B2B businesses need to focus not just on selling their products, but also on staying ahead of the competition. To do this, they need to leverage cutting-edge technology and marketing strategies. However, this growing complexity can be difficult for businesses to navigate on their own. That’s where technology platforms like Scale emerge as valuable allies. These companies provide comprehensive services that help businesses grow and compete effectively in the market.
Prospects are difficult to understand. In order to connect an ad impression to a website visitor and their business identity, tracing the thread connecting an ad impression to a record in a CRM can be really difficult. As a result, prospects can be hard to manage and acquire.
While it is easy to think that a new platform or tool will help your business “fix” things, the reality is that implementing and managing a new platform often outweighs the cost of using what you have to better effect. It’s important to implement tools at the right stage of your business in order to ensure success.
The startup community has grown toinclude a wider variety of tools andprograms than ever before.While some are necessary,otherssuch as ad hoc reportscan be wasted money.If you want tousing the most effectivetools possible, here are fourphases ofgrowth toconsider:### Early Stage startups should focus on using A/B testing andcustomer segmentation tools in order tooptimize conversion rates and increaselifetime value.### Mid-Stage startupsshouldfocused on improving website speed,search engine optimizationandbuilding an engaged customerbase throughsocial media marketing techniques.### Late Stage startupsshouldinvestinValidated Learning Insights (VLI)products andanalytics software so they canmonitorthe effectiveness of their marketingcampaignsandmeasure their impactonbusiness growth overall.
- CRM and data warehouse (your source of truth): A CRM is where you store data and records on people and the company, and take action. A data warehouse is where you aggregate all your data to perform analyses.
- Third-party data sources (how you find/target people).
- Analytics (how you measure your impact).
- Engagement platforms (how you reach your audience).
The ancient Greeks believed that the universe was created from a primordial ball of fire or “pneuma.” This pneuma, according to
We shouldn’t have to call it the “lean” B2B growth stack; it should just be the B2B growth stack.
The B2B growth stack is a comprehensive system for unlocking the potential of your business. It consists of five key components: marketing, sales, customer service, logistics, and operations. By using all five components together in the right way, you can boost your company’s growth rate and achieve success in today’s competitive market.
- Task management and productivity tools.
- Team composition/communication tools.
- Website, SEO and creative tools.
- CDPs (because there is no good B2B CDP).
- PLG specific tools (All of the tools below are relevant to PLG companies, but there will be other tools they’ll need that we aren’t covering).
Early stage (seed to Series A)
What should be in your stack
- CRM: Hubspot
- Data source: Apollo.io
- Ad Platforms: LinkedIn Ads, Google AdWords
- Analytics: Google Analytics
- Other: Outbound email domain management (e.g., Lightmeter)
What shouldn’t
- Salesforce: The Hubspot CRM has come a long way. It’s less customizable than Salesforce, but that’s a good thing because you shouldn’t waste your time on too much customization at this stage.
- ZoomInfo: Go with Apollo. It’s cheaper and will let you access data to test outbound. Their new enrichment product allows you to do inbound enrichment as well. Caveat: If your target market is not digitally native, e.g., electrical contractors, ZoomInfo has significantly better coverage than Apollo.
Biggest early-stage mistake
Many companies overinvest in tools that correspond to a specific acquisition strategy without understanding if that strategy actually works yet. The company may invest millions of dollars on software, hardware, and other tools to improve their chances of acquiring a certain type of customer or market, but without any certainty that this strategy will work.
Zoominfo has become a staple in many businesses because it is an essential tool for head of sales. However, as with any tool, Zoominfo must be used correctly in order to get the most out of it. If you are new to using Zoominfo or are not convinced that it is necessary for your business, investigate whether there are other tools that could provide the same services at a fraction of the price. Additionally, consider measuring how often and how successfully you use Zoominfo compared to competitor tools before investing too much money into the service.
If you are starting a new business, you should always test your way into things. One way to do this is to use a cheaper data provider like Apollo. Apollo offers affordable plans that provide enough storage and bandwidth for most businesses. This can save you time and money in the early days of your business.
