Introduction
B2B marketers have a tough situation on their hands. On one side, their goals are more challenging than ever. On the other side, their budgets are being squeezed. Having to do more with less is tough, and B2B organizations are making it even tougher, requiring marketers to “prove it or lose it.” That is, show that they’ve driven revenue, or lose budget.
At the same time, B2B buyers are changing significantly. They’re much more likely to use online channels to search for information, research solutions and even transact online. Winterberry Group calls this the “consumerization” of B2B marketing in their recent report “Outlook for B2B Marketing, A Market In Transformation.” B2B buyers are starting to look more like B2C buyers, and it’s dramatically shifted the strategies that B2B marketers need in order to succeed. Regular consumers search, shop, and transact online in large numbers, and B2C marketers have spent years collecting customer data and creating data-driven technology stacks to market to them based on their online behavior.
Our research shows that there are some B2B marketers who are thriving through this time of change. Their secret? Better data and better use of data. They reported in the 2023 Data Impact Report that they have the right data and can prove it in their pipeline.
We’ve defined these B2B marketers as Data Heroes. These marketers saw significant growth in the past year (43% saw significant revenue growth vs 13% of other marketers) and are getting bigger budgets (78% of them!) because of their data-driven approach.
However, there are plenty of marketers who aren’t experiencing the same data-driven nirvana. Of all the marketers surveyed, 44% of them reported challenges with data quality and completeness. These unfortunate marketers are in the Data Dead Zone. While 100% of the Data Heroes report they use the right data and can prove it in their pipeline, only 26% of those in the Data Dead Zone could say the same.
Lead scoring is the thread that runs through most marketing programs. It’s what ties marketing to sales, what leaders use to gauge the value of marketing activity, and how marketers prioritize one marketing strategy over another. When lead scoring isn’t working, it’s hard for marketers to get anything right.
The vast majority of Data Heroes, 83%, are satisfied 
with their lead scoring, compared to only 36% of marketers in the Data Dead Zone. What’s more, Data Heroes are more likely to be using newer scoring techniques – 61% of Data Heroes use buying group scoring compared to only 42% in the Data Dead Zone. Marketers in the Data Dead Zone are most likely to be focused on engagement.
While scoring for content consumption or engagement may not tell the whole story, it is OK to have it as part of your scoring methodology. What sets Data Heroes apart is they are layering more metrics to tell a more complete story for their leads.
Marketers in the Data Dead Zone have a tougher time meeting goals; they are half as likely than the Data Heroes t
o have reported that they are very likely to meet their marketing goals this year. The difference is in the details. If any of the issues above are plaguing your team, then meeting goals is going to be tough.