Welcome! 👋 The B2BFYI newsletter is for complex B2B marketers looking for a competitive edge. Covering brand, content, technology and lead generation, B2BFYI serves as a guide to building a more effective marketing strategy.
B2BFYI is written by industry veterans Chris Bennett (Strategy), Geoff Bretherick (Creative) and Philip Bennison (Tech), and published bi-weekly. You can sign up here to get issues straight to your inbox.
In this newsletter:
223+ tactics for complex B2B marketing: Oh, boy. It’s a big one. We’ve shoved in as many ideas as we could think of. There’s more in the tank, but we ran out of space 🤷
Table of Contents
There are a billion ways you can market complex B2B services + products. Most of the time we don’t know what’s going to work until we try it. What works for even a similar business might not work for you. What actually DID work last year might not work this year. That’s the challenge with marketing. If only we had a crystal ball! 🔮
So we’ve got a slightly different issue for you today. We’ve compiled as many marketing ideas that we could think of. We’ve added examples and short overviews to help you.
Use this list for inspiration. We’ll come back and add to it in the online version as we go.
1. Demand generation + pipeline building
Creating awareness and filling your funnel when buyers don't know they need you yet. Don’t forget - 95% of all buyers are NOT IN MARKET. But they will be at some point in the future. Be top-of-mind when they are so you get on shortlists, get sent briefs and RFPs and even look to demo new products.
Educational content plays
The "industry benchmark report" - Survey a chunk of companies in your space (25+ ideally) and publish annual findings that become the go-to reference. (Example: HubSpot's State of Marketing Report)
Weekly 5-min industry briefing - Curated news digest that positions you as the filter for what matters. Could be a blog series, newsletter or even LinkedIn posts from the CEO (example: Growth Capital Ventures do a weekly briefing article).
The "stupid questions" series - Content answering the questions prospects are too embarrassed to ask. (Example: Laurence McCahill)
ROI calculator or assessment tools - Interactive tools that quantify the cost of their current problem. You can build these easily now with Google AI Studio. No Excuses! (Example: Salesforce's ROI Calculator)
"Day in the life" content - Show what success looks like post-implementation through client stories. Everyone loves the human touch of seeing behind-the-scenes.
Strategic SEO + search
Problem-focused SEO pages - Target "how to solve [specific pain point]" rather than solution keywords. (Example: Guidant Financial)
Comparison pages done right - "[Your solution] vs [status quo]" not just competitor comparisons. (Example: Notion's comparison pages)
The ‘Wikipedia’ strategy - Create definitive guides for industry terms you want to own. (Example: Sprout Social)
Google Ads for competitor alternatives - Bid on "[competitor] alternatives" with educational content. (Example: Scoro’s Google Ads - see screenshot below.)
Employee advocacy programme - Turn your team into micro-influencers with templated content. (Example: Cognism's employee advocacy)
LinkedIn newsletter - Weekly insights directly to followers' inboxes (higher reach than posts). You could just duplicate your corporate or thought leadership newsletters and link back to them driving signups + link equity. (Example: BiteSize Learning)
Executive LinkedIn ghostwriting - 3-5x/week thought leadership from your C-suite, especially if they don’t have the time (or care) to write themselves.
LinkedIn poll series - Weekly polls that reveal industry pain points and drive engagement.
Webinar + video strategies
"Office hours" webinars - Monthly open Q&A sessions with your experts. (Example: Ahrefs' regular office hours)
The 10-min demo - Ungated, high-level product/service tours that create "aha" moments. (Example: Superchat)
Customer panel webinars - Let prospects hear from peers, not just you. Good luck persuading folks, but if you can get it to work it makes for some super compelling (and genuinely trustworthy) content. (Example: Teamwork)
YouTube Shorts for B2B - 60-second explanations of complex concepts.
Partnership pipeline plays
Integration partner webinars - Co-host with tools your prospects already use
Consultant referral programme - Incentivise the advisors your buyers trust. Just make sure there’s a contract in place.
