran copywriter Steve Slaunwhite has been doing informal surveys of B2B
buyers, Bly reports.
“When I ask about email for getting to know the company or professional, staying in touch, getting special offers, product/service updates, etc. they say they
prefer social media,” Slaunwhite says.
Bly adds, “Steve says he found that younger B2B buyers have a growing dislike for email. I have also noticed a growing minority of B2B
marketers using SMS texting — both as a follow up, and less often, as a marketing outreach tactic to cold lead.
Bly concludes that “the multitude of marcom tactics, tools, and
channels now available to us today makes effective planning of omnichannel B2B marketing campaigns more complex and challenging than ever.”
He adds “But at the same
time, when properly planned and executed, these more sophisticated sales funnels, integrating both print and digital, can often reduce marketing costs, increase sales, and improve ROI.”