Customer relationship management (CRM) systems transformed how organizations store and organize large amounts of customer data. Everyone from the new sales rep to a C-suite executive, or CXO, could now access one universal source of information. But in today’s modern business environment, there is a growing disconnect in the way these systems are being used. Traditional CRMs are designed for reporting and tracking, making them a CXO favorite. But it’s time to admit they aren’t working for the people out in the field.
I can’t count the number of conversations I’ve had with COOs, marketing leaders, and change managers at enterprise manufacturing firms who feel they’ve done everything right: invested in HubSpot, trained their teams, connected the tools—but the results still don’t reflect the promise.
I don’t want to have to figure out any particular menu to find a setting or understand how a product manager or designer intended me to use the product.
I just want to talk to my computer and tell it what to do.
Generating awareness is only the first step in a much longer journey. While top-of-funnel (TOFU) strategies often focus on reach and visibility, many brands stall after this phase—mistaking attention for intent. Without a clearly defined path to move leads from interest to action, the investment in awareness ends up delivering vanity metrics with no real business impact.
IDC has named Salesforce the biggest CRM provider in the world for the 12th year running.
Figures from its 2025 Worldwide Semiannual Software Tracker show that Salesforce earned almost $21.60BN in CRM revenues last year.
That’s over $5BN greater than its four closest competitors combined. They are: Microsoft, Oracle, Adobe, and SAP.
If a business thinks of itself as customer-centric, then shouldn't customer relations be the responsibility of everyone throughout the company, not just the sales team? That's the philosophy behind Zoho's CRM for Everyone.
For all the talk about CRM, few B2B companies are getting all they can out of it, judging by a new study titled “Right-sizing your CRM,” from Insightly by Unbounce, conducted by Ascend2.
Compelling messaging and storytelling is the top creative priority for brands and agencies (64%), per a July 2024 Digiday and Celtra study. While marketers facing budget cuts must prove ROI, consumers are hypersensitive to brand interruptions, which means they can’t afford to replace high-quality narratives with sheer product placements.
In the evolving landscape of B2B marketing, trust has become a pivotal factor influencing technology purchasing decisions. Recent statistics underscore the importance of trust.
Yet, far too often, customer service in B2B doesn’t have the same urgency as it does in B2C. Why should it be any different? If anything, the stakes in B2B are higher, impacting multiple businesses and their customers. This is why outstanding customer service in manufacturing isn’t just nice to have—it’s essential.
In this article, we cover the 3 key drivers and considerations for AI analytics today to help provide your business with a better understanding of just how valuable AI-powered analysis is for your users.
That’s what IMO really signals — a commitment to iteration. I’ve made calls I believed in that later needed to be unwound. I’ve walked into decisions with clarity only to realize that what I needed was curiosity. The best leaders, the ones building companies that last, are those who lead with both conviction and doubt in proper proportion. They know when to stand firm and when to reevaluate. That’s not weakness. That’s wisdom.
Barbara Toens, Dr., MBA, Global CMO at Gantrex, brings her pricing PhD and global B2B experience to this in-depth discussion. She explains how marketing earns its C-Suite seat by ensuring every decision starts with deep customer understanding. Barbara shares best practices for VOC calls, cross-functional alignment, and transforming marketing from a cost center to a growth engine.
It quickly became clear that wasn’t going to scale; the universe of AI-based marketing tools (or older tools that have now had AI features added) is just growing too fast.
The playing field has never been level, especially internationally. Larger corporations and well-resourced individuals had researchers, data analysts, consultants, writers, marketers, and campaigns that moved faster than what most of us could cobble together on nights and weekends.
For the past few years, the marketing data landscape has faced significant upheaval, whether from regulators ramping up pressure or changes made by tech giants to their platforms. To address these challenges, brands and other stakeholders are experimenting with a variety of data-driven ways to engage online consumers at scale and not run afoul of privacy concerns.
In this newly-refreshed free guide based on LinkedIn's engineering team content and academic papers by LinkedIn published at the 2024 and 2025 ACM KDD conferences, we break down how LinkedIn's systems ACTUALLY work, from what LinkedIn's best and brightest have published.
In enterprise sales, who you're selling to matters as much as what you're selling.
Organizations are divided into two fundamental types of business units: cost centers and revenue centers.
For years, marketers have relied on a simple, reliable formula to fill the top of the funnel: Offer a downloadable freebie — usually a PDF, checklist or guide — in exchange for an email address. Pair that with a few well-placed ads and CTAs, and leads would flow in.
Stephanie Bunnell, Former SVP of Marketing at Aki Technologies, shares valuable insights into the innovative world of unexpected growth strategies, revealing the intricate connections between business practices, brand perception, and overall company success. Her expertise illuminates how a brand is significantly influenced by the perceptions and voices of its audience rather than by its messaging, offering a fresh perspective on the dynamics of modern marketing.
Personalized landing pages have always been powerful - but until recently, they’ve been a pain to scale. Most companies stop at a handful of landing pages, limited by tools, time, or technical know-how.
LinkedIn is undeniably the powerhouse for B2B sales teams looking to generate leads. The numbers don’t lie: a huge 89% of B2B marketers use it for lead generation, and for 62%, it actively brings in leads – that’s more than twice as effective as the next best social channel. Conversion rates on LinkedIn can be three times higher than other major ad platforms. It’s often more cost-effective too.
The focus is now on transitioning away from the impending cookieless future to instead look at how brands can benefit from the convergence of technology and creativity. This shift presents a unique opportunity for smaller players to redefine their role in the digital advertising arena by embracing innovation, collaboration, and creative strategies.
IFR stands for Ideal Final Result. It’s the solution where the contradiction is resolved without extra costs, resources, or complexity. If possible, the system resolves the problem on its own, or the problem disappears without intervention.
Understanding more about your B2B marketing funnel is essential for better customer acquisition and retention tactics. It helps navigate potential customers through phases from initial recognition to enduring loyalty, guaranteeing organized interaction at each stage.
