A Revenue-Focused Approach - Full Circle Insights

S TATE O FB2B FULL-FUNNEL MEASUREMENTKey Strategies ForA Revenue-Focused ApproachTo Measuring EngagementAcross The Buying JourneySPONSORED BYSPECIAL REPORT

IntroductionB2B marketers are increasinglyexpected to prove the impact of theirinitiatives. And that impact is rapidlybeing judged not only in thenumber of leads or click-throughs, butthrough engagement and real-worldrevenue. To address this reality, industryexperts state that marketing teams atleading B2B companies are shiftingtheir measurement approach to focusmore specifically on factors such aschannel influence, buying stage andspecific account activity.“In parallel to deployment of newsystems, there has been pressure formore revenue analysis,” said DavidRaab, Founder and Principal of themarketing technology consultancyRaab Associates. “It’s a new frustrationand desire from senior management.”But despite the growing desire fordeeper analysis and reporting, researchshows there is still a gap in the abilityto attribute marketing investmentsto revenue. Research from DemandGen Report’s inaugural Marketing2 State Of B2B Full-Funnel MeasurementMeasurement and AttributionSurvey Report shows that while 91%of B2B marketers say marketingmeasurement and reportingis a top priority for their organization,40% say their current abilities “needimprovement” or worse. Only13% said that they rank their currentmeasurement capabilitiesas “excellent.”Research shows that moving to amore revenue-focused measurementstrategy requires a reassessment ofKPIs between marketing and salesthat focuses on the full funnel, suchas account engagement, velocityand others. That same DGR studyshowed that marketers are beingasked to track activity by specificstages in the funnel (23%) and by thevelocity and progression betweenthose funnel stages (25%). Revenuefocused measurement also requiresan audit of the technology used toensure these metrics can be measuredeffectively across channels.“91% of B2Bmarketerssay marketingmeasurementand reportingis a top priorityfor thier currentabilities ‘needimprovement’ orworse.”- DGR MarketingMeasurementand AttributionSurvey Report

This special report will takean analytical look at how B2Borganizations are movingtowards enhancing their funnelmeasurement capabilities, including: How funnel-focused metricsare enabling marketers toeffectively tie buyer engagementand specific campaigns toearned revenue; The current gaps and hurdlesmarketers must overcome toachieve full-funnel measurement; Sophisticated new strategies andtools for gaining a holistic viewof a company’s sales funnel; and How early adopters such asMongoDB have developedcapabilities to measure ROIacross all channels.“In parallel todeployment ofnew systems,there has beenpressure formore revenueanalysis.”- David Raab,Raab Associates3 State Of B2B Full-Funnel Measurement

Full-Funnel MeasurementRequires Channel, AccountPerspectivesIndustry experts state that, traditionally,metrics are gathered from marketingautomation and CRM systems.However, those have been primarilyactivity-based and don’t provide theinsights marketers and executivesare looking for around budget spend,pipeline velocity and attributed revenueto marketing efforts.the best approach was to develophybrid funnel and attribution modelsto create an encompassing view ofall its marketing initiatives—from anaccount, channel and buyer stagelevel. Since its implementation, thisapproach has enabled the companyto attribute roughly 60% of its newdeals to marketing efforts.“MQLs and SQLs are crucial, but theydon’t provide the holistic view thatmarketers need to truly understand thebuyer and their path to purchase,”said Terry Flaherty, Senior ResearchDirector for Demand CreationStrategiesat SiriusDecisions. “The reason[buyers] are coming together isbecause they have a business needthey are trying to resolve.”The company initially adoptedSiriusDecisions’ traditional DemandGeneration Waterfall, but theconstantly changing buyer landscapecreated gaps and pain points that hadto be alleviated for both sales andmarketing to work effectively.“There are often multiple demandunits in B2B companies,” said Flaherty.“But the key is that we are lookingholistically at this group of people,instead of solely on the individuals.”For MongoDB, the open-source andcross-platform database company,4 State Of B2B Full-Funnel Measurement“We have really strongalignment between our marketingand sales teams—from theexecutives down throughout theorganization,” said Ryan Schwartz,Senior Director of MarketingTechnology and Strategyat MongoDB. “That made it easy for usto identify where our pain pointswere and where there weregaps in our funnel.”“MQLs andSQLs arecrucial, but theydon’t providethe holistic viewthat marketersneed to trulyunderstandthe buyer andtheir path topurchase.”- Terry Flaherty,SiriusDecisions

