Most B2B leaders recognize that focusing on the delivery of customer value will fast-track revenue growth. The only way to propel this customer-obsessed growth engine is to align marketing, sales, product, and other internal functions — yet that alignment is almost always easier said than done. Those challenged with achieving the seemingly impossible goal will be inspired to read the stories of the companies nominated for our annual B2B Return On Integration (ROI) Honors, given each year at Forrester’s B2B Summit North America.

The B2B leaders who shared their experiences with us this year have grown revenue, sped up time to market, launched better-integrated global campaigns, and more — all through deliberate, thoughtful alignment. Selecting three winners out of so many inspiring submissions is never easy. We narrowed the pool down to seven finalists and then, through a series of rigorous interviews, selected this year’s winners.

I am proud to announce the winners of this year’s B2B ROI Honors for North America, which will be presented on stage at B2B Summit in June:

IBM

IBM has an excellent story that exemplifies product-led growth through the simplification of its go-to-market strategies. The initiative aligned product, marketing, sales, finance, and HR. By leveragingagile methodologiesand adapting Forrester’s Buyer Audience Framework, Campaign Framework, and post-sourcing research, IBM was able to exceed its growth goal.

Cisco

With 90% of its revenue coming from the partner ecosystem, Cisco recognized the importance of enabling its partners to perform, and the correlation of that performance with Cisco’s revenue and bookings growth. The company aligned its go-to-market marketing team, internet-of-things product team, and Black Belt Academy sales training and sales enablement teams to launch a program that helps partners more effectively sell, simplifies their experience, and allows them to be more profitable, which in turn increases loyalty to Cisco.

Cart.com

Cart.com’s growth through acquisition meant it needed to integrate. Cart.com gained agreement across the organization (including the CEO, CRO, HR, product marketing, sales, channel, and customer success) to define cross-business-unit go-to-market targets. These solutions enabled Cart.com to exceed its revenue, gross margin, cash flow, and EBITDA goals.

Join Us To Learn More

At this year’s B2B Summit North America, happening June 5–7 in Austin, Texas, and digitally, leaders from these companies will share their stories in much greater detail. B2B leaders and teams attending Summit will learn firsthand how the Honorees set a bold, cross-functional vision for success, partnered with their peers throughout the company, worked through obstacles, and saw their hard work pay off.

Now more than ever, cross-functional alignment around the customer is essential. This year’s Summit will provide you with a roadmap to do that — not only through our B2B ROI Honors and B2B Programs Of The Year Awards presentations but through more than 100 track sessions and keynotes designed to build the specific marketing, sales, and product skills required to effectively drive alignment and be truly customer-obsessed.

I hope to see you there!