Download - B2B Sales and Marketing Trends for 2015
Reflection
Each year, we have the opportunity to reflect on the past year’s activity and results, conduct
some industry research, and catalog B2B trends that we see gaining traction across a wide array
of business models and markets.
Purpose
The point of our research (and experience) is not to write a nice article – you can certainly find plenty of these. Instead, our purpose is to provide information that is both timely and actionable.
You can use each and every one of these trends to increase your competitive advantage in the coming year.
B2B Trend 1: Focus on Metrics
Metrics are a major Priority• Although this is not a new trend, it is a continuation of a critical
movement. We see many B2B companies adopting an end-to-end marketing and sales framework that:
• Attributes new revenue to specific lead sources
• Tracks conversion rates at every step in the process including:
» Response to Marketing Qualified Leads (MQL)
» MQL to Sales Accepted Leads (SAL)
» SAL to Opportunities
» Opportunities to Closed Deals
• Combines marketing and sales reporting in dashboard view. This helps to track the performance on SAL (service level agreements).
www.fusionmarketingpartners.com/2015-trends
B2B Trend 2: Social Media
Social Media is Getting Tougher• It’s getting tougher because it is getting more competitive. Just like
with past “hot media” (direct mail, email, etc.) when advertiser activity goes up, response rates go down.
• For a lot of companies, social media is not optional – if your customers and competitors are there, you need to be also.
• However, only a small percentage of B2B companies believe they are using social media effectively.
• The good news is that you have the opportunity to achieve competitive advantage!
www.fusionmarketingpartners.com/2015-trends
B2B Trend 3: Sales Funnels
The Buyer’s Funnel is Becoming More Important than the Sales Funnel• There are many variations of the sales funnel, but they all have 1
thing in common – they are focused on the methodology sellers use to find prospects, engage with the, and close business.
• The problem is that buyer’s want to buy the way they want to buy. Forcing them through a rigid process takes the focus off of their needs and on to the final sale.
“I have noticed a preponderance of time spent on training sales staff with rigid processes and not enough time spent training them on how
to understand the customer’s buying process and their unique challenges. The point is that one size does not fit all.”
-James Franklin, CEO
www.fusionmarketingpartners.com/2015-trends
B2B Trend 4: Functional Alignment
Tighter Alignment of the Sales and Marketing Functions• We are seeing greater emphasis on sales and marketing alignment
• There are two popular, yet conflicting sales models
1. Direct sales reps that only see leads that have been pre-qualified, focusing more on quantity than quality to meet sales goals.
2. A direct sales force with no pre-qualification focuses more on quality than quantity.
• In the second scenario, we purposefully back off on the quantity and align our marketing plan to deliver leads that are more qualified.
B2B Trend 5: Follow-up Failure
Failure to Follow-up Remains a Big Revenue Killer• One of the most striking conclusions is that the number of qualified
prospects that will buy short-term is matched by those who will buy – from either you or a competitor, at some point.
• This is why nurturing your prospect database is such a valuable activity.
• This means that you must follow-up not only when the lead first comes in, but also on a regular basis until they are ready to engage and buy something.
Our research shows that 51.4% of inbound inquiries are not contacted.
www.fusionmarketingpartners.com/2015-trends
2015 Success
Taking advantage of one or more of these sales and marketing trends can have a large impact for your company.
I hope you enjoy and benefit from reading about these trends.
We feel strongly that 2015 can be a great year for B2B companies and trust that you will achieve your share of revenues and profits.
Learn More
Visit our website for more insight about B2B
marketing and sales trendsand a look at my new book Winning B2B Marketing.
About Fusion Marketing Partners
Christopher Ryan, CEO
We Do This:
Brand building/messaging
Website optimization
Content creation
Lead generation
You Get This:
Much greater levels of awareness
Higher quantities of qualified leads
Ability to generate faster revenue
Lots more information at:
http://FusionMarketingPartners.com/
http://Greatb2BMarketing.com (blog)
