MARKETING
11 B2B Content Ideas to Fuel your Marketing (with Examples)
You’ve probably read a million articles about content marketing by now, but with 88 percent of B2B marketers using the process every day and another 76 percent planning to in the future, you’d better start taking
In its 2022 state-of-the-industry report, the Content Marketing Institute calls content marketing ‘a sleeping giant’. As the giant stirs, you need to make sure your ideas for B2B content are on-point and ready to put your business ahead of the competition.
The marketing industry is in a state of flux. During the pandemic, as more traditional forms of marketing — such as in-person events and face-to-face selling — were shut down, the power of content marketing came to the fore.
Companies found it harder to capture and hold their audience’s attention, and customers demanded a more empathetic tone. Only 14% of businesses say the challenges of Covid-19 haven’t impacted their content marketing strategy.
So, as we all begin to look to the future, exactly what should you be doing to get the most from your content? This article will offer 11 fresh ideas for B2B content plus answer your most common content FAQs.
Best B2B content ideas for smart marketers
It’s clear the way we strategize and develop content needs to pivot to meet the demands of a post-pandemic audience. Let’s look at 11 content ideas to attract potential customers and strengthen existing relationships.
1. Unconventional content formats
The pandemic encouraged us to get more creative than we’d been before. We needed to adapt to something novel, which unlocked some unconventional ideas.
Mimic this approach by using content formats you haven’t tried before. This isn’t the time to play safe, so embrace something you haven’t tried before to keep ahead of your competitors.
For example, this might be the time to branch out into video, or maybe you’re itching to create a podcast to cement your reputation as a thought leader in your industry.
Podcasting is a growing format. 41% of Americans listened to podcasts regularly through 2021 compared to 37% in 2020.
For example, project management software ClickUp recently launched its new podcast, ‘When It Clicked’, featuring business leaders describing the lightbulb moments that led to their success.
Image Credit: ClickUp
The customer lifecycle is often longer in B2B than B2C, so you need to keep your content fresh and engaging. Incorporating a range of formats lets you reach people in different ways, which is important for helping prospects understand the more technical aspects of your product.
2. Content partnerships
Content partnerships — where brands work together to gain promotion through their content — can be an extremely useful tool in your B2B marketing.
Content partnership expands the reach of your business by opening up another company’s audience to your product. Complementary partnerships mean less time qualifying your audience.
For example, if you’re a project management platform and you partner with a business selling time tracking software, there is likely to be a lot of target audience crossover, boosting opportunities for conversion.
This was the case for corporate events provider Team Building, who partnered with a leading HR services provider for a marketing campaign.
Image Credit: Team Building
The two companies share a target audience and, while Team Building created marketing materials, the HR services provider promoted those materials among its current contacts.
CEO of Team Building, Michael Alexis, said: “This is a simple example, but it led to client work, inbound links, and additional media opportunities for us.” In return, Team Building’s partner gained high-quality marketing materials.
Digital content produced through partnerships can also offer SEO benefits by increasing the visibility and credibility of your brand. This means your business ranks higher in search engines, driving more traffic to your website.
3. Content roundups on audience-relevant topics
As you’ve already seen, attracting and keeping your audience’s attention is growing ever more challenging. The way people consume information is changing, and your content needs to reflect this shift.
Providing content roundups on topics relevant to your audience makes you a one-stop shop for industry information. This builds your credibility and makes you top-of-mind when they’re ready to buy.
Which is important. 32% of business buyers think reputation is a key attribute when looking to make a purchase.
Your audience will also appreciate not wasting time searching for information across multiple sites. Most people are consuming content on the go, filling dead time on their commute or while doing other routine tasks.
This means smaller chunks of information that are responsive across mobile devices are an important part of your content strategy.
As a time-saver, check whether your marketing software solution has access to industry-leading content that you can repackage.
For example, in Welcome, you can source and publish world-class, fully licensed articles directly from the platform to supplement original content creation.
Image Credit: Welcome
4. Problem-solving blog content
Speaking of original content, your blog is key to reaching and engaging your audience. Marketers voted blogs the most important form of content for building brand awareness.
