Gathering Data Versus Gathering Insight: a Guide for Performance-Oriented B2B Marketers

GATHERING DATA VERSUS GATHERING INSIGHT:

A GUIDE FOR PERFORMANCEORIENTED B2B MARKETERS

CONTENTS 04 SHOWING YOUR WORK: WHY DOES DATA MATTER? 05 A CHANGING LANDSCAPE 06 THE PERFORMANCE REPORTING FRAMEWORK 08 TAKING THE GUESSWORK OUT OF BUDGET ALLOCATION 09 REPORTING STAGES 10 STAKEHOLDER RESPONSIBILITIES 12 KEY REPORTING ACTIVITIES 13 REPORTING ROLES 14 A PERFORMANCE REPORTING EXAMPLE 14 THE EXECUTIVE DASHBOARD 18 HOW TO IMPLEMENT A PERFORMANCE REPORTING PROTOCOL

2 | GATHERING DATA VERSUS GATHERING INSIGHT

How data visibility makes (or breaks) a clear picture of marketing success In today’s digital age, most marketing teams use various technologies such as CRM systems, email automation platforms, and analytics tools to collect and analyze data, streamline communications, track customer interactions, and optimize marketing strategies.

But is all this technology actually enhancing performance or aiding in decision-making? Is it being used to its full functionality? Does it effectively communicate the impact of marketing’s activities to the C-suite? Perhaps most importantly, is it helping boost revenue?

Instead of simply collecting data, marketers must strive for insight into what the data reveals. That insight can help teams evaluate, assess, and design future campaigns that will continually drive positive results and close the sales loop.

Data visibility will help marketing teams answer questions like: • What is the ROI of marketing?

• Do emails, events, or brochures help close deals? If not, could they?

• How should marketing budgets be allocated in the future based on what’s worked (and what hasn’t) in the past?

• What does a “successful” marketing campaign look like, and how is it defined and measured?

Using the technology already on hand—with a little added functionality—insight is easy to uncover. Read on to improve workflow and optimize marketing performance.

Yours in influence, Zee Jeremic CEO + Founder MASS Engines

WHO WE ARE: MASS Engines works with

multi-national tech companies helping them Measure Marketing ROI

3 | GATHERING DATA VERSUS GATHERING INSIGHT

Run demand generation

Increase lead conversions

SHOWING YOUR WORK: WHY DOES DATA MATTER? Marketing pioneer John Wanamaker (1838–1922) opened one of the first department stores in the U.S. A merchandising genius and proponent of the power of advertising, his shop became an empire of sixteen stores—unheard of at the time. Wanamaker coined the now-familiar phrase: “Half the money I spend on advertising is wasted; the trouble is I don’t know which half.”

A century later, this sentiment still resonates. Despite modern advancements, many marketing departments struggle to convey campaign performance well enough to quantify and report on what works. They may know how to generate data, but there’s one critical piece missing: data insight.

Data insight is at the heart of performance reporting, an approach now driving the technology-centric marketing landscape. While many organizations miss the mark when it comes to incorporating this game-changing approach, those who embrace it are gaining a clear competitive advantage.

Teams that put existing data to work effectively gain insights that can lead to: • More fruitful collaboration among marketing, sales, and the C-suite • Greater clarity on how to allocate budgets most effectively • Evidence that ties marketing efforts directly to revenues Here’s where to begin on a journey toward data insight and performance reporting: First, clarify the company’s marketing goals. What are the executives asking for? What metrics clearly demonstrate success? If the team were to achieve success beyond its current capabilities, what would be the keys to that story?

Ideally, what data insight is needed that marketing doesn’t already have access to?

The right questions fuel the right reports, setting a strong foundation for marketing’s success story.

4 | GATHERING DATA VERSUS GATHERING INSIGHT

“Half the money I spend on advertising is wasted; the trouble is I don’t know which half.”

JOHN WANAMAKER

A CHANGING LANDSCAPE In the traditional baseline model, marketing departments report on their efforts based on these steps: • Dollars are spent on advertising • Advertising generates awareness • Awareness generates leads • Leads convert to sales Technology has disrupted this traditional model, particularly in the B2B sector, shifting the power from sellers to buyers. Customers can now easily bypass carefully crafted advertising messages and gather information from other online sources that can influence buying decisions.

Brand and awareness still form the foundation of B2B marketing, but demand generation is the new focal point.

Looking at demand generation in the digital era, there are new metrics that must be considered and reported on. Three are most critical: 1. Return on marketing investment, or ROMI. This is attribution.

