Intelligent Strategy for Marketing Plans

Where Business Starts Precision Demand: An Intelligent Strategy for Marketing Plans in 2021

P — 2 Integrate.com Contents 3 Introduction 6 2021 Revenue Forecast 9 Marketers Face Roadblocks to Revenue 14 The Right Strategy for 2021: Precision Demand Generation 17 New Technology Must Break Marketing Silos 22 Conclusion Where Business Starts

P — 3 Integrate.com Last year, COVID-19 transformed B2B sales and amplified the emerging self-service digital purchase models that have been successful in the consumer market. In 2021, B2B purchasing will continue to be buyer- and experience- driven as marketers explore new strategies for success in a volatile marketplace. Integrate hired Spiceworks Ziff Davis to conduct an online survey of 101 digital marketing, demand generation, and marketing operations leaders at enterprise B2B technology companies. The objective: Gain insights into the changing approaches these leaders are taking, evaluate and understand their most critical challenges, and learn more about how they plan to use technology to drive revenue. Where Business Starts

P — 4 Integrate.com PRECISION DEMAND MARKETING STRATEGY Industry 50 % 25 % 17 % 9 % IT Services Software Hardware Distributor Employee Size Role 73 % 53 % 5,000+ Director / Manager 1,000 – 4,999 VP+ 27 % 47 % Where Business Starts Survey Overview Marketing Functions 55 % 28 % 10 % 7 % Digital marketing Marketing strategy/leadership Marketing operations Demand generation

Today, marketers remain focused on optimizing strategy and technology that connect and convert buyers with precision. They continue to implement digital and demand programs that identify buyers and meet them where they are and when they want to engage. In an omnichannel environment, marketers are searching for solutions to help connect siloed marketing channels, disparate data, and systems. While budgets and growth targets are increasing, they continue to be expected to defend their spend with a collective view of how channels perform. P — 5 Integrate.com Where Business Starts Challenged to convert leads to revenue, marketing leaders are orchestrating omnichannel revenue programs on a strong foundation of data quality. They’re adapting to a competitive, dynamic business environment by investing in flexible solutions. Those solutions give them the agility to connect with B2B prospects at speed and scale. Ultimately, the success of 2021 marketing strategies will be determined by how marketers approach their marketing data, technology, and process challenges. To provide the speed, precision, and visibility necessary to drive pipeline and revenue in 2021, those marketers will need superior technology and support. PRECISION DEMAND MARKETING STRATEGY

2021 Revenue Forecast PRECISION DEMAND MARKETING STRATEGY Where Business Starts

P — 7 Integrate.com Today, by the time B2B buyers speak to sales, they’ve already completed 83% to 95% of their purchase decision through self-service digital channels. This new purchase process means you need a new way to market. To reach new and existing customers, it’s time to move from siloed single channel demand efforts to an omnichannel approach. The problem is, organizational silos are still common, creating a major roadblock for integrating demand efforts. Marketers have mixed feelings about whether or not they’re ready to execute an omnichannel approach. While most are confident in their ability to drive Marketing Qualified Leads (MQLs), there is uncertainty when it comes to filling pipeline and driving revenue, especially among the people leading teams responsible for the work. For example, 57% of marketers at the VP level or higher are highly confident that their plans will achieve revenue targets, yet only 26% of director/manager-level marketers share that confidence. There are also concerns about meeting goals at other stages of the demand funnel. About half of marketers at the VP level and above are concerned to somewhat confident about SAL and Opportunity attainment. These findings underscore a critical fact: marketing silos can lead to internal misalignment. Organizations are clearly not on the same page if executives are far more confident in meeting their goals than the directors and managers who execute campaigns and are directly responsible for the results. Marketers Have Mixed Feelings About 2021 Pipeline and Revenue Targets Where Business Starts VP+ Executives Concerned + Challenging Directors/Managers Concerned + Challenging SAL 18% 32% OPP 15% 24% REVENUE 11% 36% PRECISION DEMAND MARKETING STRATEGY

