New research sponsored by Folloze, the leading B2B personalized marketing platform, indicates that more than three-fourths (77%) of B2B sales and marketing professionals believe personalized marketing experiences make for better customer relationships. In addition, more than half (55%) of respondents to the national survey said marketing personalization leads to higher rates of sales conversions and future growth.
“As companies double down on Account Based Marketing, many are still struggling to achieve the level of personalization at scale that customers expect.”
Despite all these benefits, 42% of these professionals said their marketing efforts are not fully personalized. More than a third (39%) said their current personalized marketing strategy is only somewhat sophisticated, and 15% said that their personalized marketing strategy is not sophisticated at all. These personalization challenges may be attributed to technological competencies; specifically, 60% said they are not using AI or machine learning to personalize their marketing efforts. Meanwhile, more than a fifth (21%) of the survey group said their company does not use data on existing customers to personalize content designed to increase sales to them.
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“Today, Account Based Marketing practices are mainstream across most B2B enterprises. At the same time, research suggests that sales and marketing professionals understand the value of personalized marketing,” said Randy Brasche, VP of Marketing at Folloze. “As companies double down on Account Based Marketing, many are still struggling to achieve the level of personalization at scale that customers expect.”
The majority of the survey group of 205 sales and marketing professionals also noted the unique challenges of marketing personalization in business-to-business (B2B) environments. More than half (54%) of respondents said it’s harder to get personalization right in B2B than in business-to-consumer (B2C) marketing. More than half (51%) attributed that sentiment to the notion that it’s easier for B2C marketers to reach potential customers. More than a third (37%) said that’s because B2C marketers have better data. Almost a third (30%) said it’s because B2C marketers have better budgets. Nearly as many (28%) said it’s because B2C marketers are more digital.
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Survey participants also shared their opinions about what to avoid in sales and marketing outreach and how personalized email makes them feel. Sixty-six percent of the group emphasized the importance of carefully reviewing emails, saying that typos sabotage the effectiveness of email outreach. Nearly a fourth (23%) suggested that organizations should avoid using the word “urgent” in their email outreach. Meanwhile, nearly a third (31%) of the survey respondents said receiving a personalized email makes them feel interested. Nearly a fifth (18%) said getting a personalized email elicits a happy feeling, while 12% said the receipt of such an email makes them think someone “gets me.”
“These survey results paint an accurate picture of B2B marketers understanding the connection between growth and their personalized marketing competencies,” concluded Brasche. “Data-driven personalization combined with Account Based Marketing represents the new table stakes for every B2B marketing team. Ultimately, this survey is a good wake-up call for every marketing team to rethink their approach to personalization across every stage of the customer journey.”
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