Data is at the heart of every marketing activity. Effective segmentation relies on a clean database. A lead nurturing campaign using bad data is pointless. And you might as well forget about accurate campaign reporting unless your data is in order.

Attracted to the lower cost-per-lead, greater lead volumes and other benefits, marketers are allocating larger portions of their marketing budgets to inbound marketing. The share of the marketing budget designated to inbound marketing tactics already exceeds 50% and is projected to rise to 65% in North America by 2015, according to SiriusDecisions.

The main focus of converting leads has made the relationship between the marketing and sales teams crucial to the company’s bottom line. With CRM systems as the central hub for both the sales and marketing teams to track the behavior of leads through the buying cycle, new tactics are being formed within the CRM to make sure the right message is given to the buyer — at the right time.

Many B2B marketers are already familiar with the value of lead scoring, but implementing a customized lead scoring system that actually works is an arduous task. One of the main reasons for this is that marketers lack the customer data that are truly relevant to their unique business context and the insights to utilize them.

Demand generation requires a healthy mix of varied demand generation tactics that straddle all of the channels — from websites to email to events — where your target audience resides.

With buyers being bombarded with more content than ever before, marketers need to create content that rises above the noise. Tracking key metrics can help gauge the overall effectiveness of content, as well as highlight key areas of focus for marketers to create an effective content mix.

Sales force automation (SFA) and CRM systems have various uses that can boost the company’s overall effectiveness. However, it has been difficult for corporate leaders to make important and quick decisions that positively affect the business.

Understanding what drives customers to take action is critical to marketers' advertising investments. With a flood of available metrics along the path to purchase, advertisers must wade through data in an attempt to understand the metrics that truly matter.