But you can’t just put any old thing out there. It’s critical your blog content creates value for your subscribers or website visitors.
Unlike some B2C marketing tactics, B2B is not about encouraging an impulse purchase based on wants. To establish long-term, fruitful B2B relationships, your product or service must meet the needs of your customers and help solve the issue they’re facing.
Helping customers solve issues should act as a golden thread through all of your B2B marketing channels, which makes problem-solving blog articles important for maximizing your content marketing.
There’s a current trend toward longer-form content, so don’t be shy of using your blog as an opportunity to deep-dive into challenges your target audience faces. Exact target word counts differ by industry, but you won’t want to be less than around 1,000 words.
As a great example, consider this very article — if you’re interested in the numbers, it’s just under 3,000 words. And you’re no doubt reading it to better understand what content you should be producing in order to maximize your business’ success.
And that’s a problem we care about solving.
5. LinkedIn content
If you think you already have a strong marketing strategy across your social media channels and don’t need to target LinkedIn, you couldn’t be more wrong.
Over 80% of B2B leads are generated through LinkedIn, making the platform nearly 300% more effective than Facebook and Twitter for sourcing potential B2B customers.
Setting up a company profile on LinkedIn is simple and gets you access to nearly 800 million other users. But once you’re set up, what should you be posting?
Posting relevant content recycled from your company’s blog is an easy way to get started. Share a few snippets and link to the full article on your website to encourage traffic. Plus, build your credibility by getting involved in discussion groups and sharing industry insights.
LinkedIn voted recruiting firm Hays as having the ‘Best Company Page’ in 2017. Hays content is successful because it combines practical tips, industry research, and thought-leadership to deliver value to its audience.
They use multiple format types, including podcasts, videos, and custom images, to help followers engage with the brand.
Image Credit: LinkedIn (Hays)
6. Video tutorials
71% of B2B marketers used video content in the last year, which means if you’re not yet getting in front of the camera, you’re losing out to a sizable number of your competitors.
Visual content can be incredibly valuable for B2B businesses, especially if your product is technically complex. It can be much easier to visually show and verbally explain the nuances of product features through video than written content.
Plus, 60% of executives prefer video format to text, which is important to note given the more extensive decision-making process that’s often associated with B2B sales.
This is reflected by a strong return on investment for video content; 88% of marketers said it provides a positive ROI.
Inviting industry influencers to guest on your videos can also improve your brand’s attractiveness and cement its credibility.
For example, Surfer SEO software uses its YouTube platform to create helpful tutorials that showcase the individual features of the platform and troubleshoot common issues.
They also invite industry experts to join the channel and provide insight as to why pages aren’t ranking.
Image Credit: YouTube (Surfer)
7. Email-based courses
Email courses use a sequence of emails — say, daily for a week or weekly for a month — to educate an audience on a particular topic.
They can be a great way to warm-up potential customers and move them closer to a sale.
Typically, they work by supporting subscribers to generically solve an issue through actionable hints or tips. The final email of the course usually shows why the business’ product or service is the best way to solve their particular pain point.
For example, freelancing expert Brennan Dunn runs this 9-lesson email course to help other freelancers qualify, pitch, and close potential projects.
Image Credit: Double Your Freelancing
By providing this actionable solution to a common freelancing challenge, Brennan builds his credibility within that community. He can then piggyback off this credibility to increase sales of his other paid digital products.
8. Webinars
With face-to-face events out of the window, the use of webinars to engage and inform B2B customers was up 162% through 2020. And 99% of marketers say webinars are key to their future digital marketing strategy.
Like videos, recording webinars is a great way to showcase, explain, and troubleshoot the more technical elements of your product or service.
However, webinars have one crucial advantage — lead capture. To attend a webinar, customers usually have to sign-up and provide their email address or other contact details. So they are an excellent way to build your marketing contact list.
Plus, as attendees have actively signed up to attend, they are more likely further down the sales funnel than other prospects, which makes conversion easier too.
Make sure you capitalize on that when hosting live webinars by offering attendees a promotion that encourages sales, such as a time-bound discount code, product demo, or a post-webinar consultation with a sales representative.
