Lead tracking is a key success factor for B2B companies. Stephan Sigloch, CEO of KlickPiloten, explains the trends and challenges involved, how data-driven marketing optimizes sales processes, and the role smart bidding can play as a key lever for improving performance.
Summary:
- Introduction to Stephan Sigloch and the KlickPiloten
- Current key challenges in performance marketing
- Requirements for Google Smart Bidding
- Common mistakes when using smart bidding – best practices
- The importance of CRM systems, sales feedback, and lead quality for lead tracking
- Breaking down silos: Uniting sales, marketing, and IT
- Looking to the future: AI in lead tracking
Hello Stephan, please introduce yourself briefly. What sets KlickPiloten apart as a performance marketing agency, and what role does B2B lead tracking play in your daily agency business?
Stephan Sigloch
Yes, I’m Stephan Sigloch, founder and CEO of KlickPiloten, and also founder of the Digital Native Alliance. KlickPiloten is part of this alliance and operates as a performance marketing agency. We employ around 70 colleagues who work nationally and internationally in performance marketing for international corporations and ambitious medium-sized companies. We focus on data-driven, KPI-oriented, and cross-channel marketing – not limited to a single performance channel.
The topic of B2B lead tracking is a key lever in this context. It forms the basis for precise campaign management and effective sales engagement in over 50 percent of our B2B mandates. Our particular strength lies in strategically combining and operationalizing technical complexity, creation, and integration into CRM systems, as well as individual tracking logic.
“Lead tracking is a key lever for us in B2B marketing. It forms the basis for precise campaign management and effective sales engagement in over 50 percent of our B2B mandates. Our strength lies in the combination of technical complexity, creativity, and strategic integration.“
– Stephan Sigloch
Challenges and trends in lead tracking
What are the main challenges you see in performance marketing, and what trends are currently shaping lead tracking among your B2B customers?
Stephan Sigloch
There are many challenges in the area of lead tracking. A key issue is often poor data quality and gaps in the customer journey. Many companies track leads but do not have a uniform definition, which means they lose track of cross-channel visibility and the feedback of sales results into campaigns. There are often many gaps to fill here.
Secondly, implementing modern bidding systems such as Google Smart Bidding or Performance Max is a challenge, especially in B2B, where sales cycles are often much longer and Google sometimes does not receive enough valid signals.
Thirdly, there are legal and technological barriers, such as cookie consent, server-side tracking, and data protection issues, which are currently slowing down medium-sized companies in particular. We help to create understanding and implement technical solutions.
“Many companies track leads but don’t have a consistent definition. This leads to gaps in cross-channel visibility and makes it difficult to attribute sales results back to campaigns. These breaks in the customer journey are one of the biggest challenges in lead tracking.“
– Stephan Sigloch
Requirements for successful lead tracking
One point you mentioned is Google Smart Bidding. What technical and strategic considerations need to be taken into account in lead tracking to ensure that Smart Bidding works effectively?
Stephan Sigloch
The answer is basically simple: you need a closed-loop system. This means that data must flow seamlessly between tools. Technically, this means setting up conversion tracking via Google Click IDs or Enhanced Conversions for Leads, ensuring CRM integration—for example, with Salesforce or HubSpot—and using API-based data imports.
Strategically, it’s then a matter of clearly defining lead quality criteria, distinguishing between MQLs (marketing qualified leads) and SQLs (sales qualified leads), and setting the right KPIs. In addition, conversion windows must be adapted to the long sales cycles in B2B so that the algorithms receive the right signals.
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What are the typical mistakes made when using smart bidding in lead tracking, and what best practices have you established at KlickPiloten?
Stephan Sigloch
A common mistake is having an outdated account structure in Google Ads that is not aligned with new campaign formats such as Performance Max. In addition, conversion actions are often defined too generically or feedback loops from CRM systems are missing.
A best practice is to clearly define the lead stages—i.e., distinguish between soft and high-intent leads—and introduce systematic testing. Regional budget optimizations can also play a major role.
What are the typical mistakes made when using smart bidding in lead tracking, and what best practices have you established at KlickPiloten?
“A common mistake is an outdated account structure in Google Ads that is not tailored to modern campaign formats such as Performance Max. Clearly defined lead stages and feedback loops from CRM systems are also often missing. Here, we rely on systematic testing and differentiated lead scoring.“
– Stephan Sigloch
How important are CRM systems, sales feedback, and lead quality for successful lead tracking in the B2B sector?
Stephan Sigloch
CRM systems such as HubSpot or Salesforce are essential for channeling leads and evaluating their quality. A lead is not a success, but the beginning of a longer chain. It is important to transfer lead tracking into the sales process as quickly as possible and to feed feedback from sales back into marketing. Here, we rely on attribution maps to visualize the customer journey all the way to the opportunity.
How do you manage to connect sales, marketing, and IT in lead tracking and break down internal silos?
Stephan Sigloch
That is often the biggest challenge. We rely on data-driven collaboration and workshops to bring the different departments together. The goal is to define common KPIs and break down silos so that everyone has access to the same data. Clear communication and an understanding of the importance of data are crucial here.
What role does artificial intelligence (AI) play in lead tracking and campaign management—today and in the future?
AI will play an increasingly important role over the next 12 to 24 months. It will shift from reactive monitoring to proactive control. This includes predictive lead scoring, anomaly detection, and automated budget optimization—all of which contribute directly to lead tracking. However, the data volumes must be large enough to achieve meaningful results. This is often more difficult in B2B than in B2C, but the trend is clearly moving in this direction.
The expert: Stephan Sigloch
Stephan Sigloch is founder and CEO of the performance agency KlickPiloten. With his team of around 70 employees, he supports international corporations and ambitious medium-sized companies in all areas of performance marketing.
