Featuring:
Barbie Mattie, VP and Principal Analyst
Show Notes:
For B2B marketing leaders, the pressure is on to deliver growth despite continued economic uncertainty. They can boost their odds for success by replicating what high-growth companies have done, says VP and Principal Analyst Barbie Mattie. On this week’s Forrester podcast, she shares data-backed insights from Forrester’s Navigating The 2023 Downturn: B2B Marketing Executives report that can help marketers identify and emulate those high-growth companies.
Mattie begins by describing the report’s goals. It builds on the spending recommendations from Forrester’s Planning Guides research and provides advice in key areas such as staffing, customer relationships, and communicating with the board. The report’s recommendations are based on Forrester’s survey data from high-growth companies, defined as companies with more than 1,000 employees and year-over-year revenue growth of 20% or more.
The staffing recommendations counter what you might expect: Despite high-profile layoffs, high-growth companies are hiring, Mattie notes. More than three-quarters of the B2B decision-makers surveyed plan to increase their marketing personnel budgets by as much as 9%. These firms are prioritizing hiring in a few specific marketing areas, which Mattie reveals in the episode.
Mattie also discusses how companies can improve the buying experience to win and retain customers. “Companies are focused on several different experiences — experiences for the customer, the employee experience, and brand experience” as well as digital experiences, she says. “Now we’re saying, let’s converge those and look for efficiencies in the tech stacks, the processes, and the skill sets.” This, along with improving marketing’s alignment with sales and other customer-facing functions, is essential to a seamless experience, she says. They’re also top focus areas for high-growth companies.
Later in the episode, Mattie shares advice for marketing leaders to steer conversations with their company’s board on measuring marketing results. And stay tuned as she closes out the episode with her biggest tip for success in the months ahead.