On-demand viewing time for webinars averaged 29 minutes, according to one industry report. So, don’t make your webinars too long. For live webinars, build engagement through interactivity, such as in-session polls and a Q&A.
Multi-part webinar series help build a relationship with your prospective customers and provide a great platform for offering educational content that answers questions they might be pondering.
For example, we recently put together this 4-part series on the top priorities for today’s leaders when it comes to tech and the tools that can help them.
9. Creative press releases
Companies have used press releases to generate interest in the products and services for decades. Traditionally a short piece of information released to journalists, they were a key way to be featured in newspapers and other media outlets.
So, are they still relevant for B2B marketing? We certainly think so.
Announcing Product 2.0? Draft a quick note for multi-channel release and immediately share your launch with thousands.
Changing up your image? Use a press release to share news of exciting partnerships, influencer collaborations, or corporate social responsibility initiatives.
Innovative marketing software, like Welcome, allows you to get creative with your press releases.
Upload multi-format digital assets and use powerful editing tools to organize and optimize your releases for maximum engagement. Plus, integrations with your social channels and intuitive publishing widgets make distribution seamless.
10. Technical articles and white papers
The job of a good technical writer is to take a complicated topic and break it down into small, easy-to-understand concepts.
As we mentioned earlier, B2B marketing sometimes requires getting into the nitty-gritty details of your product or service, and technical articles or white papers are the perfect format.
This type of content allows you to offer an in-depth study of a specific topic, educate business customers through the decision-making process, share technical knowledge, and publicize your product.
For example, data storage system provider Hitachi Vantara uses a technical paper to explore and explain the complex topic of content platform architecture.
Image Credit: Hitachi Vantara
A white paper can act as a great lead magnet, enticing your audience to opt-in to your mailing list in return for access to this valuable content. It can also feed other marketing channels, such as your social media or blogs.
11. Thought leadership style content
By definition, thought leadership content enhances your business’s credibility. To be viewed as a thought leader, you need deep expertise plus recognition by your peers of an ability to drive innovation in your industry.
High levels of credibility help build trust, which is crucial for growing and sustaining B2B relationships. Plus, who doesn’t want to work with or buy from a company that other companies look to for inspiration?
As well as enhancing credibility, this style of content can increase audience engagement as, by its nature, it is novel, possibly even controversial, which sparks interest and discussion.
Thought leadership content is often long-form and may include original research. It might be an opinion piece on new trends or a white paper on a complex topic.
However, there is a place for short-form content, too, especially if you already have the reputation of an original thinker in your industry. Marketing guru Neil Patel uses videos, blog articles, and social media to inform, educate, and opine on all things marketing.
Image Credit: Neil Patel
FAQs on B2B content
Now you’ve got a handle on the types of content you should be creating to support your B2B marketing, let’s clear up a few FAQs.
What’s different about B2B content?
When you’re creating content for a B2B audience, you need to consider what makes B2B unique.
B2B often has a longer customer lifecycle, and the products may be more complex and technical in nature. You’re usually targeting a smaller audience, but there could be many more decision-makers in the buying process.
This means content needs to be focused on establishing trusting relationships. Proving your credibility is key, as is using multiple formats and channels to engage stakeholders in different ways.
How do I create a B2B content strategy?
When you’re creating a B2B content strategy, you need to decide what your goals are.
Are you building brand awareness and attracting new customers, cementing your relationships with current ones, or moving prospects down the sales funnel? This knowledge will help you target your content more successfully.
Once you’ve identified your audience, get to know them better. Figure out what problems they’re trying to solve so you can create relevant content that delivers real value.
Keep up with industry trends around content formats to figure out what’s working best and what your competitors are trying. Also, use platform analytics to work out which formats have been most successful in the past.
Pull all this information together into a single strategy, and don’t forget to share it with other relevant teams, such as sales and customer service, so your marketing messages are aligned and on-brand.
How do you write for a B2B audience?
Writing for a B2B audience doesn’t necessarily have to be different from B2C, but it may be.
