Smarketrs’ Post

🎯 B2B Marketing Leaders: Are You Still Guessing Your Lead Targets For CY25? Here's the truth - - too many of us start with "we need X% more leads than last year" without any real math behind it. 𝙒𝙖𝙣𝙩 𝙩𝙤 𝙜𝙚𝙩 𝙨𝙩𝙧𝙖𝙩𝙚𝙜𝙞𝙘? Start planning from the bottom up: 1) Get the annual revenue target from sales 2) Use average deal size to calculate how many wins you need 3) Use pipeline stage conversion rates and work backwards through your funnel: • Opportunity to Closed Won Rate • SQL to Opportunity conversion rate • MQL to SQL conversion rate Here's an example: • $10M quota ÷ $100K avg deal size = 100 wins needed • Opportunities needed: At 25% win rate = 400 opportunities • SQLs needed: At 30% SQL-to-Opp = 1,333 SQLs • MQLs needed: At 25% MQL-to-SQL = 5,332 MQLs annually (444 monthly) Now you know exactly how many leads you need - and can explain WHY to your CEO or CRO. 𝙒𝙖𝙣𝙩 𝙩𝙤 𝙨𝙘𝙤𝙧𝙚 𝙖 𝙛𝙚𝙬 𝙗𝙤𝙣𝙪𝙨 𝙥𝙤𝙞𝙣𝙩𝙨? 1️⃣ Build in a buffer (eg 20%) for seasonality and market changes. Your sales team will thank you. 2️⃣ Think about creating a separate plan for inbound (with typically lower deal values and where marketing are expected to generate 100% of the pipeline) and a separate plan for outbound (with typically higher deal values and where marketing might be expected to generate eg 30% of the pipeline). This is part 1 of my series on bottom-up planning. Tomorrow: Why conversion rates are your secret weapon 👀 --------------------- 𝙉𝙚𝙚𝙙 𝙝𝙚𝙡𝙥 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙢𝙖𝙧𝙠𝙚𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙥𝙡𝙖𝙣𝙣𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙣𝙚𝙭𝙩 𝙮𝙚𝙖𝙧? 🎯 DM me or hit the 'book an appointment' link above in my profile to book a slot and we'll review your lead/ demand generation plans 📅 #B2BMarketing #MarketingStrategy #RevOps

It's time to rethink B2B marketing... Lead generation tactics may feel precise, but they neglect the vast majority of your potential market. Focus on building long-term demand with 'performance branding'. 💡 Key takeaways from the article: 1) 95% of buyers aren't actively in the market. Lead gen can't create demand where none exists. 2) Build 'mental availability': Make your brand the first that comes to mind when needs arise. 3) Performance branding leverages the 'RMB' framework: Reach your whole category, Message around entry points, and Brand consistently. Ready to drive long-term growth? Read the full article here => https://lnkd.in/gkGXhrt9

Pardon the soap box: As critical as lead generation is within B2B marketing, we are in danger of over-rotating on "activating names" that fit an ICP profile, while short-changing the need to build brand awareness & brand understanding. By generating leads without a focus on building brand understanding (e.g. what, why a company does what it does - and why it matters to the ICP), B2B companies end up with, yes, big lead and MQL lists that look good on a dashboard but with poor conversion, often left to the BDR or Sales teams to work and activate: a losing game for what is often a high-turnover team with minimal investment in ongoing training. Not to mention prospects who are very hard to engage "live". It's time to relook at how B2B prospects research and buy (hint: it looks a lot like B2C). Good article that highlights some of this:

It's true -- #b2bmarketing is a long-term effort, but it has come to have short-term accountability. And while lead generation should remain an important aspect of Marketing, with all the focus on generating leads, the effort to educate and convince the audience is increasingly being shifted to sales, which is a losing strategy. This is why #brandbuilding is so important. And, let's be clear...BRAND BUILDING IS LEAD GENERATION. Full stop.

