More Related Content Similar to B2B Personalization—How to Deliver Custom Experiences to Buyers (20) B2B Personalization—How to Deliver Custom Experiences to Buyers1. © 2017 eMarketer Inc.
Made possible by
B2B Personalization: How to Deliver
Custom Experiences to Buyers
Jillian Ryan
Analyst
April 6, 2017
2. © 2017 eMarketer Inc.
Today’s agenda
The journey to personalized marketing in B2B
Buyers want personalization and marketers try to deliver
Using data to know your target buyers and accounts
Making website and content personalization work
Beyond your website—personalization across channels
B2B personalization and the future
5. © 2017 eMarketer Inc.
What’s wrong with mass marketing?
“The problem is companies are still just
blasting to people without knowing
whether they are in their target
audience or who they are and what
they want/need. That doesn’t work. All of
the messages delivered should be very
personalized to your company, your industry. It
should be relevant.”
—Adam Schoenfeld, CEO and Co-Founder, Siftrock
6. © 2017 eMarketer Inc.
Personalization’s impact on the B2B funnel
A high volume of leads
is needed at the top of the
funnel to generate and
maintain a strong pipeline
A lesser volume of leads
is needed at the top since
better targeting results in
higher conversions
7. © 2017 eMarketer Inc.
Personas can help with relevancy
“Personas are a step in
the right direction. We
try to get that down to four or
five groups so that we
understand how they seek
information and how they
digest it.”
—Scott Gillum, President and
Channel Marketing Practice
Leader, gyro
8. © 2017 eMarketer Inc.
Segments can provide more tailored targeting
“B2Bs are personalizing
communications to the
segment. A simple
segmentation that’s very common
in B2B: a technical buyer vs. a
business buyer. We personalize to
the individual with their name, but
each segment gets a message
tailored to their role.”
—Ruth Stevens, President, eMarketing
Strategy
9. © 2017 eMarketer Inc.
But is there a distinction between segmentation
and personalization?
“Some B2Bs think they are doing personalization,
when really they’re just doing the same
segmentation that marketers have always done.
But what’s exciting about personalization is the
data that’s available now allows much
more customized experiences that are
getting to the level of potentially one-to-
one personalized experiences.”
—Chris Goward, Founder and CEO, WiderFunnel
10. © 2017 eMarketer Inc.
Buyers Want
Personalization and
Marketers Try to Deliver
11. © 2017 eMarketer Inc.
Buyers of all generations appreciate
personalized communications
Technology buyers who find personalized communications valuable:
Younger Millennials: 78%
Older Millennials: 73%
Gen Xers: 68%
Source: LinkedIn, March 2017
12. © 2017 eMarketer Inc.
Buyers want to know: ‘What’s in it for me?’
94%
of B2B buyers chose the winning
vendor because the company
demonstrated a stronger knowledge
of their needs
Source: Demand Gen Report, June 2016
B2Bs demonstrate this
knowledge through
personalization, on two
levels:
– Tailored to the individual
buyer/prospect
– Developed for a specific
account/company
13. © 2017 eMarketer Inc.
Buyers want content and web experiences that
are tailored to their company
69%of B2B buyers said relevant
content that speaks directly to
their company was important
when conducting vendor
research
45%of B2B buyers want a relevant
website experience that
speaks directly to their
company or industry
Source: Demand Gen Report, June 2016
14. © 2017 eMarketer Inc.
For B2Bs, website personalization is not widely
adopted
Less than 30%
of US B2B
marketers
currently use
website
personalization
technology
15. © 2017 eMarketer Inc.
Personalizing content it still a fairly new
marketing approach …
More than half of
US marketers
have been
personalizing
content for two
years or less
Only 18% have
been executing
this approach for
five or more years
16. © 2017 eMarketer Inc.
… and marketers face many hurdles to delivering
personalized content
59% of marketers
don’t personalize
content because they
don’t have the
technology, bandwidth
and resources
53% cite a lack of
needed data and 28%
say it is too difficult
18. © 2017 eMarketer Inc.
B2Bs are embracing big data and analytics
70%of B2B marketers worldwide
use big data, historical
information and predictive
analytics to improve marketing
effectiveness
38%of B2B marketers worldwide
think a key benefit of
marketing analytics is
identifying precise
customer needs
Source: Progress, March 2016 Source: Regalix, April 2016
19. © 2017 eMarketer Inc.
