Inbound Marketing 2.0: Navigating B2B Growth in 2024

In the ever-evolving world of marketing, one thing remains constant – the need to understand how people search for solutions to their problems. This understanding has led to the evolution of marketing strategies, particularly the rise of inbound marketing. But as the landscape continues to change, we are at the point where our beloved inbound marketing has to change to help B2B tech businesses rapidly grow. Here is how – meet Inbound Marketing 2.0.

How the search behavior works in B2B

When Inbound methodology was shared in 2005-2007 by Hubspot, Internet was a channel, and Google was our single navigator to surf it. HubSpot’s founders recognized this change early on, leading to the development of inbound marketing tailored to B2B tech growth.

Inbound marketing is effective because it forges deep connections by addressing existing problems rather than imposing unwanted content, a common trait of outbound marketing.

As a HubSpot partner, we’ve successfully implemented inbound marketing for 7 years, evolving with changing buyer behavior due to the rise of social networks.

But, since then Internet transformed into a digital environment with millions of digital channels, each of them has it’s own use case, and different audiences has a very different intent to use those channels.

the marketing landscape shifted with the AI boom in 2023, acting as a catalyst that revealed traditional inbound strategies were no longer adequate.

The transformation was gradual, in sync with changing market behaviors driven by social media and AI tools. Notably, ChatGPT played a pivotal role in reshaping search behavior.

Additionally, platforms like TikTok gained prominence for their role in awareness-level searches, shaped by the unique search patterns of Generation Z. Gen Z’s distinct behaviors, with 58% using TikTok to explore new products and brands and 60% making purchases based on app content, are defining factors.

The buyer’s journey has become more complex, influenced by tighter budgets and extended decision-making processes. Recent insights indicate a shift in user preferences, with a growing desire for immediate, real-time answers instead of lengthy website texts.

In response, inbound marketing must adapt. for Marketer it means that we need to understand size and intent of our audience in each particular channel to design an efficient digital strategy. The question is, how will it evolve to meet these changing demands?

Inbound Marketing 2.0 – A Fresh Approach:

The rapid transformation of buyer behavior necessitates an updated approach. To address the evolving challenges, we propose Inbound Marketing 2.0.

Inbound Marketing 2.0 takes the traditional stages of inbound marketing – attract, engage, delight – and tailors them to the demands of the fragmented inbound landscape and intricate B2B tech market decision-making processes.

4 pillars of Inbound Marketing

42DM’s Inbound Marketing 2.0 = Attract customers by creating valuable content and experiences tailored to them + integrate to informational bubble & decision-making environment on all stages for buyer’s journey

Stage 1: Attract

The goal: Attracting the target audience(s) across all relevant channels during their research process: Social Media, Website, Events

Traditionally: Drive more traffic to the website.

New strategy: Focus onICP & buyer persona pains and adjust them to the nature of the channel & the purpose it serves.

Channels & tactics: 

• TikTok, where users search for simplified answers even for complex questions
• YouTube, a great place to publish videos that humanize brands
• Linkedin, for thought leadership to increase the visibility and role of experts and build brand trust & convert C-level decision makers
• Quora, where huge B2B companies can uncover their potential to empower those at the awareness stage
• Generative AI, for new opportunities for brand visibility
• SEO and SEM, which is still important for overall reach no matter the demand redistribution.

Metrics:

• Engagement rate
• Followers
• Organic Traffic

An excellent illustration of an adapted Attract stage is SalesForce and its product, EinsteinGPT. To raise awareness, the company employs a multi-channel approach. SalesForce initiates the journey by using TikTok to educate users about the fundamentals of generative AI, making it accessible to beginners. Next, they transition to LinkedIn to emphasize the business value of AI implementation, demonstrating how EinsteinGPT can benefit businesses. Finally, on their website, they delve into in-depth product features and present user testimonials, providing advanced product information.

Stage 2: Engage

The goal: Optimize for a multi-channel conversion path to grow the community and increase sales

Traditionally: Convert users through the funnel, acquire more customers.

New strategy: Improve campaign cost-efficiency through personalization. Develop the community and then integrate MarTech and advanced analytics to convert where the audience is.

Channels & tactics:  

• Linkedin, a powerful tool to convert C-level decision makers 
• Quora, Reddit and Slack to develop a strong community 
• Chatbots for personalized experience
• Re-marketing efforts to convey our messages 
• Lead nurturing and email marketing 
• Marketplace, for a boost in targeted traffic among consideration and decision stage users
• Thought leadership, the experts role to build brand trust increases 

Metrics:

• Subscribers
• Open Rate
• Leads
• MQLs
•  SQLs
• Opportunities

Stage 3: Delight

The goal: Go beyond the LTV & reviews to strategize customer advocacy

Traditionally: Enhance Lifetime Value (LTV), garner more positive reviews.

New strategy: Fostering a happy community that contributes to your future growth.

Channels & tactics: 

• Email nurturing, to foster relations 
• Social Media, to share the success cases & company news 
• Chat Bot for personalized experience 
• Self-Serve Knowledge Base for easy navigation with the service/product
• On-Page Support Widget, for easy problem-solving 

Metrics:

• Reviews
• Brand mentions
• LTV
•  New users
• CAC

The Future of Inbound Marketing:

Change is happening at an unprecedented pace, challenging marketing agencies to adapt. While this can be daunting, it presents opportunities to revise our strategies in real-time, rather than a yearly or bi-yearly event. Real-time data can feed our decisions, and with flexibility, we can embrace the incredible developments that technology offers. So, let’s embark on the journey of implementing Inbound Marketing 2.0 together to achieve growth in 2024!

Inbound Marketing 2.0 recognizes the changing landscape and offers a structured approach to help you navigate these uncharted waters. By adapting to the evolving behavior of your audience and leveraging the latest tools and platforms, you can stay ahead in your B2B marketing endeavors.