Ready to launch your own podcast? Book a strategy call.
Frontlines.io | Where B2B Founders Talk GTM.
Strategic Communications Advisory For Visionary Founders
Conversation
Highlights
The Evolution of B2B Marketing: Why Traditional Metrics Are Failing Modern Companies
Marketing metrics are failing B2B companies. While marketing teams obsess over MQLs and conversion rates, finance teams struggle to connect these metrics to actual business outcomes. Meanwhile, the “dark funnel” continues to obscure the true impact of marketing investments.
In a recent episode of Category Visionaries, Chris Golec, founder of Channel99 and previously Demandbase, shared insights that challenge conventional B2B marketing wisdom. His perspective, shaped by decades of building B2B marketing technology companies, reveals why traditional measurement approaches are fundamentally broken—and what needs to change.
The Hidden Inefficiency in B2B Marketing
Most B2B marketing discussions focus on optimization tactics and campaign metrics. But there’s a more fundamental problem: B2B marketing is inherently inefficient by design. As Chris explains, “B2B, marketing is inherently inefficient, meaning most companies only sell to two or 3% of the companies out there because they’re targeting a certain industry, a certain size company, and they’re selling into tens of thousands of companies, not millions.”
This core inefficiency manifests in web traffic patterns: “Only 15-20% of the companies on their website have a potential of buying anything.” Yet most B2B marketing teams continue to measure and optimize as if every visitor represents potential business.
The MQL Trap
The problem extends beyond traffic quality to how we measure marketing success. Marketing Qualified Leads (MQLs) have become the default metric for B2B marketing teams, but Chris argues this creates more problems than it solves: “It has a different meaning at every company. And what’s even worse is that within a company, it often changes. So it’s hard to look at results over time.”
This inconsistency leads to a dangerous cycle. “People build spreadsheets. If I generate 10,000 MQLs and 25% turn into SQLs and another 10% turn into opportunities, people start getting measured on MQLs and volume and cost.” The result? Marketing teams optimize for metrics that don’t actually matter to the business.
Illuminating the Dark Funnel
Perhaps the most significant blind spot in B2B marketing measurement is what Chris calls the “dark funnel.” He explains: “Most of the traffic that comes to a B2B website is from sources or channels that are unknown. Meaning it falls into this bucket just called Direct where people kind of just typed in the URL.”
The reality is more complex: “The people that are coming through that channel probably saw an ad, probably heard a podcast, probably read an ebook, probably saw a video or did one of these other things where you have all this content across the web, but you have no way to measure it.”
This creates a fundamental disconnect between marketing investment and measurable results. Marketing teams continue pouring resources into content and campaigns while lacking visibility into their true impact.
Rethinking Go-to-Market for Modern B2B
The solution isn’t just better measurement—it’s a fundamental rethinking of B2B go-to-market strategy. Chris challenges the traditional high-touch model: “The traditional two to one SDRs and huge sales and marketing overhead, it just feels really bloated and I think it can be a lot more efficient.”
His approach at Channel99 starts with providing immediate value through a free product: “People can come to our website, they can sign up for a service where they set up their total addressable market… within the next day they can start seeing their traffic, where it’s coming from and the quality of that traffic by channel and then how it compares to industry average.”
This product-led approach represents a shift from traditional B2B marketing, where value is often gated behind sales conversations and lengthy purchasing processes.
Building Teams for Different Growth Stages
The journey from startup to scale brings its own challenges, particularly around team building. Chris notes: “The team that you bring on kind of that one to 10 million is probably different than that 10 million to 100 million. Different passions, different skill sets.”
This reality requires careful consideration in early hiring: “Some people absolutely scale from one kind of phase to the next, but a lot don’t and a lot prefer to be in that early stage.” The key is maintaining transparency about these transitions while building for the next phase of growth.
The future of B2B marketing will require new metrics, new go-to-market strategies, and new ways of building teams. The companies that recognize these shifts early—and adapt accordingly—will be best positioned to succeed in an increasingly complex B2B landscape.
Actionable
Takeaways
Leverage Industry Benchmarks:
Utilize benchmarking data to understand your company's marketing efficiency compared to industry standards. This helps identify areas for improvement and ensures your marketing spend is optimized.
Measure Business Outcomes:
Focus on measuring the impact of marketing efforts on pipeline and business outcomes rather than traditional metrics like MQLs. This aligns marketing goals with business objectives and improves accountability.
