By Elizabeth Darcy-Potts, UK lead at Pipeline360
As we approach the start of autumn trade show season in the UK, exhibiting vendors will be all smiles. But under the surface, these are unnerving times for B2B marketers. Even the most optimistic estimates admit event attendance has not rebounded from pre-COVID levels. This reflects what many have known for some time: buyer journeys are predominantly made online today. They’re also more complex, making the sales process longer, less linear, and harder to track.
Our research bears this out. Some 78% of UK B2B marketers tell us they’re seeing longer sales cycles—more than their peers in the U.S. (70%) and APAC (73%). Nurturing leads in this new landscape will require a rethink of what’s needed to deliver the best outcomes.
Longer, larger and more complex
UK PLC is experiencing a prolonged period of belt tightening, driven by persistently high inflation and interest rates. Increases to the National Living Wage and employers’ National Insurance Contributions are keeping labour costs high even as unemployment is set to rise. Unsurprisingly, nearly half (47%) of UK marketers we spoke to cite economic uncertainty as a top three challenge. That’s due in no small part to the impact it’s having on B2B buyers.
They tell us buying groups have expanded to up to 20 people, including new stakeholders from finance. This is shifting behaviours to a more risk-averse mindset focused on short-term costs rather than longer-term value. When these new personas appear, often late on in the buying process, sales cycles lengthen and in some cases deals are shelved.
These cycles aren’t just getting longer, they’re also harder to influence, thanks to the outsized role digital now plays. Each member of those swollen buying groups might do their own online research and then influence one another in a complex, decision-making process. They may be 70% of the way through their journey before even engaging with a sales rep, driving down close rates.
Build on the wins
All of the above can put major strain on B2B marketing budgets and teams. But there are some positives to build on. We found that UK marketers are the strongest globally at identifying individuals in buying groups, and they are the most mature in terms of market analysis. Over half prioritise the latter when devising strategy, versus 46% in the US.
That’s a great start. But there’s still room for improvement. Nearly half (47%) of UK respondents identify lead qualification and scoring as a top area where they could drive more effective nurturing. This is where AI can help. By training algorithms on large sets of historical data, it can be taught to spot complex patterns from which a lead’s readiness to buy can be inferred. By automating lead scoring in this way, you free up marketing teams to work on higher value tasks.
AI also comes into its own for content creation. UK teams are more likely (56%) than their US peers (47%) to cite content personalisation as a promising lever for improving lead nurturing. By using generative AI, they can tweak blog posts, white papers, email campaigns and more, to make them more relevant for different personas. Within seconds, it can do work that may once have taken hours. As long as there’s a human in the loop to review and approve, AI offers another fantastic way to liberate talent for more important jobs.
Filling the pipeline
By delivering compelling, relevant content like this, B2B marketers can ensure their brands become a trusted resource for prospects—increasing the likelihood that they will engage when ready to do so. But given that they may remain in-funnel for extended periods of time, there’s a growing need to build brand awareness alongside brand equity.
A great way to do so is by combining digital advertising with advanced content syndication, so that prospects are more familiar with a brand before they even fill out a form. It should mean they’re more likely to engage and, ultimately, convert. We call this approach “Branded Demand”.
The dynamics contributing to longer, more complex sales cycles are unlikely to shift any time soon. That means B2B marketers need to be in the game for the long haul. A Branded Demand strategy drives higher engagement, builds trust and fills the pipeline with high-quality leads—for today, and tomorrow.
