2016 is less than a month away. It is hard to believe that 2015 is already coming to an end. Chances are you’re still working on finalizing your B2B marketing plans for the New Year.
B2B marketing is in a constant state of transformation. What were standard practices this month might be outdated next month and the techniques used today could be obsolete in the next year. Technology is always keeping us on our toes.
It is important to stay ahead of the competition by staying on top of new trends. The key to success is not just noticing the trends. It is also about finding the most efficient means to reach your target demographic. As a lead generation company, we see the state of lead generation being characterized by four major trends.
- Personalized Emails with Actions
Email marketing and email personalization has been evolving each year. Now, it’s possible to personalize even the smallest details of an email to encourage recipients to follow through with targeted actions. It is easy to see growth in the email automation space for 2016, especially since it is now more affordable.
- Exit Popups
Exit intent popup software tracks the user’s mouse movements to learn when the user will leave a page. This information allows companies to encourage users to stay on their website. Before a consumer leaves a page, exit popup software will ‘popup’ an opt-in form to your email subscriber list.
High traffic e-commerce sites are already adopting exit popups and experience great results. So it is reasonable to expect thousands of smaller business sites to be adopting exit popup strategies in 2016.
- Built-in Analytics
Platforms are starting to add built-in analytics that give advanced data collections and insights. For example, companies can now target ads to returning customers and offer them complimentary products. They can also deliver ads to customers who have left their products in shopping carts. Shopping cart abandonment is no longer the end. Companies can follow up with targeted ads that remind users about their full shopping cart. This new action-based marketing angle is attracting Fortune 500 companies and global brands.
- New Content Marketing Tactics
Companies now realize that they need more content on their website to compete with the competition- especially as the economy slows. According to the Content Marketing Institute, 76% of B2B marketers plan to produce more content in 2016 vs. 2015. This is without first creating a marketing strategy.
These four lead generation and B2B marketing trends are here to stay and grow. They will greatly impact all email marketing campaigns and lead generation strategies for the next year.