2. Today’s business-to-business (B2B) space
encompasses much more than mere lead
generation.
B2B marketers across verticals are implementing strategies in stark contrast from the “best
practices” of just two years ago. Within the context of an extended, multi-touch purchase
funnel, B2B marketers are rising to meet challenges posed by emerging technologies and
increasingly granulated data, as well as demands generated by the business-to-consumer
(B2C) space.
Or they’re attempting to. B2B buyers now require personalized attention at multiple
engagement points, throughout a lengthy, deliberated purchase process spanning media
channels. In fact, the term “funnel” is hardly applicable to modern B2B sales.
"
Appealing to every B2B buyer’s precise The word funnel is not a great representation
needs through a seamless, cross-channel of what marketing is or of lead flow in general.
experience may be daunting, but it isn’t If you pour something into the top of an actual
kitchen funnel, everything drains linearly
impossible—augmenting marketing
downwards and there isn't much leakage.
processes and investing in media- But in marketing, there is no funnel that has
management technology will mitigate the laws of physics helping leads progress
current B2B marketing inefficiencies downwards, and there is no funnel that
and bolster future success. doesn't have leakage or irregularities
regarding where prospects enter and
exit, begin and end. It isn't linear.
Effective cross-channel execution requires
B2B marketers to first understand the Zorian Rotenberg
barriers to implementation. Cross-channel CMO, AppAssure Software
attempts are often ineffective for two In an Interview with Integrate,
reasons: fulfillment fragmentation 27 August 2012
and the overdue acclimation of B2B to
emerging marketing trends and technology.
2 Integrate, B2B Crosses Channels
3. Fulfillment Fragmentation
Fulfillment fragmentation disables B2B marketing’s efficacy. Numerous fulfillment sources
in a decentralized context reduce the control B2B marketers have over compliance, lead to
incoherent delivery and can result in mismanagement, limiting maximum return on ad spend
and strategy effectiveness.
Moreover, fragmentation impedes the measurement and comparison of cross-channel
campaigns. B2B marketers are thus unable to determine the ways in which singular channels
affect one another, much less how or why channel interaction occurs within an entire
multi-channel strategy.
Decentralized fulfillment sources inundate B2B marketers with incongruent data, without
providing a clear vision of respective application. Even when vendors report fulfillment in real
time, B2B marketers are unable to efficiently translate and compare disparate data across
channels, making quick, effective optimization nearly impossible. Meanwhile, delays in
analysis and optimization deplete resources with regard to labor and marketing budget.
"
Some B2B marketers fail to see the value of One of the challenges of having to go to
real-time optimization, but those marketers a bunch of different sources is the risk
are probably aggregating and collating data of missing something. You may miss a
channel that either delivers a lower-cost
from dozens of publishers right now while
lead or a higher-converting lead, or miss an
you’re reading this white paper. They continue
opportunity you didn’t realize was there.
to waste budget on under-performing vendors If you can find the resources that can
and ineffective marketing methods while consolidate those opportunities for you,
marketers on the real-time optimization help do some of the research and bring
bandwagon are lining their pockets with you multiple options, you can make the
an increased return on ad spend, primarily best choices or at least test more options,
which helps you find more efficiently what’s
by using technology to centralize vendor
working. It helps you do your job as a
selection and management. These tools
marketer and it helps you achieve your
automate data accumulation and analysis, goals more efficiently, with less time.
even allowing marketers to shift budget
between publishers based on performance— Matt Heinz
tired excuses and fulfillment fragmentation President, Heinz Marketing
may pose real-time optimization road blocks, In an interview with Integrate,
6 July 2012
but auxiliary technology proves it's neither a
gimmick nor an inflated theory.
3 Integrate, B2B Crosses Channels
4. Many marketers actually exacerbate the deployment, measurement and optimization
issues consequent to fulfillment fragmentation because they spread spend evenly
across channels, without understanding the ripple effect channels have on
one another. Multi-channel marketing strategies with different launch dates, using
diverse campaign models, marketing methods and delivery sources spur chaotic
cross-channel interaction.
Each differentiating feature between campaigns, channels, methods and delivery
makes incremental analysis and understanding almost impossible. Without a
centralized tracking, reporting and media-management system, marketers spend
hours upon hours rationalizing data to quantify every activity's impact on revenue.
