Competencies that define stellar B2B marketing

A decade ago, I managed an initiative that aimed to forecast the competencies that would define stellar business-to-business market management 5 to 10 years into the future.  The focus was to identify and document these capabilities in a way that was agnostic of organizational structure, firm size, industry, etc. It has been more than a decade since the completion of the project and a lot has changed, the tools available to both (1) the B2B customers and (2) the firms selling to these customers have gotten far more sophisticated. Most of the change has been driven by technologies that have evolved by leaps and bounds.

Given that more than a decade has passed since the completion of the study, I’ve been wanting to dust it off to see how well it stood the test of time. I believe that the results of the study are still relevant but would like to capture the thoughts of both practitioners and researchers on its relevancy in 2014 (over a decade later).

The project resulted in the generation of 3 models that depicted the ecosystem of competencies that made up business-to-business market management. The goal of the study was to provide a thorough, comprehensive, well-rounded picture of the capabilities and other characteristics that would define best-in-class business-to-business market management and the traits of people who supported that function. During the inception of the study, it was decided that the goal was not to generate a set of competencies that simply reflected the status quo, a mere reflection of common denominators of contemporary practice in the business marketing field. The aim was to include a diversity of forward thinking thought leaders (practitioners and educators) and forecast 5 to 10 years into the future. During the process, it became clear that the competencies that were typically labeled “b2b marketing” seemed to vary widely by market area, by company size, and by the maturity of the marketing function within a specific B2B firm. In many environments, it was a function that did not get involved in pricing, channel management issues, etc.

A stellar marketer can be compared to a very talented artist who has mastered his/her craft, is able to properly scan a landscape, and interpret all its intricacies onto a canvas. Like master artists, successful marketers are able to scan a market and develop its complex intricacies into a value-adding model. Just as artists are able to account for environmental factors such as lighting variations, depth perception and color nuances, best-in-class marketers must be able to discern variations in their markets, account for the customers’ perception of their offering, and understand the nuances in the needs of their customers. The recipe requires not only a wealth of technical marketing skills but also a few pinches of “other”, non- marketing specific traits.  “Marketing leadership” as described in the model below, is a mixed set of competencies that lean more towards general business acumen, but they can differentiate an average performer from a stellar B2B marketer.

As in most fields, there is a tendency by educators to focus on technical, teachable traits that can be taught through traditional pedagogical methods, and proficiency assessed through conventional testing methods. The competencies that fall under the marketing leadership grouping could be defined as generic business abilities, but they are a set of enabling traits that can exponentially enhance the effectiveness of the technical marketing skill set, and therefore separate an average professional from a stellar performer. These broad business competencies cover more abstract concepts such as ethics, boundary spanning*, creativity, leadership, vision, foresight, ideation, innovation, business acumen, communication, collaboration, cooperation, and the ability to manage and adapt to change. From a pedagogical standpoint, the teaching of these abilities can be a challenge for educators.

The model consists of 12 competency clusters/knowledge domains that constitute the B-to-B market management competency ecosystem. The concept of “value” is pervasive throughout the model. Effective business marketers must understand what value is and be able to apply that knowledge in a variety of contexts.

          

 

The model has been broken down into 4 broad areas, which in turn were broken down into the following competency groupings/clusters:

A-Understanding value

Data management
Harnessing value

B-Marketing leadership

Business acumen
Creativity, foresight, and managing change

C-Designing market strategy

Sales Collaboration & Boundary Spanning

Market segmentation

Market planning

Targeting

Positioning & MarCom

D-Creating & harvesting value

Development of new offerings

Management of offerings & Channel conflict management

Value and pricing

[Special comment]

Supply chain vs. demand chain driven B-to-B marketing

I'll write a separate summary/blog entry for each competency cluster and will wrap up with a blog on supply vs demand driven B2B marketing. I'll post these (12) blogs over the next couple weeks, as time permits. 

Please keep in mind that it would be close to impossible for one individual to possess depth across all these knowledge areas.  These competencies would typically be dispersed across a variety of roles, teams, or even departments.  Also, as you read this blog, remember that what you are reading came out of a 12 year old study.

As you read each new blog entry, I’d love to capture your thoughts. At the end of each section, I encourage you to provide feedback on the following:

• Is the information still relevant? Do you think it describes best in class performance in 2014?

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* "Boundary spanning"  is defined as the ability to build healthy interdisciplinary business relationships with people in functional areas other than one’s own.

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Note: This blog will not cover details on the approach that was used to forecast the competencies and create the model. If you’re interested in details on the study, you can always take a look at the ~400 page report, which is available on Amazon. Please keep in mind that it’s not a book, but a technical report and it is written as such.