9 Benefits of Programmatic Advertising for B2B Sales
B2B programmatic advertising is revolutionizing the way companies are able to target and reach their business customers. Using automated platforms and technologies, the programmatic ad process enables real-time bidding for ad space and optimized placement that boosts engagement.
Today, programmatic advertising is also becoming a competitive imperative for companies that want to keep up with both peers in their industries and a digital landscape that’s getting bigger and faster all the time. By incorporating programmatic advertising into your strategy, you can scale your advertising to align with market demands without sacrificing quality or targeting precision.
In this guide, we’ll explain how the B2B programmatic advertising process works and cover 9 powerful benefits you can gain from adopting it.
Quick Takeaways:
- Programmatic advertising leverages automation and algorithms to target and place ads at scale across digital platforms.
- The process eliminates the need for slower manual media buying methods.
- Benefits of programmatic advertising include cost efficiencies, data-driven insights, enhanced brand reach, and high levels personalization (among others).
- Programmatic ad spend has doubled over the past five years and is projected to continue growing for the foreseeable future.
What Is Programmatic Advertising and How Does it Work?
Programmatic advertising is a highly automated, algorithmic process for buying and selling digital ad space. It has transformed the media buying landscape, which was once marked by manual negotiations and required purchasing ad inventory directly from publishers.
With B2B programmatic advertising, brands can reach their target audiences with precision across a range of platforms that include websites, mobile apps, social media, search engines, and more.
Here’s how it works:
When a user visits a website or application, an instantaneous auction occurs through an automated programmatic advertising platform. Advertisers submit their bids in real-time, and in just a fraction of a second, an algorithm determines which one wins. The winning ad is then displayed to the user.
For the user, this entire process takes place behind the scenes and happens in the milliseconds during which their page is loading.
Programmatic advertising relies heavily on data to identify the right audience for every ad. Advertisers define their target audience using specific data points such as demographics, location, browsing behavior, and interests to help the ad platform place their ads accurately.
Machine learning and algorithms play a key role in making this happen. These technologies are able to analyze vast amounts of data to make split-second decisions about ad placement, pricing, and targeting. Over time, they learn user interactions and campaign performance to optimize results even further.
At the same time, automation eliminates the need for manual media buying and removes human error from the process. Once advertisers set parameters and budgets, programmatic ad platforms take care of the rest, including bid adjustments, ad placement, and reporting.
9 Benefits of B2B Programmatic Advertising for B2B Sales
From an overarching perspective, programmatic advertising benefits B2B sales because companies can scale up and widen the scope of their advertising strategies, all while achieving more accurate targeting and smarter ad buying decisions.
Let’s dive deeper into 9 of the specific benefits related to these areas and how they help to boost sales results over time.
Precise Audience Targeting
Programmatic advertising empowers businesses to target their ideal customer audiences with new levels of precision. Ads are optimally placed to reach the right users at the right times, increasing the likelihood of conversion.
This level of targeting sets programmatic advertising apart from traditional media buying, which involves targeting at a more rudimentary level where messages often reach a broader audience.
Real-time Optimization
Programmatic advertising allows for real-time optimization capabilities. Marketers can adjust campaigns at any time—for example, by scaling up a successful campaign or pivoting in response to changing market conditions.
This enables companies optimize their budget allocation, creative content, and targeting parameters to maximize ROI. At the same time, they’re able to stay more agile and responsive to external factors, such as audience behavior and market changes, ensuring ad spend is always used efficiently.
Cost-Efficiency
Programmatic advertising often translates into cost savings for advertisers. The process is streamlined to minimize intermediaries (who often take a share of the budget) and increase efficiency at every step. At the same time, ad spend is optimized more effectively to increase the return companies get on ad spend.
This means marketers can expand their ad strategies and/or reallocate funds to other strategic marketing initiatives they have planned.
Data-Driven Insights
The data-rich nature of programmatic advertising offers advertisers a goldmine of insights. Marketers gain access to a wealth of data and analytics, providing a deep understanding of campaign performance and user behavior.
This information is invaluable in refining future strategies, making data-driven decisions, and optimizing campaigns for better results. B2B marketers can use these insights to fine-tune their audience targeting, messaging, and overall approach, ultimately leading to more effective and efficient marketing efforts.
Enhanced Reach
Programmatic advertising reaches an extensive network of websites and apps, allowing businesses to extend their brand reach far beyond the limitations of traditional advertising. This ability to cast a wider net while maintaining precision targeting sets programmatic advertising apart for B2B organizations.
Personalization
It’s no secret that today’s consumers want personalized experiences. This is true especially in the B2B landscape, where buyers are more likely to choose providers that demonstrate they’re in tune with their unique company- and industry-specific needs.
Research shows that 70% of consumers will not only engage with messages that are personalized, and 80% say tailored experiences increase the likelihood of purchase.
Ads are no exception, and programmatic advertising is what allows companies to deliver on increasing customer expectations for personalized experiences. By heavily leveraging user data in their placement process, programmatic ad platforms ensure your message is always reaching relevant audiences.
Cross-Channel Consistency
Maintaining a consistent brand message across various digital touchpoints is essential for building a strong brand identity. Programmatic advertising ensures your brand message remains uniform, creating a seamless and cohesive customer experience.
Whether a user encounters your brand on a website, social media platform, or mobile app, the message and imagery remain consistent, reinforcing your brand’s credibility and trustworthiness. This consistency is particularly important in B2B marketing, where brand reputation more heavily influences purchasing decisions.
Competitive Advantage
The B2B landscape is crowded in every industry. Winning new business over competitors requires the ability to reach potential customers first and engage them in ways that align with their preferences and needs. Programmatic advertising makes this possible at scale, ensuring you never miss an opportunity and that your ads are accurately placed based on continually-refined data insights.
Remarketing Opportunities
Programmatic advertising offers powerful remarketing features that allow advertisers to retarget users who previously engaged with their brand, keeping their products or services top-of-mind. Remarketing is highly effective for B2B sales in particular, as it nurtures leads to increase the likelihood of conversions.
Putting It All Together
As the digital landscape has evolved and grown tremendously, programmatic advertising has emerged as a critical technology for helping brands scale their ad strategies accordingly. Companies are adopting it as part of their strategies at a fast-increasing pace—over the last five years, programmatic ad spending has more than doubled, and it’s expected to continue growing over the next few years.
This also suggests that programmatic advertising is becoming a competitive necessity. Brands who don’t adopt the programmatic process and maintain slower ad strategies will inevitably fall behind. The time is now for B2B organizations to implement this and other automated, data-driven approaches to winning new business.
If you’re looking to level up your outbound B2B marketing and sales efforts, RevBoss can help. Our platform and services are custom-built for startups, consultancies, marketing agencies, and other B2B organizations.
Schedule a quick call with us to learn more and get started.