In this month’s Ask a Fractional CMO newsletter and video, we address a common question we hear from B2B founders and CEOs:What is a B2B marketing foundation, and why is it important?

Watch the video answer right here:

So what is a B2B marketing foundation? Your marketing foundation is everything you need to have in place first before you’re ready to effectively run any lead generation tactics.
In the video, we walk you through the four pillars of a strong B2B marketing foundation:

• Positioning: This involves clearly defining how your company is different from competitors and ensuring that it stands out in the marketplace. Effective positioning helps potential customers understand why they should choose your company over others.
• Customer Journey: This refers to understanding and mapping out the steps that customers go through when deciding to purchase a product or service. It’s important to align this journey with customer preferences and behaviors to enhance their experience and increase conversion rates.
• Sales Enablement: This pillar focuses on providing the sales team with the tools, resources, and support they need to sell more effectively. It ensures that marketing and sales efforts are aligned and that the sales team can focus on their core activities without being burdened by the need to create or adjust marketing materials.
• Thought Leadership: This involves establishing your company and team members as experts in your field. Through content marketing and other strategies, thought leadership positions your company as a trusted source of information and solutions, which can attract and retain customers.

Importance of Client Interviews:

In the video, we also talk about why it’s so important to build your marketing foundation based on client interviews vs. internal assumptions. Here are a few reasons why:

1. Surprising Insights: Client interviews often reveal surprising insights about what customers think sets the business apart. These insights are critical for creating strong positioning that differentiates the company from competitors, which might not be apparent from internal perspectives or assumptions alone.
2. Avoiding Assumptions: Basing marketing strategies on internal assumptions can lead to inaccuracies. Companies often think they know why their clients like them, but customer interviews can unveil additional or different reasons that are important for tailoring marketing messages effectively.
3. Real Differentiation: Through client interviews, businesses can uncover unique selling points that they may not have considered before. This information is essential for establishing a marketing foundation that truly resonates with what customers value.
4. Constructive Feedback: Client interviews provide constructive criticism regarding what could be improved. This feedback is invaluable for making strategic adjustments that enhance the overall customer experience and product or service offerings.

If a company relies solely on internal assumptions for its marketing, several negative outcomes can occur:

• Misalignment with Customer Preferences: The company might focus on features or benefits that do not align with what customers actually value, leading to ineffective marketing strategies.
• Ineffective Positioning: Marketing messages may not resonate with the target audience if they are based on misconceptions about what customers appreciate, potentially leading to a disconnect between the company’s offerings and customer expectations.
• Wasted Resources: Marketing efforts may be misdirected, resulting in inefficient use of budget and resources, diminishing the potential impact of marketing campaigns.
• Lack of Competitive Advantage: Without genuine insights from customers, a company might struggle to differentiate itself effectively, potentially leading to competition on price rather than on unique value propositions.

Next Steps: The CEO’s Ultimate Guide to Building an Effective B2B Marketing Team in Today’s Complex Marketing World

To help you make important decisions around your marketing investment, we’ve created a comprehensive eBook: The B2B CEO’s Ultimate Guide to Building an Expert Marketing Team in Today’s Complex Marketing World

In this eBook, we walk you through the six most important questions B2B CEOs need to answer in order to build their first marketing team and choose the right marketing model for their stage of business:

1. How Do You Know It’s Time to Invest in Marketing?
2. What are B2B Marketing Best Practices?
3. How Has B2B Marketing Become More Complex?
4. What Are the Top Challenges in Getting Started in Marketing?
5. What Does a B2B Marketing Team Look Like?
6. Should You Hire In-House or Outsource?

You can download the eBook RIGHT HERE

Book a Marketing Strategy Consultation:

If you have any questions about this blog post or the eBook or would like to schedule a consultation with Jen Kelly, NIM’s Founder and one of the Fractional CMOs to get more guidance around your next steps in marketing, you can send her an email or book a consultation time.