Marketing That Matters: 7 Steps to B2B Clarity Marketing is not an endless checklist of 'showing up consistently' and 'automated emails.' It’s about meaningful campaigns that drive revenue and close deals faster. Yet, most B2B execs don’t support marketing—not because they don’t understand it, but because they don’t see its impact. This is why clarity is critical. Inspired by a post from Andrei Zinkevich, here's a seven-step plan to ensure every campaign is clear, actionable, and aligned with business goals. 1️⃣ Revenue Analysis to Shape ICP: Analyse revenue from different markets and verticals. Identify your best customers and narrow down your Ideal Customer Profile (ICP) based on insights from customer interviews and buying patterns. 2️⃣ Targeted Demand Programs: Design specific programs to drive awareness in your target market. Be clear on metrics to gauge success and establish a baseline to measure program impact. 3️⃣ Demand Generation Tactics: Develop targeted programs to generate genuine demand for your service or product. This includes creating valuable content and campaigns that address the specific needs of your ICP. 4️⃣ Account Warming with Sales Collaboration: Identify accounts showing early interest and create strategies to nurture them in collaboration with sales. This ensures a seamless transition when the account is ready for outreach. 5️⃣ Non-Pushy Nurturing for Early-Stage Accounts: Establish nurturing tactics that provide value without being overly promotional for accounts that aren't sales-ready. Educate and engage them to keep them interested over time. 6️⃣ Feedback and Iteration: Gather feedback from key stakeholders and listen carefully to concerns. Address potential objections and fine-tune your approach to ensure alignment across teams. 7️⃣ Detailed Campaign Playbooks: Build a comprehensive marketing plan for each campaign with clear goals, a revenue forecast, leading indicators to track progress, a timeline, and task assignments for the team. This provides a roadmap that ensures everyone is aligned and working towards measurable outcomes. 📢 What’s one thing you think most marketing plans are missing? Drop your thoughts in the comments #b2bmarketing

It's 2024. B2B marketing has changed, but a lot of B2B companies still didn't make the necessary changes... 1. ROLE OF MARKETING IS STILL BEING SALES-ORDER TAKERS OR LEAD GEN. Current state: - Sharing on social press releases and mediocre content - Taking orders from sales (slides, case studies...) - Inbound lead gen (gated ebooks, product pitching webinars) Necessary changes: - Prioritizing marketing and making marketing a strategic role - Focusing on full-funnel marketing operations and everybody-sourced revenue (credits for the term to Jon Miller). 2. INVESTMENTS IN MARKETING ARE APPROVED IF THERE IS A CLEAR ATTRIBUTION AND FAST SHORT-TERM OUTCOMES. Our peers often mention they are facing significant budget cuts. Stakeholders mostly approve lead gen or demand capturing activities. Necessary changes: - Adjusting marketing budget and allocating money for brand awareness and demand generation - Measuring efficiency by positive changes in sales pipeline velocity, target account engagement, inbound opportunities, brand signals. 3. LACK OF MARKETING AND SALES ALIGNMENT IS THE #1 BOTTLENECK. We've surveyed 148 VPs of marketing of B2B tech companies last year. Most of them said that sales and marketing are 2 siloed functions. Sales focus on prospecting and outbound without closely collaborating with marketing. Current state: - Lack of agreement on ICP and target accounts - No regular pipeline and revenue overview - No common plays to warm up and activate target accounts - No alignment on marketing message and unique value proposition Necessary change: - An aligned, account-based allbound approach, where sales and marketing collaborate on the same target --- It's 2024, but still, a lot of B2B companies run obsolete marketing and sales playbooks. The B2B world has changed. What worked decades ago doesn't work now. But the good news are: This gives a competitive advantage to B2B companies that are not scared to change. #b2bmarketing

Partnerships are a popular topic in B2B marketing right now. And so many marketers are running partner webinars, but the impact on pipeline and ultimately revenue varies significantly based on how you engage registrants before, during, and after the event. So we're digging into a secret superpower of every high-functioning marketing team…that helps accelerate the entire marketing funnel...webinar operations. And who better to get into the details with than Taylor Corrado from Wistia, Jared Fuller from Reveal, and Hannah Goldberg from HubSpot. In this live + virtual session at the Happy Customers Festival 🎪, we'll show tactical examples of how to connect webinar and partner data in your HubSpot CRM so you can proactively target the right leads at the right time. We'll discuss how to: -> Identify which accounts have overlap with partners -> Segment your registrants by engagement -> Craft highly targeted messaging based on the data This session is better if you come live, but we will send the recording to everyone who registers - so if your schedule does not allow you to be there in the chat with us, no worries. 🎟️ Register at the link in the comments!

Did you know that account-based marketing (ABM) can significantly boost your B2B growth? 📈 87% of B2B marketers report that ABM delivers higher ROI than other marketing activities. By focusing on targeted accounts, ABM allows you to create personalized marketing strategies that resonate with high-value prospects, leading to better engagement and conversion rates. 🤝 One of the key benefits of ABM is improved sales alignment. Companies using ABM saw a 36% higher alignment between marketing and sales teams, fostering a more collaborative environment and ensuring that both teams work towards common goals. 🚀 ABM also contributes to pipeline growth. In fact, 84% of businesses using ABM reported that it helps to grow their sales pipeline. By targeting specific accounts, you can concentrate your efforts on prospects that are more likely to convert, making your sales process more efficient and effective. 🔄 Customer retention is another significant advantage of ABM. 60% of marketers noted improved customer retention with ABM strategies. Personalized marketing campaigns that cater to the specific needs and pain points of your clients result in stronger relationships and higher satisfaction rates. 🏆 Moreover, ABM users saw a 171% increase in their average annual contract value (ACV). This highlights the power of personalized and targeted marketing in driving substantial business growth. 💼✨ Unlock the potential of ABM with DC Analytics and take your B2B marketing to the next level! www.thedcan.com #ABM #B2BMarketing #LeadGeneration #Sales #MarketingStrategy #BusinessGrowth #CustomerRetention #DCAnalytics

