Is being data-driven a B2B growth inhibitor?

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Marketers need to double down on what’s working!

This is a popular statement. On the surface it is easy to agree with. Who wouldn't want to do more of what’s working and stop doing things that aren’t working.

Dig deeper though and there’s a flaw in the argument.

The right stuff invariably refers to tactics that can be measured weekly and monthly. The thinking seems to go: we can count it and link it to a high intent request therefore it is probably successful as a stand alone activity so we should do more and “double down”. We may even divert budget from other activities that are harder to measure.

The problem with this approach is that marketing efforts work together to make an impact and fuel business growth.

Brand Building and Direct Response have both been marketing disciplines for over a century. There is well-known research showing a balance of both Brand and Response in B2B is the formula for faster growth and reduced CAC over time.

The problem for many businesses is that they don’t measure brand so they don’t have any of their own data to show its effectiveness when combined with lead gen.

A vicious cycle where being “data-driven” is actually a growth inhibitor. You only see through the narrow peep hole and miss the broader view.

If growth, gaining market share and beating the competition are top priorities then investing the resource and effort to execute a whole marketing plan and to measure all the growth drivers makes good business sense.

It doesn’t have to be expensive but not doing it is very costly.

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