In the complex landscape of B2B marketing, CMOs, Marketing Operations Leaders, Demand Generation Managers, and SDR Leaders face a common and costly challenge - Pipeline Leak. Whether it's a perplexity in meeting pipeline goals, discrepancies in the translation of marketing spend into qualified opportunities, inefficiencies in ABM programs, or an increase in the effort required to book meetings, these leaks represent a significant threat to the optimization of marketing objectives in marketing plan and financial outcomes. Acknowledging the gravity of the situation — a staggering $2 trillion market loss as per BCG — it's clear that conventional methods fall short of addressing the causative issues of pipeline leakage effectively.
At Boomerang, we advocate for a strategic overhaul with our pioneering framework — "The Supreme Five". This holistic b2b marketing approach not only aims to staunch the immediate leak but also fortifies your marketing pipeline strategy against future vulnerabilities. Let's delve into these pillars:
- Pipeline Objectives
Essential to steering the marketing team with precision, Pipeline Objectives serve as the bedrock of strategic b2b demand generation marketing endeavors. By setting tangible goals, such as generating a specified revenue from a certain install base or penetrating a number of new enterprise accounts, you create clarity and focus for your team. The foresight in planning is crucial, especially given the varied timelines required for market segment penetration.
Actionable Insight: Convene with your core strategic team to outline clear, quantifiable objectives for the forthcoming quarter, ensuring alignment with your annual growth aspirations.
- Pipeline Leaks
Contrary to common beliefs attributing low pipeline attainment to poor sales follow-up, our analysis unraveling over $1.8B in revenue data presents a different narrative. A substantial portion of high-value leads remains untouched or inadequately pursued due to a myriad of reasons, including changes in customer job changes and overlooked warm referral opportunities.
Actionable Insight: Employ the Boomerang Pipeline Leak Assessment to uncover the nuanced contributors to your pipeline leakage and evaluate the potential revenue at risk.
- Pipeline Plays
Marketing's success is contingent upon a symphony of marketing tactics to increase sales — from the intricacies of SEO and content strategy to the targeted efforts of ABM and outbound marketing strategy. However, the harmonic execution of these tactics starts with their alignment to the Pipeline Objectives.
Actionable Insight: Forge a robust cross-functional tactical plan that not only aligns with but also bolsters your Pipeline Objectives, ensuring all marketing efforts are concerted and targeted.
- Pipeline AI
Harnessing AI in B2B marketing to distill insights from unstructured data about your customers and buyer personas presents opportunities that surpass human capabilities. This technological intervention, or Pipeline AI, offers unmatched leverage in continuously updating your Ideal Customer Profile (ICP) and Buyer Persona.
Actionable Insight: Integrate AI to regularly refine your ICP and Buyer Persona, enabling dynamic adjustments to your marketing strategies in response to demographic shifts and job changes among your target audience.
- Identify, Create, and Enrich
Maximizing the effectiveness of Demand Gen and ABM programs entails reaching out to at least 85% of the buying committee in target accounts, ensuring comprehensive coverage at field events, and enabling swift SDR follow-ups to leads generated from customer job changes. A robust B2B marketing database is crucial for successful strategies for lead generation.
Actionable Insight: 'Invest in robust data quality governance and supportive technologies that amplify your Demand Gen, Outbound, and ABM efforts, ensuring every facet of your marketing program is scalable, targeted, and efficient.
Are You Ready to Stop Pipeline Leak?
Implementing the Supreme Five framework is not just about plugging the gaps; it's a strategic realignment that prepares you to capture and capitalize on every opportunity in your pipeline. This endeavor is beyond remedial; it's transformational, equipping you with the insights, strategies, and tools for creating a go to market strategy that will turn potential leaks into avenues of growth and market domination.
In embarking on this journey, remember that success is not instantaneous but gradual — a steadfast commitment to these principles will redefine your marketing pipeline and set a new benchmark for operational excellence in the B2B marketing domain.
