The best of B2B

The 2018 version of Green Hat’s ‘B2B Marketing Outlook’ report offers an in-depth look into the business-to-business (B2B) marketing profession in Australia. Surveying 412 respondents, it asked them about marketing performance, strategy, planning, and attitudes to new tools and techs available to them. Measuring marketing ROI was the biggest challenge for them last year, closely followed by optimising the customer experience. As for significant marketing objectives for 2018, generating, nurturing and progressing leads topped the list, followed by optimising customer experience (CX). Each year, the report also looks at the behaviour and responses of ‘best-in-class’ marketers. These are defined as “leaders and innovators of the B2B marketing industry”, and their practice can be used as benchmarks for all B2B marketers looking to see the best results from their marketing. To identify them, the survey selected three key areas that have a significant impact on overall marketing effectiveness:

• Understanding target audience – have they developed personas for buyers in target markets?

• A focus on pipeline outcomes – do they get satisfactory (more than two-thirds) follow-up of marketing leads by sales teams?

• Adopting technology – have