B2B marketers use multiple methods to learn
about target audiences
Around half use
website analysis,
keyword search,
employee feedback and
competitive analysis
Used less frequently
are database analysis
and auditing existing
buyer data
20. © 2017 eMarketer Inc.
Other data sources are varied
Again, website analytics
is a top source, as is
social media metrics
Data from customer
service records and
customer surveys were
used by less than half
CRM systems and third-
party databases are
used less frequently
21. © 2017 eMarketer Inc.
Data provides insight, enabling personalization
Marketers use data to
determine:
– Who the prospect is and their role
in the organization
– What business pain points and
problems that prospect has
– How to position your product or
service as a helpful solution
– When to speak directly to them
with that message
22. © 2017 eMarketer Inc.
Descriptive and behavioral data are key data
tactics used by marketers for personalization
41% use
descriptive data
– Basic demographic information
about who the buyer is
– Includes the prospect’s name,
title, company name, location,
email address, telephone
number and more
39% use
behavioral data
– Provides information about the
buyer’s interactions with marketing
materials
– Includes what pieces of content
were downloaded, how many
emails were opened, what was
clicked on the website and more
Source: Demand Metric, February 2016
23. © 2017 eMarketer Inc.
Understanding a buyer’s intent helps create
personalized messaging
“If we can understand their needs and interests,
especially if we already have a relationship with them, then
we can understand better where they are in the
buying process. Next we can come up with
messages that are designed to move them to
the next level, closer to where we want them to go. That
is where the communications creativity comes in.”
—Ruth Stevens, eMarketing Strategy
24. © 2017 eMarketer Inc.
Descriptive data isn’t always reliable
“The problem is job titles vary greatly between
different organizations, and the decider within an
organization can also vary pretty widely. But if we
look at intent signifiers, these behavioral
pieces of data are so much more
valuable. They really answer the questions that
help B2Bs get better acquisition.”
—Justin Adler, Director, Product and Marketing,
SourceKnowledge
(Editor’s Note: Alder is now Head of Operations at Ferst Digital)
25. © 2017 eMarketer Inc.
Combining data sources to fine-tune the target
audience
“We stay away from third-party data sources to
know that we’re reaching the core audience. It is a
combination from their CRM, lead generation, data
management platform or from a core niche site. We
use analytics to validate the audience with
intent signals, like the target’s activity on
the site or engagement with the content,
to ensure that the audience is right.”
—Whitney Powell, Media Director, DWA
26. © 2017 eMarketer Inc.
Starting at the account level and developing a
personalized communication strategy
“It usually starts off by account identification and
industry characteristics. Then we build a profile
through LinkedIn and HubSpot data to
understand who and what we know inside
of the account. After, we can start to fine-tune
messages based on their actions.”
—Peter Middleton, Vice President, North America, Comptel
27. © 2017 eMarketer Inc.
Consumer data isn’t off limits, either
Weight Watchers, a client of Stirista,
uses consumer data to supplement its
B2B database.
To sell its corporate wellness program,
WW sought out C-level execs with an
interest in health and fitness.
Merging these lifestyle attributes with
B2B buyer profiles, WW engaged
prospects with personalized
communications tailored to their
personal interests.
28. © 2017 eMarketer Inc.
Staying focused on relevancy is key for
personalized messages
“A personalization messaging strategy
has to start from the core, most
important value proposition for my
buyers. B2Bs must use relevant data
points and not focus on fluff around the edges.
Then you can test and validate whether that
different approach matters to those different
buyers.”
—Chris Goward, WiderFunnel
29. © 2017 eMarketer Inc.
The union of data analytics and creative
messaging is key
“Leveraging data analytics and relevant
creative communications are necessary.
You may have amazing technology and data, but if
you don’t actually create a good experience and
message behind that is relevant, you won’t be
successful in personalization. And you may be
amazing at creative, but unless the message is data-
driven, it won’t work either.”
—Rishi Dave, CMO, Dun & Bradstreet
31. © 2017 eMarketer Inc.
Using marketing data for content personalization
is effective
51%
of US B2B marketers say content
personalization is the most
effectiveness use of marketing data
32. © 2017 eMarketer Inc.
Half of B2Bs who use website personalization
technology say it is effective
But 40% also say
they are not sure
whether the
technology is
effective, and 11%
believe it is not
33. © 2017 eMarketer Inc.
