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Five Must-Try Software As A Service Growth Hacking Strategies

Many businesses employ Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) for its flexibility and simplicity to fulfill their marketing requirements. Different types of SaaS marketing platforms help companies simplify their marketing needs. But growing a SaaS company isn’t easy. It is quite challenging because the industry is flooded with competition. Research had predicted very early on that 73% of the companies would turn all their apps into SaaS by 2021, making SaaS competition fiercer than ever. Marketeers eye for consumers’ already limited attention spans in B2B and B2C spaces.

Spotlight

ClearEdge Marketing

ClearEdge Marketing is a fully integrated agency trusted by growth-obsessed talent and HR tech companies to light the way to success. We're bright thinkers who craft super-smart strategies that accelerate pipelines and make brands matter - whatever comes their way. Think digital, creative, utterly targeted, data-driven and ahead of the curve. We spark conversations that ignite relationships between brands and their audiences — and make them stick.

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ABM Accounts

Finding the Right Balance Between ABM & Demand Generation

Article | June 6, 2022

When it comes to ABM vs. demand generation, most businesses struggle to find the right balance. Swinging too far one way or the other can completely derail your performance — and your organization's trust. Here are some things you can do to get the best of both ABM and demand generation: Check If You Are Too Heavy on Demand If you are someone who focuses more on demand, then you should: Gather insights from data, intelligence, and signals to develop a strong ICP. A strong ICP will help you target the individuals that make up the buying committee. Keep your TAL (target account list) short and base it on buying intent. Build an ABM program that encompasses teams, channels, and activities to gauge output and refine the use case. Engage the double funnel to understand where you should draw the line between ABM and demand generation. Are You Too Focused on ABM? For the account-based marketer in you, it must be very hard to think beyond your target accounts. To balance this out, you should: Get more information on the channels and tactics that your buyers respond to. Draft messaging that creates urgency around your target account’s pain points. Test your content on a large audience to see which gets the most engagement. Use these insights to find the right balance between your demand generation strategy and ABM. Beat the Odds When Implementing Strategies Issues like no alignment between your sales and marketing teams and a superior insisting on implementing 100% ABM may arise. To address such issues, you should: Expertly measure your data so all your responses are data-driven. Chase directional improvements instead of trying to perfect your strategies right away. Define a single metric for success, so your teams work towards achieving the same goal. Keep your efforts balanced when implementing demand gen and ABM strategies. Conclusion If you do not strike a delicate balance between your ABM and your demand generation plan, your SDR teams will get overwhelmed and may not reach the level of efficiency you desire. Remember, your demand generation program should supplement your ABM efforts and not drive them.

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ABM Accounts

2023 Buyer Intent Data Trends: What Growing Businesses Need to Know

Article | June 10, 2022

Gain insights into 2023 buyer intent data trends. Explore key marketing technologies and strategies essential for businesses to enhance their ability to engage potential customers effectively. Buyer intent data is indispensable for businesses in an increasingly fast-paced and data-centric account-based marketing (ABM) space. It serves as a compass guiding marketing and sales efforts by providing profound insights into consumer behavior and purchase intent. With this information, businesses can precisely target their targeted audiences, personalize their messages, and optimize their resource allocation, all of which result in higher conversion rates and a greater return on investment. With rapidly changing customer behavior and evolving marketing space, buyer intent data has become the cornerstone of contemporary marketing and sales strategies. In 2023, it is set to reach new milestones, fueled by growing technological advancements and a deeper understanding of consumer behavior. As a result, it is essential for B2B businesses and marketing teams to be aware of the emerging buyer intent data trends to adopt cutting-edge technologies and strategies that enhance their ability to understand and engage potential customers effectively. Futuristic Buyer Intent Data Trends for 2023 and Beyond In an era where competition is fierce and customer expectations are continually growing, harnessing the power of buyer intent data is not just advantageous; it's fundamental for achieving sustainable growth and increasing market share in the space. Furthermore, it bolsters customer engagement and loyalty by demonstrating a commitment to understanding and meeting their needs. Businesses that embrace B2B buyer intent data gain a decisive advantage, positioning themselves as agile and customer-focused enterprises ready to thrive in the marketing domain. Consequently, staying informed about buyer intent data trends is not only a strategic advantage, it's a necessity for sustained growth and relevance. Here are some of the latest buyer intent data trends that businesses must be aware of in 2023 AI-Powered Predictive Analytics One of the most exciting trends in buyer intent data is the increasing role of artificial intelligence (AI) and predictive analytics. AI-powered buyer intent data tools analyze vast amounts of data to identify patterns and trends that might not be apparent to human analysts. This, coupled with predictive analysis, enables businesses to predict buyer intent more accurately. With advanced AI algorithms, businesses are able to sift through vast datasets, recognize intricate patterns, and predict buying intent with unprecedented precision. This technological advancement enables companies to not only identify prospective customers but also create customized marketing strategies and engage them at the precise moment when they are most likely to make a purchase. In essence, AI-powered predictive analytics is elevating buyer intent data to an entirely new level, making it an invaluable asset for any forward-thinking business striving for marketing and sales excellence. Integration of Multiple Data Sources Buyer intent data relied on a single source of information, such as website analytics or email engagement metrics in the past. However, with increasing emphasis on understanding customer behavior, there's a growing recognition of a holistic view of buyer intent. This, in turn, is increasingly creating a need to integrate multiple data sources. The trend of integrating multiple data sources provides a more detailed and deeper understanding of consumer behavior, thereby significantly enhancing the value of buyer intent data. Businesses can construct an extensive mosaic of each lead's digital journey by combining data from various touchpoints and channels, such as website interactions, social media engagement, email responses, and chat interactions. This multidimensional perspective provides more in-depth and accurate insights into buyer intent, allowing companies to tailor their marketing and sales strategies with unmatched precision. Real-time Intent Monitoring As businesses and marketers increasingly adopt advanced technologies, the days of post-event analysis are rapidly diminishing. Now, real-time monitoring of intent has become the primary focus. The strategy involves the use of innovative tracking technologies to detect and respond to buyer signals in real-time. The trend is increasingly gaining prominence as it allows businesses to respond to buyer signals as they happen. When a potential customer exhibits strong purchasing signals, such as extended engagement with pricing pages, repeated product demo views, or initiating a live chat, real-time alerts trigger immediate action. This instantaneous response capability enables marketing and sales teams to provide highly relevant information and immediately deploy targeted messaging or offers, significantly increasing the chances of conversion. Cross-channel Engagement As businesses recognize the significance of engaging with leads and consumers across multiple channels, the need for innovative strategies, such as cross-channel engagement, is rapidly growing to ensure that businesses are present where their audience is, be it via email, social media, website interactions, or even chatbots. In an era where consumers frequently switch between channels during the purchasing journey, cross-channel engagement ensures that businesses are consistently present and responsive. It improves the customer journey, enables complete data capture and analysis, and contributes to a more in-depth and accurate understanding of buyer intent. Cross-channel engagement enriches buyer intent data by providing businesses with a more detailed and real-time view of their audience's behavior and preferences, ultimately resulting in more effective marketing and sales strategies and stronger customer relationships. Hyper-personalization The hyper-personalization trend is ushering in a new era of consumer intent data utilization by bringing personalization to new heights. The approach utilizes the abundance of available consumer intent data and AI-driven content recommendation engines to deliver personalized experiences to individual leads and customers. By analyzing a prospect's past actions, preferences, and interactions, businesses can create hyper-personalized content and offers that precisely align with their interests. It also optimizes time, ensuring that engagements occur exactly when a prospect has the highest possibility of converting. This level of personalization increases the chances of conversion as well as fosters a deeper connection between brands and their target audience. Hyper-personalization is not merely favoring consumer intent data; it is elevating it, enabling businesses to deliver exceptional, one-to-one experiences that boost engagement, trust, and brand loyalty. The Bottom Line Buyer intent data is the lifeblood of modern businesses, providing vital insights into consumer preferences and behavior. It enables companies to determine when potential consumers are prepared to buy, allowing timely and targeted marketing and sales efforts. Staying informed about the latest buyer intent data trends enables businesses to employ cutting-edge technologies and strategies that improve their capacity to comprehend and engage potential customers. Companies can improve their techniques, enhance customer targeting, and optimize resource allocation by foreseeing and adapting to these trends. Furthermore, being aware of these trends is crucial for maintaining customer trust and compliance with evolving data privacy regulations, thereby ensuring the ethical and responsible use of data.

