Although 2023 may still seem far off to you, it is only three months away. If you haven't already started your strategic planning for how to Invest those 2023 marketing dollars, now is the time to start.

In order to make the most of your 2023 marketing budget and invest your dollars wisely, you need to have a good understanding of the big picture of how your company is performing as well as your long-term business goals. Strategic planning focuses on your long-term goals, and tactical planning focuses on the short-term steps and actions needed to achieve those longer-term goals.

Once you have your long-term goals in place and have reviewed the performance of your marketing portfolio for 2022, you can begin to determine where you should invest your marketing dollars. For B2B marketing, there is no doubt that digital marketing should represent a large part of your marketing dollar investments. Still, there are also additional forms of marketing that will help you optimize the impact of your digital marketing efforts.

Investing in Account Based Marketing (ABM) can enhance your other marketing investments because it is a targeted approach that uses highly personalized campaigns to pursue specific B2B accounts. Either new contacts within different company divisions you already have relationships with or identifying companies with similar, desirable business attributes and sending key contacts select, personalized content.

ABM provides marketing and sales teams with several advantages because it is narrowly focused. These advantages include a faster sales process, cost-effectiveness, and more efficient use of marketing resources.
Ad retargeting uses cookie-based browser technology to identify users who visited your site but left before completing a transaction or conversion. The cookie generates targeted advertisements for those users' subsequent web searches and interactions, even if the searches aren't necessarily related to your site. Retargeting is an effective conversion tool because it gets your brand in front of audiences who have repeatedly demonstrated interest in your product or service. It is another excellent way to invest your marketing dollars for optimal exposure to qualified customers.

According to Morning Consult's U.S. Economic Outlook report, partner marketing will continue to be a good place to invest your marketing dollars. With rising inflation and supply chain problems, consumers are wary about getting products on time or at all. Because they are paying more for products, they are going to extra lengths to find the best prices and products. Partnership marketing and deal or coupon partners can help drive traffic and help to keep your customers effectively engaged.
Another benefit of partner marketing is that marketing costs continue to rise even though margins are shrinking for many brands. Partnership marketing allows you to pay on a cost-per-action basis, meaning you only pay if an action occurs, such as a sale. Private labels are becoming even more popular these days in the U.S., so you can incentivize your partners to promote the products you want to move and reap the benefits.

Partnership marketing also opens the door to working with influencers, many of whom already work as affiliate partners. With tools that can provide new tracking capabilities and sub-affiliate networks, influencers can earn commissions when a consumer clicks through their link to make a purchase. You get the benefit of influencing a sale and ensuring you are reaching the right audience.

Digital marketing will continue to dominate the marketing world. With new technologies and shifts in buyer behavior, it is a space you need to invest your marketing dollars into. The digital world will further expand current and futuristic techniques, including interactive content, Virtual reality tools and apps, and greater use of AI along with expanded use of influencers or brand ambassadors. Keep your video-based content and get ready for even more because video-based content will continue to be a key focus area for social media marketing.

Live streaming is also gaining traction as an effective marketing trend- particularly for mobile devices. It can be used very effectively when paired with influencer marketing since customers can interact directly with the influencer.

When you invest your marketing dollars smartly into ABM, channel partner marketing, and digital marketing, you can bring together the best of all marketing approaches and create a truly powerful marketing portfolio that will help you grow your business and green its bottom line.

Contact us today to learn more!