This Week in Marketing: Know Your Customer

B2B marketers continue to invest in data and make it a centerpiece of their strategies, informing everything from pipeline forecasts to ROI measurement.?

But one of the most valuable, and differentiating, applications of marketing data is improving your understanding of your target audience. Brands are finding new ways to uncover insight about their customers and prospects, then channeling this knowledge into powerfully connective, resonant campaigns.?

The latest edition of our weekly newsletter for B2B marketers highlights fresh thinking on data-driven customer insights, and how these insights can strengthen your brand strategy.

What to Read

The Art and Science of Brand (LinkedIn Collective): Reviewing data from an expansive analysis of global brand lift tests, LinkedIn’s David Walsh shines a light on the outsized impact of three key success factors: creative attributes, media planning tactics and brand network effects.??

Customer Insights Can Seriously Elevate Your B2B Game (CMSWire): “Those who have researched their ICP are over 20% more likely to be a leader in lead generation, over 20% more likely to lead in demand generation and over 25% more likely to be a leader in brand-building,” writes Jason Ball.?

Buying Groups Help B2B Marketers Win at Data-Driven Advertising (Demand Gen Report): Anteriad’s Naomi Sherry makes a case for the growing importance of sophisticated targeting techniques in a nuanced buying landscape.

B2B Marketers are Taking a Cautious Approach Toward Data Investments (Insider Intelligence): Drawing takeaways from Insider Intelligence’s new B2B marketing data spending forecast, Kelsey Voss shares that growth is slower in 2023 due to several factors – macroeconomic conditions, shifting buyer dynamics, privacy concerns – but is expected to rebound sharply.

How B2B Decision-Makers Consume Content Today (LinkedIn Ads Blog): This post from our blog explores recent research on how today’s buyers and decision-makers engage with content at varying funnel stages. Know your customer!?

What to Watch

At Advertising Week NY 2023, I was privileged to host a panel featuring several of the most respected, accomplished Black women leaders in business and marketing today:

• Tyrona (Ty) Heath, Director, Market Engagement, The B2B Institute, LinkedIn
• Marissa Nance, Founder and CEO, Native Tongue Communications
• Dr. Sheila Robinson, Publisher and CEO, Diversity Woman Media
• Sadé Muhammad, Chief Marketing Officer, Time Inc.
• God-is Rivera, Chief Content Officer, Essence Ventures
• Gena Pemberton, Chief Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Officer, Omnicom Health Group

I don’t think I was at all exaggerating in describing this group as “the literal definition of Black excellence.” During the session, these tenacious trailblazers shared powerful experiences and advice to help others overcome systemic barriers.?

You can watch the conversation here and find plenty more great video content from #AWNewYork23 on The Female Quotient’s LinkedIn Page.

What to Know

71% of senior business technology decision makers are disappointed with B2B marketing content, according to Informa Tech, whose new Trust in Marketing Index revealed an overall score of 61 out of 100 in assessing the state of trust between marketers and B2B technology decision-makers.?

Actionable customer insight can hold the key to improving these numbers.

Make sure to follow the LinkedIn Collective for more insights.