B2B Marketing in the Digital Age: A Q&A with Danielle Christenson, Performance Marketing Director at Noble Studios

In an era where AI can write your content and chatbots can qualify your leads, what's left for human B2B marketers to do? As it turns out, quite a lot.

I recently sat down with the amazing Danielle Christenson, Performance Marketing Director at Noble Studios, to cut through the hype and get to the heart of what really matters in B2B marketing today. 

From leveraging intent data to creating self-service buying experiences, Danielle shares insights on how to stay ahead in a landscape that's evolving faster than ever.

Harnessing the Power of Intent Data

Q: How can B2B marketers leverage intent data effectively?

Danielle: Yeah, great question. There's two main focus areas for use of intent data: on the sales side and on the marketing side. For sales teams, it's super helpful for reducing churn and finding upsell or cross-sell opportunities. On the marketing side, you can use it to segment audiences and personalize experiences. The key is taking all those data points and putting them into action. That's where the magic really happens.

AI in B2B Marketing is More Than Just a Buzzword 

Q: We're hearing a lot about AI. How can B2B marketers use it?

Danielle: AI is huge, and there's so many ways to deploy the technology. Two main areas I see big opportunities in are optimizing content at scale and improving chat technology. For content, you can take something like a 45-minute webinar and use AI to create bite-sized content from it - infographics, blog posts, white papers. It's very efficient and scalable. 

For chat, if B2B organizations don't already have chat technology, they should pause and prioritize enabling chat on their website. With AI in chat, you can create personalized experiences based on what accounts are doing within the pipeline. It's a really key way to create efficiency and serve the right content at the right time.

Cracking the Attribution Code 

Q: How should B2B marketers approach attribution?

Danielle: I think you should always be a little skeptical of attribution, but that doesn't mean shy away from it. You should just always be asking questions. Attribution tools like Dream Data or Adobe Measure are really great at showing the different touch points from lead creation to closed deal.

The one caveat is that they mainly only track from lead creation, so you lose everything that happened before they became a contact. That's where some other platforms focused on post-impression or post-click data can help give you a fuller picture. The biggest thing is to ask questions - which attribution model are you using? Why is it happening this way? Does the data look different if you change models and what does that tell you? Different models can give you different takeaways, so you need to understand what they're telling you.

Bridging the Gap: Aligning Sales and Marketing 

Q: Any tips for aligning marketing and sales through shared dashboards?

Danielle: Data sharing is key. Have a marketing dashboard that the sales team can access, showing things like web metrics, traffic, conversions, lead form fills. Then have a sales dashboard the marketing team can access to see how leads are performing.

But it's not just about sharing data - you need to talk about it too. That's where we've seen the most success. Have the dashboards, have the reporting, but make sure you're coming together to talk about the information and collaborate. That way everybody understands what it actually means, what you can do with it and what opportunities does it highlight.

The Rise of Self-Service in B2B Buying 

Q: How can B2B marketers create compelling experiences for self-service buying?

Danielle: First, you need to understand the common touch points from awareness to decision. Then, look at what information really needs to be gated. We're seeing organizations open up to not needing an email for everything. Consider creating things like 6-10 minute demo videos that people can watch without having to talk to sales right away. Interactive quizzes can be another good tool.

The key is thinking about all those different touch points and what can really help people learn more about your organization before they meet with a real salesperson. Ideally this upfront information helps qualify the audiences your sales teams are talking to.

Mastering Account-Based Marketing Segmentation 

Q: Any advice on segmenting account-based marketing campaigns?

Danielle: Take a step back and understand all your accounts as a whole. Identify your priority accounts - the ones that need a lot of handholding and are most lucrative. Those are the ones you'll want to create more one-to-one experiences for.

For the rest, look for commonalities and create cohorts. Maybe they have specific problems they're experiencing or solutions they're interested in. You can then create content that's valuable and relevant to multiple accounts within a cohort, which helps you scale without needing to create super personalized content for every single account.

Final Tips for Success 

Q: Any final tips for B2B marketers?

Danielle: When you launch an ABM campaign, ask yourself, "How am I going to show value to our organization?" It goes beyond just talking about how many leads were driven. Think about account-level metrics, like what percentage of the buying committee you're reaching or how engaged they are with your content.

You need to identify your measurement framework and get alignment on it before you hit go. That way, when you're showing success, everybody's already on the same page and rowing in the same direction.

One thing becomes crystal clear: B2B marketing isn't about outsmarting search engines or AI – it's about delivering real value to real people.

The key to success? It lies in staying adaptable, leveraging new technologies wisely, and never losing sight of the human element. Whether you're diving into intent data, experimenting with AI, or fine-tuning your ABM strategies, the focus should always be on creating meaningful connections with your audience.

Keep your content fresh, your tactics clean, and your focus razor-sharp on being genuinely helpful. It's not just about generating leads – it's about nurturing relationships and driving real business outcomes.

The world of B2B marketing will undoubtedly continue to evolve at a breakneck pace. But armed with these insights and a willingness to adapt, you're well-equipped to navigate whatever challenges and opportunities lie ahead. After all, in the words of Danielle, B2B marketing is a journey of constant learning and adaptation, and every day brings a new opportunity to innovate and excel :)