2. Conversion ratios, specifically funnel conversions. This is the seller’s ability to progress customers through the buying journey.

3. Velocity. This is the speed of the selling cycle.

The key to performance reporting is to determine what marketing reporting should look like in a B2B company that is embracing demand generation. Generating leads is one thing; converting them is another.

5 | GATHERING DATA VERSUS GATHERING INSIGHT

THE PERFORMANCE REPORTING FRAMEWORK MASS Engines has created a revenue-focused framework to evaluate marketing activities, channels, and campaigns. This sixtiered framework provides deep insights into the business’s lead generation and revenue conversion capabilities. It offers a reliable foundation for planning demand generation and serves as a shared benchmark for sales and marketing performance assessment.

TO IMPROVE PERFORMANCE, YOUR TACTICS MUST SHIFT—YOU CAN’T MANAGE WHAT YOU CAN’T MEASURE.

The performance reporting framework connects high-level planning requirements with daily operational reporting to ensure revenue objectives can be effectively set and reached by marketing.

6 | GATHERING DATA VERSUS GATHERING INSIGHT

Effectively Assess Performance Use this customer center framework to analyze, report on and drive sustainable and scalable marketing investments

1 Business Performance Objective Decision maker Consulted Informed

Indicators Projected Revenue Invoiced Revenue Active Customers

Activities Required For

Production and Analysis

Quarterly Business Reviews

Request From

Won Agreements

Business Performance Reporting

Etc.

Budget Allocation

Available In

2 Marketing Performance *Direct or Digital Revenue Reports Source Account Size Channel

Decision maker Consulted Informed

Return on Investment Sourced Revenue Marketing Contribution (Marketing Influence)

Quarterly Business Reviews Business Performance Reporting

Request From

Available In

Budget Allocation

(CPA/RPA)

3 Funnel Performance Marketing Funnel Reports Transactions Leads Inquiries

Decision maker Consulted

Conversion Ratios Stage Velocity Stagnation Rates

Funnel Management Performance Monitoring Demand Planning

Informed

Request From

Available In

Visitors

4 Demand Planning *Organize Campaigns by Personal Needs (Find, Evaluate, Decide/Targeting, Aquisition) Audience & Acquisition Reports Channel Source/Medium Campaign

Decision maker Consulted Informed

Response Rates Conversion Rates Frequency & Recency Bounce Rates

Campaign Planning Conversion Optimization Content Creation

Request From

Available In

Session Duration

Events

5 Demand Management *We organize Ad Groups by Location Demand Generation Reports Google Facebook Linkedin

Decision maker Consulted Informed

Spend (CPC / Total) Reach (CPM / Total) Response Rate (CTR / Total

Campaign Monitoring

Request From

Benchmark Reporting Agency Auditing

Conversion Rate (%)

Available In

Platform Scoring (Rating)

6 Content Planning Behaviour & Conversion Reports Keywords Pages Page Groupings Events

Decision maker Consulted Informed

7 | GATHERING DATA VERSUS GATHERING INSIGHT

Top Pages Top Manufacturers Top Categories Resources Consumed User Behavior

Content Planning Conversion Optimization Content Creation

Request From

Available In

TAKING THE GUESSWORK OUT OF BUDGET ALLOCATION What gets measured gets managed. Performance reporting is grounded in this idea. Measuring client, revenue, or company objectives enables the business to plan and budget what is required to achieve goals as well as hold accountable those responsible for acting on objectives.

When implemented and adopted, the recommended reporting process will enable a continuous improvement feedback loop, which ensures the right activities are prioritized in each planning cycle.

1

2

Planning & Budgeting Identifying business objectives and priorities

Actioning & Monitoring PERFORMANCE REPORTING PROCESS

3

Reporting Report on the success of activities in driving the identified priorities

8 | GATHERING DATA VERSUS GATHERING INSIGHT

Track the performance of activities that support priorities

REPORTING STAGES Achieving performance targets requires alignment among key stakeholders in the planning process as to both the goals and objectives of marketing and overall priorities of the organization. For the process to be effective, the following stages require reporting for the associated responsibilities to be met:

Objective Setting

Planning & Budgeting

Actioning & Monitoring

Performance Reporting

Outcome

Establish Revenue Objective

Determine Investment & Marketing Mix

Actively Monitor Lead Generation Activities

Report on Return on Marketing Investment

Period & Frequency

Quarterly / Yearly

Quarterly / Yearly

Daily

Monthly / Quarterly

Reporting

Business Performance Section of Reporting Dashboards

Marketing Performance Section of Reporting Dashboard

Marketing Performance View in Reporting Dashboards

See Marketing Performance Section of Reporting Dashboards

Responsibility

Set at Business Level, Usually

by Senior Leadership (VP)

