Editor's Picks for ANA Magazine's B2B Department

B2B marketers continue to struggle with making the most of their growing marketing technology stack. A major part of the problem: Too many companies rely on individual technology purchases rather than foster an integrated approach.

Valerie Beaulieu, U.S. CMO at Microsoft, brings a highly balanced approach to B2B marketing to tackle the most pressing issues facing marketers.

With most every business reassessing overall spending due to the coronavirus outbreak, it’s an opportune time for B2B companies to reassess their email marketing strategy and ensure that the audiences receiving their emails are getting immediate value.

Being simpatico with vendors themselves — and not being in thrall to social media messaging or online reviews — can be highly influential in the B2B purchasing process.

Companies that let marketers steer the sales-enablement process exceed their revenue goals much more so than brands that put sales reps in charge, says a new report. And the C-suite is taking note.

The onus is on marketers to spot regional or cultural trends that may impact their business category and/or products and services — even if the company lacks a significant global presence.

To bolster their marketing strategy to purchasing committees, B2B brands must supply a constant stream of information and continually track who’s in (and who’s not) when it comes to closing a deal.

Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime, HBO, and Showtime provide valuable lessons for B2B marketers eager to ramp up their investments in streaming media.

Considered the ‘third stage’ in sales and marketing transformation, through-channel marketing automation (TCMA) plays into the growing reliance on partner relationships throughout the B2B sector.

B2B marketers are having an increasingly tough time leveraging the streams of data they collect. One result: content marketing programs suffer from a lack of direction.

B2B brands adopt more and more characteristics of consumer marketing, while B2C companies steal a page or two from the business marketing playbook.

B2B marketers are starting to appreciate the value of creating customer experiences so their constituents feel obligated to advocate and share those experiences with others.

A close working relationship between communications and marketing teams is essential to brand success, both internally and externally.

With its ease of targeting, high level of member engagement, and extensive database, LinkedIn continuously boosts its appeal among business marketers.

Conversation focusing on ROI and marketing attribution helps C-suite executives better understand marketers’ overall value.

Strategically placed content is the most effective way to cater to specific individuals and facilitate the buyer journey.

Enabling technology is crucial, of course, but operational changes lie at the heart of deploying effective account-based marketing programs. Job one: sales and marketing alignment.

For Victoria Keese Morrissey, Caterpillar’s Global Marketing and Brand Director, cultivating relationships is crucial for the nearly 100-year-old company to excel in the 21st century.

As the marketing function grows more complex, the onus is on CMOs to be more selective about their marketing stack and focus more sharply on their customers.

Artificial intelligence and machine learning have enormous potential for helping marketers create a better experience for their customers and improve campaign performance metrics.