Free to Paid Model:
Consider offering a free product to build an initial user base and provide value upfront. Transition these users to paid products by demonstrating the extended benefits and deeper insights they can gain.
Distributed Offices:
For startups, consider a distributed office model to balance cost efficiency and the benefits of in-person collaboration. This can enhance team culture and operational efficiency.
Transparent Communication:
Be transparent with your team about growth phases and potential changes in roles. Recognizing when different skills are needed at various stages of the company can help maintain a strong, adaptable team.
Recommended Founder
Interviews
Tom Lee
Co-Founder of LOVO AI
Tom Lee, Co-Founder of LOVO AI: $7 Million Raised to Build the Future of AI Voiceovers
Luke Hansen
CEO and Founder of CompanyCam
Luke Hansen, CEO and Founder of CompanyCam: $38 Million Raised to Build the Future of Visual Communication for Contractors
Zack Rosenberg
CEO and Founder of Qortex
Zack Rosenberg, CEO & Founder of Qortex: $11 Million Raised to Build the Future of Video Analytics
Sam Fonoimoana
Founder & CEO of Datajoin
Sam Fonoimoana, Founder & CEO of Datajoin: $3.5 Million Raised to Help Brands Leverage Customer Behavioral Insights
Ishveen Jolly
CEO and Co-Founder of OpenSponsorship
Ishveen Jolly, CEO and Co-Founder of OpenSponsorship: Over $5 Million Raised to Build the Future of Sports Influencer Marketing
Dan Rua
CEO of Admiral
Dan Rua, CEO of Admiral: $28 Million Raised to Build the Future of Visitor Relationship Management
Spencer Dusebout
CEO & Founder of Aidium
Spencer Dusebout, CEO & Founder of Aidium: $19 Million Raised to Build the Future of Mortgage CRM
Stephen Karaolis
Marketing Director of Cleary
Stephen Karaolis, Marketing Director at Cleary: Mastering Speed to Market – The Key to Dynamic Content Strategy
Rob Sadow
CEO & Co-Founder of Scoop
Rob Sadow, CEO & Co-Founder of Scoop: $8 Million Raised to Build the Future of Hybrid Team Coordination
Ori Entis
CEO and Co-Founder of Staircase AI
Ori Entis, CEO and Co-Founder of Staircase AI: $5 Million Raised to Power the Future of Customer Revenue Growth
Omed Habib
VP of Sapient AI
Omed Habib, VP of Marketing at Sapient AI: A Technical Founder’s Guide to B2B SaaS Marketing
Patrick Woods
CEO and Co-Founder of Orbit
Patrick Woods, CEO and Co-Founder of Orbit: Over $22 Million Raised to Power the Future of Communities
Daniel Erickson
Founder and CEO of Viable
Daniel Erickson, CEO of Viable: $9 Million Raised to Build the Future of Customer Feedback Analysis
Andy Mowat
CEO and Co-Founder of Gated
Andy Mowat, CEO and Co-Founder of Gated: Over $3 Million Raised to Build Noise Cancelling Headphones for Email
Leena Joshi
CEO of CloseFactor
Leena Joshi, CEO of CloseFactor: $15+ Million Raised to Automate Repetitive Sales Processes
Sam Mallikarjunan
Co-Founder & CEO of OneScreen
Sam Mallikarjunan, Co-Founder & CEO of OneScreen: $10 Million Raised to Power the Future of Offline Advertising
Ariana Faustini
Head of Golioth
Ariana Faustini, Head of Global Marketing at Golioth: Embracing Authenticity in Developer Marketing
CEO and Co-Founder of Sendoso
Creating the Sending Management Category with Sendoso’s Kris Rudeegraap
Taylor Lint
CEO and Founder of Swantide
Taylor Lint, CEO and Founder of Swantide: $7 Million Raised to Revolutionize How Companies Design and Build Their GTM Infrastructure
Sangram Vajre
Co Founder and CEO of GTM Partners
Behind the Category: Creating the Account-Based Marketing (ABM) Category with Sangram Vajre
Andrew Forman
Founder of Givz
Andrew Forman, CEO of Givz: $3 Million Raised to Make Donating, Not Discounts, eCommerce Brands Ultimate Growth Lever