Content that’s written for a B2B audience may need to be more technical in nature as you work to engage decision-makers in the nuts and bolts of your product.
Some content, such as thought-leadership pieces, may also need to be more academic to convince businesses of your credibility and industry-leading position.
Like all marketing, personalizing your content to the needs of your audience is vital for success.
Try new approaches to up your content game
The last two years have forced all of us to try novel approaches to getting things done. Your B2B content marketing strategy shouldn’t be any different.
Dig deep into how your target audience prefers to consume content, and don’t be afraid to branch out into unconventional formats if you want to try something new.
Using an integrated marketing platform like Welcome makes it easy to create, optimize, and distribute high-quality content to your audience.
Why not request a demo today and see what Welcome can bring to your business.
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MARKETING
Ecommerce evolution: Blurring the lines between B2B and B2C
Understanding convergence
B2B and B2C ecommerce are two distinct models of online selling. B2B ecommerce is between businesses, such as wholesalers, distributors, and manufacturers. B2C ecommerce refers to transactions between businesses like retailers and consumer brands, directly to individual shoppers.
However, in recent years, the boundaries between these two models have started to fade. This is known as the convergence between B2B and B2C ecommerce and how they are becoming more similar and integrated.
Source: White Paper: The evolution of the B2B Consumer Buyer (ClientPoint, Jan 2024)
What’s driving this change?
Ever increasing customer expectations
Customers today expect the same level of convenience, speed, and personalization in their B2B transactions as they do in their B2C interactions. B2B buyers are increasingly influenced by their B2C experiences. They want research, compare, and purchase products online, seamlessly transitioning between devices and channels. They also prefer to research and purchase online, using multiple devices and channels.
Forrester, 68% of buyers prefer to research on their own, online . Customers today expect the same level of convenience, speed, and personalization in their B2B transactions as they do in their B2C interactions. B2B buyers are increasingly influenced by their B2C experiences. They want research, compare, and purchase products online, seamlessly transitioning between devices and channels. They also prefer to research and purchase online, using multiple devices and channels
Technology and omnichannel strategies
Technology enables B2B and B2C ecommerce platforms to offer more features and functionalities, such as mobile optimization, chatbots, AI, and augmented reality. Omnichannel strategies allow B2B and B2C ecommerce businesses to provide a seamless and consistent customer experience across different touchpoints, such as websites, social media, email, and physical stores.
However, with every great leap forward comes its own set of challenges. The convergence of B2B and B2C markets means increased competition. Businesses now not only have to compete with their traditional rivals, but also with new entrants and disruptors from different sectors. For example, Amazon Business, a B2B ecommerce platform, has become a major threat to many B2B ecommerce businesses, as it offers a wide range of products, low prices, and fast delivery
“Amazon Business has proven that B2B ecommerce can leverage popular B2C-like functionality” argues Joe Albrecht, CEO / Managing Partner, Xngage. . With features like Subscribe-and-Save (auto-replenishment), one-click buying, and curated assortments by job role or work location, they make it easy for B2B buyers to go to their website and never leave. Plus, with exceptional customer service and promotional incentives like Amazon Business Prime Days, they have created a reinforcing loyalty loop.
And yet, according to Barron’s, Amazon Business is only expected to capture 1.5% of the $5.7 Trillion addressable business market by 2025. If other B2B companies can truly become digital-first organizations, they can compete and win in this fragmented space, too.”
If other B2B companies can truly become digital-first organizations, they can also compete and win in this fragmented space
Joe AlbrechtCEO/Managing Partner, XNGAGE
Increasing complexity
Another challenge is the increased complexity and cost of managing a converging ecommerce business. Businesses have to deal with different customer segments, requirements, and expectations, which may require different strategies, processes, and systems. For instance, B2B ecommerce businesses may have to handle more complex transactions, such as bulk orders, contract negotiations, and invoicing, while B2C ecommerce businesses may have to handle more customer service, returns, and loyalty programs. Moreover, B2B and B2C ecommerce businesses must invest in technology and infrastructure to support their convergence efforts, which may increase their operational and maintenance costs.
