The boundary between sales and marketing is disappearing. For too long, marketing metrics like marketing qualified leads (MQLs) and click-through rates have resulted in what can only be described as activity-based marketing roles. Today’s CEOs are demanding a shift: Marketing must deliver on the only metric that truly matters – revenue.
In an era where economic uncertainty and tighter budgets dominate C-Suite discussions, one thing is crystal clear: Revenue is the ultimate metric, and every part of the organization, including marketing, must align with that objective.
This shift is forcing B2B marketing leaders to rethink their priorities, moving away from activity-based key performance indicators (KPIs) and doubling down on meaningful customer engagement that directly supports sales and long-term customer relationships.
The pressure to drive revenue isn’t new, but the stakes have never been higher. A 2023 survey of B2B executives revealed that 62% of companies have reduced their overall marketing spend, yet they still expect marketing to deliver a more measurable impact on sales pipelines. The disconnect between marketing activity and revenue outcomes has come into sharper focus. CEOs are asking tough questions:
- Are marketing efforts resulting in sales-ready buyers?
- How is marketing enabling sales to close deals faster?
- Are traditional marketing activities generating measurable ROI?
The answers to these questions require marketing to embrace a new role, not just as a lead generator, but as a critical driver of buyer engagement throughout the sales journey.
Customer Engagement: The New Marketing KPI
This shift toward revenue accountability is redefining how B2B marketers approach their roles. At the heart of this transformation is a new gold standard for success: meaningful customer engagement. Unlike traditional lead generation, engagement strategies aim to create meaningful interactions that build trust, demonstrate value and guide buyers toward a purchase decision. Key shifts in this new approach include:
Focusing on Buying Groups, Not Individuals – In complex B2B sales, purchasing decisions are made by committees, not individuals. Marketing must engage all stakeholders – decision-makers, influencers and users – by providing tailored content and experiences that address their unique concerns and priorities.
Delivering Value at Every Stage – Engagement doesn’t stop at awareness. Marketers need to support sales by delivering value at every touchpoint, from initial research to post-purchase onboarding. Interactive product demos, personalized content hubs and virtual consultations are examples of tools that keep buyers engaged and informed.
Closing the Feedback Loop with Sales – Marketing can’t operate in a silo. By collaborating with sales teams to understand buyer behavior and refine messaging, marketers can create integrated multi-channel sales and marketing campaigns that resonate with prospects and accelerate deals. Shared KPIs, such as pipeline contribution and deal velocity, help ensure alignment.
A Win-Win for Sales and Marketing
The pivot toward customer engagement isn’t just good for marketing, it’s a game-changer for sales teams. Engaged buyers are more likely to trust a sales team, stay loyal and make larger purchases. By equipping sales teams with insights and resources to engage customers rather than selling to them, marketing becomes a powerful ally in achieving revenue goals.
One company’s success story illustrates the power of this shift. A global leader in Life Sciences implemented a customer engagement platform that provided customer-focused tools based on where the prospect was in their buying journey. The result?
- Over $100 million in incremental revenue over two years
- A 30% overall increase in win rates
- A 25% reduction in the duration of the sales cycle
This success was made possible because marketing shifted its focus from generating leads to enabling sales with actionable engagement strategies that delivered value to the customer at every touch-point.
Challenges to Overcome
While the benefits of aligning marketing with revenue are clear, the transition is not without challenges. Common roadblocks include:
Cultural Resistance – Long-standing distinctions between sales and marketing teams can make collaboration difficult. Leadership must foster a shared sense of purpose.
Skills Gaps – Sales teams must learn to relinquish some control, trusting marketing’s tools to empower customers to guide their own buying journey. Overcoming this emotional hurdle requires collaboration and alignment. Marketing skills must also evolve to better tell persona-driven complex solution stories in a simple-to-understand manner.
Technology Integration – Customer engagement often requires advanced digital tools, so paying attention to both data and systems integration and adoption across teams is essential.
People, Process and Technology
To win in this new era of customer experience, B2B marketing and sales leaders must embrace a mindset shift. The following steps can help ensure success:
- Adopt Revenue-Focused Metrics. Move beyond MQLs and SQLs to track the results – metrics like pipeline contribution, average deal size, and customer lifetime value.
- Invest in Buyer-Centric Digital Platforms. Create resources that educate and empower buyers at every stage, from interactive solutions overviews to collaborative decision-making tools.
- Foster Sales-Marketing Collaboration. Build and implement these solutions together, rather than the traditional marketing-led process that is then handed to sales with an expectation that sales teams will simply use what they are given.
It’s Now a Competitive Imperative
Revenue-focused engagement isn’t just the future, it’s today’s competitive imperative. The organizations that align sales and marketing around this mission will lead, while those clinging to outdated metrics will fall behind.  As buyer expectations evolve, so must the strategies that connect customers directly to solutions. These strategies will succeed as everyone from CEOs to sales teams see marketing as revenue enablers.
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