Is there a Future for MQLs?
According to analysts, MQLs have no future in B2B marketing. It's a convenient narrative which highlights major problems. Reality is more complex.
The MQL is dead. Self-service buying has killed it, or perhaps ABM has made it obsolete. It depends on who you speak to. Buyer behaviour is changing, which requires a drastic change in internal go-to-market practices. Revenue Process Transformation is a strategic imperative that solves the increasingly common challenge of getting buyers to engage with sales. At least, that's the diagnosis from leading analysts such as Forrester.
The issues highlighted in the death of the MQL narrative are very real. Both B2B sales and B2B marketing are evolving rapidly. The sudden transition to digital selling during the pandemic disrupted the entire funnel, and sales teams are still trying to adapt. That has a downstream impact on marketing, which needs to make sure that leads are sales ready. Yet surprisingly few sales teams seem to recognise that the definition of a sales ready lead has changed dramatically in recent years.