The Biggest Challenges in B2B Digital Marketing—and How to Solve Them

Summary

Digital marketing presents unique challenges for B2B businesses, from low engagement rates to unscalable strategies. For solutions that drive growth, check out "Proven Strategies to Drive B2B Digital Growth". Explore how trust impacts marketing success in "How to Build and Maintain Trust in Business Relationships". Learn how live streaming can address engagement challenges in "Why Live Streaming Is the Future of B2B Sales". Lastly, discover why many marketing strategies fail and how to avoid these pitfalls in "Understanding Why B2B Marketing Fails".

You'll Discover:

• The most common challenges in B2B digital marketing.
• Practical solutions to improve engagement and ROI.
• How to align digital marketing with broader business goals.
• Ways to scale your strategies for long-term success.

B2B Digital Marketing Challenges: Overcoming Outdated Strategies and Embracing the Future

The world of B2B digital marketing is rapidly changing, and the companies that fail to keep up with these changes face serious challenges. The old tactics, such as cold calling and marketing automation, are no longer delivering the results they once did. The numbers don’t lie—half a million businesses fail every year, and marketing strategies have had no significant impact on this statistic. So, what went wrong? More importantly, how do we fix it?

In this article, we’ll dissect the B2B digital marketing challenges plaguing businesses today and outline solutions that can lead to sustainable growth. From implementing flywheel marketing strategies to utilising live streaming and podcast marketing, we’ll walk through the innovations that businesses need to adopt to survive and thrive.

The Flywheel Marketing Strategy: A Shift from Funnels

The Flywheel Marketing Strategy: Revolutionising Your Sales Process

The concept of a flywheel marketing strategy is no longer just a novel approach; it’s an absolute necessity for B2B businesses facing the digital marketing challenges of today and who intend to maintain digital growth. Traditional sales funnels, which rely on nurturing leads through a rigid, linear process, are failing to keep up with the dynamic nature of modern buyer behaviour. The flywheel strategy, by contrast, is about building and maintaining momentum throughout the customer journey—focusing on continuous engagement, not just conversions.

In the context of B2B sales, where decision-makers are increasingly reluctant to engage in traditional face-to-face or voice-to-voice interactions, a well-constructed flywheel can transform your sales process. This strategy allows businesses to move away from cold calls and pushy sales tactics and toward a more efficient, scalable way of engaging prospects. Here's how to build your own New Business Flywheel based on the innovative structure provided below.

1. Questions as Articles: The Foundation of Topical Authority

The first step in the flywheel is to address one of the most valuable assets in your sales process: your prospects' questions. These inquiries are gold mines for generating content that addresses their pain points, concerns, and informational needs. By turning these questions into high-quality articles, you can build Topical Authority on key subjects in your industry—enhancing your SEO and making it easier for potential clients to find you.

• Content Creation: Aim to write 50, 100, or even 500 articles based on frequently asked questions (FAQs) from your prospects.
• SEO Focus: Achieve Topical Authority by thoroughly covering relevant subjects across multiple articles.
• E-E-A-T Principles: Ensure each piece of content embodies Experience, Expertise, Authority, and Trust (E-E-A-T). This framework is essential for building credibility with both search engines and prospects.

By prioritising question-based content, you’re not just filling your website with generic material but positioning yourself as an authoritative voice in your industry. This approach directly feeds the flywheel by consistently attracting and engaging the right audience.

2. Open Access Content: Redefining the User Experience

Once you’ve generated valuable content, the next step is to make it open access. One of the biggest failings of traditional marketing automation is the insistence on gating content behind forms—something that frustrates prospects and reduces your visibility and more importantly, business trust. In contrast, open access content means no forms, no barriers, just valuable, searchable material available to anyone who visits your site.

• Content Redefinition: Structure your content into distinct categories—Primary, Secondary, General, Product, Services, and How-to-Buy—and ensure that it spans across various formats such as written articles, videos, live streams, and podcasts.
• Removal of Forms: Eliminate all access forms that deter prospects. Instead, focus on conversion optimisation through strategic calls to action (CTAs) that are embedded naturally within your content.

By opening up your content, you not only enhance user experience but also significantly improve your SEO ranking, as search engines can fully index all your resources.