Guest expert swaps - Trade thought leadership appearances with complementary businesses. (Example: Sam McKenna + Morgan J Ingram)
Direct outreach that works
The "saw you're hiring" campaign - Reach out when job posts signal they need your solution. You can target messaging and creative to this signal in a focused campaign.
Trigger event outreach - Monitor for funding, leadership changes, expansion news. Send physical packs for extra impact, and use these signals to avoid having to produce 2,000 packs.
The "give value" campaign - Send industry reports or tools before asking for anything. (Example: Gong's data reports)
Community + ecosystem
Slack/Discord community - Build the watering hole where your buyers gather. (Example: RevGenius community). Ideal for technology products and services.
LinkedIn groups - For niche discussions, community building and experience sharing.
Standalone newsletter - Build at a little distance from your corporate brand and make your thought leaders the figurehead. Make it personal, expert and fun to read. Less formal. B2BFYI is a great example of this, if we do say so ourselves!
Each idea is designed to work especially well for complex B2B offerings where education and trust-building matter more than quick conversions (that usually end up being low quality leads).
2. Trust + credibility builders
Establishing authority when your solution requires significant buyer education. Great for when the buying cycle is long and there’s 83 people in the steering group.
The "logo wall" evolution - Instead of just logos, include specific metrics achieved for each client. (Example: Drift's customer stories page)
Peer review platform presence - Actively manage your G2, Capterra, and TrustRadius profiles with fresh reviews. Respond to each one, and display the reviews prominently on your website.
Customer advisory board - Quarterly meetings with top clients that become case study goldmines. Give something back to make it worth their time, like extra retainer hours or a discount on future services.
Industry award applications - Submit for every relevant award. The badges help credibility and “award-winning” is always a great message.
Third-party validation studies - Commission Forrester, IDC etc to validate your ROI or other performance claims. (Example: Slack's Forrester TEI study)
Expertise demonstration
Monthly industry report - Publish original research that media outlets will quote. (Example: Gartner's Magic Quadrant reports)
The "masterclass" series - Deep-dive educational content that requires registration but delivers massive value. Webinars are perfect. (Example: Sam McKenna from #samsales)
Certification programme - Create industry-recognised certifications around your methodology. (Example: HubSpot Academy)
Executive podcast tour - Get your leaders on 20+ industry podcasts within 6 months.
Academic partnerships - Co-author research with universities or business schools. (Example: Aalto University + various industry collabs). This can net you some massively authoritative backlinks if you can get an academic partner with a .edu or .ac domain name.
Transparency plays
Public roadmap - Show where your product is heading to build confidence in a long-term partnership. (Example: Notion's public roadmap)
Pricing transparency - Even if it's ranges, give prospects a sense of investment required. (Example: Basecamp's straightforward pricing or fatjoe)
Implementation timeline reality - Publish honest timelines for getting value from your solution. (Example: Fablr)
Radical transparency - open everything. Not for the faint of heart. (Example: Buffer)
Client success showcases
Video case studies - 3-min customer stories with real faces and metrics. (Example: Monday.com's customer stories)
"Day with a customer" series - Shadow a client for a day and document their success.
Customer conference - Annual user event that becomes a must-attend. (Example: Salesforce's Dreamforce)
Success metrics dashboard - Public dashboard showing aggregate customer outcomes.
Industry association leadership - Get executives on boards of relevant trade organisations.
The "definitive guide" - Write the 50-page guide that becomes the industry standard resource. (Example: Intercom's books on customer engagement)
Speaking at industry conferences - Secure keynotes at top 5 industry events yearly, focusing on trends not pitches. (Example: Rand Fishkin's conference circuit before selling Moz)
Regular contributions to trade publications - Monthly columns in industry magazines or sites like Harvard Business Review, establishing thought leadership beyond your own channels.
