Information has turn out to be extra than simply an operational software; it’s now central to how B2B firms drive development and enhance income. As companies collect information from numerous sources—advertising and marketing, product, and gross sales—the true problem isn’t simply accumulating data however making sense of it. And not using a clear strategy, insights can stay fragmented, groups may match in isolation, and methods won’t attain their full potential. Constructing a unified, data-driven technique that aligns each perform is vital to making a clean go-to-market plan.
To discover this subject additional, we spoke with Lars Grønnegaard, CEO and Co-founder of Dreamdata. Having served because the Senior Vice President of Product at Trustpilot, Lars skilled firsthand the frustrations of disconnected information. He based Dreamdata to deal with this downside, making a platform designed to attach every bit of information on to income, serving to groups make knowledgeable decisions and drive actual development. On this interview, Lars shares his journey, insights on in the present day’s information challenges, his recommendation for B2B firms eager to create a powerful, data-driven basis, and way more. Let’s dive into it
Are you able to share a bit about your background and the way your journey within the tech and information house started?
I began my profession with a powerful basis in product administration and UX design, working initially as a guide. Later, I joined Trustpilot, the place I took on the position of Senior Vice President of Product. At Trustpilot, I discovered the significance of constructing customer-centric SaaS merchandise, particularly as we expanded into B2B gross sales.
The defining second for me was realizing how disconnected our information was. We had useful insights unfold throughout advertising and marketing, product, and gross sales, but tying all of it collectively to grasp its impression on income was practically not possible. This expertise ignited my fascination with data-driven development, in the end resulting in the founding of Dreamdata as an answer to this situation.
What impressed you to maneuver from a Senior Vice President of Product position to turning into the co-founder and CEO of Dreamdata
It got here all the way down to addressing a ache level I noticed up shut at Trustpilot. We had information from all instructions—advertising and marketing, product utilization, gross sales—however no unified strategy to join all of it to income. Everybody was working laborious, however we had been working with out full visibility into what really drove gross sales.
My co-founders and I noticed this wasn’t a singular downside to Trustpilot; it was a problem dealing with many B2B firms. We wished to alter that, which motivated me to step away from my position and co-found Dreamdata. Our mission grew to become clear: to create a platform that connects advertising and marketing efforts on to income outcomes, serving to B2B firms with the clear attribution they should scale successfully.
Reflecting in your early profession, was there a defining second that made you understand the significance of aligning advertising and marketing, product, gross sales, and buyer success?
Completely. At Trustpilot, it typically felt like every staff—advertising and marketing, product, gross sales—believed they had been the first driver of income. However while you mixed everybody’s claims, the numbers merely didn’t add up. That was a turning level for me: it highlighted the necessity for alignment throughout these capabilities, not simply in execution however in measurement. And not using a unified metric tied again to income, silos and inefficiencies emerge. That’s once I grew to become critically eager about attribution, discovering methods to attach the dots between product initiatives, advertising and marketing campaigns, and gross sales outcomes.
What are a number of the greatest shifts you’ve noticed within the B2B advertising and marketing and information panorama through the years, and the way have these modifications influenced your strategy to enterprise?
One of many greatest shifts has been the complexity of the customer’s journey. It’s not led solely by gross sales; consumers are conducting their analysis independently, and sometimes 70-80% of the journey occurs earlier than they even interact with you. This places numerous stress on advertising and marketing to drive early engagement. Alongside this, the amount of obtainable information has exploded, and plenty of firms are overwhelmed by it, struggling to derive helpful insights.
These shifts have formed my strategy at Dreamdata, the place we’re centered on serving to firms streamline their information and switch it into actionable insights. In the present day’s B2B panorama requires transferring away from gut-feel selections to totally data-driven development—a philosophy that we stay and breathe at Dreamdata.
Trying forward, how do you assume information and know-how will reshape the B2B advertising and marketing house within the subsequent 5-10 years? Are there any rising tendencies that you simply’re notably enthusiastic about?
B2B advertising and marketing will turn out to be much more data-driven and automatic. AI and machine studying will convey predictive analytics to the forefront, enabling entrepreneurs not solely to investigate previous efficiency however to anticipate future tendencies. One other main development is deeper personalization at scale. As information turns into more and more accessible, firms may have the flexibility to craft hyper-targeted messages for the fitting viewers on the good second. This heightened precision will improve advertising and marketing effectiveness, making each funding extra accountable and impactful.
For firms attempting to undertake a data-driven strategy, what do you see as the largest challenges or misconceptions, and the way can they finest overcome these hurdles?
One of many greatest misconceptions is that turning into data-driven merely means gathering extra information. In actuality, most firms have already got an abundance of information; the problem lies in connecting it and making sense of it. Stitching collectively information from numerous programs—CRM, advertising and marketing platforms, gross sales information—is complicated, and it’s straightforward to get misplaced with no cohesive technique. My recommendation is to begin with alignment. Get advertising and marketing, gross sales, and product groups talking the identical language and looking out on the similar information. Solely then are you able to make selections primarily based on a whole, actionable image.
What are your high three suggestions for startups trying to create a go-to-market technique that’s really data-driven and results-oriented?
- Begin with clear, unified information: Your selections can solely be as correct as the information you base them on. Consolidate all related information right into a single platform to make sure consistency.
- Align groups from day one: Get advertising and marketing, gross sales, and product on the identical web page early. Siloed groups result in fragmented methods that lack full optimisation.
- Iterate rapidly: Don’t await good information to begin. Implement a method, analyze the outcomes, and iterate. The quicker you may undergo this cycle, the earlier you’ll uncover an efficient technique.
Each founder faces powerful instances—whether or not it’s a missed fundraising aim, difficult retention charges, or a partnership falling by means of. Are you able to share an expertise the place issues didn’t go as deliberate and the way you moved previous it?
In fact. Early on at Dreamdata, we tried an outbound gross sales technique that utterly flopped. We assumed hiring salespeople would naturally herald clients, however our target market—B2B advertising and marketing and operations leaders—didn’t reply effectively to chilly outreach. We rapidly needed to pivot and lean right into a extra genuine strategy. That’s once we doubled down on LinkedIn, sharing our experience and constructing a neighborhood presence. It wasn’t an immediate success, nevertheless it grew to become one in all our most dear development channels over time.
Lastly, for entrepreneurs and enterprise leaders studying this, what’s one unconventional piece of recommendation or lesson that’s been key to your success, however won’t be apparent to others?
Don’t be afraid to be a bit contrarian. If everybody goes in a single path, generally it pays to go the opposite approach. Early on, we selected a marketing-led go-to-market technique whereas many B2B firms had been nonetheless centered on sales-led approaches. It felt dangerous, nevertheless it grew to become one in all our greatest selections. Belief your instincts, and don’t be afraid to carve your personal path.
