B2B marketing trends and challenges in 2022

As a digital agency specialised in creating websites for B2B tech and SaaS companies, we think it’s important to keep up to date with the current trends and challenges our clients are facing at the moment. We also aim to stay ahead of the curve by knowing what’s coming up in the industry and how we can apply it in our work. 

Our SEO and PPC specialist team, Clarity Performance, partnered with FINITE, the private, global community for marketers in B2B tech and SaaS, to find out what we can expect in the coming year. They’ve put together an in-depth report with expert comments from leading B2B tech marketers.  

The results are fascinating! That’s why we’ve picked out a few of our favourites to share. Some are pleasantly surprising, others are inspiring, and all of the key findings are useful for guiding B2B tech marketing strategies and objectives in 2022. 

“71% of B2B tech marketers have an optimistic outlook going into 2022.”

Overall, the report paints a positive picture of the coming year, as B2B tech marketers are ready and excited to take on new challenges and conquer uncertainty. We hope our clients will embark and continue on their website projects with a similar optimism, and we believe 2022 has success in store for B2B tech as a whole. 

“80% of B2B tech companies were able to meet or outperform their marketing targets in 2021.”

In response to another optimistic statistic, we’re pleased to see that B2B tech marketers are not just surviving, but thriving in their roles. Given this statistic, it’s no wonder they are hopeful about consistent results this year. By setting realistic goals, creating careful plans and measuring the right KPIs, marketing success and business growth is highly achievable. A big congratulations to those marketing teams who have outshone their own objectives!

“Over three quarters of B2B tech marketers state that support and understanding for marketing at board or senior leadership level is increasing in their organisation.”

This finding is inline with our own observations as a web agency. We’ve noticed increased support from senior leadership in our own projects, as board executives are paying more attention to the importance and impact of marketing. They’re more hands-on with decision making and allocate larger budgets to creating best possible digital-first buying experiences for their clients and customers. It’s interesting that where support for marketing is remaining the same, those organisations already had a high amount from board and senior leadership level. This is great news for B2B tech marketers!

“64% of B2B marketing budgets have increased in 2022, up from 35% in 2021.”

The proof is in the pudding. With increased support from senior leadership, B2B tech marketers are receiving larger budgets and therefore more freedom to play with new channels and tools, employ external agencies for expert consultation and execution, and generally give their marketing a huge boost. We can’t wait to see what B2B tech marketers do with their larger budgets this year, and hope to see innovation and creativity in new strategies, and better websites of course. 

“More than half of B2B tech marketers cannot measure the impact of marketing on revenue.”

As an agency, we get our kicks from seeing clients soar with success. From there, we can know what’s working and what needs changing so they’ll soar even higher. This is why attribution is essential! We always ensure that appropriate metrics are chosen and tracked on each website, to improve conversion rates, time spent on a page, and SEO factors like keyword ranking. 

Furthermore, to attribute ROI to these is key, in order to directly prove the value of a good website on revenue and business growth. Come on B2B tech marketers! Let’s start measuring marketing’s impact on revenue, to secure more buy-in and budget for more growth, and even better websites that give your customer a flawless digital-first buying experience. 

“40% of B2B tech marketers think SEO was a channel that grew the most in importance in 2021.”

All of our websites are strategically designed and developed with SEO in mind from the get go. Therefore, we might be a little bit biased when it comes to this statistic. We can’t help but agree with 40% of B2B tech marketers who believe that SEO is an important channel and is only getting more important as years go by. As B2B buyers increasingly look to Google to solve their challenges, SEO presents a great opportunity for B2B tech companies to present their solutions and meet their customers where they are. 

Take a look at this guide on SEO to see how you can get started, or to check that your SEO strategy is up to scratch with current standards. 

“74% of B2B tech organisations will invest more in brand marketing in 2022.”

With overcrowded categories and similar products, B2B tech can be highly competitive, as organisations look to win the hearts of prospects over others. To do this, more B2B tech marketers are recognising the need for a strong brand. We see it a lot within the agency, with clients maintaining a focus on brand-led design in their briefs and throughout projects. 

However, brand marketing is more than just a colour scheme, logo and aesthetically impressive website. Brand marketing is how you tell your story. It’s the identity of your organisation embedded in the minds of customers and employees. We think brand marketing is just as important as fast-growth performance tactics, and always aim to showcase a brand in it’s true and best form, throughout a B2B website. 

We hope that these statistics will inspire B2B tech marketers to go forth with enthusiasm and hope for their strategies and campaigns this year. Whether that includes a new website, new channels or new tactics, we’ll aim to stay ahead of the curve and delight our clients with innovation and creativity. 

If you’d like to read the full report to find out more about ABM, events, email, and MarTech, head here. 

And if you’re a B2B tech marketer and aren’t a part of the FINITE community yet, we highly recommend applying for a free membership. You’ll get access to events, networking opportunities, peer support and a fortnightly newsletter so that you can keep up to date with the latest industry trends.