B2B marketing magic: who's leading the pack?

This week:

• A Magic Quadrant with some empty space

• Piping in more automation

• Searching for SugarClub

No Challengers in this Magic Quadrant

It’s already here.

Yes, the Gartner Magic Quadrant report for B2B Marketing Automation Platforms 2023. Gartner has dug the bonafides of 11 major players, sifting them Pokédex style:

• 6 were named Leaders: Creatio, Oracle, Adobe, HubSpot, Microsoft, and Salesforce.

• 4 were named Niche Players: Act-On, Freshworks, BUSINESSNEXT, and SugarCRM

• 1 was named a Visionary: Zoho.

• 0 were named Challengers.

The report found that, deep down, the B2B marketing leaders have three big dreams: jazz up lead quality, make their multichannel marketing better without burning cash, and—wait for it—sell more stuff.

Surprisingly, about half (46%) of these marketing leaders are still seen as throwing company money into a black hole rather than a treasure chest. This appears to be down to lack of reliable reporting on value. Meanwhile, a whopping 79% of respondents had trouble pinning down which marketing technique actually works.

Trend report:

• 57% of leaders think Generative AI is the future. The main issue is that it performs like a moody artist, sometimes belting out hit singles, sometimes sulking.

• Despite all the bells and whistles, marketers use less than half of what their stack offers. Gartner finds it’s down to team training (59% of leaders say they lack tech skills for some tools).

• Customer data platforms can supercharge B2B MAPs, but synergizing the two can be a headache.

Piping in more automation

Automatic for the people indeed. Pipedrive just jazzed its Automations features, announcing a double-update.

Pipe 1: Sharing is caring

Pipedrive-enjoyers can now magically craft and share automations like they're passing notes in class. And get this: once shared, these behave as if they've been personally crafted. Emails fire off from the right inbox with the oh-so-crucial signature.

Pipe 2: Transferring ownership is also caring

For those moments when your colleague disappears on a two-week unplugged retreat to Joshua Tree, you can now quickly transfer automation ownership.

——

There’s more stuff in the automation bag of course. Like a shiny list view for salespeople to filter, sort, and slap on nifty labels. The vendor also offers some template wizardry for those who like a little drama in their emails.

“Sales professionals, armed with intuitive and intelligent automation tools, become catalysts for transformative change within their organizations,” says Pipedrive's Chief Product Officer, Shaun Shirazian.

Catalyze my transformative change once, shame on you.

The Week @ CRM.org

Daily, Weekly, and Monthly To Do List Ideas. Tick tick. Life’s a series of checked and unchecked boxes.

What is Workflow Management? Taking you from A to B (a few detours notwithstanding).

Best GoodNotes Alternatives. Scouting the note app’s e-frenemies.

Really Simple Systems Review. It’s like that laid-back cousin who somehow gets things done?

Best Zoho Books Alternatives. Accountants once wore ties. Now they’re just pixels and code…

Searching for SugarClub

What’s your favorite number—is it “10,000” by any chance?

Wow, what a coincidence! SugarCRM’s SugarClub just reached exactly that many members.

That’s right, five digits worth of customers, employees, partners, and enthusiasts in the community. The announcement came at Connected 2023 in Austin.

Born in 2020, this cyber club has become the go-to digital shindig for anyone who enjoys a blend of networking, advice trading, and a smidgen of showing off. All under the watchful eye of Chief Party Planner, Chris Pennington.

Please don’t chuck the party hats yet. There's a talent show on the horizon, in the form of the SugarCRM Customer Breakthrough Awards. Rewarding customer CRM mastery across our earth, its myriad of categories promise glitz and glam.

If this seems like your kind of thing, get your name in by Nov. 11. Winners will be crowned Jan. 8, 2024.

This Week’s Deals

Special 20% off FreeAgent CRM!

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Get HubSpot CRM for free!

Tasty Tidbits

CRM blips from around the web

GK Announces GK Engage. Their new tool runs loyalty programs with AI and integrates with CRM.

Nice Enlighten AI bags two product of the year awards from CUSTOMER Magazine. Enlighten AutoSummary & Enlighten XO + Autoflow clinched the accolades.

ON24 teams with NetLine for content syndication. The main aim? Giving B2B marketers a better webinar promotion toolkit.

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