AI in B2B-marketing

AI in B2B marketing: from tool to transformation

Despite the fact that we continue to be amazed by the possibilities of AI on a daily basis, the novelty has worn off a bit. AI (yes, Artificial Intelligence) is here to stay and is well on its way to fundamentally changing the marketing discipline as well.

What started with handy tools for content creation and automation is now developing into a gamechanger at a strategic level. However, many organisations still linger in the first phase. They ‘do something with AI’ and are already working somewhat more efficiently here and there, but they hardly utilise its strategic value. And that is where the key to success lies.

It’s high time to look beyond all the wonder and examine the adoption of AI in B2B marketing; the development from tool to transformation. How do you grow from ‘doing something with AI’ to ‘AI as a partner in the organisation’?

The first steps: practical, accessible, impactful

For many, ChatGPT was the first real introduction to AI. You began to find out what the answer was to your first question and marveled at the speed and accuracy of the result. Slowly but surely, you refine the prompts and become more creative and efficient with all the ‘cheat sheets.’ You quickly create content, analyse your environment, and write your plan. You now use AI as a creative sparring partner or to generate a first draft.

Lead scoring

Broadly in the organisation, the already older marketing automation is now assisted by AI. Where previously only automated emails were sent as a follow-up, leads are now tracked based on behavior and interest, and then linked to sales for personal interaction. Campaigns thus become not only more efficient but also more effective.

Chatbots as lead generators

In the past, the ‘customer service’ department was sometimes allowed to provide input when customer satisfaction was discussed. Nowadays, chatbots take over this role. Chatbots record questions, complaints, and provide answers. They meet the growing need of customers to find answers themselves. But it goes further with AI. AI-driven chatbots also identify and qualify leads through the conversations they have. Thus, they are increasingly playing a prominent role in enhancing customer engagement and in the sales process.

From efficiency to strategy

AI systems learn independently from data and base their decisions or suggestions on it. In marketing, this mainly means: working smarter and more efficiently using technology that supports you in the analysis, creation, automation, and optimisation. Our creativity increases as we better understand the role AI can play in existing often operational and tactical aspects but also in new more strategic applications.

The next step: AI as a partner at a strategic level

The power of AI at the strategic marketing level lies primarily in its predictive value. Deeper insights based on data allow the marketing focus to shift from reacting to proactively taking the important first step. This proactivity can soon provide a significant competitive advantage in the market.

Predictive analytics

Predicting customer behavior gives organisations the ability to optimise their strategy. Deeper insights into trends, purchase moments, triggers, counter arguments, and attitudes toward competitors provide valuable input for the company’s focus. It answers questions such as: where do we find new opportunities, what product adjustments are necessary, and how do we optimise our target communications.

Hyperpersonalisation

Personalisation has been a trend in B2C marketing for years, but in B2B it is becoming increasingly crucial. It is becoming the new norm. AI makes it possible to create hyper personalised experiences that align with the specific needs of each customer. For example, website content can be dynamically adjusted based on the behavior and preferences of individual customers. This significantly increases the relevance and effectiveness of marketing efforts.

Account Based Marketing

Account Based Marketing can be elevated by AI through providing in-depth insights into the needs and behavior of specific accounts or small segments. AI can help identify the most promising accounts by analysing data such as company size, industry, previous interactions, and buying behavior. This allows marketers to focus their efforts on specific accounts with the highest likelihood of conversion.

Transforming: adapting to the new reality

To make optimal use of all possibilities at a strategic level, structural changes will need to take place. AI will become an integral part of business operations in these cases. This not only requires attention to the technical integration between the various IT systems, but often also necessitates a new way of working and good, sometimes new, collaboration between different departments. This new way of working often relates to the shift from gut feeling to the use of data, and from reacting to what you see happening to acting based on predictions. Insights become broader and actions become more specific.

The result is a different discussion within the marketing ranks, with sales and with the board members: are the observations and predictions recognised, how do we deal with this, and what is the impact in the short and long term?

But even before implementation, cross-functional collaboration is necessary. AI will become a partner for everyone within the organisation, so think together about, among other things, the goal, the conditions, usage, implementation, impact, reporting, evaluation, and further development. It is therefore not just a topic for marketing and sales, but also for IT, Data Management, and even for the legal department and the board.

