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Measuring success in B2B marketing often comes down to last-touch attribution. But is that a fair way to judge what’s working? For instance, if a lead converts after seeing a targeted pay-per-click (PPC) ad, what about the LinkedIn post or webinar that led them to Google the product in the first place? According to VC firm Theory Ventures, startup sales cycles are getting longer, hitting an average of 75 days in 2023. That means leads can interact with a brand several times before finally making a purchase. It also means higher-funnel/awareness content can end up doing a lot of the legwork while lower-funnel/sales-enablement content gets all of the glory. Why is this a problem? Because business leaders make decisions based on concrete ROI data, and they tend to allocate more resources to areas with proven results. That can leave many important content marketing plays (like social media posts, blog articles, and email campaigns) high and dry. So, how can B2B marketers make a case for a full-funnel strategy—and especially for early-stage assets that set sales up for the win? Here are some ideas from our team to get the conversation started: 🧰 Leverage analytical tools like HockeyStack that can track the entire customer journey from first to last touch (with privacy controls in place)—or monitor it in-house if you have the resources to spare. 🔭 Look beyond conversions, and consider the progress of other metrics from across the funnel, like assisted conversions, new/returning visitor data, average engagement times, and keyword rankings. 📋 Similarly, create unique content and KPIs for each distribution channel. Acknowledge that blog posts and digital ads (for example) play different roles but work together toward a common purpose. 🤔 Get critical. Challenge decision makers at your company to think about the journey(s) *they* took before sizing up and selecting their last vendor. We’re willing to bet it went beyond a single sales call. What are your thoughts on the attribution problem in B2B marketing? Is the assist just as important as the goal?

Navigating New Norms: Key Insights from the 2024 B2B Marketing Benchmark 🚀 Despite recent economic upheavals, LinkedIn's latest benchmark reveals how marketers are adeptly navigating and preparing for future challenges. Here’s a glimpse into the strategic shifts shaping the landscape of B2B marketing: 1️⃣ Strategic Adaptations Are Paying Off 🎯 The push towards more strategic planning is evident, with over two-thirds of marketers reorganizing to enhance effectiveness. This strategic shift is not just about acting but reacting swiftly to market dynamics. Digital channels are leading the charge, but traditional avenues like trade shows still play a pivotal role. 2️⃣ Investing Wisely 📊 Marketers are increasing their stakes in video, influencer content, and case studies, foreseeing these as the big winners in the coming year. It's a move driven by the need to adapt and innovate within the digital world. 3️⃣ Generative AI: From Awkward to Essential 🤖 The rapid adoption of Generative AI tools marks a significant evolution in the marketer's toolkit, with over two-thirds of marketers integrating this technology. Despite concerns about the loss of human touch and accuracy, the benefits—increased efficiency and smarter targeting—are too compelling to ignore. 4️⃣ Creativity Unleashed 🌟 B2B doesn’t mean boring. Marketers are championing creativity akin to B2C levels, driving brand engagement and establishing credibility. It’s about making bold moves to stay top-of-mind in an ever-competitive market. 5️⃣ Data-Driven Decision-Making 📈 With data at the steering wheel, 82% of marketers feel confident in demonstrating their impact on business goals. Yet, the challenge remains to consolidate this data to unearth deeper insights and drive interdepartmental alignment. 6️⃣ CMO’s Expanding Influence 🤝 Today's CMOs are more than just marketing leaders; they are strategic partners in the C-suite, navigating both the present needs and future directions of their businesses. As we look to the future, the focus sharpens on growing high-quality lead pipelines, implementing AI strategically, and leveraging data to inform decisions. The path is set for a transformative journey in B2B marketing. Want to dive deeper into these insights and discover how you can apply them to your strategy? 👀 Check out LinkedIn's full report on the 2024 B2B Marketing Benchmark. https://lnkd.in/gKuchq6H #B2BMarketing #MarketingStrategy #LeadGeneration #DigitalTransformation #AI #DataDriven #CreativityInMarketing #SaaSMarketing #AkheleashRaghuramMarketing #ARM

