You need strong B2B marketing analytics to give you a good view of your customers and drive future strategy. This information can give you a detailed look at client behavior and be used to increase customer lifetime value.
But using analytics for the important job of targeting buyers does have some challenges. We’ll look at ways intent intelligence and analytics give B2B marketing teams more insights for targeting, and how to put this to work.
B2B marketing analytics challenges
One of the main hurdles businesses face is data fragmentation. When customer data is scattered across multiple sources, it becomes difficult to gain a unified, accurate view of buyer insights. Incomplete data makes it nearly impossible to personalize services and craft standout experiences that truly resonate. This is where data and the human touch should come together.
Instead, unclear customer data leads to bad customer experiences, which damage the company’s reputation. Especially nowadays, word spreads faster than ever before. Customers share their reviews — and dissatisfactions — across the internet, social media, company websites and more. Just as poor experiences damage brand reputation, good experiences produce positive impacts, leading to sales and lifelong customers.
This matters especially now, because buyers are relying heavily on online research. A Winterberry Group study shows that 58% of customers report they are spending more time researching products and services online before making purchasing decisions. To complement that, Anteriad’s 2024 research showed that 69% of B2B marketers observed an increased amount of online research by buyers.
The bottom line is that with incomplete data, you can’t give buyers as good of an experience. By having B2B marketing analytics, you can make smart decisions that allow for better customer experiences and retention.
Best tactics for effective B2B marketing analytics
To get the most from data insights, consider these tactics and best practices:
- Consolidate and organize data – Use tools that collate data from different resources. This helps better identify trends and patterns in buyer opinion, pain points and requirements at various steps during the decision-making journey.
- Gather real-time data – Real-time data and customer insights make it possible to deliver customized messaging at the best time and touchpoints.
- Convert raw data into actionable insights – Raw data is only as beneficial as the knowledge you derive from it. Use solutions that simplify gathering viable insights from the data and then organize it to accelerate decision making.
- Offer consistent experience across channels – Today’s buyers interact with brands across various channels and touchpoints. Focus on building a consistent experience across all channels such as social media, video, email marketing and digital ads. Data can show you where your experience delivery might be slipping and causing visitors to bounce.
- Focus on people as individuals – Segmentation was once an important strategy, and while it can still prove to be useful, today’s customers expect to be treated as individuals. So how do you scale that in B2B? Customer-centric organizations can achieve this engaging personalization when they have an atomic-level view of in-market buyers. Intent data is the starting point, and a marketing cloud organizes and brings the data to you.
B2B data from multiple sources
Businesses gain a distinct edge from smart tools that accumulate data from different sources and deliver real-time insights. You’ll be better prepared to satisfy customer expectations at each step of the buying journey. Having the ability to pull data into an analytics platform helps B2B marketers correct and avoid poor experiences.
A wider scope for B2B marketing analytics
Today’s buyers are well-informed. They’re aware that companies gather data about them. As a result, customers expect a personalized approach from brands, and they also expect to receive relevant suggestions, information and offers from time to time.
B2B marketing analytics provides answers as to how to better meet buyer demands. The scope of the data and the analysis can incorporate customer insights, predictive modeling, and data management.
Perks of comprehensive B2B marketing analytics
The stronger the analytics about what happens on the buyer journey, the better the user experiences you deliver at each step. With B2B marketing analytics, you have insights to build and automate personalized interactions. Brands can push the right offers at the right time, tailoring customized journey experiences.
What happens when you adopt a more data-driven approach? Results like these come your way:
- Increased customer loyalty
- Increased customer retention rates
- Increased customer lifetime value
- Acknowledgment of customers in danger of churn
- Valuable insight of customers across various channels
- Proactive, customer-centric outlook
- Customized interactions with customers
- Engagement with customers in real-time
- Capture of actionable insights
Data-driven approach is a proven practice
The impact is clear—data-driven marketing backed by robust B2B marketing analytics can directly impacts key metrics like profit, sales growth, and return on investment. Companies that prioritize marketing analytics and foster a data-driven culture set themselves up for success now and in the long run.
By placing the customer at the heart of your B2B strategy and using comprehensive, well-designed analytics tools, you'll be equipped to captivate buyers with unparalleled experiences that keep them engaged for the long haul.
