When it comes to the content that influences buying decisions, B2B buyers are looking for the facts. An overwhelming majority (86%) of the respondents to Demand Gen Report’s 2015 B2B Buyer’s Survey reported that vendor-focused content such as case studies and product data sheets are triggers that influence their purchase decisions.

Thought leadership content was also an important part of the mix, as 75% of respondents cited white papers and infographics among the top pieces of content that they review during the buying process.

When asked to rank the first three resources that informed them about a solution they were considering, respondents cited industry experts/analysts (21%); peers/colleagues (20%); and web search (17%).

Also clearly important to 87% of buyers was a better mix of content to help buyers through the stages of research and decision-making. Content that built a business case or showed clear ROI for the purchase was cited as somewhat or very important by 83% of buyers surveyed.

Multiple pieces of content play a significant role in the decision-making process. More than half of all respondents (52%) indicated they view two to four pieces of content from the winning vendor. More than a quarter (28%) view five to seven pieces, while 10% view 8 pieces or more.

Marketing’s influence in buying decisions continues to grow. More than a third (35%) said marketing’s influence in purchases has increased somewhat, while another 14% indicated it has increased substantially.

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While it is useful to understand the journeys of various segments of buyers, progressive B2B marketers are following the paths of individual prospects to gain a better understanding of the best ways to engage them at all stages of the buying cycle.

This was one of the key trends highlighted at this year's Salesforce Connections event in New York. The three-day event showcased a variety of case studies spotlighting the growing trend of individualizing the customer journey.

It's the dawn of the digital marketer because of the rise of the connected consumer, according to Scott McCorkle, CEO of the Salesforce Marketing Cloud. "What's different and new is that we're able to connect all the interactions buyers have with a brand," McCorkle noted during his keynote session.

While connecting these interactions are important to having an in-depth understanding of the buyer's journey, the blurred lines between channels has created specific challenges. "The always-connected customer doesn't care if there is a marketing, sales or services interaction," McCorkle said. "All they care about is having a consistent conversation where and when they need it."

To facilitate a consistent conversation, B2B organizations need to understand the various paths to purchase that their prospective buyers can take. "They need to understand their prospects, where they are at in their journey and where they need to go next. We're not passive observers," McCorkle noted.

McCorkle broke a successful customer journey into five parts:

• Acquisition — gaining net new leads through relevant messaging and channels;
• Selling — converting leads into customers;
• Onboarding — walking new customers through their new purchase;
• Engagement — continuously targeting existing clients with relevant content to enhance their marketing and sales initiates; and
• Advocacy — engaging customers as brand advocates to offer credible insights into how a product or service works for new prospective buyers.

McCorkle highlighted several updates to the Salesforce Marketing Cloud designed to help users engage their audience at every step of the customer success journey. This includes an integration between the Journey Builder and Active Audience tools to position marketers to create personalized journeys for recently acquired customers.

"Something really important happens once a customer becomes a customer," McCorkle said. "Marketers need to understand how to say 'thank you' and how to introduce new customers correctly to a product or service to maximize their success. Onboarding new customers is probably the most critical step in the customer journey."

It's clear that the customer journey does not end at conversion, but is a continuous process that B2B organizations need to manage and monitor to keep customers engaged, McCorkle noted.

Data, Mobile And Video Play Key Roles In Journey Success

Customer insights and data are the fuel that helps B2B organizations continue to provide personalized experiences for prospects moving through their buyer's journey, according to participants in a CMO roundtable held during the event.

The panel, which included senior-level executives from Facebook, BBDO and DonorsChoose, discussed the importance of data in creating effective messaging for target audiences.

"Data is the heart of successful storytelling," said John Osborn, President and CEO for BBDO New York, during the session. "Great stories come down to great characters, storyline, social experience and tension. We have the ability to tell stories in diverse ways, it's not an either or. But the worth of the work is much more important, so understanding the ROI and calibrating it is crucial to reaching people where and when they want it."

Mobile is one of the primary channels fueling growth. "The amount of shift to mobile is extremely underestimated," said Gary Briggs, CMO and President of Facebook. "A vast majority of our revenue comes from mobile, more than 50%."

The panelists pointed to video as an effective format for engaging prospects. "The ability to produce video with tiny phones and other devices is breakthrough" said Osborn. "We think the breakthrough in video and how it integrates with other technologies has helped evolve the way we tell stories."

Facebook has adapted to the trend toward more visual content, according to Briggs. "On Facebook, you have to get that content to make the viewer take action in the first eight seconds. Video has helped gain that attention."

Traditional marketing formats, such as email marketing, continue to provide consistent value to marketers — even as mobile and social gain in popularity. "Email is not dead; it drives 50% of our [revenue]," said Katie Bisbee, CMO of DonorsChoose, a nonprofit organization that aims to help students in need. "While social is attributed to 10% of our revenue, email is the main driver. Email allows us to tell a story, personalize our asks to each individual, templates allow us to reach out on our behalf.

