Tag: content marketing

No barrier

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It’s easy to fall into the familiar refrain that goes: “B2B marketing is boring”.

That is just an alternative version of the hit: “We have always done it this way”.

The reality though is that most marketers don’t have the guts – sure, sometimes it is the budget, or the time, or the team, but let’s be realistic, it is mainly the guts – to try anything new.

Fortunately, some do. And some others do as well.

There is literally no barrier to B2B marketing today.

Just go experiment.

Note: the image in this blog post is from Postman‘s graphic novel, The API-first World.

As you go

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We would like there to be a simple answer. And the reality, of course, is that there is none.

We would love the answer to be in the next article we read, the next podcast episode we listen to, the next online class we register for – even though we know we will never have the time, or the motivation, or the incentive to actually take it.

We would love our beloved go-to influencer to share their secret sauce. We would pay hard earned money to get it from their very own voice. We are desperate for it, so much so we convince ourselves that if only we would take the recommendation in the latest LinkedIn post they shared, everything would be fine.

The reality, of course, is that there is no secret sauce.

Every situation, every context, every team, every product, every go-to-market, every business model is different. You can apply some of your own previous expertise, or some of someone else’s previous expertise, but you’ll better do it carefully.

Starting with listening and asking loads of questions, seeing what you can take and what you need to drop, agreeing with others on the next important steps to take together.

That’s probably the only bullet that looks somewhat silvery.

Come up with the plan as you go.

Approving instructions

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When you write instructions, make sure you test them with those they are written for.

It is not enough to get approval from somebody who knows and already understands the process you are describing.

Otherwise, this happens.

We ask you to create your own personal account at *URL*. In case you already have a personal account created for the child from preschool, the same account is used for the registration to school. You may not use the account created for an older sibling but are permitted to add the younger sibling using the key codes below.

From instructions to register your child to school

To market marketing

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Marketers market products. And marketers also market marketing.

Some are good at the former, few even understand that the latter is just as important.

To market marketing means promoting the role of marketing internally. It means asking around what the expectations around marketing are, kicking off a dialogue, setting and reporting on the right metrics, being consistent at building a narrative that supports all of the above.

When marketers do only market products, you see marketers going around and trying to apply the same tactics in completely different circumstances. Then coming up with a new fad to try and keep things fresh.

Marketing is a practice, not a campaign.

Reporting marketing

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It’s a responsibility as marketers to make marketing accessible to the rest of the organization. We are the ones good at communicating, after all.

It starts with reporting on your KPIs.

If you have 20 slides with tables filled with character size 12 numbers, covering all the regions, all the channels, all the assets, all the stages of the funnel, you are doing everybody a disservice. Nobody will understand what you are up, and by not understanding it, they will not be excited about the next thing you will present or ask money for.

Pick three numbers. Make them about awareness, conversion, and pipeline. Report on them with three slides, splashing the big number on one side and an explanation of the number on the other (what you did, what happened, why it matters, what’s next – keep it character size 30 at least). Do it every month or every quarter and let readers ask their own questions about regions, channels, assets, and so on.

That’s a way to build credibility and interest around the marketing function.