What trends will dominate the demand generation landscape in 2022? We asked the experts at Spear Marketing Group to chime in:
“Digital fatigue is real. B2B marketers need to rethink digital-first strategies to better engage audiences who not only demand new experiences, but also may be tiring of overused tactics. Direct mail is still an incredibly successful channel: open rates and response rates can be 3X greater than email and other digital media. In 2022, I see companies combining direct mail technology (hyper-personalization, creative packaging) with digital to tap into new communications pathways—while achieving potentially stellar results.”
– Lynn, Creative Director
“I see companies accelerating the transition to RevOps (Revenue Operations). Moving to a RevOps model combines all facets of revenue growth into one, single organization who then align and coordinate efforts to meet overall company goals. MOPs teams, for example, will manage a more complete integrated tech stack that incorporates marketing, sales, and customer success. The lines between sales and marketing continue to blur, and RevOps is a key part of that trend.”
– Mirella, Sr. Marketing Automation Specialist
“As marketing budgets continue to increase, the level of attention given to how those monies are spent, and the associated ROI, will intensify. This will lead to the rise of the Marketing Data Analyst. However, unlike their IT counterparts, the job of the Marketing Data Analyst will be to tell stories: how the suspect became a prospect, how the prospect became a lead, and when the lead became a customer. Those stories will allow B2B companies to better direct budgets to the channels, tactics, and content that are truly driving revenue.”
– Alan, Manager, Paid Media Strategy
“B2B buyers have increasing leverage and power throughout the buying process. This presents an opportunity for companies who embrace the trend by providing buyers the information they need, when they need it, with as little friction and as few barriers as possible. Call this buyer-centric marketing. Conversely, companies that persist in a seller-centric approach will lose ground, and quickly. For example, information that historically may have been withheld from buyers (think: pricing) will now be freely offered by forward-thinking companies.”
– Jon, Business Development Director
6 #B2B Demand Generation Trends to Watch Share on X“Every B2B prospect is also a consumer in their personal life. Those consumers are conditioned viewers of engaging entertainment and good design. This puts pressure on B2B marketers to adapt content creation to reflect a more sophisticated, digital buyer. Expect to see marketing teams adding media producers to work alongside the marketing strategists and tacticians. Internally-produced content and online events must rise to a new standard; professional polish and high production value will separate the players from the wannabes.”
– Gerry, Art Director
“Coming out of 2021, companies will be putting more effort into sales enablement, specifically aligning marketing activities and sales follow-ups. With so many new sales professionals joining a remote workforce, Marketing teams are being asked to produce more tools and education for their sales teams. From the moment a new prospect is identified, Marketing should own more of the journey, providing content, playbooks, outreach emails, and other tactical assets that can be leveraged by sales to help close the deal.”
– Koka, VP Client Services
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