CMO / CFO

Marketing Managers

CMO / CFO

9 | GATHERING DATA VERSUS GATHERING INSIGHT

STAKEHOLDER RESPONSIBILITIES Multiple marketing agents and stakeholders enable daily execution of marketing activities and generate reporting on outcomes. Key players may be:

VP / Division Manager • Responsible for setting target revenue goals • Responsible for approving the required budget to achieve the identified revenue goals

Director of Marketing • Responsible for establishing investment required to meet target marketing revenue goals • Responsible for establishing how investment should be spread across the identified activities responsible for meeting identified goals

Marketing Manager

Digital Marketing Manager

• Responsible for monitoring the performance and identifying opportunities for improvement in website performance as well as email and social activities

• Responsible for monitoring the performance and identifying opportunities for improvement in search marketing activities

• Responsible for brand identity as well as associated messaging and promotions across all marketing activities

• Responsible for the management of search partner

• Responsible for the overall performance of the website in converting visitors into inquiries

10 | GATHERING DATA VERSUS GATHERING INSIGHT

• Accountable for the cost and quality of paid media traffic (as measured by cost per click and cost per lead)

K E Y R E P O R T I N G AC T I V I T I E S

PLANNING AND BUDGETING

Lead Outcome Reporting Monthly & Quarterly Reporting

Sample KPIs

Where to Find

• Lead Volume & Revenue Outcomes

• Number of Leads

Executive Reporting

• Lead Quality Indicators

• Pipeline Contribution

• Effectiveness of Sales in Converting Leads into Revenue

• Revenue Contribution • Stage Conversion Rate • Revenue Attribution • Marketing Contribution • Return on Marketing Investment

1 Business Performance Objective Decision maker Consulted Informed

Indicators Projected Revenue Invoiced Revenue Active Customers

Activities Required For

Production and Analysis

Quarterly Business Reviews

Request From

Won Agreements

Business Performance Reporting

Etc.

Budget Allocation

Available In

2 Marketing Performance *Direct or Digital Revenue Reports Source Account Size Channel

Decision maker Consulted Informed

Return on Investment Sourced Revenue Marketing Contribution (Marketing Influence)

Quarterly Business Reviews Business Performance Reporting

Request From

Available In

Budget Allocation

(CPA/RPA)

3 Funnel Performance Marketing Funnel Reports Transactions Leads Inquiries Visitors

Decision maker Consulted Informed

11 | GATHERING DATA VERSUS GATHERING INSIGHT

Conversion Ratios Stage Velocity Stagnation Rates

Funnel Management Performance Monitoring Demand Planning

Request From

Available In

K E Y R E P O R T I N G AC T I V I T I E S

ACTIONING AND MONITORING

Lead Generation Reporting Daily Monitoring

Sample KPIs

Where to Find

• Visitor & Inquiry Volume

• Bounce Rate

• Visitor Quality Indicators

• Conversion Rate

Marketing Programs Reporting

• Effectiveness of Website in Converting Visitors to Leads

• Number of Visitors • Sessions Per User • Number of Inquiries • Cost Per Inquiry • Return on Ad Spend

Indicators

Activities Required For

Production and Analysis

4 Demand Planning *Organize Campaigns by Personal Needs (Find, Evaluate, Decide/Targeting, Aquisition) Audience & Acquisition Reports Channel Source/Medium Campaign

Decision maker Consulted Informed

Response Rates Conversion Rates Frequency & Recency Bounce Rates

Campaign Planning Conversion Optimization Content Creation

Request From

Available In

Session Duration

Events

5 Demand Management *We organize Ad Groups by Location Demand Generation Reports Google Facebook Linkedin

Decision maker Consulted Informed

Spend (CPC / Total) Reach (CPM / Total) Response Rate (CTR / Total

Campaign Monitoring

Request From

Benchmark Reporting Agency Auditing

Conversion Rate (%)

Available In

Platform Scoring (Rating)

6 Content Planning Behaviour & Conversion Reports Keywords Pages Page Groupings Events

Decision maker Consulted Informed

12 | GATHERING DATA VERSUS GATHERING INSIGHT

Top Pages Top Manufacturers Top Categories Resources Consumed User Behavior

Content Planning Conversion Optimization Content Creation

Request From

Available In

REPORTING ROLES A simplified version of the Responsible, Accountable, Consulted, and Informed (RACI) responsibility matrix helps to identify key reporting roles at each stage of the framework. Responsible and Accountable roles have been combined into a single Decision Maker role. Below are the associated responsibilities in the reporting process:

Decision Maker The person(s) responsible for delivering on an objective and who will be held accountable if it is not met.

