How B2B Marketers Find Value in Data and Analytics Tools [Interview]

Research has shown that B2B marketers appear to be growing more comfortable with using analytics tools and compiling data. In turn, these resources are becoming more critical to achieving their objectives.

The “2016 State of B2B Marketing Metrics and Analytics” report from Regalix discovered that 84 percent of B2B marketers now consider analytics to be “very important” to their success. About 86 percent also said they are “very” or “somewhat” successful at measuring the ROI of their analytics investments, which is 75 percent more than one year ago.

But why?

For an answer to this question and insight into the use of these resources, we spoke to Nimish Vohra, the senior vice president of marketing at Regalix.

WHAT WAS THE MOST SURPRISING STATISTIC OR FINDING TO YOU?

“What pleasantly surprised us were the findings in the research that seemed to point toward the fact that organizations were getting better at tracking ROI from analytics and this was having a positive impact on their bottom-line. What was disappointing to note was that like in previous years, most marketers were still stuck with basic data points in tracking their programs, which is sub-optimal.”

WHY DO YOU THINK THE MAJORITY B2B MARKETERS NOW VALUE ANALYTICS MORE THAN THEY DID IN THE PAST?

“Digital marketing has become more complex than ever. The channels available to the marketer on the digital platform are countless; add to that the sprawling blogging and social space! With social media also coming into its own, every social channel offers the marketer innumerable ways to make their brand presence felt and to engage with consumers meaningfully. In such a scenario, the need for a marketer to know which channels are working for her and which of her efforts are delivering on her business objectives become critical. Hence, the increasing need for analytics.”

ARE THERE ANY NEW OR EMERGING STRUGGLES THAT B2B MARKETERS ARE FACING WHEN IT COMES TO ANALYTICS?

“Just as digital channels have proliferated in the past few years, so have analytical tools. There are two key challenges that marketers are combating with — Choosing the right tool to work with, and the fact that there is often need to invest in more than one tool to meet your requirements. Fifty-five percent of marketers we spoke with said they were able to only ‘somewhat effectively’ leverage their analytics data to measure their organization’s marketing performance. This will be an on-going struggle for marketers.”

DO YOU FEEL THAT MARKETERS HAVE FINALLY CONVINCED THEIR COMPANY LEADERS OF THE BENEFITS OF ANALYTICS? OR DOES MORE WORK NEED TO BE DONE?

“Not all have, we guess, since 18 percent of organizations that we surveyed are yet to invest in analytics. Even amongst those that have, the need to effectively leverage their current investment in analytics is critical for further investments to stay in line with growing complexity in the medium.”

NOW THAT B2B MARKETERS HAVE A BETTER GRASP ON HOW TO USE ANALYTICS TOOLS AND DRIVE ROI, HOW ELSE CAN THEY IMPROVE?

“Nothing remains constant in the digital space, so there is no time for complacency. You are learning all the time. Working toward getting more out of what they have already invested in analytics and adapting to the ever-changing digital reality should be an on-going task for marketers.”

Visit the Regalix website for your copy of the “2016 State of B2B Marketing Metrics and Analytics” report.

ABOUT NIMISH VOHRA

Nimish Vohra has over a decade of experience in Digital Marketing, Human Factors and Creative Design. At Regalix, Nimish has helped turn around many B2B and B2C businesses, including that of one of world’s largest banks. Nimish’s areas of interest include ROI oriented marketing, role of creative messaging in ROI, Web2.0, and optimal digital footprint for established businesses and start-ups.