It was great to have a virtual sit-down with Kerry Cunningham, of 6Sense. He’s a fellow with a deep appreciation of the challenges faced by B2B marketers today, with 25 years of experience in B2B demand generation and management. As his LinkedIn profile notes, “I rarely accept things in the business world as they appear to be. Below the surface processes and metrics — that’s where the good stuff is, and where we need to go to drive real change.”
Our conversation highlights the importance of brand building and reputation management in B2B marketing. Kerry emphasizes that buyers typically engage with sellers late in the buying process, around two-thirds of the way through, and that brands need to be top-of-mind early on. He also stresses the need to move beyond traditional lead scoring to incorporate various signals like anonymous website traffic and third-party intent data to better understand active buying groups. He advocates for providing value to the community of practitioners to build long-term relationships and influence buying decisions.
Discussion topics include:
- The role of research and thought leadership at 6Sense.
- The dynamics of B2B buying processes, including the role of buyer groups and the importance of consensus.
- The challenges of identifying active buyers and the limitations of traditional lead scoring methods.
- The need for B2B marketers to focus on accounts with multiple leads and anonymous website traffic as indicators of active buying processes.
- Why marketers should shift their focus from leads to understanding the broader buyer behavior and intent signals.
- Why traditional lead scoring methods are flawed and that a holistic approach is necessary to understand buyer behavior.
- The importance of aligning marketing and sales strategies with the reality of how buyers make decisions.
- Why B2B marketers should focus on providing value to their audience consistently, rather than just during the buying process.
- The need for B2B marketers to position themselves as both leading vendors and safe, easy-to-buy options for buyers.
- The role of internal champions in B2B buying processes.
