Marketers Urged to Adopt Goal-Oriented Approach to Data for Pipeline Growth
Marketers are facing increased pressure to achieve pipeline targets with tightened budgets. A new perspective suggests changing how data and marketing's role in driving pipeline are approached, moving beyond simply 'doing more.' Tessa Barron, formerly Senior Vice President of Marketing at ON24, proposes a framework that aligns goals with specific actions and focuses on key metrics. This approach emphasizes becoming goal-oriented rather than tactic-oriented, especially as consumer expectations and the marketing landscape have evolved post-pandemic.
Marketers are frequently challenged to achieve more with fewer resources, leading to a perceived contradiction between tightening budgets and expanding pipeline targets. A shift in perspective is advocated, focusing on how data is utilized and marketing's role in pipeline generation.
Tessa Barron, former Senior Vice President of Marketing at ON24, presented a framework on the Data-Driven Decisions podcast. Her approach centers on aligning marketing goals with specific actions and prioritizing metrics that directly contribute to achieving those objectives. This strategy suggests a move away from traditional, tactic-first methods.
Barron highlights that expectations for marketers, consumers, and audiences have significantly changed, particularly since the pandemic. She questions the effectiveness of continuing with the same marketing strategies employed years ago, suggesting that a lack of adaptation could hinder desired results. The emphasis is on evolving marketing practices to meet current demands.
Instead of planning marketing activities based on tactics, such as scheduling a certain number of webinars, Barron suggests starting with clear goals. An example provided is setting a target to reach a specific number of new accounts or achieve a percentage uplift in pipeline within a quarter. This goal-first approach then informs the selection of appropriate tactics, such as identifying content types that enhance conversion rates for initial meetings.
Barron refers to crucial data points as 'signals,' defining them as indicators that increase a buyer's likelihood of conversion. She states that too much data can become noise, making it essential to identify these key signals. Once signals are uncovered, marketers can design interactions, or 'traps,' to gather more insights.
ON24, for instance, offers over 20 ways to interact within a webinar, including polls, surveys, calls-to-action, and Q&A sessions. These features not only engage the audience but also provide valuable data on prospect behavior and preferences.
An example from an ON24 client, a technology company aiming to regain market share, illustrates this. The company discovered that customers using a particular cloud provider were ten times more likely to convert. Marketers then strategically used webinars to ask about cloud provider usage, directly identifying high-potential prospects.
According to Convince and Convert, this goal-oriented approach to marketing data encourages marketers to understand their audience's objectives and use those insights to inform strategic tactical decisions, ultimately driving pipeline growth.
