The New Game in B2B Marketing: Cross-Channel Activation, Governance and Measurement

From marketing automation to account-based (ABM) platforms to customer data platforms (CDPs), B2B marketers have well over 8,000 martech solutions at their disposal. We know who we need to reach, and we know how to generate target account lists from ABM solutions, intent vendors, and/or sales lists. But talk to any B2B marketer and it’s clear that we’re all still struggling with reaching the right buyers with the right message at the right point in their buying journey. One might call this the “getting down to business” part.

What are we missing? 

The New B2B Buyer’s Journey

For one, the B2B marketing game has changed. B2B buyers are interacting more like their B2C selves. They’re charting their own paths to purchase with all-digital, sales-free, self-serve journeys across multiple channels. They’ll likely miss your email because they’ve swiped left and deleted it. They’re online in social media, reading reviews and articles, and attending webinars. And when they show up at your conference or booth, they’re educated, informed, and ready to go. 

For marketers, this means we need to recalibrate toward a Precision Demand Marketing approach. We need to understand our buyers and be more precise across our demand channels. We need to personalize information to their role, industry, or challenge. We must anticipate their next move and meet them. And we must focus on activating, governing, and measuring our campaigns in the channels where our buyers are. 

Activate Cross-Channel Campaigns

Activation is key in our new B2B world. All the target account lists and intent signals in the world won’t get you closer to providing your buyer with the experience they expect. Rather, marketers must focus on the ability to activate across channels in order to reach their buyers where they go to learn, collaborate, and connect with others.

Govern Cross-Channel Marketing Data

At the core of good marketing is good data and today’s marketers require clean, compliant, and current information to ensure their marketing investment will pay off. Take for instance having the wrong email address. If your data is wrong, you’re wasting your time crafting the right message for the right moment in time. Not to mention that compliant data is essential as global data privacy regulations become more stringent. Who wants to face a 7-figure fine for violating GDPR rules? No one.  

Measure Cross-Channel Performance

If I had a dollar for every time an executive or board member asked me what the one marketing thing we needed to do was, I’d be a very rich woman. Savvy marketers realize that there’s no silver bullet in demand marketing. They also realize they must be able to understand campaign performance and determine what their next steps should be. What do we need to do more of? Less of? In which channels? Where is our next best investment and how should we shift our strategies to better align with our buyers? In our buyer-driven world, this is central to how marketers can develop the real-time buyer experiences their customers want.  

Toward a Cross-Channel Future

It’s clear that we’re living in a buyer-driven world with a whole new set of rules. The secret to winning this new B2B marketing game? Activating, governing, and measuring campaigns across multiple channels so we can reach our buyers where they are, when they want, and with the information they need. 

So, how do you get started? Check out our Guide to Cross-Channel Activation for practical tips on how to execute a precise, multi-touch, cross-channel approach that delivers actionable insights gained from your previous campaigns.