True partnerships substantially more likely to drive growth
A new study, "A Reinvention of B2B Marketing: The Impact of Partnership on Enterprise Growth," was released today that examines the partnership between sales and marketing within enterprise business-to-business (B2B) companies.
The study was conducted by strategic marketing and creative agency, Sparks Grove, a division of global consultancy North Highland; along with its research partner Econsultancy. The study found that companies that employ a true partnership in which there is joint contribution and accountability between sales and marketing are significantly more likely to enjoy sustainable success. However, greater than half of B2B organizations that believe they have taken steps toward partnership have actually failed to provide the necessary foundation for marketing to contribute meaningful growth.
"More than half of the B2B companies we surveyed voiced a commitment to reinventing marketing to adapt to a new environment. But we were surprised to find that a majority of companies have only made superficial changes," said Stefan Tornquist, Econsultancy's Vice President of research for the U.S.
"Many B2B organizations are talking about change; few are really realigning responsibilities and accountability to harness the full potential of sales and marketing to drive meaningful growth," continued Rob Sherrell, Vice President at Sparks Grove.
Four types of B2B organizations emerged in the study - sales led, marketing led, true partnerships and false partnerships - each defined by marketing's functional responsibilities and relationship with sales. Hallmarks of the four types include:
-- Marketing Led companies are often digitally and ecommerce-centric and
therefore charge marketing to drive all revenue, growth and lead
generation strategies.
-- Sales Led companies require marketing to support sales with brand and
lead generation but rarely give the department revenue responsibility or
a role in growth strategy and product direction.
-- False Partnership companies typically have some degree of alliance
between marketing and sales; however marketing generally has a minor
role in lead generation strategy and limited to no control over customer
experience and product development.
-- True Partnership companies enable marketing to have a significant role
in lead generation, have a shared revenue responsibility with sales and
possess a significant role in managing the customer experience and
product or service development.
"We believe the appropriate target and aspiration for the vast majority of B2B companies is the true partnership model. For some, it's easy to get caught up in the illusion of stability and merely dabbling in change, which is often a false partnership. Those that talk the talk and walk the walk with the evolution of their marketing function will see long-term success," said Sherrell.
Research statistics that define aspects of a true partnership vs. false partnerships include:
-- 40 percent more likely to be growing quickly compared to their false
partnership peers
-- Far more likely to own customer experience (60 percent vs. 25 percent)
-- More likely to own product development (70 percent vs. 31 percent)
-- Much more likely to own customer research and insights (76 percent vs.
50 percent)
-- Much more likely to actively embrace sales support rather than
downplaying those responsibilities (72 percent vs. 55 percent)
"Even many top B2B companies are still in the early days of understanding how marketing needs to evolve. The research points to true sales-marketing partnerships as the answer to revenue growth and business flexibility in the face of constant market and customer changes, but the path to defining this new role and transforming the organization isn't a straight line," said Tornquist.
