In today’s world, tech buyers travel through a tangled and intricate purchase labyrinth before they reach a buying decision. They are actively seeking and defining their own research path and constantly consulting many diverse peers along the way – all while surrounded by dangerous webs of competitive messaging. So, what should today’s tech marketer’s secret weapon be in order to help customers every step of the way? Transforming themselves into tech marketing ninjas, of course! From better connecting with customers to refining targeting and strategic content development in order to achieve the business bottom line – tech marketers must hone their ninja skills in order to break through the tech buyer’s stealth reconnaissance. What tools are they using to further refine their infiltration abilities? How are tech marketers more tightly aligning with sales and lead generation? And how exactly do tech marketers prove their value to the C-suite through ROI? All of these questions and more are answered in our latest infographic, The Tech Marketing Ninja, that explores the challenges, tools and value being deployed by today’s tech marketing ninja.

1. 65%
-69%
of potential tech
buyers complete
research before
contacting sales.1
40%
more stakeholders
are at the table assisting
with research than there
were four years ago.1
THE TECH MARKETING NINJA:
Crafty Skills Required to Reach
Stealthy Tech Customers
Today’s tech buyers are cloaked in
a veil of self-education, research and
stealth reconnaissance that arms them
with decision-influencing data well
before they reveal themselves to tech
vendors. The sales path is less linear
and less clear. Here, the marketing
ninja plays a growing role in driving
the purchase decision—and revenue.
…and using your messaging arsenal to
drive a better marketing relationship with
customers and directly impact sales.
58%
of pipeline ends
up in “no decision“
or stalled.2
59%
of sales rep time is
spent not selling.3
The obvious challenge for tech companies
is that their sales team has less time to
influence the purchase decision
through direct interaction.4
25%
EARLY
as soon as
they know they
have a need
53%
MID-WAY
after they
have a short list
of solutions
22%
LATE
when they’re
ready to buy
So when do those wily customers
reveal themselves to sales reps?4
When buyers do reveal themselves, they usually
know what they want. That’s why it’s so important
for marketing to act as the bridge—between
customers and the business—that leads to sales.
THE TECH MARKETER CAN INFILTRATE THE
CUSTOMER’S “VEIL OF SECRECY”…
Here, the tech marketer’s value shines—crafting content
that speaks to purchasers at the right time, and “closing”
the sale before direct interaction. It’s not surprising, then, that
marketing and sales are the top reasons for creating content.
In fact, 80% of tech companies create marketing collateral
to help market products. Other strategies include: 5
71%
SALES
ENABLEMENT
70%
DEFINING
POSITIONING
70%
CREATING
MARKETING PLANS
…but slicing through the
clutter to prove C-suite
value is a challenge.
83%
of marketers are feeling the
pressure to prove direct value
from the C-suite.6
When C-suite-ers were
asked to give marketing a grade
for its ability to prove its value: 6
20%
of marketers
earned an A
30%
of marketers
earned a B
50%
earned a C
or lower
Even the C-suite internally is split on marketing impact: 7
CMOs perceive they’re contributing to
30% of a company’s business revenue,
but only 25% of CFOs agree.
75% of CMOs believe their efforts are directly
influencing sales, but only 33% of CFOs agree.
A+ IMPACT
MARKETING BUSINESS VALUE IS REAL
When it comes to C-suite approval and
consensus, the proof is in the numbers: 8
Cost per lead for
content marketing
$
32.25
Cost per lead
for paid search
$
111.11
LinkedIn can enable tech marketers
to become “tech ninjas,” proactively
reaching customers and prospects
where they are, and influencing them
before they connect with sales.
Find out more about how LinkedIn
can help your marketing team support
sales and move the needle on the
bottom line. Visit http://lnkd.in/TechNinja
Content marketing
ROI outweighed paid
search ROI by more than 3X
In addition to saving
money, content marketing
can build up search rankings:
14.6%
1.7%
Organic search leads have
a 14.6% close rate compared
to outbound marketing leads
with only a 1.7% close rate.9
67% of consumers were more likely to
buy a new product if they found it
through an online search.10
Organizations can’t afford to let dusk
fall on a day without leads.
1
IDC. https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/20140910120144-51845612-death-of-the-enterprise-salesman
2
Sales Benchmark Index. http://www.salesandmarketing.com/content/new-rules-sales-execution-stop-enabling-and-start-executing
3
CSO Insights. http://www.salesandmarketing.com/content/new-rules-sales-execution-stop-enabling-and-start-executing
4
Customer & The Buyer’s Journey Benchmark Report, Demand Metric, June 2014. http://www.demandmetric.com
5
Marketing Profs. http://www.marketingprofs.com/charts/2015/27524/how-b2b-tech-companies-market-products
6
2015 Marketing Performance Benchmark Management Benchmark Study. http://www.marketingprofs.com/chirp/2015/27548/marketers-answer-what-have-you-done-for-me-lately-infographic
7
Marketing Week Study. http://www.trewmarketing.com/smartmarketingblog/marketing-for-engineers/proving-roi-of-marketing-for-b2b/#sthash.DfRn1dwl.n9dbGSlh.dpbs
8
Kapost and Eloqua Study. http://contentmarketinginstitute.com/2013/09/prove-content-marketing-roi-ceo-values/
9
Hubspot Report. http://contentmarketinginstitute.com/2013/09/prove-content-marketing-roi-ceo-values/
10
Nielson. http://contentmarketinginstitute.com/2013/09/prove-content-marketing-roi-ceo-values/
11
Content Marketing Institute. http://contentmarketinginstitute.com/2015/03/technology-content-marketing-research/
THE MARKETING BOTTOM LINE
Tech marketers understand the
importance of having a solid content
marketing strategy to measure content
success and how it supports sales: 11
24% say their
organizations are
successful at tracking
the ROI of their
content marketing
program (compared
with 21% of B2B
marketers overall).
24%
40%
62%
That rises to
40% when the
tech marketer has a
documented content
marketing strategy.
Tech marketers are
more focused than their
B2B peers on sales and
lead-related metrics:
sales lead quality
(62% vs. 49%), higher
conversion rates (61%
vs. 48%), and sales lead
quantity (54% vs. 40%).
Wield your messaging sword wisely: It’s all about
smart, pinpointed marketing, giving customers
the info they want at the right time…