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ABM Accounts

How Predictive Analytics Contributes to Pipeline and Revenue Growth

Article | May 26, 2022

For B2B marketers like you, wouldn’t it be great to know which buyers are ready to purchase and when? It would be, but this doesn’t generally happen. Marketing and sales teams across businesses spend their time trying to find the perfect prospects instead of focusing on selling to the accounts that actually want to buy. What Goes into Prospecting? Prospecting is an entire process that is not only time-consuming but might not lead to anything worthwhile. Common steps involved in prospecting include: Finding accounts that fit your target account profile Zeroing in on the point of contact to get in touch with the account Creating messaging to influence prospect’s buying decision Wait for the prospect to answer calls It is no wonder that prospecting is the most difficult part of sales. According to research by Sales Insights Lab, 50% of the prospects you go after aren’t a good fit for your product. To add to the mix, sorting through incomplete forms, questionnaires, anonymous web visits, and event attendee lists is backbreaking work. Predictive Analytics: Pipeline Growth and Revenue Covered ABM relies heavily on high-quality data management and analysis. It is based on quality and, not quantity. It can succeed only if the prospect account’s data like management hierarchy, business practices, pain points, requirements, etc. is interpreted, analyzed and utilized properly. This is where predictive analytics comes in. A predictive analytics model looks at how different parts of an account relate to each other and ranks them. A large amount of data can be successfully interpreted this way. Data mining, statistics, and text analytics uncover different patterns and relationships to give insights into an account’s behavior and outcomes based on data. A Predictive Analytics Model Boosts Your ABM Strategy Here is how predictive analytics can boost your ABM strategy: Prioritizing Accounts Based on Rating Marketing representatives need to approach prospects at the right time to capture expected revenue. Predictive analytics gives real-time data, forecasts into when to approach a prospect to get the conversion. With deep data insights, predictive analytics optimizes ABM and the allocated marketing budget. Personalized Messaging Personalized messaging is possible only when the data at hand goes beyond account intelligence-based numbers. Predictive analytics goes a step ahead, forecasts buyer behavior and gives marketers a tool to create content that appeals to every individual in the prospect account’s buying group and leads to conversion. Objective Scoring As accounts near the end of the sales funnel, predictive analytics forecasts the best time for sales overview, so risks like data deletion are bypassed. Getting Ready to Adopt Predictive Analytics To adopt predictive analytics in your ABM strategy, you need to follow these steps: Create an ABM-centric organization where content marketers apply ABM Marketing and sales teams need to understand predictive insights and its implementation in ABM Align your marketing and sales teams Decision makers understand predictive insights and how they are used at the grass-root level Wrapping It Up! Focus your investments on an intent data set based on predictive analytics and AI learning to make the most of the high-quality data insights without worrying about underlying technologies.

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Buyer Intent Data

Buying-Group Marketing: Why is it Gaining Traction?

