Report:
Magic Quadrant for B2B Marketing Automation Platforms
How does Gartner define the B2B Marketing Automation Platforms market in 2024?
Gartner defines B2B marketing automation platforms (B2B MAPs) as software applications that support demand generation processes at scale. B2B MAPs help marketers capture and qualify leads and accounts, orchestrate marketing-driven engagement across the full customer journey, and use analytics to optimize and measure performance. B2B MAPs enable marketers to automate a wide range of activities intended to drive new customer acquisition, retention and growth. To support the pursuit of new commercial opportunities (from current or prospective customers), marketers use B2B MAPs to generate, prioritize, and manage leads and buying teams across the revenue life cycle. This includes the distribution of marketing-generated and qualified leads to sales teams for further pursuit. Also, B2B MAPs are used to orchestrate and measure multichannel customer engagement campaigns and programs. B2B MAPs enable marketers to design and activate some communication channels natively — most notably email and web landing pages — and orchestrate customer engagement through other channels via integrations with other tools/platforms. Lastly, marketers use B2B MAPs as a tool for collecting, analyzing and reporting performance analytics. Performance analytics enable both tactical measurement, such as marketing channel engagement metrics, and strategic measurement, such as the attribution of marketing activities to commercial outcomes.
Key Facts for Magic Quadrant for B2B Marketing Automation Platforms in 2024
- Publication Date: 23 September 2024
- Document ID: G00803111
- Coverage: Global
- Authors: Rick LaFond, Jeff Cohen, and 3 more
- Core Purpose: B2B marketing automation platforms enable marketing teams to manage demand generation programs and orchestrate customer engagement. Marketing operations leaders can use this research to assess the current state of the market, including AI advancements, and evaluate suitable vendor platforms.
Strategic Planning Assumptions
No strategic planning assumptions provided.
How was the B2B Marketing Automation Platforms market evolved in 2024?
- 79% of B2B marketing technology leaders have a B2B MAP according to Gartner's 2023 Marketing Technology Survey
- This is a mature market with B2B marketing automation solutions available for more than 20 years
- The market has experienced promising signals of innovation in the last two years, largely driven through incorporation of GenAI and broader AI capabilities
- B2B marketing technology leaders estimate they're only using 47% of the total capabilities made available by their B2B MAP solution
- 75% of B2B CMOs say they expect GenAI to have a positive impact on their 2024 marketing investments and strategy
- 43% of B2B marketing technology leaders prefer an integrated suite approach to martech management
- The typical buying group consists of 5 to 11 stakeholders, representing 5 different corporate functions
- B2B MAPs enable marketers to automate activities intended to drive new customer acquisition, retention and growth
What product features are required to be included in this year's evaluation?
- Input and synchronize customer contact and account data into a unified customer profile
- Create multistep journeys for contacts (e.g., drip campaigns, customer onboarding motions) using a graphical lead workflow UI suitable for nontechnical users
- Deploy and manage coordinated customer engagement programs across multiple channels, including native email and landing page execution
- Score leads to evaluate quality based on profile-fit and behavioral criteria using business rules and/or predictive analytics capabilities
- Measure the performance of marketing touchpoints and communicate results using data visualization/dashboarding capabilities
What are the common features of top products in the B2B Marketing Automation Platforms space?
