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The economic climate is the primary driver of marketing spend decisions for 42% of senior B2B marketers. Close behind are corporate financial performance (41%) and customer demand and intention (39%). These insights reveal the complex considerations B2B marketers must balance in an ever-changing economic landscape. Senior B2B marketers identify the siloed ownership of data assets as the top challenge in achieving organizational adoption of new tools and platforms. This fragmentation hinders seamless integration and data-driven decision-making. Despite this, there is strong consensus on the investments that promise the most significant value and ROI: generative AI tools and customer data platforms. By prioritizing these technologies, B2B leaders can overcome data silos, enhance efficiency, and drive substantial growth in their marketing efforts. https://lnkd.in/gAk32uva MarketingProfs | Ayaz Nanji | #B2BMarketing #MarketingStrategy #EconomicClimate #DataIntegration #AIInMarketing #Activate_ms

In today’s digital marketing landscape, reporting dashboards and the plethora of metrics they provide reign supreme. While it’s never been easier to gain complete visibility into every aspect of B2B marketing performance, deciphering the difference between truly meaningful data and ancillary information is a formidable challenge. To navigate this complex terrain, B2B marketers must understand which metrics are most critical and how they align with different funnel stages. Navigating the B2B reporting data challenge involves more than just collecting data from various sources—it’s about telling the story behind the numbers. According to Salesforce, marketers use an average of 18 data sources, making it crucial to contextualize insights and highlight opportunities for improvement. This is especially true when presenting metrics to stakeholders who may not be well-versed in digital marketing. Prioritizing the right metrics by funnel stage, from awareness to consideration and decision, ensures that all stakeholders—from the C-suite to the sales team—can engage meaningfully with the data and drive informed, strategic decisions. Forbes | Dave Foster | #B2BMarketing #DataDriven #MarketingMetrics #DigitalMarketing #MarketingStrategy #Activate_ms

Attribution remains one of the most pressing challenges in B2B tech marketing, especially when showing influenced revenue throughout the funnel. Demand gen marketers easily measure ROAS, but brand marketers struggle with fragmented metrics like reach, impressions, and clicks. Enter Brand-to-Demand (B2D), a strategy that tracks engagement from the top of the funnel to deal closure. Success hinges on collaboration and budget; brand and demand gen marketers must co-invest in complementary campaigns and allocate meaningful budgets to achieve impact. Partnering with a full-funnel media company is essential. B2D with such a partner provides the needed attribution, showing prospects engaged through to deal closure, aiding in lead scoring and prioritization. Dive deeper into these key learnings by reading our latest article! #B2BMarketing #BrandToDemand #MarketingAttribution #FullFunnelMarketing #TechMarketing #Activate_ms

Did you know you already possess invaluable intent data within your existing campaigns? You don’t need to buy it. By analyzing the data from your ongoing efforts, especially within current accounts, you'll uncover insights far deeper than any purchased data could offer. The key is knowing where to look and how to interpret it. Once you do, you’ll realize that the narratives around “signals” aren’t entirely accurate. We've been conditioned to believe that a prospect’s interaction with our content directly indicates their interest in buying our product. Intent data mixes first-party and third-party signals, hinting at company interest through ad engagement, web activity, and more. However, extensive evaluation across various industries reveals a stark reality: only a small fraction of these signals truly reflect buying intent. The real gold lies in understanding the behavior and motivations of your audience over time, not in the fleeting “signals” that supposedly indicate purchase intent. Don’t be misled by the allure of intent data—dig deeper into your own engagement metrics to uncover the genuine insights that drive meaningful customer interactions and long-term relationships. Ready to transform these insights into actionable opportunities? Our expertise in leveraging your internal data will help you identify and engage high-potential prospects, filling your pipeline with qualified opportunities. Activate's data-driven approach ensures that your marketing efforts are not only targeted but also effective, maximizing your ROI and driving substantial growth! MarTech | Scott Gillum | #B2BMarketing #DemandGeneration #MarketingInsights #IntentData #DataDrivenMarketing #Activate_ms

55% of marketers believe salespeople should be involved in the content creation process, while 50% of salespeople think marketers should produce more personalized content and messaging. This collaboration ensures that content resonates with target accounts, making ABM efforts more impactful. Furthermore, 53% of marketers want a feedback loop from sales to refine strategies, and 50% of salespeople require account insights based on marketing activity, fostering a data-driven approach to ABM. Moreover, recent research underscores the importance of accurate data and strategic collaboration. A significant 58% of marketers need salespeople to regularly update CRM systems with precise data, enhancing the alignment and effectiveness of ABM campaigns. On the other hand, 53% of salespeople desire marketers to engage in detailed account planning, ensuring that both teams are on the same page. This mutual dependency is vital for driving successful ABM strategies, ultimately leading to better-targeted efforts and improved results. https://lnkd.in/dHX-C5Dw MarketingProfs | Ayaz Nanji | #ABMsuccess #B2BMarketing #SalesCollaboration #DataDrivenMarketing #StrategicPartnerships #Activate_ms

