Here's how you can mitigate the risks of relying solely on intuition in B2B Marketing Strategy.

From my experience, I can assert that it not only reduces risks, but also saves time and costs. When we understand what truly interests the individuals behind a business (because behind every business there are people), we can devise effective strategies and then optimize them with each data analysis. One of the most common mistakes I see in companies, which I have also made at some point, is creating content, advertising campaigns, and events, prioritizing quantity over quality. However, relying on the analysis of our buyer persona's behavior provides us with the opportunity to be precise and work towards delivering greater value to our target audience.

To further mitigate risks, integrate competitive analysis with your data-driven approach. By comparing your data with industry benchmarks and competitor performance, you gain a clearer understanding of where you stand in the market and what strategies are most effective.

As a B2B Marketing Strategy Manager, I've learned not to rely solely on intuition but to back decisions with solid data analysis. At one point, our team felt certain a campaign would succeed based on past experiences. However, I insisted on a thorough data review before launch. The analysis revealed overlooked variables that would have likely led to failure. By adjusting our strategy based on this new data, the campaign not only succeeded but also exceeded our expectations. This experience reinforced the critical role of data in refining marketing strategies, proving that intuition, while valuable, becomes much more powerful when combined with data-driven insights.

You can reverse engineer a lot from past performance so that you aren't solely relying on intuition. That said, if you do things exactly how they've always been done then whilst you get the benefit of predictability, it is likely to be predictably average! Combining analysis and intuition is important, and you should be making a few bets that go against your better judgement and against what the data says to give yourself the chance of a wild success. Your chances of failure will be higher too, but that's ok.

Not sure if Data should be in first position. I think you have to focus the markets where you want to be relevant in the medium term. Working on Strategic Marketing first, will make all the process much more efficient. By doing initially a deep Market Segmentation, and targeting the right B2B segments which would need you the most so this is the first steep. Just after this beggining I would tidy up all the information you already have about these targeted segments. I would pick, sales team info, sales support team info, data campaigns and getting all the CRM data about these Market segments. Validating all this info before going deeper it s key

Don't just talk to your customers, but also non-customers. Otherwise you are just talking to yourselves and missing the other side. I've had to talk my business partners into this as they didn't see the benefit... but when I provided the insights there was the A-ha moment. The one caution is do not over-research your customers. Their job is not to respond to our interviews/surveys and we do not want to frustrate them. The potential of them asking to be on a DNC list becomes high and that is the last thing you want.

After focusing the right segments I would go directly to hold a deep interview with the targeted customers and non customers to validate all the internal insights (most of them coming from intuition) and letting them to talk about Customer Experience, Value Proposition, Positioning and Customer Journey. Previously, I would define the buying committee and their buyer persona players then I'd interview each one in different customer segments. I would hold these interviews through an external and specialized company or professional to get this insights. Just after getting the interiew insights I would validate them by conducting a digital survey to all the customer database clasiffied by Segment and by Buyer Persona.

Industry benchmarks are your compass, guiding you towards success. These benchmarks are essentially the average performance metrics for various aspects of marketing within the specific industry. By understanding these standards, you can set realistic goals for your marketing campaigns. It's about gaining a clear understanding of how your conversion rates, click-through rates, or social media engagement stack up. This objective analysis helps you identify strengths and weaknesses in your current strategy. Hence, benchmarks are a powerful tool for any B2B marketer – they help you navigate the competitive landscape, set achievable goals, and ultimately achieve marketing mastery.

When utilizing industry benchmarks, also consider the differences in performance across different segments. This approach enables you to customize strategies more effectively, targeting areas where you can either capitalize or improve weaknesses. This nuanced analysis creates a more tailored and effective marketing strategy.

Industry benchmarks are useful, however if you were to look at a breakdown of results, it is likely there is a small number of high performing campaigns that bring the average up and a lot of low to middle performing campaigns. (Similar to 80/20 rule). This means if you achieve an 'average' result it is probably actually slightly above average in real terms. Over-achieving is especially difficult and requires something that truly hits the mark, or does something so differently people respond to it like nothing else.

Why reinvent the wheel? One of my most successful campaigns involved studying a competitor. I recommend looking at at least three competitors in your industry and identifying how they dominate the space. By examining the gaps in the customer journey, you can focus on that step and own it. In one past client case, I was able to generate twice as many leads as they had in the past by identifying a gap where their competition had failed. I focused on nurturing and building that gap, which led to many of the competitor's potential clients discovering and considering our company as an option.

In my role as a B2B Marketing Strategy Manager, I learned the crucial role of thorough competitor analysis to offset the risks of relying merely on intuition. When planning a new product launch, my initial gut feeling was positive, but I conducted a deep-dive competitor analysis. This revealed that several competitors had recently launched similar offerings with varied success. By analyzing their strategies, outcomes, and customer feedback, I adjusted our approach significantly, focusing on unique features that were absent in competitor products. This shift not only differentiated our product in the market but drove better engagement and sales than initially anticipated, showcasing the invaluable role of informed strategy over intuition.

When doing competitor analysis, go beyond surface-level observations by using tools like social listening and SEO analysis like SEMRush to better understand their digital strategy. This detailed insight reveals not just what competitors are doing, but also how they're succeeding. Refine your approach, ensuring you not only match but exceed. Innovate in the areas you see that they're lacking.

Instead of just hoping your ideas will work, test different parts of your campaigns like email subject lines, landing pages, or ad copy. Create two slightly different versions (version A and B) and see which one performs better with your audience. Maybe it's a stronger subject line in your email, or a clearer call to action on your landing page. By comparing the results, you get hard data on what resonates best. This data-driven approach helps you improve your marketing effectiveness dramatically. It's like having a spotlight on what works and what flops, allowing you to optimize your campaigns for better results.

To drive true experimentation, you can leverage real time interaction management, which gives the ability to not just do A/B testing, but ABCDEFGHIJ… testing. Leveraging realtime modeling to determine the best action thru ML, arbitration, and existing models gives you the ability to determine what is best for that specific customer, the seller, and the end users of the service/product. Limiting yourself to A/B testing will set you back in being able to engage your customer and sellers.

Works well sometimes but don't test it to mediocrity - if everybody likes it they might not remember it. Some of the most profound marketing campaigns did not do to well in the testing and then developed a far greater momentum once it was out there.

After validating all the insights, I would share them internally and also update the Value Proposition AND Customer Journey Map . Finally I would create a Customer VoC to be applied annually. Talking now about operations and tactics, I would start by Implementing this insights in the Marketing Content Planning (by doing the content customers want to read), Paid Media Campaigns and also in the Sales Process to see if metrics (CX and revenue) had any impact in the next two years for example.

Assuming you have some experience in B2B marketing strategy, instead of reinventing the wheel, optimize, and stand on the shoulders of giants who have come before you. Unlock the wisdom of the crowds by reaching out to your network, through user groups found on LinkedIn, through broader Google search, or use GenerativeAI to harvest and distill this knowledge. I'd expand outwards in this order so I know the information is so I get the more credible sources out of the way first.

A B2B marketing strategy shouldn’t be based on intuition. It should be a direct reflection of your business goals and strategies. Align your marketing efforts with the overall objectives of your organization, using the marketing assets (people, data, customer base, technology, budget, etc) you have to make a real impact. When your strategy is rooted in your business goals, you ensure your marketing drives meaningful results and supports your company’s broader vision. Intuition is great, but an aligned, fact-based, data-driven strategy is where the real magic happens.