While most B2C marketers now have well-established ‘mobile-first’ strategies to connect with customers throughout the customer journey, the process has had a longer seeding process in the world of B2B content marketing. However, developments are now taking off at a cracking pace, with a wave of B2B marketers now expanding to provide mobile-optimised experiences across all touch points – including apps, websites, landing pages, email and social media. And there’s a good reason why.
The B2B marketer is already famed for understanding complex purchasing decisions, sales cycles and triggers, and when this skill is combined with a mobile CRM strategy they are able to provide businesses with valuable, easy-to-access content to aid the decision-making process. Having upgraded their websites with mobile-friendly, responsive designs, many B2B brands are now making serious investments in mobile apps as the next giant leap forward. A staggering 70% of marketers now see mobile marketing as a critical enabler of their business – and we’d agree!
Why apps?
The power of apps lies in the ability to engage and provide added value, be it the ability to make in-app purchases, access premium content, or connect directly to the sales force. Integrating apps with your CRM can deliver on the promise of a personalised customer journey that so many business partners seek these days. According to Salesforce, 52% of marketers now say that mobile app technology is one of the technologies most critical to creating a cohesive customer journey.
In 2016, we’re due to see even more B2B firms incorporate apps as part of their content marketing strategy. As more employees use their own portable devices for work, mobile apps are becoming an essential component. It’s no secret by now that professionals often wish to work directly from their smartphones. For example, field sales reps are frequently working miles away from their desks and closing deals in person. These professionals need flexible tools at their disposal – tools that they’re comfortable using.
So, what key benefits can apps bring to the B2B marketing sector?
On the move capabilities
Field service represents a relatively untapped but growing opportunity for marketers to differentiate brand experiences and improve customer satisfaction, while also driving more revenue. Here, mobile apps can enable organisations to extend customer service capabilities to the field – and help field agents complete complex purchasing deals on the move.
Through these tools, field agents can access useful data and processes across the front and back office through their smartphone. This offers them a complete view of the customer and shows them what the next best action might be to close the sale, based on a complete assessment of that situation in real time.
Simplicity
Mobile apps are perfect for easily presenting detailed information and making orders simple. As a general rule, those apps which are designed to be as user friendly as possible are always the most popular, so why make things more complicated? For example, by adding a barcode scanner where you can scan an existing product to instantly place another order, you’re speeding up the process even further for field agents. Including functions which make placing an order or finding out product and shipping details as simple as possible are sure to go down well with your target businesses.
Multi-channel marketing
Apps can be one of the most cost-effective ways for businesses to bolster their content marketing strategy, connecting both the offline and online worlds. B2B marketers are already using apps for webinars, managing their databases, running online communities and finding out what people are saying about their brand in social media – but the true benefit comes from integrating all these functions as one.
Social media, webinars and events are the three most popular parts of the content marketing app ecosystem and there are already marketing applications out there to support these areas– such as plug-ins for Facebook or Twitter, or even webinar programmes, such as WebEx.
Generating leads
Another benefit from this type of integrated marketing app is also the more detailed and holistic view of prospects and customers it offers. In the long term, this means more leads are generated as you can see at a glance which prospect may have already attended your event or taken part in your webinar, to determine how far along they are on the buyer journey.