Machine learning allows websites to dynamically
personalize based on past actions
“A lot of the personalization we do for
the individual is based on behavior. So if
a buyer clicks something on the site, it responds
and shows them what they indicated they want to
see. Our navigation and content will reorder itself
based on their actions. This is
personalization very far up the funnel.”
—Stephanie Robotham, Vice President, Corporate
Marketing, Optimizely
34. © 2017 eMarketer Inc.
In advanced cases, content is personalized for
the target before it renders on the site
Only 17% of US
marketers are
personalizing
the vast
majority of their
content before
the target
audience sees it
35. © 2017 eMarketer Inc.
Producing and delivering personalized content in
real time
“We’re producing personalized content
and delivering it in real time. Essentially
within 300 milliseconds, we have to predict,
assemble content and dynamically
construct it based on the customer
profile. That’s how we deliver unique and
compelling experiences in an always-on
manner.”
—Todd Forsythe, Senior Vice President, Digital
Marketing, Dell
36. © 2017 eMarketer Inc.
Personalizing website content at the account
level before the audience views it
“Using IP-detection technology, we
personalize the website for 23 very
strategic accounts where the imagery
and content are altered before the
page loads. This is account personalization
that is designed to resonate.”
—Stephanie Robotham, Optimizely
37. © 2017 eMarketer Inc.
Personalized content is a pillar of account-based
marketing (ABM) strategies
49% 47%
of US B2B marketers deliver
personalized/custom content
for each account for ABM
currently use personalized
website content to deliver
targeted offers to their
ABM list
Source: Demand Gen Report, EverString and Domo, August 2016
90% plan to use in the future
39. © 2017 eMarketer Inc.
Email is a big piece of the personalization puzzle
60%use an email experience engine that
determines which individuals get which
emails and when
55%
use triggered emails based on site activity
Source: Monetate, December 2016
40. © 2017 eMarketer Inc.
B2B marketers are implementing behavior-based,
personalized email campaigns
40% 28%personalize their lead
nurturing program with a
series of emails determined
by the buyer’s actions and
interest
use demographic and
firmographic data to
implement behavior-based
email programs to support
personalization
Source: Dun & Bradstreet, December 2015Source: Salesforce Pardot and emedia, July 2016
41. © 2017 eMarketer Inc.
Improving email
personalization is
both a: significant
goal (43%) and
barrier to success
(39%) for email
marketing,
according to B2B
marketing decision-
makers worldwide
42. © 2017 eMarketer Inc.
B2Bs turn to advertising to deliver custom
experiences
69%use online targeting to alter digital experiences
based on behavioral attributes
57%
use demographic, technographic or other
static attributes
Source: Monetate, December 2016
43. © 2017 eMarketer Inc.
Programmatic advertising is an enabler of
personalization
“Programmatic provides the mechanisms for
B2Bs to be precise. It’s an opportunity for
advertisers to create more value for the single
decision-maker and the committee that
influences the decision to buy a product. Great
data allows programmatic to be one-to-
one marketing that is personalized to
the context and state of mind of the
decision-maker.”
—Bob Ray, Global CEO, DWA
44. © 2017 eMarketer Inc.
B2Bs can use lookalike models to execute
personalization
52%
of US B2B marketers currently use
lookalike targeting as a data-driven
advertising and marketing tactic
23% more
plan to do so in 2017
Source: Dun & Bradstreet and
Adweek BrandShare, September 2016
45. © 2017 eMarketer Inc.
Sales professionals also named personalization
as a Top 5 sales objective
37%
of sales professionals worldwide
want to provide the customer with a
more personalized experience
Source: Salesforce, August 2016
46. © 2017 eMarketer Inc.
The best personalization strategies work
seamlessly, across channels
“Personalization
should be
synchronized
across the touch
points wherever
buyers are. Often
that’s email, the website
and even ads on social.”
—Chris Goward,
WiderFunnel
“The hardest thing is
connecting with buyers
and getting their
attention. It’s got to be
a multichannel
approach,
personalized, and
contextual.”
—Tyler Lessard, Vice
President, Marketing, Vidyard
47. © 2017 eMarketer Inc.
Yes, even offline channels!
“When we think about personalization at Dun &
Bradstreet, no matter where that account
or buyer goes, whether it’s digitally or
offline at an event, we create a personal
experience for them. We have to understand
both interactions that a customer has with us,
whether it’s digital, it’s at an event or some other
way, and tie that data back into our systems.”
—Rishi Dave, Dun & Bradstreet
49. © 2017 eMarketer Inc.