Decision makers determine the specific objectives and requirements. This requires not only accessing the associated reporting but interpreting what actions should be taken based on it.

Consulted For a decision maker to be effectively held accountable, their dependencies need to be identified.

If a deliverable depends on the team member’s ability to achieve specific objectives, they should be consulted.

Informed Those whose opinions are sought, typically subject-matter experts; and with whom there is two-way communication.

These team members are kept up-to-date on progress, often only on completion of the task or deliverable; and with whom there is just one-way communication.

13 | GATHERING DATA VERSUS GATHERING INSIGHT

A Performance Reporting Exercise Access an editable framework template below and plug in your company’s data into the reporting model to generate powerful answers about marketing impact and opportunities.

Editable Performance Reporting Framework Template >

BUILD AN EXECUTIVE DASHBOARD Using data derived from your Performance Reporting Framework, you can slice and dice the information to zero in on specific channels, products, or verticals.

An Executive Dashboard can help answer questions like: • How many attendees made a purchase after last year’s regional event compared to the national event?

• What’s the year-over-year growth of a product for a particular market in a specific area? How does this compare with other markets in the same region?

• We have money to spend on banner ads online. What’s been the most effective social media channel for us in the B2B sector versus retail?

• How much pipeline have we generated for the product line over the last two quarters, particularly in a specific vertical, and how does that compare with last year and the year before?

On the following pages you find examples that illustrate how you can sort your data to visualize and understand the impact of your marketing activities.

14 | GATHERING DATA VERSUS GATHERING INSIGHT

Fig. 1: Funnel Reporting A full comparison report that can be customized to specific years, quarters, products, verticals, channels, or other desired combinations.

YEAR OVER YEAR COMPARISON 2021

2022

2023

MQLs

30,994

29,788

26,440

SALs

9,084

11,668

8,714

-28%

-21%

SQLs

34% conversion rate

44% conversion rate

37% conversion rate

4,774

6,796

4,910

58% conversion rate

63% conversion rate

62% conversion rate

Created Opps

2,010

2,116

2,988

Created Pipeline

$722.8M

$721.8M

$558.0M

Won Opps

824

906

916

Revenue

$459.82M

$315.18M

$196.04M

15 | GATHERING DATA VERSUS GATHERING INSIGHT

-11%

43%

-33%

8%

38%

The values in the reports are for illustrative purposes only and do not accurately reflect any value

*

Fig. 2: Key Metrics This report shows the key metrics, such as time to close, average deal size, specific funnel stage conversion rates, or other desired combinations.

2021

2022

2023

Avg Deal Size (pipeline)

722,594

683,742

373,576

Avg Deal Size (won)

1,116,082

695,778

428,040

Avg Time to Close (won)

244

218

136

Max Time to Close (won)

2,114

1,344

646

Min Time to Close (won)

2

2

2

Conversion Rates

2021

2022

2023

Conversion MQL to Opps

13.2%

14.6%

23.4%

Conversion MQL to Won

5.8%

5.8%

6.0%

Conversion Pipeline to Revenue

86.6%

70.4%

40.6%

Fig. 3: Event Impact Analysis This report shows how attending an event impacts velocity through the funnel and the average deal size.

Event Impact Analysis Days MQL to SAL

With Event

Days SAL to SQL

Days SQL to SQO

Without Event

Days MQL to SQO

Days in SQO

57.6

55.25 34.4

30.6

4.8

0.06

0.58

Average Time to Close 103.61

1.0

12.4

6.86

Average Deal Size $55,271

$50,212 77.15

16 | GATHERING DATA VERSUS GATHERING INSIGHT

The values in the reports are for illustrative purposes only and do not accurately reflect any value

*

Fig. 4: Opportunities by Channel Channel reporting helps marketing departments understand what marketing channels are actually driving sales and helps with budgeting and allocation of resources.

