Over the next nine years, the global marketing automation market will grow at a CAGR of over 12%. Want to know why?
Technology is the key to success when it comes to business-to-business (B2B) marketing efforts. By utilizing the right marketing automation tools, you can improve your lead generation, sales processes, and connect with more potential customers.
But what are the best martech tools for B2B marketers? And how can you make sure that you're using them effectively? In this article, we'll answer these questions and provide an overview of the most essential tools in the global marketing technology landscape.
What Is Martech?
Martech is short for "marketing technology." It refers to all the different technologies and tools marketers use to achieve their marketing goals. This includes everything from email marketing tools to social media management platforms to CRM systems.
How Does Martech Fit Into the B2B Marketing Process?
In the old days, most B2B marketing was done offline. Salespeople would travel to meet with potential customers in person, and they would use printed brochures and other marketing materials to pitch their products and services.
Yeah. Nightmare.
Today, things are a bit different. Most B2B purchases are now made online, and buyers often do their research on the web before making a purchase decision. As a result, B2B marketers need to use digital marketing technology and techniques to reach their target audience.
The right B2B marketing tech stack can help you do this by allowing you to connect with buyers online, track their behavior, and personalize your messages to suit their needs.
Why Is Martech Important for B2B Marketing?
There are three main reasons why a solid B2B martech stack is vital for B2B marketing:
1. It Helps You Reach Your Target Audience
To get in front of your potential customers, you need to know where they hang out online and what types of content interest them. Marketing automation platforms can help you learn more about your target audience so you can design a better website, write more compelling blog posts, and share relevant social media updates.
2. It Allows You To Track Prospect Behavior
Marketing technology tools enable you to track how people interact with your site after they arrive via an ad or a link from another site. This information can help you determine which marketing channels are most effective and which content is most appealing to your audience.
3. It Helps You Personalize Your Messages
When you know your target audience’s interests, you can personalize your marketing messages to match their interests. This can increase the likelihood that they will respond to your calls to action and eventually purchase your products or services. The result — boosted company revenue.
We've answered the question of what B2B martech is and discussed how it fits into your B2B marketing efforts. Now, let's take a look at some of the most crucial marketing technology tools for B2B marketers.
The Top Martech Tools for B2B Marketing
1. Email Marketing Tools
Email is a vital martech tool for B2B marketers because it allows you to directly reach out to your audience. Email marketing helps you nurture prospects over time, so they eventually become actual customers.
You can use email marketing services to design and send HTML emails that link back to your website. There, you can then give them more information about your products or services. You can also include a call-to-action button in your email that takes the reader to a microsite, which could be used to get their contact information or sell a product online.
Top email marketing tools:
AWeber – AWeber is an all-in-one email tool that lets you develop a subscriber base, create and send newsletters, track results, and more.
MailChimp – MailChimp is a popular email marketing tool that lets you build premium-quality newsletters, follow metrics, and beyond.
2. Social Media Management Tools
Social media management tools help you keep track of all your social media accounts in one place so you can easily see what's being said about your brand and respond quickly if necessary. They also help you schedule posts ahead of time, saving you a lot of time.
Top social media management tools:
- Hootsuite – Hootsuite is a popular social media management tool that lets you manage Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn accounts — not to mention schedule posts.
- Sprout Social – This social media management tool lets you control multiple accounts simultaneously, such as Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn.
3. Landing Page Tools
Landing pages are pages on your website that are designed to capture leads. They usually have a form where visitors can enter their contact information in exchange for something of value, such as an ebook, a white paper, or a free trial of your product or service.
Top landing page tools:
- LeadPages – LeadPages is a popular landing page tool that lets you create and publish landing pages quickly and easily. It also comes with built-in analytics to track your results in generating leads.
- Unbounce – Unbounce is another tool that simplifies landing page development. You can still track your lead generation results using built-in analytics.
4. Campaign Management Tools
Campaign management tools help B2B marketers manage their marketing campaigns over time, resulting in higher campaign ROI. They come with features such as campaign creation and segmentation, ad development and testing, and conversion tracking and reporting to help you identify where your spend is going and what's working best for your audience.
Top campaign management tools:
- HubSpot – HubSpot is an all-in-one marketing tool that includes many of the martech tools you'll need for your campaigns, such as landing pages, customer data management, email marketing, SEO, and web analytics. For many, it's all they need for a martech stack.