Article | June 24, 2022

Selling more and selling faster is the goal that drives B2B marketers. Strategically implementing account-based marketing (ABM) to target individuals with hyper-personalized messaging across different channels is what helps them achieve it. But what is Buying Group Marketing (BGM), and why do B2B marketers need to keep up with it? Buying-Group Marketing (BGM): Taking ABM up a notch by focusing on an entire buyer group instead of the account as a whole, it’s called buying-group marketing (BGM). According to a recent Forrester survey, 94% of B2B organizations sell to groups of three or more. They do this instead of spending time identifying a set of ICPs and making a purchase decision. Let us take a look at what BGM is all about. Buying Group Marketing: The Next Evolution of ABM To implement BGM, you first need to understand what buying groups are. A purchasing group is a group of people within a target account who have a say in the purchasing decision. This makes them crucial in B2B targeting. Once B2B marketers learn about their target personas, they can come up with an effective marketing plan and approach them strategically. In large enterprises, purchase decisions are never restricted to one individual. The larger the purchase decision, the larger the size of the buying groups. When a decision involves new technologies, services, or products, an individual struggle to make a purchase decision swiftly. According to Gartner, more than 75% of customers describe these purchases as very complex or difficult. With the help of BGM, the decision-making process can be streamlined and shared among multiple people within an organization. Driving Success with BGM To better execute BGM, organizations need to change their mindsets, processes and technologies and work to understand how buying groups work together. Until demand management matches the ways buyers are making purchasing decisions, marketing and sales alignment will not be possible. Organizations need to first understand how buying groups work together, then align their mindsets, technologies, and processes to efficiently execute BGM. When the marketing and sales teams align their demand management goals with the decision-making groups, only then can they drive success in their campaigns. Interest from more than one person from a single company can lead to more success and influence in the buying phase. B2B marketers need to move beyond the idea that only the first person to respond from a company should be entertained as a lead if a second person from the same company shows interest in their product or services. They need to understand that no matter how tempting account-based advertising may seem, it doesn’t guarantee success. They should focus on engaging the actual decision-makers of their target accounts. When customer personas are mapped according to their buying roles within a group, organizations will have the much-needed intelligence required to make personalized sales. The success of BGM demands the delivery of content that resonates with an individual as per their role in a buying group. B2B marketers must meet them where they are with the content that they need. Organizations can have crucial intelligence on their customers after mapping their personas and considering their roles in the buyer groups. Delivering content that the target individual can relate to is a prerequisite of BGM. BGM may not be new as a concept, but B2B marketers see improvements in their performance by harnessing it as their principal strategy. Adapting to BGM will give them the edge that they seek, while the rest try to keep up with the changing trends of the ABM industry. ________________________________________

Read More
ABM Accounts

2022 Total Economic Impact Study Reveals A Potential 454% ROI with 6sense Revenue AI

Article | June 6, 2022

When it comes to ABM vs. demand generation, most businesses struggle to find the right balance. Swinging too far one way or the other can completely derail your performance — and your organization's trust. Here are some things you can do to get the best of both ABM and demand generation: Check If You Are Too Heavy on Demand If you are someone who focuses more on demand, then you should: Gather insights from data, intelligence, and signals to develop a strong ICP. A strong ICP will help you target the individuals that make up the buying committee. Keep your TAL (target account list) short and base it on buying intent. Build an ABM program that encompasses teams, channels, and activities to gauge output and refine the use case. Engage the double funnel to understand where you should draw the line between ABM and demand generation. Are You Too Focused on ABM? For the account-based marketer in you, it must be very hard to think beyond your target accounts. To balance this out, you should: Get more information on the channels and tactics that your buyers respond to. Draft messaging that creates urgency around your target account’s pain points. Test your content on a large audience to see which gets the most engagement. Use these insights to find the right balance between your demand generation strategy and ABM. Beat the Odds When Implementing Strategies Issues like no alignment between your sales and marketing teams and a superior insisting on implementing 100% ABM may arise. To address such issues, you should: Expertly measure your data so all your responses are data-driven. Chase directional improvements instead of trying to perfect your strategies right away. Define a single metric for success, so your teams work towards achieving the same goal. Keep your efforts balanced when implementing demand gen and ABM strategies. Conclusion If you do not strike a delicate balance between your ABM and your demand generation plan, your SDR teams will get overwhelmed and may not reach the level of efficiency you desire. Remember, your demand generation program should supplement your ABM efforts and not drive them.

Read More
ABM Accounts

Hard Truths and Helpful Tips About Account-Based Marketing (Part 1)

Article | June 10, 2022

Gain insights into 2023 buyer intent data trends. Explore key marketing technologies and strategies essential for businesses to enhance their ability to engage potential customers effectively. Buyer intent data is indispensable for businesses in an increasingly fast-paced and data-centric account-based marketing (ABM) space. It serves as a compass guiding marketing and sales efforts by providing profound insights into consumer behavior and purchase intent. With this information, businesses can precisely target their targeted audiences, personalize their messages, and optimize their resource allocation, all of which result in higher conversion rates and a greater return on investment. With rapidly changing customer behavior and evolving marketing space, buyer intent data has become the cornerstone of contemporary marketing and sales strategies. In 2023, it is set to reach new milestones, fueled by growing technological advancements and a deeper understanding of consumer behavior. As a result, it is essential for B2B businesses and marketing teams to be aware of the emerging buyer intent data trends to adopt cutting-edge technologies and strategies that enhance their ability to understand and engage potential customers effectively. Futuristic Buyer Intent Data Trends for 2023 and Beyond In an era where competition is fierce and customer expectations are continually growing, harnessing the power of buyer intent data is not just advantageous; it's fundamental for achieving sustainable growth and increasing market share in the space. Furthermore, it bolsters customer engagement and loyalty by demonstrating a commitment to understanding and meeting their needs. Businesses that embrace B2B buyer intent data gain a decisive advantage, positioning themselves as agile and customer-focused enterprises ready to thrive in the marketing domain. Consequently, staying informed about buyer intent data trends is not only a strategic advantage, it's a necessity for sustained growth and relevance. Here are some of the latest buyer intent data trends that businesses must be aware of in 2023 AI-Powered Predictive Analytics One of the most exciting trends in buyer intent data is the increasing role of artificial intelligence (AI) and predictive analytics. AI-powered buyer intent data tools analyze vast amounts of data to identify patterns and trends that might not be apparent to human analysts. This, coupled with predictive analysis, enables businesses to predict buyer intent more accurately. With advanced AI algorithms, businesses are able to sift through vast datasets, recognize intricate patterns, and predict buying intent with unprecedented precision. This technological advancement enables companies to not only identify prospective customers but also create customized marketing strategies and engage them at the precise moment when they are most likely to make a purchase. In essence, AI-powered predictive analytics is elevating buyer intent data to an entirely new level, making it an invaluable asset for any forward-thinking business striving for marketing and sales excellence. Integration of Multiple Data Sources Buyer intent data relied on a single source of information, such as website analytics or email engagement metrics in the past. However, with increasing emphasis on understanding customer behavior, there's a growing recognition of a holistic view of buyer intent. This, in turn, is increasingly creating a need to integrate multiple data sources. The trend of integrating multiple data sources provides a more detailed and deeper understanding of consumer behavior, thereby significantly enhancing the value of buyer intent data. Businesses can construct an extensive mosaic of each lead's digital journey by combining data from various touchpoints and channels, such as website interactions, social media engagement, email responses, and chat interactions. This multidimensional perspective provides more in-depth and accurate insights into buyer intent, allowing companies to tailor their marketing and sales strategies with unmatched precision. Real-time Intent Monitoring As businesses and marketers increasingly adopt advanced technologies, the days of post-event analysis are rapidly diminishing. Now, real-time monitoring of intent has become the primary focus. The strategy involves the use of innovative tracking technologies to detect and respond to buyer signals in real-time. The trend is increasingly gaining prominence as it allows businesses to respond to buyer signals as they happen. When a potential customer exhibits strong purchasing signals, such as extended engagement with pricing pages, repeated product demo views, or initiating a live chat, real-time alerts trigger immediate action. This instantaneous response capability enables marketing and sales teams to provide highly relevant information and immediately deploy targeted messaging or offers, significantly increasing the chances of conversion. Cross-channel Engagement As businesses recognize the significance of engaging with leads and consumers across multiple channels, the need for innovative strategies, such as cross-channel engagement, is rapidly growing to ensure that businesses are present where their audience is, be it via email, social media, website interactions, or even chatbots. In an era where consumers frequently switch between channels during the purchasing journey, cross-channel engagement ensures that businesses are consistently present and responsive. It improves the customer journey, enables complete data capture and analysis, and contributes to a more in-depth and accurate understanding of buyer intent. Cross-channel engagement enriches buyer intent data by providing businesses with a more detailed and real-time view of their audience's behavior and preferences, ultimately resulting in more effective marketing and sales strategies and stronger customer relationships. Hyper-personalization The hyper-personalization trend is ushering in a new era of consumer intent data utilization by bringing personalization to new heights. The approach utilizes the abundance of available consumer intent data and AI-driven content recommendation engines to deliver personalized experiences to individual leads and customers. By analyzing a prospect's past actions, preferences, and interactions, businesses can create hyper-personalized content and offers that precisely align with their interests. It also optimizes time, ensuring that engagements occur exactly when a prospect has the highest possibility of converting. This level of personalization increases the chances of conversion as well as fosters a deeper connection between brands and their target audience. Hyper-personalization is not merely favoring consumer intent data; it is elevating it, enabling businesses to deliver exceptional, one-to-one experiences that boost engagement, trust, and brand loyalty. The Bottom Line Buyer intent data is the lifeblood of modern businesses, providing vital insights into consumer preferences and behavior. It enables companies to determine when potential consumers are prepared to buy, allowing timely and targeted marketing and sales efforts. Staying informed about the latest buyer intent data trends enables businesses to employ cutting-edge technologies and strategies that improve their capacity to comprehend and engage potential customers. Companies can improve their techniques, enhance customer targeting, and optimize resource allocation by foreseeing and adapting to these trends. Furthermore, being aware of these trends is crucial for maintaining customer trust and compliance with evolving data privacy regulations, thereby ensuring the ethical and responsible use of data.

