by WireBuzz, on Dec 1, 2021 9:26:37 PM
In this WireBuzz exclusive, the digital strategy team discusses the top 10 sales and marketing trends for 2022.
Trend #1: Smarketing
All too often, sales and marketing work in silos - but it’s important to understand the best revenue results happen when sales and marketing are aligned.
“Smarketing” is the process of aligning your sales and marketing efforts with your business goals. In 2022, companies should put more emphasis on smarketing and account based marketing (ABM) strategies to align their revenue operations.
Takeaway: Invest in creating more ABM content - like case studies, videos, email sequences, landing pages and paid LinkedIn campaigns.
Trend #2: Personalize your buyer’s journey
Companies that personalize their content are seeing higher revenue growth rates than ever before. And the future of personalization in 2022 and beyond, looks like empathy and end-to-end customer journeys.
Journeys are no longer as linear as they once were, and you now need to create personalized content that speaks to buyers differently depending on their state of awareness across all touchpoints of their journey.
Takeaway: Mapping out journeys based on customers’ states of awareness, not just their entry and exit points.
Trend #3: Put the end-user first
Brands that are comprehensively addressing their customer experience to put the end-user first are experiencing 10% faster revenue growth.
Putting the end-user first in 2022 means being people focused. Lead with purpose, authenticity and creativity, to meet customers in the moment - wherever they’re at. Give your customers more options to learn and become confident in their decision to purchase from you.
Takeaway: Develop and activate hybrid buying experiences for your product or service.
Trend #4: Use more video and audio content
Hybrid has become the “new normal” in 2022, and virtual selling is here to stay. More consumers are turning to video and audio content to learn and engage across a variety of channels.
Videos and podcasts can help you start relationships with your customers from a distance. The more intimate the content feels to the listener, the more likely they are to continue engaging and eventually do business with you.
Takeaway: Include a YouTube channel or podcast as part of your content marketing strategy.
Trend #5: Reduce friction
In 2022, customers no longer want to interact with salespeople. They want to go on their own journey, and reach out to you when they’re ready to make a buying decision.
As smartphone use continues to increase, it’s more important than ever your website’s mobile experience is up to par so your buyer can access information on-demand. Give your prospects a frictionless digital experience that’s free of gated content and forms.
Takeaway: Add chatbots or conversational messaging to your website to help people find information without the pressure of engaging with your sales team. Activate a free virtual demo video on your website instead of requiring someone to book a meeting as the first sales touchpoint.
Trend #6: Testimonials
People buy relationships and stories, which is why testimonial stories have the highest conversion rate of any type of video. Testimonials that feature your ideal customer profile (ICP) are most effective in convincing and converting your target customers or accounts.
Influencer marketing is also on the rise across every industry, with micro-influencer strategy being the trend to prioritize in 2022.
Takeaway: Step outside traditional interview frameworks and tell your key opinion leader stories in creative ways.
Trend #7: Changing budgets
While marketing still accounts for 10-15% of a company’s annual revenue, digital marketing needs to account for at least 50% of your marketing budget in 2022. Organic reach is declining, while automation and advertising are more competitive than ever.
You should allocate a significant percentage of your budget to performance marketing, but you can no longer afford to ignore investing in brand awareness. Otherwise, you’ll be paying even more for performance marketing in the long run.
Takeaway: Allocate 20% of your monthly ad spend into targeted brand awareness campaigns.
Trend #8: Beware the disruptors
Within every market, there’s an increase in new entrants disrupting existing products and services in 2022.
Even if you’re not new to a category, 2022 is the time to kickstart your own disruption by creating a deeper, more personalized level of service for your customers.
Takeaway: Reevaluate your current brand positioning, and update your messaging and campaigns accordingly.
Trend #9: How remote work impacts selling
No disruption is still impacting people more than working from home. As more decision makers prefer to work from home, you need to adopt automation and virtual selling processes to reach buyers in new ways.
Salespeople are now marketers, too. The faster you can align your salespeople with your marketing, the faster you can shorten your remote buying cycle.
Takeaway: Make sure your sales team is trained on how to send personalized videos and connect with buyers through LinkedIn and social media.
Trend #10: Hybrid events
We can no longer rely on conferences alone to engage our prospects.
For the hybrid conferences that will be happening in-person, it’s become more critical than ever to create a system that allows you to capitalize on each attendee. By segmenting your attendees by badge scan, you can seamlessly transition their customer journey from in-person to digital after the event.
Takeaway: Create automated drip sequences for the leads you collect at any conferences you attend.