- Pardot – Pardot offers a comparable suite of martech tools for all you need, such as lead nurturing, content management, advertising channels, and contact databases. This is an excellent option for big companies who need a premium martech stack.
5. SEO Tools
SEO is one of the most critical elements in B2B marketing today because it helps drive traffic to your website organically. It can also help improve your site's page ranking — that way, you can be found more easily when potential customers search for keywords related to your business.
Top SEO tools:
- Moz – This toolkit offers a comprehensive set of SEO services like keyword research, site audits, and link building.
- SEMrush – SEMrush offers a suite of professional SEO tools, including keyword research, competitor analysis, and backlink tracking.
6. Website Creation Tools
Website creation tools help you build a website quickly and easily without having to learn coding or design. They come with templates and drag-and-drop builders that make it easy to create a website that looks great and functions well.
Top website creation tools:
- Wix – Wix is a popular website creation tool that lets you create a website quickly and easily using its drag-and-drop builder. It also includes free hosting and domain names.
- Weebly – Weebly is another drag-and-drop builder that allows you to create a website without any technical knowledge. This plan includes everything you need to get started, including a free domain name and web hosting.
7. Visual Content Marketing Tools
Visual content marketing tools help digital marketers generate an online presence for their business using visuals, such as images, infographics, slideshows, GIFs, videos, etc.
Top visual content marketing tools:
- Adobe Creative Cloud – The Adobe CC suite provides B2B marketers with all the tools they need to create stunning visuals that engage audiences. These include Photoshop for images, Illustrator for illustrations, InDesign for ebooks, Premiere Pro for videos, After Effects for animations, Audition for editing audio files, Prelude for ingesting footage into your workflow, and Media Encoder for encoding video files.
- Canva – Canva is a popular visual content marketing tool that lets you easily create visuals using its intuitive builder. It includes many free templates and images, as well as paid options for premium images and graphics.
8. CRM Tools
Customer relationship management is an indispensable part of B2B marketing, CRM tools help you manage and track all of your customer interactions in one place: features include contact management, lead tracking, deal tracking, email marketing integrations, and more.
Top CRM tools:
- Salesforce – Salesforce is the most popular CRM tool, and it comes with a suite of features for managing your customers' interactions. It also integrates with many other martech tools to provide actionable insights.
- Microsoft Dynamics 365 – Microsoft Dynamics 365 is a comprehensive CRM tool that comes with all the features you need to manage your customer relationships. It also integrates with many other Microsoft tools such as Office 365 and Power BI for a complete view of your business.
How to Pick the Right Marketing Automation Tool
With so many marketing automation platforms out there, it can be challenging to decide which one is right for your tech stack. Here are a few tips to help you choose:
1. Define your needs
Before choosing a marketing automation tool, you need to define your needs. What features do you need? What integrations do you require? What is your budget? Once you have answered these questions, you can start to narrow down your options.
2. Try before you buy
Many marketing automation platforms offer free trials so you can try them out before you commit. This is a great way to see which platform works best for your needs.
3. Read reviews
Reading reviews is a great way to understand how a platform works and what its users think of it. Be sure to read reviews from both customers and experts to get the most accurate picture.
4. Ask around
If you're unsure where to start, ask your peers or colleagues for recommendations. They may have experience with different marketing automation platforms and be able to recommend one that is perfect for your marketing strategy.
Start Marketing B2B Like A Pro Today
Now that you know the what, how, and why of the B2B marketing technology landscape, it's time to get started. These tools will help you create a successful and profitable B2B marketing campaign. So what are you waiting for? Start marketing like a pro today!
Need some help making sure you're taking full advantage of your martech stack? Portage Labs can help! Contact us today for more info.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
What is B2B marketing?
B2B marketing is the process of marketing to businesses rather than consumers. It includes the use of digital marketing tools and techniques combined in a tech stack to reach and engage businesses.
What are the different types of B2B marketing?
There are many different types of B2B marketing, but some common ones include lead generation, email marketing, content marketing, SEO, website creation, and visual content marketing.
What are the benefits of using B2B marketing tools?
The benefits of using B2B marketing tools include increased website traffic, improved SEO, more leads generated, and better conversion rates. Combined together in a tech stack, these tools can help improve overall business outcomes.