How to win
Here are a few ways companies can get ahead of the game:
Adopt B2C-like features in B2B platforms
User-friendly design, easy navigation, product reviews, personalization, recommendations, and ratings can help B2B ecommerce businesses to attract and retain more customers, as well as to increase their conversion and retention rates.
According to McKinsey, ecommerce businesses that offer B2C-like features like personalization can increase their revenues by 15% and reduce their costs by 20%. You can do this through personalization of your website with tools like Product Recommendations that help suggest related products to increase sales.
Focus on personalization and customer experience
B2B and B2C ecommerce businesses need to understand their customers’ needs, preferences, and behaviors, and tailor their offerings and interactions accordingly. Personalization and customer experience can help B2B and B2C ecommerce businesses to increase customer satisfaction, loyalty, and advocacy, as well as to improve their brand reputation and competitive advantage. According to a Salesforce report, 88% of customers say that the experience a company provides is as important as its products or services.
Market based on customer insights
Data and analytics can help B2B and B2C ecommerce businesses to gain insights into their customers, markets, competitors, and performance, and to optimize their strategies and operations accordingly. Data and analytics can also help B2B and B2C ecommerce businesses to identify new opportunities, trends, and innovations, and to anticipate and respond to customer needs and expectations. According to McKinsey, data-driven organizations are 23 times more likely to acquire customers, six times more likely to retain customers, and 19 times more likely to be profitable.
What’s next?
The convergence of B2B and B2C ecommerce is not a temporary phenomenon, but a long-term trend that will continue to shape the future of ecommerce. According to Statista, the global B2B ecommerce market is expected to reach $20.9 trillion by 2027, surpassing the B2C ecommerce market, which is expected to reach $10.5 trillion by 2027. Moreover, the report predicts that the convergence of B2B and B2C ecommerce will create new business models, such as B2B2C, B2A (business to anyone), and C2B (consumer to business).
Therefore, B2B and B2C ecommerce businesses need to prepare for the converging ecommerce landscape and take advantage of the opportunities and challenges it presents. Here are some recommendations for B2B and B2C ecommerce businesses to navigate the converging landscape:
- Conduct a thorough analysis of your customers, competitors, and market, and identify the gaps and opportunities for convergence.
- Develop a clear vision and strategy for convergence, and align your goals, objectives, and metrics with it.
- Invest in technology and infrastructure that can support your convergence efforts, such as cloud, mobile, AI, and omnichannel platforms.
- Implement B2C-like features in your B2B platforms, and vice versa, to enhance your customer experience and satisfaction.
- Personalize your offerings and interactions with your customers, and provide them with relevant and valuable content and solutions.
- Leverage data and analytics to optimize your performance and decision making, and to innovate and differentiate your business.
- Collaborate and partner with other B2B and B2C ecommerce businesses, as well as with other stakeholders, such as suppliers, distributors, and customers, to create value and synergy.
- Monitor and evaluate your convergence efforts, and adapt and improve them as needed.
By following these recommendations, B2B and B2C ecommerce businesses can bridge the gap between their models and create a more integrated and seamless ecommerce experience for their customers and themselves.
MARKETING
Streamlining Processes for Increased Efficiency and Results
How can businesses succeed nowadays when technology rules? With competition getting tougher and customers changing their preferences often, it’s a challenge. But using marketing automation can help make things easier and get better results. And in the future, it’s going to be even more important for all kinds of businesses.
So, let’s discuss how businesses can leverage marketing automation to stay ahead and thrive.
Benefits of automation marketing automation to boost your efforts
First, let’s explore the benefits of marketing automation to supercharge your efforts:
Marketing automation simplifies repetitive tasks, saving time and effort.
With automated workflows, processes become more efficient, leading to better productivity. For instance, automation not only streamlines tasks like email campaigns but also optimizes website speed, ensuring a seamless user experience. A faster website not only enhances customer satisfaction but also positively impacts search engine rankings, driving more organic traffic and ultimately boosting conversions.
Automation allows for precise targeting, reaching the right audience with personalized messages.
