The B2B marketing landscape grows more complex by the day. New technologies, mountains of data, a glut of media channels, and more empowered buyers provides both immense opportunity and immense challenge.
To cut through the complexity and drive exponential pipeline growth, CMOs must take a systematic, customer-centric, and data-driven approach.
In this comprehensive guide, you’ll learn:
Section 1: The Mandates for Today‘s B2B CMO
Section 2: Architecting a State-of-the-Art Marketing Stack
Section 3: ROI-Focused Demand Generation Blueprint
Section 4: Continuous Optimization & Growth
Section 5: Emerging Opportunities
Let’s get to the strategies, tactics, and technologies that will accelerate success in 2024.
Section 1: The Mandates for Today‘s B2B CMO
Being a CMO at an early-stage B2B tech startup brings immense responsibility. Despite limited resources, you must deliver breakthrough growth amidst intense competition and rising customer expectations.
To thrive in the role means embracing new ways of working:
Revenue Focused – Keep revenue generation and pipeline impact top of mind in all decisions – from budget to resourcing to KPIs.
Data Evangelist – Champion usage of analytics, attribution, and modeling to optimize spending and go-to-market initiatives.
Campaign Conductor – Coordinate multi-channel, multi-touch campaigns while ensuring cohesion in messaging.
Technologist – Continuously evaluate and integrate best-of-breed technologies to increase effectiveness and efficiency.
Tester & Optimizer – Run regular small-scale experiments across targeting, messaging, creatives, and content types to enhance performance.
Analyst and Advisor – Supply sales, product, and the executive team with regular insights on funnel metrics, trends, and required changes based on data.
With the right mindsets and skills in place, let‘s build your modern marketing stack.
Section 2: Architecting a State-of-the-Art Marketing Stack
Sophisticated systems and tight data connectivity provides the foundation for pipeline velocity and reduced customer acquisition costs by enabling:
- Omnichannel automation
- Comprehensive measurement
- Continuous optimization
- Predictive modeling
Orchestrate your technology stack across 4 key capability layers:
Layer 1: Data & Analytics
Web Analytics: Track every website visit and engagement action via Google Analytics, or advanced platforms like Amplitude or Heap.
Multi-Touch Attribution: Tie marketing spend to pipeline across every online and offline channel using modelers like Marketing Evolution or Brightfunnel.
CRM: Centralize prospect data into a system like HubSpot or Marketo to manage workflows.
CDP: Create unified customer records across all touchpoints via Segment, mParticle, or similar.
With these core platforms, achieve complete visibility into the customer journey.
Layer 2: Operations & Automation
Marketing Automation: Nurture prospects via tailored content journeys in Marketo, Pardot, or HubSpot.
AI Chat: Engage site visitors via chatbots like Drift or Intercom to instantly qualify promising leads.
Outbound Orchestration: Equip SDRs to execute targeted, automated outreach campaigns with Outreach or Salesloft.
These technologies enable scale and higher conversion rates through personalized, omnichannel campaigns.
Layer 3: Execution Channels
| Paid Media | Site Experience | Communities |
|---|---|---|
| LinkedIn Sponsored Content | SEO | Industry Analysts |
| Programmatic Display | Site Messaging | Review Sites |
| Retargeting | Chatbot | Events |
Fill the funnel by targeting ideal buyer profiles at scale on preferred digital/offline channels.
Layer 4: Intelligence
A/B Testing Platform: Test campaign elements like messaging, subject lines, calls-to-action.
Lookalike Modeling: Identify net-new targets that resemble existing best customers.
Predictive Lead Scoring: Apply machine learning to forecast sales-readiness based on historical data.
Layering rich analytics and AI generates insights that focus budgets on optimal targets and tactics.
With this agile, integrated martech assembly, B2B marketers can execute sophisticated plays that expand reach while improving conversion efficiency.
But technology alone isn’t enough. We need strategy.
Section 3: ROI-Focused Demand Generation Blueprint
Evolving tech stacks provide immense leverage. But incremental pipeline still comes down to strategically attracting and engaging buyers across three key stages:
- Awareness: Get brand, content and offers in front of broad audience of prospective matches
- Consideration: Separate high-potential prospects from the pack
- Pipeline Conversion: Motivate engagement from validated prospects
across orchestrated inbound and outbound initiatives.
Let‘s explore formats and tactics that influence each stage.
Funnel Stage #1: Multi-channel Awareness
The awareness phase fills the top funnel by efficiently getting your brand, content and calls to action to the broadest audience of potential matches. This requires an omni-channel approach including:
Paid Social
-
LinkedIn Sponsored Content targeting by title/function, company, interests, and content topics. Stress cross-network amplification in copy.
-
Programmatic Display reaching known accounts across the web through audience data integrations.
60% of B2Bs now devote the largest portion of their advertising budget to LinkedIn + programmatic. Together they generate 2-5x the pipeline volume of generic search ads.