The "state of the industry" annual event - Host the definitive yearly summit that competitors attend. (Example: SaaStr Annual)
Industry standards creation - Develop frameworks or methodologies that become industry-wide best practices. (Example: Bain's Net Promoter Score)
Expert witness/analyst briefings - Regularly brief industry analysts like Gartner and Forrester, becoming their go-to source for market insights.
Each tactic helps overcome the trust deficit that comes with selling complex, high-consideration B2B solutions. Buyers need extensive validation before committing, and are happy to do most of their own research - make sure they can find it so they can find you.
3. Content that converts complex buyers
Educational content strategies for complicated, self-researched decisions.
Long-form educational content
The "ultimate guide" series - 10,000+ word resources that become the definitive reference for complex topics. (Example: Klientboost)
Interactive decision trees - Help buyers navigate complex choices with branching logic tools that lead to personalised recommendations.
The "build vs buy" calculator - Interactive tools that help prospects quantify the true cost of their current solution versus purchasing yours.
Async video proposals - Replace lengthy written proposals with personalised Loom videos that buyers can share internally. Perfect for dealing with the hidden objectors you’ll never get in front of - colleagues might share this with them.
The "implementation playbook" - Detailed guides showing exactly how to roll out your solution, reducing perceived risk. (Example: Compliance playbook by Absorb)
Multi-stakeholder content
Role-specific content hubs - Create separate resource centres for IT, finance, operations, and executive buyers.
The "champion enablement kit" - Arm your internal advocate with presentations, ROI models, and FAQs to sell internally.
Executive briefing centre - Curated 5-minute reads for C-suite covering industry trends and strategic implications.
Technical documentation preview - Give IT teams ungated access to API docs and integration guides before purchase.
The "stakeholder alignment workshop" - Facilitated sessions that bring all decision-makers together around shared goals.
Trust-building formats
Customer-led webinars - Let clients present their success without your sales team present (Example: Gong's customer stories)
The "failure post-mortem" - Share detailed analyses of implementations that went wrong and lessons learned.
Peer benchmarking reports - Show how similar companies in their industry are solving the same challenges. (Example: Smart Communications)
Virtual site visits - Video tours of customer implementations replacing expensive on-site visits.
The "pilot programme playbook" - Content supporting low-risk trials with clear success metrics. You can align this with a “taster” service offering if prospects aren’t willing to commit to major project right now.
Educational series
The "MBA in a box" - Educational email courses teaching fundamental concepts your solution addresses. Short, digestible, valuable.
Certification programmes - Free training that creates product champions before they even buy. (Example: HubSpot Academy)
Industry maturity models - Help buyers assess where they are and create a roadmap for improvement.
Each piece of content is designed to address the unique challenges of complex B2B sales - multiple stakeholders, long decision cycles, high perceived risk, legal and compliance questions and the need for extensive education and alignment before they buy.
4. Account-based marketing (ABM) plays
Targeted approaches for high-value accounts with lonnnnnng sales cycles.
One-to-one ABM strategies
Executive business reviews (EBRs) - Quarterly sessions with C-suite of target accounts reviewing their industry challenges and opportunities.
Custom industry reports - Commission research specifically about your target account's market segment and share exclusively with them. Custom decks, you can even do a password-protected microsite.
The "war room" approach - Dedicate a cross-functional team to winning a single strategic account with coordinated touchpoints.
Personalised ROI models - Build custom business cases using the prospect's actual data and metrics. (Example: Terminus' account-specific campaigns)
Executive-to-executive outreach - Orchestrate peer-level conversations between your leadership and theirs. Caution: leaders might need some prodding.
One-to-few ABM tactics
Industry roundtables - Host exclusive discussions for 5-10 target accounts in the same sector.
The "cohort launch" - Beta test new products or services with a select group of target accounts.
