Marketing Strategy

What Inspired Us Last Year Peg & I launched the B2B Marketing Academy as a way to connect to other marketers. We love the craft of marketing. At its core, marketing is about connecting people to people around a common need, goal, experience or cause.   We believe there are different challenges in B2B marketing than our B2C friends face in consumer marketing. We […]

No one can afford to guess what marketing programs work. Customers self-educate via digital channels, content marketing, industry events, and consultation with peers. They form opinions long before they become a “lead” in your demand creation funnel.  So, what’s the best way to measure what’s working?   1. Measure Funnel Health You should be able to see the health of your funnel in 5-10 charts. You need enough data to see results […]

Where is the Promised Land of Permission Marketing? As a B2B marketer, I’m on the receiving many sales and marketing tactics. And I watch with utter dismay as others make the rest of us look bad with scurrilous tactics.    3 Terrible Tactics That Make Me Crazy   1. My #1 pet peeve is bad outbound sales and marketing which forces me to unsubscribe or block you. It goes […]

‘Content Marketing’ Is a Bit of a Facade Marketing has always been about content. As a concept, content marketing is fun and incredibly useful. It helps marketers teach non-marketers the facts of life. People buy products from people who make them. The story of why, what for, and how…it all matters for B2B buyers. In a digital age, the conversation takes place using content […]

In a post-truth era, people are reluctant to see or say what’s true and what’s not. The truth of facts matters less than how information fits the way we feel. This phenomena is a worldwide wake up call to the role of emotions in the choices we make. It’s not just a pop culture thing. It impacts our B2B world in 2017 too.

In a busy age, it’s hard to stop and reflect on what we’ve learned. As a marketer, you’re probably knee-deep into executing your 2017 plans already. Still, we’ve emerged from an eventful year. As B2B marketing pros, it’s a good time to briefly pause and consider the ideas that should shape our thinking for the year ahead.   Peg’s 5 predictions for 2017 B2B marketing priorities   As […]

Do these come hither tricks draw you to the dark side? Like everyone else, I’m drawn to read an article by a great headline. Everyone has a deliciously tempting list of tips, tricks, ideas, and strategies to help you do marketing better.   10 Tips For Writing Great Content 7 Ways to Drive Traffic to Your Web Site 5 Actionable Ideas to Improve Lead Quality 3 […]

Got Customer Insights Already? Product Marketers have among most wide-ranging roles in a company. That’s why it’s an exciting and compelling profession. Not long ago, I wrote the 10 Commandments of B2B Product Marketing with tips on where to focus your attention. Recently, I’ve written about Commandment #1 – know thy customer. If you missed those blogs, they’re listed below. They dive into how to get market and tribal insights. Whether you’re a startup […]

More than 90% of B2B marketers use a content marketing strategy as part of their overall marketing strategy. Over the past few years, we’ve witnessed a proliferation of content being produced to help entice potential customers through natural, inbound methods. The Content Marketing Institute released the results of their study sharing B2B marketer’s plans for 2017. A full 70% of B2B marketers plan to […]