Critical Marketing Initiatives Are At Risk A 2020 analysis by McKinsey showed marketers who delivered outstanding digital experiences were twice as likely as their competitors to close deals. 2 To generate revenue, the research showed, it’s critical to stand out in crowded digital spaces and connect with buyers. That’s why, in 2021, strategies must focus on an omnichannel digital approach that’s responsive to buyer needs and that measures their level of readiness. Our survey respondents identified five key initiatives critical to executing such strategies, yet nearly half are concerned, worried, or only somewhat confident about their ability to accomplish them. P — 8 Integrate.com Where Business Starts % of respondents worried to only somewhat confident Critical Marketing Initiatives at Risk in 2021 Generate enough quality leads and demand to achieve revenue goals without event and in‑person marketing. 54 % 53 % Deploy ABM, intelligence, and intent data across all demand channels to identify and target prospects and accounts that are actively in‑market and accelerate demand. 44 % Optimize marketing budget allocation to the right channels based on down‑funnel metrics instead of CPL. 43 % Assess existing MarTech stack, remove redundancies, and add the right technology to orchestrate omnichannel digital touchpoints. 41 % Ensure 100% of leads that enter MA, SA, and CRM from demand channels and third parties are compliant and marketable. PRECISION DEMAND MARKETING STRATEGY

Marketers Face Roadblocks to Revenue PRECISION DEMAND MARKETING STRATEGY Where Business Starts

P — 10 Integrate.com Buyer needs are shifting. To meet those needs, marketing must become more precise, more connected, and more agile. Demand generation must transition from driving lead volume to a focus on achieving precision demand generation. A precision demand approach meets buyers where they are and when they want to engage. The Challenges Start With Identifying In Market Buyers When buyers were willing to spend more of the purchase cycle with sales, hitting revenue goals mostly meant driving higher MQL and sales outreach volumes. Today’s self-service digital purchase process makes data quality and precision outreach more important. To improve conversion rates, marketers need precision targeting that identifies buyers who are in market and ready to engage. The Top 5 Problems Lowering MQL to Opportunity Conversion Rates Where Business Starts PRECISION DEMAND MARKETING STRATEGY of MQLs are not in market of leads are not ready to talk to sales Can’t prioritize leads from accounts identified as in market Compliance and consent tracking of sales/marketing teams spend too much time fixing lead data 44 % 41 % 38 % 33 % 32 %

Unfortunately, 71% of marketers don’t have an automatic process to manage lead speed and data quality from all demand channels. This is No Time for Manually Managing Data We’re in an age of increasingly savvy buyers doing business in a global, digital, omnichannel environment. To coordinate marketing and sales outreach, you need fast, automated lead and data management processes that ensure quality. P — 11 Integrate.com Where Business Starts PRECISION DEMAND MARKETING STRATEGY

P — 12 Integrate.com More than half of orgs are using a combo of automatic and manual processes when managing their leads 5 6 % 29 % 1 5 % Leads route automatically from display, social, search, and web. Event, webinar, and third-party leads are routed using manual processes. Checking and ensuring marketability, compliance, and validity is a manual process in both cases. Different roles and marketing functions agree on how leads are managed Compliant, marketable, and validated leads flow in real time automatically from every single channel including webinars, third parties, and content syndication partners. We mostly rely on manual processes for lead routing from all of our channels. Depending on the channel it can take several days or weeks to route leads. Checking marketability, compliance, and validity of leads is a manual process. HOW ORGS ARE MANAGING THEIR LEADS Where Business Starts PRECISION DEMAND MARKETING STRATEGY

Omnichannel Strategies Need Better Data Speed, quality, and compliance are critical variables that marketers must manage correctly to drive revenue. When follow-up is just five minutes too slow, MQL-to-SAL conversion rates decrease by a factor of 10. 3 When lead quality is poor, data can’t be activated in omnichannel strategies. If compliance isn’t standardized and automated, scaling global demand programs becomes risky and inefficient. If data, processes, and technology operate in silos, accurate reporting and attribution are impossible. Third-Party Data Provides the Foundation for an Omnichannel Strategy Marketers are learning to ensure data quality by supplementing CRM data with third-party data. Content syndication and LinkedIn are the most important sources of that third-party data. Response to Revenue Reporting Remains Elusive Marketing organizations have not been successful in implementing response-to-revenue reporting that shows the impact of making intelligent decisions about demand investments. A majority of marketers are unable to consistently show the impact of their activities in terms of conversions and can’t reliably identify their best-performing channels. P — 13 Integrate.com Where Business Starts PRECISION DEMAND MARKETING STRATEGY Content Syndication and social media marketing on LinkedIn are effective B2B strategies because they allow marketers to reach buyers when and where buyers are already conducting research. But how can marketers ensure the quality and marketability of the third-party data they are acquiring? And how can marketers activate that data to drive an omnichannel approach? 61% of marketers rely on third-party data as their primary mechanism for ensuring marketing data quality. 77% of Marketers Can’t Consistently Track Impact 21% have to rely on top-of-funnel metrics and brand awareness to show effectiveness. 21 % 23 % Only 23% have a single dashboard to track the impact of all marketing initiatives, across every channel, on opportunity creation and/or revenue. 19 % 19% try to connect marketing spend and activities to opps and revenue but don’t have clarity into how channels contribute to the buyers journey. 38 % 38% of organizations rely on reporting MQLs and SALs to show effectiveness and can only occasionally attribute opportunities or revenue directly to MQLs.

