Are you prioritising the B2B marketing capabilities which will deliver ROI?

B2B marketing provides us with an overwhelming list of priorities. The deafening noise of competing priorities makes it hard to identify and sustain our focus on the fundamental marketing capabilities which will drive customer engagement and ROI.

In this blog post, we explore five marketing capabilities that marketing leaders must prioritise to drive ROI. For each, we offer some provocation and thoughts on how to get started. These capabilities are at the heart of growing B2B organisations who are tackling complexity head-on and building competitive advantage.

1. Sales and Marketing alignment

Aligning sales and marketing goals, strategy and ways of working delivers 2.4x revenue growth according to Forrester. Strategic alignment optimises the customer journey, ensuring consistent messaging, the ability to evolve that messaging based on insight, and a more unified approach to customer interactions. The goal is a unified growth function which integrates marketing, sales, and customer service and we are seeing a rise of Chief Growth Offer roles to achieve exactly this.

However, the reality is that even small wins will lead to improved lead quality, faster conversion rates, and higher customer retention. Start with shared goals and KPIs, encourage cross-departmental communication and training, and consider how to build shared workflow into your CRM.

2. Personalised customer content

Creating personalised customer content is now crucial for B2B organisations to deliver on customer expectations and gain deeper insights into their customer base.

The front runners are experimenting with leveraging content assets already at their disposal by reusing historical content. And in doing so, breaking the cycle of campaigns which are deployed once and forgotten. Here, content components are tagged and remixed to deliver on an increasing number of customer touch points. At Magnus, we call this waste “single use content” and building the marketing capabilities to reuse content in service of personalisation is a major shift in mindset, culture, and operational agility.

But for most, this is a long way off so where do you start? First by building your data analytics capability – asking better questions of your data in service of customer experiences. And second by encouraging a culture of experimentation, to challenge legacy thinking and systems and generate new, surprising outcomes at scale. More on this in the third capability.

3. AI Experimentation

AI experimentation in marketing has quickly shifted from a nice-to-have to a core competency. Leveraging AI allows teams to analyse vast amounts of data for deeper customer insights, automate routine tasks, and personalise marketing campaigns at scale, enhancing customer engagement and increasing conversion rates.

B2B organisations are investing in AI tools and training, fostering a culture that encourages individual experimentation and working groups who are tackling core business challenges. An experimentation framework and method to capture and measure the outcomes of AI experiments is key to building relevance, confidence, scale, and outcomes to refine AI-driven marketing strategies effectively. Our recent AI blog post has some useful tips for getting started.

4. Martech Utilisation

Most marketers are faced with a dizzying array of martech platforms and marketing leaders struggle to match the investment in acquiring this tech with marketer adoption. Effective martech utilisation is crucial for B2B marketing teams to drive efficiency and improve campaigns, but why is this a challenge? Too often technology solutions align with business objectives but are not configured to align with organisational workflows and culture.

By tackling this as a people challenge rather than as a tech challenge, B2B organisations can increase adoption rates and effectiveness.

Leaders must understand the processes and pain points of front-line marketers, and design tech configuration and training accordingly. Delivering ‘just-in-time' support content will build confidence and drive adoption. And monitoring usage and acting on feedback will build advocacy and keep pace with evolving marketing strategy. This enables a more intuitive use of technology, building an environment where martech tools empower teams rather than disrupt workflow.

5. Account-Based Marketing (ABM) Strategies

Account-Based Marketing (ABM) is crucial for B2B marketing teams, focusing on key accounts and personalised campaigns. However, all too often ABM fails due to lack of actionable insight, slow processes, and opaque calls to action.

Successful ABM has a strategic and structured approach which encourages alignment between marketing and sales, improving outcomes for both teams and customer experience. Once again, we have a useful blog on hand to help you get started.

Unlocking your marketing capabilities: a people-first approach

Building new marketing capabilities starts with understanding your commercial opportunity and seeking to go faster. What are the muscles that the marketing team need to achieve our business goals? From there, what are the operational and cultural challenges which are holding us back and the experiences of individual marketers that we need to factor into any new process to create advocacy?

In reality, all of the capabilities covered here are people challenges. We need to engage with the experiences of front-line marketers to unlock new skills as individuals, teams, and a global marketing function. A people-led approach builds proof points which in turn builds momentum, confidence, and scale.

Get in touch to discuss the marketing capabilities that your business needs to drive growth. We'd love to hear from you. Email Richard at [email protected]

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