Way back in the late nineties and early noughties, B2B marketing strategy primarily focused on ‘top of funnel’ activity. The marketing team was there to engage potential customers early in their purchasing journey. After qualifying lead readiness, marketers handed leads off to the sales team who landed the deal.

How times have changed! Let’s take a moment to celebrate marketing’s changing role in B2B

Thanks to digital transformation, marketing teams now have the technology and measurement tools to show how their work directly contributes to revenue and value creation.

Rather than being limited to promotion, B2B marketers’ remit is to orchestrate complex, end-to-end customer experiences and ABM strategies. The data our marketing efforts generate are key to understanding customer’s needs and supporting consultative selling. 

In short, we’re driving results at every stage of the customer journey. 

With their unique blend of creative skills and technical knowledge, CMOs are taking the lead in helping organisations adapt to rapidly changing business paradigms. You can see this reflected as companies replace the title of ‘Chief Marketing Officer’ with that of ‘Chief Growth Officer’ or ‘Chief Customer Officer’. It is an acknowledgement that B2B marketing encompasses so much more than just showing customers ads.

So, while B2B marketers still face many challenges, we wanted to take a step back to appreciate just how far we have come. So, here are six ways marketers have reinvented themselves and helped modernise the B2B experience.

Digital Innovators

As the B2B sector has learned over the past few years, to thrive, we must embed innovation into an organisation’s DNA. Instead of resting on their laurels, companies must focus on creating agile action plans for the future.

For example, B2B buyers are now ‘digital first,’ and vendors need to deliver a superior experience to stay relevant. According to a 2022 McKinsey & Co. Survey, B2B buyers now expect vendors to provide a personalised, 24/7 omnichannel experience over three engagement modes (in-person, remote, and self-service). If they do not get what they are looking for, B2B customers take their business elsewhere.

But it is not enough to meet buyers at the moment. Instead of playing catch up to customers’ demands, B2B companies need to anticipate where the curve is heading and get there first.

Marketing plays a critical role in helping organisations pivot quickly and address these types of challenges. Leading CMOs are creative thinkers who possess strong technical knowledge and deep business acumen. To continuously create business value, they deliver exceptional, innovative experiences that delight B2B customers and raise the industry bar.

Customer Advocates

The CMO has become the de facto customer champion in the C-suite. As B2B companies integrate digital solutions to streamline processes, back-office technical roles are being put in charge of customer adjacent activities. However, this can increase the risk of poor customer experience, as back-end specialists often misunderstand client pain points or undervalue their needs.

Marketing leaders help bridge this divide by providing technical performance data along with a deep understanding of client needs. For this reason, they are also key players in an organisation’s customer success strategy. Similar to how they help back-offices understand client needs, marketers educate clients on the more technical aspects of their purchase decision. Doing so helps clients surpass their expectations of what they can achieve with the brand’s product or service.

Team Building, Talent Acquisition & Retention

Recruitment marketing and employer branding are two critical functions that are being added to the CMO’s remit. Leading B2B companies understand that brand positioning plays a huge role in attracting the best talent. 

Effective internal brand experiences and messaging are what build the loyalty necessary for retaining top employees. B2B professionals do not appreciate ambiguity in their work situations. If a company does not meet their expectations, skilled employees will leave. 

Marketing and HR need to be in alignment so that the brand can clearly communicate its operational values to prospective hires. For this reason, CMOs are increasingly partnering with HR to oversee the company’s employer value proposition (EVP).

Besides talent acquisition and retention, B2B marketers can harness the collective power of a cohesive workforce through employee advocacy programs.

Organisational Unifiers

Another critical role CMOs have assumed is that of the ‘unifier’. 

Successful B2B marketing leaders are results-driven, innovative and agile. They recognise that the digital growth agenda does not respect traditional operational boundaries and know how and when to bring in outside expertise.

This means B2B marketers are leading the charge to break down data silos, reduce organisational friction, unlock value, and empower teams to work together effectively.

Marketers help align their organisations around the customer experience by weaving together market research and deep business acumen. They create a holistic picture of opportunity that the C-suite can translate into business initiatives.

And marketing is not only helping to unify internal teams and departments. They are also defining the new rules of collaboration across external agencies, vendors, and even customers. For example, building platforms and collaborative spaces where clients can share their own expertise as brand ambassadors.

By reinventing the operations model to centre on human experience, marketers are building end-to-end growth rooted in authenticity and long-term customer value.

Brand-Makers

For an organisation to survive, there needs to be a sense of shared purpose. Without it, competing priorities pull you in too many directions until things fall apart. 

Marketing is the mechanism that forges and maintains this shared identity. It brings together and distils disparate stakeholder goals, opinions, and experiences into a cohesive, consistent brand narrative.

While the CMO has long played a role in B2B branding, it has traditionally been as a brand-keeper, rather than a brand-maker. The difference is that one is a steward, while the other is a leader.

The function of a brand-keeper is to maintain a brand identity as it has been determined by others. Brand-keepers are often risk averse, understanding their mandate is to maintain the status quo.

In contrast, a brand-maker is heavily involved in making key decisions involving the destiny of a brand. Empowered to take educated risks, they fight for the direction the brand needs to go to connect with buyers. This is especially important during times of uncertainty when brands need to adapt quickly to changing conditions.

Capability Architect

At the vanguard of B2B digitalisation, marketing teams seek to build internal connectivity through the lens of the buyers’ journey. They are the lynchpin that connects customer-facing experiences (real-time interaction, personalisation, etc.) and organisational enablers (strategic vision, infrastructure, and front-line execution).

In this role, B2B marketers create value not only by capturing it from customers but also through the data ecosystems they orchestrate. 

They coordinate data-driven marketing strategy, sales automation, and payment mechanics to create a frictionless experience for clients. Doing so requires a strong understanding of the tools in their tech stack and the best approach to deploy them. (That, or having a trusted partner who can help them understand different platform options).

Even when the CIO or CDO lead digital initiatives, marketing still plays an important role. For example, in a 2022 Forrester survey, 57% of senior B2B decision-makers reported the CMO and CIO were strategic partners in developing technology-driven solutions for the company. While the CIO brings technical knowledge to the table, the CMO brings customer insights and CX strategy. And as the past few years have proven, to drive growth, digital solutions must be rooted in real customer needs.

Here's to Future Days!

It is an exciting time for B2B marketers. Our field has come into its own as a source of innovation and value. 

If the CEO is the ‘brain’ of a company, then the marketing team now serves as the nervous system. We are responsible for generating, personalising and transmitting information between internal and external stakeholders. We educate customers, recruit talent, build lasting partnerships, and help companies adapt to change.

Businesses that understand and help support marketing’s expanding function will be the ones to find ongoing success. They are investing in communication experts who can connect the dots between customer needs, business priorities, and emerging technologies to create growth.

The evolving role of marketing involves a complex set of skills, some of which are at the cutting-edge of new technology. As you redefine the role of your team and expand its capabilities,   review what you need to keep in-house and where you could benefit from outside help.

Smart Solutions for the Modern Marketers

B2B marketing’s influence and value is rooted in anticipating and delivering what our customers need through frictionless, data-driven experiences. However, fulfilling this function requires creative strategy, careful planning, and the right marketing automation platform.

1827 Marketing can help on all counts.

Our expert consultants design sales and marketing solutions that allow you to deliver personalised buyer journeys at scale. Reach out today to learn more.