The Right Strategy for 2021: Precision Demand Generation PRECISION DEMAND MARKETING STRATEGY Where Business Starts

P — 15 Integrate.com In 2021, the focus is on delivering self-service digital experiences to in-market B2B buyers via their preferred channels. To meet demand, marketers are continuing to invest significantly in digital channels. Top Five Channels In 2021 Where Business Starts Precision Demand Strategy in Action: How to Engage In Market Account and Buyers in 2021 A Precision Demand approach enables marketers to engage accounts, buying committees, and individual buyers via all the tools in their arsenal: account-based marketing, content syndication, virtual events/webinars, social media marketing, and PPC. For example, you can combine ABM with content syndication and social media, target accounts with awareness-level ABM display ads, connect with buying committees at engaged accounts with consideration stage content via syndication, and then target individual buyers with conversion-stage social media ads. The options are virtually endless. To successfully implement this approach, you need clean, accurate, compliant data from each demand channel in real time. That provides the intelligence for the next step, which would focus activity on every channel around the Ideal Customer Profile (ICP). With the right data coming in from all demand channels, you can orchestrate channels, technology, and strategy to connect with buyers more effectively. ABM SEM/PPC Virtual Events and Webinars Content Syndication Social Media Marketing 85 % 85 % 83 % 83 % 83 % PRECISION DEMAND MARKETING STRATEGY

P — 16 Integrate.com The whole concept of caring about the demand gen ecosystem in this way and understanding the impact of connecting across additional demand channels was relatively new to us just a year ago. — Brandy Morton Director, Demand Generation, Harland Clarke Where Business Starts PRECISION DEMAND MARKETING STRATEGY

New Technology Must Break Marketing Silos PRECISION DEMAND MARKETING STRATEGY Where Business Starts

P — 18 Integrate.com All buyers move through a variety of demand channels and touchpoints as they complete the purchase process. A Precision Demand approach takes into consideration every touchpoint on every channel, then adjusts content to more effectively influence the purchase decision. It is critical to invest in a technology that eliminates siloes and allows this approach to work. 2021 Marketing Budgets Prioritize Technology Investments Where Business Starts Many marketers will be better funded in 2021, with 48% receiving budget increases. Most are looking to address gaps in their tech stacks. More than half plan to increase their technology spends. Technology represents the greatest increase and portion of overall budgets in 2021. PRECISION DEMAND MARKETING STRATEGY of marketers are increasing their spend on technology in 2021 of marketers technology budgets are at least 50% larger in 2021 51 % 19 % Webinar Syndicated Resource Whitepaper Product Video Tour Social Ad 3rd Party Website Webinar Targeted Ad Whitepaper Product Video Tour Webinar Infographic Customer Case Study Syndicated Resource

P — 19 Integrate.com Current Systems Have Not Solved Data, Process and Tech Silos Marketers are finding it challenging to overcome their challenges, even with the thousands of marketing technology solutions available today. Marketers reported the top five challenges they faced with their current tech stacks are: Where Business Starts PRECISION DEMAND MARKETING STRATEGY 46 % 42 % 41 % Ensuring data accuracy, governance, integrity, and global compliance for all lead and customer data Connecting data across demand channels, technologies, teams, and processes Adding data intelligence through intent and technographic data to identify timing and fit Developing response-to-revenue reporting and attributing revenue to demand channels, campaigns, and technology investments Orchestrating buyer and account journeys across teams, demand channels, and technology 45 % 42 % 42 % 39 % 33 % Top Three Critical Needs in Marketing Technology Marketers need technology to break the silos in strategy, channels, and systems. And they know this. Out of a list of seven critical characteristics in a marketing technology solution, respondents said the number-one feature their organizations are looking for is the ability to create alignment across people, data, processes and systems. Creates alignment across people, data, processes, and systems Tracks compliance and consent Provides accurate demand data 1 2 3