Vertical-specific roadshows - Take your solution on tour to key cities where target accounts are headquartered. (Example: Snowflake Data Cloud World Tour)
Account-based content hubs - Create microsites with resources tailored to specific account segments.
Competitive displacement campaigns - Target accounts using a specific competitor’s solution with migration guides and switching incentives. (Example: Teamwork)
Technology-enabled ABM
Intent surge alerts - Monitor when target accounts show buying signals and trigger immediate outreach. (Example: Bombora intent data integration)
Personalised video campaigns - Use tools like Vidyard or Veed to create account-specific video messages at scale. Send via LinkedIn DM for that friendly, low-friction touch. See
Personalised voice campaigns - Same as above, just using voice notes instead!
Dynamic website personalisation - Customise your website experience based on the visiting account. (Example: Demandbase website personalisation). Great - but holy shit is this stuff expensive. For serious marketing/sales budgets only!
Account-based advertising - Run ads that only target employees at specific companies. LinkedIn Ads are a great, low-cost and rapid solution for this.
Social selling orchestration - Coordinate LinkedIn engagement across your entire team for target accounts. Build a multi-touchpoint plan between you, make it value-led from individuals (Bob provides consultative support, Alice helps with timelines, Jenny supports with demos or service breakdowns etc).
ABM measurement and optimisation
Account engagement scoring - Track multi-touch engagement across all stakeholders in target accounts. (Example: 6sense engagement tracking)
Buying committee mapping - Identify and track all decision-makers and influencers within target accounts. Personality profiles if you can (look at their LinkedIn posts + company bios to get an idea), flat out ask your prospect company main contact what the committee is and what their concerns are.
Account journey analytics - Monitor how accounts progress through buying stages across all touchpoints.
Pipeline velocity tracking - Measure how ABM impacts deal speed for target accounts versus others.
Multi-touch attribution for accounts - Understand which combinations of tactics drive account progression.
Understand the dynamics of your most valuable target accounts. Outreach should be personalised to the max and prepare materials to handle any objections from folks you cannot reach.
5. Sales enablement + alignment
Bridging the gap between marketing promises and sales conversations. Fluff it here and watch your conversion rates drop like a sack of rocks.
Sales intelligence and insights
Battle cards 2.0 - Interactive digital cards with real-time competitor updates, talk tracks, and objection handling that sales can access mid-call. (Example: Guru)
The "first call deck" - Customisable presentation templates that pull in prospect-specific data automatically (Example: Showpad's dynamic content)
Win/loss interview programme - Systematic analysis of closed deals shared back to sales as playbooks. You can build these out as prospect pain points too.
Persona cheat sheets - One-page guides for each buyer persona including pain points, preferred communication style, and trigger words. Example below 👇
Industry insight briefings - Weekly 5-minute video updates on what's happening in target verticals.
Sales and marketing alignment
Revenue team standups - Regular 15-minute meetings between sales and marketing to discuss hot accounts. The goal is gathering INSIGHTS. Not process, not internal feedback - stay focused on what clients, prospects + reps are saying.
Lead handoff SLAs - Documented agreements on response times, follow-up sequences, and feedback loops.
Closed-loop reporting - Marketing sits in on sales calls monthly to hear how messaging lands. Can also ask sales to give you access to call recordings (ideally all these are in a CRM accessible by marketing anyway).
The "sales + marketing" dashboard - Shared metrics both teams own together (pipeline generated, velocity, qualified meetings, conversion rates). You can create one for free with Google’s Looker Studio.
Account planning workshops - Quarterly sessions where sales and marketing jointly strategise on key accounts.
Sales productivity tools
Email template library with performance data - Pre-written emails tagged with open rates, reply rates, and meeting conversion rates.
The "social proof bank" - Searchable database of case studies, testimonials, and ROI examples categorised by industry, use case, and company size. Include annotated notes for context.
Competitive kill sheets - One-page documents on how to displace each competitor with proof points. Also useful for building out more aggressiv marketing messaging.
