The B2B landscape has become even more challenging, as marketers try to find and plan strategies to better stay on top of the latest developments and uncover quality leads to further their success. However, in the latest research done by C3 Tech Targeting, marketers and sellers need to find better leverage to come out on top.
The Connection between Marketing & Sales
The cornerstone of any successful relationship is communication, however, it has been a historical fact that most marketing and sales departments don’t really work alongside each other. This, of course, has changed thanks to the increase of technology within a business; both departments play integral functions within an organization’s structure, but often times both marketing and sales operate in separate teams.
In a survey on lead generation and nurturing, 57% of respondents stated that they had a mildly collaborative relationship with their marketing department, versus the 36% that were highly collaborative. While on the rise, this does seem a very strange disconnect seeing as both groups have the same goals in mind for the company – acquire quality leads and clients for their solutions/services.
When sales and marketing don’t work together, there’s more of a possibility of passing on unqualified leads. Marketing does a better job of showcasing when they know what salespeople are trying to convey; when using informative and insightful content resources and collateral to entice prospective buyers, sellers should be using those materials to create more meaningful conversations.
Quality over Quantity
Speaking of lead generation, overwhelmingly our survey displayed that generating quality leads from marketing was the biggest challenge marketers and sellers were having. As mentioned in the beginning, the marketing landscape has changed in many ways – there’s more competition, more tools, more traffic, and more ways that buyers can be reached.
Along with this, B2B customers are shifting towards B2C customers when it comes to buying habits. A study by UK company Proband discovered that more and more B2B buyers want to discover solutions or products on their own before reaching out to a representative; this is something that has been a steady trend for B2C customers, who have embraced online shopping and second screening when it comes to comparing items before they ever make a purchase.
One factor that brings all of these things together is email.
In terms of lead generation effectiveness, 63% noted that email is the most effective tactic that the sales teams use and it is a scope for many marketers. This is a great statistic – in another survey conducted by C3 Tech Targeting, decision makers overwhelmingly stated that they would prefer to be contacted via email. In the midst of viral videos and visual media, email continues to be a large factor in sharing and communicating.
What does this mean for marketing and sales?
It means that email is still a great first step in nurturing potential leads and it’s a major factor in generating those leads. Not only that, but decision makers – in many cases, the very people sales and marketers need to reach – would prefer email above other contact methods. This is a great opportunity for marketers to use their content resources to open the door for the sales team to contact these buyers.
For buyers, that content is blogs. Blogs are great ways to present thought leadership on the market, the industry, technology, and other things of interest, but more importantly, it can showcase how a particular solution can help solve a pain point or challenge.
As we come closer to closing out 2018 and entering a new year, both marketing and sales will need to evolve their strategies for getting those quality leads. To further understand what buyers are looking for and what marketers can do to strengthen these strategies, we’re hosting a one of a kind, invitation-only event on October 15th, 2018. We’ve gathered together marketers to learn more about the minds of their buyers and to see what tools are available to them.
If you’d like to receive an invitation or you’d like to learn more, please contact us at events@change3e.com We look forward to seeing you in October!