Align your B2B marketing with how buyers actually buy. 1. Demand Creation → create content worth consuming 2. Demand Capture → make it easy for potential buyers to choose you Too often, B2B marketing strategies fall out of sync with the real behaviors of their audience. Because buyers prefer to: • Talk to their peers • Read comparison articles • Try the tool before jumping on a call • Look at case studies for their industry • Ask in communities for recommendations Your content has to reflect that and should: • Encourage change and decision-making • Build trust through consistent, valuable insights • Educate and build awareness of the problems you solve • Offer solutions and thought leadership without gating content Channels to use: • LinkedIn • Podcasts • YouTube • Employees • Communities (e.g. Slack, Discord, Indihackers) • Reddit • Programmativ Advertising (e.g. Stackadapt) Metrics to track: • Reach • Video views • Website traffic • Brand searches • MQLs Demand Capture, on the other hand, is about seizing the moment when the 3% shows intent to buy. Your content here should: • Clearly justify why your solution is the best choice • Disarm objections proactively • Make the conversion process as frictionless as possible • Highlight the cost of inaction Channels to use: • Google • Cognism (intent-data) • Newsletter • SEO (category-based keywords) • Review sites (e.g. G2) Metrics to track: • Opportunities • Inbound pipeline • Won deals • Revenue Keep in mind, that you most of the "dark social" channels will NOT show up in your attribution system. Does that mean that it does not work? No. But it means that you need to adjust how you measure marketing instead of trying to force potential buyers down a path just so you can say "if we spend 2x more on search ads, we will generate 20k additional revenue next month".

🚀 B2B Marketing: Why It's Time to Level Up! 🚀 ✅ It's no secret that the B2B marketing landscape is rapidly evolving, with new trends, technologies, and challenges emerging at a lightning-fast pace. As a B2B marketer, staying ahead of the game is critical to ensuring success in our ever-competitive market. In this post, we'll explore why it's time to level up our B2B marketing strategies and embrace the exciting opportunities that lie ahead. So, buckle up and get ready to take your B2B marketing game to the next level! 🎯 Personalization is the New King: - Say goodbye to generic marketing messages and hello to tailored experiences that resonate with your B2B audience. A study by Salesforce found that over 70% of B2B buyers expect personalized experiences. Invest in data-driven insights and segmentation to deliver targeted content, offer relevant solutions, and create meaningful connections with your prospects and customers. 💻 Embrace the Power of Digital Marketing: - In today's digital era, having a robust online presence is more important than ever. Step up your game by leveraging the full potential of digital marketing channels such as social media, email, content marketing, and SEO. Use compelling storytelling, interactive content, and engaging visuals to capture attention and build brand awareness. Remember, being visible online is crucial to capturing your audience's attention and driving business growth. 📊 The Power of Marketing Analytics: - Gone are the days of relying on intuition alone. In the world of B2B marketing, data is king. Leverage the power of marketing analytics to track, measure, and analyze the performance of your marketing campaigns. Use tools like Google Analytics, CRM analytics, and social media monitoring to gain valuable insights into your audience's behavior, identify what's working, and optimize your marketing efforts for maximum impact and ROI. 🔔 Harness the Potential of Account-Based Marketing

