DIGITAL MARKETING SUCCESS IN

B2B TECHNOLOGY
By Bill Connolly, Content Marketing Manager, iCrossing
Brands must consider how to engage consumers throughout a long, complex sales cycle, recognizing
the moments that matter
ICROSSING POV:
INTRODUCTION
Over the past several years marketing has become increasingly complex. This can be attributed to
a number of causes, primarily the ongoing introduction of technology, the growing sophistication
of consumer targets, as well as an almost endless array of relevant communication channels for
marketers to consider. Organizations across all industries have faced the challenge of integrating
digital into a broader marketing program. Notably, however, B2C industries have been far more
successful than their B2B counterparts.
Companies in the B2B technology space have struggled mightily to recognize the benefts of digital marketing. Due to a lengthened
sales cycle, calculating ROI on specifc activities is extremely challenging, making digital investment diffcult to justify. In addition,
consistent, engaging content is imperative to nurture prospects through the elongated buying process. This requires a well-
developed content strategy that can strain resources and is hard to execute properly. Finally, as technology plays a larger role in
marketing, the CMO and CTO have become inherently linked. This changes the relevant audience for B2B Technology marketers,
and the communication necessary to engage them.
In short, B2B marketing is hard! Fortunately, iCrossing has helped many leading B2B technology companies realize their full digital
potential. From our depth of experience, we believe there are three considerations that can make an immediate impact on your
business:
+ Defne Your Changing Audience
+ Identify the Moments that Matter
+ Develop Content that Tells a Story
While the challenges to success may appear overwhelming, brands that are able to optimize their digital presence have a signifcant
opportunity to differentiate in this space.
2
ICROSSING. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
JUNE 2014 DIGITAL MARKETING SUCCESS IN B2B TECHNOLOGY
DEFINE YOUR CHANGING AUDIENCE
Traditionally, the Chief Marketing Offcer (CMO) and Chief Technology Offcer (CTO) have had distinctly different roles. The CMO
focused more on brand recognition, eager to innovate as a way to raise the profle of the organization. The CTO on the other hand
was responsible for procuring and implementing technology that enabled innovation to exist. Typically, the CTO was tasked with
operational excellence, meaning he/she had to manage costs more aggressively than the CMO. Often, this disconnect would lead
to internal tension. However, as technology has permeated the marketing department over recent years, the distance between the
CTO and CMO has narrowed signifcantly.
Still, despite the apparent paradigm shift, many B2B marketers continue to think about marketing and technology as mutually
exclusive audiences. Consequently, they fail to engage with either audience effectively. In order to succeed, marketers must clearly
redefne each role accurately. In our experience, the profle of a modern CTO includes:
+ Someone who above all else is still an expert in changing technology. They are responsible for understanding the landscape
of available technology partners, recommending solutions based on both applicability and practicality to the organization, and
driving internal implementation as well as adoption. The modern CTO considers cost and functionality of technology, but also
thinks strategically about how it will impact the business in a positive (or negative) way.
Similarly, the profle of a modern CMO has changed. We defne it as:
+ Someone who considers brand recognition in all marketing activities but is no longer measured by it. Through advanced
analytics, marketing automation, and a complex database, the modern CMO can attribute ROI to specifc marketing efforts.
More importantly, they are committed to a revenue goal and have the ability to measure progress against that fgure. They are
experts in emerging marketing technology, and must employ an intelligent approach to innovate.
Clearly, there is more overlap between the two roles than ever before. In fact, according to Gartner, the CMO will be spending more
on IT than the CTO by 2017!
i
Because technology often interfaces across the entire organization, more stakeholders are being
brought to the table when considering which providers to partner with. The CIO, the procurement department, and members of other
disciplines are now relevant audiences for you to engage with. In large organizations there may also be multiple business units with
completely different needs who will be sharing an instance of technology.
We encountered this issue with one of our clients, a large telecommunications carrier company, offering data, internet, digital TV,
wireless and voice services to both consumer and business customers. Within the business target, their audience was broken
into residential, small business, and enterprise level accounts. iCrossing executed paid media (SEM) with customized placement
and messaging for each unit, and developed a website enhancement that simultaneously addressed the needs of each audience,
including:
+ Generating online sales or call center leads (Click to call, online chat)
+ Providing online support for existing customers
+ Providing service information to new customers
Following the website enhancement, the client saw a 276% increase in organic search traffc, a 133% increase in viewed pages per
visit, and a 392% increase in asset views and downloads. Perhaps most telling, they increased lead count by 108% year-over-year.
Finally, global companies present an additional audience consideration for B2B technology marketers. Today, you must address
an integrated audience across multiple cultures and languages. iCrossing has worked with several industry-leading technology
providers to address this business problem. For one client, we managed paid search, organic search, paid social media, and analytics
across 23 countries, 11 languages, and 7 networks. Success required development of a global governance plan to manage multiple
i Kenny, Jamie. The Rise of the CMO-CTO Partnership. Marketing Magazine. 1.04.14.
