What are the marketing trends B2B and B2G organisations should be focused on?
The dizzying hype around AI in marketing isn’t slowing down yet and it’s not just hallucinations making it hard to get to the truth. So we’ve done the homework to find out what is really happening. And which brands are doing it well?
It’s clear that we’re still firmly on the slope of heightened expectations stage of the hype cycle. There’s lots of talk of the promise and, behind doors, a lot of experimentation, but fewer actual case studies of effective AI-driven marketing transformation, particularly in B2B and B2G. It is far from ‘business as usual’ yet. So what is working?
We’ve been looking for success stories from brands talking about the growth marketing mechanics that are working for them and we see seven evidenced trends. We’re sharing some brand stories here to illustrate those trends
- Optimising Revenue Marketing With AI
- Learning from B2C – Trimble Geospatial
- Telling Stories That Resonate – Bentley Systems
- Combining Influencers and Thought Leadership – Arup
- Employer Marketing Using Relatable People – AtkinsRealis
- Face-To-Face Events Create Opportunities – Geovation
- Privacy-led Marketing Builds First Party Data – FT Live Events
1. Using AI and data analytics to optimise revenue marketing
There’s a flood of AI-offerings claiming to deliver instant world-changing success in marketing.
Everyone is experimenting, but Digital Marketing Institute research in 2024 found around half of leaders say their teams are lacking skills in AI strategy development, AI in digital marketing, search engine optimisation (SEO) and data analytics.
Motion (Creative Analytics) says 86% of DTC advertisers plan to increase their use of AI for research and ideation in 2025 and 79% anticipate expanding AI’s role in creative production
Anthropic researched its Claude user base and found AI usage is concentrated in software development and technical writing tasks. People are mostly using it for augmentation – humans working with AI – rather than for automation where the AI is used directly. And there’s also an economic divide, those with higher incomes are using it the most.
In short there aren’t that many B2B or B2G end-user marketing success stories yet to learn from. But case studies are beginning to bubble through.
Mastercard Gateway used AI for competitive intelligence gathering, analysis and wargaming. They’ve improved their competitor understanding and brought their teams together.
Leica Geosystems part of Hexagon used AI for lead nurture. It created ‘Holly’ a ‘revenue digital assistant’ which connects with new, and reconnects with dormant leads. It has increased conversions by 300%.
This year’s round of Award ceremonies are beginning to include ‘best use of AI in marketing campaign’ categories however. So we don’t expect we’ll have to wait too long to start seeing the success stories we’re waiting for.
2. Learning from B2C
Trimble Geospatial is mastering TikTok and short form video content to deliver technical story telling and product demos that speak directly to its customers, showing it understands their worlds. “Sounds only surveyors will know” shows Trimble understands its customers’ worlds. They also tap into the ASMR trend of stimulating sensory content that TikTok viewers are familiar with.
3. Using storytelling to connect with audiences
@bentley-systems is going hard on making the connection between the very real human impact it delivers and the very technical software solutions it sells. It is investing in storytelling using beautiful aspirational videography to inspire an emotional response, bringing its solutions to life in a memorable way. This ‘10 Stories That Shaped Infrastructure in 2024′ is a case in point.
4. Adding credibility to thought leadership with influencer marketing
@arup regularly collaborates with well respected organisations to create new useful data, guides and content on shared interest themes. The collaborating organisations can leverage each other’s networks to reach customers and stakeholders. In the case of the “Racial Equity and the City: Experiences of People of Colour in London” research, the venture has created a rich resource of fresh data useful to metropolitan planning authorities. It’s a fabulous marriage of influencer marketing, thought leadership and demand creation.
5. Bringing employer marketing to life with real human stories
AtkinsRéalis has an Instagram channel – dedicated to employer marketing. Aiming to convey the reality of working at the firm, it’s vibrant and international. The content ranges through corporate videos and images but also user generated content with diverse human experience. Perfect to support recruitment and employee engagement.
6. Connecting customers face-to-face
Geovation is a joint venture between Ordnance Survey and the HM Land Registry. It runs an Accelerator programme for startups and also provides innovation services. Community is at the heart of what it does and the Geospatial Awards for Innovation are a key part of how they bring the industry together. Fantastic for profile and for connecting stakeholders.
7. Optimising for privacy and customer experience at the same time
Focusing on building first party data to create privacy-first campaigns: creating highly bought in and valuable audiences for events, communities, a newsletter rebirth and email marketing. FT Live events built a direct audience for its business events offering virtual events initial during Covid and can segment its customer database, spotting trends and identifying new offer opportunities.
Key Takeaways
Complex technical solutions to difficult problems, long sales cycles with multiple buyers and stakeholders in different roles that influence a buying decision, in a busy competitive market typify both B2B and B2G marketing. We’re seeing the brands that are getting it right, across the 7 growth mechanics we’ve explored, are in active test and learn phase with AI, they’re using data analytics to optimise but are also investing in the human experience to build brand reputation and create long term customer relationships.