B2B Marketing in 2025, Should focus on these 3 essentials: 🔵 1 Awareness Channel: Where is your audience (for B2B, LinkedIn, Webinars, etc.). 🟢 1 Nurturing Method: What is the simplest way to capture email addresses (e.g., lead magnets). 🔴 1 Conversion Tactic: The most effective way to book demo requests or calls (think “PUSH” emails). ❌ Most strategies are overloaded with SEO, paid ads, webinars, trade shows, and more—leading to scattered efforts ✅ Simplify to maximize impact. Here’s what works for me: 1️⃣ LinkedIn Takeover Build visibility, show credibility, and define your offering through ads or organic posts. Videos and images work really well. The goal? Slowly dominate your niche. 2️⃣ Lead Magnets Quarterly campaigns using guides, playbooks, or webinars to collect 500-1000 targeted emails, turning organic views into leads. 3️⃣ PUSH Emails Relatable, story-driven emails that address problems, showcase customer success and drive action. These convert better than “salesy” pitches. This approach has delivered results across industries like finance, healthcare, retail and more. 🎯 In 2025, focus less on doing everything and more on doing a few things but doing them well. What are the few things that work well for your ICP that you will focus on?

Here is how a B2B marketing strategy SHOULD look like (and how it actually looks in most B2B companies). 𝐌𝐚𝐫𝐤𝐞𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐠𝐲 𝐨𝐟 𝐦𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐁2𝐁 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐞𝐬: 1. Paid ads promoting product/demo 2. Automated email & LinkedIn outreach 3. Gated e-books to generate "leads" 4. Product pitching webinars 5. Low-quality blog 6. Occasional posts on the company's social pages 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐨𝐮𝐭𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐠𝐞𝐭 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐥𝐰𝐚𝐲𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐚𝐦𝐞 (based on the State of Full-Funnel Marketing research): -Miserable "lead" to opportunity conversion and endless debates about the quality of the leads - Missed revenue targets - High cost of acquisition - Extended sales cycle Usually, the core problem of these companies is a lack of marketing fundamentals or a clear GTM strategy. 𝐆𝐓𝐌 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐠𝐲 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐁2𝐁 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐥𝐮𝐝𝐞: 0. 𝐆𝐨𝐚𝐥𝐬. Goals should be based on your current resources, opportunities, and historical growth, not based on wishes or unrealistic expectations. 1. 𝐓𝐚𝐫𝐠𝐞𝐭 𝐬𝐞𝐠𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬. Segmentation is the first step in developing ICP. Different segments have different use cases, buying processes, and revenue potential. You need to select the focus segment. 2. 𝐈𝐝𝐞𝐚𝐥 𝐂𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐫 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐟𝐢𝐥𝐞 (𝐈𝐂𝐏). Here are 5 ICP pillars. - Firmographics - Buying committee - Account segmentation (Tiers) - Qualification and disqualification criteria - Customer research 3. 𝐁𝐮𝐲𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐜𝐞𝐬𝐬. During customer research, define what triggers the buying process, and what are the typical steps buyers take. But keep in mind that most customers are not actively buying. Try to figure out what channels they use for education, who they follow, and what content resonates with them and motivates them to learn more about specific solutions (demand triggers). Understand typical questions, concerns, and inhouse approval process. 4. Positioning and Value Prop. Both are part of your marketing message which communicates why your product is different and worth buying. 5. 𝐅𝐮𝐥𝐥-𝐟𝐮𝐧𝐧𝐞𝐥 𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐤𝐞𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐧. Define programs to influence the whole buying process: — Awareness and demand generation. — Demand capturing and activation — Retention — Expansion — Sales and buyer enablement 6. 𝐂𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐫 𝐬𝐮𝐜𝐜𝐞𝐬𝐬 & 𝐀𝐝𝐯𝐨𝐜𝐚𝐜𝐲. Last stage is often ignored, but without an efficient CS and advocacy, your company will deal with: - Lack of case studies and referrals - High churn Build a great relationship and minimize time to value with appropriate onboarding. Embed customer research in the process. Leverage the opportunity to create case studies and share insights with marketing and sales for further expansion.