2024 B2B Marketing Report: What are B2B Marketers Doing Different this year?

As we’re about to wrap up the first half of 2024, it’s clear that B2B buyer journeys are continuing to evolve, reflecting significant shifts in behavior and engagement.

We are also witnessing changes in the priorities and efforts of B2B marketing organizations which could indicate the beginning of a pivot from defensive approaches which dominated  2022-3 towards careful growth initiatives and strategies. You can find our previous report analyzing the major shifts in buyer journeys of 2023 here.

Here are the key takeaways from the 2024 Mid-Year Report:

1. Paid and Organic Growth: Paid channels saw a 120% increase, while organic and direct traffic also grew by 60%, indicating a balanced strategy of both paid and organic efforts.
2. Buyer Anonymity Rising: Only 5.31% of companies have known contacts, meaning engaging anonymous buyers is critical for B2B marketers.
3. Improved Conversion Rates: Conversion rates from accounts to deals increased by 15%, emphasizing the importance of optimized websites and targeted content.

Data and Methodology we used in the process

Before we dive in to the results, a quick recap of the sources of the data and the types of marketing organizations:

Trendemon works with over 150 B2B marketing organizations around the world. We are analyzing over 20 million monthly B2B website journeys, focusing on content engagement and connecting assets and journeys various business goals, both on and off the website.

We look at the individual journey, account and buying group levels to compile a holistic picture of how B2B companies are engaging with content, evaluating products and converting into pipeline.
For this report, we compared the first half of 2023 to the first half of 2024 to account for seasonality.

Ok, let’s dive:

B2B Marketing Report Key Findings

1. Paid is Back & Organic is on the Rise

In 2024, about two-thirds of our B2B companies saw a significant rise in paid traffic, with a 2.2x increase compared to 2023. This shows that B2B marketing strategies are shifting toward paid marketing campaigns to capture potential customers and decision makers faster.

At the same time, B2B content marketing and SEO are fueling the rise of organic traffic. Companies are focusing on creating long-term strategies by producing relevant content for their target audience. B2B businesses need a balanced marketing plan to leverage both paid and organic efforts for optimal lead generation and purchasing decisions.

2. Increasing Buyer Anonymity

In 2024, only 5.31% of companies had known contacts, reflecting a growing challenge for B2B marketing teams. With B2B buyers increasingly conducting independent research, traditional marketing efforts like lead forms are becoming less effective.

To engage these anonymous buyers, B2B companies must use personalized content and rely on customer data to infer their pain points. By leveraging data-driven strategies, B2B content marketing can nurture these leads, ensuring they remain engaged without direct interaction.

3. Improved Website Conversion Rates into Pipeline

In 2024, conversion rates from accounts to deals rose to 1.5%, a 15% improvement from the previous year. This increase shows that B2B companies are becoming more effective at turning website traffic into actionable sales opportunities.

By enhancing B2B content marketing, optimizing the customer profile experience, and refining personalization strategies, businesses are able to nurture leads and improve purchasing decisions. Marketing teams that focus on target audience engagement through data-driven methods can maximize their marketing efforts and drive more revenue.

4. Increasing Competition for Buyer Attention

In both 2023 and 2024, B2B companies faced a decline in unique visitors and page views per company. This shift is due to the growing competition for B2B buyers’ attention, requiring businesses to deliver personalized content that speaks directly to their pain points.

B2B content marketing strategies must focus on providing concise, engaging, and highly relevant information to capture attention and guide purchasing decisions. The use of multimedia, like videos and interactive content, can help retain target audience engagement and boost conversion rates.

4 Marketing Strategy Recommendations for B2B Marketers in the Second Half of 2024

1. Focus on High-Quality Content

As B2B buyers increasingly consume content independently, creating high-quality, personalized content is critical. Address the pain points and needs of your target audience by offering a mix of formats like blogs, case studies, and infographics.

This approach not only engages potential customers but also builds customer profiles that guide them through their purchasing decisions. By regularly optimizing content, your B2B marketing strategies can create long-term value and position your brand as an industry leader.

2. Optimize for Anonymity

With anonymity being common in B2B business interactions, it’s essential to enhance your B2B marketing plan by personalizing the customer experience for anonymous visitors.

By leveraging data-driven insights and behavior analytics, B2B companies can offer tailored content recommendations based on visitor interactions. Implement calls to action and personalized suggestions that cater to potential customers without requiring identification upfront.

This approach improves engagement and helps guide visitors through the marketing funnel while maintaining a seamless user experience.

3. Support the Entire Buying Group, Including Financial Decision Makers

As B2B marketing evolves, it’s crucial to tailor personalized content to the entire buying group, including CFOs and financial leaders. Create case studies and ROI calculators that highlight the economic benefits of your B2B business solutions.

Address pain points like cost savings and long-term value, using data visualizations to make financial metrics easier to understand. By aligning your content with the priorities of these decision makers, you can facilitate consensus and influence purchasing decisions across the group.

4. Shift to Account-Based Approaches

As B2B marketing strategies evolve, it’s crucial to shift from lead-level metrics to account-based marketing (ABM), focusing on the target audience at the account level. ABM allows B2B companies to deliver personalized marketing through tailored campaigns and account-based outreach.

Use customer data to measure marketing efforts and track engagement across key accounts. By aligning sales and marketing teams, you can create cohesive campaigns that improve conversion rates and drive higher return on investment from your most valuable opportunities.

Conclusion

Understanding and adapting to these evolving buyer journeys is crucial for success in the competitive B2B landscape. As we continue through 2024, keeping a pulse on these trends and benchmarks will help B2B marketers effectively capture and convert their ideal customer profiles. Stay tuned for our next post, where we will dive deeper into the role of brand within this new demand generation framework.