Table Of Contenti
PRAISE FOR B2B DIGITAL MARKETING STRATEGY
‘A brilliant, rare and impactful insight into areas to consider when creating
a B2B digital marketing strategy. Great guidance on how to think about
your customer journey throughout the process, not just in the implementation
phases. Highly recommend this read as an essential for all marketers.’
Catherine Dutton, Vice President Marketing, Atos
‘Simon Hall has written a B2B Marketing primer for the 2020s, which, by
definition, deals with the realities of a digital first world. This is long over-
due in the world of B2B Marketing and will no doubt become a standard
source for the discipline.
I recognize through my own practice that this digital transformation from
“outbound” marketing – or a “tell” approach – to inbound, customer
journey-focused marketing, with all of its personalized digital touchpoints
and omni-channel focus is today’s B2B marketing reality and Simon does a
good job of comprehensively covering all of the key elements, from content,
to social, SEO, SEM and Web – as well as the enabling infrastructure: martech,
data, marketing processes (eg lead nurturing, ABM) and analytics. Simon
presents a best-practice approach to each, steeped in personal experience and
in that of leading companies in the technology market. He provides theoretical
context and practical how-to guidance, with great detail on management and
execution across the buyers’ journey.
The chapter on digital strategy points to the need for digital to be a clear
part of the overall marketing strategy which delivers clear outcomes based
on business goals. Too often in my experience, marketing strategy is confused
with annual budget and resource planning, so the tools and approach Simon
summarizes here are a useful reminder to understand the context of your
digital strategy.
This book is a really valuable addition to the B2B marketing armoury
and is highly recommended for those who intend to build their career in
marketing.’
Ceri Jones, former Vice President, Global Demand Centre and Operations,
Basware Oyj
ii
‘Digital marketing continues to be a minefield for marketers, especially
those in B2B where extended decision-making groups and lengthy sales
cycles pervade. Clear, engaging and practical, B2B Digital Marketing
Strategy helps navigate the complexities of digital marketing.’
Richard Robinson, Chairman, B2B Council, DMA
‘This is a well-written book suitable for both beginners and seasoned
practitioners on a topic that’s very important to business today. The case
studies and tips are practical and useful for any business.’
Jayson Gehri, Executive Director, Marketing, IBM
‘Whether you are new to digital marketing strategy in general or looking to
brush up on a specific topic, this is a very useful read. It’s informative, easy
to navigate, and gives you the tools to understand and implement a great
digital strategy in your company.’
Amalie Lyneborg, Head of Marketing, Sturrock & Robson
iii
B2B Digital Marketing Strategy
How to use new frameworks and models
to achieve growth
Simon Hall
iv
Publisher’s note
Every possible effort has been made to ensure that the information contained in this book is
accurate at the time of going to press, and the publisher and author cannot accept
responsibility for any errors or omissions, however caused. No responsibility for loss or
damage occasioned to any person acting, or refraining from action, as a result of the material
in this publication can be accepted by the editor, the publisher or the author.
First published in Great Britain and the United States in 2020 by Kogan Page Limited
Apart from any fair dealing for the purposes of research or private study, or criticism or review, as
permitted under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, this publication may only be
reproduced, stored or transmitted, in any form or by any means, with the prior permission in
writing of the publishers, or in the case of reprographic reproduction in accordance with the terms
and licences issued by the CLA. Enquiries concerning reproduction outside these terms should be
sent to the publishers at the undermentioned addresses:
2nd Floor, 45 Gee Street 122 W 27th St, 10th Floor 4737/23 Ansari Road
London New York, NY 10001 Daryaganj
EC1V 3RS USA New Delhi 110002
United Kingdom India
www.koganpage.com
Kogan Page books are printed on paper from sustainable forests.
© Simon Hall, 2020
The right of Simon Hall to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by him in
accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
ISBNs
Hardback 978 1 78966 256 6
Paperback 978 1 78966 254 2
eBook 978 1 78966 255 9
British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data
A CIP record for this book is available from the British Library.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Hall, Simon, 1971- author.
Title: B2B digital marketing strategy : how to use new frameworks and
models to achieve growth / Simon Hall.
Description: London ; New York, NY : Kogan Page, 2020. | Includes
bibliographical references and index. |
Identifiers: LCCN 2020009464 (print) | LCCN 2020009465 (ebook) | ISBN
9781789662542 (paperback) | ISBN 9781789662566 (hardback) | ISBN
9781789662559 (ebook)
Subjects: LCSH: Internet marketing. | Internet advertising. | Social
media–Marketing. | Data transmission systems.
Classification: LCC HF5415.1265 H35155 2020 (print) | LCC HF5415.1265
(ebook) | DDC 658.8/72–dc23
Typeset by Integra Software Services, Pondicherry
Print production managed by Jellyfish
Printed and bound by CPI Group (UK) Ltd, Croydon CR0 4YY
v
Thank you Laura for your inexhaustible source of positivity
and perseverance, as well as your boundless energy, all of which
have inspired me in writing this book
vi
THIS PAGE IS INTENTIONALLY LEFT BLANK
vii
CONTENTS
About the author xiv
Preface xv
01 The new evolving business landscape 1
Introduction 1
Changes to the marketing discipline 2
New changes in sales 4
The new B2B customer 6
Legislation and ethics 8
Technologies and influence 9
The social organization 11
References 12
Further reading 13
PART ONE
Developing the B2B digital strategy
15
02 B2B digital marketing strategy 17
Introduction 17
The digital marketing strategy matrix 19
Defining the digital strategy – first steps 21
Alignment: achieving strategic alignment 26
Evaluating and selecting strategies 27
Digital marketing strategies 29
References 31
03 B2B customer journeys and the customer experience 32
Introduction 32
Customer experience 36
Customer touchpoints 38
Touchpoint mapping 39
Final considerations 46
Inbound and outbound views of customer journeys 46
viii CONTENTS
References 48
Further reading 48
04 B2B personalization marketing and buyer personas 49
Introduction 49
Types of B2B personalization 51
B2B personalization by channel 54
The B2B personalization marketing pyramid 59
The buyer persona 61
Progressive profiling 64
References 66
Further reading 66
05 B2B customer insights and data management 68
Introduction 68
Customer insights framework 69
Methods for gathering customer insights in B2B 70
Quantitative customer insight methods 72
Qualitative customer insight methods 75
Customer data management 77
Types of data in marketing 78
Data analytics 80
References 82
Further reading 82
PART TWO
The early buyer journey stage
83
06 Generating awareness 85
Introduction 85
The early buying journey stage 86
B2B digital advertising 88
Types of advertisement targeting 93
B2B social media advertising 96
Selecting advertising channels 96
Ad retargeting 97
B2B content syndication channels 98
PR and online PR 99
CONTENTS ix
Influencer marketing 100
References 104
Further reading 104
07 B2B SEO and search strategies 106
Introduction 106
B2B search engine marketing 107
B2B SEO 108
Keywords and key phrases 110
The long tail of search in B2B 111
Keyword and competitor research 113
Keywords and the buyer journey 114
Link building 115
Tools for search engine marketing 117
B2B SEM strategies 117
References 119
Further reading 119
08 B2B websites and website strategies 120
Introduction 120
Designing a website for B2B 122
Website conversion in B2B 125
Evaluating B2B websites 125
Managing bounce rates 127
Website navigation 128
Heatmaps 130
B2B website strategies 131
Other website technologies 132
References 135
Further reading 135
PART THREE
Digital for lead generation and lead nurturing
137
09 B2B digital marketing for lead generation 139
Introduction 139
Lead capture 141
Gated content 142