- Ability to create segmented and dynamic lists of contacts or accounts using business rules and/or predictive analytics
- Functionality to enable one-to-one personalized customer communications based on a combination of persona, account and/or behavioral attributes
- Functionality for account-level scoring to support account prioritization processes using business rules and/or predictive analytics
- Ability to use lead workflow functionality for enabling organizations to manage and measure the lead-to-revenue life cycle, from lead generation/collection to conversion
- Ability to use multitouch attribution capabilities for allocating conversion credit, such as lead creation or closed-won revenue, to certain touchpoints or interactions across the buying journey
Scope Exclusions
- Products not generally available in production environments
- Products requiring multiple separate purchases to satisfy minimum functional requirements
- Vendors with fewer than 25 customers or insufficient enterprise customers
- Vendors with less than $50 million in calendar year 2023 revenue (or $25 million with insufficient new customer growth)
- Vendors without sales and support presence in at least two major global regions
- Vendors without customers in at least three of the seven specified industries
Inclusion Criteria
Vendors must, among other requirements:
- B2B MAP products must be generally available
- Proven ability to deliver B2B MAP functionality that supports demand generation processes at scale
- Proven ability to deliver B2B MAP functionality within a single product offering
- At least 25 customers using its B2B marketing automation solution(s), including at least 10 customers with $50+ million in fiscal 2023 revenue and/or 100+ employees
- At least $50 million in calendar year 2023 revenue, or, $25 million in calendar year 2023 revenue and a minimum of 12 new customers when compared to calendar year 2022
- Demonstrated sales and customer support presence in a minimum of two of the following four regions: North America, EMEA, Latin America, Asia/Pacific
- A client portfolio that includes existing customers in at least three of seven specified industries
Ability to Execute — Relative Weighting
- Product or Service - High
- Overall Viability - High
- Sales Execution/Pricing - Medium
- Market Responsiveness/Record - High
- Marketing Execution - Medium
- Customer Experience - High
- Operations - Low
Completeness of Vision — Relative Weighting
- Market Understanding - High
- Marketing Strategy - Medium
- Sales Strategy - Medium
- Offering (Product) Strategy - High
- Business Model - Medium
- Vertical/Industry Strategy - Low
- Innovation - High
- Geographic Strategy - Medium
FAQs
Q: What does this research cover?
A: This research evaluates 13 B2B marketing automation platform vendors across their ability to execute and completeness of vision. It covers vendor capabilities in lead management, customer journey orchestration, multichannel engagement (particularly email and landing pages), lead/account scoring, analytics and reporting, and AI/GenAI features. The report assesses vendors' product capabilities, market presence, innovation, customer experience, pricing transparency, and strategic vision for addressing B2B marketing needs including complex buying journeys and account-based marketing.
Q: Who should use this research?
A: Marketing operations leaders and B2B marketing technology leaders should use this research to: 1) Assess the current state of the B2B marketing automation market including recent AI advancements, 2) Evaluate and compare suitable vendor platforms based on their organization's specific needs, maturity level, and use cases, 3) Understand vendor strengths, cautions, and differentiators to make informed purchasing or renewal decisions, 4) Identify which vendors can best support their requirements around integrations, scalability, geographic presence, industry expertise, and implementation support needs.
Q: What are the mandatory features of vendors included in this market?
A: B2B MAP vendors must offer the ability to: (1) Input and synchronize customer contact and account data into a unified customer profile; (2) Create multistep journeys for contacts using a graphical lead workflow UI suitable for nontechnical users; (3) Deploy and manage coordinated customer engagement programs across multiple channels, including native email and landing page execution; (4) Score leads to evaluate quality based on profile-fit and behavioral criteria using business rules and/or predictive analytics capabilities; and (5) Measure the performance of marketing touchpoints and communicate results using data visualization/dashboarding capabilities.
Q: What are some reasons for not being included in this report?
A:
- Product not generally available or still in testing/evaluation phase
- Insufficient customer base (fewer than 25 customers or lacking 10 customers with $50+ million revenue/100+ employees)
- Insufficient revenue ($50 million minimum, or $25 million with 12+ new customers)
- Limited geographic presence (must support at least 2 of 4 major regions)
- Narrow industry focus (must serve at least 3 of 7 specified industries)
- Lack of mandatory B2B MAP functionalities
- Requirement for multiple product purchases to meet basic functionality requirements
Q: What differentiates Ability to Execute vs. Completeness of Vision?
A: Ability to Execute evaluates vendors on their current capabilities, market presence, and operational effectiveness. It focuses on product quality, financial viability, sales effectiveness, market responsiveness, marketing execution, customer experience, and operations. Completeness of Vision assesses vendors on their strategic direction and future plans. It evaluates market understanding, marketing and sales strategies, product strategy, business model, vertical/industry focus, innovation commitment, and geographic expansion plans. Essentially, Ability to Execute measures what vendors deliver today, while Completeness of Vision measures where they're headed and their strategic positioning for the future.
Reference
- Gartner, Magic Quadrant for B2B Marketing Automation Platforms, 23 September 2024, ID G00803111
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