B2B marketing analytics stand out as a dependable source for guidance and measuring return on investment. Some provide detailed views of client behavior and lead to actionable solutions 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 tool to work.

B2B Marketing Analytics Challenges

Most companies that gather and “stack” data in bulk eventually struggle with data fragmentation. Data fragmentation results in unclear data that doesn’t provide an accurate picture of buyer insights. Without a complete view, it’s hard to customize services and deliver the enhanced experiences buyers remember. This is where data and the human touch should come together.

Instead, unclear customer data leads to bad customer experiences, which damage  company reputation. Especially nowadays, word spreads faster than ever before. Customers share their reviews — and dissatisfactions — across the internet, social media, company websites and more. One study shows 95% of customers usually share a bad experience with at least one person and 54% share with at least five people. On top of that, research also shows that online reviews influence 88% of consumers and their purchasing decisions.

Just as poor experiences damage brand reputation, superior experiences produce positive impacts. Customers now place such importance on their experience that 86% are ready to pay more for a better one. In fact, a study shows that customer experience (CX) will surpass price, service and product as a key brand differentiator. That makes it worth investing in from a B2B standpoint.

The bottom line is that with incomplete data, buyers also suffer, as you continue delivering poor experiences that fail to live up to expectations. Hence it’s important to have marketing analytics 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:

• Dump unclear and incomplete 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 viable 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 to pull data into an analytics platform helps B2B marketers correct and avoid poor experiences.

A Wider Scope for B2B Marketing Analytics

Nowadays, 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

It’s proven that marketing analytics significantly drive value for brands that use them. Companies that extensively study client analytics are likely to outperform their competitors on key performance metrics, whether it’s profit, sales, growth, or marketing ROI. Organizations that aim for a culture that values data-driven decision-making yield more profits. The more senior management invests in marketing analytics, the more companies thrive.

By placing the customer at the center of your B2B strategy and using comprehensive, well-designed analytics tools, you can deliver the experiences that keep buyers engaged.

To know more about marketing analytics and customer insights you can read these articles: What Data-Driven Marketing Is and Why It’s So Effective and Discover 7 Ways To Get Inside The Mind Of Your Buyers.