š² Itās Happening!!! Oh my God!!!
The last few articles weāve published have felt rather doom and gloom when it comes to B2B marketing budgets. It seems as though every time we bring it up, itās always followed by some caveat of bad news or disappointment; itās like every B2B marketer on the face of the Earth is having problems with the budgets theyāve been given, along with the constantly added pressure of proven results and ROI.Ā
But hold on a wee second, because weāve got some good bloody news for a change! In spite of the currently challenging economic climate, the future of B2B marketing is starting to look optimistic.Ā
After surveying nearly two thousand marketing and finance leaders, LinkedIn has discovered that two thirds of B2B marketers actually expect budgets to grow within the next 12 months! Itās about time, isnāt it? No more scrounging for results anymore (hopefully).
š What the Report Actually Saidā¦
Well apparently sixty percent of the CFOs surveyed said they were rather positive and optimistic about their marketing teamsā ability to drive revenue (which makes for a nice change of pace; itās felt like a lot of businesses have lost trust in us recently). But why? Whatās changed? Why are they suddenly switching up on us?
Fear not, because Tom Pepper, Senior Director of EMEA and LATAM at LinkedIn Marketing Solutions (not to be confused with Tom Saltā¦ Iām sorry, that was really quite bad and a massive cheapshot. What was I meant to do? Ignore it like a mature-ass adult? Mr Pepper, if youāre reading this, please find it in your heart to forgive me) has taken it upon himself to explain a few things.
āIn a period where conditions are harder and people are looking at the bottom line and looking for profitable growth, often marketing is a place that organisations will go to make savings,ā he quite rightly says. āOne of the biggest challenges for any marketer is to demonstrate the value of marketing to business outcomes.ā
More specifically, the report says that eighty percent of B2B CMOs feel that they have ālearned the language of financeā, making it easier for them to really explain and outline to their CFOs why they need more of a budget and why their value to the business cannot be understated, and eighty-four percent said that strengthening these skills has helped CEOs and CFOs to understand their value.
š Are You Thinking What Iām Thinking?
I donāt want to jinx it, but the future does look very, very bright for B2B marketing now. There was a moment there, Iāll admit, where it was looking as miserable as Gotham City, but things are looking up!Ā
Tom Pepper also says āBrand is going to be critical for B2B,ā he says. āIn the last year or so, weāre starting to see marketers make the case for the importance of brand and how it drives value for an organisation.ā
Branding is so, so important no matter who you are, because itās just like Pepper says: youāre actually marketing to humans, not businesses. Sometimes we can get so caught up in the process of it all that we forget that behind every faceless consumer and business, there is a person behind it; there is a person driving the decisions and, whilst they may have their business and brand as a priority, itās our humanity that responds to branding and marketing. The best interest of a personās business doesnāt mean a whole lot if you canāt communicate to them in an interesting and personable way.
So marketers: get hyped all over again, because big things are coming! If youāve lost hope these last few months, find it again and market the shit out of whatever your business is. If youāre going to trust anyone, trust Tom Saltā¦ Pepper. I mean Tom Pepper.
Sorry.
Sam Hollis is a Writer for Fame, SaaS Marketer, as well as his own fictional short stories. He lives and works in Birmingham with his three cats and his dog (way too many pets, if you ask us)