For B2B enterprises, producing a great product or reliable service is not enough to succeed. Beyond the transactional experience, customers are looking for an emotional connection, an educational journey, or a unique memory. And now that over three quarters of B2B buyers and sellers say they prefer digital and remote human engagement over face-to-face interactions, it's clear that the extraordinary digital shift that took place over 2020 is here to stay.

To navigate the unfamiliar territory of the pandemic, most B2B marketers in the middle market switched from in-person conferences—traditionally the most efficient way to generate leads—to webinars and digital summits. But many of those online debuts failed; it was an extremely competitive area. Audiences did not attend or refused to actively engage, resulting in lower conversion rates for B2B marketers.

Instead of waiting around for offline events to return, B2B marketers can roll out personalized webinars, hone their email marketing, and use live chats to build long-term relationships with their customers.

1. Ace your webinars

Promote your webinar effectively

During the pandemic, B2B enterprises were pressured into learning how to navigate all digital marketing channels simultaneously, which led to some businesses' failing to promote their webinars effectively.

To promote educational webinars, B2B marketers should focus on channels such as LinkedIn, where 46% of the social media traffic reaching B2B company sites comes from.

Look at thought leadership articles and referrals, and consider B2B influencer marketing, too. Examine the social influence of your business partners as well as people who follow your brand.

Include a brief Q&A at the beginning of your webinar

Fully 92% of webinar attendees want a live Q&A during a webinar. So why not begin with that?

Find out what your viewers' goals are and what unique takeaways they crave. If the Q&A is a live chat, write, What would you like to learn here? What problems are you facing?

If you make your digital event engaging and interactive through solving real-life issues, your audience will stay to learn more. Word-of-mouth communication is very effective when you listen to your audience, provide high-quality content, and represent yourself as a brand that wants to help people, not just sell a product.

Have a customer-centric approach

Picture this: You start your webinar, but you suddenly receive multiple questions from the audience.

In that situation, focus on your viewers and their questions rather than your product or the topics you had planned to present. People's attention spans are short, so get to the point quickly and be prepared to adapt. Personalization goes a long way in building relationships with customers.

Actively listen to customer feedback

Collect customer feedback from webinars and transform it into action. If your viewers ask for a certain product or to hear from a specific speaker, in the subsequent live video or webinar promote the adjustments made and share information about the event organized with the sought-after guest.

Deliver on promises, and your clients will stick around longer.

2. Conquer email marketing and communication

Sign marketing emails with a real name

Email marketing captures top-of-the-funnel prospects, and it is an essential part of lead nurturing. But many marketers write emails and sign as the CEO.

They're not fooling anyone. The potential or current client who receives that email will know immediately that it is an automated message.