Finding new leads has proven to be a challenge, with low lead volume identified as a primary pain point. There are a lot of different factors that could be contributing to the new-lead drought that goes beyond tightened budgets. B2B marketers are contending with a new world of buyers who are much more digitally focused than even a few years ago. They act more like B2C consumers and want content and experiences that engage them.

It’s a tough situation for marketers to address with limited resources. Yet, despite a constrained budget, B2B marketers have opportunities in 2024 to adjust their approach and improve acquisition rates.

Rethink Top of Funnel Tactics

If B2B buyers are starting to act more like B2C consumers, then B2B marketers need to follow suit, which means trying new early funnel tactics. Everything from YouTube to Instagram should be on the table for testing in 2024. I often hear from B2B marketers that social media other than LinkedIn isn’t a good fit for their brand, but that’s often not proven out in an actual test. B2B buyers are people, and they definitely go to social media!

These social channels will become more prominent in the B2B buyer journey as younger generations get buying power at work. GenZ adults like YouTube the best and watch ads on the platform. They use the platform to look for information and to learn, not just to be entertained.

While making special creative for different social platforms used to be timely and costly,

the industry no longer has an excuse. Generative AI like Midjourney can repurpose creative that already exists into formats that fit each platform’s specifications in mere minutes. These platforms are also built to help advertisers with a library of templates, tips, and reports to help with testing.

Simplify Non-Brand Search

What better way to find new customers than for them to find you? Non-branded search can be a valuable way to drive self-guided buyers to content on the site without hard selling. And there are a lot of buyers who are doing more research online than ever before.

With Google’s push to more automated campaign types like Performance Max, I’ve seen less investment in pure non-brand search. Performance Max and automated campaigns like it go after the lowest-hanging fruit. People searching for a specific brand or product name might have already converted anyway, while non-branded search represents an audience that might be net-new.

If this isn’t in the cards, B2B marketers can at least move budget to non-branded search to see how it affects the new-acquisition funnel. Chances are it will make a noticeable, positive difference.

Make It Easier to Convert

There are many unnoticed hurdles in every B2B purchase process. The website might be confusing, there might not be the right product information to download, or there could be a lack of all-important peer reviews. A B2B marketer’s job in 2024 is to remove as many hurdles as possible from the purchase process.

Marketers should put themselves in the shoes of a new customer and scrutinize their website. The goal is to make sure that the site makes it easy to research and purchase, with as few steps as possible along the way.

For example, the more concise a form is, the more leads a marketer will generate. Similarly, if site search doesn’t display the right information, prospects will leave and look for the information elsewhere. Now that more buyers are self-service, the checkout experience makes a difference. According to Shopify, changing from a multipage to a single-page checkout increases conversion rate by 22%.

Forrester Research notes that recommendations from peers are also an important part of the journey. If there are no case studies, customer stories or access to peers, it could turn prospects off.

Some B2B marketers are getting creative with the peer aspect of the buying cycle, creating communities and forums where prospects can ask questions and hear more about different use cases. This interactive strategy not only helps them with their understanding of a B2B company’s solution, but it also creates a positive connection to the brand!

Time to Start the Detective Work

Simply spending more to get more leads is not an option for most marketers in the current economic landscape, but it is still important to test new initiatives. Before starting any of these new tactics, it’s a good idea for B2B marketers to look at 2023 data and see where their best new acquisitions came from and what they did. Then, look at where there was the biggest drop-off in different parts of the journey. This data will highlight opportunities to find more good leads and to address issues that might have turned prospects away.

Marketers will get the best uplift if they can dive deep into the data as they test new tactics. Knowing not just the topline volume but also the type of leads and their value  will help determine where to focus efforts.

About the author:

Andrea Duffy-Cabana is the Senior Director of Paid Media at Anteriad, where she helps B2B marketers maximize the value of their paid media strategies. 

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Kathleen Lewarchick

With a goal of improving B2B experiences, distributors and manufacturers are leveling up their data, user experience (UX) and search capabilities. B2B end-user customers are maturing from simple to complex use cases, and online commerce systems must evolve. Search systems, in particular, are becoming even more sophisticated.

Moving From Good to Great Search

Standard B2B search functionality provides ranked results from a basic search query. In more complex B2B use cases, search must also support advanced ecommerce needs, such as:

• Relevancy – incorporating personalization, like geography or customer buying roles.
• Boost and bury – highlighting the optimal items, while also downplaying less optimal ones.
• Product-restrictive views – setting permissions so buyers have a focused, allowable assortment.

Challenging? Sure. But innovation, machine learning and AI are helping to improve outcomes. For B2B leaders, that means customized shopping lists, optimal merchandising, and increased conversions.

How Smart Search Systems Work

As companies outgrow standard out-of-the-box search functionality, newer smart systems use stored behavioral data from previous experiences: when authenticated users return, their history is attached. This smart system knows what products users bought and what they considered, during their last encounters. The system is primed then for improved search results.

