Marketing Mix Modeling: 5 Key MMM Tips for CMOs

MMM builds more credibility for B2C marketing than for B2B contexts due to differences in organizational dynamics. B2B marketing involves complex sales cycles, individual and account-based targeting, and more touchpoints during the purchase journey, which are not well-suited to MMM’s probabilistic methods and aggregated data approach.

Key challenges in B2B marketing include:

• CRM reliance. B2B chief sales officers (CSOs) prioritize CRM data for attribution, tagging activities like marketing, sales or service to individuals or accounts. MMM doesn’t connect marketing activities directly to CRM deals, leading B2B CSOs to distrust its outputs.

• Complex sales cycles. B2B sales journeys vary greatly, with some deals taking months or years to close. Marketing mix modeling time-series-based methods struggle with this variability, making MMM ineffective for proving marketing’s value in B2B. MMM can support marketing optimization for B2B, given enough working media spend and well-defined midfunnel business outcomes (e.g., optimizing for marketing-qualified-lead generation).

The explosion of new marketing mix modeling providers can overwhelm CMOs. Two key shifts — third-party data deprecation and open-source software packages — have led to a surge in MMM offerings. Prospective buyers now face options from advertising agencies, professional services analytics firms, SaaS startups, and traditional SaaS vendors. This increase in choices creates confusion, making it challenging to discern differences between providers.

Here’s how to choose the right MMM provider:

• Focus on trust and track record. Focus on vendors with a proven track record of delivering MMM solutions for at least three years. Trustworthy vendors align their incentives with improving marketing effectiveness, ensuring they prioritize your success.

• Avoid conflicts of interest. Be cautious of providers involved in media-buying, strategy or owning advertising-supported platforms, as these can introduce conflicts of interest.

Modern MMM solutions leverage software to deliver insights faster, replacing traditional lengthy presentations and ad hoc analyses. Previously, MMM relied on statisticians’ extensive slide decks explaining complex models, with follow-up queries taking days or weeks to address. This outdated approach slowed decision making and limited responsiveness.

Key benefits of embracing software-driven MMM include:

• Efficiency and management. Today’s MMM solutions adopt a hybrid approach, where software manages data inputs, ensures data quality and provides primary results. This setup supports dynamic “what if”-style scenario planning, allowing marketing teams to quickly explore different strategies. While software handles much of the process, human involvement remains essential for model specification, validation and parameter adjustments.

Successful MMM adoption requires cross-functional collaboration and trust building across the enterprise. It’s not just about the data; it’s about aligning nonmarketing departments and stakeholders around shared goals. MMM champions — those leading the initiative — must coordinate multiple functions to ensure effective integration and use of MMM insights.

Strategies to enhance adoption include:

• Change management support. Leverage vendors that offer robust change management support to facilitate enterprisewide adoption. These services help mitigate skepticism, especially from those accustomed to traditional MMM methods, by engaging in open dialogue and collaborative model co-design. Such support is crucial for aligning different departments, from finance to supply chain, ensuring everyone contributes productively to the MMM process.

• Collaboration and communication. Successful MMM implementation relies on open communication and regular feedback loops. This approach allows for continuous refinement and improvement of the MMM process, making it a powerful tool for driving organizational change. By exploring “what if” scenarios in real time and distributing insights across the enterprise, MMM enables teams to manage collaboratively and respond swiftly to market dynamics.

Despite advancements in MMM, opaque pricing models remain a challenge. Most vendors do not list prices on their websites, and pricing is often calculated on a one-to-one basis during the sales process. This lack of transparency can make it difficult to assess the comparative value of different MMM solutions.

Key strategies for navigating complex pricing include:

• Understanding the landscape. Modern MMM solutions blend software and services, complicating the pricing landscape. Proposals may lack clear line items, making it hard to understand or adjust the components of the offering. Some vendors offer specific bundles tailored to different client contexts, which can help alleviate some pricing challenges. However, software licensing generally deviates from conventional volume-based or user-based models.

• Informed decision making. To navigate pricing opacity, request proof-of-concept engagements, customer references and support in building a clear business case. This approach helps ensure that the investment aligns with strategic goals and delivers tangible value. Clear communication with vendors is essential to understand the full scope of offerings and make informed decisions about MMM investments.