About Carey Rooks
Carey Rooks is the Head of Brand Communication at SPT Labtech, a life science organisation that designs and manufactures automated instruments and consumables that transform the way scientists work. In this role, Carey oversees the branding and communication strategies of the company, catering to a diverse clientele ranging from small biotechs to large pharmaceutical companies. SPT Labtech is recognised for its precision and optimised technology, distinguishing it from larger competitors in the market.Carey's leadership has coincided with a significant period of transformation for the company, including several strategic acquisitions to broaden its product portfolio, significant product launches and its acquisition by EQT Private Equity.
How is your organisation adapting to the shift towards account-based marketing in B2B, and what are the key strategies you employ to foster deeper relationships with your most strategic customers?
We're certainly embracing the account-based approach, especially with our major clients. Our focus lies in understanding the genuine lifetime value of our customers, their adoption of our technologies, and fostering loyalty. We're striving to turn them into advocates within their organisations, which often operate as independent units within large conglomerates. This entails facilitating internal sharing mechanisms and tailoring our content and engagement efforts to resonate with their specific needs and preferences. Ultimately, our goal is to cultivate partnerships where our clients not only use our products but also publicly support and endorse our brand.
"Our focus lies in understanding the genuine lifetime value of our customers, their adoption of our technologies, and fostering loyalty."
"A key KPI for us revolves around attributing the value of opportunities to specific marketing sources."
Could you elaborate on the top Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) your team uses to measure marketing success, particularly in terms of attributing opportunities to marketing sources?
A key KPI for us revolves around attributing the value of opportunities to specific marketing sources. While this metric provides valuable insights, we're cognizant of its limitations in capturing the full journey of a lead from initial engagement to opportunity creation. Hence, we're actively collaborating with our sales counterparts to refine our attribution models and ensure a more holistic understanding of the factors influencing opportunity creation. This shift signifies a move away from traditional lead-based metrics towards a more comprehensive assessment of marketing's impact on revenue generation.
In your experience, what are the primary challenges in aligning sales and marketing functions, and how do you address these conflicts, particularly concerning short-term versus long-term objectives?
Aligning sales and marketing is undoubtedly a perennial challenge, rooted in the inherent differences between short-term sales targets and long-term marketing strategies. We recognise the need to balance these contrasting priorities, especially during product launches, where immediate sales goals often overshadow broader marketing objectives. To mitigate these conflicts, we foster open communication channels between the two functions and emphasise the shared goal of driving sustainable business growth. Additionally, we align our marketing efforts with overarching business and product strategies to ensure cohesion and synergy across the organisation.
"We recognise the need to balance these contrasting priorities, especially during product launches, where immediate sales goals often overshadow broader marketing objectives."
How does your organisation differentiate itself in the market, particularly in the face of competition from larger, more established players?
We embrace our role as disruptors rather than attempting to emulate larger competitors in the market. We leverage our agility and innovation to introduce groundbreaking technologies that challenge the status quo and encourage customers to adopt new ways of working. While our brand visibility may not match that of industry giants, we view this as an opportunity to carve out a distinct identity and attract customers who prioritise innovation and value over brand recognition alone.
What investments would you prioritise with an unlimited budget to enhance your B2B marketing efforts, particularly in terms of data optimisation and brand visibility?
With unlimited resources, I would prioritise investments in data optimisation to ensure seamless integration and accessibility across all departments. A cohesive data ecosystem would enable us to derive actionable insights, enhance sales and marketing alignment, and drive informed decision-making. Additionally, I would allocate significant funds towards bolstering our brand visibility through targeted marketing campaigns, strategic partnerships, and innovative initiatives that showcase our unique value proposition to prospective customers.
How do you foresee the role of generative AI evolving in B2B marketing, and what specific applications do you envision for your organisation in the near future?
Generative AI holds immense potential for streamlining content creation and optimising marketing strategies. While its current impact may be modest in our industry due to the complexity of our audience and content requirements, we're exploring its applications in areas such as content structuring and search engine optimisation. By leveraging AI-driven tools to augment our existing processes, we aim to enhance efficiency and productivity while maintaining the authenticity and credibility of our communications.
About SPT Labtech
SPT Labtech is a life sciences company specialising in the development and sale of automated laboratory equipment. The company serves a wide range of clients, from emerging biotech firms to established pharmaceutical giants, providing technologies that are essential for various laboratory tasks. Known for its precision and optimised solutions, SPT Labtech stands out in the competitive market for its innovative approach to liquid handling. The company has experienced significant growth and transformation, including acquisitions and expansion with a new leadership team and support from EQT Private Equity. SPT Labtech continues to be a pivotal player in advancing lab technologies and enhancing the efficiency of scientific research worldwide.
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.
6sense are changing the world of marketing, one customer advocacy programme at a time. Ready to transform your business?