The Forrester B2B Summit North America once again proved to be a pivotal gathering for sales, marketing, and product professionals, converging at the Austin Convention Center in Texas May 5–8, 2024. While providing a digital option for attendees, the summit fostered an environment ripe for sharing B2B insights, strategies, and valuable information. Did you miss it? Never fear, we’ve rounded up the highlights, trends and challenges that attendees hashed out over the course of 3 days.
One of the highlights of the 2024 summit was the recognition of organizations that excel in driving company performance and delivering exceptional customer experiences through cross-functional alignment across marketing, sales, and product. Verizon Business, DDI, and ADP were deservedly bestowed with the 2024 B2B ROI Honors during the event.
The summit boasted a diverse range of programs catering to various interests and needs. From the Awards ceremony to the Forrester Women’s Leadership Program, Executive Leadership Exchange, Bring Your Team sessions, and Certification programs, there was something for everyone to gain valuable insights and foster meaningful connections.
Discussions around AI’s role in business strategies and execution emphasized its position as an overarching helper rather than a full development solution. The focus was on leveraging AI to enhance best practices, particularly in nurturing leads and optimizing conversion rates.
With an increasing majority of B2B buyers falling under the age of 45, understanding their unique concerns and behaviors was a recurring theme. The summit delved into how the buyer-seller connection is evolving, with a consensus that the journey typically begins digitally and stays there throughout the process, with live engagement reserved for the final stages.
Enhancing customer experience and creating seamless buying cycles emerged as crucial focal points. Discussions explored the role of social, mobile, and alternate communications channels in achieving these objectives, highlighting the need for businesses to adapt to changing preferences and technologies.
While celebrating successes, discussions also addressed ongoing challenges in data management, particularly around core data needs such as hygiene and enhancement. These discussions underscored the importance of maintaining clean and enriched data to fuel effective B2B strategies.
A key takeaway echoed throughout the summit was the importance of marketing to millennials and Gen Z, who wield significant buying power. Emphasizing the need to cater to the entire buying group, sessions stressed the necessity of understanding and meeting the diverse needs and preferences of these generations.
The Forrester B2B Summit 2024 served as a melting pot of insights, strategies, and networking opportunities, leaving attendees equipped with the knowledge and inspiration to navigate the ever-evolving landscape of B2B commerce.
As Content Marketing Manager, Natasia is responsible for helping strategize, produce and execute Data Axle's content. With a passion for writing and an enthusiasm for data management and technology, Natasia creates content that is designed to deliver nuggets of wisdom to help brands and individuals elevate their data governance policies. A native New Yorker, when Natasia is not at work she can be found enjoying New York’s food scene, at one of NYC’s many museums, or at one of the city’s many parks with her two teacup yorkies.