Members of our sales and marketing team recently attended B2B Marketing Exchange, a multi-day educational event focused on improving B2B marketing, sales strategies, and results. While there, we chatted with attendees on the conference floor, presented a 6sense success story, and attended sessions hosted by industry thought leaders.
Sadly, we weren’t able to attend all 80+ sessions, but we had our ears open and furiously took notes so we could share some insightful and revelatory moments with you. Here’s a rundown of our favorite moments from B2BMX:
6sense’s Presentation with Code42
6sense CMO Latané Conant and Code42’s Senior Manager of Integrated Marketing Dorothy Milazzo hosted the hilariously titled panel, 2015 Called and Wants Its MQLs Back.
In it, they shared how 6sense’s platform helped Code42’s sales and marketing departments align as a revenue team, create next-level strategies based on intent data, and function as a united revenue organization.
Before the cybersecurity software provider embraced ABX, Code42’s revenue team wasn’t creating enough pipeline and had no real insight into which accounts were in-market.
- Its use of LinkedIn and display ads was limited, and its audience size was too small
- Its content syndication efforts generated too many disparate leads that didn’t move down the funnel and offered no true account view
- And its web personalization efforts relied heavily on form-fills … and because of that, only 3% of its web traffic was de-anonymized and received personalized content
After implementing 6sense and other revtech solutions, Code42’s revenue team witnessed remarkable, and sustained, results:
- Opportunity volume increased 31% in the first three quarters of 2021 (compared to all of 2020)
- During the same time, opportunities won increased 27%, (compared to all of 2020)
- Through the end of October 2021, campaigns helped progress 82% of accounts in their buying stage
- Display advertising and use of LinkedIn with 6sense segments contributed mainly to the opportunities being created
How Experience Is Linked to ABM
The Future of ABM and the Link to Experience was an excellent panel discussion about what ABM “should be” compared to how it’s been defined — and how that has caused a state of disillusionment rising within ABM.
The role of content within ABM engagement was also covered, as well as examples of ABM campaigns that have generated significant pipeline results.
Some important takeaways from this presentation include:
What’s In a Name?
Due to misconceptions about what ABM actually is, many organizations don’t value “ABM” titles the same way they do “growth” and “demand” titles, the panelists said. As a result, many ABM marketers want to shift how they’re perceived within their organizations as well as the marketing industry at large.
ABM Disillusionment
According to research presented during the panel, the disillusionment surrounding ABM means that organizations might not have high expectations when it comes to what an ABM platform can do for their digital marketing efforts.
The panelists went on to discuss how it’s not the ABM tool itself, but the overall ABM strategy and omnichannel experience that’s driving outcomes and success.
ABX = Customer Experience
The truth is, panelists explained, that ABM tools are fueling digital ads and experiences. For instance, Uberflip is fueling content experience, Drift is fueling omnichannel experience, Sigster is fueling email engagement, etc.
The panel was moderated by Uberflip co-fonder Randy Frisch; Amber Bogie, Director of Growth Marketing at Plug Power, and Hillary Carpio, Director of ABM at Snowflake were its panelists.
Crossing the Moat Of Distraction
In his entertaining presentation titled The 3 Drawbridges: How to Cross the Moat of B2B Buyers’ Attention, marketing influencer Jay Baer offered a key piece of advice that made attendees lean in:
Don’t attack your buyers’ castles; get yourself an invitation to go inside.
Today’s B2B buyers are smarter and wiser than they have been in the past, Baer explained, and the way they research, evaluate, and purchase has changed. They’re well aware that they’re surrounded by marketers who are eager for their time.
To earn their attention, marketers must fundamentally realign their strategy to break through buyers’ wariness and win their attention.
Other noteworthy takeaways included:
Value Is Relative
Content is best received when it’s valuable for the customer — even when it has nothing to do with your product. For instance, networking solutions company Cisco distributed a holiday recipe guide to prospects and customers.
(Your) Content Isn’t Everything
Content creation is good, Baer said, but it’s not as important to your marketing efforts as customer opinions, influencer marketing, and advocacy.
Assemble (and Disassemble) Atomized Content
Baer advised attendees on the “1×8 content model” — create one large piece of content that can be broken out into eight pieces of content. But also consider the “8×1 model” — eight pieces of smaller content that can create one large, amazing piece of content, such as an interactive case study.
Video Reigns Supreme
Video is king, Baer reminded attendees. Videos don’t need to be high quality, have large budgets, or have video editors on staff to be wonderful. Meaningful content is human, organic, and provides direct value to the viewer.
Demand & ABM = Chocolate & Peanut Butter
In his session titled Better Together: The Combined Future Of Demand & ABM, Forrester’s Robert Peterson shared new data and insights on the key trends marketers must consider to prepare for the eventual convergence of demand and account-based marketing.
Forrester has projected this fusion for several years. Demand marketers improve the precision of their efforts, while ABM marketers seek to deliver personalized experiences to more contacts in high-value accounts, Peterson said.
This convergence is accelerating, Peterson’s research indicates, and presents B2B marketers with both challenges and opportunities to capitalize on this shifting marketplace.
