Are you having trouble targeting your ideal customer prospect? This whitepaper from B2B Magazine and Avention gives you tips and stats on locating your ideal customers.

1. BtoB Research Insights
Finding the Ideal
Customer Prospect
In partnership with

2. BtoB Research Insights Finding the Ideal Customer Prospect
1 © 2014 Avention, Inc.
THE CRITICAL PROCESS OF CUSTOMER PROSPECTING
Developing a process by which the marketing team understands what prospects will be their best possible
customers is no easy task. In particular B2B marketers face a rapidly changing world of marketing
necessities, driven by a shifting array of customer and prospect research habits. That has put enormous
pressure on marketing databases, which are increasingly fluid, often out of date, and in need of constant
hygiene and improvement. In scrambling to keep up with the times, many marketers focus on new, cutting-
edge channels to reach out to prospects and customers, such as social media or mobile, or the dynamic
world of retargeting and programmatic advertising. But the consensus is much more basic: Those marketers
who focus on the best prospecting databases have an enormous advantage over those who don’t. Further,
finding the “ideal” prospect in that database often means understanding what makes for an ideal customer in
the first place, and mapping this profile onto the identification of possible new customers.
CONTENTS
1. Essential action items
2. A changing world and marketing’s response
3. Coping with challenges, obstacles
4. What this means for marketers
5. Notes & resources
✓ Methodology
✓ Contributors
✓ About BtoB
✓ About Avention
In partnership with

3. BtoB Research Insights Finding the Ideal Customer Prospect
2 © 2014 Avention, Inc.
ESSENTIAL ACTION ITEMS
There are several essential action items that inform this report, that transformative
marketers intent on success are focused on doing. They include:
1. Determine what’s essential. Marketing has many roles, and it is imperative that these
involve activities that lead to revenue and sales. Database accuracy, analysis,
segmentation, targeting and appropriate lead scoring will lead to revenue growth.
2. Make sales your partner. For many companies, the key prospecting database resides
in their CRM systems. These are generally overseen by sales, making the imperative
for sales-marketing alignment even greater. In working with sales, marketing can better
determine what a “prospect” means, and develop methods for finding and nurturing
them for ultimate handoff to sales reps.
3. Think revenue. For far too long marketing has been considered a cost center, rather
than a generator of organizational wealth. This does not have to be the case any
longer. Marketers should focus on cultivating leads that convert, and work
with sales to make conversions happen. Meld your goals to revenue, not
processes. Consider what marketing is all about: contributing to the bottom
line, and making the company successful.
Marketers can help
make marketing a
revenue producing
center and not a
cost center, to
benefit the
company and
extend the influence
of marketing.

4. BtoB Research Insights Finding the Ideal Customer Prospect
3 © 2014 Avention, Inc.
A CHANGING WORLD AND MARKETING’S REPSONSE
Marketers are keenly aware that their professional world has changed dramatically over
the past several years, and this transformation is having a profound impact on lead
generation and prospecting. Overwhelmingly, marketers indicate that the rapid changes in
marketing technology, Big Data necessities, and such new channels as social media and
mobile have created a marketing world unlike any in the past (Figure 1). This has been
matched, or exceeded, by the changing ways prospects and customers consider with
whom to do business.
Figure 1 How has the world of marketing changed over the past 5 years.
Two of the biggest changes in prospecting are due to the vast amount of online
information available to decision makers, and the associated shift of power away from the
brand and toward the customer. In response, marketers are placing ever-greater
emphasis on content marketing as a subtle means of impacting that decision-making
process throughout the buyer’s journey—content to nurture leads, and later to accelerate
them. To effect this adequately, marketers agree that appropriate technology is essential
to handle the mass of data available (Figure 2).
Slightly, or not at all
Moderately. We’re
adjusting to buyer demands.
Very much. The world has
shifted.
Completely. Everything has
changed.
Finding the Ideal Customer Prospect
N=323, 2013 Source: BtoB