Jared Siegal
CEO and Founder of Aditude
Jared Siegal, CEO and Founder of Aditude: $15 Million Raised to Build the Future of Publisher Monetization
Jonathan Legge
Co-Founder and CEO of &Open
Jonathan Legge, Co-Founder and CEO at &Open: Over $35 Million Raised to Create the Future of Corporate Gifting
Thomas Millay
CEO of DemandJump
Thomas Millay, CEO at DemandJump: Over $25 Million Raised to Power the Future of Content Strategy
Lars Grønnegaard Hansen
CEO and Co-Founder of Dreamdata
Lars Grønnegaard Hansen, CEO & Co-Founder of Dreamdata: $12 Million Raised to Build the Future of B2B Revenue Attribution
Parry Bedi
Co-Founder and CEO of Tingono
Parry Bedi, CEO of Tingono: $7 Million Raised to Help Companies Boost Net Revenue Retention
Katy Carrigan
CEO of Goody
Katy Carrigan, CEO of Goody: $32 Million Raised to Build the Future of Corporate Gifting
Rajat Mishra
Founder & CEO of Prezent
Rajat Mishra, Founder & CEO at Prezent: Over $24 Million Raised to Build the Presentation Productivity Platform Category
Tyler Strand
Co-Founder and CTO of Air
Tyler Strand, Co-Founder and CTO at Air: $38 Million raised to Build the Creative Operations Category
Creating the Marketing Automation Category with Mark Organ
CEO of Eloqua
Creating the Marketing Automation Category with Mark Organ
Vinay Jain
Founder of MadMen AI
Vinay Jain, Founder of MadMen AI: $4.5 Million Raised to Build the Future of AI-Powered Marketing Platforms
Pulkit Agrawal
CEO & Co-Founder of Chameleon
Pulkit Agrawal, CEO & Co-Founder of Chameleon: $15 Million Raised to Build the Product Adoption Category
Michael Bamberger
CEO and Founder of Tetra Insights
Michael Bamberger, CEO and Founder of Tetra Insights: $7 Million Raised to Power the Future of Qualitative Research
Dan Malgran
VP of Marketing of Steno
Dan Malgran, VP of Marketing at Steno: Elevating Legal Tech with Revenue-Driven Marketing Strategies
Marc Bernstein
CEO and Founder of Balto
Marc Bernstein, CEO and Founder of Balto: $52 Million Raised to Power the Future of Contact Centers
Robert Thelen
CEO & Founder of Rownd
Robert Thelen, CEO & Founder of Rownd: $3.3 Million Raised to Build the Future of App Onboarding
Alex Reynolds
Alex Reynolds, CEO & Co-Founder of Vendelux: $20 Million Raised to Build the Future of Event Intelligence
Jonas Rinde
CEO of Nomono
Jonas Rinde, CEO of Nomono: $15 million Raised to Power the Future of Podcasting
Hikari Senju
CEO and Founder of Omneky
Hikari Senju, CEO and Founder of Omneky: $10 Million Raised to Empower Brands With AI-Powered Ads To Maximize Performance
Tine Karlsen
Co-Founder & CEO of Vev
Tine Karlsen, CEO and Co-Founder of Vev: $7 Million Raised to Power the Future of No-Code Visual Design
Pierce Ujjainwalla
CEO of Knak
Pierce Ujjainwalla, CEO of Knak: $25 Million Raised to Empower Enterprise Marketers with Codeless Email and Landing Page Creation
Adrien Menard
CEO and Co-Founder of Botify
Adrien Menard, CEO and Co-Founder of Botify: $82 Million Raised to Build the Future of SEO
Ashish Nagar
Founder & CEO of Level AI
Ashish Nagar, CEO of Level AI: $35 Million Raised to Power Contact Centers of the Future
Chris Strahl
CEO of Knapsack
Chris Strahl, CEO of Knapsack: $7 Million Raised to Build the Future of Design Systems
Creating the Go to Market Category with ZoomInfo’s Bryan Law
CMO of ZoomInfo
Creating the Go to Market Category with ZoomInfo’s Bryan Law
John Jahnke
CEO and Co-Founder of Tackle.io
John Jahnke, CEO and Co-Founder of Tackle.io: $148 Million Raised to Build the Future of Cloud Go-to-Market
Cory Schmidt
Head of Marketing of Heyflow
Mastering Organic Growth: Insights from Heyflow’s Head of Marketing