Conversion Opps to Won Opps

Avg. Velocity Opp to Close (days)

Avg. Velocity Opp to Close (months)

Conversion Pipeline to Revenue

Opportunities

Opportunities Won

Pipeline

Won Revenue

Advertising

2

1

50%

35

2

$50,175

$25,088

50%

Demo

25

7

28%

75

3

$4,545

$353.40

8%

Onsite

10

5

50%

43

6

$225,175

$224,150

8%

Email

30

15

50%

75

6

$2,361.75

$175.00

7%

Event

3

1

33%

44

6

$183,681

$74,681

41%

Inbound Call

75

25

33%

55

7

$11,881.50

$3,869.50

33%

Organic

40

20

50%

49

8

$4,752.75

$1,975.80

42%

Other

18

6

33%

27

6

$957,175

$88,345

9%

Sales

15

7

46.7%

32

1

$75,652

$6,680.57

9%

SEM Grand Total

8

5

62.5%

25

4

106,781

$84,231

79%

226

92

40.7%

46

5

$2,297,179.90

$509,549.67

22%

Fig. 5: Vertical Impact This report shows the pipeline and revenue generated for the year broken down by vertical, enabling marketing to focus on verticals/industries that are actively buying their products.

PIPELINE

REVENUE Education

Education

$548M

Others

$118M

Others

Fed/Gov

Fed/Gov Financial

Financial Food & Beverage

Food & Beverage Retail

Healthcare

Retail

Healthcare Hospitality

Hospitality

17 | GATHERING DATA VERSUS GATHERING INSIGHT

The values in the reports are for illustrative purposes only and do not accurately reflect any value

*

HOW TO IMPLEMENT A PERFORMANCE REPORTING PROTOCOL Increased revenue is always the goal. Performance reporting can get you there, but it requires internal advocacy and planning. Foster curiosity, learning, and enthusiasm for your program by following these four steps:

1

Designate a Reporting Lead Who Will Be Accountable.

Every new undertaking needs a champion. Before the performance reporting project starts, enlist a marketing executive with high-level buy-in from a sales executive. Build anticipation and understanding, setting intentions and expectations openly. Managers for different activities should join the build effort to help identify the most accurate metrics for measurement and design a sensible workflow.

2

Get Early Alignment for Long-term Collaboration.

When making a change in any big company, expect road bumps and red tape. Start by understanding the approval chain and the sphere of influencers.

Who signs off? Who do you need on board to help drive adoption? Sales reps will need to convert inquiries into opportunities the right way within Salesforce. IT and web teams will need to be on hand for support and troubleshooting. Be sure to consider any executives whose mandate would boost usage (or whose indifference would dampen it). To track, share, and act on all the data, you’ll need cooperation. Plugging in a new attribution tool is the most straightforward part of implementation, but to really make data shine, you’ll need everyone to follow through consistently.

the Right Tech 3 Choose Implementation Partner.

To consolidate and process data, you’ll need to get the data model and the structure right, as well as the technical engine to churn the data. Furthermore, you’ll need new functionality to fit into your existing tech ecosystem. Find an implementation partner with experience managing all the moving parts.

4

Select a Customizable Solution.

Some solution providers peddle one-size-fitsall, out-of-the-box attribution systems, which inevitably need heavy customization during implementation. Instead, choose a customizable platform at the outset. There is measurable value in tailored solutions.

Map Your Plan Sketch out your possible next steps by plugging your own data points into our performance reporting framework chart.

ATTRIBUTION REPORTING GUIDE: HOW TO TRANSFORM MARKETING INTO A PROFIT CENTRE.

READ NOW >

18 | GATHERING DATA VERSUS GATHERING INSIGHT

EXPERIENCE DRIVEN RESULTS FOCUSED Why MASS Engines?

WE’RE MORE THAN JUST TECH Our team is comprised of change management agents, MarTech strategists and marketing automation technicians with 35+ years of consulting experience.

WE USE A PROVEN METHODOLOGY Our 4 step framework is based on a proven academic model for technology adoption and is supported by a disciplined adoption pathway.

WE UNDERSTAND CHANGE We help you motivate meaningful change in your organization by putting people and information at the center. Our process identifies challenges, communicates solutions and ensures long-term adoption across your organization.

WE KNOW MARTECH We are laser focused on marketing automation & CRM as essential building blocks of the revenue engine. Our experienced team knows the ins and outs of key platforms and common adoption challenges.

WE BELIEVE IN EMPOWERMENT We’re only as good as your ability to own the solutions we implement. We support your funnel revolution with change management, training and governance.

WE SEE THE SUM OF THE PARTS We work across all critical departments to ensure they have a seat at the funnel transformation discussion table from day one.

We’ve built our business on referrals and are proud to have worked with:

2876 Dundas Street West Toronto ON M6P 1Y8

info@massengines.com 647.952.8240

www.massengines.com