5. BtoB Research Insights Finding the Ideal Customer Prospect
4 © 2014 Avention, Inc.
Figure 2 Areas of greatest impact on marketing departments and programs
It is clear from the findings above that marketers are concerned about the sheer amount of
information available to decision makers from all sources, and that it will overwhelm their
own messages and drown out their presence in the marketplace. In response, marketers
agree, marketing technology at the service of content distribution—at the right time, to the
right person—will help overcome this issue. As seen above, it is noteworthy, however, that
seeking a better marketing liaison with sales falls far down the list … better sales-
marketing alignment (24.6%) and the necessity of supplying sales with appropriate
content (20.0%) are not viewed as important factors of change, compared with other shifts
in the marketing landscape.
How are marketers adjusting to these massive changes, and what obstacles do they see
as impeding their efforts? Change for change’s sake—even when addressing
challenges—doesn’t address the main issue, which is determining exactly where the holes
in prospecting for leads exist, and plugging those holes. Identifying obstacles to success is
a valuable first step (Figure 3).
Finding the Ideal Customer Prospect
N=323, 2013 Source: BtoB
A focus on
change and
processes may not
address the holes
in the prospecting
process, and how
to plug the gaps.

6. BtoB Research Insights Finding the Ideal Customer Prospect
5 © 2014 Avention, Inc.
COPING WITH CHALLENGES, OBSTACLES
Figure 3 The most important obstacles in reaching out to prospects
As seen, 51.1% of marketers said they’re scrambling to improve the depth and accuracy
of their databases. Other areas that are challenging to marketers in gaining a handle on
prospecting include the lack of database technologies (37.9%), the understanding of
prospect personas (33.3%), the inability to find good sources of data (30.5%) and—
significantly—having little sense of how to identify the “ideal” current customer. Doing so,
in many respects, will help map onto the best types of prospects available.
It might be surprising to some to see such strong concern about the lack of database
strength, since this has been a considerable concern for some time. The assessment of
marketers in this study reiterates that without a powerful database, the competitive
advantages gained by focusing on particular channels will not be effective. Most
Finding the Ideal Customer Prospect
N=323, 2013 Source: BtoB
Marketers are
working to
improve the depth
and accuracy of
their databases,
while targeting
prospect
personas.

7. BtoB Research Insights Finding the Ideal Customer Prospect
6 © 2014 Avention, Inc.
respondents to BtoB’s survey—52.6%—said they could improve their database marketing
efforts by segmenting it better, scoring prospects well, targeting them with appropriate
messages and qualifying them for the sales team (Figure 4).
Figure 4 The most pressing changes needed to improve database marketing
Other solutions include improving data hygiene (35.4%), gaining real-time knowledge
about prospects’ business events (32.6%), appending new intelligence to current contacts
(28.6%), and analyzing multiple touch points leading to a sale (25.7%), among others. The
bottom line for many marketers remains the lack of hard metrics, and not being able to
attribute incremental revenue directly to their programs. In fact, most survey respondents
suffer under the apprehension that their marketing departments are generally or
completely considered merely cost centers within their own companies, and not revenue-
producing growth centers. Just 25% of marketers said they can attribute specific
marketing efforts to conversions and sales, and only 7.7% of marketers said their analytics
show that revenue is attributable to marketing.
Finding the Ideal Customer Prospect
N=323, 2013 Source: BtoB
The lack of hard
metrics, plus lack
of attribution to
conversions,
hamper many
marketers.
Better segmentation, targeting,
scoring and qualifying of prospects
Improve quality and relevance
of database
Improve data hygiene, removing
inactive, inaccurate contacts
Gain real-time knowledge of
prospects’ business events
Append current contacts with
actionable info
Better understand the
buyer’s journey
Analyze multiple touch points
leading to a sale
Improve the size of our database
Implement better technology solutions

