Marketing must close the revenue impact gap by engaging target accounts throughout the customer lifecycle. Lead-focused strategies, as well as traditional marketing playbooks, were effective years ago. Marketers must now adopt effective strategies that can engage buyers at any time and drive revenue impact for a long-term competitive advantage.
Over the last few years, there has been a significant upheaval in B2B marketing, which has been accelerated by changing market conditions, purchasing behaviors, and data privacy regulations. More people nowadays have the freedom to work from anywhere. Rising inflation and a shaky economy have impacted marketing teams, who are under pressure to maximize the value of every marketing dollar.
It’s difficult to connect the dots between various marketing channels, and many decision-makers have become more difficult to reach. With so much noise coming from so many digital channels, it can be difficult to execute the right messaging at the right time. B2B marketing strategies, such as “spray and pray,” are no longer effective. And, with budgets under scrutiny, marketing teams are under pressure to use their resources more efficiently and drive engagement.
Also Read: Redefining the B2B Marketing Strategy in The Face of a Looming Recession
Also, marketers are still dealing with third-party disruption. Although Google has delayed its plan to eliminate third-party cookies, the industry will eventually have to survive in a cookie-less world. Third-party data has a rapidly diminishing shelf life, so revenue leaders must maintain momentum to prepare for a cookie-less future while the safety net is still in place.
These elements lead to a revenue impact gap, which is the difference between current market dynamics and what marketing is doing now to drive more revenue, such as intent data, leads, and so on. It is time for marketers to bridge this gap. Closing this gap necessitates a shift in mindset in order to resist the urge to obsess over leads and instead focus on the entire customer journey.
However, it will be difficult to resist the urge to obsess over leads and instead focus on the entire customer journey. However, a new era has begun, one that is based on account-focused, data-driven experiences that span the entire customer lifecycle and not just the top of the funnel.
Reviving Marketing as a Revenue Generator
The revenue impact gap exists because most marketing strategies were designed for a different time period. And the status quo approach is no longer sufficient. Depending on just the lead-based funnel can make closing the gap difficult.
Intent data is not a silver bullet and can only go so far. Go-to-market teams should think about providing an engaging, consistent, and personalized experience throughout the customer journey.
Marketers should take a coordinated approach to balance legacy demand generation with ABM to close the revenue impact gap and direct their budget to targets who will convert. They should not dismiss the lead-based funnel; it is beneficial to have and can be used in tandem with the account funnel as they strengthen and improve each other by coexisting. Conversion rates, lead scores, lead numbers, and form fills are all insufficient. However, when marketing combines this with an ABM strategy that engages consumers throughout their journey, new doors open.
Closing the Revenue Impact Gap
Many marketing teams over the years to engage consumers have depended on the lead-focused funnel as an inbound engine. However, it is time to shift their focus to a revenue flywheel. The revenue flywheel spans the entire customer lifecycle. It’s not just about bringing in new customers. It enables them to engage target accounts while also widening the net of top-of-funnel activity and brand awareness.
Whether marketing acquired an account through their lead funnel or ABM, when it becomes an opportunity, they must treat it with the utmost care. Marketers, for example, can use landing pages and display advertising to share educational content about their products in order to raise awareness and keep opportunities moving through the funnel.
Also Read: Strategies to Ingrain Agility into B2B Marketing Operations
Once the ball is passed to ABM, marketers can use deeper buyer or purchasing committee insights to create a persona- or stage-based ads and activate curated content through emails, chatbots, or other channels to convert those accounts into closed deals.
Marketing leaders must also align their entire go-to-market team, including customer experience and sales, around these motions to further unlock the flywheel. To drive and maintain revenue, anyone who deals with customer relationships should commit to an account-centric approach.
It is important to personalize the B2B buying experience across all touchpoints, from initial contact to upsell opportunities. This could help them rev up the revenue engine, pinpoint customer intent, attract and retain more customers, and close deals.
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