5 Barriers to Growth Facing B-to-B Marketers — and How to Overcome Them

A recent B2B International survey of large businesses serving B-to-B markets reveals that marketers are optimistic about their growth prospects but face numerous challenges that could hold them back.

Fifty-seven percent of those surveyed said they expect an increase to their marketing budgets this year, compared to last year, when 38% of marketers surveyed predicted the same. Just 13% expect a decrease in budgets. Regardless of industry, those in trades and services (e.g., retail, hospitality, transportation and energy) are more optimistic about their marketing budgets than knowledge-based sectors such as IT, financial services, health care and education.

Amid this optimism, there are five challenges that could hold B-to-B marketers back.

1. Building Market Share

Faced by 56% of organizations, inertia is one of the biggest barriers to growth in B-to-B markets, meaning it is difficult getting people to switch from competing brands and suppliers. Market research can provide vital insights on how to break the loyalty to competitors, and the biggest triggers to drive brand switching.

2. Innovation

Innovation has consistently been a top challenge for the last four years. This year more than half (54%) of marketers indicated it is a top business challenge. Nearly 50% of organizations rate their performance a six or below on having a structured process to innovation, suggesting that a systematic approach to ideation, concept development and product assessment (including market research) is lacking from a substantial number of businesses. “For many organizations, at least 30% of their products have been developed within the past 5 years,” says Julia Cupman, vice president of B2B International USA, Inc. “This puts significant pressure on businesses to constantly innovate to outperform competitors.”

3. Retaining Customers

In a strengthening economy, customers have higher demands as they typically spend more compared to when markets are turbulent. Just one slightly negative experience could lose a business a customer. With their increasing marketing budgets, marketers are aggressively reminding the market of the reasons to purchase their products, meaning buyers can be highly aware of the brand and product choices available to them. For these reasons, 50% of businesses feel retaining customers is a challenge in a highly competitive market.

4. Improving Internal Processes

Businesses recognize that challenges are not only external. Half of marketers indicate internal processes, such as CRM and training, can be improved. This challenge has also become more widespread, with 11% more marketers identifying it as a challenge than in 2014. Keeping up with the latest technology is now challenging just under a third of organizations (31%) compared to around a fifth (21%) in 2014. With this in mind, businesses are embracing digital trends to drive efficiency and knowledge. The top three trending topics expected to influence marketing strategies and practices over the next five years are digital transformation (91%), Big Data (85%) and the internet of things (70%).

5. Countering the Competition

Nearly half (49%) of marketers say they are challenged by countering the competition. Thirty-eight percent claim they have a marketing strategy in place that focuses on competitor analysis, and 41% believe competitor research would be among the most useful types of research studies to invest in within the next two years. Such market research can be useful for identifying competitor weaknesses as well as their priorities.

The Top Strategy for Growth: Branding

The most popular marketing strategy across the U.S. and Europe is branding, with 6 in 10 marketers currently focusing on initiatives to grow and defend their brand(s). Still, many marketers and corporate research professionals face challenges in building their brands:

• Only 41% believe their organization has a strong USP (unique selling proposition).
• Only 43% perform well in measuring their brand health regularly.

Those in trades and services rate their brand performance higher than other industries. This could reflect investment in their brands as this industry group is also the most optimistic about budget increases.

Brand is a value driver and must continue to be the focus of marketers and corporate researchers to fuel long-term growth. Investing in the brand will mitigate many of the challenges currently faced. A strong brand drives appeal and demand (to build market share and counter the competition), supports innovation (people are more open to trying a new product or service from a brand they know) and correlates strongly with loyalty and advocacy (an admired and valued brand is a key reason a customer will stay loyal and tell others about it).

About the survey: The research comprises a longitudinal online survey (annual waves) conducted by B2B International, with the most recent wave fielded in October and November of 2017. The total sample size was 356 (57% in Europe and 43% in the U.S.) and comprised large businesses (the average business revenue was $3.05 billion). All respondents were required to have a responsibility for marketing or research.

About the Author | B2B International

B2B International is the largest business-to-business market research firm with offices across North America, Europe and Asia. The company serves a wide range of sectors from traditional heavy industry to financial and business services, and it counts 600 of the world’s largest 1,500 companies among its client base.