Brace for Impact: The B2B Marketing Revolution! Buckle up, folks! 2023 is signaling a power-shift in B2B Marketing. And 2024 - it's not just about revising your playbook. It's a REVAMP! Here's the skinny. It's no longer about: - Spraying and praying with cold calls - Endless email campaigns that fall on deaf ears - Throwing money at ads that miss their mark Instead, let's lean into: - Authentic and compelling content campaigns - Energetic social selling - Smart, targeted ad spends - Purposeful outreach Why? Because the B2B landscape is transforming! Today's B2B buyers are self-educated, relying on content and communities. Discourses rarely seen outside of B2C are creeping into B2B. Ads only yield results when they pack a punch with both creative and copy. And yes, AI has made email less effective, but ABM? That's still a gamechanger. For early and growth stage start-ups, it's time to embrace this playbook revolution. Here's the breakdown: 1. Content is KING! Redefine your marketing strategy with content as its beating heart. Your audience reacts to WHAT they see and HOW they perceive you. Deliver value, not just noise. You're probably producing 20x less content than you should. Time to ramp it up! 2. Be SOCIAL! People buy from people. Shift your paradigm to social selling, by investing in social media engagement, building your own communities, and maximizing your employees' networks. In 2024, the best B2B brands will be thriving in these social spaces. 3. Paid Ads: More Bang for Your Buck Get your ace content in front of more eyeballs. Use your ads to solve problems and flaunt your solution. Then let 'book a demo' campaigns take the wheel. 4. Account-Based Outbound: The Way Forward 2024 dictates a shift from industry-based to account-based methods. Buyers should be all around you, visible in a wave of leaders consuming your content, accounts signaling buying interest, potential buyers within your community, and engagers on social media. 2024 will not be 'business as usual'. This playbook derived from my hands-on experience, experimentation, and research is a step towards a bolder future. Let's reshape the B2B marketing terrain together. Be part of the game-changing conversation!

Strategic pivot for Founders/CEOs/Marketers of SMB tech companies The TopTrends Shaping Global B2B Marketing Budgets - Overall, 6 in 10 say budgets have increased in the past year. - Over 2 in 3 say budgets will increase in the next year.  - The tech sector is a notable outlier, with respondents from this industry saying budgets have decreased (26%), the most compared to all other sectors. - Despite budgetary constraints, B2B technology company marketers expressed optimism about the future and excitement regarding emerging technologies. - Generative AI is highlighted as a particularly promising technology, along with anticipated upgrades to existing B2B marketing tools. (Source: LinkedIn's The B2B Marketing Benchmark - 2000 B2B leaders across Financial Services, Agency/Advertising, Healthcare, Education, and Professional Service industries, with a focus on 443 B2B leaders in the Technology industry) The trends indicating increased B2B budgets with a notable decrease in the tech sector imply a strategic pivot for tech marketers. This scenario suggests a competitive environment where efficiency and ROI become paramount In this landscape, the role of a Fractional CMO becomes not just valuable, but essential. Here's why: the insights we've discussed don't just outline challenges; they illuminate a path forward. A path where efficiency, ROI, and agility in marketing are not just goals, but necessities. As a Fractional CMO with deep roots in the tech industry and a track record of crafting over 100+ GenAI-driven marketing Prompts (across Insights, strategies, and operations - increasing Marketing efficiencies across functions), my mission is to turn these insights into actionable strategies for your business. We'll zero in on optimizing your budget for high-impact channels and technologies, harnessing data analytics to unearth opportunities, and tailoring our approach to meet the evolving needs of your customers. This isn't just about navigating budget constraints—it's about unlocking growth potential and securing a competitive edge in a challenging market. Ready to explore what a strategic pivot could look like for your company? Let's connect for a strategic session, diving deep into your current marketing landscape and carving out a high-impact plan tailored just for you. Secure your spot for a complimentary strategy blueprint tailored to your business needs. Transform challenges into opportunities: https://lnkd.in/gdEREA5z Upon request, I'm happy to share relevant case studies that demonstrate how I've transformed challenges into opportunities for businesses like yours.

