We’re wrapping up Season 9 of the B2BMX Podcast today, with a very special replay from our friends at Forrester. During the B2B Sales & Marketing Exchange, Principal Analyst John Arnold took the keynote stage to share how B2B organizations can turbocharge their growth engines in today's economy.
It’s no secret that 2023 was a rough year for B2B marketing and sales professionals, and these struggles may or may not have bled into 2024. Layoffs, budget cuts and a heavy “do more with less” mentality — not to mention changing buyer behaviors, economic uncertainty and fierce competition — had marketers heads spinning. But according to Arnold, a better revenue engine won’t be enough to grow your B2B organization.
In this episode, Arnold will outline three ways B2B orgs can fuel growth in economic downturn, including:
- Focusing on the value realization gap;
- Aligning the right teams around buyer value; and
- The effective adoption of emerging technology.
Tune in to learn how to get your revenue engine fueled up and running smoothly. Be sure to catch up on all the episodes from Season 9 before we kick off Season 10 later this year!
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We're just days away from the 2024 B2B Marketing Exchange and the team is buzzing around to put the icing on the event planning cake. To get our B2B community hyped for the event, co-host Klaudia Tirico chatted with a first-time speaker and new member of the B2BMX family Kate DiLeo.
Kate is a brand strategist, consulting, speaker and all around super woman who has built the ultimate formula for building a winning brand pitch. She believes that "brand is the path of least resistance to revenue" and works with companies to create a brand that positively impacts the bottom line.
In this special B2BMX preview episode, Klaudia and Kate chat about all things — you guessed it — BRAND! Specifically, they discuss the ins and outs of Kate's "Brand Trifecta," a specific set of statements that are key to a brand pitch. Other topics of discussion include:
- The brand versus demand debate;
- How marketers can strike the right balance between brand and demand and what it takes from the brand side;
- The criteria for a solid brand team;
- Why it's not a sales and marketing issue, but a brand issue; and
- Sneak peeks into Kate's upcoming Workshop and Breakout session at B2BMX!
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Customer expectations are constantly evolving and that means, no matter what your title or job description is, it's critical to view business problems through a customer lens to ensure your buyers and customers remember your organization as one that makes an impact.
This week's episode of the B2BMX Podcast is all about customer experience, and co-host Kelly Lindenau sat down with the experience maker himself, Dan Gingiss, to pick his brain on how he helps companies create remarkable experiences that fuel word-of-mouth marketing and beyond. Gingiss will be taking the keynote stage at the B2B Marketing Exchange in Scottsdale, Ariz. in just a few weeks to educate the audience on how they can become experience makers in their own right.
There's no one more fitting to talk about customer experience than Gingiss. He is an international keynote speaker and business coach with 20 years of experience in customer experience, marketing, social media and customer service. He held leadership positions at McDonald’s, Discover and Humana, and authored two books ("The Experience Maker: How To Create Remarkable Experiences That Your Customers Can’t Wait To Share" and "Winning at Social Customer Care: How Top Brands Create Engaging Experiences on Social Media"). He was also the co-host of the award-winning “Experience This!” podcast.
Tune into this lively conversation to get a sneak peek into Gingiss' keynote at B2BMX and learn more about:
- How to be the experience maker at your organization;
- The evolution of customer expectations and what it means for marketers;
- How customer experience varies for B2B and B2C audience, and where the lines blur;
- Which aspects of customer experience are overrated; and
- Much more!
RELATED LINKS:
- Learn more about Dan Gingiss here.
- Get your copy of Gingiss’ book “The Experience Maker: How To Create Remarkable Experiences That Your Customers Can’t Wait To Share.”
- Follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter.
- Register for the B2B Marketing Exchange in Scottsdale, Ariz. (It's not too late!)
Let’s face it, your B2B company is not really a household name…yet. Unlike, say, Doritos, your logo likely wouldn’t get recognized if it came without the title of your company; and that’s OK! But according to MNTN’s VP of Marketing Ali Haeri and Pluralsight’s Sr. Director of Marketing Koji Takagi, doubling down and digging deeper into your lower funnel strategies won’t cut it (and burn budgets). Long story short: We can do better.
During this candid fireside chat at the 2023 B2B Sales & Marketing Exchange, Haeri and Takagi shared their perspective on how to better generate demand, reach your addressable market and focus on understanding the incentives and objectives of the entire go-to-market team. More hot takes include how to:
- Attract qualified hand raisers with demand efforts;
- Identify characteristics of audiences across channels;
- Fit retargeting into the bigger picture of your marketing strategy;
- Use Connected TV in your targeting and retargeting efforts; and
- Get internal teams to care about brand building.
Haeri and Takagi did not hold back during this conversation. Tune in now to get their contrarian take on lower funnel B2B marketing.
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The challenges of sales and marketing alignment are a tale as old as time. While research shows the gap is closing, many organizations have yet to master the art of cross-organizational alignment and collaboration. But what if we told you there are a few simple things you can do to work in better harmony with your fellow customer-focused marketers, sales reps and everyone in between?
During an interview on the show floor of the 2023 B2B Sales & Marketing Exchange in Boston, Mass., host Kelly Lindenau sat down with Courtney Beasley, a long-time B2B marketer and Founder of cobe marketing, a Fractional CMO provider for B2B companies and startups, to pick her brain on sales and marketing alignment, as well as ABM and the intersection of the two.
