4 B2B Trends to Watch in 2024
Many B2B companies spent their 2023 worrying that AI might replace them. It happened in marketing, finance, operations, media, consulting, and others.
In 2024, we expect to see a settling down of sorts, a calmer year when AI detractors make peace with the fact that they need to live with it while AI champions find new ways to use it in their service business.
If you run a B2B company, read on to find out what to watch in 2024.
4 B2B Trends That Will Shape How You Do Business in 2024
The most significant trend here isn’t necessarily new, and it’s been on the rise for some time now: the lines between B2B and B2C are blurred, especially when it comes to how you market to each segment.
Any trend you see taking shape in the B2C world corresponds with B2B industries. After all, it’s only natural: there’s a H (Human) behind every B (business).
In fact, the first two trends we’re examining stem from this mega-trend.
Self-Fulfillment on the Rise
B2B buyers are over the whole “email us to get a quote” bit. They want seamless journeys, just like their B2C counterparts.
They want to access everything independently and gather as much information as possible before moving on to the discovery call or whatever you call it.
How to Use this 2024 B2B Trend
Let your buyers find the critical information they need:
- Reviews, case studies, customer stories- anything they could use to vet your services.
- Pricing: if you have custom pricing, at least allow your leads to see the ranges, i.e., “packages starting from $1,500/month”. This will also help you pre-qualify your leads. If your services don’t match their budget, they won’t contact you, and you’ll spend less time on needless discovery calls.
- Quick access to calendars to book discovery calls. Don’t make them email you and ask about availability. We do a similar thing for our strategy calls with SyncApps clients. They have access to our calendar and can use it anytime to book a complimentary call with our consultants.
A quick Litmus test you can use: think about all the things your leads or clients need to email or call you about. Is there any way to turn that into a self-service experience?
Look beyond leads and think about improving your existing clients’ experience, too: automate invoicing monthly payments if you have retainer clients, access to support materials, and so on.
Enough Personalization that Every Interaction Feels Like a 1:1
There’s a reason why you see personalization pop up in every trend analysis and review: the demand for it is growing across industries, year after year.
According to Salesforce, 83% of B2B buyers want to be treated like a human, not a number.
This means that they expect personalized interactions and engagements:
B2B buyers want the same thing B2C clients want. However, there’s a notable difference: B2B buyers are savvier and know more about business processes. They understand that automation can work for them and expect you to use it that way.
Unsurprisingly, with every technological advancement and every bit of information they offer you, they expect better, more personalized interactions:
How to Use This 2024 B2B Trend
First off, ask your clients what they want. Ask them about new services, add-ons, bonuses they prefer, and the content they’d like to consume.
Don’t sleep on that data or use it only as fodder to justify a new pricing strategy. Use the data to give the clients who answer your surveys precisely the kind of content they want and the kind of services they expect.
When you do so, tell them why. For instance: “Hey Jane, in a recent survey, you said you wanted to learn more about using automation to improve business processes. We created this eBook specifically for you. Download it here.”
That’s it! That’s the entire email you need to send to wow your clients or leads with advanced personalization tactics.
Pro tip: use integration to segment your clients based on their answers and target them with campaigns that reflect those answers. Better yet, you can use the same answers to sell them relevant services and products.
Let’s say you’re a Salesforce consultant who learned a lot of your clients/leads want to increase the use of automation in their business processes. You can send them an eBook about it AND pick up the phone to ask for specifics: “You said you want to use automation to improve your business processes. Which processes would you start with?”
From there on, you have the correct information to send them a personalized offer.
Integration Becomes the Norm in B2B
Integration has been the bread and butter for B2C businesses for years, while B2B companies needed to catch up. While it’s true that most B2B companies have fewer clients and leads (and, thus, less data to analyze), integration can make a world of difference.
Why?
Look at the context and the trends above.
B2B buyers demand more personalization and more relevant interactions. Without integration, you’re left with silos: a ton of relevant data scattered across platforms and close to zero insights.
Your leads are willingly giving you information and personal data; use it wisely!
How to Use This 2024 B2B Trend
Did you know that you can start integrating your mission-critical solutions like Salesforce, NetSuite, Mailchimp, and Constant Contact for free?
Some of the best use cases our clients leverage every day are:
- Use Salesforce and Mailchimp to segment leads who are ready to buy and target them with bottom-of-the-funnel content.
- Use Salesforce and Constant Contact to identify patterns: opened emails, clicks, sales calls, and more so you can pinpoint exactly where your leads are in the buyer journey.
- Use NetSuite and Mailchimp to personalize all campaigns and integrations.
This list could go on forever because integration is that ace up your sleeve that allows you to get insights without complex and expensive data analysis. You have everything you need to nail personalization and self-fulfillment in a single dashboard.
AI or Zero AI as Differentiators
Yes, I had to go there. AI was 2023’s buzzword, and it will continue to be one of the most debated topics in both B2B and B2C in 2024.
AI promises the world faster content creation, faster iterations, improved business processes, and more. But does it deliver?
In 2024, B2B companies will keep trying to find relevant use cases that justify investing in AI in terms of learning curve and software development.
Some of them, at least. Others will proudly state they stay away from AI to differentiate themselves. By 2027, 20% of brands will lean into positioning and differentiation predicated on the absence of AI in their business and products, according to Gartner.
How to Use This 2024 Trend
Which side are you on? Pro or against AI?
My advice is to keep exploring this field. However bold the claims, there are solid use cases for AI, and some of them go beyond “use ChatGPT to churn out generic content.”
If positioning yourself against AI makes sense (i.e., your audience doesn’t like it either), do it sooner rather than later. That space will get crowded as well.
2024 B2B Trends — Final Thoughts
If you leave with a single takeaway from this article, make it this one: 2024 is the year to humanize your B2B company. In the era of AI, B2B buyers are looking for the human touch more than ever — yes, even if you use AI.
A good place to start is your About page. If you still have legacy content that says, “Our team is dynamic and customer-oriented,” it’s time for an uplift. Bring real humans with real photos into it.
We can’t help you here, but you can always count on our integration solutions for the rest of these trends and leveraging them.
