B2B marketing skills that actually matter right now, and what salary they can get you.

Earlier this week, our friends at Exit Five dropped a kickass B2B Marketing Salary Benchmark Report – deep, data-heavy, and seriously worth your time.

It breaks down what B2B marketers earn by role, region, and function.

While that landed, I went deep into the other side of the equation – what the market wants. I analyzed dozens of open senior SaaS marketing roles at companies people dream about working for, to map the in-demand skills by vertical. 

We use these to help plan courses and content, but figured it fits nicely with the E5 report.

So let’s answer two questions that actually matter right now:

What skills are hot?
And what can they earn you?

Product marketing: Own the product, own the story

Overview summary of responsibilities

Senior product marketing roles shape how a product is positioned, launched, and adopted. These roles own go-to-market strategy, messaging, customer segmentation, and competitive differentiation. They serve as the bridge between product, sales, and marketing – ensuring alignment and clarity from roadmap to revenue. They’re accountable for building messaging that lands across channels, enabling sales teams, and launching products like experiments. In global roles, they also oversee localization strategy and ensure compliance with privacy regulations such as GDPR.

In-demand Technical Skills:

• Go-to-market strategy – Launch and iterate product rollouts with cross-functional teams
• Sales enablement – Develop content, tools, and programs that help sales close faster
• Competitive intelligence – Analyze competitor moves and positioning to shape strategic messaging
• AI-powered insights – Use predictive analytics and customer data to inform decisions
• Data-backed storytelling – Turn usage data and case studies into powerful narratives
• Localization and GDPR compliance – Tailor global messaging while ensuring regional compliance
• CRM integration – Collaborate with CRM systems to execute segmentation and track impact
• Content leadership – Direct creation of product sheets, launch assets, and video scripts
• Market research and segmentation – Validate product fit with customer insights and ICP definition
• Cross-functional collaboration – Align with sales, product, and customer success for consistent execution

Demand generation: Pipeline or die

Overview summary of responsibilities

Senior demand generation roles focus on one thing – creating pipeline. These marketers build full-funnel strategies that combine account-based marketing (ABM), paid channels, email automation, and lead nurturing. They work across functions to convert awareness into sales opportunities, running integrated campaigns tied to revenue targets. They manage budgets, optimize for CAC and ROAS, and test relentlessly. The best ones balance strategy and execution – setting the roadmap and getting their hands dirty in campaign tooling.

In-demand Technical Skills:

• Marketing automation – Mastery of Marketo, HubSpot, or Pardot
• CRM management – Deep Salesforce or equivalent experience
• ABM execution – Personalized outreach and campaign targeting
• Paid media – LinkedIn, Google, and programmatic ads
• SEO and SEM – Inbound and paid search optimization
• Conversion rate optimization – A/B testing and funnel lift
• Lead scoring and funnel management – MQL to SQL precision
• Campaign analytics – Real-time performance tracking
• Budget ownership – CAC, ROAS, and channel ROI control
• Multi-channel orchestration – Email, ads, social, and field integration

Content marketing: SEO meets real storytelling

Overview summary of responsibilities

Senior content marketers move beyond blogs and webinars – they drive pipeline with content. These roles combine SEO strategy with strong editorial judgment, turning ideas into assets that convert. They oversee writers, manage content calendars, and own metrics like traffic, engagement, and influenced revenue. Thought leadership is table stakes. What matters is whether it drives demos and deals. Global roles also manage multilingual content operations and international SEO.

In-demand Technical Skills:

• SEO – Keyword strategy, content architecture, and technical audits
• Content strategy – Aligning content to buyer stages and commercial goals
• Editorial management – Calendar planning, briefs, and review cycles
• Multimedia content – Video, podcast, and visual content execution
• CMS fluency – Platforms like WordPress, Webflow, or Contentful
• Analytics and reporting – Measure content performance and influence
• Social distribution – Amplify reach across paid and organic
• Email newsletters – Lifecycle and engagement content
• International SEO – Multilingual keyword targeting and hreflang management
• Thought leadership – Strong POV development tied to sales outcomes

Brand and communication: Build trust, kill fluff

Overview summary of responsibilities

Senior brand roles define how a company shows up in the market. These marketers own narrative development, visual identity, internal communications, and external PR. They manage social media presence, media relationships, and brand reputation. The strongest leaders tie brand perception to revenue – not just awareness. They build systems to monitor sentiment, track brand lift, and respond to issues in real time.

In-demand Technical Skills:

• Brand positioning – Craft clear and compelling strategic narratives
• Media and PR management – Press outreach and coverage monitoring
• Social media strategy – Organic strategy and engagement analytics
• Content oversight – Thought leadership, messaging, and executive comms
• Internal communication – Alignment across departments and regions
• Brand analytics – Sentiment analysis and brand health tracking
• Crisis communication – Frameworks and response management
• Design collaboration – Ensuring consistent brand visuals
• Multi-channel storytelling – Across digital, live, and owned channels
• Compliance awareness – Especially GDPR and reputational risk in EU

Digital and performance marketing: ROI or bust

Overview summary of responsibilities

Senior performance marketers live and die by the numbers. They own paid media, SEO, website optimization, and marketing attribution. These roles are relentlessly focused on spend efficiency, CAC, and ROAS. They manage agencies and internal teams, run experiments, and build dashboards that tie every action to revenue. In privacy-first regions, they also navigate GDPR and first-party data strategies.