5 Key Trends in B2B Marketing for 2023 As we step into 2023, the world of B2B marketing is evolving rapidly. To stay ahead in the game, it's crucial to keep an eye on the latest trends shaping the industry. In this article, we'll explore five key trends that are set to define B2B marketing in the coming year. 1. Content Personalization: One of the hottest trends in B2B marketing for 2023 is content personalization. Businesses are tailoring their content to cater to the specific needs and preferences of individual clients. This means creating custom content, recommendations, and experiences for each customer, making them feel valued and understood. 2. Video Marketing Continues to Thrive: Video marketing isn't going anywhere. In fact, it's gaining even more momentum in 2023. With the rise of short-form video content on platforms like TikTok and Instagram Reels, B2B marketers are finding innovative ways to use video to engage and educate their audience. From product demos to behind-the-scenes glimpses, video is a powerful tool for storytelling. 3. AI-Powered Marketing: Artificial Intelligence (AI) is playing a significant role in B2B marketing strategies. AI-driven analytics and chatbots are streamlining customer interactions and providing valuable insights. Marketers are using AI to analyze data, predict trends, and automate repetitive tasks, allowing them to focus on more creative and strategic aspects of their work. 4. Sustainability and Social Responsibility: In 2023, businesses are increasingly aware of their environmental and social impact. B2B marketers are emphasizing sustainability and social responsibility in their branding and messaging. Companies that demonstrate their commitment to these values are gaining trust and loyalty from customers. 5. Account-Based Marketing (ABM): Account-Based Marketing is a strategy where marketers focus on specific high-value accounts rather than casting a wide net. ABM allows for a more personalized and targeted approach. In 2023, we'll see even more B2B companies adopting ABM to nurture relationships with key clients and prospects. As we navigate the dynamic landscape of B2B marketing in 2023, these five trends should be on your radar. Embracing content personalization, harnessing the power of video, leveraging AI, championing sustainability, and adopting account-based marketing will help you stay competitive and relevant in the ever-changing world of B2B marketing. Stay tuned for more insights and updates as the year unfolds.

Inspired by Pierre Herubel's insights! 🌟 His observations for significant shifts in B2B marketing for 2024 👇 - GenAI disrupts, buyers go self-serve, budgets shrink. - Content flood, new growth motions, AI for cost-cutting. - Marketers adapt & deliver results.

2024: B2B Marketing is facing 3 major trends: 1. GenAI popped out of nowhere and disrupted every workflow 2. Buyers now prefer to buy without interacting with a salesperson 3. Marketing budgets have decrease - it's the end of GAAC Those are 3 structural shifts that have considerable impacts. Basically everything is changing for marketers: - Workflows → The processes and tactics are changing - Audience → The way their audience buy is changing - Resources → The allocated budgets are changing The hardest part? The trends are happening at the same time. So they have combined effects - here are 3 of those effects: 1. GenAI x Self-Serve Buying Trend = Commodity Content Flood Because buyers prefer to research and purchase on their own, marketers need to multiply online touch points with content. They need blogs, posts, videos, webinars, and images. At the same time, they have a new affordable revolutionary tool to produce this content at scale. This leads to a massive flood of commodity content on the internet in every industry. 2. Self-Serve Buying trend x End of Growth at All cost = New Growth Motions The leadership is asking marketers to find new growth motions. To be exact; new growth tactics that require lower investment and higher ROI. Those tactics ALSO need to match the new way businesses buy. That's why every businesses are now experimenting personal brands, content, communities, ABM, organic socials. (or at least the one that need to adapt) 3. End of Growth at All cost x GenAI = Cost Cutting Businesses need to (a) decrease marketing budgets (ad spend, teams, tools...) but (b) keep increasing revenue. Marketers are now asked to integrate GenAI to fill this productivity gap. This effect is clearly the most problematic because it can lead to lay offs. It is also happening in other functions (sales, product, or operations). *** Marketers are now stuck in the middle of those 3 trends and all the side effects. They are trying to understand buyers, integrate AI, and find new growth motions or tactics to fuel marketing-sourced revenue. All of this at the same time while running the operations. This post gives you an overview of the situation with 2158 characters. It's of course more complex and subtle, what would you add? Follow me Pierre Herubel for daily marketing analyses.

How ready is your business or brand, for these changes? Moving forward, the three major trends Pierre Herubel has mentioned will have a significant impact on marketing approaches. There is a shift towards long-term, sustainable growth, demanding lower investment but higher returns. Online touch points are more crucial than ever, as audiences today prefer to carry out their own independent research and make purchases. These are made easier with the increasing availability and use of generative AI, which allows businesses to create content and streamline customer touchpoints more efficiently. These changes present opportunities for marketing the brand and its productivity and are especially beneficial for smaller businesses with limited time and budgets. Still, setting up such systems and adjusting them to meet changes in the market also requires more effort and knowledge. What are your thoughts and challenges when it comes to adapting your businesses' marketing strategies to keep up with current trends?