B2B Marketing Automation

‍What exactly is B2B marketing automation?

Marketing Automation for B2B includes high-tech solutions that support the implementation of campaigns targeting narrowed and highly specific audiences. It’s primarily about automating repetitive processes and tasks that often require large financial, human and time resources.

B2B Marketing Automation can be used as a tool for a variety of tasks, including contact segmentation, lead nurturing and lead scoring activities, delivering targeted newsletters, and client onboarding. It all depends on what your Marketing Automation Specialists offer.

Example 1: Segmentation

Proper management of the contact database saves time in the implementation of all marketing and sales activities. Segmentation is one of the components of this, and it provides the foundation for:

• conducting personalized communication;
• sending relevant and valuable messages to users;
• discovering the sales potential of individual leads;
• choosing the right brand communication channels for different types of audiences.

B2B Marketing Automation in the context of contact segmentation involves the creation of lists of audiences, sorted by specific characteristics. These can range from demographics to interests, preferences for communication methods or degree of commitment to the brand.

Dynamic and automated segmentation makes it possible to constantly update customer profiles. This ensures that all prepared materials, such as offers, newsletters, blog articles or video content, reach the right audience. Groups of leads classified according to specific attributes are much easier to manage.

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Example 2: B2B Marketing Automation – Lead nurturing

In every contact database there are leads who, despite their interest in the product or service, don’t show a willingness to take advantage of the offer. The reason for this can be, for example, a shortage of funds, but also a lack of awareness of the purchase need.

Lead nurturing is a process that consists of multiple steps and aims to get the consumer to complete the transaction. It involves actions taken at each step of the customer journey, such as:

• acquiring valuable leads;
• providing potential customers with all the information they need about the product or service;
• building a positive brand image;
• meeting the user's needs and expectations both in terms of the offer and communication with the brand;
• preparing for purchase;
• analyzing and evaluating the results.

For lead nurturing, the use of B2B Marketing Automation can involve:

• automated sequence of messages – you can schedule the sending of pre-designed e-mails (templates) over time. Example: you send the first message immediately after the user confirms their subscription, and the second message after 24 hours, and so on...;
• date-based e-mail marketing – messages can refer to specific events, such as the recipient's brand anniversary, and include personalized promotions.

Example 3: B2B Marketing Automation – Lead scoring

We can assess a lead's sales potential using a process called lead scoring. It consists in scoring points on a contact card after they perform a certain action or meet given criteria. This allows us to quickly determine what content our potential customers are most interested in and where they are in the purchasing process.

Scoring, both positive and negative, may cover, for example:

• demographic characteristics,
• user activity on the brand's social media;
• reactions to advertising messages;
• website behavior;
• filling out the form;
• clicking on a link included in a newsletter, etc.

What does it look like in practice? All you have to do is select the categories and criteria for assigning scores. Leads will automatically be ranked according to the scores they have earned. What's more, B2B Marketing Automation tools also enable self-segmentation of leads based on scores. Customers can be automatically assigned to a particular sales representative, transferred to another contact list or directed to a newsletter mailing base.

Example 4: Personalized newsletters

As opposed to B2C, the B2B sector is characterized by prolonged purchasing processes, thus, the importance of providing content that educates the consumer is even greater. The effectiveness can be enhanced, for example, by personalizing the message.

Segmenting contacts allows us to better understand the interests, preferences and behaviors of our audience. This makes it much easier to deliver personalized communications. In newsletters, we can not only use our lead's personal information, but also more accurately tailor the content. B2B Marketing Automation allows us to create profiled content and automate its delivery.

Example 5: Customer onboarding

Finally, you reach the point when the lead becomes a customer, that is, buys your product or service. Is this where the sales funnel ends? Definitely not. Now it's time to continue the pre-purchase relationship. Its quality can determine whether your customer:

• will use your products and services regularly;
• will recommend your company to others;
• will become an engaged audience for your brand and will help set further directions for its development.

The process of onboarding, i.e. customer introduction, can also be automated. The various tasks of B2B Marketing Automation in the context of introducing a user to your product or service depend primarily on 2 factors:

1. Goal – ask yourself what point in the customer journey you want to take your consumer to with onboarding. In part, this may be determined by the specifics of the industry in which you operate.

Example 1: you are the owner of a wholesale household appliances company and your customer has a chain of porcelain shops. Your goal may be, for example, regular orders for porcelain dishes placed on a B2B platform.

Example 2: you own a catering company and your new customer manages a chain of children's playrooms. Your goal may be to deliver meals to all of these locations on an exclusive basis, and in the long run, to organize parties as well.

2. Starting point – determine what point in the customer journey your new customer is currently at.

Example 1: has the owner of a wholesale household appliances company already registered on your B2B e-platform?

Example 2: has the children's playroom manager already placed an order for the entire menu or only selected meals?

After-sales service can be improved by automating such activities as:

• sending welcome messages, such as thanks for registering on a B2B platform or using a service;
• sending reminders to complete the formalities, such as activating an account on a platform or loyalty program;
• providing customers with support materials, such as tutorials on how to use the platform's advanced features or albums with inspiration on sweet table ideas;
• communication related to the progress of the relationship, such as congratulations on placing an order for limited edition products or organizing 10 events in cooperation with your company;
• encouraging customers to share their opinion about the cooperation, such as asking them to fill out a satisfaction survey or give a recommendation on the company's website.

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Best practices for B2B marketing automation

You already know 5 examples of using B2B Marketing Automation. Their implementation should be well planned. Here are some tips that will help you manage your relationships with prospective and current customers even more effectively:

1. Develop a customer journey map. Consider all the touchpoints, i.e. possible points of contact with your brand. Consider every step of your audience, from the first meeting to finalizing the transaction to remaining a loyal customer. 
2. Keep lead magnets in mind. Develop a system of benefits that will help you get people to join your contact database and keep them there. A lead magnet could be, e.g. a free product, a discount on a service or a free consultation with an industry expert.
3. Test your B2B Marketing Automation tool. Make sure everything is set up correctly before you target your actual audience.
4. Play fair play. Be transparent by including unsubscribe links, etc. in your messages. Instilling trust in the recipient is the key to their loyalty and commitment to the brand.
5. Don’t force it. If you have inactive contacts on your list who don't show interest even when you use lead magnets, reminder e-mails, or other ways to get their attention, just delete them. They could potentially be transferred to a different audience that isn't included in the newsletter mailing list.
6. Focus on goals. The B2B Marketing Automation dashboard provides, among other things, detailed reports and charts. Ongoing analysis of the results will allow you to verify whether your actions are yielding positive results or adjustments need to be made. By keeping a close eye on the progress, you can decide whether it's time to modify your current strategies and start over with new goals.

Is it worth using B2B Marketing Automation?

Yes, if your company's marketing relies heavily on repetitive processes and tasks.

Absolutely yes, if your marketing and sales efforts are producing great results, and you feel you could squeeze even more out of them.

Definitely yes, if the marketing team hasn't been meeting your expectations and has been spending too much time and effort on repetitive tasks.

And also yes, if you are spending an excessive amount of money on marketing.

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