Personalization is only just getting started
Just 6% of
marketers said their
implementation of
personalization
strategy was
advanced
56% say they are in
the process
The other 28% are
just starting out
50. © 2017 eMarketer Inc.
Dell’s journey to one-to-one is not far off
“We’re building an infrastructure stack as
part of a three-year journey, with the
ultimate goal of delivering one-to-one
personalized content across channels and
devices. Essentially, it’s a big data environment with
a machine-learning predictive engine that looks at
behavioral and purchase data, and then predicts the
next likely action programmatically.”
—Todd Forsythe, Dell
51. © 2017 eMarketer Inc.
Still, proceeding with caution is advisable
“Marketers assume that a personalized
experience will obviously get better
results for them, but it’s not always the
case. If marketers don’t take a rigorous approach
to it, they can actually waste a lot of their time.
Personalization should be approached at
the right stage in their evolution of their
marketing. If segmentation is still an issue,
personalization might be phase two or three in the
evolution of the approach to your messaging.”
—Chris Goward, WiderFunnel
52. © 2017 eMarketer Inc.
But personalization technologies might be the
future
45%of marketing executives worldwide think that personalization
technologies are a trend that will have the biggest impact on
marketing companies by 2020
Source: Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU), April 2016
53. © 2017 eMarketer Inc.
Let’s recap
For B2Bs, there are different types of custom marketing on
the road to true one-to-one personalization.
Buyers see the value in having tailored experiences and
content, and marketers are working to meet the demand.
Multiple descriptive and behavioral data sources are needed
for B2Bs to understand their target buyers and accounts,
and ultimately to craft relevant messages for them.
Dynamically personalized web experiences and content are
a major pillar of personalization, but marketers need to
think about delivering custom messages across all
touchpoints.
54. Ads that workThe retargeting and prospecting platform of choice
for more than 30,000 advertisers worldwide.
56. Your customer data is your
most valuable marketing asset
Advertise more effectively connecting your data.
Customer information AdRoll
helps you act on
Buyer intent
CRM data
Cross-device data
Customer data most
marketers act on
Demographic
Geographic
Vertical
57. Personalized Ads
High performing, auto-customized ads to accelerate lead pipeline movement
Target
Connect with key prospects &
discover new quality leads
Personalize
Nurture leads faster with precisely
tailored ads
Measure
Show pipeline impact and alignment in
your source of truth
CRM
Name: Joe Urbano
Company: Lemon Aid Cyber Security
Stage: Discovery
Title: VP of Marketing
Geo: N AMER - WEST
IntentMap
History: Multiple product pages
Events: Whitepaper downloaded
No demo signup
SIGN UP FOR A CUSTOM
DEMO
uses
to grow their customer base.
SIGN UP FOR A CUSTOM
DEMO
Over 25,000
VPs of Marketing
see results with
Learns what we’re all about:
Should Lemon Aid Cyber Security?
58. The AdRoll Suite
Maximize the value of your data + grow with AdRoll
Cross-device, cross-network reach
Increase your clients’ LTV with touch points throughout
their customer journey across devices and inventory
Deliver meaningful performance
Performance is in our DNA. Drive cost-effective leads that
deliver better customers and more revenue with our
performance-focused technology
Industry specific guidance & experience
10 years experience in performance marketing for top B2B
brands. Expert B2B Account Management.
Target
Personalize
Measure
PROSPECTING
Analyze
Identify
Attract
RETARGETING
Nurture
Convert
Grow
WEBSITE DATA + CRM DATA
59. © 2017 eMarketer Inc.
Learn more about digital marketing with an
eMarketer corporate subscription
Around 200 eMarketer reports are published
each year. Here are some recent reports you
may be interested in:
Q&A Session
Made possible by
You will receive an email
tomorrow with a link to view the
deck and webinar recording.
To learn more: www.emarketer.com/products
800-405-0844 or webinars@emarketer.com
Jillian Ryan
Analyst
B2B Personalization: How to
Deliver Custom Experiences to
Buyers
Personalization in Retail: The Latest Trends and Challenges
Marketing Technology 2017: Putting Customer Data at the Center
Best Practices for Consumer Privacy and Personal Data:
Maximizing Value Without Getting Creepy
Customer Acquisition in the US: A Focus on Data, Audience and
Lifetime Value
At B2Bs, Account-Based Marketing Trends Upward as
Technology Plays Bigger Role