3
ICROSSING. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
JUNE 2014 DIGITAL MARKETING SUCCESS IN B2B TECHNOLOGY
campaigns and stakeholders, as well as to ensure that the strategy was in line with the local marketing objectives and standards. We
also focused on creating landing pages with dynamic content specifc to each targeted region. In another case, we provided SEO
services for an organization across four different continents, with the client realizing a 25% increase in quarter-over-quarter visibility.
IDENTIFY THE MOMENTS THAT MATTER
While certainly diffcult, integrated digital marketing is most effective across multiple business units, locations, and communication
channels. However, this broader audience has made the buying process longer and far more complex. In addition, because deals
in this space require a sizeable commitment of both time and money, companies are extremely careful in making a decision.
Understandably, because technology providers will become integrated with the day-to-day business activity, an incorrect purchase
is not easily rectifed. For marketers, this often translates into a sales cycle that can take several months and dozens of touches
before closure. As an example, one of our clients, an IT cloud-hosting company, has a sales cycle that falls between 6-18 months
depending on the size of the deal.
Due to the added complexity and duration, marketers have a tough time attributing success and ROI to specifc activities. If a
prospect was touched 36 times over the course of the buying cycle, can you determine how valuable each unique touch was to the
overall pursuit? Despite the revolution in marketing technology, this is still quite tough. But it is not impossible.
Attribution requires an approach to tracking multiple touch-points across an integrated network of channels. It requires identifying
the moments that matter throughout the sales cycle, and agreeing on how success will be measured. With the same IT cloud-hosting
company, we chose to measure success by qualifed leads that led to a sales conversation. Along the way, we used advanced
analytics and integration with SalesForce (SFDC) to determine which touch-points were most valuable. Of course, this is not
something that you will achieve overnight. In time, you will recognize the specifc moments that are important in your buyers unique
journey, and you can adjust your budget and behavior accordingly.
One of our technology clients saw dramatic improvement in SEM results through this process. Prior to integration with a CRM, all
leads and thus the keywords that drove to them were treated equally. Bidding decisions were made on a CPA basis. In this example,
we would bid higher on Keyword B:
After integration, bidding decisions were made based on cost per qualifed lead. It looked like this, and we would bid higher on
Keyword A.
Once you begin to unpack your targets buying journey, the next step is to map content to those important moments. Research
suggests that prospects do not want to engage with sales until they are 70% through the buying cycle.
ii
What does that mean for you
and your sales team? Well, it means that instead of the hard sell, you must implement a nurturing process that positions your brand
as a thought leader and educates prospects, so that when they realize there is a need, you are top of mind to provide a solution.
We achieved this goal for our internet security client, creating a content map as well as individual nurture streams that personalized
Keyword Rank Leads CPA
Keyword A 4.0 80 $350
Keyword B 4.0 80 $200
Keyword Rank Leads CPA Qual Leads CPQL
Keyword A 4.0 80 $350 18 $1,555
Keyword B 4.0 80 $200 9 $1,777
ii Gillum, Scott. The Disappearing Sales Process. Forbes. 1.07.13.
4
ICROSSING. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
JUNE 2014 DIGITAL MARKETING SUCCESS IN B2B TECHNOLOGY
STAY CONNECTED
Find out more at www.icrossing.com
Call us toll-free at 866.620.3780
Connect with us at google.com/+icrossing
Follow us on twitter @iCrossing and @TheContentLab
Become a fan at facebook.com/icrossing
communication to their most important audiences during the moments that matter. We also implemented a content prescription that indicated
which pieces of content could speak to various pain points that their customers may experience. All of this effort was enabled through the
use of data and analytics. With more data, your company is able to continually adjust your strategy to be more effcient and effective. You
can unlock the code to attribution and increase the velocity with which targeted leads move through the funnel.
DEVELOP CONTENT THAT TELLS A STORY
Creating a content map is a fantastic frst step in the nurturing process, but then, you actually have to create all of the content to fulfll it.
This is where many brands tend to falter. Of course, the marketing department will lead the charge in developing, packaging, and promoting
content, but it requires a shared commitment across the entire organization to execute a content strategy. Subject matter experts who
deliver strategy and services to clients will be the primary source of engaging content. Unfortunately, with client deliverables and hectic daily
schedules, content development is a rather low priority for these individuals.
There are a few ways to resolve this issue. One is to build content development into the quarterly and annual goal structure of the organization.
If everyone, from a junior team member all the way up to a senior executive, is tasked with content creation then your marketing department
will have a wealth of useful blogs, contributed articles, and white papers to draw from. Another way that our clients have created consistently
engaging content is to have an outside resource assist in development. Thought leaders have no issue discussing their feld of expertise at
length, they simply do not have the time to sit and write out their ideas to form marketing collateral. Having a writer interview the thought
leader and formulate content is an effective solution. It also helps to ensure that your content maintains a consistent voice and remains on-
brand. Different people prefer to generate content in different ways, through writing, video, or webinars. Catering to the preference of your
internal stakeholder makes the process much smoother. However you choose to tackle this effort, remember that nurturing is different than
selling. Your content should be educational, engaging, and applicable to the needs of your audience. Ultimately, it should tell a story about
your experience and how it could beneft their business.