B2B is tough. Competition is at an all-time high, and potential customers are becoming more wary of spending huge sums of cash. Any business operating in a B2B market needs to give themselves every advantage possible. If a business isn’t investing in digital marketing, then it may as well not exist for the vast majority of potential customers. Let’s discuss why digital marketing is important for B2B.

Digital marketing is the easiest and most affordable way to reach potential buyers. A well-crafted digital marketing campaign is superb for educating and engaging with customers, and ultimately boosting leads and sales. Digital marketing campaigns can strengthen brands. It can make them more trustworthy, and this is vital in the B2B sector.

When it comes to doing business in the modern age, many companies are realizing the importance of digital marketing for B2B firms. With more customers turning to online channels and mobile devices for purchase decisions, businesses must adopt an online presence if they want to succeed.

Through a comprehensive digital marketing strategy, companies can increase their reach and generate leads that can drive sales.

So why digital marketing is important for B2B? Let’s explain this in a bit more depth. Hopefully, this should show you why digital marketing is a necessity for any B2B company that plans to be in it for the long haul.

What is Digital Marketing?

Digital marketing is a rather broad term. It covers everything related to marketing online. So this could be paid advertising, content marketing, releasing videos, or even search engine optimization (SEO). If something relates to promoting a business online, then it will probably come under the digital marketing banner.

When we are talking about the benefits of digital marketing for B2B companies, we are talking about digital marketing as a whole. While there are some elements of digital marketing that have been proven to be more effective (e.g., content marketing), every B2B company should be promoting themselves in several different ways. It is the only way to reach the right people.

This is why it is important to work with a B2B digital marketing specialist. They can devise a digital marketing strategy that is right for the goals of the business.

In recent years, digital marketing has become more important than ever. During the pandemic, when people were perpetually online, digital marketing spending increased massively. Some companies are now dedicating over 50% of their marketing budgets to digital marketing.

This number is even higher in certain B2B markets, with some businesses dedicating 70% of their marketing budget to it.

If a business is not spending cash on digital marketing, its competitors certainly are. These competitors will be taking the customers instead.

Why Digital Marketing Is Important For B2B

We could give you dozens and dozens of reasons why digital marketing is important for B2B success. There is a reason why marketing budgets now heavily feature digital marketing. However, we won’t. Instead, we want to give you the main reasons why digital marketing is so important now, and why it is the future of marketing.

Better Market Targeting

Digital marketing is fantastic at helping a B2B company reach its exact target market and, once they have reached them, prime them for a sale.

It’s no secret that companies collect a lot of data on their users. Register for a social media account, and you will be asked a ton of questions about who you are. The social media account will keep tabs on your likes, dislikes, the type of content that you interact with, etc. This isn’t for your benefit. Oh no. Well, at least not as a personal user. If you run a business? This information gathering is fantastic.

Digital marketing is the best way to reach your target demographic. You can get highly specific with your niche, e.g. working in certain positions, for certain companies, etc.

A well-executed B2B digital marketing campaign can ensure that the only eyes exposed to the marketing materials are those that have a good chance of making a purchase. Compare this to traditional advertising where the marketing can’t be all that targeted. You may be able to narrow the marketing down to a certain niche, but never beyond that. This means that with traditional marketing methods, you are often paying for people to see your marketing materials who probably would never even consider purchasing from you.

The best part about digital marketing is that ads can be personalized using a variety of methods. Had somebody show an interest in your products or services? You can use paid ad retargeting to keep ‘reminding’ somebody that your business exists, hoping to draw them back into the sales funnel. You can push people towards email newsletters, and keep ‘reminding’ them you exist there too, hopefully leading to a sale. Traditional marketing methods? Most of the time, you can’t do that. You can’t personalize marketing materials and they are very generic, thus far less effective.

It is this extreme targeting that makes digital marketing so important for B2B. In the world of B2B, there are only ever going to be a few decision-makers in any business. Fact is, why digital marketing is important for B2B digital marketing is because it’s the best way to reach these decision-makers.

Increased Leads

Digital marketing is fantastic at generating leads, particularly in B2B. Studies have indicated that digital marketing can generate 3x more leads than any traditional marketing method.