Read More
ABM Accounts

Five Things That Can Make a Difference to ABM in EMEA

Article | May 26, 2022

For B2B marketers like you, wouldn’t it be great to know which buyers are ready to purchase and when? It would be, but this doesn’t generally happen. Marketing and sales teams across businesses spend their time trying to find the perfect prospects instead of focusing on selling to the accounts that actually want to buy. What Goes into Prospecting? Prospecting is an entire process that is not only time-consuming but might not lead to anything worthwhile. Common steps involved in prospecting include: Finding accounts that fit your target account profile Zeroing in on the point of contact to get in touch with the account Creating messaging to influence prospect’s buying decision Wait for the prospect to answer calls It is no wonder that prospecting is the most difficult part of sales. According to research by Sales Insights Lab, 50% of the prospects you go after aren’t a good fit for your product. To add to the mix, sorting through incomplete forms, questionnaires, anonymous web visits, and event attendee lists is backbreaking work. Predictive Analytics: Pipeline Growth and Revenue Covered ABM relies heavily on high-quality data management and analysis. It is based on quality and, not quantity. It can succeed only if the prospect account’s data like management hierarchy, business practices, pain points, requirements, etc. is interpreted, analyzed and utilized properly. This is where predictive analytics comes in. A predictive analytics model looks at how different parts of an account relate to each other and ranks them. A large amount of data can be successfully interpreted this way. Data mining, statistics, and text analytics uncover different patterns and relationships to give insights into an account’s behavior and outcomes based on data. A Predictive Analytics Model Boosts Your ABM Strategy Here is how predictive analytics can boost your ABM strategy: Prioritizing Accounts Based on Rating Marketing representatives need to approach prospects at the right time to capture expected revenue. Predictive analytics gives real-time data, forecasts into when to approach a prospect to get the conversion. With deep data insights, predictive analytics optimizes ABM and the allocated marketing budget. Personalized Messaging Personalized messaging is possible only when the data at hand goes beyond account intelligence-based numbers. Predictive analytics goes a step ahead, forecasts buyer behavior and gives marketers a tool to create content that appeals to every individual in the prospect account’s buying group and leads to conversion. Objective Scoring As accounts near the end of the sales funnel, predictive analytics forecasts the best time for sales overview, so risks like data deletion are bypassed. Getting Ready to Adopt Predictive Analytics To adopt predictive analytics in your ABM strategy, you need to follow these steps: Create an ABM-centric organization where content marketers apply ABM Marketing and sales teams need to understand predictive insights and its implementation in ABM Align your marketing and sales teams Decision makers understand predictive insights and how they are used at the grass-root level Wrapping It Up! Focus your investments on an intent data set based on predictive analytics and AI learning to make the most of the high-quality data insights without worrying about underlying technologies.

Read More
Buyer Intent Data

Buying-Group Marketing: Why is it Gaining Traction?

