Why B2B Brands in Australia and New Zealand Are Reinventing Their Go-To-Market. 

There’s an urgent need for reinvention in the way we do business. Businesses today are operating in a new reality. Thanks to the rapid advancement of technology, including artificial intelligence (AI), and heightened expectations from consumers, the buyer’s journey is shifting in a meaningful way. And after several years of economic challenges, like sky-high interest rates and plateaus in growth, businesses in Australia and New Zealand are looking to rebuild or refresh their go-to-market (GTM) strategies to connect with consumers on a deeper level. 

“We’re navigating a rare moment where technology is changing how people make decisions and operate their day to day lives. Consumers are having poor experiences across the board. There’s a need to reset the buying experience so people feel seen and understood by the brands they engage with.” Kat Warboys, Senior Marketing Director, APAC at HubSpot

Businesses in Australia and New Zealand are prioritising customer connection

Buyers today make professional decisions in the same places they shop with consumer brands. When they scroll through Instagram, YouTube, or LinkedIn, they’re absorbing information from their network about what products and tools they’re investing in and how their experiences have been. The influence of personal networks is growing and a good amount of the discovery journey now happens before engaging directly with a brand.

The traditional GTM playbook isn’t working

90% of Australian consumers have recently had a negative experience with a brand — a clear sign that there’s a disconnect between customer expectations and what the majority of brands are offering. Consumers are hesitant to invest and want to be completely sure before making a decision - and friction in the experience is only going to hamper the decision making process. 

In response to changing consumer expectations, more than half of APAC companies have restructured their customer-facing teams and nearly all marketing decision makers in Australia report that they’ve adapted their strategies to meet shifting customer expectations. 

The lines between B2B and B2C experiences are starting to blur - and it’s a good thing.

Both B2B and B2C buyers in APAC (or, as we’re increasingly hearing today, business-to-human, because who we’re buying for is becoming less relevant in terms of the experience we expect as the buyer) want to engage with brands that offer convenient channels to interact with them on. And 75% of buyers prefer a rep-free sales experience.

“When we consider the needs and wants of the end customer, the lines between B2B and B2C are starting to blur. Most Aussie buyers say they’ve recently had a poor brand experience — why? Irrelevant marketing and a need for better customer service. Buyers just want a delightful and frictionless buying experience, and the ways brands can achieve this are universal, no matter which side of the “B2” fence you’re on.” Kat Warboys, Senior Marketing Director, APAC at HubSpot

AI is increasing consumer expectations for personalisation

Customers want every step in the buying process to be easy and tailored to them from the start. About half of Australian consumers prefer to shop with brands that personalise their experience. They’re looking for real-time support on a variety of channels and hyper-relevant content throughout their journey. 

And buyers are open to AI being a part of the experience. While still a fairly new resource, recent research from ShipStation found that 31% of Australian consumers already see AI as useful for streamlining order communication with brands and 28% think it could help with product research.

“Being AI-first helps customers get what they need faster and more effectively, ultimately improving their experience. Effective routing ensures those in need of human involvement are directed to the right person or customer success representative that can meet their need.” Sabina Sobinina, Director of Customer Success, JAPAC, HubSpot

Marketing strategies are changing to meet new customer expectations

The number one driver of brand loyalty and advocacy for Australian consumers is personalisation — people care if the content from the brands they follow is made for them and if they feel connected to the brand. 

At HubSpot, we’re always experimenting with new ways to improve the outcomes of our marketing efforts using personalisation and 1:1 communication, at scale. For example, one of our email teams wanted to understand ways to improve conversion during initial nurtures for HubSpot Academy sign-ups. To do this in a meaningful way, they needed to know enough about the contact and their industry so that they could truly personalise the recommendations. 

The team used a large language model to align recommended HubSpot Academy courses best suited to each contact using the business URL, contact role and industry. This approach allowed them not only to personalise Academy course suggestions, but also to customise email content to resonate with the recipient. For instance, a cafe owner received an email featuring coffee bean puns alongside course recommendations that focused on how content marketing drives growth. We're no longer in a world where Hi [First Name] wins - consumers expect much deeper, more meaningful or delightful, tailored personalisation.

“Our conversion rate increased by 82%. We took a double take. Not only did that improve, but our open rate improved, and our click-through rate improved very dramatically. And it’s delivering something more valuable to the contact.”  Emmy Jonassen, VP of Demand Generation, HubSpot, on the Marketing Against the Grain podcast

Companies are balancing technology with in-person connection

We’ve come full circle — digital is exceptionally powerful for scale, but it doesn’t replace in person connection. And we’re seeing buyers crave the latter more and more. To build connection, brands need to meet their audiences in real-time, whether that’s through events or ongoing activations.

“We hear time and time again at events that prospects want to know that they’re signing up to do business with good people. They want to see who we are and what we stand for — who they are going to be working with and trusting their business with. Connection is a new influential factor that buyers are looking at.”   Kat Warboys, Senior Marketing Director, APAC at HubSpot

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