These aren’t just any old leads either. If the marketing is well-targeted, then they will be hot leads. This makes them far, far easier to convert into paying customers.

Cheaper Lead Generation

Digital marketing is significantly cheaper than traditional marketing methods. Once again, digital marketing allows marketing materials to be hyper-targeted. If the digital marketing strategy has been planned properly, this means that a B2B company will get more leads per dollar than any other marketing method.

Businesses have indicated that digital marketing gives them far cheaper leads than any other marketing method. Depending on the niche, the cost of generating a lead could be 20-60% cheaper than traditional advertising. This means more profit.

Digital Marketing Primes a Customer for Purchase

Did you know that 60% of B2B decision-makers will consume several pieces of marketing material before they even reach out to a sales team? In fact, one study suggested that B2B purchasers will be about 60% of the way through the buying process before they contact a business. This means that the sales team doesn’t need to do much other than push the customer over the line. The customer already knows they want a product or service, they just need that final bit of convincing.

At the heart of most digital marketing campaigns will be content marketing. This is a form of marketing where highly useful content is shared with people. This educational content is designed to inform people more about certain products and services. It isn’t ‘in your face’ advertising but is there just to be useful. Think of it as being very similar to a salesperson sharing the pros and cons of certain services.

When a company invests in digital marketing, it will be easier to educate customers. This primes leads, making them hotter when they finally reach out. The sales team will have to do far less work converting customers.

If a B2B company isn’t investing in digital marketing (especially content marketing), then they are leaving a good 60% of potential business on the table.

Helps Establish a Brand Presence

In B2B, companies rely heavily on the strength of their brand. When businesses are spending money, they don’t want to take a risk and spend cash on unknown businesses. They want to work with established brands. This is why digital marketing is important for B2B.

Digital marketing can strengthen a brand in numerous ways:

• Quality content can show a business has knowledge about the products or services they are selling.
• Customer engagement through social media demonstrates a business cares about its customers.
• Content engagement, particularly content sharing, shows people trust that brand.
• Paid advertising can ‘remind’ people a brand exists.

Marketing is always going to be about strengthening the perception of a brand, and there is no form of marketing better at that than digital marketing. New B2B businesses have entered the market and very quickly managed to develop a brand due to some savvy digital marketing. Digital marketing has made it easier than ever for companies to go from ‘nothing’ to ‘something.’

Key Stats for Digital Marketing for B2B

We want to wrap up by sharing a few stats about the effectiveness of digital marketing. These stats should show you that, with a well-executed campaign, digital marketing can drastically increase the revenues and profitability of a business. Both new and established B2B companies could benefit from working with an experienced B2B digital marketing company,

These stats have come from numerous studies carried out over the years:

• Paid adverts deliver a 200% ROI.
• For every $1 spent on email marketing, B2B companies make $36 (on average).
• Search engine optimization (SEO) delivers the best ROI for the majority of businesses.
• Digital marketing can increase the awareness of a brand by as much as 80%.

As you can see, digital marketing can generate some great returns for a B2B company, not just in the immediate future, but in the long term too.

Boost Sales–Start Digital Marketing Today

If a B2B company isn’t investing in digital marketing, they are doing themselves a massive disservice. Not investing in digital marketing is leaving a lot of sales on the table. In fact, many businesses may struggle to make any sales without digital marketing. Businesses, both large and small, are advised to talk to a B2B digital marketing expert. A well-planned digital marketing campaign is an investment. It can drastically increase sales for a very low cost. Start digital marketing today. You owe it to your business.

Conclusion: Why Digital Marketing is Important for B2B

All in all, digital marketing is playing an increasingly important role for B2B businesses that are looking to find new opportunities and increase their customer base. A strong and effective digital presence can go a long way towards helping companies build trust with potential customers and open the door for further sales conversations.

Investing in a well-planned digital marketing campaign can help businesses stand out among competing firms, encourage dialogue with customers, and allow them to better understand what their target audience wants and needs from them.

Reaching potential buyers through a variety of channels can also improve communication, enhance loyalty, and ultimately drive business growth. It’s why digital marketing is important for B2B.