Business to business marketing has been one of the beneficiaries of the Covid pandemic in Ireland, according to a report from Squaredot.

The B2B marketing agency says that Covid-19 increased the reliance on B2B marketing departments for more than half of respondents to its survey. This was because the traditional channels for making connections such as pressing the flesh, the meet and greet, were all off limits.

However, budgets were often reduced or personnel were asked to do much more with existing resources — 41% said marketing budgets reduced while 47% said they stayed the same.

“That leaves just 12% who have increased their budget to capitalise on any opportunities and stay ahead of the competition,” said chief executive Ian Blake (pictured). “A combined 22% are seeking C-suite buy-in and feel the need to prove ROI and the pressure to perform, with 37% claiming to have sufficient internal resources. Only 46% expect to see budgets increase for 2021.”

The report reveals that the top three challenges for the sector are delivering leads, building brand awareness and proving return on investment. It was found that referrals still provide B2B companies with both the largest number and highest quality of leads (20% and 25%).

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Blake commented: “With referrals, early growth looks promising but in the end, the line of existing customers to lean on and friends peters out. It’s marketing and brand building that will make the difference in terms of sustainable growth.”

He recommends that B2B marketers should take time to build their brands, given that just 44% think they are ‘somewhat’ different from their competition.

“If they took the time and some budget to build their brand, the leads would be much easier to generate. We recommend that you take a step back and build your brand. And remember that business customers are human too, so invest in creativity, appeal to your buyers emotions and you’ll be more memorable. The competition is probably not doing it so it's an easy win.”

Marketing Automation

Data provided by marketing automation can help with customer journeys and personal insights in addition to other helpful tools, Blake added.

“The report illustrates that it is not being harnessed fully. More than half of B2B marketers still use little or no automation.  Automation on a simple level is great for social media, planning and scheduling but the lead management piece is where it has the biggest benefit.

“Automation is able to help by moving more into the realm of machine learning and artificial intelligence – predictions based on patterns, intelligent decisioning – than simple robotic process automation.”

• The Squaredot report is available for download here.