A new study of 526 marketing and sales leaders across five countries found a consistent gap between the buyer signals B2B teams act on and the ones they believe. For example, forty-three percent act on email engagement, while only one in four fully trust it. Top performers were far more likely to judge credibility by combining multiple signals.
Pipeline360 today published Trusted Demand, new research showing that B2B revenue teams routinely act on buyer signals they have already identified as unreliable.
The study surveyed 526 marketing and sales leaders across five countries. Respondents were asked which buyer signals they act on, and separately, which ones they trust. The two answers did not match.
Forty-three percent of teams act on email engagement. About one in four say they fully trust it. Thirty-two percent act on webinar attendance, while 18 percent trust it. The pattern repeats across most commonly used signals.
“These teams aren’t confused about whether the signal is good,” said Matt Hummel, Chief Marketing Officer at Pipeline360. “They’ve gone on record saying it isn’t, and they route it to a rep anyway. That’s not carelessness. It’s what happens when the number is due Friday and the signal in front of you is the one you have.”
The research also identifies what separates higher-performing teams. Sixty-two percent of self-rated top performers judge a signal’s credibility by combining multiple signals rather than reacting to any one in isolation, compared with 45 percent of all other teams.
The study found that marketing and sales do not define credibility the same way. Marketing places the most weight on behavioral signals and propensity scoring. Sales places it on account-level engagement and direct conversations between reps and buyers. The handoff between the two functions happens at the point where those definitions meet, and most teams have never compared them.
Only 40 percent of respondents report strong visibility across the full buying group.
“The gap isn’t going to close by adding another data source,” Hummel said. “Most teams already have more signal than they can act on. What they don’t have is agreement on which ones count.”
Trusted Demand is the second study in Pipeline360’s Confidence Gap series. The full report is available for download at pipeline360.com.
Methodology
Pipeline360 surveyed 526 marketing and sales leaders across five countries, including 158 respondents in sales roles. Respondents represented mid-market and enterprise B2B organizations.
About Pipeline360
Pipeline360 helps B2B marketers engage buying groups, capture demand, and move pipeline forward. Its managed Demand-as-a-Service model replaces the work of coordinating separate vendors for advertising, lead generation, nurture, and reporting, so teams spend less time managing complexity and more time acting on demand.
For more information, visit pipeline360.com.