Some pundits argue that B2B sales teams are switching from using third-party data to first-party intent data.
They have, in part, but they are utilizing many forms of third-party data, judging by The 2023 C-Suite Go-To-Market Benchmark Survey, a Demand Gen report, sponsored by Demandbase.
Specifically, they are using:
They are using this data for:
- Competitive intelligence — 61%
- Account prioritization — 55%
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- Personalizing messaging and outreach — 54%
- Account selection — 43%
- Timing engagement — 28%
Email marketing would clearly fall under personalizing message and outreach. The problem is that B2B teams face several general data challenges:
- Data quality (dirty, out of date, duplicated) — 55%
- Missing or incomplete information — 50%
- Disconnected/siloed data sources — 40%
- Actioning data — 34%
- Inability to digest data the way they want — 34%
- None — 6%
Brands are dealing with data issues in tandem with the age-old problem of sales-marketing alignment. Of those polled, 52% do not struggle with alignment.
But there is one slight disconnect: 53% of salespeople say they are aligned with marketing, while 51% of marketers agree they are connected with sales. Those numbers are up from last year, when 44% of marketers felt they were aligned with sales.
For their part, sales development/business development reps say they:
- Report to sales — 55%
- Report to marketing — 20%
- Inbound marketing and outbound to sales — 19%
There are several issues that may get in the way of sales-marketing alignment:
Meanwhile, firms are evolving their CTM to support the increased demand by buyers for self-service experiences. They are providing:
Demand Gen surveyed 200 high-level B2B sales and marketing leaders.