Read time: 8 minutes
Do you feel like you're pouring your heart and soul into your marketing strategy but still can’t seem to reach your target audience and generate high-quality leads?
When you're confident you're ticking all the right boxes but you’re just not seeing the results, it can be incredibly frustrating.
However, the truth is that marketing professionals are up against it. Over half (54%) say that improving lead quality and conversion rates is the biggest challenge they face right now, and this was followed by generating leads in the first place (41%). As a result, 49% say generating more quality leads is their top priority this year.
But why has reaching buyers and generating leads become so challenging?
In this article, we’ll take a deeper look at the biggest challenges B2B marketers face when trying to reach their audience, and what you can do to tackle this problem and build genuine connections with B2B buyers in the future.
The key challenges facing B2B marketers right now
B2B buyers have changed dramatically over the last few years and as a result, so has B2B demand generation.
On top of this, marketing professionals are increasingly experiencing burnout, which is having a direct impact on their productivity and ability to generate captivating campaigns.
Another key challenge marketers are facing is content saturation in today’s digital world, alongside ever-increasing data privacy regulations. These two factors are making it much harder to cut through the noise and get the right messages in front of the right people. This makes generating high-quality leads more challenging.
To build a stronger understanding of why reaching buyers is becoming harder, we’re going to take a look at each of these key challenges in more detail below.
The needs of B2B buyers are changing
Nowadays, B2B buyers are being bombarded with information all day, every day, leading to information overload. This can make it harder for marketers to get any single message to stand out.
They also operate across a huge number of digital channels, which has changed how they gather information and make decisions. The result is that reaching buyers now requires a stronger digital presence across even more platforms.
As well as facing information overload, decision-making has become more complex. B2B purchases typically involve multiple decision-makers or stakeholders, each with their own criteria. This means the process takes longer and the requirements of every individual must be addressed.
Today’s buyers also want a more self-directed journey and have more control over the buying process. They choose to conduct thorough research and self-educate long before engaging with the sales teams. This shift reduces the influence of traditional marketing and sales techniques.
However, despite having access to more information than ever, B2B buyers are also becoming more sceptical and often seek validation and reassurance through online reviews, case studies and third-party endorsements.
On top of all this, buyers also expect a more personalised experience that addresses their specific needs and requirements. As a result, generic marketing messages are far less effective than they once were.
Marketers are burning out at an increasing rate
A recent study found that 83.3% of marketing and communications professionals reported being burnt out. This can impact every aspect of your marketing strategy and make lead generation more challenging.
Some of the reasons that B2B marketing professionals are burning out so frequently include overwhelming workloads, juggling multiple campaigns and having to work across multiple platforms.
Recommended reading: Marketing burnout is the new threat killing your lead generation
This reduces the amount of focused work time, increases stress and reduces efficiency. Plus, there's also constant pressure to be creative which can lead to a creative block, resulting in less engaging content and campaigns.
Then there’s the previously mentioned content saturation which is adding pressure to the marketing workload, making it more challenging to create content that captures attention and provides value.
The constant battle against ever-increasing data privacy and regulations
Increased regulations around data privacy are making it harder to collect and use buyer data for targeted marketing efforts. This has a direct impact on the ability to target the right customers and generate high-quality leads.
As B2B marketers strive to comply with these stringent regulations, they often find themselves with limited access to crucial data. This limitation hampers their ability to personalise marketing campaigns effectively, reducing the overall impact and efficiency of their outreach efforts.
How can brands build genuine connections with B2B buyers?
It’s easy to see that marketers have a lot to contend with, so how can you go about reaching and building genuine connections with your target audience?
There are several strategies you can implement across your marketing department to alleviate burnout, increase creativity and generate more high-quality leads:
1. Do all you can to reduce burnout
First and foremost, you want your team to be as innovative, creative and productive as possible. This will increase their chances of producing engaging messages and personalised content that will resonate with B2B buyers.
