7 B2B marketing themes from 2022

Like most, I'm thinking about a lot of things as we wrap up 2022.

One thing in particular that stands out is that events are back. Over the past 12 months, I have attended and participated in several in-person, virtual and hybrid events. It has been uplifting to reconnect with colleagues as well as customers, partners and industry peers and experts.

Looking back on these events (and my time in California, Chicago, Portugal, and sometimes in my own living room), I recap the top trends and takeaways for B2B marketers.

1. To create enthusiastic fans, map your marketing strategy along the customer journey

Earlier this year, during G2's CMO Consult webinar, I spoke with Udi Ledergor, Gong CMO, and Sydney Sloan, former CMO at Salesloft. Both companies were nominated for G2's Best Software Awards 2022, based on verified reviews from real users coupled with impressive market presence.

What did it take for both companies to climb the rankings? As for Gong, "creating crazy fans" is their number one operating principle. Ledergor advised not just creating these raving fans, but interacting with them to increase their fandom, which makes everything infinitely easier for sales and marketing.

However, we know that for your customers to become advocates, you need to have a deep understanding of their wants, needs, concerns, and preferences. During our conversation, Sloan said representing the voice of the customer and understanding the customer journey is the primary role of marketing.

Tip: Learn more about G2's CMO consultation and watch the recorded webinar.

2. Drive your marketing strategy with customer-centric insights

Fast forward to summer, and I was joined by a trio of powerhouse B2B software CMOs in Chicago for G2 Live: Chicago Summer Social. Maria Pergolino, CMO of ActiveCampaign; Latané Conant, CMO of 6sense; and Jamie Gilpin, CMO at Sprout Social, three of the top leaders in their respective software categories, discussed the role of customer-driven growth.

Based on my notes from the CMO Consult webinar, we took it a step further. How to effectively tap into the voice of the customer?

Gilpin believes that valuable customer insights can be gathered simply by listening to sales conversations and interacting directly with customers. Having these conversations allows marketers to fully understand how the product is used, its reach, and the challenges users face.

Tip: Watch the G2 Live: Chicago Summer Social recording and learn more about this event.

The Conant team ensures that trade deals, wins and losses are compiled and shared monthly across the organization. According to her, this low-cost strategy is statistically relevant and helps tell the customer's story to internal stakeholders.

Pergolino explained that the voice of customers is part of his company's DNA. No wonder they got over 10,000 reviews on G2!

3. Buying software is getting more and more complex, so it's up to software companies to make it easier

At the annual SaaStr event, I flew to the San Francisco Bay Area to reveal the findings of G2's 2022 Software Buyer Behavior Report. The annual survey of more than 1,000 global software decision makers indicated that the software buying journey is only getting more and more complex.

The majority of respondents said that the following is not only true for their software purchases, but these percentages are all higher than last year: decision makers change frequently (68%), parties Stakeholders are added regularly (71%), project scope changes often (70%), decisions are made by consensus (79%).

Add to this extra complexity the best of buyers...