"
Consolidated fulfillment enables unified The problem with comparing
reporting, substantially increasing metric disparate fulfillment sources and
clarity and continuity to improve the the incoming data from each one
is really with optimization. It's very,
efficiency with which B2B marketers
very hard to generalize learning
analyze marketing activities. Unified across different sources. To learn
reporting enables the B2B marketer to from 1 and apply to 3, 4 and 5 is
identify not only which touchpoints are almost impossible when they're
most influential, but the ways in which segmented in different ways
touchpoints work together online, and collect different data. Being
offline and across screens. Afforded able to learn from each source
simultaneously, figuring out what
a comprehensive view of channel
they have in common and why that
interaction, B2B marketers can effectively matters and then what to do with
analyze, optimize and reallocate, without that data is crucial to optimization.
wasting time or risking human error. They
are thus able to seamlessly meet B2B Eric Wittlake
buyers’ needs, while accounting for Sr. Director of Media, Babcock & Jenkins
In an Interview with Integrate,
every twist and turn in the multi-touch,
27 August 2012
not-so-linear purchase "funnel."
4 Integrate, B2B Crosses Channels
5. Overdue Acclimation
Another major barrier to effective cross-channel strategy implementation in the B2B
space relates to the overdue acclimation of the majority of B2B marketers when it comes to
adopting fresh marketing trends and applying complementary technologies.
Referring to developing marketing trends as fresh is purposeful—fresh marketing trends are
just that—marginally new, inexplicably appealing, quick to get snatched up and prone to expire.
Not all trends stick and not all of them are worth more than a singular attempt followed by a
consolatory pat on the back.
Yet, with so many new concepts and methods making the transition from trend to marketing
mainstay, B2B marketers need to take notice. They must determine which emerging concepts
and B2C methods are pertinent before attempting to understand how they can and will work in
a B2B context.
" "
Progressive B2B marketers follow B2C developments Display retargeting still isn't an assumed staple
closely, and the most sophisticated ones are really in B2B and that represents a missed opportunity.
able to integrate the best of what's out there. As And even though behavioral targeting has been
a whole, B2B marketers are getting better and around in the B2C space for a long time, it's just
smarter with regard to audience targeting from a starting to come around in B2B. Many of the
business perspective rather than a consumer one. best performing B2C line items are slow to pick
It's still a growing market but there's been a lot of up in the B2B space, particularly because the
content written recently about buyer personas and audiences are smaller. There just isn't the level of
understanding who you should sell to, and that's granularity and quantity of data available today
translating into marketers wanting to be able to for B2B as there is for B2C because the latter has
better target their ad efforts and lead gen efforts. huge audiences to sample and B2B audiences can
Even though it has been around in B2C for a while, be much more niche. B2B marketers don't have
that's the way most concepts come about in B2B. the option of purchasing audience segments of
And it's almost better that way. For every year or so people looking for something like SaaS-based ERP
that B2B is behind B2C, that's another year for the systems. The kind of audience segmentation and
technology and concepts and entire approach to audience data that B2B marketers would need isn't
get better. By the time a new development reaches available today the way it is for consumer, but the
the entire B2B marketing community, it has been space is always advancing. There are techniques
through multiple overhauls and all of the kinks and technologies available today that would've
are worked out. been unheard of just a couple of years ago.
Craig Rosenberg Eric Wittlake
Sales and Marketing Consultant Sr. Director of Media, Babcock & Jenkins
In an interview with Integrate, 31 August 2012 In an interview with Integrate, 27 August 2012
5 Integrate, B2B Crosses Channels
6. This comprehension angle is especially important as emerging marketing trends including mobile
and social media become “must haves” rather than “nice to haves.” B2B marketers must take
their understanding of the ripple effect a step further, regarding how they can manipulate it to
work in their favor. Successful cross-channel strategies rely on that ripple effect—measuring
one channel in isolation is misleading, and cohesive strategy development requires tactically
influencing channel interaction in order to meet overall brand goals.
Determining how much spend to allocate toward each channel relies on understanding how they
do work and don’t work together—your TV ads were popular so they might have driven the best
quality and largest volume of results, but those digital campaigns looked awesome so people probably
liked them too, but then again one of the ads didn’t get much click traffic so—the mess of data can
be discouraging, even more so in a time when sales and marketing alignment is crucial to B2B
success.
