Passle is attending B2B Intech today - I'll be liveblogging thoughts and reactions to various talks throughout the day.

I'm currently sitting through Cisco's Jeremy Bevan's talk on 'Tech Marketing in 2016 - where are we now and where are we going?'

The takeaway for me, is the central role of content in unifying the marketing and sales teams. Bevan shared these powerful figures:

• 85% of B2B buyers use social media as a part of the purchasing process
• 67% of the customer journey is digital
• 57% of the purchase decision is complete before a customer even calls

To be successful, your business has to create content that not only helps your customer reach a purchasing decision without human contact, but is also responsive to the needs of their customers. 

Indeed, companies that are able to respond to their customers in real time, tend to be perceived better and be more successful. It is therefore vital that you have an integrated content marketing strategy (and yes, that includes what is traditionally known as customer service).