In-demand Technical Skills:

• Paid acquisition – Google Ads, LinkedIn, programmatic platforms
• SEO – Technical, on-page, and content-driven SEO
• Attribution modeling – Track influence across channels
• Conversion rate optimization – A/B testing and landing page design
• Analytics and reporting – Build dashboards, segment insights
• Budget and bid strategy – Spend efficiency at every level
• Tag management – Google Tag Manager and event tracking
• Martech stack – Integrations across CRM, analytics, and ads
• GDPR compliance – Consent management and cookie governance
• Trend tracking – Fast adoption of platform and algorithm changes

Field, partner, and event marketing: Deals over drinks

Overview summary of responsibilities

Senior roles in field, partner, and event marketing drive in-person influence. They build programs that support enterprise sales cycles through high-touch engagement. They manage event strategy, coordinate with partners, and obsess over post-event follow-up. They connect top-of-funnel awareness with bottom-of-funnel pipeline in a tangible, measurable way.

In-demand Technical Skills:

• Event strategy – In-person, virtual, and hybrid execution
• Project management – Timeline and logistics precision
• Partner marketing – Co-branded content, campaigns, and events
• Sales collaboration – Field alignment and regional priorities
• ABM integration – Event touchpoints within account plans
• Lead capture and routing – On-site tools and CRM syncing
• Virtual platforms – Webinar and event stack mastery
• Local market adaptation – Content and experience regionalization
• Budget and ROI tracking – Event performance and cost metrics
• Post-event execution – Follow-up playbooks and campaign lift

Marketing operations and analytics: Numbers tell the truth

Overview summary of responsibilities

Senior marketing ops roles build the systems that make growth scale. They own marketing infrastructure, data integrity, reporting, and process automation. They ensure clean attribution, scalable campaign execution, and GDPR-compliant operations. Their success is measured by how fast the team can move and how accurate the reporting is.

In-demand Technical Skills:

• CRM architecture – Salesforce or equivalent configuration
• Marketing automation – Operational ownership of Marketo, HubSpot
• Attribution and analytics – Multi-touch tracking and modeling
• Data hygiene – Database structure, deduplication, and accuracy
• Business intelligence – Dashboarding in Looker, Tableau, or Power BI
• Process automation – Lead routing, campaign triggers, and ops scaling
• Compliance and GDPR – Legal-compliant systems and reporting
• SQL and data querying – Custom reporting and segmentation
• Martech integration – Seamless platform communication
• AI operations – Automating insight and action loops

General marketing: Jack-of-all-trades, master of results

Overview summary of responsibilities

Senior generalist marketers own broad mandates. They might lead teams covering demand gen, content, digital, and ops—especially in scale-ups or resource-strapped orgs. They thrive on complexity, orchestrating cross-functional programs with limited budget. They balance depth with range, ensuring consistency in execution and alignment to commercial outcomes.

In-demand Technical Skills:

• Strategic marketing planning – Tying activities to revenue and goals
• Multi-channel execution – Content, email, digital, events
• Analytics and reporting – Understand what’s working, kill what’s not
• Team leadership – Manage specialists and agencies
• Martech fluency – Orchestrate the right stack for scale
• Budget management – Allocate and justify spend across programs
• Campaign orchestration – End-to-end lifecycle program delivery
• Brand alignment – Ensure consistent story across channels
• Global coordination – Adapt strategy across regions
• Agility – Learn, test, pivot, and ship faster than others

Use this, along with the salary report as a map

If you’re a B2B marketer, this data tells you exactly where the money’s flowing, what skills get rewarded, and which titles carry real weight.

Use it to negotiate. Use it to prioritize. Use it to level up.

And if you’re hiring? This shows what top talent expects in 2025.

Download the full Exit Five Salary Benchmark Report:

Grab it here >

(NEW) B2B Marketing & Growth Minidegree

We recently launched a new B2B Minidegree designed for B2B and SaaS Marketers who are serious about demand generation, pipeline velocity and earning salaries like the ones covered above.

Currently it’s a collection of 15 courses and will be expanded on over the coming months.

• Practical, in-depth tactics and strategies that drive serious growth TODAY
• No outdated playbooks, no fluff, no theory – just actionable insights and real word applications
• Master critical B2B disciplines: ABM, LinkedIn strategy, partner marketing, and demand generation
• Built by practitioners who’ve spent millions on B2B marketing that actually works
• Frameworks specifically designed for complex sales cycles and multiple decision-makers

Generate demand, fill pipelines, and drive revenue growth.

Check it out here >