The Digital-First Era Demands a New Marketing and Sales Model: Introducing Adaptive Customer Engagement

The Digital-First Era Demands a New Marketing and Sales Model: Introducing Adaptive Customer Engagement

This IDC Perspective focuses on the new Adaptive Customer Engagement (ACE) model that engages the modern digital-first B2B buyer. Marketing is facing the reality of reaching and influencing a predominantly digital-first buyer. Today's buyer is fully engaged across multiple digital channels and information sources through the entire journey. B2B marketers have even more complexity due to the growing number of personas they must engage, influence, and nurture in a highly contextual relevant manner. A new operating model for marketing and sales is imperative to accelerate revenue growth opportunities in the digital-first era. IDC's Adaptive Customer Engagement model provides a modern framework to identify and accelerate revenue growth opportunities for the brand. "The current marketing and sales operating model fails in customer centricity and perpetuates the challenge B2B marketing and sales leaders face in a digital-first era — to establish relevancy, nurture, and build relationships among a growing number of influential individuals in a buying committee," states Laurie Buczek, vice president, CMO Advisory Practice at IDC. "Marketers have struggled to meet the desired content and experience delivery for a better part of a decade. No longer can marketing and sales operate within a linear buyer decisioning model or continue to create disconnected acts of content and interpersonal dialogue. It is critical that marketing steps in to orchestrate and adaptively deliver the best content at the right time, right place."

Please Note: Extended description available upon request.


Executive Snapshot
Situation Overview
Four Reasons Why Marketing and Sales Needs a New Model
Digital Is Now a Permanent and Dynamic Part of Our World
Customer Experience Impacts B2B Buying Decisions
Precision Marketing Is Table Stakes
Content's ROI Black Hole Is Marketing's Achilles Heel
Introducing the Adaptive Customer Engagement Model
Buyer Objectives
Adaptive Enablement
Adaptive Engagement
The Seller's Objectives
Advice for the Marketer
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Related Research
Synopsis

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