Views from Lex Bradshaw-Zanger, CDMO, L’Oréal South Asia Pacific, Middle East, and North Africa
B2B marketing is undergoing a seismic shift. While traditional marketing principles remain unchanged, the tools, channels, and strategies we use to build brands and drive demand are rapidly evolving. As Lex Bradshaw-Zanger, CMO at L’Oréal SAPMENA, put it, “Marketing hasn’t changed, but marketers have to.” The rise of AI, the fragmentation of media, and the complexity of customer journeys demand a new approach to brand building and demand generation.
In this article, we explore how marketers can cater to complex buyer journeys, prioritise the right metrics at each stage, and integrate brand-building with demand generation. Along the way, we’ll incorporate insights from industry leaders and research from Forrester and Harvard Business Review.
Catering to Complex Journeys: Account for Multiple Stakeholders and Entry Points
B2B buying journeys are no longer linear. Buyers engage with content, peers, and sales teams across multiple channels before making a decision. According to Gartner, “77% of B2B buyers say their latest purchase was very complex or difficult.”
Lex Bradshaw-Zanger highlighted this shift, comparing the old marketing playbook to today’s dynamic landscape: “The way you build brands has completely changed. TikTok, AI, and creator-driven content are reshaping how we engage buyers.”
Key Strategies:
- Map Out Decision-Making Units (DMUs): Identify key stakeholders involved in the buying process, from C-suite executives to end-users.
- Leverage Multiple Entry Points: Provide omnichannel touchpoints, from LinkedIn thought leadership to personalised email campaigns.
- Enhance Personalization with AI: AI-powered intent data can identify when stakeholders are engaging and serve tailored content.
For more insights, explore Harvard Business Review’s research on non-linear customer journeys.
Prioritising Metrics by Stage: Aligning KPIs with Buyer Decision-Making
Many B2B marketers fall into the trap of focusing on vanity metrics like website traffic or social media likes. Instead, Lex emphasised the importance of clear strategic objectives: “Jumping to tactics without a clear strategy is a major mistake. Always ask: What is the right thing to do?”
Aligning Metrics with the Buyer Journey:
| Stage | Objective | Key Metrics |
|---|---|---|
| Awareness | Build brand recognition | Share of voice, brand recall, organic search volume |
| Consideration | Engage and educate buyers | Engagement rate, content downloads, webinar attendance |
| Decision | Drive conversion | Sales-qualified leads (SQLs), pipeline velocity, demo requests |
| Retention | Strengthen relationships | Customer satisfaction score (CSAT), Net Promoter Score (NPS) |
For more data on this approach, check out Forrester’s research on the ROI of brand equity in B2B.
Integrating Brand and Demand: Why Strong Branding Fuels Demand Generation
B2B brands often separate brand-building and demand generation into silos. But the most effective marketers recognize that a strong brand fuels demand at every stage.
Why Brand and Demand Should Work Together:
- Brand Trust Drives Conversions: Research from LinkedIn found that 81% of B2B buyers are more likely to purchase from a brand they trust.
- Emotional Connection Matters: “Beauty is an emotional space,” said Bradshaw-Zanger. The same applies to B2B—even decision-makers are human, and brand perception influences purchasing decisions.
- AI and Content Amplification: Leveraging AI tools can help marketers scale both brand storytelling and demand-generation campaigns simultaneously.
How to Integrate Brand and Demand:
- Invest in Thought Leadership: High-quality content can simultaneously build brand authority and generate leads.
- Use Retargeting to Reinforce Brand Messages: Buyers rarely convert on the first touchpoint. Retargeting reinforces trust and credibility.
- Leverage Influencer and Employee Advocacy: In B2B, credibility often comes from experts within and outside your organization.
The Role of AI in B2B Marketing: Prompt Engineering and Personalisation
AI is changing marketing at an unprecedented pace. “AI isn’t replacing marketers,” Bradshaw-Zanger noted, “but marketers who use AI will outperform those who don’t.”
Key AI Applications for B2B Marketers:
- Content Creation & Summarisation: AI tools like ChatGPT can summarize 20-page whitepapers into digestible insights.
- Intent Data & Predictive Analytics: AI-driven platforms identify when buyers are researching solutions and help marketers deliver relevant content.
- Prompt Engineering for Better AI Outputs: Marketers need to refine their prompts to get the best results from AI tools.
Final Thoughts: Future-Proofing Your B2B Marketing Strategy
B2B marketing is more dynamic than ever. To stay ahead, marketers must embrace AI, integrate brand-building with demand generation, and focus on the right metrics at each stage.
As Bradshaw-Zanger wisely advised: “Position yourself where the ball is going, not where it is now.” By adopting these strategies, B2B marketers can build sustainable growth in an increasingly competitive landscape.
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