Key Takeaways from B2B Marketing Ignite 2019

The B2B Marketing’s Ignite 2019 was the biggest yet with +1500 people in attendance from Thoughtleaders through B2B leaders; filled with data-driven best practices research, unveiling of new innovations across B2B and networking with an elite community of sales, marketing and product leaders. There were 66 sessions across 8 topic streams ranging from Strategy, Martech, CX, Insights, Engagement, ABM, Leadership and Brand.

Ignite B2B was an intensive learning opportunity, unveiling the latest insights, intimate breakout sessions and case study presentations; all focused on operationalizing growth strategies and being better marketers. If you couldn’t make it to London this year, here are the top key takeaways:

# B2B Marketers need to think differently

“Measure the effect of our marketing to inform what we do, not decide what we do.” said Rory Sutherland, Vice Chairman – Ogilvy, as he delved into the psychology behind decisions and uncovered a fascinating way of looking at buyer decisions, which can then inform marketing strategy. He explained David Rock’s SCARF model,  about 5 things that humans care about massively but which economists don’t understand at all are:

• Status – Sense of achievement, even bigger in B2B marketing than in B2C.
• Certainty – We make decisions that are least likely to be terrible. Nobody ever got fired for hiring IBM.
• Autonomy – We like optionality, we don’t like being tied in.
• Relatedness – We like dealing with the same person, we prefer connectedness, reciprocation and social capital.
• Fairness – We care about what the other guy gets and want to be sure we are getting the best deal.

Rory pointed out a differences between B2C and B2B- MOTIVATION. B2C buyers want to avoid the regret and B2B buyers are hoping to avoid the blame of making a poor decision.

# Get yours stakeholders on board

“As B2B marketers we have to give stakeholders what they want. Our job is to make them want the right thingsThis is change management” said Doug Kessler, Creative Director & Co-Founder – Velocity Partners Ltd as he discussed how stakeholder management is so critical.  Here are eight ways to turn stakeholders into supporters:

1. Have strategy/vision
2. Find a champion
3. Surface misalignments
4. Build and defend your positioning in the company
5. Fight for the customer
6. Own the data
7. Market your successes
8. Be prepared to quit

# The marketing success equation: engagement + emotion = experience

“We don’t see things as they are, we see them as we are.” We relate to people like us. We trust people like us, noted Tamara McCleary, CEO – Thulium.co talking about the future of communication in B2B Marketing. She further stated that while the future of B2B engagement in customer experience, service, sales and marketing will be driven by exponential increases in the capacity of AI and data analytics, creating a human connection through relationships will be what differentiates extraordinary from ordinary.

# Follow up on your Event Qualified Leads

“The core reason for exhibiting is to generate sales leads, which is a problem… 70% of leads from B2B events not followed up yet events are the No.1 B2B Marketing spend” said Chris Wickson, General Manager – Akkroo along with Jeremy Bloom, CEO – Integrate. The duo broke down silos across the top of funnel.  The final frontier of unification is across the channels marketers are leveraging to generate prospect engagement and acquire customers.

# We are in the age of  B2E – Business 2 Everyone

“Everything we’ve seen at B2C is now showing up in B2B. It’s the emergence of business to everyone. The expectations are the same. We are in the age of  B2E – Business 2 Everyone” said Peter Bell, Marketing Director – Marketo as he shared insights on how human nature and customer nurture are key to attracting and retaining today’s customers. He stated that 48% of business have lost sales because they’ve failed to engage customers’

# ABM for every budget

The scalability of Account-Based Marketing (ABM) means you can practice this strategy on a budget of nearly any size. The panel included the trio –  Leanne Chescoe, Senior Marketing Manager – Demandbase, Ashley Kessler, Head of Marketing and Business Development, – Calabrio and Kylie Jay, Head of EMEA market – Ansarada. Pointers on how you can optimize and establish a cohesive strategy, set measurable goals appropriate to your budget, and grow the footprint of your ABM efforts:

• Targeted emails with personalised content and drip campaigns
• Personalized Sales streams for key accounts
• Targeted ads to traffic from competitor websites
• Personalized Chatbots

Share with us some of your favourite insights and learnings from the B2b Marketing’s Ignite 2019. See you next year!