AI is shifting from a sideline to a necessity

The first steps are relatively straightforward. AI for content creation, optimisation, or automation delivers quick results, saves time, and helps you operate professionally with limited resources. Especially for the younger companies, this is a no-brainer: efficiency and effectiveness go hand in hand here.

But those who linger there miss the strategic acceleration.

The value of AI truly unfolds when it becomes intertwined with marketing and growth strategies. The next generation of successful small and larger companies is efficient, strongly data-driven, hyper-customer-focused, and agile. AI is no longer a sideline; it is the necessary partner in strategy and execution.

This calls for more than just tools: it requires vision, data-driven thinking and the courage to reorganise your organisation. From predictive analytics to hyper-targeted Account Based Marketing, from real-time customer insights to streamlining sales and marketing through AI-driven dashboards, the possibilities are overwhelming and already within reach.

The essence

Start small, think big. Don’t be discouraged by technical complexity, but let your growth goals guide you.

First, build a reliable foundation: ensure clear positioning, good data hygiene, and a solid marketing strategy. Set goals, experiment, measure the results, evaluate and improve. And don’t forget: AI brings clarity, deepens and accelerates, but human creativity and connection remain essential. Don’t take anything at face value, stay critical.

Then, it’s possible to elevate marketing efforts to a higher level and achieve sustainable growth. With AI as the turbo for growth.

Do you have ideas or questions about AI in B2B Marketing? Reach out at danny@do3l.nl and discover how marketing can drive your growth!

Marketing als groeimotor

Marketing as a growth engine for PE companies and scale-ups

The common ground between Private Equity (PE) portfolio companies and scale-ups is their immense ambition and potential for (continued) growth. In both cases, we often see unique products or services that have rapidly conquered the market or possess the ability to make life very difficult for competitors.

However, growth always comes with growing pains. So how can a scale-up maintain its rapid growth, or how can a PE-backed company accelerate its growth momentum?

The growing pain that calls for reflection

After hatching the golden product egg in the early phase, the first opportunistic steps are often taken quickly. The focus is primarily on product development and sales. And that makes perfect sense, before you know it, someone else will seize your market opportunity. “Full speed ahead!”

But if short-term success becomes more important than long-term planning, the next growing pain could cause serious challenges. What happens when the scale becomes too large, the growth curve flattens, competition catches up, or the initial market reaches saturation?

Reorienting to professionalise

At this point, the alarm bell should ring. It’s time to shake off the victory rush, wipe the sleep from your eyes, and refocus: where do we stand in the market, and how do we ensure long-term growth?

This next growth challenge often calls for sustainable scaling, (re)structuring of the organisation, formalising processes, optimising systems, and even reevaluating positioning in the (labor) market.

This step towards professionalisation requires a holistic approach, and often, specialised expertise.

Marketing as the foundation for sustainable growth

One of the key specialists who should finally step in, or rather, must step in, is the strategic marketer. Because strategic marketing is often overlooked in the ambitious early stages. After all, the primary focus has been on short-term results.

Strategic reorientation starts with almost existential questions such as:

  • What is our current position in the market?
  • How are technology, the economy, and society evolving?
  • Who is our target audience today?
  • Does our unique value proposition still align with market demand?
  • Should we expand or refine our portfolio?
  • Is our brand visible and recognisable?
  • Do we need to adjust our market narrative?

By answering these questions, a strong and indispensable marketing foundation is built.

From a well-defined strategy to solid execution

With a refined strategy, teams are often back on the same page. However, even when the narrative is clear and long-term goals are set, the question remains: is the organisation truly ready? New challenges arise:

– Aligning Marketing and Sales

A classic challenge, even in large organisations, is the disconnect between marketing and sales. Many companies keep these teams separate, leading to missed opportunities. PE firms and scale-ups focus on commercial growth, but that only happens when marketing and sales work together on lead generation and customer retention.

Optimising collaboration between marketing and sales creates a more effective commercial process. By setting shared goals and using joint tools like CRM systems, leads can be followed up more effectively and converted more efficiently.

