B2B customers can be confusing to understand. The mistake is made in trying to understand a large, unclear picture, which is what businesses seem to do. Instead, it is much easier to understand more minor and explicit images. That is what customer segmentation allows for your business. It divides your customer base into smaller segments based on their wants and needs.
B2B segmentation is more helpful than you could first imagine. Notify Visitors states that 80% of companies that use market segmentation have reported increased sales.
So, now more than ever, it is essential to understand the future trends of B2B segmentation. This article will focus on the recent trends in customer segmentation and how they are game changers in the B2B industry.
10 Future Trends Of B2B Segmentation To Look Out For
The speed of technological advancements ensures that there are new trends in B2B segmentation. Here are some of the major trends you need to consider for the future of B2B business, with statistics to back them up:
- AI Technologies And Automation
- Personalization In Marketing Strategies
- Video Marketing As Major Part Of Content Strategy
- Account-Based Marketing (ABM) Implementation
- Tapping Into Influencer Marketing in B2B
- Data Utilization And Privacy Security
- Sustainable And Responsible Business Practices
- Brand Storytelling In Marketing Campaigns
- The Right Buyer’s Persona For The Right Customer
- Niche Technologies For The Future
Trend #1 AI Technologies And Automation
AI or artificial intelligence is not a new venture. But the start of the 2020s saw a new boom of AI implementation in all aspects of life. This is because technology is catching up to where it could be implemented.
For example, chatbots helped the B2B company SalesRabbit increase the number of leads they got from their website by 50%. AI technology is called automation, where little to no human input is involved.
More and more businesses are incorporating AI in various parts of a company, such as data analysis, marketing strategies, and management systems. With the right AI technology, it will become easier to conduct B2B customer segmentation. There will be more scope in the future, so it is essential to start thinking of implementing AI technology now to stay ahead in the B2B business.
Trend #2 Personalization In Marketing Strategies
If AI is the most significant trend right now, personalisation is the next most significant trend in B2B segmentation. It’s about treating each customer like a valued individual, tailoring their buyer journey just for them.
Epsilon research shows that 80% of consumers purchase products from brands that offer personalization.
That is a large percentage that is just to be considered a trend. Personalization has become a necessity for businesses. It’s about more than just data because it’s about human connection and crafting meaningful interactions that leave a lasting impression.
Personalization can also be done with the help of AI, such as Amazon’s use of personalized product recommendations with AI to suggest new products for customers. A small personalization like that could massively help your B2B business. It helps to target specific customer segments with personalization that will invite them to explore your online store more than without it.
Trend #3 Video Marketing As a Major Part Of Content Strategy
Content marketing has long been a critical strategy for B2B success. However, a fundamental change in content marketing is a greater shift towards video marketing.
Wyzowl reports say that 90% of video marketers have stated a positive return on investment from video marketing. So why is that?
The simple answer is that it is easier to target customer segments with video marketing and reach a wider audience. People are more receptive to video content than blog content. This is especially true for targeted ads for different customer segments. Video content with easy-to-understand visuals appeals to B2B customers looking for concise information with the correct delivery.
Even though it is trickier to conduct video marketing, it is nonetheless a trend that will only become more popular in the future. So, to keep up with B2B segmentation trends, video marketing should be a crucial part of your content strategy.
Trend #4 Account-Based Marketing (ABM) Implementation
The new trend in B2B customer segmentation is an account-based marketing (ABM) strategy. ABM is where your business targets specific accounts of customers instead of a general audience. And the results show why ABM works. B2B companies utilizing ABM segmentation have reported an 80% improvement in customer relationships.
Since ABM targets specific customer segments, marketing is much easier and more effective. It makes marketing more personalized and improves relationships with specific high-value customers. The rise in ABM practices is partly due to personalization being so effective. Combining these two trends will become more critical in the future, where B2B customer relationship management becomes vital to success.
Trend #5 Tapping Into Influencer Marketing in B2B
The rise in influencer marketing should be no surprise. Influencers make up many key industry experts who use their social platforms to reach their audience about industry-specific topics. They have an audience that your B2B business could target and segment.
Top Rank Marketing reports that in 2023, 85% of B2B marketers are utilizing influencer marketing, more than double that of previous years.
