Chapter 1
Marketing as a strategic value driver
The role of marketing in B2B organisations has evolved significantly beyond campaign execution and lead generation. Marketing leaders are increasingly taking central roles in business strategy and growth.
This shift is clearly articulated by Matti Vaininen, Marketing Director at LeadDesk: "The role of a marketing leader is evolving into more of a revenue operations or revenue management position. We're not just creating brand awareness or generating leads; we're integral to the entire revenue generation process."
Dan Mortimer from Nimble Approach highlights marketing's growing strategic importance: "There's been a gradual but noticeable shift toward recognising marketing as a strategic driver. It's increasingly seen not just as a cost but as a vital element for company growth. For example, if a company aims to grow by a certain percentage, that translates into needing a proportionate increase in leads---which squarely falls under marketing."
The role of a marketing leader is evolving into more of a revenue operations or revenue management position. We're not just creating brand awareness or generating leads; we're integral to the entire revenue generation process.
Matti Vaininen
Marketing Director at LeadDesk
This evolution requires new ways of working across the organisation. David Keene from Wipro describes their approach: "We've structured our measurement approach around three distinct areas. First, we focus on brand engagement metrics, covering both external brand perception and internal employee engagement. Second, we've moved beyond traditional MQL tracking to focus more on intent-based metrics and deeper funnel engagement with sales. The third area centres on sales enablement and pursuit support."
Hans Smans from AND Digital emphasises: "In today's B2B market, the key differentiator is how we apply technology to solve specific customer problems, not the technology itself. Our marketing team now focuses on gathering deep insights and matching them with our expertise, rather than simply promoting solutions."
Sharon Forder at Revop underscores the importance of alignment: "By aligning the organisation around a shared pipeline goal, you significantly reduce the friction concerning where leads come from."
This evolution is not without its challenges. Aaron Tanner from BlueOptima describes their journey: "This evolution was driven by the need for greater efficiency. We initially scaled through hiring, which led to a large outbound team, but we began to see diminishing returns in pipeline generation. We realised that scaling through headcount alone wasn't sustainable."
In today's B2B market, the key differentiator is how we apply technology to solve specific customer problems, not the technology itself. Our marketing team now focuses on gathering deep insights and matching them with our expertise, rather than simply promoting solutions.
Hans Smans
Head of UK Growth Marketing at AND Digital
This evolution in B2B marketing metrics signifies a move towards more sophisticated, nuanced measures of success. By shifting from individual lead-based metrics to comprehensive buying group engagement, marketers are better equipped to navigate the complexities of modern B2B sales cycles and demonstrate their value in driving business outcomes.
About 6sense
6sense is on a mission to revolutionise the way B2B organisations create revenue by predicting customers most likely to buy and recommending the best course of action to engage anonymous buying teams. 6sense Revenue AI is the only sales and marketing platform to unlock the ability to create, manage and convert high-quality pipeline to revenue. Customers report 2X increases in average contract value, 4X increases in win rate and 20-40% reduction in time to close deals. Know everything, do anything, with 6sense.