TL;DR:
If your B2B marketing team is still focused on individual MQLs, it’s time to rethink. Marketing Qualified Buying Groups (MQBGs) offer a more strategic, revenue-focused way to plan, target, and personalize campaigns -especially in complex buying cycles. This post breaks down what MQBGs are, why they matter now, and how to start using them today.
Time to say goodbye to the MQL
Marketing automation isn’t broken, but our obsession with leads is. Recently our CEO asked Is it time to kill the MQL? Because in today’s complex B2B buying landscape, individual MQLs rarely reflect how decisions are made. The real shift? Moving from single leads to marketing qualified buying groups. This article explores why MQBGs are becoming essential for revenue-aligned marketing, and how to implement them with confidence.
The Shift: why Marketing needs buying groups, not just leads
B2B buying has changed. According to Gartner, the average B2B buying decision involves 6 to 10 stakeholders, each bringing their own concerns, needs, and priorities. Yet, many marketing automation strategies still revolve around individuals filling out forms or downloading content.
Traditional lead scoring models often miss the bigger picture: while one stakeholder might convert, they rarely represent the full buying group. This leaves marketing teams disconnected from what sales actually need: a set of engaged, decision-ready contacts across a real buying committee.
This shift is exactly why marketing qualified buying groups are gaining traction. By aligning marketing efforts around groups of related personas within an account, MQBGs provide a more accurate, revenue-focused approach to campaign targeting and measurement.
The problem with traditional MQL models
The MQL-to-SQL pipeline has long been a source of frustration for both marketing and sales. The core issue? Most MQLs are individually qualified, often based on form-fills or basic engagement signals. But in B2B, buying rarely happens in isolation.
Common pitfalls include:
- Wasted sales time chasing “leads” that don’t reflect real buying intent.
- Low conversion rates from MQL to opportunity, often hovering around 3–5%.
- Misalignment with sales, who require a more complete view of account readiness.
This leads to siloed teams, inflated lead volumes, and attribution battles that undermine marketing’s credibility. Moving to MQBGs helps solve these issues by focusing on buying group readiness, not just individual activity.
📊 Forrester has noted that 94% of B2B purchases involve multiple people, yet only 27% of marketers are building campaigns with that in mind.
Dive Deeper into MQBGs
Watch our webinar as Adobe’s experts join JTF to dive deeper into the evolving concept of marketing qualified buying groups—exploring what’s changing, how to identify them, and how to turn insight into action.
A strategic framework for Marketing Qualified Buying Groups
So, how do you make the leap from lead-based to group-based marketing automation? Start with this three-phase approach:
1. Identify Buying Group Personas
Audit your existing segmentation logic. Your personas already exist in your email audiences and campaign filters. Map these to roles in the buying group (e.g., Decision Maker, Influencer, Practitioner).
2. Assign and Enrich Group Membership
Use your marketing automation platform (like Marketo Engage) to assign contacts to defined buying groups. Apply progressive profiling and smart campaigns to fill in gaps.
3. Activate Group-Based Journeys
Use platforms like Adobe Journey Optimizer B2B Edition to orchestrate personalized journeys at the group level. Tailor messaging and engagement strategies by role and buying stage.
✅ Pro tip: MQBGs thrive on shared data. Ensure sales and marketing teams operate from a unified view of account engagement.
Tools & Tech: How Adobe AJO B2B + Marketo Make MQBGs Possible
You don’t need to rip and replace your stack. Platforms like Adobe Journey Optimizer B2B Edition (AJO B2B) are designed to extend what you’re already doing in Marketo Engage.
Here’s how they work together:
Here’s a detailed explanation of how these two platforms seamlessly integrate and work in concert:
| Feature | Marketo Engage | AJO B2B |
|---|---|---|
| Lead Data and Scoring | Fully supported | Also fully supported |
| Account Journey Orchestration | Not supported | Fully supported |
| Buying Group Assignment | Not supported | Fully supported |
| Role-Based Personalization | Limited and complex functionality | Fully supported with AI assistance |
| Unified Customer View | Not supported | Fully supported via Real-Time CDP |
With this robust integration in place, you gain the following capabilities:
- You can effectively link your existing Marketo Engage assets, such as emails and tokens, to the various stages of your customer journeys within Adobe AJO B2B.
- You have the ability to automatically initiate specific engagement flows when you identify that critical roles or personas are missing within a buying group.
- You can comprehensively track engagement metrics across the entire buying committee, rather than solely focusing on individual leads.
Track engagement across the full buying committee, not just leads.
Start Today: Steps to Pilot MQBGs in Your Org
You don’t need a full transformation to get started. Begin small, learn fast.
Here’s how:
- Pick one product line or initiative with clear buyer personas
- Reverse-engineer existing segmentation lists to define roles
- Pilot a journey using Marketo campaigns and progressive profiling
- Track group engagement, not just individuals
- Debrief with Sales monthly to align on insights and improvements
“Start with a cupcake, not a wedding cake. Prove the value, then scale.”
As Adobe’s Jessica Kao said during our Revenue-Driven Marketing Leader webinar
Conclusion: From Leads to Revenue – with MQBGs
Marketing qualified buying groups aren’t just a tactic, they’re a strategic upgrade to how modern B2B marketing works. If you’re serious about aligning with sales, proving ROI, and influencing revenue, MQBGs should be on your roadmap.
Want help applying this to your tech stack and team?
Book a call with JTF’s MarTech strategy experts.