As you can see, influencer marketing is on the rise and will continue to do so. That is why partnering up with the right influencers is essential to help market your business. Partnering with influencers can be done through testimonials or letting them endorse your product and services.
Doing this introduces your products to a new audience, which will help you gain new clients for your B2B business. Either way, influencer marketing opens up a new segment of customers that your business can market towards.
Trend #6 Data Utilization And Privacy Security Concerns
The key to B2B segmentation is having an abundance of data available. This is only possible when your customers share their data to help grow your business. However, B2B customers have to be more careful regarding privacy security.
Boston Consulting Group reported that 80% of consumers are concerned about data collection and privacy.
If your customers cannot trust your business, then you cannot obtain the data necessary for proper segmentation. Privacy concerns are rising, so you should secure your data and be as transparent to your customers. It will give them more confidence in your business and help make data collection easier.
This privacy security concerns trend will only rise in the future. Your business partners and clients will want to keep their data as secure as possible. So ensure your data security is as safe as possible to conduct segmentation strategies more efficiently.
Trend #7 Sustainability And Responsible Business Practices
Global climate change will remain a factor for many for a long time. With the climate change comes people becoming more aware of the situation. To tackle this, B2B businesses are looking at sustainable operations options. Sustainable products and production can open up your B2B customer segments and invite newer clients to look at your company. It can also be incorporated into marketing strategies to promote the sustainability of your business.
Along with the responsibility of taking care of the planet, there should also be the responsibility to your clients. That means conducting responsible business practices to ensure your clients get the best products and services possible without compromise. When you combine these two trends, you have a higher chance of retaining the loyal customer segments while also opening up your business to those who look for sustainable options from your company.
Trend #8 Brand Storytelling In Marketing Campaigns
Brand stories are often neglected because of the professionalism in the B2B market, but that is quickly changing. The Brand Shop blog reports that brand stories influence 68% of consumers’ purchasing decisions.
More and more B2B customers seek long-lasting relationships with other businesses. This is possible when a clear brand message is shared through marketing campaigns for segmented customers. It is a powerful marketing strategy that will be more prominent. So ensure you are incorporating your brand story for the right segmented customers.
Trend #9 The Right Buyer’s Persona For The Right Customer
Marketing to B2B customers is a bit more challenging than reaching B2C customers. This is mainly because several decision-makers are usually involved in the purchasing process before a final decision is made. To tackle this hurdle, many businesses have turned to craft buyer personas.
Hubspot says that B2B online stores that utilized marketing personas proved 2 to 5 times more effective in gaining customer engagement.
A buyer persona is a representation of your ideal customer. By creating detailed buyer personas, businesses can gain valuable insights into their target audience’s preferences, needs, and behaviours. This deeper understanding enables firms to tailor their marketing strategies to different customer segments.
Ultimately, crafting buyer personas aims to strengthen relationships with B2B clients. By empathizing with their needs and preferences, businesses can better meet their expectations and provide more personalized experiences.
In B2B segmentation, the trend of creating buyer personas is on the rise. This trend reflects the growing recognition of the importance of understanding customers on a deeper level to drive business success.
Trend #10 Niche Technologies For The Future
Technology is advancing rapidly every year. Most are still in need of being implemented. However, these technologies today will be the future trend of B2B segmentation.
Here are some examples of niche technologies that are slowly catching up to the B2B market:
- Voice search: Voice search is a very niche. Not many people utilize it, but in the future, voice search might be how B2B businesses interact with each other’s online stores. So, optimize your online store’s navigation with voice searches by focusing on conversational tones rather than keywords.
- Blockchain: So far, blockchain technology has not taken off. However, it could be how businesses protect their data in the future. The technology is not yet ready for mass implementation. However, once it starts, you can expect every B2B company to want to secure data with blockchain.
- Augmented and virtual reality: Virtual reality might be how we communicate in the future. It has enormous potential because it will blend the real and virtual worlds. Soon, businesses might conduct virtual reality meetings or view products through a virtual reality headset and see the product while not being physically present.
These are technologies today that have not reached their full potential. So, you can imagine the new technologies that can revolutionize the B2B market and customer segmentation. That is why keeping up with trends is vital to stay ahead of the competition.