3. Auto Social Media: Using the Social 444 Strategy

In today’s B2B landscape, having a strong presence on social media is crucial. However, manually managing these platforms is time-consuming and inefficient. That’s why automation is key, specifically the Social 444 Strategy developed by SalesXchange. This strategy focuses on automatically posting content-driven adverts—rather than product promotions—across multiple platforms.

• Social 444 Method: Create 300+ graphic and video adverts that promote your content. Schedule these to auto-post 4-10 times a day, across 4 weeks, on 4 platforms, resulting in constant, yet varied, visibility.
• Multiple Platforms: Establish a secondary online presence using LinkedIn Company Pages to maximise reach.

The flywheel here is powered by your content being consistently promoted on social media, keeping your audience engaged and ensuring your brand remains top of mind, without any manual intervention.

4. Total Addressable Market (TAM): Expanding Your Reach

To make your flywheel strategy effective, and to really start growing your B2B tech business, you need to reach your Total Addressable Market (TAM). Instead of narrowing your focus to just leads or existing customers, the goal is to engage with your entire TAM using a combination of organic and paid strategies.

• Comprehensive TAM Database: Begin by securing a robust TAM database and using it to send personalised email campaigns that promote your content and upcoming live shows.
• LinkedIn PPC Ads: Import your TAM database into LinkedIn and leverage pay-per-click (PPC) banner ads. This ensures that your content appears in the newsfeeds of your target audience, increasing visibility and engagement.

This step amplifies the flywheel’s momentum by putting your content in front of a much larger audience, ensuring you reach prospects at all stages of the buying journey.

5. Broadcast Live: Transforming the Sales Process

Live streaming is set to replace traditional Business Development Representatives (BDRs) and telesales efforts. Instead of cold calling or trying to secure hard-to-get meetings, businesses can now engage their audience through weekly live broadcasts that showcase products, address pain points, and deliver valuable insights.

• Weekly Live Streams: Host engaging, value-driven live shows that invite your TAM to join anonymously if they prefer. Incorporate different segments, ads, and promotions to keep the content dynamic.
• Repurpose Content: Convert live shows into podcasts to expand your reach further and engage those who prefer audio content.

By integrating live streaming into your flywheel, you continuously generate new content while offering prospects an opportunity to engage in real-time, further driving the customer journey forward.

6. Roadshows: Bringing the Flywheel to Life

Take your live streams on the road with roadshows, where you can engage customers face-to-face in key locations. These events are perfect for networking, product demonstrations, and creating cross-sell or upsell opportunities.

• Broadcast from Event Venues: Organise live broadcasts from hotel event rooms to directly interact with local audiences while simultaneously streaming to a broader, virtual audience.
• Exceptional PR Opportunity: These roadshows serve as both promotional and PR opportunities, amplifying your brand’s reach and credibility.

Incorporating roadshows into your flywheel provides an added layer of engagement, blending both digital and in-person strategies to ensure that your content reaches its full potential.

By following these steps, your flywheel will consistently gain momentum, engaging your Total Addressable Market through high-quality, open-access content, automated social media strategies, and dynamic live streaming. This approach not only addresses the B2B digital marketing challenges many businesses face but also ensures sustainable growth and long-term success in an ever-evolving digital world.

B2B Podcast Marketing: Engaging Decision-Makers at Scale

The rise of B2B podcast marketing has been nothing short of remarkable. In a world where decision-makers often avoid traditional marketing channels, podcasts provide an opportunity to engage with them on their terms. A study revealed that more decision-makers listen to podcasts than ever before, especially in the B2B space.

Why does podcasting work?

• Convenience: Decision-makers can listen on the go, whether they’re commuting or exercising.
• Authority: Hosting a podcast positions your brand as an industry thought leader.
• Long-form content: Podcasts allow for in-depth discussions that can’t be achieved through social posts or email.

To get started with podcast marketing:

1. Identify your audience: Understand what your target audience wants to learn.
2. Create valuable content: Focus on insights, case studies, and industry news that appeal to B2B buyers.
3. Promote across channels: Don’t rely solely on podcast platforms. Use social media, email, and your website to promote episodes.

Live Streaming for B2B: A Game-Changer for Engagement

If you're not using live streaming for B2B, you're leaving a lot on the table. Live streams offer an authentic way to connect with your audience, especially in an age where anonymity is valued more than ever. CEOs and decision-makers often prefer to engage anonymously, and live streaming provides that option.