– Scalability

Speaking of CRM, growth also requires marketing processes and systems to scale accordingly. This means investing in technology, adopting new processes, and ensuring the right talent is in place. A well-structured organisation with clear responsibilities and optimised processes enables marketing activities to scale seamlessly as the company grows.

Data-driven marketing

As growth accelerates, measurable results become essential, especially for PE firms. By linking marketing activities to data and KPIs, businesses can respond more effectively to market developments, run more efficient campaigns, and demonstrate how marketing contributes to revenue growth. Marketing isn’t a cost center, it’s a visible growth engine!

– Account-Based Marketing (ABM)

Now, companies can also dedicate time and resources to better serving existing customers through Account-Based Marketing (ABM). ABM requires strong collaboration between sales and marketing and demands patience. But when implemented effectively, it strengthens customer loyalty and increases up-sell and cross-sell opportunities.

New technology

Integrating new technologies like AI not only enhances efficiency but also improves effectiveness. Customer interactions can become more personalised, and marketing and sales campaigns can be executed with greater accuracy and ROI.

– Content marketing

With a short-term mindset, there’s often little time to build visibility and strengthen market positioning through business cases, blogs, research, and other forms of content. But with a solid marketing foundation, one that includes a professional strategy, structured processes, advanced systems, and the right talent, companies can communicate more effectively with their target audiences, building greater authority in the market.

The maturity phase begins!

And then, after strategic reorientation, establishing a marketing foundation, and implementing key growth accelerators, a major step has been taken towards maturity. The organisation scales up, and growth can now be self-directed e.g. new strategic partnerships can expand reach or enrich the proposition, and geographic expansion can increase market share.

The path is clear: PE-backed firms and scale-ups can move forward with confidence, working towards long-term, sustainable growth. It’s “Full speed ahead!” again.

 

Do you have ideas or questions about marketing as a growth engine for your PE firm or scale-up? Reach out at danny@do3l.nl and discover how marketing can drive your growth!

Marketing en Sales: kennis is koning

Marketing and sales: knowledge is king

Ideally, in every commercial organisation, sales and marketing work closely together. This is, of course, because both disciplines are entirely focused on “the customer.” The customer is key, always and in every organisation. And sales and marketing know the customer like no one else. Customer conversations, market research, and media are the most obvious sources of information, and all findings are shared with each other. This is how the best strategy, the best campaign, and the best customer interaction are created. Or is it…?

Consultative selling, a customer centric approach

Customers appreciate it when suppliers truly understand what matters to them. They don’t want to waste time on irrelevant questions, offers, or generic requests. Relevance and genuinely adding value as a supplier, that’s what customers find important. Good salespeople sense this intuitively. They know what concerns the customer, what the pain points and priorities are, and what the customer truly needs.

The power of great questions

Armed with the right answers, but especially with the right questions, a salesperson can pursue success. Good questions not only showcase the salesperson’s knowledge but also make discussions between the seller and the customer more relevant. They highlight where the selling organisation can add value because good advice is always appreciated. Bingo! The door is open, and the opportunity is created. Now it’s time to seize it.

The salesperson must do their homework and adapt quickly: What customer and market developments are occurring? What is their impact, and how can our products and services provide a solution for our customer?

Knowledge is King

Knowledge is the cornerstone of relevant customer conversations. It is also essential for effective market communications. After all, if the message misses the mark, no doors will open. This raises a challenging question: what is the common denominator that resonates with customers?

Gathering this knowledge can be done in several ways. Keeping up with periodic news across various media channels is almost a prerequisite, and extensive research from reputable institutes is readily available. However, one of the simplest and most obvious methods to uncover relevant market developments and priorities is through the customer, either directly or indirectly.

Collaboration

This is where marketing and sales come together. An indirect way to identify the broader common market denominators is by discussing trends and developments as a team. Together, they can determine which trends are the most relevant to focus on, aligning customer needs with the organisation’s products and services. This collaborative approach creates opportunities.

External sources complement this process well or can confirm that the team is on the right track. However, the most important of these external sources is, of course, the customer. Not only can the customer validate the direction, but they can also indicate which messages resonate and open doors. While customers share a lot online, don’t overlook the value of a direct conversation between marketing and the customer. For a customer, it can be highly beneficial to share how satisfied, or unsatisfied, they are. It’s a win-win for both sides.

