The Four Eras of B2B Marketing

Geologists organize earth's history into four eras, and I propose there have been four eras in B2B marketing history. The first, the Draperzoic (Pre-Digital) Era, from the time of the first printing press until the mid-1990s. The MAPozoic (Lookie-Loo) Era began in the 1990s, with the advent of Google and an obsession with leads and lead conversion. In the Accountozoic (Field of Dreams) Era, the tide shifted to account-based marketing. Finally, the Revozoic (Buying Groups) Era is marked by advances in the ability to generate demand from desirable accounts.

In the Leadozoic Era, marketers became experts at the B2B version of astrology: lead scoring. The Accountozoic Era was marked by advances, then, in the ability to generate demand from desirable accounts. The Revozoic Era is focused on a new generation of revenue-capture technology that has evolved to address the understanding of the B2B buyer.

Organizations should stop slowly evolving obsolete capabilities and leapfrog into the Revozoic. Two recommendations are to stop perfecting lead scoring, and to figure out how to know if Accountozoic is working before dipping one's toes into it. A new era is here, and organizations should set aside slow evolution and jump into the Revozoic.