Marketing Strategy

Why Haven’t We All Moved to Customer-Focused Content Yet?   One of the most common habits in B2B marketing is to focus on why you love your cool products. I hope you do! Your passion and innovation are what make your story interesting. Also, in the era of fake news—people care even more about why you do what you do.   The Siren Call of […]

I recently shared a list of 7 favorite blog sites which started with a longer list. Why not share them all at once? Glad you asked! Let’s face it – who can really get through long lists? 101 top books to read, 35 things to know, 50 social media tools for bloggers…they all sound better in concept than practice. Inspiring B2B bloggers deserve better than to be buried in […]

Customer experience (CX) is what sets the best B2B brands apart. Marketers increasingly lead the charge in aligning brand strategy and customer targeting with customer experience design. It’s a hard craft. There’s a lot of hype to wade through to find good CX content. Having slogged through a lot of articles, I’ve found these particularly useful articles and sites. Written by real practitioners, these content pieces are for […]

We all know it’s important for marketing and sales teams to go to market with an aligned strategy. Many organizations have shared revenue goals between sales and marketing. According to Forrester, 82% of CMOs report that their goals are aligned to revenue targets. Gartner reports that CMOs now spend more on technology than CIOs and most CMOs own or share profit responsibility. Marketing as […]

Innovative B2B marketers are fluent in newer digital and content marketing practices. We’re constantly adding a new spin to classic tactics. And, we’re grooving on the opportunity to entertain and engage customers as we find the great story in our B2B solutions and people. This makes it fun and keeps the craft interesting. But what’s new can be hard. And noise levels are increasing […]

We’re all tech companies Technology is borderless. Every region, industry, and job role is using or affected by technology. Even if you’re trying to remain off the grid, there are people and bots working to figure you out. Something as basic as having a driver’s license or a phone number makes you findable in our techno-age.   The era of “tech companies” is over; there are […]

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.