Account Based Marketing

This knowledge benefits not only marketing but also sales, enabling both disciplines to thrive. The collaboration between the two isn’t limited to sharing market insights; it also provides valuable account-level insights. This brings us to the next element of their partnership: Account-Based Marketing (ABM).

ABM involves tailoring broader marketing activities specifically for individual accounts (1:1) and initiating new account-focused marketing and sales activities. The ultimate goal is, of course, to strengthen relationships with these customers and create new sales opportunities.

Commitment and ROI

Well-executed Account-Based Marketing (ABM) is highly appreciated by customers. They see themselves reflected in the personalised materials, feel understood, and do not waste time on irrelevant content or meaningless conversations. This approach pays off with new sales opportunities and an increased chance of success.

However, not every organisation is equipped to implement effective ABM. A successful ABM strategy, preceded by a realistic account plan, requires significant time investment and must be evaluated in terms of commitment and return on investment (ROI). Can sales and marketing jointly commit the time and resources necessary for tools that drive commercial success? What is the actual return from account-specific visuals, events, or reports?

Continuity

Depending on the ROI, the available time of the teams could also be allocated to a small, homogeneous group of clients (1:few). A key condition for both ABM approaches is continuity. The teams must have the perseverance to create a well-oiled process and eventually reap the rewards. Transitioning from account planning to a continuous flow of relevant materials can be quite challenging and requires considerable coordination.

Love-hate relationship

The need for perseverance often poses a challenge. When quick results are not achieved in either the streamlined process or the commercial successes, frustration and finger-pointing tend to arise. Marketing is frequently blamed for not delivering the right tools promptly, while sales is too preoccupied with short-term actions or fails to follow up with clients.

Sales and marketing often find themselves in a love-hate relationship. They recognise and appreciate the value the other brings, but misunderstandings about each other’s roles and priorities can sometimes hinder collaboration. Marketing is often seen as working in an “ivory tower,” while sales is perceived as being focused solely on short-term gains.

Knowledge of and about each other

Nevertheless, mutual alignment remains essential. Whether it concerns ABM at the account level or broader market campaigns, both teams are indispensable to each other. How often have we seen those sales meetings where a campaign is presented, only for sales to subtly point out that it won’t work because the message is irrelevant, the goals are unrealistic, or the follow-up plan is missing? And how frequently is a campaign poorly or insufficiently communicated internally, resulting in the customer learning about it before the account manager does?

Knowledge is King

Both teams must frequently collaborate closely to understand each other’s dynamics and keep one another continuously informed about developments at both the customer and market levels. This ensures that the sales team is well-prepared, and the campaigns are successful.

 

If you have any ideas or questions about fostering collaboration between marketing and sales, feel free to contact me at danny@do3l.nl

Marketing als profit center

Marketing as a real profit centre

In my years as a B2B marketer and later as a marketing manager, I consistently encountered several major misunderstandings and misconceptions about the role of B2B marketing. The most persistent ones are:

  • Marketing is just communications, greater visibility is the only goal.
  • Marketing is a cost center, the least the better.
  • Marketing just supports and is reactive, following the “you ask, we do” principle.
  • Marketing is not measurable, ROI remains unclear.

And that’s a shame. Not only does it limit the possibilities for marketers, but it also restricts the added value of marketing and therefore the success of the organisation. And in turn, this reinforces the misconceptions and misunderstandings!

Marketing doesn’t always easily claims the right place within the organisation. Here are a few guidelines to dispel those misunderstandings and demonstrate the value of this discipline.

“What is marketing, really?”

The role of marketing is very broad. I clearly remember a question from a management team with little to no experience with marketing, but who would now have to engage with it: “Before we dive into how we will implement marketing, could you explain: what is marketing, really?” At that moment, it was the best question that could be asked.

Kotler teaches us that marketing is everything related to creating value for the customer, utilising the full marketing mix, and ultimately leading to sales and strong customer relationships. Thinking from this perspective, the management team slowly realised that marketing is much more than just advertising and that it shouldn’t be confined to a separate room. It led to the realisation that marketing must be the hub of the wheel, collaborating with many different functions, including at board level.

