Breaking news on the election
The hosts opened by noting the 2024 presidential election had concluded, with Donald Trump returning to the White House with a Republican sweep of the House and Senate. They noted this would likely impact B2B companies through trade policy, tariffs, and regulatory changes, but kept the discussion brief to focus on the main topic.
Meet Dan Stepchew
Brian introduced Dan Stepchew, VP of Digital Marketing at Zest Dental Solutions, a company that makes attachments for removable dentures and implants. Dan has 15 years of experience in digital marketing and ecommerce, having worked in beauty, fashion, and now medical devices. His team handles SEO, paid search, paid social, display, video, and email marketing. Zest targets dental professionals who spend $20,000 to $100,000 per year on products, giving them flexibility to invest in marketing that mass-market B2C companies may not have.
Perfect attribution is impossible
Dan opened with a crucial mindset: perfect attribution is not achievable. Marketers should focus on directional guidance rather than precise dollar-for-dollar tracking. Ecommerce-only metrics miss the full picture because digital influences offline sales. A dentist might research products online, attend a trade show, receive a sample, and then order through a distributor months later. Attributing that sale to any single marketing touchpoint would be misleading.
Perfect attribution is impossible. We focus on directional indicators like revenue per session, recognizing that ecommerce metrics alone miss the full picture.
Dan Stepchew, Zest Dental Solutions
Where B2B companies invest
Master B2B research found the top marketing channels for B2B companies are Google ads at 53%, SEO at 42%, and social media marketing at 29%. Dan noted that Zest runs ads across Meta (primarily Instagram), Google display, paid search, programmatic advertising, LinkedIn, and X. He emphasized remarketing to site visitors and product page viewers as particularly effective because these audiences have already demonstrated interest.
Incremental budgeting for new channels
When entering a new marketing channel, Dan recommends incremental budgeting. Commit a small amount of money for a defined test period, establish the indicators you will track, and measure against those benchmarks. If the results look promising, gradually increase investment. This approach limits downside risk while allowing marketers to learn what works for their specific business. It also makes it easier to justify budgets to finance teams by showing results before requesting larger commitments.
Brand versus sales marketing
The hosts distinguished between top-of-funnel brand awareness and bottom-of-funnel sales marketing. Brand awareness is harder to attribute because it builds long-term recognition rather than driving immediate purchases. Sales marketing activities like remarketing, email campaigns, and paid search for high-intent keywords have more direct attribution because they target people already in the buying process. Dan noted that Zest invests in both, knowing that brand awareness creates the audience for sales marketing to convert.
At the end of the day, a new customer can come from anywhere. We have to be everywhere our customers are researching and considering products.
Dan Stepchew, Zest Dental Solutions
First-party data becomes more valuable
As third-party cookies phase out, first-party data from your own website, CRM, and transactions becomes increasingly valuable. Zest builds remarketing audiences from site visitors, email lists, and transaction histories. Andy noted that B2B companies often have stronger first-party data than B2C companies because B2B transactions typically require customer identification, login, and ongoing relationship management. This is an advantage B2B marketers should leverage.
Do not cut marketing in uncertainty
Dan and the hosts agreed that cutting marketing budgets during uncertain times is usually counterproductive. Competitors who continue marketing gain share while others retreat. Dan noted that CFOs sometimes pressure marketing to demonstrate immediate ROI, but brand building and digital presence are long-term investments that compound over time. The companies that maintained marketing through the pandemic emerged stronger.