B2B marketing shouldn’t be caged—but is compliance killing creativity?

As B2B marketers, we have an opportunity to deliver so much more, in an industry that is ripe for innovation and disruption. Marketing today has the potential to be a force for positive change that goes beyond its traditional functions, to drive meaningful Return on Investment (ROI) across all areas of the business and be an undeniable catalyst for commercial growth and business development. 

Done well, marketing's influence is hard to contain, but given increasing cost and compliance limitations, marketing leaders must find new ways to drive creative potential. 

The multilingual marketer

A modern B2B marketer needs to speak several different languages—from understanding emerging trends in technology to deciphering financial results and translating these to sales teams. It is only by truly understanding every layer of the business and mastering this multilingual skillset that modern marketers can have a measurable impact. 

In order for marketing to act as a central source of communication for the business as a whole, it is important that there is collaboration and full transparency across the C-suite, senior leadership, financial, marketing and sales teams. Internally, this will enable businesses to build a strong sense of collaboration, cohesion and team belonging while also encouraging different departments to hit their respective targets, develop new skills and maintain motivation. Reflecting this work culture in the B2B marketing strategy is an impactful way to build brand trust and reputation both internally and externally.

Achieving true collaboration across the business means that any existing tensions between key departments must be addressed. For example, misalignment between established sales teams with years of experience and young marketing teams has traditionally created challenges when it comes to translating business priorities. Modern B2B marketers have an opportunity to become well-versed in the day-to-day challenges of the sales team as well as the priorities of key stakeholders to ultimately understand how to best communicate with customers.

At Canon, we live by our corporate philosophy of Kyosei – living and working together for the common good. This value is reflected in the approach I take to my role as B2B marketing director and the belief that marketing has the potential to step into a more integrated and commercially minded role. Marketing has the opportunity to make a bigger social value impact. It is also the command centre, setting prices, driving innovations, bringing transformational change and delivering numbers that showcase Impact and ROI

Compliance is killing creative 

In addition to traditional tensions between departments, compliance is another challenge facing B2B marketing. It is important that marketers reset the balance, dedicating time to maintaining important processes and administration tasks while also thinking about the bigger picture. As compliance requirements continue to evolve, particularly when it comes to data protection, marketing leaders must continue to upskill their staff on how to manage data safely and securely.

Going forward, the acceleration of artificial intelligence (AI) will provide new opportunities for the modern B2B marketer, as it will allow for the automation of administrative tasks, which will free up essential capacity in the marketing team. By leveraging AI tools, businesses can ensure they reduce the margin of human error, ensure data compliance is met and focus their energy on higher-value investments. However, I predict that there will be an adjustment period in 2025 before marketers can fully reap the benefits of this emerging technology, as it is crucial that AI is integrated in a responsible and structured way.

No matter how the future of AI unfolds, it is important that we as B2B marketers remember how we can provide the most value and learn to use tools that allow us to prioritise creativity. 

Sustainable growth across channels 

The ambition to effectively juggle different direct and indirect channels spans the B2B market. At Canon, we pride ourselves on driving a cohesive, multi-channel approach that aims to achieve channel neutrality as a key strategy while also leveraging specific Go-To-Market channels for targeted campaigns and customers to deliver the best ROI. 

Targeted marketing can be a useful approach when working across multiple channels. It focuses on reaching the right audiences with the right messages at the right time, creating highly personalised assets that achieve maximum engagement and impact. 

On top of this, events have made a comeback post-pandemic, and marketers are now re-discovering how traditional marketing formats can be used to cut through the digital noise. In 2025, this will be key focus for us at Canon, as we look to engage deeper with partners, communicate clear brand values and build long-term trust in a way that inspires creativity and innovation. 

The B2B market is constantly adapting to consumer behaviours, which is why we will see an evolution of e-commerce in 2025. In this way, B2B teams will need to navigate selling business products in traditional consumer channels. In this way, B2B marketers will also need to learn how to tap into consumer priorities and align with customer values such as sustainability, brand integrity, and transparency. At the end of the day, marketers should become experts in their company’s philosophy and social value commitments. 

The decentralisation of print

We are already seeing how evolving consumer expectations around print accessibility are reshaping the B2B print market. Canon’s Print In City service is a testament to the growing trend of accessible print in today’s hybrid working world. Canon customers can make their print environment secure and open to the public for walk-in printing services. 

Innovations such as this exemplify how marketing can be used to realign the brand with current consumer trends and challenges. Creating impact doesn’t always require a large-scale project but thoughtful activations that tap into your knowledge of the customer and your brand. This is a major trend that will reshape B2B marketing in 2025.

Conclusion

From juggling compliance and different channels, managing internal teams and bridging the gaps between the business, the brand and the buyer – the role of the B2B marketer is constantly evolving. However, at the crux of this role is our ability to demonstrate value to our business and drive ROI. By speaking multi-lingual business languages, focusing on cohesion and balance between different parts of the business, marketers can build a brand message that resonates with employees and customers alike, and champions the creative potential of B2B marketing.

Khalid Aziz is the marketing director B2B at Canon UK and Ireland.

The opinion piece was first published in Campaign's sister title Performance Marketing World.