By Nick Nelson

For B2B companies, digital transformation is not a destination; it’s an ongoing journey. Marketers must continuously assess and adapt their marketing technology stack to remain competitive, meet evolving customer expectations, and seize new opportunities in the digital landscape. 

As digital transformation continues to reshape the fundamentals of B2B marketing, businesses need to prioritize creating and delivering valuable, human-centered content. By doing this in a timely and accessible way, they are better positioned to meet the expectations of increasingly self-service-oriented buyers. 

Let’s take a look at where digital transformation stands in B2B marketing and what it might portend for the rest of 2024. 

Marketing technology has taken hold

According to recent research from Gartner, 68% of businesses have been replacing software more frequently since 2021. This signals that digital transformation has reached a high level of maturity, since companies have been using digital tools long enough to know what works and what doesn’t. The software replacement trend is indicative of a growing awareness that staying at the forefront of digital innovation is essential for long-term success.

That same study found that approximately 70% of businesses planned to increase their software investments in 2023. This demonstrates a commitment to harnessing the power of technology to enhance their marketing efforts and overall business operations. 

As the business world continues to embrace digital tools and technologies, it’s clear that the market for these offerings has reached a high level of maturity and is poised for ongoing growth. 

Marketing skills are digital skills 

LinkedIn’s 2023 B2B Marketing Benchmark reveals a telling trend: digital skills are seen as the bedrock of success for B2B marketers at every level. 

According to the report, marketing technology and data analytics mastery have emerged as top priorities for CMOs, with 49% emphasizing its importance in 2023. Looking ahead, an even larger proportion, 53%, anticipate these skills to be pivotal in the coming years. 

B2B marketers lower on the org chart have an even higher stake in digital skills, with 61% of prioritizing these skills in their current roles.

Taken together, these trends underscore the pivotal role data and technology play in crafting targeted, effective, and measurable B2B marketing campaigns. This is a clear indicator that marketing technology and data-driven decision-making will play an ever-increasing central role in shaping strategies throughout the marketing function. 

Content marketing continues to be relevant 

One main component of the modern B2B marketplace is the preference for self-service. Buyers are looking for answers to specific questions, and they don’t want to wait around for a sales representative to schedule a call to answer those questions. In fact, 77% of marketing decision-makers confirm that buyers expect immediate answers. 

And buyers are turning to content marketing to help get those answers. Recent research from Demand Gen Report shows that, within the …read more

Source:: Top Rank Blog

Author: Aaron