5 Initiatives To Take To Find Out New Future Trends In B2B
So now the question is: how do you identify the new trend in your industry? For that, here are some initiatives that you can take to always be on top of your game:
Initiative #1 Be Up-To-Date With Industry Experts
The ones who either come with new trends or find them are industry experts. They look at the market as a whole and analyze small changes that are being made in business practices. After analyzing them, these industry experts usually share their ideas on social media platforms. So be sure to follow industry experts for their insight into industry trends.
Initiative #2 Participating In Events And Conferences
Industry experts are great at finding trends in B2B segmentation. But you will find many industry experts in one place during events and conferences. These are places where ideas are being exchanged, resulting in insights into the industry that you might have never heard of. So be sure to either follow these events or attend them in person because that is when new ideas are created that might shape the future of the B2B market.
Initiative #3 Monitor Your Competitors
Another great way to keep track of future trends is by monitoring your competitors. In a competitive market, innovation is always waiting to happen. This helps differentiate one brand from another.
Therefore, see what close competitors are doing and how they change their business practices. They are done to improve the efficiency of operations so you can adopt their methods, which might become industry standards. Or, you can take their ideas and make them better and more suited for your company.
Initiative #4 Invest In Training And Learning
Innovation is never static. It is constantly changing and evolving in many different ways, and the same goes for future trends in B2B segmentation. Your business should invest in training employees and learning new methods and technologies. The more you know, the better your business will run.
For example, the niche technologies I mentioned above. Suppose your business can take advantage of them now. In that case, there is a possibility your business might be at the forefront of innovation in serving different segments of customers in the future.
Initiative #5 Gather Customer Feedback for Improvement
And finally, nothing is complete without having the proper data set to analyze. You can conduct data analysis on your customers through their shopping behaviour, but getting feedback is just as important.
Customer feedback can help your business narrow down where customer pain points are located. You can gather customer feedback from different segments to help pain points based on your segments. Like regular data collection, gaining customer feedback will vastly improve customer engagement.
Empower Different B2B Customer Segments On Shopify With A Bulk Order Variant Builder App
Customer satisfaction is critical to success in B2B markets, especially for wholesalers handling bulk orders. Online wholesalers using Shopify often face a common issue: multiple product listings for the same item with various variants, like sizes or colours, spread across different pages.
This fragmented setup forces customers to navigate between pages to add desired items to their carts, resulting in a cumbersome shopping experience that discourages repeat visits.
Fortunately, Shopify’s app store offers third-party solutions to streamline this process, enhancing the customer journey and potentially turning one-time shoppers into loyal patrons.
Take this wholesale Shopify store using a bulk order variant builder app on their store to help customers have a better shopping experience.
The app helps this online wholesale store overcome the variant limits of 3 per product on Shopify. This allows the store to have as many product variants as possible.
If you notice, the add-to-cart button is not highlighted. This is because this product has not fulfilled the minimum order quantity. With an MOQ restriction like this, the wholesale store can sell the minimum amount of products they want without harming their profit margins.
Once the MOQ is fulfilled, customers can add all the variants they want to the cart without visiting multiple product pages. It simplifies the shopping process and creates a better customer experience for the B2B customer.
While customers shop at this online store, they can also see the price change as they add and remove items before adding them to the cart. This way, a customer does not have to go back and forth through the checkout page or product page to change the quantity of the product. It makes the customer experience better and allows a seamless shopping experience.
So, how does this app help with B2B customer segmentation? It presents all the options available for your B2B customer. Some might want a large quantity of small, medium, and large T-shirts but do not care for the other sizes. To supply their store, other B2B customers may wish to only purchase the largest XL, 2XL, 3XL, etc.
So, whichever customer segment comes into the store, all the options are available, and customers can choose how much they want to order. It is a great way to allow different customer segments to interact with all the available product variants on one page. It improves the shopping experience and results in better conversion rates for your store.
Bottom Line
The future trends of B2B segmentation are constantly evolving and changing. Today, things like AI and personalization are the most relevant. In the future, technological advances might influence a different segment of customers to shop at your B2B online store. That is why the key to success in B2B markets is a little insight and evolving with them. Only then can you satisfy the different segments of customers in your store.
