PREDICTIONS

2016How will marketing and sales professionals become more data-driven in 2016?

For the past four years, we’ve connected with some of the leading minds in B2B marketing and sales to predict what’s next in B2B.

This year, we’ve brought together more than a dozen thought leaders, analysts and practitioners to gather predictions for the New Year and asked them one question:

How will marketing and sales professionals become more data-driven in 2016?From account-based marketing to virtual selling, we have just about everything covered! We hope you enjoy reading through these predictions.

Cheers to another great year! - The Lattice Team

@jonmiller

Jon MillerCEO and Co-Founder, Engagio

Data Will Drive ABM

The critical first step in account-based marketing is choosing your target accounts. But don’t just make a list – prioritize your accounts into tiers (perhaps Tier 1, Tier 2, and Tier 3). Then be sure to align the company around:• How much effort will go into accounts at each tier• How much revenue you expect to get from accounts at

each tier (and when)Without that alignment, ABM is doomed to fail.In 2016, we’ll see companies turn to data to drive this process. Instead of just asking reps for 20 target accounts, more companies will use technographics, engagement and intent data combined with predictive to align around the RIGHT accounts for each tier.

1

Data-driven marketing organizations are proficient at finding and nurturing net new customers through the sales funnel. However, 2016 will be the year that companies recognize the funnel doesn’t stop there anymore.Tomorrow’s marketing teams will continue nurturing and engaging with customers, to create happy advocates who are interested in increasing their usage. This will cause the traditional sales funnel to become a thing of the past and the bow tie funnel will come into prominence, as marketing becomes a key driver of customer success and advocacy.

@ShashiSF

Shashi UpadhyayCEO,Lattice Engines

Advent of the Bowtie Funnel2

@NipulC

Nipul ChokshiHead of Product Marketing, Lattice Engines

2016 is the year that the most sophisticated marketers will go from lead-based marketing to account-based marketing (ABM). Many marketers have attempted to implement ABM strategies in the past, but the right kinds of data and data-crunching algorithms necessary to scale it were missing. Now that this infrastructure is readily available (predictive analytics, big data collection, etc.), ABM will explode in 2016.

ABM goes Mainstream3

@draab

David RaabPrincipal, Raab Associates

2016 will see democratization of data science, as individual salespeople and front-line marketers are provided with direct access to useful information. This will happen as systems convert raw inputs into actionable outputs such as predictive model scores and offer recommendations. These will appear in end-user systems such as sales automation, marketing automation and websites. They will let people with no data-science skills take advantage of what real data scientists produce.

Democratization of Data Science4

How healthy is the sales pipeline? This is one of those eternal questions that sales leaders consistently ask sales operations leaders. The dilemma continues to be whether or not a sales rep’s intuition is better than the science (e.g. data analysis). The right answer is this: neither is better, but sales operations must utilize both to best understand the pipeline.Sales organizations must transition from using all of its data to analyze opportunities to understanding what is the right data and how can it be correlated to provide sales intelligence. This requires looking at opportunities with some distinction and defining opportunity types in order to support, influence and validate what the sales rep’s intuition is driving.

@MarkBLevinson

Mark B LevinsonService Director, SiriusDecisions

Pipeline Analysis: Data-Driven Intelligence5

@heinzmarketing

Matt HeinzPresident, Heinz Marketing Inc

Data-driven marketers will prioritize and leverage deeper segmentation based on target personas and buying stages, real-time modeling and scoring, and cross-channel integration of precise messages/content are becoming “need to have” requirements for marketing automation professionals. These won’t always come directly from the core platforms, which means the ecosystem of add-on tools will continue to deeper & diversify.Further, especially among account-based marketing programs, look for direct mail to make a big comeback over the next several months.

More Segmentation6

@sangramvajre

Sangram VajreCMO and Co-founder, Terminus

I believe marketers will finally get a grip on the way B2B needs to operate i.e. account-based. With using predictive technologies, companies can identify the right types of personas and accounts to go after but the main question they will need to answer is, what's next? Will we continue to email and call as we have been doing for past decade or will we challenge the status quo, and engage personas on their terms and influence the entire account as opposed to just one lead? The answer to this question will separate the leaders and followers in 2016.

Predictive Fuels ABM7

@Megan_Marie_T

Megan TonziDirector of Marketing, QuotaFactory

I feel that in 2016 marketing and sales professionals will find themselves having to evaluate and choose the 'right tools' that will allow them to become more data-driven and focused. Everyone wants a clear picture of their ROI however, there are numerous tools that claim they can paint the most accurate picture – the question is, are they able to do so within YOUR company's sales and marketing structure? One tool does not fit all organizations, so for 2016 it's going to be about finding the right partner to support and help you successfully implement a data-driven approach to your sales and marketing strategies. Research, evaluate and choose wisely!

Finding the Right Partner8

@BrennerMichael

Michael BrennerCEO, Marketing Insider Group

Do you know which marketing programs work and which don’t? In the age of ad blocking, DVRs and banner blindness, there will be a massive correction coming in the advertising market that will drive bigger budgets for (and expectations of) content marketing. This shift will require a real commitment to understanding the ROI of marketing overall.

