Business-to-business (B2B) marketing campaigns come in a variety of shapes and sizes, and it can be difficult to decide which style is best suited to your marketing goals. In this blog post, we’ll be exploring the three most popular B2B marketing campaigns: account-based marketing (ABM), B2B lead gen and demand generation (Demand Gen). We’ll discuss the differences between the three, as well as their respective advantages and disadvantages, so that you can make an informed decision about which campaign type is most appropriate for your marketing goals.
What Are The Primary B2B Marketing Campaign Styles?
B2B marketing campaigns come in a variety of styles. The most common are Account Based Marketing (ABM), Demand Generation, and B2B Lead Generation. Each type has its own advantages and works to achieve different objectives.
Account Based Marketing is a targeted approach to generating leads and sales by identifying and targeting a particular set of high-value accounts. It is tailored to an individual company’s goals, focusing on influence and expansion. Through ABM, you can gain more awareness in the target market, build relationships with potential customers, and nurture leads until they become qualified MQLs.
Demand Generation involves leveraging multiple marketing channels to drive sales leads through content, digital advertising, events, and more. It creates brand awareness and captures potential customers who have already expressed an interest in your product or service. The goal of Demand Generation is to generate a consistent flow of qualified leads that can be nurtured over time.
B2B Lead Generation focuses on capturing new leads from various sources such as websites, email lists, and webinars. It is often used for lead qualification and lead nurturing, as it allows marketers to capture valuable contact information from prospects in order to nurture them into customers. This type of marketing is great for creating brand awareness and establishing a presence in the market.
Each style of B2B marketing can be used to achieve different objectives, so it’s important to identify your marketing goals before deciding which one to use. By understanding the differences between each style, you can create a campaign that is tailored to your specific needs and maximizes your return on investment.
What Are My Marketing Goal KPIs?
When planning your B2B marketing campaigns, it’s important to have a clear idea of what your KPIs (Key Performance Indicators) are. These are the metrics that you’ll use to measure the success of your campaigns and help you make informed decisions about which types of campaigns will best suit your goals. Common KPIs for B2B campaigns include: leads, expansion, awareness, nurture, influence, and MQL (Marketing Qualified Leads).
Leads are the most obvious KPI, as these are the contacts who eventually become customers. Expansion is another key metric, as this indicates how much growth you achieve within existing accounts. Awareness looks at the number of people who know about your business and what you do. Nurture refers to how well you cultivate relationships with prospects and customers over time, eventually having the opportunity to sell your service or product. Influence looks at how effectively you are engaging your prospects through the entire buying journey. And finally, MQL measures how well you qualify prospects and customers as potential buyers.
By analyzing your KPIs and understanding how they relate to your business goals, you can determine which type of B2B campaign will best suit your needs. From awareness-building campaigns to nurturing strategies, there are a variety of campaign styles available to help you achieve success.
Which Campaign Styles Match The Markets I Sell To?
Understanding which campaign style will best match the markets you’re targeting is critical to maximizing your marketing goals. For example, a B2B lead generation campaign may be effective for a small business through mid-market, but a demand gen campaign may be more appropriate for mid-market through enterprise accounts. On the other hand, Account Based Marketing (ABM) will help nurture MQLs from demand gen campaigns and influence open sales opportunities and improve win rates. No matter what your market, it’s important to determine which B2B campaigns can best suit your needs and are aligned with your desired outcomes.
Which B2B Campaign Styles Are Aligned With My Outcomes?
When deciding which B2B marketing campaign style is right for your business, you need to consider the sales cycle and the contract value. For instance, if you have a sales cycle of up to 3 months and a contract value up to $25,000, this is more in line with B2B lead gen. If your sales cycle is 3 to 6 months and the contract value falls between $25,000 to $70,000, then Demand Gen may be a better choice. For larger contracts with sales cycles of 9 months to over 2 years and contract values of $100,000 up to $1,000,000,000, Account Based Marketing (ABM) will be the way to go. These are general rules but you will likely find a good bit of overlap in the campaign styles, for instance, some lead gen tactics can be used successfully across Demand Gen and lower-end ABM accounts. By combining the desired marketing outcomes with this framework, you will be able to lay the groundwork for smashing your 2023 marketing goals!
So, Which Should I Choose For My Marketing Goals?
It is important to consider which style of B2B campaign will best match your specific marketing goals. If your goal is to increase leads, then you may want to look into lead gen campaigns such as Demand Gen and ABM (account-based marketing). Demand Gen campaigns focus on generating leads from multiple channels with a mix of outbound tactics and content creation. ABM works best for businesses who are looking to target specific accounts and deliver tailored messaging to them.
On the other hand, if your goal is to boost brand awareness or drive more traffic to your website, then b2b lead gen may not be the most efficient use of resources. Instead, consider investing in campaigns that focus on creating and sharing engaging content, as well as launching targeted ad campaigns on social media and search engine platforms. Additionally, setting up an MQL (marketing qualified lead) program can help you identify potential customers who are ready to engage with your company.
Ultimately, it is essential to identify what your business goals are, know what you are selling and who you are selling to, and then determine which campaign style best matches these objectives. You should also have a good sense of how your marketing goals impact sales pipeline, as many of these tactics and goals support each other. With a clear strategy in mind, you can then plan out the best B2B campaign that aligns with your desired outcomes.
