With the new year right around the corner, it’s time to reflect on what worked in 2022, set new goals, and – of course – start planning your 2023 marketing budget.
Marketing budgets rose from 6.4% of total revenue in 2021 to 9.5% this year,1 so B2B marketing teams are facing increased pressure to drive results in 2023. To help you get a head start on budget planning, we’re sharing the top marketing trends for B2B tech businesses to watch out for next year.
Trend #1: Budget for Events – But Be Picky
In-person events are back, much to the collective relief of marketers everywhere. But let’s be real: traveling is expensive! Don’t go to events just to be there – only attend when there is real value to be gained.
Holding off on in-person events doesn’t have to mean missing out, though. Virtual events, which gained popularity during the pandemic, are here to stay. 72% of marketing professionals expect to attend the same number of digital events (or more!) even when in-person events are available.2 And with the number of hybrid events offering both in-person and virtual options rising, you can attend low-priority events virtually and save the big spending for live events with a higher ROI.
Trend #2: Put Some Time (& Money) Into Remarketing
If you’re not remarketing yet, it’s time to start. 97% of website visitors don’t convert the first time they visit,3 but remarketing can help drive more conversions.
Remarketing is a broad term to describe marketing to the same group of people repeatedly, typically via retargeting, social media, and display ads. Essentially, a remarketing campaign involves marketing to people who have previously interacted with your business, like existing clients and leads that have shown interest but haven’t purchased from you yet. Consider earmarking some of your budget to set up highly-targeted, effective remarketing campaigns.
Trend #3: Invest in Better Analytics and Reporting
Today’s marketing teams have more data than ever to work with. Prioritize tracking your marketing metrics next year to assess what’s working well – and what needs to go. If you haven’t yet, you’ll need to invest in high-quality analytics and reporting tools. Then you can track important key performance indicators (KPIs), such as lifetime value (LTV) and cost of acquisition (COA), and cross-reference them with your spend to stay aware of how your marketing efforts are performing.
Once you’ve put some serious time into creating accurate data reports, you can leverage key metrics to ensure you’re not over- or underspending on marketing – and pivot if needed.
Okay, we know personalization has appeared on marketing trends lists for years, but it’s really personal this year. With 73% of millennials involved in B2B buying decisions and an increasing number of Gen Zers entering the B2B workforce,4 B2C experiences are creeping into the B2B sphere. Namely: hyper-personalization.
The need for increased personalization has put companies adopting account-based marketing (ABM) ahead of the game. 67% of businesses have already invested in ABM,5 which uses personalized campaigns to engage potential buyers and nurture existing customers.
Are you still dreading budget planning? We have you covered. Reach out to our experts to chat about your marketing goals and get help planning your 2023 marketing budget.
Sources:
- https://www.gartner.com/en/newsroom/press-releases/gartner-survey-reveals-marketing-budgets-have-increased-to-9-5--
- https://vimeo.com/blog/post/virtual-event-statistics/
- https://financesonline.com/retargeting-statistics/
- https://www.forrester.com/report/millennial-b2b-buyers-come-of-age/RES132706
- https://www.hubspot.com/state-of-marketing?hubs_post=blog.hubspot.com%2Fmarketing%2Faccount-based-marketing-stats&hubs_post-cta=67%25%20of%20brands