ROI calculator training - Teach sales to build compelling business cases using interactive tools. Build your own easily with Google AI Studio.
Objection handling matrix - Common objections mapped to responses, case studies, and proof points.
Content for sales conversations
Mutual action plans (MAPs) - Collaborative documents outlining steps both parties will take to reach a decision. Keep them regularly updated.
Executive briefing documents - One-page summaries designed for champions to share up the chain.
The "leave-behind" library - Physical or digital assets sales can share after meetings to maintain momentum.
The “grey man” leave-behind - Content designed specifically to be passed to those hidden, unreachable objectors and blockers. Often addresses cost, risk + compliance objections.
Personalised demo environments - Sandboxes pre-configured with the prospect's data and use cases. Great for tech, but also if you sell services and have a client portal - create a demo version you can invite prospects to check out.
Champion enablement kits - Everything an internal advocate needs to sell your solution internally.
Training and development
Product/service release readiness - Training sessions before each release so sales can sell new features/services immediately.
Competitive simulation exercises - Role-play sessions where sales practices against specific competitor scenarios. Focus on objection handling and alignment with marketing messaging.
Industry certification programmes - Help sales become certified in prospect's industry (e.g. financial services, healthcare compliance).
Customer story workshops - Regular sessions where customer success/account management shares wins that sales + marketing can reference.
Each enablement initiative is there to ensure that sales can deliver on the promises marketing makes, with the right content, context, and confidence to advance complex B2B deals. It’s not easy - the more prep you do, the better prepared you’ll be.
6: Client success + expansion revenue
Growing accounts when implementation takes months. You want to deliver exceptional client and customer service, which pays itself back through repeat business and professional referrals.
Onboarding and adoption
The "first value" milestone - Define and celebrate the moment customers first see tangible results, typically within 30 days.
Implementation scorecards - Weekly visual reports showing progress against go-live targets.
Executive sponsor programmes - Pair customer execs with your own execs for quarterly strategic reviews. A welcome value add that I have personally seen secure increased retainers off the back of.
Adoption workshops - Monthly hands-on sessions teaching advanced features to drive deeper usage.
The "quick wins playbook" - Document 5-10 things every customer can do in week one to see immediate value.
Expansion and upsell strategies
Usage-based expansion triggers - Automated alerts when accounts hit usage thresholds indicating upsell readiness. Can be product plan limitations (e.g. credits) or could be retainer hours.
Feature graduation campaigns - Campaigns promoting advanced features/services as customers mature. Give them something exciting to go back and discuss.
Department expansion mapping - Identify and target other departments within existing accounts. Rely on your connections at the company. Great for ABM campaign targeting. LinkedIn + email are the plays here.
Success milestone rewards - Unlock premium features or services when customers achieve certain outcomes.
The "growth workshop" - Quarterly business reviews focused on expanding use cases rather than just reviewing performance.
Advocacy and retention
Customer advisory boards - Exclusive groups that influence product/service roadmap and get early access. Great for beta testing ideas.
Reference reward programmes - Incentivise customers to participate in case studies, calls with prospects.
Renewal risk scoring - Predictive models that flag at-risk accounts 90 days before renewal.
The "success story factory" - Systematic process for turning every win into shareable content. Level 1: Get reps to comment useful stuff in the CRM as they go. Level 2: Shared document. Level 3: Actual meetings with actual humans.
7: Thought leadership + executive positioning
Making your leaders the go-to voices in your space.
Executive content programmes
CEO newsletter - Weekly insights from your chief executive sent directly to customer inboxes (Example: Beehiiv CEO’s personal newsletter Big Desk Energy)
The "contrarian take" - Position executives as industry challengers with controversial but defensible positions. As authentic as it gets. Picking a hill is easy. Dying on it, not so much.
Executive podcast tour - Book your C-suite on 20+ industry podcasts within 6 months. Use tools like PodMatch, Matchmaker.fm, qwoted as well as leveraging LinkedIn and your professional network. There are agencies who specialise in this work but it ain’t cheap.
