There’s plenty of things to say, but the key themes are: B2B marketing is complex, a team game, and requires patience.
This is the first of a four-part series of posts about B2B marketing foundations. Before I get into the three key themes, it starts with my beliefs on marketing.
Almost everyone has an opinion when it comes to marketing and oftentimes an incorrect conception of what marketing is (and is not) – even marketers themselves.
Marketing should be the backbone of every organization that seeks customers – B2B and B2C alike. Now, this doesn’t mean that a marketing organization owns every function or is the most powerful department in a business – not at all. Rather, because of the nature of marketing – the ways in which a business generates interest for its products aka driving revenue – marketing principles should be infused throughout every function and role.
What type of organization are you – product-led or sales-led?
While for most businesses, there are two types of organizations – product-led and sales-led – I would argue that there should be a third – marketing-led. Yes, I am biased as a marketer, but let me lay out some fair points.
Typically the type you are is based on either a) who your leadership is (product leaders = product-led vs. sales leaders = sales-led) or b) where you are in the adoption cycle. Early adoption leans more product as product-market fit is being established; while typically the early adopter to the early majority is sales led.
Why not just both? I would argue that the goal of every organization is to sell a product (drive revenue) to customers (so build something customers like and need).
Why marketing-led organizations should be a gold standard
Marketing’s entire goal is to get that message across and in order to do that – they need the product to be great and a sales team to close deals. Marketing at its fundamental core supports and provides power to the goals of the entire organization – not just to build great products or drive a lot of deals.
This can, of course, sound insulting to product or sales teams. But truly, that’s not the intention. The realities are the goals of each function doesn’t necessarily push for cross-functional collaboration, and marketing can support both functions neutrally.
How does this work in a B2B organization?
Leading with marketing doesn’t necessarily mean you need to hire a marketing team immediately. Most businesses kick off with their go-to-market (GTM) strategy, but the reason why things may go off the rails is that a few steps are skipped.
Building product and sales strategy are essential, but understanding your top of funnel awareness strategy is critical. Don’t forget building your brand (vision, mission, positioning), understanding your target audiences, and marketing-led growth strategy are essential – even if you’re in the early stages of building product and finding your first buyers.
If you don’t intend on starting with a marketer early on, then make sure you build in traditional marketing activities as part of the initial GTM process and assign them to marketing-minded team members.
For an organization’s first marketer and marketing team – get into the conversation around GTM. For the leadership team, include your marketing team in the process. It’ll make growth a lot easier if marketing foundations are set-up from the get-go.
From here, it’s all about understanding the three themes – B2B marketing’s complexities, how to work on marketing as a team, and the patience you need to see marketing success.
Check out the next post: B2B marketing is complex but doesn’t have to be difficult.
Header Photo by Kyle Glenn on Unsplash