Article | June 24, 2022

Selling more and selling faster is the goal that drives B2B marketers. Strategically implementing account-based marketing (ABM) to target individuals with hyper-personalized messaging across different channels is what helps them achieve it. But what is Buying Group Marketing (BGM), and why do B2B marketers need to keep up with it? Buying-Group Marketing (BGM): Taking ABM up a notch by focusing on an entire buyer group instead of the account as a whole, it’s called buying-group marketing (BGM). According to a recent Forrester survey, 94% of B2B organizations sell to groups of three or more. They do this instead of spending time identifying a set of ICPs and making a purchase decision. Let us take a look at what BGM is all about. Buying Group Marketing: The Next Evolution of ABM To implement BGM, you first need to understand what buying groups are. A purchasing group is a group of people within a target account who have a say in the purchasing decision. This makes them crucial in B2B targeting. Once B2B marketers learn about their target personas, they can come up with an effective marketing plan and approach them strategically. In large enterprises, purchase decisions are never restricted to one individual. The larger the purchase decision, the larger the size of the buying groups. When a decision involves new technologies, services, or products, an individual struggle to make a purchase decision swiftly. According to Gartner, more than 75% of customers describe these purchases as very complex or difficult. With the help of BGM, the decision-making process can be streamlined and shared among multiple people within an organization. Driving Success with BGM To better execute BGM, organizations need to change their mindsets, processes and technologies and work to understand how buying groups work together. Until demand management matches the ways buyers are making purchasing decisions, marketing and sales alignment will not be possible. Organizations need to first understand how buying groups work together, then align their mindsets, technologies, and processes to efficiently execute BGM. When the marketing and sales teams align their demand management goals with the decision-making groups, only then can they drive success in their campaigns. Interest from more than one person from a single company can lead to more success and influence in the buying phase. B2B marketers need to move beyond the idea that only the first person to respond from a company should be entertained as a lead if a second person from the same company shows interest in their product or services. They need to understand that no matter how tempting account-based advertising may seem, it doesn’t guarantee success. They should focus on engaging the actual decision-makers of their target accounts. When customer personas are mapped according to their buying roles within a group, organizations will have the much-needed intelligence required to make personalized sales. The success of BGM demands the delivery of content that resonates with an individual as per their role in a buying group. B2B marketers must meet them where they are with the content that they need. Organizations can have crucial intelligence on their customers after mapping their personas and considering their roles in the buyer groups. Delivering content that the target individual can relate to is a prerequisite of BGM. BGM may not be new as a concept, but B2B marketers see improvements in their performance by harnessing it as their principal strategy. Adapting to BGM will give them the edge that they seek, while the rest try to keep up with the changing trends of the ABM industry. ________________________________________

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Spotlight

ClearEdge Marketing

ClearEdge Marketing is a fully integrated agency trusted by growth-obsessed talent and HR tech companies to light the way to success. We're bright thinkers who craft super-smart strategies that accelerate pipelines and make brands matter - whatever comes their way. Think digital, creative, utterly targeted, data-driven and ahead of the curve. We spark conversations that ignite relationships between brands and their audiences — and make them stick.

Related News

Core ABM

Marketers Given Marginal Grades for ABM-Driven Revenue Growth

GlobeNewswire | January 25, 2024

Seeding and harvesting the sales pipeline — the process of acquiring, capturing, qualifying and converting business opportunities — are essential to the growth and profitability of B2B marketers across every industry and geographic sector. Marketing is largely responsible for driving this business process, yet nearly two-thirds of lead gen and engagement strategies are underperforming. A new Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) Council report, produced in collaboration with WM America, entitled “Fire Up Your Revenue Generation Engine,” covers critical aspects of lead generation and engagement. This includes models and metrics for tracking and measuring performance, best practice demand-gen execution, ways to score effectiveness, and more. The latest CMO Council research finds scores of marketers falling behind in lead scoring, account-based marketing, accelerated pipeline, and intention-based marketing. Key findings from a Q4 survey of over 170 B2B marketing, sales, revenue, growth, demand gen and campaign execution leaders include: 63% say marketing must own and optimize a company’s revenue-generation engine 64% say their lead gen and engagement strategy underperforms 78% of highly evolved marketers are satisfied with their accelerated pipeline, compared to only 15% of lesser evolved marketers “In today’s competitive data-driven environment, marketers should no longer be satisfied with paltry returns on their sizable lead-gen and ABM investments,” the report notes. “It’s time to turn the tables on inefficient, ineffective, and outdated practices for anticipating, adapting, and responding to customer needs and opportunities.” “Marketers must climb the evolutionary ladder and leave behind outmoded and dated practices,” notes CMO Council executive director, Donovan Neale-May. “Using AI-derived, intention-based buyer data and advanced sales intelligence are among the ways growth marketers bring more precision, predictability, and performance to B2B account marketing investments.” The CMO Council’s research revealed the top five skill sets contributing to improved ABM-driven business outcomes: Better segmentation and precision targeting of buyers and influencers On-demand customer business intelligence and personal buyer insights Tighter integration of demand gen, channel, direct sales, and support teams Greater utilization of tools and data sources for richer prospect profiling Proactive and timely pre-sales follow up and cultivation strategies The CMO Council has uncovered widening gaps in performance between highly evolved marketers and lesser evolved marketers. Gaps are occurring in four core capabilities: lead scoring, account-based marketing, accelerated pipeline, and intention-based marketing. This report tiers factors that make up a model for better identification, engagement and conversion. The model coincides with the CMO Council and WM America’s thought leadership initiative to advance lead revenue science practices through a certified Lead Evaluation and Assurance Process, or LEAP model. “Marketers will need to take a few LEAPs of faith in the coming months, because sticking to the status quo is just not practical or possible anymore. As data becomes more critical than ever before, CMOs need to extend their visions for innovation and forward-thinking strategies,” according to Lee Salem, WM America’s Vice President of Sales. Methodology The report is based on a survey of over 170 heads of B2B marketing, sales, revenue, growth, demand gen and campaign execution in Q4 2023. It also included content from in-depth interviews with executives from Netline, Autodesk, T-Mobile, NTT, ABM Consortium, TechTarget, IBM, B2B Marketing, Reachdesk, Momentum ITSMA, and Xometry. About the CMO Council The Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) Council is dedicated to high-level knowledge exchange, thought leadership and personal relationship building among senior corporate marketing leaders and brand decision-makers across a wide-range of global industries. The CMO Council’s 16,000+ members control more than $1 trillion in aggregated annual marketing expenditures and run complex, distributed marketing and sales operations worldwide. In total, the CMO Council and its strategic interest communities include over 65,000 global marketing and sales executives in over 110 countries covering multiple industries, segments and markets. Regional chapters and advisory boards are active in the Americas, Europe, Asia Pacific, Middle East and Africa. The Council’s strategic interest groups include the Customer Experience Board, Digital Marketing Performance Center, Brand Inspiration Center, Marketing Supply Chain Institute, GeoBranding Center, and the Coalition to Leverage and Optimize Sales Effectiveness (CLOSE). To learn more, visit https://www.cmocouncil.org. About WM America WM America is a leading B2B marketing company specializing in targeted in-market demand generation. The intent database at WMA tracks the intent behavior of over 75 million business professionals globally, 24X7. The database is segmented into 3,300 categories. WMA keeps around-the-clock track of buying signals from each category in this database. Based on this extremely strong foundation of data points, the company delivers precisely targeted prospects for focused marketing. Accurate keyword search enables deriving of active content consumption and opt-in content downloads. WMA's deep search ensures accurate and targeted information delivery that helps craft successful, cutting-edge marketing strategies. For more information, visit www.wmamerica.com

