Everything in Marketing “Works” to Some Extent
Everything in Marketing “works” to some extent. The real question is what is the impact relative to the investment (ROI).
When evaluating Marketing & Sales programs, it’s not a binary decision of whether this thing “works” or not.
It’s actually a spectrum - how well does it work? Or perhaps better framed as what is the ROI on this particular investment?
You can see these binary statements of "works" and "doesn't work" all over LinkedIn and in Marketing QBR decks. A few examples:
1. “Outbound is dead”.
No, outbound isn’t dead. The average B2B company we analyze captures in-market demand via Outbound to deliver 24% of new business revenue. The real problem is that companies are way over-invested in these programs and the ROI is poor.
The real solution is to reduce investments in the Outbound programs relative to the results to improve ROI in the short-term. Then, adjust the Outbound strategy to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the program over time - continuously increasing ROI.
2. “Paid search works for us”
Sure, paid search delivers attributed pipeline & revenue for most B2B companies that invest there. But the measurable ROI of this channel is usually super low. Most B2B companies we analyze get less than $0.50 in new business revenue for every $1 spent on Google paid search (> 2 year Marketing CAC payback, > 4 year total CAC payback).
With that type of ROI performance, it’s simply inaccurate to just say “paid search works”. The reality is most companies are losing money for every transaction via paid search.
3. “Podcasting doesn’t work”
B2B companies don’t see Podcast showing up for leads in Attribution software and therefore make the binary call that Podcasting doesn’t work. The real problem is how it’s measured. Podcasting is a relatively low investment compared to programs like Paid Search or Tradeshow Booths, and therefore can deliver outsized ROI.
One major issue is that Attribution does not factor in the cost/investment and therefore cannot make an informed decision of how well the programs are actually working.
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The days of deeming a GTM program “working” just because you closed a few deals attributed to it are over. All GTM programs now need to deliver results at the appropriate ROI relative to the investment.
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I’m excited for the evolution from Attribution to GTM Investment Analytics. You should be evaluating GTM investments through multiple lenses and data sets to make strategic decisions. Attribution should weigh like 20% but most companies still weigh it 100% leading to strategic decisions and investment allocations that are often ineffective and don’t align to what customers do or want.
