B2B sales research confirms buyers are overwhelmed and front-line managers are unprepared

Eighty per cent of B2B sales reps who help filter information and ease the decision-making process for customers close high-quality, low-regret deals, according to a report from research firm Gartner. Based on a survey of more than 1,000 B2B buyers, the Stamford, Conn.-based company’s report suggested that quantity and even accuracy of information is not […]

Paradigm B2B Combine

Paradigm B2B reimagines e-commerce buyers’ guide with enterprise and mid-market Combine reports

The limitations of Gartner’s Magic Quadrant, Forrester’s Wave and similar market research offerings have inspired Paradigm B2B to launch a series of reports called Combine that break down the merits of e-commerce applications for enterprise and mid-market buyers. Chicago-based Paradigm B2B, which released its first two Combine reports last week, said the research also drew […]

Box CIO Paul Chapman

Box CIO Paul Chapman opens up about the evolution of IT, working with line of business execs and more

By all means, you can try cold-calling Box CIO Paul Chapman or sending him a hopeful e-mail. You can invite him to your event, webinar or roundtable. You could reach out on social media or other channels and see if he’ll download your white paper. None of these standard marketing tactics, however, will work as […]

Salesforce Tableau acquisition

Salesforce buys Tableau: What analysts, partners and others are saying

Longtime observers of the marketing and sales technology space suggested acquisitions such as Salesforce’s $15.3 billion purchase of Tableau marks an increased emphasis on literally illustrating the actions brands need to take if they want to accomplish their objectives. San Francisco-based Salesforce announced on Monday it would acquire Tableau, best known as a provider of […]

Chief digital officers

Editor’s Note: Why chief digital officers shouldn’t be so easily dismissed

As a research vice-president at Gartner Inc., Chris Howard has a lot of experience providing insight and guidance to all kinds of executive leaders, particularly CIOs. On a recent trip to Germany, however, he found himself having a conversation with a manufacturing firm where one of the key stakeholders was a chief digital officer — […]

Gartner ContinuousNext digital product management

Gartner predicts more non-tech firms will focus on digital product management in move to ‘ContinuousNext’

While some companies that have been focused on embracing new technologies to better serve customers may have already appointed chief digital officers, Gartner analysts say they also need to think about appointing digital product managers as part of a move to an approach they call ContinuousNext. The research firm, which is hosting its IT Symposium/Xpo […]

Mark Bowden body language B2B

Body language expert Mark Bowden is teaching B2B leaders one simple gesture to build trust

“The company made $5 million last year,” Mark Bowden says, “and I’m really happy about that.” This would be pretty good news in a variety of business contexts, but Bowden is absolutely certain that the hundreds of IT leaders watching him don’t believe him at all. Speaking at research firm Gartner Inc.’s IT Symposium/Xpo in […]

Don Scheibenreif Gartner CIOs and CMOs

Gartner VP describes the way B2B CIOs and CMOs can work better together

The story Don Scheibenreif tells is such a great example of B2B marketing and IT working together it almost sounds like a fable. It was a story about a company whose web site, according to the distinguished research vice-president in the customer experience group at research firm Gartner Inc., had been managed by one of […]

Verint Foresee VOC

Verint CMO offers vision for the ‘voice of the customer’ market following Foresee acquisition

The acquisition of Foresee will allow Verint to extend its capabilities in offering voice of the customer (VOC) technology from its traditional foothold in areas like contact centres to a wide range of digital channels, according to its CMO. Melville, NY-based Verint announced its decision to acquire Foresee, based in Ann Arbor, Mich, on Monday. […]

Automated Insights Wordsmith

Automated Insights uses natural language generation to prove all that money spent on BI wasn’t wasted

It may have started out as a site offering Moneyball-style analytics for the college basketball crowd, but a firm called Automated Insights could become better known for using natural language generation as a way for enterprises to finally see greater value from business intelligence and data warehouse projects. Founded by a Cisco distinguished engineer and […]

CommercialTribe CT Coach

CommercialTribe offers CT Coach to help B2B sales managers improve their reps’ performance

As B2B sales reps go through their annual performance reviews with managers, a startup called CommercialTribe has created a software-as-a-service tool that will grade them across 24 behaviors based on an analysis of more than 40,000 recorded sales interactions. Based in Denver, CommercialTribe formally launched CT Coach earlier this week, boasting HubSpot as an early […]

cloud-based unified communications

Questions B2B Companies Should Ask Before Moving to Cloud-Based Unified Communications

According to Gartner, there has been a 6.6% decline in premises-based revenue over the last five years. Rather than simply replacing aging premise-based phone systems with newer ones, B2B businesses have been steadily adopting unified communications (UC) and the migration to the cloud.  These businesses are looking for mobility, flexibility and more efficient ways to […]

gartner

A B2B News Network Exclusive Series: Analyzing the Analysts

More than ever, B2B needs expert opinion and analysis. More than ever, “free” analysis in the form of thought leadership content marketing and corporate communications digitally proliferates. As technology becomes increasingly intricate and integral to business management, and billion dollar software decisions can make or break companies, experts with real experience, whose opinions can be […]

merger acquisition

M&A Digest

A look at Mergers and Acquisitions in B2B this week… *** TD Securities completed the previously announced acquisition of Albert Fried & Company (AF&Co), which advances its U.S growth strategy. The purchase of AF&Co’s services and capabilities includes self-clearing, securities lending and a prime brokerage technology platform in its final stages of development. TD Securities plans to […]