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Buyer Intent Data

ON24 Recognizes 2023’s Leaders in Digital Engagement

Business Wire | January 24, 2024

A recent Forrester survey found that more than 60% of B2B buyers base their final purchase decision solely on the digital content and experiences companies provide. That’s why thousands of B2B companies choose ON24 (NYSE: ONTF), a leading digital engagement platform for B2B sales and marketing that helps enterprises generate data-driven insights and deliver cost-effective revenue growth. Today, ON24, announced the industry-leading digital experiences of 2023 that drove ROI for their organizations. “At ON24, our goal is to propel business success through digital engagement, with our customers at the core. We take pride in helping our customers drive deeper engagement with their target audiences and extract meaningful insights that result in revenue growth,” said Callan Young, CMO, ON24. “It is our honor to recognize the leading organizations that exemplify excellence in leveraging our platform to create digital experiences that not only meet but surpass their audience’s expectations.” The following organizations were recognized for delivering outstanding digital experiences on the ON24 platform in 2023: Danfossdrove product growth and customer retention by leveraging distributor, reseller and customer data to optimize its webinar and digital engagement program. FloQastinfluenced 82% of event pipeline in Q3 and created 120+ new active opportunities by routing high-quality leads from in-experience demo requests directly to sales. Global X ETFsincreased qualified, high-value leads in Australia by 22%, by integrating ON24 engagement data with their CRM and using the platform’s personalization capabilities. Informaticascaled a live event into a hybrid experience across three key regions simultaneously, driving registration and delivering a consistent customer experience on a global scale. Infopro Digitalincreased conversion rates and registrations by automating processes on the ON24 platform and making real-time adjustments based on customer feedback. Kasperskydrove product adoption and business growth by creating new relationships with prospects and fostering existing relationships with customers. KnowBe4generated over $300k in pipeline through an ON24-powered digital experience. The National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators (NASFAA)achieved 100% participant satisfaction for its unique and impactful digital experience powered by the ON24 platform. PowerSchoolachieved record-breaking registration rates, 75 CTA clicks, over 400 poll responses and 300+ content downloads during an educational experience with ON24. S&P Globaldoubled marketing qualified leads and boosted engagement by designing an ON24 digital experience personalized to different customer segments. Tata Consultancy Servicesdrove revenue growth with record-high registrations for their webinar on ON24, resulting in 70% attendee participation across 30 countries. Texthelpsourced leads during a webinar series and converted at least 70% of them into marketing-qualified leads within 30 days. TOPdeskincreased revenue and improved its customer engagement by 7% YoY and extended the shelf life of its content with an on-demand hub. TravelMediaGroupclosed three deals from a single digital experience by creating a seamless and engaging customer experience on ON24. UCBachieved a 50%+ attendee conversion rate by enhancing the HCP’s experience and integrating ON24 engagement data with its business intelligence system. UnitedHealthcareachieved an 80% cost savings, increased attendee score and engagement with a new digital engagement strategy and an always-on content hub. Wood PLCsourced leads, increased audience engagement and automated continuing professional education credits on ON24, across different time zones. ZoomInfosurpassed webinar benchmarks by generating a record number of marketing-qualified leads and 190 scheduled demos, resulting in 10 closed-won deals. To learn more about 2023’s leaders in digital engagement, watch the on-demand webinar here. About ON24 ON24 is on a mission to re-imagine how companies engage, understand and build relationships with their audience in a digital world. Through our leading sales and marketing platform for digital engagement integrated with generative AI, businesses use our portfolio of webinar, virtual event and content experiences to drive engagement and generate first-party data, delivering ​revenue growth across the enterprise – from demand generation to customer success to partner enablement. ON24 powers digital engagement for industry-leading customers worldwide, including 3 of the 5 largest global technology companies, 3 of the 6 largest US banks, 3 of the 5 largest global healthcare companies, and 3 of the 5 largest global industrial manufacturers, enabling organizations to reach millions of professionals a month for billions of engagement minutes per year with all the first-party data being captured, generated and integrated from one place. ON24 is headquartered in San Francisco with global offices in North America, EMEA, and APAC. For more information, visit www.ON24.com.

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ABM Accounts

Bloomreach and Sonepar to Power Continued Search Relevance for Customers

Business Wire | January 12, 2024

Bloomreach, the platform fueling limitless e-commerce experiences, today announced Bloomreach Discovery will continue to power product discovery for Sonepar, the global world leader in B-to-B distribution of electrical products, solutions, and related services, as the companies renew their existing partnership. With Bloomreach Discovery’s AI-driven search and merchandising capabilities, Sonepar enables customers around the world to find what they want to buy — when, where, and how they want. “Sonepar is pleased to partner with Bloomreach as we continue to pursue our next stage of digital transformation,” said Fabrice del Aguila, SVP Digital Factory, Sonepar. “We look forward to leveraging Bloomreach’s expertise in product discovery as we become the first global B2B electrical distributor in the world to offer the best omnichannel experience to all our customers.” Sonepar leverages Bloomreach Discovery to drive personalized experiences across its omnichannel platform. Using rich data to refine search results, Bloomreach Discovery helps customers easily discover the products they want. It also accounts for a range of attributes and quantitative search queries, creating a search experience that is not only personalized, but personalized to the unique needs of B-to-B buyers. “We’re thrilled to continue our partnership with Sonepar,” said Jordan Roper, General Manager and Head of Product, Bloomreach Discovery. “The B-to-B space has so much to gain from digital transformation, and Sonepar is a leader in making that transformation a reality. We’re proud to join them on this journey and look forward to continuing to support their omnichannel experience with the fast ROI and relevance of Bloomreach Discovery.” Learn more about how Bloomreach Discovery and Sonepar are working together to drive success. About Bloomreach Bloomreach personalizes the e-commerce experience. Its data engine unifies real-time customer and product data so businesses understand what customers really want. By connecting that understanding to every channel, the e-commerce experience becomes limitless — reflecting a changing customer as they shop. Amplified by the speed and scale of Loomi, Bloomreach's AI for e-commerce, this creates endless new paths to purchase, greater profitability, and fast business growth. Bloomreach products include: Engagement, a marketing automation platform; Discovery, an e-commerce search solution; Content, a headless CMS; and Clarity, AI-powered conversational shopping. The company has multiple AI patents and serves 850+ global brands including: Albertsons, Bosch, Puma, and Marks & Spencer. About Sonepar Sonepar is an independent family-owned company with global market leadership in B-to-B distribution of electrical products, solutions and related services. Through a dense network of brands spanning 40 countries, the Group has an ambitious transformation agenda to become the first global B-to-B electrical distributor to provide a fully digitalized and synchronized omnichannel experience to all customers. Drawing on the skill and passion of its 44,000 associates, Sonepar had sales of €32.4 billion in 2022. www.sonepar.com