With automated workflows, processes become more efficient, leading to better productivity. A great example of automated workflow is Pipedrive & WhatsApp Integration in which an automated welcome message pops up on their WhatsApp
within seconds once a potential customer expresses interest in your business.
Increases ROI
By optimizing campaigns and reducing manual labor, automation can significantly improve return on investment.
Leveraging automation enables businesses to scale their marketing efforts effectively, driving growth and success. Additionally, incorporating lead scoring into automated marketing processes can streamline the identification of high-potential prospects, further optimizing resource allocation and maximizing conversion rates.
Harnessing the power of marketing automation can revolutionize your marketing strategy, leading to increased efficiency, higher returns, and sustainable growth in today’s competitive market. So, why wait? Start automating your marketing efforts today and propel your business to new heights, moreover if you have just learned ways on how to create an online business
How marketing automation can simplify operations and increase efficiency
Understanding the Change
Marketing automation has evolved significantly over time, from basic email marketing campaigns to sophisticated platforms that can manage entire marketing strategies. This progress has been fueled by advances in technology, particularly artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning, making automation smarter and more adaptable.
One of the main reasons for this shift is the vast amount of data available to marketers today. From understanding customer demographics to analyzing behavior, the sheer volume of data is staggering. Marketing automation platforms use this data to create highly personalized and targeted campaigns, allowing businesses to connect with their audience on a deeper level.
The Emergence of AI-Powered Automation
In the future, AI-powered automation will play an even bigger role in marketing strategies. AI algorithms can analyze huge amounts of data in real-time, helping marketers identify trends, predict consumer behavior, and optimize campaigns as they go. This agility and responsiveness are crucial in today’s fast-moving digital world, where opportunities come and go in the blink of an eye. For example, we’re witnessing the rise of AI-based tools from AI website builders, to AI logo generators and even more, showing that we’re competing with time and efficiency.
Combining AI-powered automation with WordPress management services streamlines marketing efforts, enabling quick adaptation to changing trends and efficient management of online presence.
Moreover, AI can take care of routine tasks like content creation, scheduling, and testing, giving marketers more time to focus on strategic activities. By automating these repetitive tasks, businesses can work more efficiently, leading to better outcomes. AI can create social media ads tailored to specific demographics and preferences, ensuring that the content resonates with the target audience. With the help of an AI ad maker tool, businesses can efficiently produce high-quality advertisements that drive engagement and conversions across various social media platforms.
Personalization on a Large Scale
Personalization has always been important in marketing, and automation is making it possible on a larger scale. By using AI and machine learning, marketers can create tailored experiences for each customer based on their preferences, behaviors, and past interactions with the brand.
This level of personalization not only boosts customer satisfaction but also increases engagement and loyalty. When consumers feel understood and valued, they are more likely to become loyal customers and brand advocates. As automation technology continues to evolve, we can expect personalization to become even more advanced, enabling businesses to forge deeper connections with their audience. As your company has tiny homes for sale California, personalized experiences will ensure each customer finds their perfect fit, fostering lasting connections.
Integration Across Channels
Another trend shaping the future of marketing automation is the integration of multiple channels into a cohesive strategy. Today’s consumers interact with brands across various touchpoints, from social media and email to websites and mobile apps. Marketing automation platforms that can seamlessly integrate these channels and deliver consistent messaging will have a competitive edge. When creating a comparison website it’s important to ensure that the platform effectively aggregates data from diverse sources and presents it in a user-friendly manner, empowering consumers to make informed decisions.
Omni-channel integration not only betters the customer experience but also provides marketers with a comprehensive view of the customer journey. By tracking interactions across channels, businesses can gain valuable insights into how consumers engage with their brand, allowing them to refine their marketing strategies for maximum impact. Lastly, integrating SEO services into omni-channel strategies boosts visibility and helps businesses better understand and engage with their customers across different platforms.
The Human Element
While automation offers many benefits, it’s crucial not to overlook the human aspect of marketing. Despite advances in AI and machine learning, there are still elements of marketing that require human creativity, empathy, and strategic thinking.
