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Seven Ways B-to-B Marketers Can Drive Growth

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Recent research from the ANA, in partnership with GfK, indicates that B-to-B marketers struggle to be viewed as growth drivers by senior leaders. While this may be unfair, it’s important for B-to-B marketers to take action and begin changing this

perception. Ahead, we’ll outline seven ways you can drive growth and success for your organization.

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Think Like a Business Leader with Marketing Experience.

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“Tell me to what degree will a 1 percent improvement in our brand strength translate into acquisition and retentions,” says Pat LaPointe, an investor and growth advisor at Growth Calculus. You can elevate marketing’s role by helping senior

leadership develop business plans informed by customer insights and linking marketing strategies to business outcomes.

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Establish Your Company’s Competitive Advantage.

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Take the lead in developing a strong brand positioning to give your company an edge over the competition. This is

the most important role that B-to-B marketers can take on, but you also need to communicate this positioning with

sales so they can become champions of your brand’s image.

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Partner with Sales to Drive Business Growth.

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Your most important marketing objectives are driving sales and/or leads, while boosting brand awareness, customer loyalty, and retention rates. Because of this, you should

align your key objectives with the goals of sales.

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Inspire the Entire Organization.

“We needed to have marketing people sitting with the IT team on a day-to-day basis to help them understand why we’re asking for certain things and what we’re trying to do,”

says Robert Tas, chief marketing officer at Pegasystems. If you’re not selling the brand internally, you’ll struggle to get

research, sales, and IT to buy into the marketing efforts.

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Shift the Focus of Strategy from your Product to your Consumer.

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“We made the decision to stop talking about products and start talking to [customers] about the different ways we can solve

problems,” says Allison Bennet, chief marketing officer at Chase for Business. Focus marketing efforts on driving a consistent

brand identity across buyer touchpoints, strengthening strategic brand imagery, and boosting brand awareness.

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Prove ROI.

ROI

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Measure campaign results to demonstrate marketing’s contribution to corporate success, and you’ll begin

to be viewed by senior leadership as a growth driver.

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Acquire Digital Skillsets.

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If your company doesn’t have the tools and digital skillsets needed to compete today, acquire them. Currently, only 7 percent of marketers polled believe their companies have effective processes in place for capturing data

on buyer behavior, attitudes, and engagement. That number is way too low.

All content for this slideshare has been aggregated from the ANA’s Marketing Knowledge Center. Want more to dig deeper? We’ve got you covered:

Infographic: Eight Ways B-to-B Marketers Can Take on Growth Leadership

Key Findings Report: When B-to-B Marketers Lead, Growth Follows

Ask the Expert Answers: Emotion in B-to-B Advertising

Event Recap: What’s Hot in Lead Generation

Case Study: Priceless Elevator Pitch

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