The system might, for example, pull standard product data into a commerce-and-content Admin Console. Adding behavioral shopping data via “Merchandising Views” (say, a 360˚ rotation or part number link) will unlock greater buyer potential. More sophisticated systems use data accelerators, commonly called connectors, to improve data flow into the commerce system and back into the ERP. Both systems get smarter with every use.

Consider your own B2B shopping behaviors. If you previously searched for 1/2” drill bits and the system knew the PDPs (product detail pages) you reviewed before making your last purchase, that’s powerful data to incorporate into your next ecommerce journey for similar or look-alike items. And if your view was restricted because of your role or budget, having an “acceptable” shortlist is immensely helpful. It would not only save time in the search process, but it would also drive greater click-to-cart conversions.

Search and product discovery are increasingly important in B2B ecommerce. Artificial Intelligence can help create smart recommendations that act as an assist for your customers. And coming soon, AI will help companies manage multiple ecommerce storefronts and provide greater customization options.

Kathleen Leigh Lewarchick is the VP of Marketing for Xngage LLC, a B2B digital commerce services company with more than 60 clients across the industrial trades. She is the former PURELL® Hand Sanitizer Brand Director, has co-created automated replenishment products with Amazon Business, and created telehealth solutions for a company that she later helped sell to CVS Health. 

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“The fundamental questions are: Do you have your data in a shape and format where it’s usable? You have to have that foundation,” Pollock told Digital Commerce 360.

As a multi-channel retailer, Tailored Brands’ data comes from different sources, Pollock said.

“We have our retail business and our rental business. It’s a lot of very different data that isn’t super combinable,” she said. “We had to do the hard work to get all that into a place where you could run it across multiple channels.”

The retailer filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2020 and has since gone private. Its four brands: Men’s Wearhouse, Jos. A. Bank, K&G Fashion Superstore and Moores Clothing, are selling to consumers interested in apparel and accessories. The retailer turned to Salesforce artificial intelligence software to better understand the customer and improve the customer experience, Pollock said.

Understand data before using it to make improvements

Tailored Brands wanted to improve the customer experience, she said.

“We’re changing how we use the data we have about our customer preferences,” Pollock said.

Prior to working at Tailored Brands, Pollock had a consulting business for a decade, she told Digital Commerce 360. During that time, Pollock “saw what technology was out there and learned while working with different people,” she said.

She said she discovered that figuring out what works requires constant testing.

“You need to test right away and make sure you build good tests, and define what you’re trying to get from it,” she said. “Then you take a leap and invest in something very significant.”

For Tailored Brands, AI is a great opportunity, she said. One example of how the retailer is using AI is through Men’s Wearhouse’s Wedding Wingman quiz for shoppers. Launched in all stores in April 2023, the tool is for both the bride and groom.

“It’s a very visual tool, which I think is one of the really cool opportunities with AI and where it’s going,” Pollock said at the conference. The process involves the shopper answering a series of questions about their personal style, wedding style and how formal vs. casual they want to be for that day. AI then makes recommendations to the customer based on the inputs received, Pollock said.

“So, whether a customer actually completes a transaction on our website, or a sales associate in the store can help them with a more personalized experience,” Pollock said at the conference.

Men’s Wearhouse launched its Wedding Wingman quiz in April 2023. Shoppers input preferences and AI suggests products for purchase.

Salesforce announces price increase

On July 11, Salesforce Inc. announced it raised prices for the first time in seven years after introducing artificial intelligence to its software.

According to the statement, base prices will increase about 9% across its major software product lines in August. Salesforce will charge additional fees for features.

Tailored Brands ranks No. 191 in the Top 1000, Digital Commerce 360’s database of the largest North American e-retailers.

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Christopher Shutts, CEO, Logik.io

The company will expand its market strategy with $16 million in a Series A funding round, Logik.io announced today.

“Many B2B companies struggle to deliver the low-touch consumerized experiences customers demand today,” co-founder and CEO Christopher Shutts said. “But the businesses who are leading their industries understand that no matter how complex your products are, buyers seek out businesses who make it simple to find, configure, and augment purchases across any channel.”

Logik.io’s clients include Keysight Technologies and Club Car

Logik says its Commerce Logic Engine technology is designed to help B2B buyers find and configure complex products and services from manufacturers, SaaS software providers and service companies. Logik’s customer base includes electric testing equipment manufacturer Keysight Technologies and Club Car, a maker of golf carts and utility vehicles.

The $16 million funding was led by Emergence Capital and joined by ServiceNow Ventures and Salesforce Ventures. Logik.io has now raised a total $26 million since Shutts and Logik.io chairman Godard Abel co-founded the company in 2021. Santi Subotovsky, general partner at Emergence Capital, will join the Logik.io board.

Prior to Logik.io, Shutts and Abel co-founded BigMachines, a configure-price-quote software provider they sold in 2013 to Oracle Corp., which renamed it Oracle CPQ.

Abel also developed Steelbrick, a CPQ software firm now part of Salesforce Inc. In addition, Abel is co-founder and CEO of G2.com, an AI- and ChatGTP-backed online information resource for business software.

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