Why ROI is the #1 challenge for B2B marketers (and how to fix it)
Marketing has often found itself under scrutiny when budgets are allocated, with 46% of marketers stating that they are justifying spend and budgets to their superiors once a month (source).
Often, justification for marketing spend comes down to one factor: Return On Investment (ROI).
But, for many B2B marketers, proving ROI can often seem like a daunting task. The data is there but often hidden away in disconnected dashboards, spreadsheets, and campaign data that’s been long forgotten.
Making a case for investment has never been more important, so why are B2B marketers struggling with proving ROI and what can be done to solve it?
- Short term tracking vs long term funnel
Most marketing activities are often inundated with top-of-funnel results such as clicks, reactions, and impressions. But in the eyes of stakeholders these are not meaningful results that show business growth and increased revenue.
In B2B marketing the results that ‘move the needle’ come from a complex funnel, often requiring multiple touchpoints over the course of months (or even years!) to influence eventual revenue generation, making the task of attributing marketing efforts to specific campaigns difficult.
This funnel is then misaligned with business reporting structures, where departments are often expected to report on a monthly and quarterly basis.
The juxtaposition between this short-term value tracking and the long marketing-to-sales funnel are significant factors as to why B2B marketers struggle to prove ROI.
To address this issue, long-term value reporting methods (as opposed to volume) are required alongside working closely with internal teams to develop a mutual understanding of what qualifies as ‘value’ to the business. Many marketers are now shifting to Customer Lifetime Value (CLV) as a measurement for marketing ROI.
- Lack of time and improper use of tools
A recent study found that 38% of marketers say time and resources are the biggest roadblock when analysing data (source).
Often the main issue marketers face is understanding how to use the wide array of tools available to help streamline ROI reporting and data analysis.
Manual processes alone cannot effectively help to prove ROI on marketing activities due to the complexity of data needed. AI tools, automation, and the correct use of CRM in one integrated system is the way forward.
AI supports strategies that both enhance and report on ROI. Personalisation, performance forecasting, AI-driven dashboards, and predictive lead scoring are all practical enhancements to improve processes.
CRM remains the foundation for ROI reporting by aligning sales and marketing, providing a unified source of truth, and making it possible to track the full customer journey and CLV when integrated with other marketing tools.
Automation brings efficiency by managing routine tasks like reporting, lead scoring, and campaign monitoring. When set up correctly, automation complements AI and CRM tools, creating a streamlined workflow from the outset.
Collectively, these three elements help marketers improve alignment, save time, deliver ROI insights, and increase the accuracy of their reporting.
- Sales and marketing divide
It’s an all-too-common story that sales and marketing teams operate in silos, with competing priorities. Misalignment between the two not only leads to wasted budgets but also slows down the sales cycle.
When sales and marketing are not working together it makes lead attribution more difficult, sales are left unsure of where a lead originated, and marketing are not able to know when their campaign led to a successful outcome. Sound all too familiar?
To successfully report on ROI, and to gain internal buy in on marketing budgets, the two teams must close the gap and work together – after all both are working towards the same goal: more customers, more sales.
Closing the gap begins with a foundation of mutual understanding – shared definitions, shared metrics and shared tools. As highlighted previously, a well-developed CRM system should work for both sales and marketing.
Working with sales on joint reporting, co-creating lead nurturing, and internal feedback loops can help show marketing’s impact on pipeline velocity.
How to improve ROI reporting
Laying down the foundations to improve ROI reporting does not happen overnight, it requires time and effort from multiple teams to implement. However, even starting small can make a huge difference.
If you’re unsure where to start, our guide on how to improve marketing ROI offers insights and next steps to help you move your business forward.
You can download it here 👇
Download the guide
