B2B Marketing Strategies: Platforms to Execute

Introduction

If you feel like B2B marketing has turned into a never‑ending game of 'which platform are we supposed to care about this quarter?', you’re not alone.

Here’s the reality: your buyers are using more channels than ever. McKinsey’s global B2B research shows that decision makers now use about 10.2 channels in their buying journey, up from just 5 in 2016. Meanwhile, Gartner reports that 61% of B2B buyers would actually prefer a rep‑free buying experience, and 73% actively avoid suppliers who send irrelevant outreach.

Translation: if your marketing and sales development strategy isn’t built around the right platforms, and executed with sharp, relevant messaging, you’re invisible.

In this guide, we’ll break down:

• The core B2B marketing platforms that actually move pipeline
• How email, LinkedIn, your website, phone, and paid channels work together
• How to orchestrate these platforms for SDRs and AEs
• Common pitfalls teams run into when going multichannel
• How and when to bring in a partner like SalesHive to execute

We’ll keep it practical, with a focus on one thing: turning platforms into pipeline.

1. Why Your B2B Marketing Strategy Is Really a Channel Strategy Now

Buyers Are Living in Channels, Not Stages

We all love pretty funnel diagrams, but buyers don’t move in straight lines. They bounce between search, review sites, LinkedIn, your website, email threads, and the occasional phone call.

McKinsey’s research shows B2B buyers are consistently using about ten channels across the journey, digital, in‑person, and remote. At the same time, Gartner found that buyers spend only a sliver of their total buying time with sales reps and overwhelmingly prefer to do their own digital research.

So instead of asking, 'What’s our top‑of‑funnel strategy?', a more useful question is:

> On which platforms are our best buyers actually discovering, researching, and engaging with vendors like us?

Your job is to be visible and relevant on those platforms, and to make sure your SDRs and AEs can see and act on those signals.

Digital Channels Have Outgrown the Rep as the Primary 'Channel'

Old world: sales reps were the channel.

New world: reps are just one of many channels.

Gartner’s 'Future of Sales' work predicted that by 2025, 80% of B2B sales interactions between suppliers and buyers would happen in digital channels. We’re basically there.

That’s not a reason to write off salespeople; it’s a reason to arm them. The platforms you choose, email, LinkedIn, website, ads, CRM, sales engagement, determine whether reps get:

• Warm, educated buyers who already understand your value, or
• Cold, confused prospects wondering why you’re calling

If you take nothing else from this article, take this: your channel mix is now a frontline sales decision, not just a marketing one.

2. Core Platforms Every B2B Sales Org Should Master

There are dozens of places you could show up. But for most B2B teams, four pillars drive the majority of pipeline:

1. Email (plus marketing automation)
2. LinkedIn and social platforms
3. Phone (powered by dialers/sales engagement tools)
4. Your website, content, and SEO

Let’s walk through each, with an eye toward how they feed SDRs and AEs.

2.1 Email: Still the B2B Workhorse

Email has been 'dying' since the dial‑up days, yet here we are.

Multiple recent studies peg email as the most effective B2B demand gen channel. Thunderbit reports that 79% of B2B marketers rate email as their top demand generation channel, with some analyses putting average ROI in the $36–$42 per $1 spent range, roughly a 3,600-4,400% return.

Why it still works:

• Direct access to inboxes, You own the list. No algorithm throttling reach.
• Easy to personalize at scale, With good data and tools, you can make emails feel 1:1.
• Perfect for sequences, Automated cadences let SDRs stay consistent without going insane.

How to execute well on email as a platform:

• Invest in deliverability. Warm up domains, authenticate properly, and watch bounce and spam rates like a hawk. The best copy doesn’t matter if you’re not hitting inboxes.
• Segment by ICP and buying stage. Early‑stage outbound leads should get educational content and light CTAs. Demo requests should get immediate, high‑touch follow‑up.
• Use personalization that actually matters. SalesHive’s own eMod engine is a good example of using AI to pull relevant triggers from public data (funding, tech stack, content themes) instead of just 'I see you went to X University'.
• Measure past opens and clicks. Use engagement data to prioritize call tasks and LinkedIn follow‑ups in your sales engagement platform.

In practice, email is the backbone of most SDR workflows: initial touch, automated follow‑up, and ongoing nurture, all routed through a platform like Outreach, Salesloft, or an AI‑driven system like SalesHive.

2.2 LinkedIn and Social: The B2B Attention Layer

If email is where you ask for time, LinkedIn is where you earn it.

The numbers:

• Around 89% of B2B marketers use LinkedIn, and 62% say it consistently produces leads.
• Roughly 80% of B2B social leads come from LinkedIn.