What is succes?

It also became clear that marketing is much more than just communications, a misconception even with the larger companies and still to this day. Communications is just one of the levers that can be adjusted to contribute to ultimate success; it’s a part of the mix.

This is especially evident when we try to answer the question of what success entails. Is it the number of press releases placed, the number of CVs received, the number of website visitors, or the number of readers of a blog? Or is success achieved when we reach the entire subscriber base of a national newspaper? These are usually partial successes.

And then the circle slowly completes itself. What is that ultimate success, and who determines it? The success of marketing is primarily locked within the organisation’s commercial objectives: revenue, profit, market share, etc. Once these objectives are clear, the organisation, together with marketing, can start taking the next steps: which strategy will we use to achieve these goals, and how will we execute this strategy?

More questions

With the joint determination of objectives and the development of the strategy, the marketing train starts moving, and the team can demonstrate its added value. And sometimes this begins with basic questions, even for established players, such as: who buys our product or service, why, what does the competition do, how well does our target audience know us and our product or service, and what do they think of us?

With all the answers from models like the BCG matrix, SWOT, etc., marketing can then proactively, together with other functions, make tactical choices: which tools increase our visibility, which message do we use to inform the potential customer, and how do we convince the customer to take the desired next steps? This is when communications truly becomes important, but by this point, we have already covered a significant portion of the journey… communications, once again, as a part of marketing.

Marketing and sales

I’ve consciously mentioned collaboration with other functions. Marketing doesn’t sit behind a screen in a separate room or even in an ivory tower; marketing plays outside. Together with decision-makers, marketing can determine the commercial direction, and alongside the sales organisation, the team can determine how certain resources can be effectively utilised. Without the commitment of the sales or customer-facing teams, the chances of success are much smaller! And if questions still remain unanswered, the marketer may need to meet with the customer-facing team to address those questions directly. How cool is that? And how unfortunate is it to see that even in larger organisations, marketing is still kept in-house?

The real added value of the profession doesn’t lie in ordering post-its, pens, and small gifts, or in creating brochures or executing ad-hoc brainstorming requests, the so-called “you ask, we do” principle. Marketing listens well, but if isolated requests don’t contribute to the ultimate goal, marketing wastes precious time and money.

Marketing as a profit center

It’s well-known that marketing is often the first to be blamed when results fall short. Marketing only costs money, right? But what about counter-cyclism? What about the essential groundwork that paves the way to success? Isn’t it marketing that asks the right questions and helps determine where investments should or should not be made? What contributes to the business objectives? If you let go of the hub, the focus is lost, and you inevitably fall back into the “you ask, we do” principle. And that brings you hardly anything.

Marketing can thus contribute broadly to commercial success. And it should be held accountable for that. Once the objectives and targets for sales are clear, why doesn’t marketing have the same or comparable objectives and targets? This makes it quickly clear where successes are achieved, and the team will be more aligned. Not only does this make the ROI for marketing easier to calculate, but it also rewards the success of marketing based on final outcomes, not just partial successes like the number of website visitors or newsletter subscribers.

Not ideal

The ideal world doesn’t exist. Companies that have given marketing the right place and role within the organisation are still in the minority. Therefore, it doesn’t hurt to continue spreading the word: marketing is a profession and a broad discipline that can proactively, alongside many other functions, contribute significantly to success, even (or perhaps especially) when results are not as expected!

 

If you have ideas or questions about marketing as a profit center, feel free to reach out to me at danny@do3l.nl

Het snelgroeiende doolhof van B2B Marketing

The difficult maze of B2B Marketing

Where a single path once sufficed to reach your destination, modern marketing requires constant recalibration to avoid stumbling into the complexities of the field. Increasing digitalisation, shifting customer needs, and evolving regulations have added numerous routes and obstacles. What does it take to make the right choices and find the road to success?

Understanding changing customer needs

The foundation of marketing lies in understanding the market and the customer. When the right questions are asked and the answers are clear, marketers can begin to fine-tune the relevant levers of the marketing mix. At this foundational level, the process for exploring B2C and B2B audiences is remarkably similar.