The company also developed threeseparate attribution models designedto be layered on top of one another toprovide deeper insight into marketingefforts. The models include: The traditional contact attributionmodels provided within thecompany’s Salesforce CRM;A campaign influence model thatidentifies how campaigns impactindividual lead engagement; andAn account model to help validatehow campaigns are influencingaccount engagement vs.individual engagement.5 State Of B2B Full-Funnel MeasurementSchwartz added that having thesethree models together helps “makecontent and campaign optimizationmore refined by offering [themarketing team] different lenses forthe entire sales funnel.”At the end of every quarter,Schwartz’s team can complete a fullcampaign analysis leveraging insightfrom all its models.“We look at budget spent oncampaigns and compare campaignswith one another,” said Schwartz.“With that, we make decisions—thisworks, this is what we cando for optimization.”“[Alignment]made it easy forus to identifywhere our painpoints were andwhere therewere gaps in ourfunnel.”- Ryan Schwartz,MongoDB

Expand Technology & SkillsFor Better RevenuePerformance AnalysisUnderstanding and positioning yourmarketing team to effectively measurethe entire sales funnel—andcustomer journey—has its challenges: Blind spots in the funnel.With marketing automation and aCRM, “A lot of the data was activitybased, so it makes sense thatpeople would be looking toanswer the attribution problemsince none of those metricseasily attribute effort to bottom-lineresults,” said Raab. “There is newfrustration and desire from seniormanagement for revenue analysis.”Process and KPI alignment.“Historically there has been thatline of demarcation betweenmarketing and sales,” saidBrian Hansford, VP of the B2BDemand Generation and MarketingTechnology practice at HeinzMarketing. “The problemis that it disconnects data flowand accountability.”6 State Of B2B Full-Funnel MeasurementTo address these concerns, expertspoint out that there is a need togrow skills and expand technologystacks to analyze budgetperformance and where programsare working—and not working—at all stages of the funnel. “Moreadvanced companies use morethan one solution to measure overallrevenue importance,” said Hansford.MongoDB has more than 20different point solutions within itstech stack and uses a handful ofsolutions specifically for funnelmeasurement and attribution. Thesesolutions helped alleviate some ofthe company’s challenges caused byhow its specific buyers behaved.Schwartz noted that it was difficultearly on for his team to analyzemultiple trips within the funnel fromthe same buyer without overwritinginsights from the contact’s previoustrips down the funnel. He leveragedFull Circle Insights—which was built“Historicallythere has beenthat line ofdemarcationbetweenmarketingand sales.The problemis that itdisconnectsdata flow andaccountability.”- Brian Hansford,Heinz Marketing

on top of the company’s SalesforceCRM— to effectively measure aprospective buyer’s journey throughthe sales funnel while preventingconfusion. It also helped clearly definehow leads are sourced, allowing for noengagement data to be missed.“Regardless of what created the lead,the campaign that led them into thefunnel is considered our funnel source,”Schwartz said.MongoDB also uses Bizible as its toolfor channel attribution. For specific7 State Of B2B Full-Funnel Measurementcampaigns or products, for example,the solution helps Schwartz’steam identify what channels aredriving registrations and how manytouchpoints it takes for contacts toenter the funnel.“It was very difficult to identify theeffectiveness of channels such asorganic search,” said Schwartz.“The potential for more effectiveoptimization is much greaterwith insight into specific channels.We can now measure, in dollars,which channels sourced revenue.”“The potentialfor moreeffectiveoptimization ismuch greaterwith insightinto specificchannels.”- Ryan Schwartz,MongoDB

Marketers Use Sales FunnelAnd Buyer Stages Jointly ToIdentify GapsAnother common—and potentiallyhindering—misconception is the ideathat the sales funnel and buyer’sjourney are one in the same.said that marketers can be moreprecise aligning their buyer stageswith their funnel, enabling for quickertroubleshooting during campaigns.“We always caution that the buyer’sjourney and the sales funnel arenot synchronized,” said SiriusDecisions’Flaherty. “We can look at data andmetrics to try and diagnose howengaging we are in the buying process,then we start to make educatedassumptions of the buying journey. It’sa mistake to only look at oneor the other.”“If I can tell that I’m having a hardtime at set points in the funnel,it’s going to allow me to focus on thepart of the buying journey associatedwith that,” said Graber. “Let’s sayI consistently catch the attention ofmultiple people within a buying groupbut can’t get them to move on to thenext part of the process with sales.If I can identify that, I can work tocreate content and messaging thathelps strengthen that particular area.”Ross Graber, Marketing OperationsResearch Director at SiriusDecisions,8 State Of B2B Full-Funnel Measurement“We alwayscaution thatthe buyer’sjourney andthe salesfunnel are notsynchronized.”- Terry Flaherty,SiriusDecisions