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Core ABM

Marketers Given Marginal Grades for ABM-Driven Revenue Growth

GlobeNewswire | January 25, 2024

Seeding and harvesting the sales pipeline — the process of acquiring, capturing, qualifying and converting business opportunities — are essential to the growth and profitability of B2B marketers across every industry and geographic sector. Marketing is largely responsible for driving this business process, yet nearly two-thirds of lead gen and engagement strategies are underperforming. A new Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) Council report, produced in collaboration with WM America, entitled “Fire Up Your Revenue Generation Engine,” covers critical aspects of lead generation and engagement. This includes models and metrics for tracking and measuring performance, best practice demand-gen execution, ways to score effectiveness, and more. The latest CMO Council research finds scores of marketers falling behind in lead scoring, account-based marketing, accelerated pipeline, and intention-based marketing. Key findings from a Q4 survey of over 170 B2B marketing, sales, revenue, growth, demand gen and campaign execution leaders include: 63% say marketing must own and optimize a company’s revenue-generation engine 64% say their lead gen and engagement strategy underperforms 78% of highly evolved marketers are satisfied with their accelerated pipeline, compared to only 15% of lesser evolved marketers “In today’s competitive data-driven environment, marketers should no longer be satisfied with paltry returns on their sizable lead-gen and ABM investments,” the report notes. “It’s time to turn the tables on inefficient, ineffective, and outdated practices for anticipating, adapting, and responding to customer needs and opportunities.” “Marketers must climb the evolutionary ladder and leave behind outmoded and dated practices,” notes CMO Council executive director, Donovan Neale-May. “Using AI-derived, intention-based buyer data and advanced sales intelligence are among the ways growth marketers bring more precision, predictability, and performance to B2B account marketing investments.” The CMO Council’s research revealed the top five skill sets contributing to improved ABM-driven business outcomes: Better segmentation and precision targeting of buyers and influencers On-demand customer business intelligence and personal buyer insights Tighter integration of demand gen, channel, direct sales, and support teams Greater utilization of tools and data sources for richer prospect profiling Proactive and timely pre-sales follow up and cultivation strategies The CMO Council has uncovered widening gaps in performance between highly evolved marketers and lesser evolved marketers. Gaps are occurring in four core capabilities: lead scoring, account-based marketing, accelerated pipeline, and intention-based marketing. This report tiers factors that make up a model for better identification, engagement and conversion. The model coincides with the CMO Council and WM America’s thought leadership initiative to advance lead revenue science practices through a certified Lead Evaluation and Assurance Process, or LEAP model. “Marketers will need to take a few LEAPs of faith in the coming months, because sticking to the status quo is just not practical or possible anymore. As data becomes more critical than ever before, CMOs need to extend their visions for innovation and forward-thinking strategies,” according to Lee Salem, WM America’s Vice President of Sales. Methodology The report is based on a survey of over 170 heads of B2B marketing, sales, revenue, growth, demand gen and campaign execution in Q4 2023. It also included content from in-depth interviews with executives from Netline, Autodesk, T-Mobile, NTT, ABM Consortium, TechTarget, IBM, B2B Marketing, Reachdesk, Momentum ITSMA, and Xometry. About the CMO Council The Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) Council is dedicated to high-level knowledge exchange, thought leadership and personal relationship building among senior corporate marketing leaders and brand decision-makers across a wide-range of global industries. The CMO Council’s 16,000+ members control more than $1 trillion in aggregated annual marketing expenditures and run complex, distributed marketing and sales operations worldwide. In total, the CMO Council and its strategic interest communities include over 65,000 global marketing and sales executives in over 110 countries covering multiple industries, segments and markets. Regional chapters and advisory boards are active in the Americas, Europe, Asia Pacific, Middle East and Africa. The Council’s strategic interest groups include the Customer Experience Board, Digital Marketing Performance Center, Brand Inspiration Center, Marketing Supply Chain Institute, GeoBranding Center, and the Coalition to Leverage and Optimize Sales Effectiveness (CLOSE). To learn more, visit https://www.cmocouncil.org. About WM America WM America is a leading B2B marketing company specializing in targeted in-market demand generation. The intent database at WMA tracks the intent behavior of over 75 million business professionals globally, 24X7. The database is segmented into 3,300 categories. WMA keeps around-the-clock track of buying signals from each category in this database. Based on this extremely strong foundation of data points, the company delivers precisely targeted prospects for focused marketing. Accurate keyword search enables deriving of active content consumption and opt-in content downloads. WMA's deep search ensures accurate and targeted information delivery that helps craft successful, cutting-edge marketing strategies. For more information, visit www.wmamerica.com

