Views from Ed Smith, General Manager for Integrated Marketing at Amazon Europe
As B2B marketing evolves, it is essential for leaders to not only adapt their strategies to the shifting landscape but also to reassess how they approach leadership and balance in their teams. Insights from industry leaders like Ed Smith, General Manager for Integrated Marketing at Amazon Europe, provide valuable lessons on creating a thriving, accountable, and empathetic marketing culture. At the same time, these leadership principles offer a solid foundation for navigating the increasingly complex and non-linear B2B buyer journey.
Cater to Complex Journeys: Account for Multiple Stakeholders and Entry Points
The modern B2B buyer’s journey is far from linear. Gone are the days when buyers made decisions in a straightforward, one-size-fits-all fashion. Today’s journey often involves multiple stakeholders, various decision-making touchpoints, and complex emotional and rational considerations.
Ed Smith explains, “Life deals us pretty rank cards from time to time…our default way to manage that is usually blame, complain, and defend. Instead, you have another option which is to clock that it’s a dud card and think of that simply in terms of what’s my next move.” This approach can be applied directly to the non-linear B2B buyer journey. Buyers’ needs often evolve as they move through the purchasing process, and the key to engaging them effectively is to remain agile and responsive.
In B2B marketing, this means accounting for the various entry points a buyer may take, the different decision-makers involved, and the different stages at which these stakeholders might need to be engaged. According to Forrester’s research, the ROI of brand equity in B2B marketing is particularly powerful because it helps create a cohesive experience across these touchpoints, ensuring that each decision-maker or influencer has the right information and emotional connection with the brand at the right time.
For instance, when a potential customer initially engages with a brand, they may be focused on understanding the company’s values, reputation, and thought leadership. Later, when they’re closer to making a purchase, they may seek specific product details and customer success stories. By acknowledging the complexity of the journey, B2B marketers can cater to each individual touchpoint while maintaining consistency in messaging.
To dive deeper into the non-linear customer journey, check out Forrester’s research on the ROI of brand equity in B2B, and explore Harvard Business Review’s insightful articles on how B2B buyers behave across various touchpoints.
Prioritize Metrics by Stage: Focus on Metrics That Align with Each Phase of the Buyer’s Decision-Making Process
As marketers, it’s crucial to tailor your metrics to align with each stage of the buyer’s decision-making process. This strategy helps not only measure effectiveness at each phase but also provides clarity on which marketing efforts are driving success at each stage of the journey. For instance, lead generation metrics such as impressions or click-through rates are vital at the awareness stage, whereas conversion rates and pipeline growth are key at the consideration and decision stages.
Ed Smith’s reflections on leadership emphasize the need for a holistic approach to metrics: “We’re not owning, we’re facilitating. We’re bringing in all the pieces of the business to collaborate to solve a problem.” Similarly, B2B marketers should facilitate collaboration across various functions and ensure that the metrics at each stage of the journey are contributing to a larger strategy of delivering value to the customer. By doing so, they can better understand where the gaps are, identify friction points in the journey, and refine their approach.
Integrate Brand and Demand: Strong Branding Fuels Demand Generation at Every Stage
One of the most important and often overlooked aspects of B2B marketing is the integration of brand with demand generation. While demand generation focuses on creating direct responses from potential buyers, brand building is crucial in shaping long-term relationships and establishing trust. Ed Smith’s perspective on leadership—”I will give you back better than I found you”—aligns perfectly with how marketers should think about their brand strategy. Just as leaders should leave their teams better than they found them, brands should leave a lasting positive impact on their customers.
For example, strong branding helps create an emotional connection with buyers, making it easier to generate demand. A recent study by Harvard Business Review found that companies with strong brand equity can experience significantly higher conversion rates and stronger customer loyalty, which in turn drives demand generation.
At Amazon, Ed shares, “The marketing leader of the future will probably sit over a broader function that really is influencing all of the four Ps—product, price, place, and promotion.” In other words, integrating brand into the broader marketing function ensures that branding isn’t just a separate effort but rather an enabler for driving demand and influencing purchasing decisions at every stage of the buyer’s journey.
Build a Culture of Feedback to Drive Continuous Improvement
As B2B marketers, it’s essential to cultivate a culture of constant feedback and iteration. As Ed Smith suggests, “When something bad happens, clock that as a dud card and think, ‘What do I do next?’” This mindset is invaluable when refining your marketing strategies. Just as in the world of sports where a coach might tell you to adjust your form to improve your performance, marketers should be open to feedback and make adjustments that align with evolving customer needs.
Incorporating regular feedback—whether from your team, your customers, or your data—into your marketing processes is vital for continued growth. Feedback helps identify areas for improvement and allows you to stay agile as you continue to refine your approach to customer acquisition and retention.
Conclusion
In today’s complex B2B environment, catering to the non-linear journey of buyers requires an adaptable approach that factors in multiple stakeholders and touchpoints. Prioritizing the right metrics at each stage of the buyer’s decision-making process helps you stay on track and measure success effectively. Moreover, integrating brand and demand generation ensures that your marketing efforts are creating long-term value while driving immediate results.
To excel, marketers must foster a feedback-driven, collaborative culture that encourages constant improvement. By integrating these principles, B2B marketers can adapt to the ever-evolving landscape and stay ahead of the competition.
For more insights on B2B marketing strategies and customer journey research, explore Forrester’s research on the ROI of brand equity and Harvard Business Review’s articles on non-linear customer journeys.
