Do you know the impact of your B2B Marketing Strategy?

In the complex and intricate world of B2B marketing, success isn’t just about the flashy campaigns and social media buzz. It’s about quantifiable results that drive growth, revenue, and long-term business relationships.

To truly gauge the effectiveness of your B2B marketing strategy (not just your campaigns that play into that strategy) you need to focus on metrics that matter. Yes, clicks and likes play a part, but can you truly demonstrate your ROI? Do you know your MQL from your SQL and where your best leads come from? And why do they deliver better business results? We look at the most important metrics and why they’re so important in shaping your business’ success.

1. Return on Investment (ROI)

Return on Investment (ROI) remains the North Star of marketing metrics. But in our experience, many don’t calculate it effectively. That means they can’t demonstrate growth by channel, or throughout the life of a campaign.

In Marketing Week’s Language of Effectiveness Survey 2022, just over a quarter (28.4%) of marketers say they always measure the return on investment of their campaigns when conducting effectiveness analysis. Yet almost half of the marketers surveyed (48.4%) say this is the most important metric for their CEO, CFO, and board members.

So why the disparity? Why is it not 100%?

We believe the answer lies in not joining the dots. Legacy systems don’t talk to new systems and tracking is insufficient. There isn’t any attribution to demonstrate where the best leads are coming from, and what the average sales or lifetime value is. Perhaps it even lies in conversion strategies, or lack of?

Either way, how can you allocate resources to the most effective strategies – while maximising your marketing impact and your budget ­– without this important metric?

3. Marketing Qualified Leads (MQLs) and Sales Qualified Leads (SQLs)

Measuring the quality of your leads is paramount. B2B organisations with tightly aligned sales and marketing functions experience 24% faster revenue growth over three years, as reported by Forrester’s Sirius Decisions research. By monitoring the conversion rate from MQLs to SQLs, you can fine-tune your strategies and ensure marketing efforts resonate with potential buyers. Add some marketing automation to this process and you’ll help your marketing team to capture and nurture leads. Plus, if you further integrate with your CRM system, the sales team can easily see which leads are getting nurtured, their purchase history and keep tabs on all the conversations that happen. Revolutionary, right?!

In conclusion, the impact of your B2B marketing strategy is multifaceted and measurable. By understanding the effect of your marketing strategy, you’re positioning your business on the road to growth, engagement, and lasting success.