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Buyer Intent Data

ON24 Recognizes 2023’s Leaders in Digital Engagement

Business Wire | January 24, 2024

A recent Forrester survey found that more than 60% of B2B buyers base their final purchase decision solely on the digital content and experiences companies provide. That’s why thousands of B2B companies choose ON24 (NYSE: ONTF), a leading digital engagement platform for B2B sales and marketing that helps enterprises generate data-driven insights and deliver cost-effective revenue growth. Today, ON24, announced the industry-leading digital experiences of 2023 that drove ROI for their organizations. “At ON24, our goal is to propel business success through digital engagement, with our customers at the core. We take pride in helping our customers drive deeper engagement with their target audiences and extract meaningful insights that result in revenue growth,” said Callan Young, CMO, ON24. “It is our honor to recognize the leading organizations that exemplify excellence in leveraging our platform to create digital experiences that not only meet but surpass their audience’s expectations.” The following organizations were recognized for delivering outstanding digital experiences on the ON24 platform in 2023: Danfossdrove product growth and customer retention by leveraging distributor, reseller and customer data to optimize its webinar and digital engagement program. FloQastinfluenced 82% of event pipeline in Q3 and created 120+ new active opportunities by routing high-quality leads from in-experience demo requests directly to sales. Global X ETFsincreased qualified, high-value leads in Australia by 22%, by integrating ON24 engagement data with their CRM and using the platform’s personalization capabilities. Informaticascaled a live event into a hybrid experience across three key regions simultaneously, driving registration and delivering a consistent customer experience on a global scale. Infopro Digitalincreased conversion rates and registrations by automating processes on the ON24 platform and making real-time adjustments based on customer feedback. Kasperskydrove product adoption and business growth by creating new relationships with prospects and fostering existing relationships with customers. KnowBe4generated over $300k in pipeline through an ON24-powered digital experience. The National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators (NASFAA)achieved 100% participant satisfaction for its unique and impactful digital experience powered by the ON24 platform. PowerSchoolachieved record-breaking registration rates, 75 CTA clicks, over 400 poll responses and 300+ content downloads during an educational experience with ON24. S&P Globaldoubled marketing qualified leads and boosted engagement by designing an ON24 digital experience personalized to different customer segments. Tata Consultancy Servicesdrove revenue growth with record-high registrations for their webinar on ON24, resulting in 70% attendee participation across 30 countries. Texthelpsourced leads during a webinar series and converted at least 70% of them into marketing-qualified leads within 30 days. TOPdeskincreased revenue and improved its customer engagement by 7% YoY and extended the shelf life of its content with an on-demand hub. TravelMediaGroupclosed three deals from a single digital experience by creating a seamless and engaging customer experience on ON24. UCBachieved a 50%+ attendee conversion rate by enhancing the HCP’s experience and integrating ON24 engagement data with its business intelligence system. UnitedHealthcareachieved an 80% cost savings, increased attendee score and engagement with a new digital engagement strategy and an always-on content hub. Wood PLCsourced leads, increased audience engagement and automated continuing professional education credits on ON24, across different time zones. ZoomInfosurpassed webinar benchmarks by generating a record number of marketing-qualified leads and 190 scheduled demos, resulting in 10 closed-won deals. To learn more about 2023’s leaders in digital engagement, watch the on-demand webinar here. About ON24 ON24 is on a mission to re-imagine how companies engage, understand and build relationships with their audience in a digital world. Through our leading sales and marketing platform for digital engagement integrated with generative AI, businesses use our portfolio of webinar, virtual event and content experiences to drive engagement and generate first-party data, delivering ​revenue growth across the enterprise – from demand generation to customer success to partner enablement. ON24 powers digital engagement for industry-leading customers worldwide, including 3 of the 5 largest global technology companies, 3 of the 6 largest US banks, 3 of the 5 largest global healthcare companies, and 3 of the 5 largest global industrial manufacturers, enabling organizations to reach millions of professionals a month for billions of engagement minutes per year with all the first-party data being captured, generated and integrated from one place. ON24 is headquartered in San Francisco with global offices in North America, EMEA, and APAC. For more information, visit www.ON24.com.

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ABM Accounts

Bloomreach and Sonepar to Power Continued Search Relevance for Customers

Business Wire | January 12, 2024

Bloomreach, the platform fueling limitless e-commerce experiences, today announced Bloomreach Discovery will continue to power product discovery for Sonepar, the global world leader in B-to-B distribution of electrical products, solutions, and related services, as the companies renew their existing partnership. With Bloomreach Discovery’s AI-driven search and merchandising capabilities, Sonepar enables customers around the world to find what they want to buy — when, where, and how they want. “Sonepar is pleased to partner with Bloomreach as we continue to pursue our next stage of digital transformation,” said Fabrice del Aguila, SVP Digital Factory, Sonepar. “We look forward to leveraging Bloomreach’s expertise in product discovery as we become the first global B2B electrical distributor in the world to offer the best omnichannel experience to all our customers.” Sonepar leverages Bloomreach Discovery to drive personalized experiences across its omnichannel platform. Using rich data to refine search results, Bloomreach Discovery helps customers easily discover the products they want. It also accounts for a range of attributes and quantitative search queries, creating a search experience that is not only personalized, but personalized to the unique needs of B-to-B buyers. “We’re thrilled to continue our partnership with Sonepar,” said Jordan Roper, General Manager and Head of Product, Bloomreach Discovery. “The B-to-B space has so much to gain from digital transformation, and Sonepar is a leader in making that transformation a reality. We’re proud to join them on this journey and look forward to continuing to support their omnichannel experience with the fast ROI and relevance of Bloomreach Discovery.” Learn more about how Bloomreach Discovery and Sonepar are working together to drive success. About Bloomreach Bloomreach personalizes the e-commerce experience. Its data engine unifies real-time customer and product data so businesses understand what customers really want. By connecting that understanding to every channel, the e-commerce experience becomes limitless — reflecting a changing customer as they shop. Amplified by the speed and scale of Loomi, Bloomreach's AI for e-commerce, this creates endless new paths to purchase, greater profitability, and fast business growth. Bloomreach products include: Engagement, a marketing automation platform; Discovery, an e-commerce search solution; Content, a headless CMS; and Clarity, AI-powered conversational shopping. The company has multiple AI patents and serves 850+ global brands including: Albertsons, Bosch, Puma, and Marks & Spencer. About Sonepar Sonepar is an independent family-owned company with global market leadership in B-to-B distribution of electrical products, solutions and related services. Through a dense network of brands spanning 40 countries, the Group has an ambitious transformation agenda to become the first global B-to-B electrical distributor to provide a fully digitalized and synchronized omnichannel experience to all customers. Drawing on the skill and passion of its 44,000 associates, Sonepar had sales of €32.4 billion in 2022. www.sonepar.com

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Events