B2C as an example

Diving deeper into target audiences reveals key differences. B2C purchase decisions are often quicker and driven by impulse and emotion. In contrast, B2B decisions involve more stakeholders, emphasise relationship management, and heavily weigh rational factors like ROI.

However, the B2B landscape is evolving, with customer needs and expectations increasingly mirroring those of B2C. Recognising and understanding this shift is crucial—good B2C practices can provide a roadmap for addressing these changes.

Familiar trends in B2B

The changes we see are familiar: faster and simpler processes, personalisation and direct relevance, digital and sustainable solutions, more demand for enhanced self-service and customer support. The big question for marketers is: how do we tackle these changes effectively?

The role of digital experience

The most talked-about development in marketing is undoubtedly the use of technology. AI, machine learning, big data/analytics, and automation are now indispensable in the current landscape. These tools unlock faster, simpler, more personalised, and relevant interactions with the evolving B2B customer.

Applications

Digital tools have long enabled features like online purchasing, product comparisons, and automated customer support. However, areas like personalised content delivery still have room for growth.

While marketing automation already offers personalised outreach, there’s a broader potential. For instance, providing swift, customised interpretations of market reports or engaging directly with customers based on their online behavior can create meaningful touchpoints.

The faster, more efficient, and more personal the interaction, the better. Investing time, money, and creativity in marketing digitalisation is a wide and promising path to success.

Navigating strict regulations

The embrace of digitalisation has also made marketing more challenging. As we collect more data on (potential) customers, we can be more relevant and responsive—but privacy regulations are becoming increasingly stringent.

The GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) has been in effect for some time, shaping how data is stored, used, and shared. Yet, even these regulations are continually updated, requiring vigilance to ensure compliance.

More privacy laws

Additional regulations, like the E-Privacy Regulation (EPV), focus on cookies, direct communication, and tracking. Once finalised, they will bring significant changes.

Another critical regulation is the EU AI Act, aimed at regulating how personal data is collected and used in AI-driven personalisation efforts. Transparency in customer data analysis will become essential for marketers.

Greenwashing

Beyond privacy, environmental regulations also impact marketing strategies. Sustainability campaigns are subject to mandatory environmental reporting and heightened transparency. Missteps in these areas, such as greenwashing, are penalised heavily, making accuracy and authenticity paramount.

Finding the exit to the maze

In many respects, B2B customers are not fundamentally different from B2C customers. Their needs and expectations revolve around speed, simplicity, transparency, personalisation, and self-service. By leveraging technology creatively and adapting to evolving regulations, marketers can secure customer trust and pave the way for success.

Creativity as a guide

Creativity is the true compass in this maze. By borrowing from B2C customer expectations and ethically harnessing AI’s potential to benefit the customer, marketers can find opportunities in regulations to create unique market positions. This creativity can help map the way to the exit.

Start today!

The message is clear: start today! Whether it’s digitising customer interactions, personalising content, or showcasing genuine sustainability advantages, every moment spent not meeting evolving customer expectations is time lost.

Practical steps towards success

En het hoeft niet altijd ingewikkeld te zijn. Praktische stappen naar personalisatie bestaan bijvoorbeeld al. Denk aan: Account Based

Simplicity is key. Personalisation efforts can begin with Account-Based Marketing or by using AI tools to generate tailored content. To address self-service and speed, tools like chatbots, comprehensive FAQs, or live chat options are relatively easy to implement.

Broad digital visibility is also essential. Start immediately with tools like SEO, SEA, webinars, podcasts, LinkedIn, X, YouTube, display ads, retargeting, and online communities. Even small efforts can yield significant results.

Key takeaway

The opportunities to escape the maze of B2B marketing challenges are abundant. By embracing creative technology solutions, understanding customer needs, and complying with evolving regulations, marketers can engage customers faster, more honestly, and more effectively.

Appealing to values like safety, trust, reliability, and even prestige also taps into the emotional side of the supposedly rational B2B customer. After all, B2B customers are human too.

 

If you have ideas or questions about the changing B2B customer, feel free to reach out to me at danny@do3l.nl