A recent McKinsey research report reveals that B2B customers use ten or more channels to interact with suppliers. According to McKinsey’s research, this is a significant jump from an average of five tracks in 2016. Today, your customers
- Do their own research (websites)
- Utilize e-commerce platforms
- Participate in webinars
- Read social media content
- Visit virtual marketplaces and attend remote video conferences
- Study online product review sites
- Seek out recommendations from peers and industry experts (word-of-mouth).
This article will focus on the importance of an omnichannel content marketing campaign to empower you to capitalize on customers’ mindsets and expectations as they go through the buying journey.
Omnichannel Marketing Means Meeting Your Customers Where They Are
Omnichannel means that you have many ways to reach your prospects, which is good. But at the same time, unless you’re publishing data-driven content that is of value to your customer, your omnichannel outreach will be ineffective.
The McKinsey research proves that B2B buyers prefer to use a mix of traditional sales and virtual meetings across digital portals as they move through the buyer journey. For your customer, this affords more flexibility. Your challenge is to develop effective, data-driven, customer-centric content that conforms to each channel and resonates with each buyer as they move through the funnel. This means producing technical SEO, and high-quality optimized content that engages potential customers from the awareness/educational phase through the purchase and post-purchase stage.
Is Omnichannel Marketing The Same As MultiChannel Marketing?
You might see the terms “omnichannel marketing” and “multichannel marketing” used interchangeably, but they are not the same.
Multichannel marketing refers to a company’s interactions with customers across different channels. For example:
- Physical store
- Chat
- Voice
Multichannel marketing aims to interact with your customers on the channels they are most likely to use. Interacting across multiple channels enables you to reach potential customers, retain current customers and remain competitive in a very vibrant marketplace.
Omnichannel marketing creates personalized and unified interactions with customers across all the channels they use to interact with you as they move through the funnel from awareness to sale. It is customer-centric, focused on reaching potential customers and strengthening existing relationships to build trust and familiarity with your products and services.
Omnichannel marketing requires a seamless and interwoven partnership between your sales and marketing teams.
Customer Retention Is Improved With B2B Omnichannel Marketing
The McKinsey study shows that businesses cannot depend on customer loyalty. During the pandemic, B2C customers quickly jumped to competitor brands, especially if their favorite businesses were not online. B2B customers have joined the trend and feel more comfortable changing companies since the pandemic. It’s not a trend that appears to be short-lived.
B2B customers in the McKinsey survey responded that they would eagerly search for another supplier if they feel that their needs are not being met.
On the positive side, however, this opens opportunities to target prospective customers with content that addresses specific pain points. Because B2B buyers are digitally searching for solutions to their unmet needs, a robust, diversified digital presence will move you ahead of your competitors. You’ll be well-positioned to take advantage of customers shopping for better solutions.
The Foundation Of B2B Omnichannel Marketing Is Content
“Content is Queen” is not just an empty phrase; it is the most critical element of any B2B omnichannel marketing campaign.
67% of B2B buyers rely more on content to research and make purchasing decisions than they did ten years ago.
Almost 64% of B2B technology buyers say they read between two to five pieces of content before making a purchase.
According to LinkedIn’s Customer Insights, 95% of B2B decision-makers want to feel a connection with the companies they are buying from. However, they say they can only devote 17% of the buyer journey to connecting with potential suppliers.
These realities emphasize the critical role that B2B content marketing plays in sustaining engagement with potential customers and building trust. By creating data-driven, highly targeted content and personalized conversations, you’ll reach B2B buyers no matter where they are in their omnichannel journey.
LinkedIn: The Premier Platform for B2B Marketing
While research data shows that B2B buyers use multiple social channels, LinkedIn remains the premier social platform for B2B business. According to the most recent statistics, there are almost 810 million LinkedIn users and more than 57 million registered companies worldwide.
According to HubSpot, LinkedIn is 277% more effective at generating leads than Facebook or Twitter. LinkedIn data reveals that 80% of B2B leads come from its platform. LinkedIn’s business potential is immense. Our clients see measurable improvements in leads, sales, and retention, as well as new revenue.
In addition to being the most trusted social network, LinkedIn offers unparalleled opportunities to employ a data-driven omnichannel marketing campaign.
With targeted, optimized content based on market research and data analysis, you’ll reach your customers at every stage of their buyer journey.
Key Takeaways
- B2B buyers are omnichannel—they use on average ten channels to interact with suppliers.
- Creating and implementing a B2B omnichannel content marketing strategy is the only way to remain competitive in a very crowded and volatile marketplace.
- Omnichannel content marketing is customer-centric, focusing on reaching potential buyers and retaining current customers.
- Data-driven content, which is of value to your customer, will help you reach B2B buyers no matter where they are in their omnichannel journey.