So yes, it’s crowded. But because it’s crowded with your ICP, you can’t ignore it.

Key LinkedIn use cases for sales development:

• Prospecting and research. Build target lists by role, company, and tech stack; validate contacts; find buying‑committee members.
• 1:1 outreach. Connection requests, follow‑up messages, and voice notes that reference recent activity or pain points.
• Content distribution. Getting your case studies, webinars, and thought leadership in front of the right feeds.
• Retargeting audiences. Sync CRM lists for ad campaigns targeting open deals or key accounts.

How to execute LinkedIn well as a platform:

• Equip SDRs with a simple daily routine. Example: add 20-30 targeted connections, comment meaningfully on 5-10 ICP posts, send 10-15 custom messages tied to current campaigns.
• Align content with outbound campaigns. If your outbound sequence is about 'reducing implementation time by 40%', your posts and ads shouldn’t be about generic 'digital transformation'.
• Use LinkedIn Sales Navigator or similar. The native platform is fine to start, but serious teams invest in advanced filters, saved searches, and account lists.

Other social platforms (YouTube, X, TikTok, etc.) can play a role, especially for awareness and content, but LinkedIn is the primary social execution layer for B2B sales.

2.3 Phone and Dialers: The Velocity Engine

Cold calling isn’t dead; bad cold calling is.

Phone outreach is where deals get clarified quickly. Once you’ve got a hint of interest (email open, link click, form fill, page visit), a well‑timed call can compress weeks of back‑and‑forth into one 10‑minute conversation.

The platform piece matters here:

• Power dialers and click‑to‑call tools drastically increase attempts per rep.
• Local presence and call recording improve connection rates and coaching.
• Integrated dialer in your sales engagement/CRM makes sure calls are logged, dispositions are captured, and follow‑ups are triggered.

How to execute phone as a platform:

• Build call steps into every SDR cadence (don’t let reps treat calling as 'optional').
• Give reps tight, problem‑first openers and objection handling, not 30‑second elevator pitches.
• Use data from email and web (e.g., 'opened 3 emails in 2 days', 'visited pricing page') to prioritize call lists.

SalesHive, for example, bakes calling directly into its AI‑powered platform so reps see prioritized lists and recent engagement right next to their dialer. That’s the kind of integration you want, whether you build it or buy it.

2.4 Website, Content, and SEO: Your Always‑On Demand Gen Platform

Content marketing can feel like a long game, but the numbers are hard to ignore:

• Content marketing generates about 3x more leads than traditional marketing at roughly 62% lower cost.

Your website isn’t just a brochure; it’s the central platform that:

• Captures inbound leads via forms, chat, and meeting links
• Educates buyers so SDRs don’t have to explain basics on every call
• Powers retargeting and email nurture via tracking pixels and UTMs

How to treat your website as a revenue platform:

• Own your high‑intent pages. Solutions, pricing, integrations, and case study pages should have strong CTAs, chat, and easy calendar booking.
• Map content to buying stages. Top‑of‑funnel blog posts for awareness, mid‑funnel comparison guides and ROI breakdowns, bottom‑funnel case studies and implementation details.
• Feed SDRs with signals. Set up alerts or workflows when target accounts hit key pages, your sales engagement tool should be able to drop them into tailored cadences.

The point isn’t to turn your blog into a novel; it’s to make sure when an SDR’s email or LinkedIn message nudges someone to your site, the experience carries the conversation forward.

2.5 CRM and Sales Engagement: The Glue

All these platforms are great… until they start tripping over each other.

A CRM (Salesforce, HubSpot, etc.) and a sales engagement platform (Outreach, Salesloft, or a system like SalesHive’s) are what keep your channels from turning into chaos.

Your CRM should be the source of truth for:

• Accounts and buying committees
• Activities across email, phone, social, and meetings
• Opportunities and pipeline by channel

Your sales engagement platform should:

• Orchestrate multichannel cadences
• Route inbound leads to the right SDR
• Auto‑log touches back into the CRM

Without this glue, marketing and SDRs end up running separate plays on the same accounts and nobody knows what’s actually influencing revenue.

3. Paid Platforms That Actually Move Pipeline

Once your organic and outbound foundations are in place, paid platforms can pour fuel on the fire, if they’re tied to revenue metrics, not just impressions.

3.1 Google Ads and Paid Search: Capturing Active Demand

Paid search is where you catch buyers who are already looking, for example, 'best SOC 2 compliance software' or 'B2B cold calling agency'.

Why it’s powerful:

• High intent. They’re searching because they have a problem.
• Fast feedback. You’ll know quickly if your value prop resonates.
• Great for inbound‑to‑outbound loops. A click today can be an outbound target tomorrow.

