B2Bs, Not Just B2Cs, Should Adopt Real-Time Marketing Practices

Many businesses have embraced digital marketing and social media marketing, but what if simply having a presence on the web is no longer enough? That’s what a new study from Monetate and Econsultancy proclaims. Real-time marketing has done exceedingly well for the B2C market, and their study says that the B2B market can benefit from real time marketing as well.

As it is, 65 percent of B2B companies currently utilize real-time marketing. However, 87 percent of those B2B companies surveyed said that “real-time marketing is essential as behavior, device, place and time come together.”

Real-time marketing essentially means having an “always on” approach to digital marketing and social media. Also called “agile marketing,” the concept employs social media platforms like Twitter or Facebook, where hashtags are used to navigate and boost certain topics.

A survey by eMarketer asked what marketing professionals consider real-time marketing tactics:

• Personalizing content or creative in response to customer interactions (76%)
• Responding to customers in context of their web interaction (74%)
• Responding to trends and specific cultural events in social media (68%)
• Live website chat (66%)
• Triggered emails (54%)
• Engaging with prospects and customers on social media with content and offers (49%)
• Mobile apps with geofencing (42%)

Those who took part in the survey were asked what they believed were the main benefits of real-time B2B marketing:

• Better customer experience (60%)
• Improved customer retention (40%)
• Improved conversion rates (37%)
• Better brand perception (28%)
• Greater opportunity for personalization (13%)

Finally, twenty-six percent of B2B marketers claim a lift in conversion rates when utilizing real-time marketing.

Sources:

• “Real-Time Marketing About More than Social.” 2014. eMarketer.com
• “What does real-time marketing mean for B2B?” 2014. Econsultancy.com