Market View
Beyond MQLs: Reframing success in B2B marketing
Sponsored by:
Produced by:
Liliana Osorio
Vice President of Marketing at Chattermill
Market View
Beyond MQLs: Reframing success in B2B marketing
Sponsored by:
Produced by:
Liliana Osorio
Vice President of Marketing at Chattermill
About Liliana Osorio
Liliana Osorio is the Vice President of Marketing at Chattermill, where she leads a dynamic team responsible for community engagement, content creation, product marketing, and brand. With over a decade of experience in B2B marketing, Liliana specialises in aligning marketing and sales strategies to drive growth. Her expertise lies in developing account-based marketing approaches, fostering community engagement, and leveraging data-driven insights to enhance customer experiences in the tech industry.
How do you approach account-based marketing at Chattermill, and what does your process for selecting target accounts look like?
Most of our efforts are concentrated on demand generation campaigns, which are closely aligned with our sales target accounts. For each industry we focus on, we maintain a list of target accounts and coordinate our inbound and outbound marketing strategies with sales efforts. This includes tailored advertising and outreach to specific sub-verticals within our broader target industries like retail, travel, finance, and subscription-based businesses.
Our target account selection process is rooted in our Ideal Customer Profile (ICP). We've defined our ICP by analysing past data, speaking with customer success managers, and reviewing where we've been most successful. We look at where we have the highest probability of winning and maintaining a presence within an account, as well as where we can embed ourselves across multiple use cases and teams.
For instance, within the travel sector, we evaluate whether hotels or airlines are more likely to engage with our product. Our target selection is based on where we have the highest likelihood of success. We also consider certain criteria like revenue and employee count to ensure potential clients are a good fit for our solutions.
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A demo request is the clearest intent signal we could ask for. We don't gate content on our website, allowing prospects to conduct their research and reach out when they're ready.
What strategies do you use to identify and act on intent signals from your target accounts?
We use various touchpoints across the customer journey to identify intent signals, both for potential buyers and existing customers. A demo request is the clearest intent signal we could ask for. We've found it more effective not to gate content on our website, allowing prospects to conduct their research independently and reach out when they're ready.
We've also launched an academy where people can attend courses, whether they're customers or not. Additionally, we host and annual summit and other inperson, smaller scale events that people can sign up for. Participation in these community events is another form of intent signal, and we track this engagement meticulously.
When we receive a strong intent signal, we employ what some might call 'account swarming'. For example, if we get a demo request from a company like British Airways, that's significant. We then ensure that all relevant contacts at British Airways are targeted with our marketing efforts. This approach allows us to capitalise on moments of high interest and engagement.
How do you align marketing and sales goals at Chattermill, and what impact has this had on your relationship with the sales team?
The key to our success has been aligning our goals around the pipeline rather than just leads. We don't differentiate whether leads come inbound or outbound; we monitor both, of course, but there's no competition between the two. We're focused on understanding what performs best and what drives our success.
This alignment has fostered a really good relationship with sales. We've moved away from setting specific targets for inbound or outbound leads, instead working towards a unified pipeline goal. This shift has significantly enhanced our collaboration.
Another crucial aspect is having clear, universally accepted criteria for what constitutes a high-quality lead. I was part of defining the sales qualification process for leads entering our pipeline, so I know precisely if they fit our ICP. Leads that don't match our ICP criteria undergo additional checks because we know those are harder to convert.
This clarity has eliminated issues like questioning why a lead wasn't followed up on or what happened to it. It's refreshing not to have those conversations anymore. The fact that we've all shifted towards focusing on accounts rather than just delivering leads has been tremendously beneficial in aligning our strategies and enhancing collaboration.
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We've moved away from setting specific targets for inbound or outbound leads, instead working towards a unified pipeline goal.
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We’re finding our way around measuring attribution. Mostly, we ask people how they heard about us. Even through a simple question like that, we get insights.
Can you describe your approach to attribution in marketing efforts, and how does this inform your overall strategy?
Attribution is hard and we’re finding what works best for us. One simple yet effective method we use is asking people directly how they heard about us. Even through this seems like a straightforward question, we gain valuable insights. For instance, someone might say, "I saw you on LinkedIn, then I noticed you sponsored a newsletter, and I was planning my 2025 projects, so I thought you might fit into the tender for next year."
This kind of feedback is invaluable—it shows that something in our approach is working and gives us a holistic view of the customer journey. We understand that the buying journey is extremely complex, with many touchpoints, and each touchpoint needs to provide the right information, with the right message, to the right person at the right time.
We're focusing on providing as many content assets as possible so people can do their research. We're also big on community engagement, measuring sign-ups for our events, attendance, webinar registrations, and overall community interaction. While it's challenging to attribute direct ROI to these activities, they are significant in building relationships and trust with potential customers.
This approach to attribution helps us respect the intelligence of B2B buyers. By the time they request a demo or raise their hand to have a conversation, we almost need to assume they have the education they need. They've got the knowledge, and now they're just checking what works for them, what doesn't. It's about respecting buyers and giving them the space in their own time to consume content and make informed decisions.
About Chattermill
Chattermill is a cutting-edge tech company that harnesses the power of technology to revolutionise customer experience and streamline business operations. Founded nine years ago, Chattermill operates with the agility and innovation of a startup, characterised by a small but powerful team and efficient resource utilisation. Their solutions empower businesses to gain deeper insights into customer feedback, driving improvements in product development, service delivery and overall customer experience.
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.