P — 20 Integrate.com Build a Buyer Driven Tech Stack How can marketers respond to these critical needs, overcoming challenges and breaking down silos? The answer begins by building a buyer-driven tech stack. And that starts by evaluating how your existing stack aligns with the stages of the buyer’s journey. A traditional buyer’s (or customer) journey has three key stages. In the Awareness stage, buyers have come to realize they have a problem, but they’re not exactly sure what it is or how to solve it. In the Consideration stage, they better understand their problem and now are looking for ways to solve it. In the Conversion stage, buyers are aware of their options and are deciding upon a solution. Where Business Starts PRECISION DEMAND MARKETING STRATEGY “Having focused attention on enabling a buyers journey gives your marketing operations clarity into the tools and technology they need today and tomorrow.” Danny McKeever, Sr. Director Marketing Operations and Technology at Integrate The Buyers Journey: AWARENESS CONSIDERATION CONVERSION DEAL ACCELERATION EXPANSION — Why Change? • Press release, Blogs, Infographic, Social, Digital, Ad Nurture, etc. — Why Now? • Third party/analyst reports, eBooks, webinars, campaign LPs, etc. — Why Integrate? • Product demos, customer case studies, roundtables, etc. — Integrate Value • Product videos, ROI studies, etc. — Continued Value • Product webinar series, ABM targeted ads, etc.

P — 21 Integrate.com Where Business Starts PRECISION DEMAND MARKETING STRATEGY When you map your current data, tools, and technology with each stage of the buyer’s journey, you will quickly discover if and where you have gaps. For example, let’s look at data. To meet today’s buyer where they are and deliver the right message and the right time across all channels, you need to be able to effectively capture, track, and pass data from one stage of the buyer’s journey to the next. That data needs to be accurate, marketable, and compliant, and the process for passing it must also be scalable. If there’s a gap at any one point, your ability to successfully market to your prospect falters. Here’s how we align our tech stack to the buyer’s journey here at Integrate. As you can see, we’re able to leverage technology to meet our buyers and accounts no matter where they are on their journey.

Conclusion Marketers are evolving their omnichannel approach to break down internal silos and deliver the right message at the right time to B2B buyers. Marketers are moving from ad hoc, lead driven strategies to a comprehensive approach that’s efficient, deliberate, and customer-driven. Technology investments are front and center for marketers in 2021, enabling them to overcome challenges in data, orchestration, and reporting. A new category is emerging, Precision Demand Marketing. Within it, a Demand Acceleration platform gives Marketers the capabilities they need to adapt to changing buyers as well as the flexibility to thrive in dynamic market conditions. Create a relevant and proven marketing strategy for driving revenue in 2021 by connecting with the right buyers at the right time and place. PRECISION DEMAND MARKETING STRATEGY Where Business Starts VIEW WEBINAR

About the Survey Integrate commissioned Spiceworks Ziff Davis to conduct a survey in November 2020. This survey targeted 101 marketing professionals, including directors, managers, and executives. The study’s goal was to gain insight into their marketing strategies for 2021, including their top challenges, and their technology plans for the next year. PRECISION DEMAND MARKETING STRATEGY 1. CSO Update: The New B2B Buying Journey and Its Implication for Sales,” Gartner, Inc, 2020. 2. McKinsey Study Harrison, Liz, et al. “How B2B Sales Have Changed during COVID-19 | McKinsey.” McKinsey & Company, 14 July 2020, https://www.mckinsey.com/businessfunctions/marketing-and- sales/our-insights/how-b2b-sales-havechanged-during-covid-19. 3. “The Lead Response Management Study,” InsideSales.Com, http://www.leadresponsemanagement.org/lrm_study. Accessed 9 Nov. 2020. References Where Business Starts

Integrate centralizes your data, channels and tech into one powerful platform. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of Integrate, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law. © 2021 Integrate, Inc. All rights reserved. WORK WITH INTEGRATE Integrate is a marketing software provider that works with high-growth and enterprise organizations like Salesforce, Microsoft, Akamai, and Pluralsight to power their demand investments. We connect everything – your data, your channels, your tech, and your processes – in order to guide intelligent buyer and account journeys and deliver scalable demand generation. Our core offering, the Integrate Demand Acceleration Platform, allows B2B marketing and revenue teams to create omnichannel journeys and make more informed decisions about where to spend marketing dollars in order to drive pipeline and revenue. [email protected] 866.478.0326 Integrate.com Where Business Starts