Best practices:

• Start with tightly themed campaigns around your core value props and ICP (don’t boil the ocean).
• Align ad copy with the landing page and the SDR script for consistent messaging.
• Make sure every form fill routes into an SDR inbound cadence within minutes.

3.2 LinkedIn Ads: Precision B2B Targeting

LinkedIn Ads are pricey on a per‑click basis, but you’re paying for targeting: roles, seniority, industry, company size, and even specific account lists.

Where LinkedIn Ads shine:

• Account‑based marketing (ABM). Target your Tier 1 account list with tailored creative and offers.
• Content promotion. Amplify webinars, benchmark reports, and case studies to your ICP.
• Deal acceleration. Run ads only to open opportunities to reinforce value props and customer proof.

The play that works well for many B2B teams:

1. Use outbound (email + SDRs) to test messaging.
2. Turn winning themes into LinkedIn Ads targeting the same personas.
3. Have SDRs reference the content or offer prospects 'might have seen on LinkedIn' in their outreach.

3.3 Retargeting and Display: Staying Present Without Being Annoying

Retargeting doesn’t close deals on its own, but it keeps you in the conversation.

Use display and social retargeting to:

• Stay visible to accounts that visited your site or engaged with content
• Promote mid‑funnel content (ROI calculators, case studies)
• Nudge existing leads back into active evaluation

The key is restraint. You don’t need 47 impressions per day; you need a consistent, professional presence aligned with whatever story your SDRs are telling.

4. Orchestrating Multichannel Outbound: Making Platforms Play Nice

Having the tools is table stakes. Orchestrating them is where the wins come from.

4.1 Build Cadences That Mirror Real Buying Behavior

Remember those ten channels buyers are using? Your cadences don’t need to hit all ten, but they should respect how people actually like to interact.

A simple, effective outbound cadence for a mid‑market ICP might look like:

• Day 1: Personalized email + LinkedIn profile view
• Day 2: Phone call + voicemail
• Day 4: Follow‑up email with relevant case study
• Day 7: LinkedIn connection request with short note
• Day 10: Call + voicemail
• Day 14: Email with soft 'should I close the loop?' CTA

The platforms involved:

• Email and LinkedIn touches run through your sales engagement tool
• Calls logged through your dialer
• Clicks and visits captured in your web analytics and CRM

The magic is not just the sequence; it’s the consistency and data feedback.

4.2 Use Data to Prioritize Humans, Not Just Automations

It’s tempting to let platforms do everything. But the most effective teams use data to decide where humans step in.

For example:

• Multiple email opens + visit to pricing page? That prospect jumps to a 'hot lead' call queue.
• Multiple ad impressions but no site visit? Maybe they’re not ready; keep them in light nurture.
• Account engages with a webinar or whitepaper? Trigger an SDR task to start a conversation about that specific topic.

This is where AI‑powered platforms like SalesHive’s come in handy, they can score and route leads automatically based on behavior across channels, so SDRs aren’t guessing who to call next.

4.3 Fix the Marketing–Sales Handoff (Only 11% Do This Well)

SciTech Today’s research found that only about 11% of companies have a seamless marketing‑to‑sales lead handoff process. That’s wild when you consider how much money is spent on platforms and campaigns.

To fix it, you need three things:

1. Shared definitions. What’s an MQL? When does it become an SQL? Who owns it when?
2. Platform routing. Forms, chat, and events should automatically create leads, assign owners, and drop them into appropriate cadences.
3. Closed‑loop reporting. Marketing should see which platforms and campaigns turned into meetings and deals; sales should see which channels sourced their best opportunities.

When this works, you stop arguing about lead quality and start collaborating on channel strategy.

4.4 Respect Buyer Preferences Across Channels

Gartner’s 2024 buyer survey is a wake‑up call: 61% of B2B buyers say they prefer a rep‑free buying experience overall, and 73% avoid suppliers that send irrelevant outreach.

Channel implications:

• Self‑serve where possible. Pricing overviews, product tours, and ROI explanations should be accessible on your website.
• Reps where it counts. When buyers need contextual guidance (does this fit us? how will this integrate?), that’s where your SDRs and AEs shine.
• Personalized outreach only. Use your platforms to research and personalize; don’t let automation spray bland messages across email and LinkedIn.

5. How This Applies to Your Sales Team

Let’s bring this down from strategy deck to sales floor.

5.1 Designing the Day in the Life of an SDR Around Platforms

A well‑run SDR’s day might look like this:

• Morning: Knock out high‑priority tasks from the sales engagement platform, mostly follow‑ups to inbound leads, email replies, and hot web visitors.
• Late morning: Focused call block using the dialer, targeting prospects with recent engagement (email opens, site visits, content downloads).
• Afternoon: New outbound prospecting, building lists, sending personalized first‑touch emails, and LinkedIn connection requests/messages.
• End of day: Clean up tasks, update CRM notes, review cadence performance, and test new messaging variants.