Owned Web Properties
- SEO through keyword optimization, schema markup, regular long-form content publication
- High-converting site messaging communicates unique differentiation and credibility
- Chatbots instantly engage prospects through qualifying dialogs
Influencers
- Analyst Relations via firm briefings to secure published materials
- Reviews acquired through customer referrals to fortify credibility
- Contributed articles and interviews via media and bloggers commenting on relevant industry topics
Curate and distribute content across the right mix of channels at each stage of the funnel.
Sample Awareness KPIs
| Channel | Metric | Goal |
|---|---|---|
| LinkedIn Sponsored | Click-Through Rate | > 2% |
| Programmatic Display | Target Account Reach | 60%+ |
| Organic Search | Monthly Visitors | 1,200+ |
| Chatbot | % Leads Qualified | 45%+ |
| G2 | Review Count | 20+ |
Consistently achieve the above KPI thresholds across channels through rigorous testing and optimization.
Funnel Stage #2: Prospect Qualification
This next phase separates high-potential accounts from low-value targets by profiling engagement, company attributes, and buyer readiness. Tactics include:
- CRM Lead Scoring assigning points algorithmically based on prospect behavior and profile data to denote sales readiness.
Example Lead Score Categories
| Category | Metric | Points |
|---|---|---|
| Firmographics | Employee Count | 50 per 100 employees |
| Engagement | Content Downloads | 10 per download |
| Interest | Pages Visited | 5 per visit |
| Recency | Last Site Visit Date | 100 within 30 days |
- Conversational Qualification via chatbot sequences to capture intent, use cases, purchase drivers and timeline
- SLA Development across Marketing and Sales to align on lead definition, scoring thresholds, data capture requirements and timely transfer of ready leads
Blending automation with well-tuned collaboration between teams drives maximum conversion efficiency.
Sample Qualification Benchmarks
| Metric | Goal |
|---|---|
| MQL to SQL Conversion Rate | 65%+ |
| SQL to Sales Opportunity Rate | 25%+ |
Achieve 2x industry average conversion rates through optimized scoring models and buying stage targeted nurture paths.
Funnel Stage #3: Pipeline Conversion
At this final stage, our aim is to motivate engagement from validated targets to advance opportunities using:
- One-to-One Outbound execution from SDRs including targeted email cadences and vocal prospecting campaigns
- ABM Campaigns that coordinate personalized account-centric touches across multiple channels
- Sponsored Event Presence staffed by technical reps for high-touch engagement
This comprehensive orchestration delivers predisposed prospects to sales at the pivotal moment.
Sample Pipeline Conversion Benchmarks
| Play | Metric | Goal |
|---|---|---|
| 1:1 Outbound | Meetings Booked per Month | 80+ |
| ABM Campaigns | Account Engagement Rate | 12%+ |
| Event Sponsorship | Opportunity Win Rate | 45%+ |
In aggregate, 30-50% of pipeline influence typically materializes in the conversion stage through contextually coordinated touches that compel action.
Section 4: Continuous Optimization & Growth
With core funnel architecture established, sustain momentum via:
Testing & Iteration
- Weekly multivariate A/B experiments across targeting, messaging, content types
- Leverage dedicated testing platforms like Optimizely X
Through regular controlled tests, CMOs generate 10-30% lift on key funnel metrics.
Audience Expansion
- Profile top accounts and contacts to find similar targets across new segments
- Lookalike modeling identifies net new matches from 3rd party data
Performance Diagnostics
- Funnel stage analysis to find leakage points
- Review channel influence at each phase
- Churn and retention evaluations
Account Scoring
- Develop data model to predict highest value prospects
- Features include firmographic, technographic, and behavioral data
Applying machine learning to account scoring improved sales qualified lead conversion rates by 40%
Section 5: Emerging Tactics and Technologies
While mastering current best practices, continually scan the horizon for emerging tactics and tech innovations:
TikTok
- Explore TikTok for Business features for early experiments even for B2B brands
Buying Groups & Participatory Campaigns
- Activate communities via co-creation of content, experiences, and conversations
Expanded Intent Data
- Incorporate more expansive intent indicators from newer sources beyond target account models
Martech Consolidation
- Evaluate end-to-end platforms like Marketo Engagement Marketing Platform and ABM Leader Everstring that combine execution capabilities with built-in analytics and intelligence
Generative AI
- Leverage computer generated content to supplement marketer-created assets
Forward-looking CMOs conduct quarterly scans for high-potential emerging innovations across martech, creative formats and channel platforms.
Key Takeaways
Today‘s recipe to thrive as a B2B CMO contains equal parts strategy, technology and tenacity. By taking an orchestrated, metrics-driven and customer-centric approach you can sustainably fill the funnel and drive breakthrough conversions.
Core Principles
- Maintain an ROI mindset
- Continually test and optimize
- Architect integrated data systems
- Automate cross-channel campaigns
- Stay atop emerging tactics
Now go capitalize on the immense potential of B2B marketing technology and expertise to accelerate your career and company traction!