It's been quite a year.
Many of us have direct experience with the challenges that B2B sales and marketing teams have experienced since 2020. Each year (heck, each quarter) has brought new market and buying dynamics.
According to Gartner, 71% of CMOs reported the belief that they lacked the budget to execute their 2023 strategy.
And sales teams have been equally challenged.
46% of GTM leaders say the number one sales challenge is getting high-quality leads. Followed by 43% saying lack of alignment between sales and marketing is hurting results.
It's no wonder that so many companies and teams have struggled this year.
Here are the top 5 sales and marketing challenges from 2023, and how to adapt your 2024 playbook.
1. Evolving buyer preferences: The shift away from sales reps. A significant 75% of buyers prefer a rep-free experience. IDC's latest Tech Buyer Survey confirms this trend, with 74% of B2B Buyers saying they plan to work LESS with salespeople, and lean MORE into self-service digital options. This is a seismic shift, and one that many B2B sales and marketing still don't fully realize. It 100% shifts the burden to your content strategy and website in terms of educating buyers, before they even reach out to you directly. And perhaps even more surprising, B2B buyers are also willing to make significant 5 and 6 figure purchases online. The simple, self-service B2C behavior that they have come to expect in their personal lives, has bled over into the B2B buying psychology.
💡INSIGHT💡 B2B eCommerce is the most effective sales channel, ahead of in-person sales, video conference, and phone.
2. The increased importance of your digital footprint. B2B Buyers value third party interactions 1.4x more than vendor interactions. They talk to their peers, visit reviews sites, use search engines, and consult with market experts before creating a shortlist of vendors to contact. Your owned, earned, and paid channels are part of their quiet research process. Your website is the most leveraged touchpoint, followed by your online social channels, search engine search results, and interactive tools. This means that spreading your digital presence across a wide variety of third-party and owned channels is vital for your success. B2B buyers are incredibly savvy, and take the time to do their own research. Reports state that nearly 70% of their decision making process has already been made, BEFORE they enter your sales pipeline.
💡INSIGHT💡 48% of winning companies have embraced, and are on, third party marketplaces. How B2B Winners Grow, McKinsey, April 2023.
3. The impact of social media and digital content. 75% of B2B buyers use social media to make purchase decisions. LinkedIn reports that 78% of sales reps who use social selling outsell their non social-media-using peers. The top 5 B2B social media platforms are LinkedIn, X (fka Twitter, RIP), Facebook, YouTube, and Instagram. This means that it's vital to enable your employees to participate and amplify your company's content online. And your social media presence, and that of your executives, is an important part of the B2B buyer journey. Having a thoughtful and deliberate content and distribution strategy that helps buyers understand your differentiation, hear your thought leadership ideas, and consider you an expert to speak with - will significantly improve your revenue impact.
💡INSIGHT💡 The majority of B2B Brand investments in 2024 will be website/digital and creative/content related. Forrester 2023 Brand and Communications Survey, August 2023.
4. B2B buyers are balancing quality, cost and spend justification
The main drivers of IT spending are quality and cost. That means that innovation and customer-centric technology is taking a back seat. To make it more complicated, Gartner has found six, discrete "jobs-to-be-done" during the buying process. The result is a complex buying journey, and your content marketing and proof points much address each one individually. Remember - everyone is self-serving online with research, before going into their collective stakeholder meetings - before you even know they are in-market for your product or service.
💡INSIGHT💡 43% of B2B Buyers say the information needed to justify spending has increased, 39% say budget has decreased. Trust Radius Blog Post, June 2023.
5. Not surprisingly, GTM sales and marketing teams are struggling The result of all this disruption to the old way of B2B buying is taking a toll. 56% of teams have reduced their revenue targets in 2023. 89% are looking for a new sales strategy. 31% expect layoffs.
But opportunity awaits. 74% of B2B marketers expect their budgets to increase next year, and global inflation is expected to fall to 5.2% in 2024. There are clear ways to adapt your B2B sales and marketing GTM motion in 2024, to set your company up for success.
1. Align your content strategy with the new buyer journey Your buyer has already made their decision before contacting you directly for last-mile information. Invest in your website, self-service demo experience, immersive digital, and video experiences. Showcase your unique POV, value prop, use cases, and tangible outcomes and distribute through your owned (blog, social media, search results, events), paid, and partner/customer channels.
💡INSIGHT💡 Assume that the sales and marketing teams job only begins when the first deal closes. Cross-selling, upselling, and gaining repeat revenue is some of the most productive work your teams can ever do.
2. Measure the metrics that matter most
While it's been steadily decreasing, Forrester reports that marketing teams are still too reliant on "marketing sourced pipeline" as a key performance metric at 41%. Instead, look for leading indicators including impressions, engagement metrics, time spent, share of voice, website traffic, event attendees, list and follower growth, branded search results. Track customer lifecycle metrics including retention rates, lift rates, lifetime value, customer satisfaction, customer advocacy.
💡INSIGHT💡 Recognize that marketing is both an art and a science, and a lot of activity happens outside of trackable channels. Ask your customers how they heard about you, as another part of your data process.
3. Leverage your existing ecosystem - customers, partners. Tough times call for creative solutions, and companies have resoundingly responded by looking for more efficient, more productive channels to drive qualified leads. Hence the continued rise of ELG - Ecosystem Led Growth. According to Pavilion and Crossbeam's "The Future of Revenue" report, this was the top strategy employed by GTM leaders, with ELG deals being 49% more likely to close. Who doesn't love THAT statistic?!
💡INSIGHT💡 By working together with partners, leveraging customer referral programs, co-hosting live events + webinars, and extending your reach and credibility through your already-existing network, you gain leverage in a tight market.
4. Define and prove the differentiated value you provide. There is a sea of sameness that can be seen across most B2B marketing. AI-generated content will most likely clog the system, with many brands taking short-cuts to scale content in the coming months. Instead - spend time creating quality content that has specific buyers and outcomes in mind. Work with a brand expert to clearly define and articulate your position in the marketplace, so your foundation is strong.
💡INSIGHT💡 Be sure to prove your claims with data, numbers, and results. Self-service buyers will use all of this public information to create their short list of vendors.
5. Align AI with your strategic goals. AI isn't just hype. Board rooms and investors will increasingly seek productivity gains through the use of this transformative technology. But you don't need to drop everything and reimagine your entire approach. Start with your existing tech stack - companies like Adobe, Salesforce, and Hubspot have all introduced AI functionality into their offerings. Learn from your vendors first, and incorporate it judiciously.
💡INSIGHT💡 Integrating AI should be a thoughtful process. Look for ways to augment and test AI in your organization, rather than contemplating a complete overhaul.
There is a saying - may you live in interesting times.
As we enter 2024, we certainly do. Good luck out there!
Larisa Summers is the CMO and founder of True Circle Marketing - a brand growth boutique that fuses data with strategic storytelling to differentiate and scale companies.
Reach out and let's brainstorm your content strategy for 2024.
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