In today’s dynamic B2B landscape, the marketer’s journey mirrors that of their customers: non-linear, multifaceted, and increasingly reliant on digital innovation. To stand out in this crowded marketplace, marketers must not only adapt to these evolving paths but also leverage them to drive growth and deliver value.
Drawing on insights from Sarah Wilkinson’s career—spanning leadership roles in digital transformation—and backed by industry research, this article explores how marketers can cater to complex customer journeys, prioritize relevant metrics, and integrate brand and demand strategies to maximize ROI.
1. Cater to Complex Journeys: Account for Multiple Stakeholders and Entry Points
“The reality of modern B2B marketing is that customers don’t follow a single, linear path. They come in at various stages, with multiple stakeholders involved,” Wilkinson highlighted in a recent discussion. This complexity demands that marketers design experiences that are flexible and personalized, capable of accommodating varied entry points and decision-making processes.
Tactics to Adapt:
- Map Multi-Touch Journeys: Build detailed customer journey maps that reflect the different roles and priorities of stakeholders, from procurement officers to end users.
- Content Personalization at Scale: Use AI tools like Adobe Firefly to create content tailored to specific decision-makers and stages in the buying process.
- Empower Sales Teams: Equip sales teams with insights and resources to engage each stakeholder effectively. Wilkinson’s success at Birchbox, where she combined CRM data with personalized strategies, is a testament to the power of aligning cross-functional teams with customer needs.
For more insights, explore Harvard Business Review’s articles on non-linear customer journeys.
2. Prioritize Metrics by Stage: Align with Buyer’s Decision-Making Process
“It’s easy to get swept away by passion projects, but ultimately, the rigor around ROI and stage-specific metrics is what drives growth,” Wilkinson shared. This mindset is especially critical in B2B, where long sales cycles and complex buying processes make it challenging to pinpoint success.
Key Strategies:
- Top of Funnel: Focus on brand awareness metrics like share of voice, impressions, and website traffic.
- Mid-Funnel: Track engagement metrics such as time spent on site, content downloads, and webinar attendance.
- Bottom of Funnel: Emphasize conversion metrics like lead-to-opportunity ratio, deal velocity, and customer acquisition cost.
Wilkinson’s approach at Jimmy Choo, where she integrated advanced analytics into decision-making, underscores the value of adapting KPIs to the buyer’s journey. Leveraging tools like Tableau or Microsoft Copilot for real-time insights can empower marketers to make informed adjustments on the fly.
3. Integrate Brand and Demand: Strong Branding Fuels Every Stage
“Branding and demand generation aren’t silos. A strong brand sets the foundation for demand generation,” Wilkinson noted, reflecting on her work across high-growth environments like Birchbox and Jimmy Choo.
How to Achieve This Integration:
- Unified Messaging: Ensure consistency across branding efforts and performance marketing campaigns.
- Leverage Brand Equity: Use brand trust as a lever to improve conversion rates in later funnel stages. According to Forrester’s research, businesses with strong brand equity see a measurable uplift in pipeline velocity and deal closure rates.
- Invest in Storytelling: Powerful narratives drive emotional connections, whether you’re targeting a Fortune 500 enterprise or an SMB. Wilkinson’s experience building brands from scratch demonstrates how storytelling can humanize even the most technical products.
For further insights, check out Forrester’s research on the ROI of brand equity in B2B.
Key Takeaways for B2B Marketers
- Embrace Non-Linearity: Develop strategies that reflect the multi-touch, multi-stakeholder reality of B2B decision-making.
- Measure What Matters: Prioritize metrics that align with each phase of the customer journey to ensure data-driven decisions.
- Break Down Silos: Foster alignment between brand and demand teams to drive consistent and impactful messaging.
By adopting these strategies, marketers can not only navigate today’s complex customer journeys but also turn them into opportunities for growth and differentiation. As Wilkinson’s career illustrates, success lies in combining creativity with data-driven rigor—a balance that ensures every step of the journey leads to measurable impact.
