New industry-first research from tech marketing agency Alloy indicates that tech companies are now prioritizing the customer lifecycle over the sales funnel—signaling a shift that could fundamentally reshape B2B sales and marketing departments worldwide.
The firm’s annual tech marketing data report, State of the Modern Customer Journey reports that 73 percent of B2B software companies have accelerated existing customer revenue goals over the past 12 months. Moreover, 41 percent of these brands are decreasing their emphasis on net new sales due to the prioritization of up- and cross-selling initiatives.
The survey respondents also revealed:
- The organizational dynamics driving an increased focus on the customer. These include cross-selling mandates due to recent M&A activity and customer retention concerns in the face of a recession.
- Which departments are ultimately responsible for customer revenue growth and inhibitors to their overall success.
- Top customer lifecycle challenges and more.
“We surveyed over 115 global B2B tech professionals with revenue responsibility, and the sum of their insights was clear. In today’s market conditions, software brands are shifting their focus to a customer lifetime value (LTV)—not initial sales and average customer value (ACV),” said Anna Ruth Williams, chief strategy officer and partner at Alloy, in a news release.
Reimagining customer marketing
Considering that most marketing spend is concentrated on net new sales today, the shift from ACV to LTV will require organizational restructuring and budget reallocation.
“Sixty-seven percent of survey takers said their businesses would ‘definitely’ be more successful if sales, revops, marketing, customer success and customer experience functions were more closely aligned,” Williams continued. “As we head into 2023, tech brands should reimagine customer success. Perhaps creating a ‘customer growth’ team comprised of these interdepartmental professionals and their agency partners.”
“The modern customer journey looks a lot like the traditional B2B buying journey,” said Alloy’s executive vice president Renee Spurlin, in the release. “Think about it—the same strategies and tactics that secured a first-time buyer will work again and again to reinforce that decision, upsell and cross-sell that customer during their lifecycle.
“The world’s technology companies are sitting on possibility right now – and by transforming their traditional B2B marketing efforts into integrated, customer-centric initiatives, they can meet changing customer revenue goals,” Spurlin concluded.
