@ITSMA_B2B

The rise of the connected economy and new business strategies has made Executive Engagement and Executive-Level Selling more important than ever

www.ITSMA.com

Account-based marketing (ABM)

Thought leadership publications and promotion

Customer reference or advocacy programs

Executive briefing centers

Executive-level innovation programs

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They’re increasing investment in many of these programs

Source: ITSMA 2017 Sales and Executive Engagement Survey (N=50). Respondents included 50 senior marketers from large B2B technology and business services organizations. | SV4601 IG4811 © 2017 ITSMA.

Marketing Priorities for Executive Engagement

More important to our sales strategy than two years ago

%

Executive events

Social/ charity programs

Executive sponsorship programs

Alumni programs

Industry associations

Executive briefing centers/programs

Online community/ social networking

Thought leadership promotion

Reference/ advocacy programs

Executive education

Account-based marketing

Executive councils/ advisory boards

Innovation programs

To connect with executives, B2B marketers are investing in a broad range of initiatives, including…

Top 5 Investment Priorities

66%

92%

More important to engage with compared to two years ago

% of respondents (N=50)

The value of executive relationships extends far beyond the sales process

Understand specific business and technology issues

Collaborate on thought leadership and innovation

Top objectives for executive engagement

Improve company or

business unit reputation Accelerate

decision making for

current opportunities

Key

And they’re emphasizing insight, content, and sales support

B2B Marketers are investing in a wide range of initiatives to reach new types of executives at new types of accounts.

Identify new sales

opportunities

90%+ 80%+ 65%+

Executive-level insight

Executive-level content

Sales training for executive interaction

Sales training for executive-level content

Top 4 Programmatic Priorities

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Develop references

and advocates

New types ofexecutives

New types ofaccounts