Only 51 per cent believe their business sees the financial value of marketing, according to a new Forrester report which explores how B2B marketers work across six key segments. These include tech/telecom, manufacturing, life sciences, business services, financial services, and entertainment in the US and Europe.
Despite this finding, an impressive 86 per cent of B2B marketers agreed the connection between marketing activities and business goals is is well defined. Nearly three-quarters of respondents (72 per cent) believe company leadership clearly sees marketing’s impact on the business. However, only 45 per cent feel confident they know which metrics and business outcomes matter most to stakeholders.
Meanwhile, 61 per cent of respondents say that their ability to measure and report marketing programme contribution to the business has improved since 2012. More importantly, two-thirds (67 per cent) agree that marketing is better able to improve the metrics that matter to thebusiness — like the rate of new customer acquisition, market share, and lifetime value.
Plus, 60 per cent agreed marketing has become more adept at using data and analytics to make mid-course corrections or more strategic recommendations.
Laura Ramos, vice president, principal analyst at Forrester Research, comments in the report: ‘Business marketing has been accused of poorly demonstrating tangible value in precise terms. Despite advances in marketing automation and lead-to-revenue management practices, this reputation persists — and keeps many B2B CMOs from commanding a strategic seat at the leadership table or from garnering the resources needed to continue to advance the brand and grow revenues.’