5 Recent Stats About the State of B2B Marketing Data

The 6th Annual B2B Marketing Data Report’s Findings- 

B2B companies are using data to speed up the procurement process and achieve significant growth. That shouldn’t be shocking.

Dun & Bradstreet has been regularly taking the pulse of B2B sales and marketing professionals over the past few years and has found that data is at the centre of their go-to-market efforts.

Warning: There will be a spoiler for this year. Everyone agrees that data is the key to implementing a successful sales and marketing plan and enhancing overall business performance.

What is surprising is how a lack of trust in the integrity of B2B data is affecting how firms use (or don’t use) the most fundamental sales and marketing operations.

Even the most popular sales and marketing techniques, such as account-based marketing (ABM) and content personalisation, might not be as widely used as one might expect.

Data Quality is a Key Success Factor in B2B Sales and Marketing (and Becoming Increasingly Important Year Over Year)

 

Quality data, according to B2B marketers, gives them the ability to communicate with clients at the ideal time. It enables marketers to understand what clients want, when they want it, and how they have previously interacted with the business. 

To do this, it’s crucial to get the foundational elements correct in order to create a base that produces actionable insights that will matter in the marketplace. Customers will sing your praises from the social media rooftops if you exceed their expectations. 

If you mess up, the negative impression could quickly spread throughout the internet world. Pressure is mounting. B2B companies are aware of the significance of data quality in informing their sales and marketing choices as a result. And every year, its importance grows more and more.

Data Quality Confidence Has Dropped to a New Low

Despite the fact that B2B organisations recognise the vital role data plays in driving successful B2B sales and marketing efforts, only half of respondents were confident in the quality of their data, with only 11% expressing extreme confidence.

While it’s nice to see at least half of B2B enterprises optimistic about the data they’re working with, this figure is actually lower than the previous year’s, when 75% of survey respondents expressed confidence in the quality of their data. 

The significant drop in this year’s confidence index appears to have influenced other areas of sales and marketing.

Many data-driven strategies are being hampered by a lack of confidence

ABM is cited in numerous industry surveys as one of the most widely used B2B strategies because it is thought to produce the highest returns on investment of any marketing strategy. 

Just over a third of our respondents, however, indicated that ABM was now a component of their go-to-market plan.

The truth is that a lot of businesses are still lagging behind in this marketing progression. This is in part because switching to ABM is rooted in more than just a technological advancement.

To identify key accounts and targets, connect with them across a range of channels, and provide them with pertinent content that quickens their buying journey, it is first necessary to have high-quality data, more specifically, solid firmographic and demographic data.

It also necessitates a shift in mindset from one that prioritises leads and MQLs (marketing qualified leads) to one that focuses more on critical accounts. Depending on the ABM program’s scope, your sales force will need to be aware that their pipeline will be cut, perhaps dramatically. 

Resourcing, measurement, and compensation must change as a result. At the end of the day, ABM can generate enormous statistics, but it can also necessitate a fundamental reorganisation of how sales and marketing teams interact and collaborate to accomplish this shared objective.

Despite this, it is nevertheless shocking to hear that fewer B2B marketers are now adopting and utilising ABM. But perhaps that could have been expected considering the difficulties B2B firms claim they face with their data and resources.

Data Is Viewed as the Fuel for Driving ABM Campaigns

Data appears to be included in every linked tactic that makes up the ABM strategy for the B2B organisations that are confidently implementing it. Data informs every phase of marketing and planning, from online conversations with customers to in-person meetings.

Although many B2B organisations find ABM to be an intriguing proposition, it appears that the majority of respondents need to organise their data before they can commit to implementing such a significant change in their go-to-market strategy and in how they measure success. 

ABM is challenging. A coordinated, synchronised effort across various channels is necessary to target particular accounts and decision-makers. It calls for the appropriate measurement and data systems, as well as executive-level coordination between sales and marketing. 

The vast majority of B2B companies are aware of this and have adopted this technique with some caution as a result.

B2B Marketers Struggle to Integrate Their Data Across the Enterprise.

CRMs are the focal point for data collection that powers many businesses’ revenue operations. 

Furthermore, despite the significant financial investments businesses have made in these platforms over the past ten years, almost two thirds of respondents claim to be at an amateur or intermediate level when it comes to CRM data integration. Only 13% of those surveyed claimed to be advanced.

While marketing may select a separate platform (or many platforms) that uses customer data in a different way, sales teams often prefer CRM or sales force automation (SFA) systems to manage data. 

Companies frequently implement tactics that are based on information that is inconsistent, deceptive, or outright incorrect, rather than obtaining a comprehensive and accurate picture of their consumers or prospects. 

It is not always trusted that data will be the deciding factor in important business choices because of the compartmentalised structure of enterprise-wide data management, which frequently mucks up operations and decision-making.

In actuality, only 50% of B2B marketing and sales choices are based on data, according to a recent report.

Conclusion

This year’s report has taught us that B2B companies understand that data is the foundation of their revenue-generating activities. But there are numerous obstacles in the way of achievement.

Improved data quality must be the focus of a well-thought-out strategy and a sustained commitment for B2B firms to flourish. Making that commitment is the first step in achieving what we hope will be skyrocketing confidence in data by the time we do the B2B Marketing Data Report the following year.

It is undoubtedly not an easy task. To provide the identity and intelligence that results in wise decisions, B2B marketers need to strike the appropriate balance between completeness, accuracy, depth of insight, and timeliness.

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