"
Not only are there are a lot of complexities It is essential for B2B marketers to centralize
in marketing at the hands-on, operational their marketing efforts in order to understand
level, it is furthermore complicated because cross-channel strategy interplay, qualifying
marketers are expected to go a level higher
which combination of campaigns, methods and
and quantify how each of their activities is
impacting revenue. And it's even more complex
channels actually works best for them and why.
for marketers lacking the ability to catalog
everything centrally and look at all of the data Devising and revising strategies that
in a uniform manner. B2B executives have to efficiently incorporate the best that offline,
be able to analyze marketing outcomes in a mobile, digital and social have to offer is
way that not only helps them figure out how
especially challenging for marketers without
to build high-impact and high-ROI campaigns,
but enables them to ultimately report that to
marketing automation technology or effective
the CEO and to the VP of Sales and to board cross-channel deployment and measurement
members who might not care about some processes in place.
really cool social media contest the marketing
exec just ran. Marketers have to be able to
demonstrate their impact on revenue, which
gives them credibility in the eyes of the board
and the CEO, because otherwise it's all arts
and crafts. And we're not into arts and crafts
marketing nowadays.
Zorian Rotenberg
CMO, AppAssure Software
In an interview with Integrate,
27 August 2012
6 Integrate, B2B Crosses Channels
7. Complementary technology simplifies B2B marketers’ ability to incorporate new trends
into their strategies, improving the ease with which they may then track, analyze and optimize
resulting marketing efforts.
Centralized marketing automation and media-management technology has proven, well-known
benefits. Yet, most B2B marketers are slow to conform and many early-adopters have done so
ineffectively, mistakenly investing in multiple technology systems without understanding how
they should or would work in tandem.
While simply purchasing technology is not a cure-all, avoiding purchases altogether represents
a wasted opportunity. Emerging technologies improve marketing efficiency, consolidate
marketing efforts to enable centralized media-management, cut costs and increase returns
on ad spend.
Considering the significance and impact of emerging concepts and technology, why not invest?
While there is apparent value in both, B2B marketers often instead highlight marketing and
sales alignment as a top priority, putting technology and centralized media-management on the
backburner.
This hierarchy of priorities isn’t surprising; an increased focus on marketing and sales alignment is
permanently altering the B2B space and effectually rewriting the B2B marketer’s job description.
" "
Marketing is a lot of complex things intertwined The marketing automation space, though it’s
and it isn't as simple to report your production booming, is in its infancy. There are significant
factor as it is for sales. Marketers have to deal dollars going into these systems, but it’s a
with incongruent output and outcomes, as well fraction of what companies have historically
as activities that lack measurability in many ways. spent to acquire new leads month after month.
Properly tracking and managing all of that data And yet, with the right technology you can
and being able to convert and align all of it so naturally attract, engage, nurture and convert
you can compare apples to apples, is the only way a higher percent of leads over time into closed
marketers can quantify their impact on revenue. business.
Zorian Rotenberg Matt Heinz
CMO, AppAssure Software President, Heinz Marketing
In an interview with Integrate, In an interview with Integrate,
27 August 2012 6 July 2012
7 Integrate, B2B Crosses Channels
8. "
Companies now expect B2B marketers to B2B marketers have a bigger job than
quantifiably demonstrate marketing’s business they’ve ever had before. Previously, you
value, forcing marketing professionals to somehow could do your events, generate your leads,
pass them off to the sales team and kind
merge sales and marketing goals without favoring
of be done with it. Well now, not every
or diminishing the efficacy of either. In this sales lead is equal. Some we pass along,
scenario, lead quality isn’t determined by how well some we score and nurture—we have
a prospect’s credentials match a targeting profile, different strategies for different leads, more
but by that prospect’s level of sales-readiness at offers and marketers are getting far more
multiple engagement points. involved at stages of the buying process
and sales process that they haven’t before.
Consolidating the options and the sources by
Lead quality now outweighs lead volume, which marketers find and engage prospects
requiring B2B marketers to augment the way is important if for no other reason than it
they plan, launch, track and analyze advertising makes the marketer’s job easier—there’s
initiatives in order to meet lead quality and incredible value in that level of efficiency
close rate requirements. Attempts to align sales for marketers today and moving forward.
and marketing goals without compromise have
Matt Heinz
changed the B2B marketer’s job, encompassing
President, Heinz Marketing
increased responsibility and data to handle within In an interview with Integrate,
and around the purchase funnel. 6 July 2012
Demonstrating the business value of marketing is becoming a necessity and will dominate
the B2B space as time goes on. Systematizing aspects of marketing and sales processes in a
centralized format may be key to sales and marketing alignment in the future. Technology
promises to simplify the B2B marketer’s job, while catering to marketing and sales managers
alike, especially with regard to data management.
