B2B Marketing Strategy & Planning 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Which framework helps B2B marketers identify whether to pursue a new market segment by evaluating market attractiveness and competitive strength?
- PESTLE Analysis
- GE-McKinsey Matrix (Correct answer)
- SWOT Analysis
- Porter's Five Forces
Correct answer: GE-McKinsey Matrix
The GE-McKinsey Matrix evaluates business units or markets along two dimensions—industry attractiveness and competitive strength—making it ideal for B2B segment prioritization.
Question 2: In B2B marketing, an 'account-based marketing' (ABM) strategy is best described as:
- Broadcasting campaigns to all leads in a vertical
- Treating individual high-value accounts as markets of one (Correct answer)
- Automating email sequences for inbound leads
- Segmenting prospects by company size alone
Correct answer: Treating individual high-value accounts as markets of one
ABM treats each target account as its own market, aligning personalized marketing and sales efforts toward specific named accounts.
Question 3: A B2B company sets a goal to increase market share in the enterprise software segment by 10% within 18 months. Which planning element does this represent?
- Tactic
- Vision statement
- Strategic objective (Correct answer)
- Value proposition
Correct answer: Strategic objective
A strategic objective is a specific, measurable, time-bound goal that guides marketing strategy execution.
Question 4: When developing a go-to-market (GTM) strategy for a new B2B product, which step should come FIRST?
- Set the pricing model
- Define the ideal customer profile (ICP) (Correct answer)
- Launch a pilot campaign
- Build sales enablement materials
Correct answer: Define the ideal customer profile (ICP)
Defining the ICP establishes who the product serves, which informs all subsequent GTM decisions including pricing, messaging, and channel selection.
Question 5: A B2B marketer uses a 'land and expand' growth strategy. What does this primarily involve?
- Entering multiple geographic markets simultaneously
- Acquiring a small initial contract then growing the relationship within the account (Correct answer)
- Expanding the product line before closing the first deal
- Targeting SMBs before moving upmarket to enterprise
Correct answer: Acquiring a small initial contract then growing the relationship within the account
Land and expand means winning a foothold deal—often a smaller contract or pilot—and then growing revenue within that account over time.
Question 6: Which metric is MOST directly used to measure the effectiveness of a B2B demand generation strategy?
- Website bounce rate
- Social media follower growth
- Marketing-qualified leads (MQLs) generated (Correct answer)
- Email open rate
Correct answer: Marketing-qualified leads (MQLs) generated
MQLs represent prospects that marketing has identified as likely to become customers, making them the primary indicator of demand generation effectiveness.
Question 7: In B2B strategic planning, the term 'serviceable addressable market' (SAM) refers to:
- The total global demand for a product category
- The share of the total market a company currently holds
- The portion of the TAM targetable given the company's current offering and geography (Correct answer)
- The revenue generated from existing customers
Correct answer: The portion of the TAM targetable given the company's current offering and geography
SAM narrows the total addressable market (TAM) to the segment a business can realistically serve with its current capabilities and reach.
B2B Marketing Strategy & Planning 2
Which framework helps B2B marketers identify whether to pursue a new market segment by evaluating market attractiveness and competitive strength?