LinkedIn executive activation - Daily posting strategy for leadership team with ghostwriting support. Build your content pillars + content types and away you go.
The "state of the industry" keynote - Annual presentation your CEO delivers at major conferences.
Media and PR strategies
Newsjacking rapid response - Process for executives to comment on breaking industry news within hours. Excellent for service-based businesses.
Contributed articles programme - Get articles in trade publications and relevant business media.
The "data hook" - Release proprietary research that media outlets will quote. Just make sure it’s not shit.
Executive AMAs - "Ask me anything" sessions on Reddit, LinkedIn, or industry forums. Be careful with these - pick a relevant subreddit and make sure your leader is has a somewhat decent following on LinkedIn already.
Media training bootcamp - Quarterly sessions preparing executives for interviews and panels. They will say they already know what they are doing. They don’t. Insist on media training!
Industry influence building
Standards body participation - Get executives on committees that set industry standards.
The "book strategy" - Ghost-write a book positioning your executive as the definitive expert. Not cheap - but great publicity + authority-building potential. (Example: Sell Like Crazy by Sabry Suby)
Industry award submissions - Systematically nominate executives for speaking and leadership awards.
Analyst briefing programme - Regular briefings with Gartner, Forrester, IDC etc to influence market reports.
Internal thought leadership
Employee town halls - Monthly all-hands where executives share vision and take questions.
Leadership blog series - Internal blog where executives share lessons and insights with employees. Don’t bother if you’re under 50 headcount.
Reverse mentoring - Pair executives with junior employees to stay current on trends.
Executive office hours - Regular times when any employee can meet with leadership.
Culture champion programme - Executives personally champion and model company values.
Visible internal leadership inspires + brings out the best in your team. If you’re a marketing leader, be as VISIBLE AS POSSIBLE across the whole organisation, ALL THE TIME. Make friends, win influence. Your team will thank you for the easy access to everyone you have enabled through internal networking.
8: Community + ecosystem building
Creating networks that sell for you.
Community creation and management
User community platform - Build a dedicated space where customers help each other and share best practices (example: Salesforce Trailblazer Community).
Industry practitioner groups - Create Slack/Discord communities for professionals in your space, not just customers.
The "office hours" programme - Weekly community sessions where experts answer questions live.
Community certification programme - Recognise and reward your most helpful community members.
Regional user groups - Local chapters that meet monthly for networking and knowledge sharing (example: Rebellious Meetups)
Partner ecosystem development
Integration marketplace - Showcase all the tools that work with your solution (example: HubSpot App Marketplace).
Partner co-selling programme - Train complementary vendors to identify opportunities for your solution.
The "better together" campaign - Joint marketing with relevant partners showing combined value.
Consultant certification - Train and certify independent consultants who can implement your solution (example: Sandler Selling Certification).
Technology alliance programme - Formal partnerships with larger platforms that can refer business (example: Xero and accountants).
Network effects and advocacy
Customer-to-customer referrals - Incentivise existing customers to introduce you to peers.
Industry consortium creation - Found a group addressing industry-wide challenges.
The "alumni network" - Stay connected with former customers who've moved to new companies. Use LinkedIn to keep it light. Schedule 6-monthly virtual coffees and offer value where you can.
Peer benchmarking groups - Facilitate groups where similar companies compare metrics and practices.
Community-generated content - Enable users to create and share templates, guides, and resources.
9: Digital experience + website optimisation
Making your complex offerings easy to understand across digital channels.
Website personalisation and conversion
Smart content modules - Dynamic sections that change based on visitor's industry, company size, or behaviour.
Progressive profiling forms - Collect information gradually across multiple visits rather than long forms.
The "build your solution" tool - Interactive configurator that shows pricing and features based on needs (example: HubSpot’s Configurator)
Comparison page generator - Dynamic pages comparing your solution to alternatives visitors research.