"
The marketing automation movement pushes marketing organizations to be more rigorous not only about
what they’re doing on a daily basis but with regard to their effect on revenue. In the past, marketers would
buy leads in bulk and let sales sift through them. And now the B2B marketer has come to the realization
that just because someone raises their hand initially doesn’t mean they're immediately ready to buy. The B2B
buyer takes their time and it’s on their terms and their clock, not our clock. The marketing automation space
has been a real breakthrough for B2B marketers because it allows them to embrace this fundamental shift in
buying behavior and engage with prospects at every step of the sales process, providing them with the content
they actually need and want to see over time.
Craig Rosenberg
Sales and Marketing Consultant
In an interview with Integrate, 31 August 2012
8 Integrate, B2B Crosses Channels
9. "
Marketing in itself is incredibly complicated Marketers are increasingly thinking of
and requires B2B marketers to take into technology as a core part of their strategy and
account strategic criteria relevant to their implementation. We’re seeing more marketing
organizations in B2B be strategic and make
own products, verticals and respective trends,
investments in technology where those dollars
in conjunction with hundreds of data points previously had gone towards traditional media
regarding their buyers, as well as every piece and direct marketing channel expenditures. I think
of information that goes into marketing we're going to see more and more companies and
and comes out the other side in the form of more and more marketers become far more savvy
not only dollars and cents, but impressions, about the technology they're using to accomplish
acquisitions, KPIs and more. the same goals they've always had.
Matt Heinz
It’s no different in sales. Every decimal and President, Heinz Marketing
dollar sign contributes to a bigger picture, yet In an interview with Integrate,
the sheer quantity of data lends itself to error. 6 July 2012
Centrally tracking and managing marketing and sales data enables organizations to better
manage and support efficiency in both departments. Technology not only facilitates cross-
channel marketing efficacy, it allows companies to automate both marketing and sales
processes in one, central, aligned location.
"
Marketing automation has fostered communication between sales and marketing departments and most
of the marketing automation vendors are actually recommending increased sales-marketing communication.
They spend a lot of time talking about sales and marketing alignment because marketing automation is an
opportunity for both departments. The technology already promises to make marketing more efficient and
incorporating sales in the lead definitions process helps marketers generate the type of leads with the level
of quality that their sales reps are looking to engage with. Marketing automation has brought those two
sides to the table and they’re communicating a lot more than they have in the past, which streamlines
both departments and helps them to generate more revenue overall.
Craig Rosenberg
Sales and Marketing Consultant
In an interview with Integrate, 31 August 2012
9 Integrate, B2B Crosses Channels
10. Conclusions
B2B marketers need to adapt. As the B2B space evolves, resolving the aforementioned
cross-channel barriers relies on tactical, multi-faceted process adaptation with regard to
current marketing strategies, as well as the systems used to deploy and monitor them.
Just as a faulty strategy will not work within a stellar automation system, a faulty
system cannot support a superb multi-channel marketing strategy. To properly
adapt, B2B marketers must:
• Understand the value of new marketing trends and venture into new channels
• Highlight the value of not only creative but reporting, tracking and analytics
• Make sense of and harness the cross-channel ripple effect
• Formulate multi-touch, audience-centric strategies
• Jump on the real-time optimization bandwagon
• Reduce the amount of human error leading to haphazardly run campaigns
• Diminish fulfillment fragmentation to simplify management requirements
Most importantly, effectively implementing cross-channel marketing strategies
requires B2B marketers to centralize their marketing efforts in order to improve
efficiency, scalability and consistency.
Decentralized processes result in a host of issues, which will continue to bar
marketers from cross-channel success if ignored.
10 Integrate, B2B Crosses Channels
11. Interview Contributors Editoral & Production
We would like to thank our interviewees for Project Lead & Writer:
generously donating their time and expertise Hannah O'Regan — Senior Writer / Editor
to this project.
Contributors:
Matt Heinz David Crane — Managing Editor
President, Heinz Marketing Roland Nadeau — Writer / Editor
Craig Rosenberg About Integrate
Sales and Marketing Consultant
Integrate is an advertising technology and
Zorian Rotenberg services provider that offers a Centralized
CMO, AppAssure Software
Media-Management Platform (CMMP). We
empower media buyers to plan, launch,
Eric Wittlake analyze and optimize their marketing
Sr. Director of Media,
strategies across a regulated ecosystem,
Babcock & Jenkins
unifying performance, digital and traditional
media. Our solutions increase operational
Related Links efficiency, ad performance and brand security.
• B2B Digital Marketing Blog
Integrate.com
• Babcock & Jenkins 4900 N. Scottsdale Rd., Suite 4000
Scottsdale, AZ 85251
• Funnelholic Blog
• Heinz Marketing Contact Us
866-478-0326
• Matt Heinz Blog editorial@integrate.com
11 Integrate, B2B Crosses Channels
