The Most Important Question In Business…
…is “how are you doing?”
When I started my career as an account executive, I found out very quickly that customers and prospects rolled their eyes the moment I started talking about my company and our services.
I would ask them if they’d like to hear about our new product release…crickets.
I would ask if I could bring my sales manager in for a meeting with my main contact’s boss…crickets.
I would ask if they had any budget they needed to spend…”nice try!”
But when I asked about them, when I asked about their business challenges, fears or aspirations, they lit up like a Christmas tree. And that is how (through lots of trial and error in business and in dating) I found out that I needed to stop talking about myself and ask that most important question: “how are you doing?”
The 8 Most Common Sales Mistakes
I often talk here about the need for better alignment between marketing and sales. In fact, it is often cited as the biggest challenge for B2B marketers. It is because of this that I like to reach out to some of my friends in B2B Sales AND Marketing to provide their perspective.
Recently we ran a guest post from Kenny Madden on how the line between Marketing and Sales is starting to blur and we are looking at a new partnership he called “SMarketing.”
Additionally, my colleague in Inside Sales, Robert Krekstein contributed this post recently on Lead Nurturing.
You have seen my posts on Marketing Mistakes. Well here is another post from Rob on the 8 Most Common Mistakes Sales Makes…
Money Is the Root of All Marketing Plan Evil
Today officially marks the half way point in the year. Which means your 2011 marketing plan has just a few more chances to be analyzed, reviewed and refined in order to help you meet your objectives for the year.
As you look at your results, how are you doing? Are you on track to meet your plan? Or do you see wasted effort, tactical thinking and a reactionary culture.
One of the biggest reasons I see B2B marketing plans veer off course starts right at the beginning. The problem lies in how we distribute budgets.
Or to put it more plainly: money is the root of all marketing plan evil.
Well I think I’ve got the cure right here…it’s called a business case: If you want money, create a business case. If you want to hire people, create a business case.
Will Content Strategy Save Marketing?
The media habits of today’s B2B buyer have changed dramatically in just the past few years, and yet B2B Marketing departments are struggling to keep up. Pull back the covers of most B2B Marketing plans and you’ll find a significant amount of outbound activity working harder and harder to achieve decreasing results.
Today’s buyers are clearly in charge. They are responding at rapidly decreasing rates to marketing messages and consuming more and more content on their own terms. They want content created for their needs. And they want it when they want it, delivered in newer, more and different platforms than anyone could have ever imagined.
All this is putting a strain on existing marketing organizations who are setup to support more traditional outbound campaign tactics. These are the very activities that are experiencing falling response rates, contact rates and open rates.
What can save marketing? For many organizations, the answer lies in a content strategy…
Marketing Mistakes: Focusing On Activities Instead Of Results
Ask sales people what they think is wrong with marketing and they will say the biggest mistake marketers make is too much of a focus on marketing activities instead of results.
I have explained already that I think the biggest B2B marketing mistake is putting your company and not your customers first. And focusing on internal activities and fighting the latest internal fires instead of solving customer problems is the other side of the same coin.
Marketing Mistakes: How To Avoid The Ego Trap In Digital Marketing
Avoid The Ego Trap In Digital Marketing
In the old days of traditional marketing, you conducted some research, consulted with your colleagues and agency partners and in the end, decisions were often made on gut feeling. I mean there were what 3 TV stations, a local newspaper or 2 and some trade pubs. How hard could it be?
The promise of Digital Marketing was going to change all that. Because it brings a ton of metrics we can use to make better media buying decisions, right? We can test offers and creative and then optimize our campaigns as we go. I mean that’s how it works in your organization, right?
B2B Marketing Mistakes: Do You Label Your Target Audience?
Want to know what B2B marketing mistake makes me the craziest? When I see marketing content that adds an unnecessary or inappropriate qualifier to try and get a specific segment of people to read, register, or interact with the piece of content.
For example, if I say this blog is only for “B2B marketers”- will that focus the target audience of the blog? Will I get more B2B marketers to read? Chances are that it’s the topic, not my qualifier, that draws readers in. And B2B marketing is my topic, not necessarily my audience. Many of you are coming from across a wide range of industries, company types and roles. Our communities and ecosystems are much too diverse to label.
The Biggest Mistake Marketers Make
Are you wondering why your B2B Marketing ideas aren’t gaining the traction you hoped for? Or maybe your campaigns just aren’t producing as well as you thought? Does your content languish on the shelves? How about your relationship with sales?
These are questions all B2B Marketers ask at some point but too often the answer is the same… The biggest mistake marketers make is that we make it all about us. We have to stop talking about ourselves. Ultimately, it is a matter of perspective. And like any transformation, it is not easy to change.
How To Create Killer Content: Speak To A Customer
One of my favorite questions when I speak to marketers about social media, content marketing, demand generation or sales alignment is also one of the most frequently asked:
I am a small business and cannot afford to pay tons of money to create content. Any advice for small business marketers?
I write a lot about social media but we all know it all really comes down to the quality of our content. Now you may be thinking: “what does this guy who works for a large company know about the challenges of small business marketing?” Trust me, I have been there. This article will tell the story of what I did while working as the head of marketing for a small business.
