Why is marketing broken?

Reimagining Marketing’s Role in B2B Companies

If you think marketing exists to create leads, then it is easy to think that marketing is broken.

Viewed through this lens, marketing is a badly performing lead generation function, unable to deliver qualified leads to its stakeholders and unwilling to connect to revenue results.

The Great Disconnect

Current Paradigm

Many CEOs and executives continue to view marketing primarily as a means to drive leads and fill the sales pipeline.

This narrow, tactical perspective fails to capture the true strategic potential of modern marketing.

Not enough leads?

Get rid of the marketing lead.

Marketing’s Self-Perception

What if the point of marketing is to ensure a brand is successful in the market?

Building the brand.

Engaging an audience.

Adapting to change.

Aligning the Go-to-Market Team

A sensible Go-To-Market team will include revenue, product, and success.

Underpinned by data/business intelligence.

And coalesced by marketing.

Redefining marketing’s role is only part of the solution – selling the vision to stakeholders is key – tight alignment within marketing, and connected to sales and product teams. And 20/20 vision on the customer and use case.

The critical question to resolve is, “Do the different teams in a Go-To-Market motion trust each other to deliver results?”

Finding the Right Balance

The goal should be to strike a balance where:

• Marketing takes a longer-term, more strategic view while hitting the required results
• Sales focuses on immediate results, but have an eye on compounding results and more fertile grounds to hunt in
• Product bridges the gap between long-term vision and short-term needs to maintain sticky products and create routes to expand revenues

The Path Forward

There is no unifying vision or framework to bring teams together. Without this, it is difficult to build trust and collaboration, especially at scale.

Key Steps:

1. Establish Clear Frameworks: Define marketing’s role and responsibilities across different growth stages.
2. Align Teams: Foster collaboration between marketing, sales, and product teams.
3. Empower Marketing: Position marketing as a strategic partner in driving business growth.
4. Educate Stakeholders: Help other business functions understand marketing’s expanded role and potential.
5. Measure and Iterate: Continuously refine the approach based on measurable outcomes.

Marketing creates the conditions for success in the market.