Brands find growth when a B2C approach is taken in B2B campaigns
Taylor Fielding, CEO of TFM Digital, argues that taking a B2C approach drives better quality leads, over time, if organisations can patiently build their brand.
It feels that the only thing linear in marketing today, is the desire for the next big idea or channel.
But there are no silver bullets. Customer journeys are complex. They always have been, yet attributional frameworks tried to fit them into nice boxes or funnels. Previously the thinking was that once we know the lever to pull at each stage, we could convert from awareness all the way through to purchase.
In reality it’s a fragmented fallacy.
However one channel remains under-utilised for its ability to return value…programmatic. While it may not be new, or the en vogue channel it was 10-15 years ago, in TFM Trends research programmatic advertising had a role in 73% of website lead conversion journeys. That’s the highest contributing channel of omnichannel brand campaigns.
Decision-making catalyst
A sales cycle today can, in some product cases, be remarkably short. Expedited decision-making powered by social commerce for example, means that within 2-3 clicks I can buy a new sand-free beach towel without ever leaving my bed on a Sunday morning or reaching for my wallet.
But what does this mean in our B2B world? It’s a topic discussed throughout TFM’s recent Trends event in Sydney. TFM’s own head of digital, Zaine Wilson-Hoyle, explained how moving beyond the linear funnel has seen the four P’s replaced with the 4 S’s: Streaming / Scrolling / Searching / Shopping.
These ‘influence maps’ open up more opportunities for marketers to experiment with what is working for their business. But a line from Zaine I find myself returning to with clients is: “Programmatic remains an underutilised channel for many B2B franchise campaigns”.
Omnichannel future
There is no single path to conversion. While outdated perceptions of customer journeys starting with Googling a product persist, forward-thinking marketers are already prioritising omnichannel to unlock growth. Stories of 89% retention rates along with reports of 287% higher purchase rates for campaigns across three or more channels (when compared with a single channel), demonstrate the appeal for marketers.
Media channels now influence all stages of the customer cycle.
The buyers’ consideration journey hasn’t changed for customers, but the platforms it can live across has. If you’re only measuring and optimising campaigns at a last click level (which many attribution frameworks are, leading to over-investment in performance-based channels), you’re missing the rest of the journey. Missing out on opportunities in the early part of their buying journey – which is where customers are most persuadable.
Taylor Fielding
Lessons for B2B
Senior clients I speak with understand the focus. As Ehrenberg-Bass Institute confirms, mental and physical availability are just as critical in B2B as in B2C:
“The research shows that B2B brands grow by reaching more buyers, more often.”
However the principles of Ehrenberg-Bass cannot be formatted in a Meta Carousel or Search Ad – Meta and Google have limited quality audience reach due to walled gardens, and are unable to scale outside of their ecosystem.
With 95% of B2B buyers always out of the market, we’ve found that programmatic advertising can allow you the chance to build mental availability, targeting audiences based on confirmed behaviours and in real time. This is in contrast to social and Google where audiences are built on inferred data.
Programmatic advertising has another key advantage around building mental availability, as it’s the only digital channel where you can control frequency, a key element in an omni-channel environment. Running brand awareness campaigns can become more efficient than traditional media, and with more impact than Meta and Google campaigns.
The best B2B marketing shares lived experiences of users. Focusing on messages that really hit home. It speaks about the benefits so other prospective customers can project how it will positively impact their lives.
What path to conversion looks like in real life
The sales cycle within B2B franchise marketing is around 9 months, so one of the longer sales cycles you’ll come across. Earlier this year, across a three month period we monitored touch points of a campaign for B2B clients using our Campaign Manager 360.
It allowed us to understand the required touch points before a user converts to a lead during a franchise development campaign.
TFM data indicates the average ad interactions that lead to a franchise enquiry is six. While 31% of ALL franchise leads over a three-month period originated from programmatic as the initial advertising touch points. Its ability to connect with audiences we’ve found to be compelling for clients.
Below is a real example of the path to conversion.
Marketing is a long term project, not just a magic tap you can turn on. For those seeking leads with demonstrable interest in your B2B product/service it takes staying power, otherwise the quality of leads will suffer. It’s no good sales demanding 200+ leads a month if they’re not appropriately warmed/vetted, as it wastes everyone’s time.
What next for brand marketers
You don’t need to quit all other channels tomorrow. In fact having more as part of an omni-channel approach is going to result in better returns for you. We need to look further beyond the dopamine hit of how many leads a month are coming in. It’s a quality, as well as a numbers, game. Review the quality leads over a quarter, as Meta and Google will be prioritising their last click in the journey.
Sometimes a lack of expertise or inexperience with the tools required to achieve results, is why 45% of marketers admit to not spending more on tools like programmatic marketing. I’m already recommending more B2B clients to up their programmatic spend given its demonstrated success.
The data demonstrates results, but it does take time, in our research around 8-10 weeks to fully optimise.
Brand building matters in B2B. I don’t believe you can communicate your brand values, success stories and reasons to believe in your business in a paid search ad or Meta carousel. The results are there for those willing to try channels that can deliver improved results – programmatic unlocking both scale and reach to connect with modern buyers across platforms.
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