As the martech landscape continues to grow and more solutions grab marketers’ attention, technology investment has become a crucial topic of conversation for many organizations. In fact, research from SiriusDecisions’ 2018 CMO Study shows that nearly 60% of marketing leaders consider the implementation of new technologies and systems as “the organizational change required to support their companies’ growth strategy over the next two years.”

After starting out three years ago as a small satellite event during Dreamforce, the Ops-Stars Conference has quickly grown to attract more than 1,500 attendees, 40 sessions and 26 sponsors. Hosted by LeanData, the event has become the lead forum for B2B executives who are either in an Ops role, looking to hire Ops roles, or those simply looking to optimize how the role functions within their organization.

Ongoing shifts in buyer behavior and rapid developments in technology are not only having an impact on direct marketing initiatives — they are also affecting the role of indirect channel partners in the B2B marketplace.

In a conversation with Kevin Cunningham, CEO of MRP, he discusses the current state of pipeline measurement in the B2B marketplace. Cunningham also shares his thoughts on how B2B organizations can leverage emerging AI capabilities and predictive analytics to enhance their pipeline measurement initiatives, while also sharing examples of how progressive companies are leveraging these types of insights to understand their pipeline. Listen to the full podcast to hear more:

In a discussion with Demand Gen Report, Scott Vaughan, CMO of Integrate, shared some of the main qualities that he has seen have a positive impact on the growth of the industry. Vaughan also discussed Integrate’s recent B2B Game Changers Revenue Marketers Spotlight Awards, in which they spotlighted 43 marketing professionals that are going above and beyond to orchestrate technology, data and processes in their own businesses. To check out…

Entering its third year, the Ops-Stars conference has quickly grown to become a must-attend event around Dreamforce in San Francisco for executives in sales/marketing operations, as well as demand gen.

via GIPHY There’s no denying that protecting brand integrity is vital to optimizing market positioning and differentiation. But for companies that rely heavily on channel partners to market and sell their products and services, it might be a good idea to loosen the reins on their co-branding guidelines.

via GIPHY Judging by Demand Gen Report’s subscriber list, most of our reader base is currently employed at B2B businesses in a stage of rapid growth and scale. This is no small endeavor; and I know from my own experience that a lot of time, passion and coffee goes into helping a growing business meet its goals.

Welcome to my new blog series, "Behind the Marketing," which is inspired by the classic VH1 series, "Behind the Music," but with a B2B marketing twist. Each month, I will spotlight a cool, eye-catching and thought-provoking campaign or project — and the marketers behind them. This week, I spoke with Lauren Mead, CMO of TimeTrade, about the company’s "Selling is a Team Sport" campaign, which used direct mail to accelerate sales conversations and convert target…

We recently wrapped up our seventh annual B2B Buyers Survey, and, as always, were intrigued to hear straight from more than 200 executives who had been directly involved in a B2B purchase decision (with 72% being the primary decision maker) in the past 12 months.