As a result, it’s important to teach your team how to prioritise and delegate effectively. By putting high-impact tasks first and delegating where possible, you can ensure that the most critical activities get the attention they need without becoming overwhelming.
It’s also important to promote a culture that values regular breaks and time away from digital devices and platforms. Creating an environment that supports work-life balance can significantly improve their productivity and mental wellbeing, which will minimise marketing burnout.
Auditing your current marketing practices and platforms and streamlining these where possible is also an effective way to reduce burnout. It’s crucial that you leverage automation wisely and make sure you have the right tools in place, freeing up precious time and stopping marketers from juggling multiple platforms and projects all at once.
2. Build a deeper understanding of your buyer’s needs
One of the most important stages of your marketing process is conducting thorough market research to help you understand the specific needs, pain points and goals of your B2B buyers.
Through surveys, interviews, intent data and analytics, you can build a deeper understanding of your target audience and where they spend their time. You can then develop detailed buyer personas that represent the different segments of your target audience.
Recommended reading: How to build an ideal customer profile for better lead generation results [+ free template]
By understanding as much as you can about your target audience, you can convey more compassion and understanding, showing genuine empathy in your content and offering real value.
3. Take a collaborative approach
It’s crucial that the sales and marketing teams work closely together to achieve the best results.
Fostering close collaboration between these two departments can help marketers create a seamless buyer journey and consistent messaging across the board. This will boost your brand's credibility and trust, and can lead to an increase in conversion rates.
Regular communication and joint strategy sessions can align goals between your teams and make sure you're working towards the same objectives. It's also worth sharing insights and data, as this can provide a more comprehensive understanding of customer needs and behaviours.
4. Focus on quality over quantity
Armed with the right intent data insights you can create high-quality, relevant content that addresses the specific pain points and needs of your target audience.
It’s vital that you focus on quality over quantity on this front, providing genuinely engaging and valuable resources, such as videos, webinars, blog posts and more.
In doing so, you should utilise a mixture of digital channels to reach buyers where they're most active. For example, over two-thirds (69%) of B2B tech buyers say video tutorials and demos are the most effective content to influence their buying interest.
Account-based marketing (ABM) will play a big role in this, allowing you to generate personalised content and use targeted marketing efforts directed at key accounts. This approach allows for deeper engagement with higher-value prospects.
5. Leverage the right marketing technology
Several tools are going to be the key to your success, including:
• Intent data and analytical tools
• Customer relationship management (CRM)
• Marketing automation tools
• Generative AI-powered tools
These tools allow you to keep track of interactions with buyers and ensure personalised and timely communication. You can also utilise automation tools to nurture leads with personalised content and follow-ups based on their behaviour and preferences.
A staggering 94% of B2B marketers say they believe generative AI-powered tools have huge potential for creating assets such as blogs and guides, as well as personalising content for their target audience.
6. Build trusted and long-term relationships
Building genuine connections with B2B buyers involves a combination of strategies that focus on understanding their needs and providing value.
Focus on building long-term relationships with customers rather than viewing interactions as transactional. Maintaining regular, personalised communications can boost trust and credibility, as can networking, industry events, thought leadership pieces, case studies, and testimonials from other clients in the same industry.
You should also offer tailored solutions that address specific pain points, as this demonstrates a deep understanding of their business challenges.
In summary
Reaching B2B buyers is harder than ever, but it's far from impossible. Sure, marketers are up against it facing content saturation, information overload, an increased risk of burnout and more, but there is a solution.
If you hope to reach buyers, build connections and generate leads, you need to:
• Help marketers overcome (and avoid) burnout
• Build a deep understanding of buyer’s needs and how best to target them
• Focus on quality over quantity with your content and take a multi-channel approach
• Personalise communications whenever you can and stay in touch with customers and prospects to build trusted and long-term relationships
• Leverage data, marketing technology and tools to automate processes and give you more in-depth insights into buyers and their behaviour
Do this, and you'll increase your chances of reaching buyers at the right time and converting them into sales.
