Last updated on March 23rd, 2016 at 10:18 am
The frustrating thing about being a B2B Marketer is that most of the information out there is geared towards B2C industries.To be a successful B2B marketer you need to be self-educated and learn how to apply marketing concepts to your own industry. One of the best ways to do this is to network and learn from other B2B professionals.
I had the pleasure to attend the B3 – Better B2B Marketer conference where I got to hear some of the top marketers share insights into how they grew their business. This week, I’ll share some of their most powerful insights starting with Tyler Lessard, Chief Marketing Officer at Vidyard.
B2B Marketers Need to Think Like Salespeople
The buyer journey in B2B businesses has changed dramatically. Most prospects complete 60% of their purchasing research by the time they contact you. During that evaluation period, your content needs to clearly explain your value proposition and build strong intent before the prospect reaches out, Lessard told us.
Marketers should focus on Building DEMAND, not just leads
Rather than just focus on accumulating leads, B2B marketers need to think likes salespeople and see how their efforts will affect the buying process in later stages.
Lessard outlined the 5 P’s of marketing to achieve this:
1. People
Train your team with the right mindset. The goal is to drive DEMAND, not just MQLs.
2. Platform
Acquire the right tools so you can be a data-driven organization. Make sure you have the right marketing, CRM, and reporting tools for tracking results at each step of the funnel.
3. Processes
Systematize your marketing by having benchmarks and targets you are going after. Clearly define what qualified a lead is, and when to hand them over to your sales team.
4. Programs
Develop content marketing programs to help grow the business. For example, working with the sales team to develop tailored case studies and other content assets that can be used to drive demand conversions.
5. Perfect
This refers to the ongoing process of: track, report, analyze, and adapt. You shouldn’t just be optimizing just for leads but the performance of the entire funnel. This will give you a better idea of whether or not your marketing efforts are driving business growth.