Every piece of that schedule is anchored in platforms: CRM, sales engagement, email, LinkedIn, dialer, and web analytics.

5.2 Metrics That Actually Matter by Platform

Instead of drowning in vanity metrics (likes, opens, impressions), center your dashboards around:

• By email platform: Reply rate, positive reply rate, meetings booked per 100 contacts.
• By LinkedIn: Connection acceptance rate, reply rate to messages, meetings booked influenced by LinkedIn touches.
• By phone/dialer: Connect rate, conversations per hour, meetings booked per 100 dials.
• By website/content: Form fill to meeting rate, demo request conversion rate, high‑intent page views by target accounts.
• By paid channels: Cost per opportunity, pipeline generated per $1k spent, win rate on paid‑sourced opportunities.

The goal: know which platforms produce qualified opportunities, not just engagement.

5.3 Build vs Buy: When to Partner Up

You can absolutely assemble this stack and team yourself. Many companies should.

But there are a few signs you should at least explore outsourcing some of it:

• You’ve churned through multiple SDRs and still don’t have consistent meetings.
• Your marketing team is understaffed and can’t support channel experimentation.
• Your AEs are spending 30-50% of their time on prospecting instead of closing.
• You’re entering a new market and don’t have time for a 6-12 month hiring and ramp cycle.

In those cases, a partner like SalesHive, with ready‑to‑go SDR pods, AI‑driven email and calling infrastructure, and proven playbooks across channels, can shortcut a lot of pain.

6. How SalesHive Executes Across B2B Marketing Platforms (In Practice)

To make this concrete, here’s how a campaign with an outsourced SDR partner like SalesHive typically plays out from a platform perspective.

6.1 List Building and Data

First, SalesHive builds or enriches target lists based on your ICP:

• Ideal industries, geos, and company sizes
• Specific roles and buying‑committee members
• Tech stack filters (where applicable)

They use their platform plus third‑party tools to verify emails and phone numbers, and then sync everything into their own CRM and, if you want, into yours.

6.2 Multichannel Cadence Design

Next, they design SDR cadences that combine:

• Cold email using AI‑assisted personalization (eMod) to reference relevant triggers
• Cold calling via integrated dialers with local presence
• LinkedIn outreach (connection + follow‑up messages)
• Optional paid support, like retargeting or Google Ads run by SalesHive’s advertising team for clients that want inbound plus outbound.

All of this runs through their AI‑powered sales platform, which tracks touches, replies, and meetings in real time.

6.3 Continuous Optimization

Because SalesHive has booked 100,000+ meetings across hundreds of clients, they’ve built benchmarks for reply rates, dial‑to‑meeting ratios, and channel mix by industry.

They use that data to adjust:

• Subject lines and call openers
• Email length and CTAs
• Channel order and timing (e.g., adding a call earlier in the cadence for certain verticals)

You get dashboards that show meetings booked, pipeline generated, and performance by platform, so you’re not guessing which channels are paying off.

7. Conclusion + Next Steps

B2B marketing strategies no longer live in slide decks, they live in the platforms where your buyers spend their time.

We’re in a world where:

• Buyers are using ~10 channels across their journey.
• Email still delivers some of the highest ROI of any channel.
• LinkedIn dominates B2B social lead generation.
• Content and SEO quietly generate 3x more leads at much lower cost than traditional tactics.
• Multichannel outreach reduces cost per lead but only if your platforms and processes are aligned.

If you want your sales team to win in that environment, you don’t need to be everywhere, you need to be right where your best buyers are, with the right mix of platforms:

1. Nail the core: email, LinkedIn, phone, website/SEO, CRM, and sales engagement.
2. Layer in paid search, LinkedIn Ads, and retargeting once you’ve validated messaging.
3. Orchestrate everything with shared definitions, clean routing, and revenue‑focused reporting.
4. Decide what you’ll own in‑house and where a specialist partner like SalesHive can take execution off your plate.

Your next steps:

• Run a brutally honest audit of which platforms currently drive real pipeline.
• Trim or pause channels that don’t have a clear path to revenue.
• Double down on the 3-5 platforms that matter most for your ICP.
• If you’re hitting bandwidth limits, talk to a partner that lives and breathes outbound across these platforms every day.

The platforms aren’t the strategy, but in 2025, you won’t get far without a strategy for the platforms. Get that right, and the rest of your B2B marketing plan suddenly gets a whole lot easier to execute.