Austin, Texas sure is hot right now.
I mean it in every sense of the word and phrase.
At the time of writing, it’s 92° in Austin. Although it never reached 90° during our stay, the entire NetLine team definitely felt the Texas heat—especially on the floor of the Austin Convention Center.
The Gang Goes to Forrester 2024
A group of us attended Forrester’s 2024 B2B Summit in Austin during the first week of May. NetLine sponsored the event and had a prominent booth (702!) and two speaking sessions with clients.
These days, our first order of business upon arriving at our booth is getting our mascot, Luna, squared away. No other vendor has an astronaut on display; we feel lucky to have her.
Over the next three days, we reconnected with old friends and made new ones. While content syndication and lead generation were hot topics, the primary focus was on intent data.
Unlike most other events, Forrester attendees were exceptionally engaged; every conversation was insightful and elevated. They had a deep understanding of the industry landscape and knew exactly what actions were needed—and which to avoid—to drive business growth.
It was extremely refreshing and confirmed both our messaging approach and our belief in the bridging of content consumption and intent.
Texas Friendship
NetLine hosted two sessions during the event, each featuring world-class speakers and clients.
Intercept
The first highlighted Andrew Au of Intercept and how his agency leveraged INTENTIVE to transform Telus from a traditional TelCo to a dynamic TechCo.
By employing buyer-level intent data, Telus engaged untapped accounts and permeated buying committees. Ultimately, this mix of online and offline intent data allowed Telus to effectively engage in new market segments and address B2B buying challenges with confidence.
Andrew’s case study resonated with all in attendance, with his big takeaway being to focus on quality over quantity. (Also, a few of us worked out with Andrew the next morning and the man is a beast.)
Forrester B2B Summit. Seated from left to right: Josh Baez (NetLine, Andrew Au (Intercept), David Fortino (NetLine).
ON24
Our closing session featured our good friend Tessa Barron of ON24. Tessa shared ON24’s experiences using INTENTIVE to transform her team’s GTM motions and acceleration of customer engagement.
Forrester B2B Summit. Seated from left to right: Josh Baez (NetLine, Tessa Barron (ON24), David Fortino (NetLine).
Just like Andrew before her, Tessa dropped some real dimes on those in attendance, stressing the need for marketers to be able to deliver for their sales counterparts. Again, the message of quality over quantity was echoed.
Perhaps the strongest bit of information NetLine shared during the entirety of the conference came during this session. As an early adopter of INTENTIVE, ON24 has seen the benefits of the platform first-hand.
In preparing for the session, we discovered that INTENTIVE bested all of ON24’s traditional ABM benchmarks—including the improved identification of high-potential accounts.
Such a head-to-head test proves that buyer-level intent data allows businesses like ON24 to prioritize and engage with buyers more effectively, leading to better conversion rates and higher-quality engagements.
Did I mention that Gary Clark, Jr. performed Tuesday night? Man, that guy can shred.
3 Lessons NetLine Took from Forrester 2024
You can’t have a recap blog without identifying specific takeaways from the event.
Fortunately, this year’s takeaways were easy because each team member witnessed the same experiences.
The Time for Buyer-Level Intent Data is Now
The narrative around buyer-level intent data is beginning to shift.
Last year, when NetLine arrived in Austin in support of our INTENTIVE launch, buyer-level intent data was a secondary, if not tertiary consideration for many attendees. “We already have an intent vendor,” many told us. Besides; they were focused on AI.
Oh, how things change in 11 months.
When we introduced INTENTIVE last June, it required a good bit of preamble. This year, attendees walked up to our booth saying, “I was talking to someone about intent and was told I had to come see you.”
This happened multiple times. The entire team, while ecstatic, was floored.
So what changed?
While AI grabbed all the headlines, the likelihood of it changing any business outcomes in 2023 and Q1 2024 was slim. That left businesses with the same tech stacks and datasets they had originally, which wasn’t ideal.
What many B2B marketers and sellers realized was that account-level data simply isn’t good enough anymore. Many marketers are feeling that pain.
In an era where every dollar spent needs to be tracked and optimized for ROI, and privacy is key for consumers, why would you continue to knowingly spend precious resources on tactics that don’t yield the best outcomes?
Buyer-level intent delivers this and then some. Just ask ON24.
Become an Actionable Partner
Our conversations revealed a major sticking point: the necessity for businesses to ensure all of their datasets and tools work seamlessly together.
Many attendees mentioned they already have an intent tool like Demandbase or 6Sense. However, the real challenge lies in integrating these tools effectively to drive actionable insights and more informed decision-making. What good is intent data if our colleagues don’t know how to use it?
It’s crucial for businesses to bridge the gaps between different technologies and datasets to create a cohesive and powerful ABM/GTM strategy. That, right there, is the keystone for any data strategy moving forward.
Quality Over Quantity Forever
Although there was less volume than last year, the stronger engagement with multiple prospects asking how to buy was notable. We’ll take quality over quantity every day.
Foot traffic is always nice to have. But demos pave the way to money in the bank—we will certainly be keeping an eye on conversion rates from these booth conversations.
Personally, the booth visitor-to-demo ratio is unlike anything I’ve ever seen. I know many of my colleagues shared similar perspectives. It seemed as if one out of every two people we spoke with I’m eager to see how things continue to pan out.
Events Still Matter
Our Chief Strategy Officer, David Fortino, always leaves events buzzing. The man who sleeps, eats, and breathes passion for marketing walks away with ideas from clients, prospects, and partners. “A million new marketing narratives need to be vetted, and product ideas must be prioritized,” he said.
He also gets quite sappy about his appreciation for his team and the NetLine explorer at large. “I cannot overstate how humbling it is to work with them,” he said. Dave mentioned there were a few times during the conference when he stepped away from the booth and admired from afar: a dozen prospects at a time while delivering concurrent demos. “My eyes welled up, and my arms tingled with goosebumps. The smiles and occasional tears as we parted ways confirmed what we have built together.”
Indeed, it is a joy to be part of this team. I’ve had a few stops in my career and my time at NetLine has been my favorite, hands down.
Our team may be small, but we are mighty. Dave continued to share his appreciation with the group, thanking everyone for, “consistently punching above your weight and budgets. Most vendors in the space are in awe of what you’re capable of.”
There will be more events to come this year. But for now, the lessons of Forrester are good ones that will guide us through the rest of 2024.