The most important questions about strategy, SEO, PR, communication and lead generation.
B2B marketing encompasses all measures with which companies acquire or develop other companies as customers. The focus is on problem solving, trust and expertise. Decision-making processes are more complex and involve multiple stakeholders. Effective B2B marketing relies on professional authority, clear benefits and long-term relationships.
B2C is aimed at emotional, quick purchasing decisions; B2B at fact-based, low-risk decisions. B2B decision-making processes take an average of 3-6 months and require internal coordination (Forrester, 2024). In addition, technical expertise plays a greater role than in B2C.
AI automates content creation, lead qualification, research and segmentation. 86% of B2B buyers use AI tools in the research phase (Optimizely, 2024). AI also influences vendor shortlists and increases efficiency throughout the funnel. Tools such as ChatGPT, Gemini and Perplexity are shaping information gathering.
More about AI marketing with EPOS.
Source: Optimizely (2024): "Why 86% of B2B Buyers Prefer AI Tools"
Data enables precise segmentation, better lead quality and comprehensible performance tracking. 67% of B2B marketers report that data-based content delivers significantly better results (CMI, 2024). Analytics makes marketing more measurable - a decisive advantage over traditional approaches.
Source: CMI Manufacturing Research (2024)
Structural visibility describes a company’s sustained, cross-channel presence—independent of paid ads. It results from the interplay of earned media (trade press, external citations), owned content (SEO-optimized website, blog articles), and personal media (thought leadership by executives on LinkedIn). Companies with structural visibility are found by potential customers before the sales team even gets involved—and are more likely to make it onto the shortlist.
As a general guideline, B2B companies invest an average of 6–10% of their annual revenue in marketing (Gartner CMO Survey, 2024). For companies in growth phases or facing intense competition, 10–15% is a realistic figure. More important than the total budget is how it’s allocated: Long-term initiatives such as content, GEO/SEO, and PR should account for at least 60% of the budget, as they have a lasting impact and don’t simply disappear once the ad budget runs out.
Source: Gartner CMO Spend Survey (2024)
LinkedIn, YouTube and X/Twitter are clear leaders in B2B. LinkedIn offers thought leadership, recruiting and lead gen. YouTube serves as a knowledge platform for products that require explanation. 41% of B2B buyers prefer self-service research via digital channels (Coveo, 2025).
More about social media for B2B companies with EPOS.
Source: Coveo (2025)
The strongest formats are: Case studies, how-tos, white papers, product comparisons, interviews, checklists and FAQs. Content marketing generates up to 3× more leads than outbound marketing (Forbes, 2024). Practical content generates trust and increases engagement.
Source: Forbes Advisor content marketing statistics (2024)
Strong B2B brands are based on clear positioning, recognizability and thought leadership. Companies with strong thought leadership achieve 2.5× higher trust scores (G2, 2024). A consistent brand story and professional authority are crucial.
Find out more about brand marketing for B2B companies at EPOS.
Also read our magazine article: Why the courage to brand determines pipeline success
Source: G2 Buyer Behavior Report (2024)
Very important: 54% of B2B buyers are more likely to buy from brands that publicly demonstrate their expertise (LinkedIn/Edelman, 2024). Thought leadership influences trust, shortlisting probability and conversion rates in early stages. Companies with a strong TL strategy achieve significantly higher win rates.
Source: LinkedIn B2B Institute (2024)
PR strengthens credibility, secures high-quality mentions and improves AI visibility, as LLMs prefer authoritative sources. Editorial mentions significantly increase brand authority.
Read our EPOS B2B PR Guide.
The following are important: relevant stories, transparent information, reliable contacts, expertise and continuous exchange. The technical press prefers clear facts to advertising messages.
AI language models like ChatGPT are trained using content from the internet—and rely particularly heavily on editorial sources such as trade publications, industry portals, and independent studies. Those who are regularly mentioned in these sources build external signals of authority, which AI systems interpret as evidence of relevance. Strategic B2B PR is therefore not only a reputation-building tool but also the most direct way to appear in AI-generated responses.
You can find out more about the possibilities of earned media in our projects.
A B2B website must be fast (under 2.5 seconds), clearly structured and trust-based. Pages with a 1-second load time convert up to 3× better than 5-second pages (HubSpot/Portent, 2024). Important elements: value proposition, case studies, clear CTAs, technical SEO.
Sources:
* HubSpot loading time study (2024)
* Portent Speed Benchmark (2024)
Tech SEO focuses on technical performance, thematic authority, structured data and high-quality specialist content. 72.6% of the top 10 rankings use schema markup (Backlinko, 2023). For B2B, search intent is more important than keywords.
More about SEO for B2B companies with EPOS.
Source: Backlinko Schema Statistic (2023)
60% of all marketing activities are digital today (WordStream, 2025). Online marketing enables precise targeting, measurability and scalability. Particularly effective: multi-channel campaigns consisting of paid, content, SEO and social.
Create a strategy with our free B2B marketing strategy kickstart.
As soon as growth, new customer acquisition or pipeline development are goals. 86% of B2B buyers research independently before interacting with sales (MasterB2B, 2024). Content must therefore be visible early in the funnel.
Source: MasterB2B State of eCommerce Report (2024)
Clarity, consistency, benefit orientation and coordinated processes between marketing, sales and product. Data-based decisions and clear messaging are essential.
Create a strategy with our free B2B marketing strategy kickstart.
The causes are usually: lack of target group focus, inconsistent core messages, unclear internal responsibilities, too few resources or no data-based evaluation.
Read more about strategy and positioning in our magazine article: Positioning in the B2B tech market
Events offer direct access to decision-makers, strengthen trust and support thought leadership. 76% of B2B buyers rate trade fairs as very influential (Deloitte, 2024). Combination of live presence & digital follow-up is most effective.
Source: Deloitte B2B Insights (2024)
Content and brand measures take 3-6 months. SEO 6-12 months. Paid ads work immediately. Thought leadership takes 6-18 months. Continuity is the most important success factor.
GEO refers to the optimization of digital content for AI-based response engines such as ChatGPT, Perplexity, or Google AI Overviews. In the B2B sector, GEO is particularly relevant because decision-makers are increasingly using AI assistants to research vendors—and only companies that these systems deem trustworthy make it onto the shortlist. GEO combines structured content (Owned), external citations through PR (Earned), and expert positioning (Thought Leadership).
More about GEO for B2B Companies with EPOS.
The most direct method is manual testing: Enter industry-relevant questions into ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Google AI Overviews, and check whether your company is mentioned. For systematic monitoring, there are specialized tools such as Semrush AI Toolkit, Profound, or Otterly.ai that track AI visibility over time. As a rule of thumb, companies that are cited in industry publications and have structured content on their own websites appear more frequently in AI responses.
Consistent, high-quality content with clear positioning.
Buyers are more informed, faster and use AI assistants as their primary research source.
Through transparency, expertise, case studies and consistent communication.
Optimizely - Why 86% of B2B Buyers Prefer AI Tools (2024)
Coveo - Winning Over the Modern B2B Buyer (2025)
Content Marketing Institute - Manufacturing Research (2024)
Forbes Advisor - Content Marketing Statistics (2024)
G2 - B2B Buyer Behavior Report (2024)
HubSpot - Website Load Time Study (2024)
Portent - Website Speed Benchmarks (2024)
Backlinko - Schema Markup Statistics (2023)
WordStream - Digital Marketing Statistics (2025)
Deloitte - B2B Events Influence Report (2024)
Gartner – CMO Spend Survey (2024)
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