The acceleration of B2B digitalization, the upheaval of buyer behavior, the emergence of a hybrid working model... the pandemic has turned foresight studies upside down, prompting institutes, think tanks and other strategy firms to revise their copy to incorporate uncertainty as a "New Normal".
Dun & Bradstreet took part in an ambitious research project.
Objective Our mission: to take stock of the rebellious post-pandemic Smarketing (Sales-Marketing alignment) project.
As you will see, the verbatim of the 600 marketing, sales and RevOps leaders surveyed is dominated by the Data component. Poor-quality data... the kryptonite of ABM!
In the same vein, there is unanimous agreement (94%) on the strategic need to align the objectives, KPIs and vision of GTM teams in order to improve the prospect experience and meet the challenge of personalization without resorting to intrusive practices. This constraint, sometimes referred to as Data ParadoxThe transition from an intuition-based business intelligence model to a full Data-Driven model, predicted by Gartner for 2026, will be a key factor:
" While B2B buyers are concerned about their privacy, they also want a personalized and relevant experience. "says the report.
If the objective of alignment is so actively pursued by decision-makers, is that the stakes are high :
Smarketing remains the ultimate goal in B2B
According to Dun & Bradstreet, the majority of B2B decision-makers (61%) cite smarketing as their company's top priority in 2022 and, more broadly, in the future. the world after. This represents a leap of 23% in just one year, and no doubt reflects awareness of the importance of aligning efforts across the Go-to-Market (GTM) spectrumThis is all the more true at a time when companies are returning to their target markets after two years marked by a slowdown in activity, internal prudence and reorganization, particularly in Sales. Â
In the same vein, there is unanimous agreement (94%) on the strategic need to align the objectives, KPIs and vision of GTM teams in order to improve the prospect experience and meet the challenge of personalization without resorting to intrusive practices. This constraint, sometimes referred to as Data ParadoxThe transition from an intuition-based business intelligence model to a full Data-Driven model, predicted by Gartner for 2026, will be a key factor:
" While B2B buyers are concerned about their privacy, they also want a personalized and relevant experience. "says the report.
If the objective of alignment is so actively pursued by decision-makers, is that the stakes are high :
- LOYALTY: Aligned teams have a customer retention rate 36% higher than others (Marketing Profs)... an eloquent statement when you consider that a 5% increase in loyalty can translate into a 25-95% increase in revenue (Bain & Company).
- GROWTH: Companies with aligned teams generate 27% higher growth rates than others (InsideView)
- SALES OBJECTIVES: Sales - Marketing alignment is the primary factor in achieving sales quotas (Heinz Marketing). .
#1 Data reliability to prevent friction in an Inbound approach
Nearly 90% of the decision-makers surveyed explained that data quality has " an impact on their sales and marketing performance ".. The study also highlights a strong correlation between data quality and data governance, on the one hand, and the ability of sales and marketing teams to " overcoming disruption together "In an increasingly turbulent environment.
Thus, 63% of decision-makers surveyed believe that reliable, quality data enables marketing to accurately identify target audiences for campaigns and, in turn, salespeople to deploy sales pitches that have been worked on in advance and are reasonably personalized.
For example, the control and real-time compliance of collected e-mail addresses, telephone numbers and postal addresses in an Inbound approach prevents friction between the two teams and laid the foundations fora fruitful collaboration and based on trust.
According to the study, 93% of top-performing companies have massively increased their Data investments in 2021, mainly for better segment their audience (41%), improve Sales Outreach (37%) and rationalize decision-making (36%).
DOWNLOADÂ : Your template for a successful Smarketing meeting!
#2 Free up time for alignment efforts
According to a study published in the Harvard Business Review, 47% of new entries on databases still suffers fromat least one critical error. The absence of a structured data quality policy has a direct impact on the day-to-day work of sales staff, who must identify errors (often by contacting the wrong person), proceed to a manual cleaning databases, create ad hoc research to clean and/or enrich data, etc... According to HubSpot, sales reps lose an average of one hour a day on manual tasks that are indirectly linked to sales, notably on the "content" and "data" side. McKinsey goes even further, estimating the time lost at 2.5 days a week. When you consider that commercial resources are both scarce and expensive, it's easy to see how this situation impacts on a company's competitiveness. This waste of time often proves a stubborn brake managers' efforts to get sales reps to embrace the importance of smarketing, and thus align with their marketing counterparts. By relieving Sales of Data Quality tasks, the company can gradually implement measures to :- Organize regular meetings between the two teams
- Encourage systematic feedback from sales reps on buying behavior, prospects' expectations, target audience verbatim, etc...
- Involve sales reps in editorial meetings to systematize their input into content creation.
DOWNLOADÂ : Your template for a successful Smarketing meeting!
#3 Data, an impartial arbiter to unify points of view
Sales - Marketing friction is also fuelled by the absence of factual information on customer knowledge. Result: the prognosis, intuition and subjective interpretation give birth to major differences between teamsor even within the same team. With reliable (and reliable) data, the company has an impartial point of reference to unify points of view on diagnosis, best practices, priorities and avenues for improvement."Digital transformation enables a deeper understanding of the customer. We can now identify specific audience segments, understand their behavior and anticipate actions" Chris Parkin, Senior Director at Adobe's Experience Maker event.
#4 Data, ABM and Smarketing
Alignment is a prerequisite for Account-Based Marketing... but the actual exercise of ABM is also a factor of alignment, in an " Align by doing " logic. Mobilized around a common, clearly identified objective - to convert a high-potential account - Sales and Marketing teams work in synergy, removing any psychological blocks to alignment.
And since poor-quality data is the kryptonite of ABM, it deprives the company of an opportunity to activate the major competitive advantage that is Smarketing. To find out more, read our article " Poor-quality data: the number one cause of ABM program failure ".
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