Activate was in London this week, sharing fantastic dinners with Salesforce and Media Futures Group for Google. Strengthening partnerships, sharing insights, refining strategies, and deepening relationships for future success! #Activate_ms #Salesforce #MFG #Google #Partnerships #Strategy #Networking

As B2B buying increasingly shifts online, companies face a growing challenge: identifying and engaging with potential customers who visit their websites. Traditional methods of identifying site visitors—such as web forms, chatbots, and IP address tracking—have had their limitations. However, modern challenges like remote work and heightened privacy concerns have made these methods less effective. To stay competitive, businesses must leverage advanced tools to enhance their marketing and sales processes, ensuring they can effectively connect with and convert their anonymous website visitors. New and advanced solutions are emerging, offering hope and improved strategies for visitor identification. Innovative platforms now provide deeper insights and more accurate retargeting capabilities, streamlining the visitor identification process and allowing businesses to focus on strategy and relationship building. These platforms seamlessly integrate with existing systems, improving the effectiveness of marketing campaigns and providing valuable data on visitor demographics and intent. As these technologies continue to evolve, businesses must stay vigilant and discerning, ensuring they choose solutions that offer precise account-level and contact-level identification to optimize their marketing and sales efforts. MarTech | Ruth Stevens | #B2BMarketing #VisitorIdentification #LeadGeneration #DigitalTransformation #Martech #Activate_ms

When sales and marketing work together seamlessly, an organization can acquire new customers far more efficiently. However, these two critical functions often find themselves at odds. Marketing is pressured to generate leads immediately, often passing low-intent prospects to sales. Sales, in turn, seek 'hot deals' to meet their quotas and grow frustrated when these leads don't pan out. The solution lies in true alignment between sales and marketing, transforming them into a cohesive revenue team. By fostering open communication, setting shared goals, and utilizing data-driven strategies, both teams can work in harmony. Steve Armenti shares his expert insights on how to achieve this alignment. His strategies focus on overcoming common roadblocks, effectively measuring marketing's impact, and scaling personalized, high-touch ABM campaigns. Aligning sales and marketing is not just a strategy; it's a necessity for B2B marketers aiming to drive revenue growth and stay ahead of the competition. With the right approach, these teams can unlock new levels of efficiency and success in the dynamic world of B2B marketing. The B2B Playbook | #SalesAndMarketing #RevenueGrowth #DemandGeneration #B2BMarketing #MarketingStrategy #Activate_ms

In the dynamic world of B2B marketing, analytics are pivotal for deciphering customer behavior, fine-tuning campaigns, and fueling business growth. Yet, the path to effective marketing analytics is laden with challenges. Data overload, quality issues, and complex attribution models can impede the ability to extract actionable insights. Furthermore, integrating disparate data sources and measuring ROI remain daunting tasks, compounded by skill gaps and limited resources. By understanding these hurdles, B2B marketers can implement robust data management strategies, leverage advanced attribution models, and adopt integrated platforms to streamline their efforts. For instance, addressing data overload necessitates a comprehensive data management strategy, utilizing tools like Salesforce or HubSpot to ensure data integrity. Meanwhile, multi-touch attribution models and platforms like Google Analytics 360 can illuminate the impact of diverse marketing efforts. Integration platforms such as Zapier or MuleSoft facilitate the seamless consolidation of data, while advanced analytics tools like Tableau or Power BI aid in ROI measurement. Bridging skill gaps through training or external expertise, and adopting AI-powered tools like IBM Watson Analytics, further enhances analytical capabilities. Embrace these solutions to navigate the intricacies of B2B marketing analytics and achieve sustained growth and success. Vivek Goel | #B2BMarketing #MarketingAnalytics #ROI #DataDriven #DigitalMarketing #MarketingStrategy #Activate_ms

B2B marketers face unique challenges that consumer marketers often don’t encounter. The sales cycles in B2B are longer, involving larger orders and bulk purchases, and the buying process is more complex with multiple decision-makers and stakeholders. This complexity necessitates tailored messaging and precise targeting. Consequently, B2B marketers may focus more on performance metrics than on brand building, where the impact can be harder to measure. However, at their core, B2B and consumer marketing share a fundamental principle: the primacy of Difference in creating brand value for businesses and their customers. Difference is a crucial driver of value, making brands less substitutable and enhancing their Pricing Power. In the B2B context, brands with high Difference can justify premium pricing, contributing significantly to business growth. Research underscores this, showing that B2B brands with strong perceptions of Difference, such as NVIDIA and Intel Corporation, achieve superior market performance. Strategies to build Difference include demonstrating leadership, achieving distinctiveness, and offering superior functional benefits. Regardless of size, every B2B brand should strive to differentiate itself, as this differentiation drives value, supports premium pricing, and ultimately fuels growth. How well does your B2B brand stand out? Kantar | Jenny Peters | #B2BMarketing #BrandStrategy #Differentiation #MarketingTrends #BusinessGrowth #Activate_ms