Over nine in 10 (93%) are bullish on their team’s ability to drive revenue in the year ahead, and more than eight in 10 (85%) expect budgets to increase, according to new research from LinkedIn, a professional network and B2B advertising platform.
From what it’s understood, LinkedIn’s ‘2024 B2B Marketing Benchmark’, which’s a study of over 2,000 B2B marketing leaders globally, conducted ahead of the 2024 Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity, has found that while 76% of B2B CMOs in India have struggled to reach buyers due to competing demands, the majority (94%) agree that relationship building is key to success.
Seemingly, B2B buying cycles involve six to 10 stakeholders in the buying group. It’s believed that they require, on average, 17 interactions with a company before completing a purchase. To build these connections, 86% of B2B marketing leaders are understood to focus on developing creative content, and 69% agree that it is helping them improve brand engagement and drive conversions.
Reportedly, marketing professionals are leading the charge on AI adoption and building AI proficiency as they look to improve ROI. Data suggests that three in four B2B marketing leaders in India are already using generative AI applications in their marketing activities, and they say it has helped accelerate content creation (43%), create cost efficiencies (39%), and improve productivity (38%). Moreover, LinkedIn data has found a 142 times increase in LinkedIn members globally adding AI literacy skills to their profiles, with marketers topping this list.
“I believe the significance of cultivating relationships and building a brand cannot be overstated. A B2B landscape and buyer influence seem to have made it more crucial for marketers to target bigger groups. That’s why building collective confidence is considered essential and should help with brand recognition and sustained engagement. In the long run, an approach that integrates creativity, relationships, and financial decisions, ensuring investments align with ROI, should help B2B marketers find success and maintain a competitive edge,” Sachin Sharma, director, LinkedIn Marketing Solutions, India, said.