Panelists concluded that creating ideal buyer's journeys is an ongoing process. "Enjoy the journey more than the destination," Osborn concluded. "Because honestly, there is no final destination with customer journeys."

While it is not a new strategy, account-based marketing has recently become a critical part of the marketing mix. More than 90% of marketers believe that account-based marketing is a “must-have,” according to SiriusDecisions’ 2015 State of Account-Based Marketing (ABM) Study. While just 20% of respondents are currently using an ABM approach, 60% expect to adopt a targeted account approach over the next year, according to the survey.

"Account-based marketing has been a viable and successful strategy for B2B for the past decade, but the tools that are available now make it much more attractive to implement," said Megan Heuer, VP and Group Director at SiriusDecisions, in an interview with Demand Gen Report. "There is a greater opportunity to take advantage of ABM because today's technology makes it much less labor intensive."

To succeed at ABM, many savvy B2B marketers are relying on predictive analytics to focus on the accounts on their targeted list that are showing the highest propensity to buy. “The majority of ABM programs have a list of targeted accounts in the 500 to 2,000 range, so that is still a lot of activity that is hard to track manually,” said Heuer. “Predictive is the one thing that enables companies to scale their ABM efforts, something which was not possible even a few years ago.”

Demandbase, which offers an ABM platform, is using predictive tools to boost its own ABM strategy. “To accelerate our account-based marketing efforts, we required a scientific understanding of the highest value companies to target,” said Peter Isaacson, CMO of Demandbase. “By organizing our sales and marketing efforts around these high value accounts, we have better aligned our teams and significantly increased our pipeline.”

Using predictive tools from Lattice Engines, Demandbase identified the key characteristics of its closed accounts and late-stage pipeline. Armed with that data, the sales and marketing team then developed a list of target accounts. The result was a 75% increase in close rates and 72% increase in average selling price compared to accounts identified through traditional lead scoring tactics.

Demandbase measured the success of its ABM strategy using three metrics:

• Annual Contract Value (ACV);
• Close rate; and
• Funnel velocity (i.e., how quickly an account moved from MQL to close).

“Where predictive can help in ABM is looking beyond the firmographic and demographic data to really identify the buying intent data of that account,” Nipul Chokshi, Head of Product Marketing for Lattice Engines. “Predictive can zero in on intent data such as participation in forums on third-party networks or when members of a buying committee at a targeted company download syndicated white papers, attend webinars, view videos and click on ads.”

Using buyer intent data is a critical component of predicting which accounts are more likely to purchase, according to observers. “If you have an account in which for the past few weeks, multiple contacts have been researching a new phone system and downloading white papers about new phone systems, that not only tells you if they meet your buyer criteria, but it tells you they’re in the market now,” said Alison Murdock, VP of Marketing for 6sense.

CSC, a provider of IT products and services, is piloting a predictive platform in partnership with 6sense to identify new buying intent within its strategic accounts as well as new business opportunities. CSC uses models and digital buying signals to understand if a specific targeted account is showing increased interest in a particular solution area. The marketing and sales teams then work together on a coordinated approach.

“ABM isn’t a choice; it’s a necessity,” said Nick Panayi, Director of Global Brand and Digital Marketing at CSC. “We have to go to market in a focused, highly targeted way. Our products and solutions are quite sophisticated, and we support mission critical environments in large customers and governments.”

Predictive Helps Improve Messaging To Targeted Accounts

Panayi noted that the company also offers content recommendations to all website visitors based on their digital body language, but those recommendations are even more accurate for targeted accounts. “How well you can predict a buyer’s behavior is a direct function of what you know about them. When it comes to ABM accounts, we clearly know more about their content consumption habits and are able to make more accurate predictions about the content that will engage them.”

Overlaying predictive analytics with other attributes of successful accounts can help marketers further target their messaging. “This has helped many of our clients have more fact-based and relevant conversations with their targeted accounts,” said Lattice’s Chokshi.

Chokshi noted that one client, a tech consulting firm, has used predictive tools to identify target accounts that have had a recent change in IT leadership. The firm then developed specific content for those specific accounts.

In another client example, Chokshi said a storage device manufacturer determined that companies that have recently invested in content management systems are more likely to buy than companies with other characteristics. They targeted those accounts with use cases around the role of storage needs and content management.

The future of ABM will likely involve tighter integration with CRM, marketing automation and additional tools for more precise ad targeting.

“We’re very excited about additional integration with marketing automation and some of the new things we’re seeing and new things from LinkedIn to help with targeted ads,” said Jessica Cross, VP of Marketing for Fliptop. “Anything to make those connection points work more seamlessly will make it easier to succeed at account-based marketing.”