Successful marketing automation strikes a balance between technology and human expertise. By using automation to handle routine tasks and data analysis, marketers can focus on what they do best – storytelling, building relationships, and driving innovation.
Conclusion
The future of marketing automation looks promising, offering improved efficiency and results for businesses of all sizes.
As AI continues to advance and consumer expectations change, automation will play an increasingly vital role in keeping businesses competitive.
By embracing automation technologies, marketers can simplify processes, deliver more personalized experiences, and ultimately, achieve their business goals more effectively than ever before.
MARKETING
Will Google Buy HubSpot? | Content Marketing Institute
Google + HubSpot. Is it a thing?
This week, a flurry of news came down about Google’s consideration of purchasing HubSpot.
The prospect dismayed some. It delighted others.
But is it likely? Is it even possible? What would it mean for marketers? What does the consideration even mean for marketers?
Well, we asked CMI’s chief strategy advisor, Robert Rose, for his take. Watch this video or read on:
Why Alphabet may want HubSpot
Alphabet, the parent company of Google, apparently is contemplating the acquisition of inbound marketing giant HubSpot.
The potential price could be in the range of $30 billion to $40 billion. That would make Alphabet’s largest acquisition by far. The current deal holding that title happened in 2011 when it acquired Motorola Mobility for more than $12 billion. It later sold it to Lenovo for less than $3 billion.
If the HubSpot deal happens, it would not be in character with what the classic evil villain has been doing for the past 20 years.
At first glance, you might think the deal would make no sense. Why would Google want to spend three times as much as it’s ever spent to get into the inbound marketing — the CRM and marketing automation business?
At a second glance, it makes a ton of sense.
I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but I and others at CMI spend a lot of time discussing privacy, owned media, and the deprecation of the third-party cookie. I just talked about it two weeks ago. It’s really happening.
All that oxygen being sucked out of the ad tech space presents a compelling case that Alphabet should diversify from third-party data and classic surveillance-based marketing.
Yes, this potential acquisition is about data. HubSpot would give Alphabet the keys to the kingdom of 205,000 business customers — and their customers’ data that almost certainly numbers in the tens of millions. Alphabet would also gain access to the content, marketing, and sales information those customers consumed.
Conversely, the deal would provide an immediate tip of the spear for HubSpot clients to create more targeted programs in the Alphabet ecosystem and upload their data to drive even more personalized experiences on their own properties and connect them to the Google Workspace infrastructure.
When you add in the idea of Gemini, you can start to see how Google might monetize its generative AI tool beyond figuring out how to use it on ads on search results pages.
What acquisition could mean for HubSpot customers
I may be stretching here but imagine this world. As a Hubspoogle customer, you can access an interface that prioritizes your owned media data (e.g., your website, your e-commerce catalog, blog) when Google’s Gemini answers a question).
Recent reports also say Google may put up a paywall around the new premium features of its artificial intelligence-powered Search Generative Experience. Imagine this as the new gating for marketing. In other words, users can subscribe to Google’s AI for free, but Hubspoogle customers can access that data and use it to create targeted offers.
The acquisition of HubSpot would immediately make Google Workspace a more robust competitor to Microsoft 365 Office for small- and medium-sized businesses as they would receive the ADDED capability of inbound marketing.
But in the world of rented land where Google is the landlord, the government will take notice of the acquisition. But — and it’s a big but, I cannot lie (yes, I just did that). The big but is whether this acquisition dance can happen without going afoul of regulatory issues.
Some analysts say it should be no problem. Others say, “Yeah, it wouldn’t go.” Either way, would anybody touch it in an election year? That’s a whole other story.
What marketers should realize
So, what’s my takeaway?
It’s a remote chance that Google will jump on this hard, but stranger things have happened. It would be an exciting disruption in the market.
The sure bet is this. The acquisition conversation — as if you needed more data points — says getting good at owned media to attract and build audiences and using that first-party data to provide better communication and collaboration with your customers are a must.
It’s just a matter of time until Google makes a move. They might just be testing the waters now, but they will move here. But no matter what they do, if you have your customer data house in order, you’ll be primed for success.
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