Market View
Beyond MQLs: Reframing success in B2B marketing
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Produced by:
Gabi Warren
Chief Marketing Officer at Puzzel
About Gabi Warren
Gabi Warren is the Chief Marketing Officer at Puzzel, a leading provider of omni-channel contact centre solutions. With a focus on transforming marketing strategies, Gabi is committed to driving innovation and preparing Puzzel for the future. Her expertise lies in aligning marketing with business objectives and leveraging data-driven insights to deliver measurable results.
How is the shift towards account-based marketing (ABM) in B2B influencing the way marketing metrics are assessed, and what changes have you observed?
Yes, I am noticing a significant shift toward ABM. However, I often find that when people refer to ABM, they don't fully grasp its meaning. They view account-based marketing as a cure-all that will resolve all marketing challenges. The issue arises when ABM is applied to outdated marketing metrics, such as MQLs and SQLs, and yet, there's an expectation for radically different results. For ABM to be effective, and to progress towards account-based experiences (ABX), there needs to be a transformation not just in how marketing is measured, but also in how marketing aligns with other departments within the organisation, such as sales for new business, account management, and even account success. This alignment is crucial for nurturing existing accounts and understanding who the buying groups are and how they engage.
Ultimately, for ABM to succeed, it's crucial to focus on identifying buying groups, recognize which accounts are currently in the market, understand how many are engaged based on their intent signals, and reassess conversion metrics to evaluate how many of these engagements are actually turning into opportunities, not just from a single source. It's about positioning yourself not just as a leader within the marketing department, but as a strategic leader within the entire organisation.
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For ABM to be effective, and to progress towards account-based experiences (ABX), there needs to be a transformation not just in how marketing is measured, but also in how marketing aligns with other departments within the organisation.
What are currently the top three key performance indicators that marketing is measured on in your organisation today?
Currently, my organisation is in a transition phase. We're owned by a private equity firm, and typically, private equity firms aim to standardise reporting formats across their portfolio companies to simplify their oversight. They are keen to assess our performance, specifically looking at the number and value of the opportunities we generate, which has become our most crucial metric. However, they also inquire about the lagging indicators, such as SQLs and MQLs, and what those metrics reveal about our performance.
But I argue that those aren't the metrics we should focus on. We need to shift our attention to whether the opportunities are coming from the right accounts, the number of people we are engaging within those accounts, and the developments leading up to these engagements. We're not quite there yet, but we are in a phase where we plan to revolutionise our approach, likely in the next quarter or so. As a CMO, I elevate my role beyond just meeting MQL targets by positioning myself as a strategic leader integral to achieving the company's overall goals. I do this by mastering the business intricacies and communicating this expertise to the board.
As a CEO, what metrics would you use to measure marketing's impact on new business revenue, and why?
If I were in my CEO's shoes, I would move away from the traditional funnel metrics because they tend to promote transactional behaviour in marketing rather than strategic and substantive contributions to the pipeline and business results. One critical metric we've discussed is understanding with certainty who in our Total Addressable Market (TAM) is actively looking for solutions—have we reached them and are we in conversation with them?
We simplify the approach to calculating TAM by revisiting it quarterly and focusing on identifying accounts that are actively seeking solutions and have upcoming contract renewals or procurement phases. It's essential to involve the CFO as a key stakeholder in TAM discussions, as the CFO's projections and financial strategies are directly impacted by changes in TAM.
Another often overlooked metric is velocity. By focusing solely on accounts that are actively seeking solutions, we can increase velocity and enhance engagement with the right prospects at the right time. This focused approach allows us to not only expedite sales processes but also potentially increase the size of the deals, as we're addressing customer pain points more effectively and selling a comprehensive vision. Understanding the sales funnel in this way doesn't just accelerate sales; it also allows us to sell more.
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By focusing solely on accounts that are actively seeking solutions, we can increase velocity and enhance engagement with the right prospects at the right time.
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Gen AI is a technology that everyone wants to adopt, and it's crucial to take small steps, identify the right people within your team to handle specific tasks, and gradually scale up to more comprehensive use cases.
How is Gen AI transforming B2B marketing, and in what areas are you experimenting with it? What results have you seen so far?
GenAI has immense potential to enhance collaboration between sales and marketing. We can analyse early-stage sales conversations using AI to identify trends, common pain points, and segment insights into buying groups. This information can be relayed back to sales, informing them about ongoing conversations, identified trends, and relevant content. Our initial trials with Gen AI focused on content customization, tailoring content to specific buying groups within various verticals.
My goal is to advance our use of Gen AI into account intelligence and sales intelligence. For organisations moving away from outdated marketing methods, I advise working closely with sales and SDRs to gather detailed feedback and intelligence on target accounts. Gen AI is a technology everyone wants to adopt, and it's crucial to take small steps, identify the right people, and gradually scale up to comprehensive use cases.
About Puzzel
is a pioneering force in cloud-based contact centre solutions, empowering businesses to deliver exceptional customer experiences across multiple channels. With a user-friendly platform and a strong emphasis on innovation, Puzzel enables organisations to optimise their customer support operations and drive customer satisfaction.
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.
