Search our Article Bank

Just fill out the form below to start searching our Article Bank

10 B2B Marketing trends for 2007

 
We've scoured the globe to identify B2B marketing trends that we think will be of interest to your business.

• Directness and honesty the new face of corporatism .

We're increasingly living in an ‘instant world' and as the pace of business grows ever faster, there's a growing realisation that bloggers and other forms of ‘instant replay' provide a new level of scrutiny for corporations. Invaluable feedback from online forums, blogs and email enable businesses to respond directly and positively to feedback. But it's the companies who respond ‘openly' and ‘honestly' that will score the highest points.

• Customer satisfaction efforts to double

With businesses operating 24 / 7 the level of support and customer care provided is increasingly the battle ground for achieving higher levels of customer satisfaction. Organisations are doubling their efforts to map and identify every point of contact with a customer with a view to improving customer satisfaction at every point. Expect to see greater online support, improved web searches and simpler telephone queuing systems to provide valuable relief from endlessly annoying call option trees.

• The world is going ‘green'.

With Wal-Mart seemingly leading the way with its new ‘Embrace the Earth' campaign, businesses will increasingly be required to develop sustainable solutions for their provision of products and services. From the greenness of manufacturing and distribution to the use of energy saving light bulbs and recycling of office waste, the eco-friendly strategies deployed now could have far reaching environmental as well as sales impact.

• From international to local

In a competitive reaction to global marketing, products and services will increasingly reflect local tastes and a resurgence in patriotic and regional sentiment.

• Companies will get more specific

From vague over simplification in marketing messages, 2007 will be the year of being specific. Meaningless promises about ‘innovative solutions' will increasingly focus on the detailed benefits and the value generated by products and services.

• Being ‘green' won't be enough

Green-ness needs to have a truth that competitors can't easily match and can no longer simply be a marketing tactic. The development of products and services that link to the community, and the sources of products and services have significant implications in terms of a company's procurement strategies and segmentation techniques.

• Niche marketing proliferation

Targeting specific customer groups and anticipating their needs will drive both marketing activity and product development.

• Intangible offerings become more real

Testimonials, once the main stay of B2B marketing, whilst still of value, are no longer the main source of differentiation with competitors. Finding a meaningful ‘point of view' is increasingly regarded as the way to communicate a particular idea, service or product. Establishing a credible perspective which articulates your USPs in a way that relates to the day to day needs of your customers gives them a reason to purchase and adds weight to why clients could pay a premium for your products.

• Product and ‘customer understanding' innovation to change the way organisations operate

With the speed of competitors introducing cheaper, faster and smaller copies of new products, simply pushing the same old products will not suffice. Innovative ideas that extend a companies market reach and relate to customer culture and the way they use your products or services is how organisations will keep ahead of the game.

• Going digital

With emerging digital weapons from RSS to virtual worlds, customers can control the information they receive. Forward thinking businesses are deciding how these new media opportunities can play a role in their marketing mix for 2007 and beyond.

Search our Article Bank

Just fill out the form below to start searching our Article Bank