Spring Into Action: 6 Transformative B2B Marketing Strategies

Just as Spring heralds new beginnings, understanding the generational shift in buyers is crucial. “Millennials and GenZ now outnumber GenX and Boomers in management roles,” notes Selheimer.

Importantly, “you can’t assume that what’s worked for older buyers is going to work for younger buyers who have different expectations of what good looks like,” he adds. These digital natives require a whole different kind of fertilizer and won’t put up with the old “trust us” manure!

In the spirit of Spring, Selheimer’s advice to CMOs is to “think like a VC and reposition the marketing budget as a ‘basket of ideas’ with an overall ROI.” “That way, if one or two experiments don’t pan out, you can still deliver in a way CFOs understand,” he explains. It’s about planting a diversified garden where each initiative can grow, thrive, and contribute to the overall landscape of success.

Selheimer points out, “Revenue and pipeline are still important, but they are lagging indicators.” This is a reminder to tend to the entire metrics garden, not just the most visible blooms.

By including retention rates and brand health in our metrics, we ensure a lush, vibrant garden that sustains itself through every season. Selheimer also encourages CMOs to measure and track partnership relationships, as these are increasingly important sources of growth.

Reflecting on customer retention, Selheimer reminds us, “If you have high churn, it is much harder to drive growth.”

“Marketers need to partner with Customer Success and Sales to create and drive customer engagement programs, not just to gather references and testimonials,” he explains. This underscores the importance of nurturing our garden’s soil—our existing customer base—ensuring it’s fertile ground for growth and expansion.

Embracing an “audience-centric approach to marketing,” as Selheimer recommends, is like forming gardening squads, each equipped with the right tools and expertise to care for different plants in our garden.

“Each team needs to be large enough to meet the challenge but small enough to not get bogged down,” he shared. This approach ensures that each of your core target audiences has just the right amount of nurturing to flourish.

When it comes to GenAI, Selheimer warns, “This is not the moment to wait and see.” Instead, he suggests, “CMOs should and can lead GenAI adoption, starting with a readiness assessment and identifying how this tech will drive business value.”

Noting that, “Data readiness is the Achilles heel of most AI initiatives,” Selhiemer advises “establishing a structure for enablement, governance policies, and vendor safeguards.” His is a call to proactivity, ensuring your garden is ahead of the curve, blooming efficiently and effectively.