Data is a natural by-product of today’s modern marketing techniques. Not only do our platforms generate a ton of information about the digital body language of customers and prospects, we can also append additional data through third-party sources and by connecting data across platforms. Sliced, diced and combined the right way, all this data gives us valuable insights for a variety of actions including:

  • Content and experience personalization
  • Lead scoring
  • Timing for moving a prospect into next stage of buying journey
  • ABM programs
  • Content architecture
  • Editorial planning
  • Publishing operations
  • Real-time personalization algorithms

One area of intense interest is using data to predict bona fide sales opportunities. Some interesting work in this area deals with using commitment metrics as opposed to the more typical surface metrics. The following chart provides a brief summary of the difference between the two approaches.

What do commitment metrics tell us about sales readiness?

Time-starved B2B buyers tend to “content binge” when in buying mode. They consume multiple pieces of content in a session because they are seeking information associated with a real, current need. Serving up one piece of content per click does not accommodate someone in research mode. Time starved B2B buyers get frustrated and will move on if they cannot find deep enough information easily. Commitment metrics allow B2B marketers to provide hyper-focused content clusters aligned with specific need or pain point in a data-driven sequence.

The following chart gives a deeper view of the difference between more traditional metrics and commitment data. Note that an organization needs to look at both internal and external metrics to get a better handle on ROI.

Monetizing attention is a mission-critical imperative for marketers that need to educate and quality prospects. Using commitment metrics is a step in this direction. As machine learning becomes more prevalent, it will become easier to identify prospects in research mode and quickly compile content clusters that will resonate and keep them engaged with your organization at a critical point in the path-to-purchase.

 

Cheryl Treleaven

Cheryl Treleaven

Principal

Engaging your customers is at the heart of successful marketing programs. For more than 20 years, Cheryl has been building and executing content and thought leadership strategies designed to do just that. She is excited to be applying that well-honed skill to a help companies like Microsoft, Cisco, 3M, Intel, Capital One and Barclaycard tap into their stakeholder communities and build sophisticated content strategies.

Her experience base spans a range of industries – from technology and financial services to retail, travel, consumer products and healthcare. Cheryl has served as an integral member of her clients’ marketing teams, providing counsel on marketing and brand strategy, thought leadership, media relations, product introductions, and event management.

Prior to joining ComBlu, Cheryl spent 10 years leading corporate marketing for large, complex organizations.