Why is live streaming so effective for B2B?

• Real-time interaction: Answer questions and address concerns as they arise.
• Transparency: Live streaming showcases the human side of your brand, which builds trust.
• Cost-effective: With platforms like soom, YouTube, and even social media, live streaming is accessible and affordable. 

Steps to Implement a Successful B2B Live Streaming Strategy:

1. Schedule regular events: Make it easy for your audience to know when and where to find you.
2. Promote your stream: Use email and social media to get the word out.
3. Encourage anonymous participation: Let your viewers engage without requiring them to provide details upfront.

Digital Transformation in B2B Sales: Moving Beyond Automation

The promise of marketing automation was that it would revolutionise how businesses attract and convert leads. However, as outlined in the transcript, the reality has been less than stellar. Marketing automation failures are rampant, leading to wasted resources and missed opportunities.

Where did automation go wrong?

• Over-reliance on technology: Automation tools are often treated as a silver bullet, with businesses expecting them to handle all aspects of lead generation and nurturing.
• Lack of personalisation: Automated emails and campaigns often feel robotic and impersonal, driving prospects away rather than pulling them in.
• Content behind walls: Many businesses gate their content behind forms, reducing their visibility on search engines and frustrating potential customers.

The solution? A focus on digital transformation that prioritises content and relationships over mere automation. Businesses need to:

1. Create valuable, accessible content: No more hiding valuable resources behind forms.
2. Engage with prospects authentically, using live streams and podcasts.
3. Leverage technology as a tool rather than a crutch. Use automation to complement your strategy, not replace it.

Total Addressable Market (TAM): Focus on Reaching Your Entire Audience

Understanding your Total Addressable Market (TAM) is critical in B2B marketing. TAM represents the entire universe of potential customers for your product or service. While many companies focus on narrowing down to leads, they often overlook the bigger picture.

Why is TAM important?

• Identifies market opportunity: Knowing your TAM helps you understand the full potential for growth.
• Tailors outreach: By understanding the scope of your market, you can better tailor your marketing efforts to reach everyone in that group.
• Measures success: Tracking how much of your TAM you’re engaging with is a more holistic measure than just tracking leads.

To effectively target your TAM:

• Segment your market: Not all parts of your TAM will have the same needs. Break it down into smaller, more manageable segments.
• Utilise omnichannel outreach: Reach your TAM through various channels like email, social media, and live streaming.

Differences Between B2B and B2C: Adapting Strategies for Success

While B2B and B2C marketing share some commonalities, they are fundamentally different in many ways. In B2B, the decision-making process is longer, more people are involved, and the stakes are higher.

Key differences to consider:

• Length of the sales cycle: B2B sales cycles are longer and require more touchpoints.
• Emphasis on relationships: B2B is about building long-term partnerships rather than one-time transactions.
• Content depth: B2B buyers require detailed, informative content that helps them make complex decisions.

Tailoring your B2B strategy:

• Focus on education over entertainment.
• Build long-term relationships by maintaining consistent communication.
• Use data-driven decisions to improve your marketing strategies.

B2B Problems and Solutions: The Path to Sustainable Growth

B2B businesses are facing more problems than ever before, from ineffective marketing strategies to poor content engagement. However, these problems are not insurmountable. The key is to adopt new tactics, strategies, and technologies that focus on engagement, personalisation, and authenticity.

Common B2B problems:

1. Outdated marketing automation systems.
2. High churn rates for marketing personnel.
3. Difficulty connecting with remote decision-makers.

Solutions for sustainable growth:

• Embrace live streaming to engage with your audience directly and in real time.
• Focus on long-form content like podcasts and blogs that offer real value to decision-makers.
• Adopt the flywheel model to maintain customer engagement and drive advocacy.

Conclusion: Moving Forward in B2B Digital Marketing

The B2B digital marketing challenges of today require a new mindset. Businesses need to rethink how they engage with prospects, from ditching ineffective marketing automation to embracing innovative content strategies like podcasts, live streaming, and detailed, value-driven content.

The path forward is clear: focus on creating authentic, engaging experiences for your audience and adapt your marketing strategy to the realities of the modern B2B landscape. By adopting these strategies, businesses can overcome the challenges they face today and set themselves up for long-term success.