In the next year, 26% of B2B operators expect strong growth, while 50% expect moderate growth. But the economic uncertainty is causing a cautious approach for 55%. Over 40% are shifting some marketing spending to the second half of the year. B2B event marketing appears to be one form of outreach these businesses are investing in across the board, reports Plural Strategy Group.

B2B Marketing Spending Projections

The projected compound annual growth rate of B2B marketing spending between now and 2030 will amount to roughly 5.2%. This year, around $ 111 billion in marketing spending is predicted for the B2B sector. Plural Strategy Group analysts checked out exactly where B2B marketers will be making adjustments to their spending. Here’s what they found.

The Need for Leads

Marketers are looking for ways to get ahead of the noise in the marketplace. They report that focusing on intent data is yielding better outcomes. For example, attendees at a webinar are signaling intent to a greater degree than someone who is exposed to a digital ad.

Sitting through a webinar requires prospects to invest their time. Webinar follow-up gives marketers a chance to connect with a prospect, especially if the prospect asked a question. In this way, webinars are serving as effective B2B event marketing.

Going forward, the volume of leads may not be as important as the quality. In the next three years, expect nearly 70% of B2B marketers to focus on fewer, but higher qualified leads. Our research shows that 37% of B2B buyers will give up their contact information for access to primary research that is relevant to their business.

If your accounts possess proprietary data, work with them to target buyers with an ad campaign and help them nurture new leads.

Content

One way for your accounts to reach their goals is to produce the type of content prospects are looking for. Earlier this year, we highlighted the latest Content Consumption study from NetLine. It’s worth reminding your clients that B2B decision-makers are very human. Their emotions play a role in how and when they make their purchase decisions.

Your accounts should know that prospect behavior can, to some extent, indicate the likelihood of a purchase decision being made in the next year. Specifically, in the NetLine study, prospects who download playbooks are 115% more likely to make a purchase in the next 12 months.

B2B Event Marketing

Naturally, specific parts of marketing budgets will grow more quickly than others. Spending on events and sponsorships will grow from $ 24 billion to $ 26 billion in 2025 – an increase of 8%.  Why are businesses focused so heavily on events? They believe in-person connections can have a long-lasting impact with prospects and customers.

Around 50% of B2B operators want to increase demand generation in the coming year. However, only 28% believe they need to increase branding focus. Analysts at Plural Strategy Group point out that investing in events can help businesses build brand and generate leads. After a significant pullback during the COVID-19 pandemic, nearly all businesses say their event spending has returned to 2019 levels.

Beyond Event Marketing

65% of marketers want better customer engagement this year. One way to get there is to personalize outreach. But that’s easier said than done.  Half the time, marketers fail to capture the right data after they make contact with a prospect. If they do get the data, over half of B2B operators fail to integrate it with tools needed for the next step in their process.

AI

To reduce costs and to stay current with technology, around 63% of B2B marketers are “piloting” their generative AI use. For the most part, they are using publicly available tools. If they are uncertain about how to proceed with this technology, pitch your services to them.

Other Media

Businesses are not ignoring other formats as they focus on B2B event marketing this year. Plural Strategy Group analysts report that B2B operators will spend 3% more on agencies and services in 2025 than they did in 2024. This year’s total will reach $ 19 billion.

But B2B operator demand for traditional paid media will drop from $ 15 billion to $ 14 billion, shrinking 4%. Digital paid media will remain steady at $ 12 billion.

Conclusion

While B2B event marketing is delivering leads, don’t let your accounts forgo other forms of advertising. In the past month, over 56% of B2B decision-makers have taken action as a result of seeing internet banner ads. This information, from the B2B BuyerSCAN survey, is available with a subscription to AdMall.

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