The future of business marketing

Three major trends will be affecting business-to-business marketing in the foreseeable future: globalization and anti-globalization, rapidly changing technology, and increased visibility. Each of these trends will have an impact on how marketing is accomplished – and each of the trends affects the others, as well. The key points from this chapter are as follows: While described in many ways, globalization essentially means improved, less difficult trade and growing similarities of market segments. Four drivers of globalization are market, cost, environmental, and competitive factors. Technologies and improved communications will allow for higher quality products that more closely meet customer needs. Artificial intelligence (AI) is likely to play a major role in this. The website may be the critical tool in B2B marketing communications; traditional media must be used to drive customers to the website, which will increasingly be moderated by artificial intelligence. A firm must pay more attention to what is said about it on the web. Increased visibility means a firm must think about the impression it is making and allocate resources to react to online compliments and criticisms. Sustainability is a priority with the most successful companies and can form the basis of an important competitive advantage. There are many avenues available to firms to show their good intentions. One important one is the UN’s Global Compact and the UN SDGs. Product development is speeding up as a result of the pressures for faster introduction of new products. The stakeholder value chain is critical to firm success. Marketing should work to understand all aspects of the value chain and hope to manage most of it. Relationship marketing continues to be vital in the B2B area. Relationships can form a critical competitive advantage, with market information and communication driven by AI. The best-prepared marketing executives will have developed specific skills about marketing, along with “timeless skills” that they can use to learn about new environments as they present themselves. The presence of social media represents the biggest shift in B2B marketing in the last 20 years.