Exit intent experiences - Targeted messages when visitors show signs of leaving without converting.
Self-service and education
Interactive product tours - Self-guided demos visitors can explore without talking to sales (example: Pendo's product tours).
ROI calculator hub - Collection of calculators for different use cases and industries.
The "learning path" system - Guided journeys through content based on visitor's role and goals.
Resource recommendation engine - AI-powered content suggestions based on browsing behaviour.
Virtual product sandbox - Let visitors try your product with sample data before requesting a demo.
Dynamic case study matching - Show case studies from similar companies to each visitor.
The "wall of love" - Feed of real customer testimonials, reviews, and social mentions.
Trust badge optimisation - Display relevant certifications, security badges, and awards.
Peer review integration - Pull in live reviews from G2, Capterra, and TrustRadius.
Implementation timeline tool - Interactive timeline showing what to expect during onboarding.
Mega menu optimisation - Organise complex product offerings into scannable categories.
Smart search with AI - Search that understands intent and suggests relevant content.
The "solutions finder" - Quiz-style tool that recommends the right product configuration.
Contextual help system - In-page tooltips and guides that appear when visitors seem stuck.
Mobile-first design - Ensure complex B2B content works on mobile devices where 50% of research happens.
Each digital experience enhancement is designed to help prospects self-educate and build confidence in your solutions, reducing the burden on sales while accelerating the buying process.
10: Measurement + analytics
Capture + prove ROI when sales cycles are painfully long.
Tracking
Audit your tracking setup - If you’re not experienced with data tracking configurations, then it’s probaly wise to get a specialist in to audit your setup. I have lost count of the number of times I’ve started on a project just to find out marketing data isn’t being accurately tracked.
User behaviour monitoring - Use behaviour tracking tools like HotJar (there’s a free tier) to see how users are interacting with your content.
Data enrichment - Use AI enrichment tools like Clay (or Gemini in a Google Spreadsheet, or even native to CRM’s) to automatically add relevant 3rd party into to your CRM entries.
Channel tracking scripts - Make sure you have tracking pixels (or scripts) installed and tested for any channels you’re using. Meta (Facebook + Instagram), LinkedIn Insight Tag etc. Even better - get any server-side tracking implemented and set up conversions APIs (LinkedIn Conversions API, Meta Conversions API).
Multi-touch attribution frameworks
The "influence waterfall" - Track how marketing touchpoints influence deals through stages: awareness → MQL → SQL → opportunity → closed-won. If in doubt, speak to a human in sales and get their take.
Account journey mapping - Visualise all interactions across an account's lifecycle, not just individual leads. Don’t forget to account for dark channels (like sharing on private WhatsApp groups, company Slack etc).
Attribution model comparison - Run multiple attribution models simultaneously to understand different perspectives on value (example: comparing linear vs time-decay models). ⚠️ For advanced marketers only.
Dark funnel measurement - Track and estimate the impact of unmeasurable activities like word-of-mouth and dark social. For dark social content tips on LinkedIn, see Sam McKenna from #samsales.
Cohort-based attribution - Group customers by acquisition date to measure long-term impact of campaigns.
Pipeline and revenue metrics
Pipeline velocity tracking - Measure how quickly deals move through each stage and identify bottlenecks.
Win rate by source - Track close rates for different lead sources to optimise marketing mix.
Deal size analysis - Compare average contract values across different marketing channels.
Time-to-revenue metrics - Measure the complete cycle from first touch to closed revenue.
Marketing-sourced pipeline - Track percentage of pipeline generated vs influenced by marketing. Go beyond vanity metrics and start asking sales directly. Make sure sales themselves are asking prospects where they came across you, or did they find any of your content useful to them throughout their buying journey.
ROI measurement approaches
Full-funnel CAC analysis - Calculate true customer acquisition cost including all touchpoints (example: HockeyStack's multi-touch attribution).
