When did you last evaluate the quality of your B2B personas and contact data? If you’re like most marketers, you know the struggle of getting the right content to the right people.

Starting in 2014, Salesforce analyzed over 15 million data points from major B2B databases like Data.com and LinkedIn. The goal? To help marketers understand and improve the accuracy of their targeting.

I spoke with Mathew Sweezey, Principal of Marketing Insights at Salesforce, about his research and insights from the report, B2B Personas: Targeting Audiences. Here’s what he had to say.

Meet Mathew Sweezey

Brian: Mathew, can you tell us a little about your background?

Mathew Sweezey: Sure! I was one of the early employees at Pardot, which later became part of Salesforce. I’ve been in the thick of B2B marketing, writing the book Marketing Automation for Dummies and sharing insights as the Principal of Marketing Insight at Salesforce.

The Spark Behind the Research

Brian: What inspired you to dig into this data?

Mathew Sweezey: As marketers, we often focus on simple metrics like the number of email addresses we collect. But we rarely ask the bigger question: How effective are we? We needed a way to evaluate audience data and understand its true value.

Key Takeaways:

• The average cost of a B2B email address is around $150.


• Most B2B email databases hold about 50,000 contacts, meaning the average database is a $7.5 million asset.


• The only metric we often use to assess email lists is whether the emails bounce—not a great measure of data quality.

The B2B Persona project from Mathew Sweezey

Surprising Discoveries in Audience Data

Brian: What surprised you most during your analysis?

Mathew Sweezey: The biggest surprise was the high level of movement within organizations. People change roles frequently, which can make your database quickly outdated.

Key Insights:

• Role Changes: The contact may no longer fit your target persona even if an email is still valid.


• Database Churn: B2B contact lists churn at a rate of around 15% per year. Without updates, your database could be irrelevant in 4.2 years.


• Personas Are Fluid: People enter and leave target personas daily based on job changes and company shifts.

Tip: Track growth and churn rates in your personas to understand how quickly your audience changes.

Why B2B Marketing is Fundamentally Changing

Brian: Your report suggests B2B marketing is undergoing a major shift. Can you elaborate?

Mathew Sweezey: Traditionally, businesses controlled both the creation and distribution of media. Today, we live in an infinite media environment where anyone can create and share content.

The New Reality:

• No Captive Audience: Consumers now filter content through algorithms and ad blockers.


• Content Overload: There’s an overwhelming amount of content, and only the most relevant messages will make it through.

Insight: The biggest challenge today is cutting through the noise by making content genuinely valuable.

Should We Even Be Asking for Email?

Brian: Given what you’ve shared, should marketers change how they view email as a channel?

Mathew Sweezey: Yes! Email should be treated as just one part of a broader communication strategy. Consider social media handles, which may have a longer shelf life, as a way to keep in touch with contacts who frequently change roles.

Best Practices for Email Marketing:

• Don’t over-email: If someone hasn’t responded after five messages, remove them from your list.


• Leverage social data: Tools like Full Contact and Data.com can help append social profiles to email contacts, keeping your data fresh.


• Diversify Channels: Social handles may give more continuity than email alone.

Tip: Think about building relationships across multiple platforms to ensure continuity when roles or emails change.

Interesting Statistic: Marketer Tenure vs. Gerbil Lifespan

Brian: What’s one statistic you wish more people knew?

Mathew Sweezey: Did you know the average tenure for a marketer is only 2.4 years? That means a gerbil’s lifespan is longer than the average marketing role! In fact, marketers have the highest churn rate of any profession.

Final Thoughts and Tips

Mathew’s Key Takeaways for B2B Marketers:

1. Embrace Change: Recognize that your database is fluid. People move roles often, so focus on quality over quantity.


2. Optimize Your Email Strategy: Email is still valuable, but use it wisely. Consider other channels like social media for longer-lasting connections.


3. Focus on Relevance: Only valuable, personalized messages will stand out in an environment flooded with content.

Connect with Mathew:

• Twitter: @msweezey


• SlideShare: For his latest presentations

You May Also Like

• Download the full report B2B Personas: Targeting Audiences


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• 5 Reasons Why Your Buyer Persona’s Aren’t Good Enough