How ‘Growth Gurus’ Are Redefining B2B Success With Data, Experimentation & Multichannel Mastery

New research revealed that 30% of B2B marketers saw significant growth in 2024 — and those high-achievers were more likely to balance data and tech excellence with a genuine connection to their customers. These findings were uncovered in “Unleashing Growth: What B2B Marketers Are Doing To Stay Ahead,” which dubbed this cohort as “Growth Gurus.”

The report — fielded by Anteriad, a full-funnel B2B marketing solutions provider — uncovered that Growth Gurus embraced advanced marketing strategies that were rooted in data-driven insights, relentless testing and an unwavering focus on the customer. Specifically:

• 72% said they have the right data strategy in place;
• High achievers were 3X more likely to use five or more marketing channels and test new innovations; and
• 63% prioritized transparency while other marketers prioritized customer centricity.

Given that 79% of high-growth marketers expected to see significant increases in 2025 compared to just 19% of other marketers, we asked Lynn Tornabene, Chief Marketing Officer of Anteriad, how lower-preforming teams can match the successes of the Growth Gurus.

1. Develop A Robust Data Strategy

According to Tornabene, the first step to leveraging data like a Growth Guru is to clean and normalize it. She continued that there should be two components to data strategies:

• Bringing on a third-party partner to access the data needed to identify and reach specific target audiences; and
• Unlocking the value of existing data by cleansing and testing data regularly.

“You are better off with recent, good quality data than a huge database that’s not usable,” continued Tornabene. “You are also better off using the best possible data for a single channel or campaign if centralized data isn’t workable. Finally, focusing on quality data needs to become a continuous process, with a plan for cleansing and testing data regularly and adding quality data only. This means testing partners carefully and working with partners that are trustworthy and transparent about their data.”

2. Foster A Culture Of Experimentation

In an ideal world, Tornabene explained that a senior leader would provide approval for testing, understand the time and budget required and utilize a “post-mortem” approach to understand what worked and didn’t. However, if marketers have executives who view a failed test as a waste of time and budget, it doesn’t mean they’re “doomed” to never experiment, she continued. Instead, it means marketers need to embark on an education campaign internally to show the value.

“It’s important to be a salesperson for the new approach by showcasing small wins, providing examples of high-performing competitors or companies using the same tactics and sharing clear learnings from the tests to improve future investments,” said Tornabene. “Just like not every new idea for a feature will work, not every new message or channel will resonate with your audience in the same way.”

3. Better Manage Campaigns Across Multiple Channels

When it comes to managing campaigns across channels, Tornabene explained that it’s important for marketers to find the balance between what they can execute and what resonates with their target audience. She continued that this starts with planning for multichannel strategies by assessing their ideal customer profile (ICP).

“Understanding those profiles will help you select the channels and elements that matter to your ICP,” said Tornabene. “This sets the stage for a multichannel campaign that is coherent and tied to a specific prospect or customer behaviors.”

Then, she noted that marketers should prioritize tactics based on what the company can afford and execute given technology and personnel limitations. While not every business can afford the Super Bowl, Tornabene explained that there’s room for marketers to get creative — whether it’s through adding new channels or optimizing content that could be syndicated across multiple channels.

“There is no silver bullet for marketers, who need to customize their strategy based on their ICP, budget and offering,” said Tornabene. “Using targeted outreach for different audiences can help marketers focus their approach based on these preferences and behaviors. Marketers can work with a data partner to learn more about specific audiences and craft a good targeting strategy.”

To learn more from the “Growth Gurus” to shape your 2025 strategy, check out “Unleashing Growth: What B2B Marketers Are Doing To Stay Ahead.”