LTV:CAC ratios by channel - Compare lifetime value to acquisition cost across different sources. Use this info to ACTUALLY SET YOUR BUDGETS.
Payback period tracking - Measure how long it takes to recoup acquisition costs.
Marketing efficiency ratio - Track marketing spend as a percentage of new revenue generated. Factor in client churn later on.
Incremental lift testing - Use holdout groups to measure true incremental impact of campaigns.
Predictive analytics and forecasting
Lead scoring models - Use behavioural and firmographic data to predict conversion likelihood.
Pipeline forecasting - Predict future revenue based on current marketing activity.
Churn prediction models - Identify at-risk accounts before they leave.
Each measurement approach is designed to help B2B marketers prove the value of their efforts in environments where the connection between marketing activity and revenue can span months or even years.
11: Emerging channels & future trends
Staying ahead in B2B marketing. Not quite as easy as it sounds…
AI and automation in B2B
Conversational AI for sales - Deploy AI chatbots that can qualify leads, book meetings, and answer complex product questions (example: Drift)
Predictive content generation - Use AI to create personalised content at scale based on account characteristics.
Automated personalisation engines - Dynamic website experiences that adapt in real-time based on visitor behaviour. (Better fit for B2C and can be expensive, but if budget isn’t an option and you have multiple ICPs, go for it!)
AI-powered account insights - Tools that surface buying signals and recommend next best actions.
Intelligent lead routing - AI that assigns leads to the best-fit sales rep based on historical performance.
New B2B channels
B2B influencer marketing - Partner with industry thought leaders and practitioners for authentic reach. LinkedIn is a no-brainer here.
Interactive product demos - Self-serve demo environments that track engagement and buying intent.
Virtual reality experiences - Immersive product demonstrations for complex solutions.
B2B podcasting networks - Build or sponsor shows targeting your specific buying audience.
Community-led growth - Build owned communities where customers become your growth engine.
Privacy-first strategies
First-party data strategies - Build direct relationships to reduce dependence on third-party cookies.
Zero-party data collection - Create value exchanges where prospects willingly share preferences.
Consent-based personalisation - Transparent data practices that build trust while enabling customisation. We recommend implementing a Consent Management Platform. Doesn’t have to cost the earth.
Server-side tracking - Implement tracking that respects privacy while maintaining attribution.
Contextual advertising revival - Target based on content context rather than individual behaviour.
Account-based everything
Account-based advertising 2.0 - Hyper-targeted campaigns using intent data and AI. Grab Apollo, build a list of prospects using signal filters, export + upload to LinkedIn, run thought leadership ads.
Account-based content experiences - Entire microsites personalised for single accounts.
Account-based events - Virtual and hybrid events designed for specific account lists.
Account-based social selling - Coordinated LinkedIn strategies across entire revenue teams.
Account-based customer marketing - Expansion strategies tailored to each customer account.
Sustainability and purpose
ESG-focused content - Address environmental, social, and governance concerns in your messaging.
Purpose-driven partnerships - Collaborate with organisations that share your values.
Sustainable event strategies - Virtual-first approaches that reduce carbon footprint.
Transparency reports - Share your company's impact and progress on key initiatives.
Employee advocacy programmes - Empower team members to share authentic stories. You can make it fun by using something like RallyUp.
Each emerging trend represents an opportunity for complex B2B marketers to differentiate their approach and connect with modern buyers who expect more from the companies they partner with.
Chris Bennett
Head of Strategy @ Fablr | Marketing Strategist | Expert B2B Marketer | GTM, Demand Gen & Brand Growth Leader | MCIM
When not writing about marketing or advising clients, you can find dad-of-one Chris reading history, playing the piano, writing a novel and keeping old age away in the gym.
Years in the trenches: 16
Favourite tool: Gemini
Common saying: “Move the needle.”
Favourite food: Chinese
Social proof + validation