8. BtoB Research Insights Finding the Ideal Customer Prospect
7 © 2014 Avention, Inc.
A major pain point for marketers is not being able to identify their best customers, and the
inability to map this profile to prospects. With all the innovations in tools and analytics,
social marketing, operations, content, product marketing, etc., marketers need a better
understanding of profiling customers to understand their ideal prospect. Developing
profiles and personas differs depending on the goal. In prospecting the focus might be on
identifying buyers, decision makers, pain points and what products will help those pain
points. A retention marketer might explore ideal profiles within the CRM database, and
expand it by adding other key account contacts. Whatever the goal, a keen eye to existing
customers is essential. Among these, 63.0% of marketers said loyalty and repeat
business defines the “ideal” customer. Other qualities of good customers include high
lifetime value (49.1%); their recommendations to others (45.7%); their acceptance by
sales as a lead (38.2%); and their quicker conversion rates (20.8%) (Figure 5).
Figure 5 Effective ways to measure current customers, to ID the “ideal” prospect
Finding the Ideal Customer Prospect
N=323, 2013 Source: BtoB
A major pain
point for
marketers is not
being able to
identify their best
customers, in
order to find
similar prospects.

9. BtoB Research Insights Finding the Ideal Customer Prospect
8 © 2014 Avention, Inc.
WHAT THIS MEANS FOR MARKETERS
■ Embrace change. There is no purpose in marketers rejecting change. They need to
embrace it, accept the need for sophisticated technology, and acknowledge new ways
to identify promising prospects that map well onto existing customer personas.
■ Elevate information. Marketing technology is a means to an end, but not an end in
itself. Analysis fuels technology, with its ability to parse database information, append
fields who are lacking, segment prospects appropriately, and home in on those
prospects that are most likely to convert quickly and become loyal customers. In
particular, real-time information—delivered as it happens—can offer sales and
marketing teams great leverage in converting prospects.
■ Amplify marketing’s impact. Marketing often is still considered a cost center in
organizations, not a generator of sales and revenue. When done well—when marketing
embraces the changing world they swim in—they can demonstrate they are a revenue
generator, not merely a cost center. It can be argued that marketing is the greatest
source of wealth of any department in any organization. Marketers must embrace this,
and find ways to demonstrate it.
■ Embrace prospecting. Far too often marketing cedes the prospecting and lead-
generation task to sales. Culprits here may be an excessive focus on branding efforts,
or an inordinate concentration on trending channels such as social media and mobile.
A solution is to liaise with sales to embrace the prospecting task; to work with the sales
team to identify their best customers; and to develop a plan to find prospects that
exhibit qualities that are most likely to convert and become profitable.
■ Sales, sales and more sales. Don’t get caught up in a metrics maze. Yes, marketers
want their marketing automation package and database analysis to improve clicks,
opens, bounces, etc. The bottom line, however, is improved lead gen, shortened sales
cycles, increased revenue and better customer retention. Keep your eye on the (real)
prize, and develop your database and prospecting efforts accordingly.
■ Get real. Extend the time and energy you estimate to spend on implementing
technology, analysis and prospecting, and set expectations with management and
sales. The investment will pay off handsomely for marketers who push their
performance and skill to levels never before possible.

10. BtoB Research Insights Finding the Ideal Customer Prospect
9 © 2014 Avention, Inc.
NOTES & RESOURCES
Methodology
BtoB’s study is based on a survey of 323 business marketers conducted in November
2013. Of those, 63.7% were from companies with less than $50 million in annual revenue,
while 17.7% reported annual revenue of $1 billion and more. Technology companies
predominated, at 17.7% of all respondents, with financial services, consulting,
nontechnical and medical/pharmaceutical companies also represented.
Contributors
✓ Christopher Hosford, East Coast Bureau Chief, BtoB: chosford@crain.com
✓ James Rogers, CMO, Avention: James.Rogers@avention.com

11. BtoB Research Insights Finding the Ideal Customer Prospect
10 © 2014 Avention, Inc.
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About Avention
Avention, Inc., formerly OneSource Information
Services, provides real-time, actionable B2B data
from the world’s most comprehensive database to
deliver 21
st
century business information solutions.
Avention empowers sales, marketing and research professionals with the best global B2B
data available and leverages that data with its cutting-edge software. Through four key
capabilities—Conceptual Search℠, Business Signals℠, Ideal Profiles℠ and SmartLists℠—
users find leads, market segments and business insights that can’t be found anywhere
else.
Headquartered in Concord, MA with offices across North America, Europe and APAC,
Avention has more than 4,000 customers worldwide. Visit www.avention.com and follow
us on Twitter @AventionInc.