Taking on many twists and turns, our most recent #IgniteB2B Twitter chat tackled the rather broad topic of ‘insight in B2B’ head on. Worry not, after hours of deliberation prior to the chat, we drafted up some drill-down questions. Here’s what our Twitter chat attendees had to say about them.
Our next Twitter chat takes place on Thursday 4 May (4-5pm GMT) – follow @MarketingB2B using #IgniteB2B to join.
The consensus here was overwhelmingly unanimous (so unanimous, in fact, that we wondered whether the question was a bit of a dud). If resources allow, there should absolutely be an individual (if not an entire team) solely dedicated to insight. And where resources are scarce, one user pointed out the onus should instead be on up-skilling your inhouse team.
One attendee pointed out that managing insight has to be a full-time job, and one that marketers shouldn’t have to do, while another observed how often the words ‘analytics’ and ‘insight’ are confused: they’re two very different skills after all. Analytics provides the ‘what’ (looking at data over time), while insights are the ‘why’ (helping to form understanding).
The key takeaway here was that these two approaches can work in harmony. Yes, a lot will depend on your goals, as one tweeter pointed out (are you looking to increase leads or expand upsell to existing customers?), but most people concurred that a unified approach was most conducive to delivering solid marketing.
However, one tweeter pointed out the answer massively depends on a company’s marketing maturity, as well as its existing client relationships and understanding of the market. An account-based approach seems to favour long-term strategy, with a focus on high-value, low-frequency purchase decisions, whereas personas help to identify who your potential buyers actually are.
As one user succinctly put it: “One measures, the other reveals.”
“Shit that arrives at the speed of light is still shit.” – David Abbott
This question really seemed to strike a chord, and there was no end to the responses, so we’ll list off a few.
1) MA platforms can be too complex to use (leading to poorly executed email campaigns).
2) Tech creates obsession with close measurement rather than success.
3) People are forgotten… we need to remember that everything is still driven by people.
4) It enables awful marketing at scale (that said, a bad workman does always blame his tools).
5) Some people think they’re good marketers just because they can use a specific tool… marketing is a skill (and a science).
6) People get lazy. They trust the tech more than themselves or their colleagues.
7) It can create more problems than it solves if it ends up creating yet more silos. Integrate or go home.
We really could keep going all day here, but for the sake of brevity…
Artificial intelligence (AI) is such a pertinent topic in B2B right now, and certainly raises more questions that answers, hence why this one was on the list. One user’s query (‘When will AI arrive?’) speaks volumes, but a lot of users seemed most concerned by its potential to oust the conventional marketer.
I remember Stein IAS’ Marc Keating admitting at InTech 2017 that AI was still a good five years away from permeating the B2B space, and one tweeter pointed out that it’ll inevitably be the huge corporations that will lead the line and ultimately set the standard for the rest to follow.
I remember writing a feature last year inspired by a Gallup study that revealed 71% of B2B buyers are ready and willing to take their business elsewhere. It astounded me at the time, and the way many attendees reacted to this question suggests that the acquisition versus retention issue is still a hot topic.
Of course, acquisition is the trademark of marketing. Winning a new customer is exciting; it’s an indication of campaigns and strategies coming to fruition. It’s why marketers love marketing, especially in B2B. However, many tweeters pointed out marketers need to put strategies in place around customer retention in order to consistently add value and trust. The general consensus was that there needs to be a change in mindset, but as we all know this is easier said than done in B2B.
Social listening is a marketing tactic that’s been around for a while, but is still commonly misunderstood and relatively underused in B2B. While the c-suite will inevitably question how much ROI it can generate, one user pointed out it’s always worth having conversations on social, even if it’s not with a decision-maker: you never know who that person might pass the information on to.
Most tweeters agreed that social listening should be used to help understand how different groups think and how they can potentially act, but the inherent challenge is, again, how you measure its impact. In answer to the chat question though, one attendee summarised: “Engage with laser focus of keywords, but listen on a wider scale to find your unknown topics and themes.”