The Year of Marketing ROI9

@megheuer

Megan HeuerVice President and Group Director,SiriusDecisions

In 2016, marketing and sales will be more focused than ever on what happens after customers buy, because they have to be: SiriusDecisions research shows customer experience, direct and indirect, is the biggest driver of purchase decisions in b-to-b. Experience is the most important differentiator for any company. New insights and analytics are required to fuel the post-sale experience engine, and 2016 is the year companies must make progress or risk losing out to those who build actionable customer knowledge faster.

Customer Experience Rules10

@b2bcmo

Jon Russo Founder, B2B Fusion

In 2016, an account-based marketing approach of execution and measurement becomes reality. While the marketing automation side of ABM plays catch up to industry needs, the combination of accurate data and correct global hierarchies enable marketing to drive more revenue. In the ABM model, marketers will continue to optimize sales/marketing business process to close more revenue.

The Reality of ABM11

I think marketers are going to look closer at how content is used in the sales process to evaluate ROI and effectiveness. So much of the analytics marketers monitor are tied to “top of the funnel” content interactions and their own channels – inbound, email, social, etc. But salespeople use and sharethe content that marketing creates as well, to engage buyers and advance sales conversations after a lead has been generated. Sales content effectiveness is typically a “black hole”, but I expect 2016 to be the year that more marketers use technology and analytics to better understand how content is used by salespeople, and paint an even clearer picture of the direct impact their content is having on closed deals.

@brencournoyer

Brendon CournoyerVP Corporate Marketing, Brainshark

Sales Content that Works12

@annekeseley

Anneke SeleyCEO and Founder, Reality Works Group & Coauthor "Sales 2.0"

As subject matter experts and consultants in inside sales design and implementation projects, we predict that in 2016, sophisticated data-driven and technology-enabled virtual selling organizations will continue to grow. More large companies will recognize that market share, margin and shareholder value goals can be achieved with stronger, re-imagined inside sales capabilities.

Virtual Selling to Grow13

@denispombriant

Denis PombriantManaging Principle, Beagle Research Group, LLC

They won't – It would be great if they'd begin using all of the information generated by the data (many are tardy) but I hope they'll stay out of the data weeds. It will start when more managers use analytics reports to tell them what's important and to stack rank opportunities and deals leaving reps with more field time and fewer meetings. In other words, it's time for practical application of the great stuff we already have.

Stay Out of the Weeds14

@markroberge

Mark RobergeCRO, HubSpot

More and more sales organizations will recognize that today's buyer is far more empowered by the Internet. The company elevator pitch, information on product features and highlighted case studies no longer cut it from a value-add perspective. The 2016 salesperson will transform their tactics by understanding the modern buyers' unique context and personalizing the entire sales process to their perspective.

The New Standard of Selling15

@CaitlinHelen650

Caitlin RidgeDirector of Communications, Lattice Engines

2016 will be the year that companies operationalize data collection and move beyond insights that sit in a data silo without being used. In 2016 companies will find ways to ensure insights are easily consumable by all teams, and information is put into action.  This will include different use cases like ad targeting, nurturing and better ROI for inbound, making sales more effective. It will no longer be enough to have a data point or predictive score. End users want to be given specific actions to take with that information.

Last Mile of Data16

@jgraymatter

Justin GrayCEO, Lead MD

In 2016, there’s going to be a good degree of consolidation from a technology perspective (both from M&A and tech stack partnerships) and it speaks to the need to create a highly process oriented engagement strategy with all of these critical tools optimized. That’s easier said than done so the #1 area I predict sees growth is investment and training in education for the marketing department. No other area will yield as high of a result. We are putting some very complex technology in front of today’s marketing departments and we are asking them to learn on the job and it’s costing hundreds of millions of dollars not only in time and materials but opportunity costs. 

Consolidation of the Stack17

@jtrondeau

Justin RondeauDirector of Optimization, Digital Marketer

Last year I was right about personalization becoming one of the big marketing buzzwords of 2015, but to be frank that’s all it became – a buzzword. Great personalization comes from advanced segmentation and clean data, something most companies don’t do well.I’ve noticed many small/medium sized businesses beginning to question the accuracy of their data sets and seek out data professionals or advanced training. In 2016, more businesses will seek out data professionals (consultants or technologies) as well as education (certification & accelerated learning) to ensure they have clean data sets to make better business decisions. 2016 will be a massive year for data education and certification to empower organizations to make the best data-driven business decisions.

Advanced Segmentation and Clean Data18

Lattice’s complete set of marketing and sales applications predicts who will buy, what they are likely to buy and when. As the market leader, Lattice’s proven applications combine billions of buying signals and apply advanced machine learning to help drive predictable marketing and sales performance. Companies of all sizes including Dell, Staples and SunTrust Bank use Lattice to deliver proven value, ultimately resulting in increased conversion rates and accelerated revenue growth. Lattice has headquarters in San Mateo, California.

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