Beasley is a longtime member of the Demand Gen Report and B2BMX community with a solid resume of VP and C-level marketing roles under her belt at companies such as Walker Sands, United Way of Greenville County and FUEL for brands. She brings 15 years of experience helping companies develop a brand that resonates and fuels customer interest. During the interview, Beasley shares:
- How there is often a break in trust and communication patterns, resulting in poor alignment across organizations;
- Why the first thing to fix is the "relationship building" aspect of alignment;
- Why there is no better way to align items than through ABM;
- The key characteristics of successful ABM programs;
- How to identify and define the right ABM strategy for your organization; and
- Much more.
Tune into this candid and fun interview to get quick and easy tips toward true alignment.
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It’s a turbulent time to be a CRO: Revenue leaders are tasked with uncovering new revenue opportunities and confronting the realities of implementing these strategies in today's competitive market. With that in mind, it’s vital to have valuable insights and practical tips for finding success.
This session replay from the B2B Sales & Marketing Exchange shares insights from the best in B2B, which includes an esteemed panel from companies such as OutSystems, TechnologyAdvice and Pickit. The speakers tackled tons of CRO and revenue-facing priorities and challenges, such as:
- Tools and tactics to better engage buyers;
- The critical role of data and insights in understanding buying behaviors and patterns;
- The importance of people and processes behind the technology tools; and
- Steps to improve pipeline performance at critical stages.
Tune in now to learn tips, tricks and receive advice from CRO experts!
RELATED LINKS
- Follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter.
- Register now for the B2B Marketing Exchange!
The Women in Revenue movement is a powerful initiative to unite dynamic women from various B2B industries who play vital roles in revenue generation. The platform serves as a beacon, illuminating the significant contributions of women in B2B and empowering them to reach new heights.
In this interview on the show floor of last year’s B2B Sales & Marketing Exchange, hosts Klaudia and Kelly chat with Hana Jacover, a Leadership Coach and Board Member of Women in Revenue. They share experiences and tips to help allies learn from one another in our journey toward creating a more balanced and fair business landscape.
Tune in to learn about:
- The top challenges facing women in revenue roles;
- How allies can help by understanding the issues, being mentors in a partnership approach, and speaking up about important issues like pay equity; and
- The new Speakers Bureau initiative from Women in Revenue, which aims to get more women's voices and stories heard through speaking opportunities.
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As the “quiet quitting” discussion continues across a variety of industries, brands are rethinking how they manage their human resources. Prioritizing well-being can enhance performance and discover practical strategies to achieve peak productivity without sacrificing mental and physical health.
Let’s kick off the New Year right by listening back to a wonderful session presented by Hana Jacover, a Leadership Coach and former Director of Demand Generation at MadKudu. The session encouraged attendees to experiment with different techniques and build customized protocols for employees’ and their own brain, body and energy levels.
Some of the key points she discussed included:
- Prioritizing tasks using frameworks like the Eisenhower matrix;
- Tracking time to improve estimates and accountability;
- Leveraging brainwave states for different mental tasks;
- Incorporating breaks according to ultradian rhythms; and
- Auditing energy usage to improve boundaries.
RELATED LINKS
- Connect with Hana here!
- Follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter.
- Register now for the B2B Marketing Exchange!
Every step of the marketing journey presents unique obstacles and opportunities, whether it’s building brand awareness or generating high-quality leads. With those challenges in mind, the biggest concern for marketers is how they can overcome those difficulties to grow and scale their company at the same time.
The latest episode of the B2BMX Podcast highlights a great discussion from the B2B Sales & Marketing Exchange show floor between Nirosha Methananda, Chief Marketing Maven of Sati Marketing, and hosts Klaudia Tirico and Kelly Lindenau. Throughout the discussion, the trio chatted with Methananda about scaling a B2B marketing program for company growth.
Specifically, they touched upon:
- The importance of understanding the business’s needs and key stakeholders’ priorities to align marketing strategy;
- How to select marketing technologies based on a company’s maturity;
- Why early-stage companies should focus on functions like brand, demand generation and product marketing; and
- How to communicate the value and impact of marketing through the right metrics and storytelling to different audiences.
RELATED LINKS
- Connect with Nirosha here!
- Learn more about Sati Marketing.
- Follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter.
- Register now for the B2B Marketing Exchange!
In today’s episode, Hosts Klaudia Tirico and Kelly Lindenau roll the tape of a B2B Sales & Marketing Exchange session hosted by Nirosha Methananda, former Head of Marketing for companies like Influ2 and Bombora and now the Chief Marketing Maven for Sati Marketing. The presentation explored key strategies and insights from industry experts that empowers listeners to take their B2B marketing to new heights.
Methanada highlighted the importance of having a marketing strategy that aligns with business goals and even helps marketers understand how to get buy-in from other departments. She also touched on how to prioritize building different marketing functions and shared some tips on how to build a marketing team. Specifically, she outlined:
- Factors to consider when selecting marketing technology and tools, such as needs, resources and ability to scale;
- The importance of measuring marketing metrics that are relevant to business goals like ROI and driving recurring revenue; and
- How to connect every marketing role and program to ROI to demonstrate value.
RELATED LINKS
- Connect with Nirosha here!
- Learn more about Sati Marketing.
- Follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter.
- Register now for the B2B Marketing Exchange!
Marketers are constantly looking out for ways to scale their efforts and achieve more with less. However, this is challenging in today's saturated market, where consumers are bombarded with messages from all directions.
In today’s episode, Hosts Klaudia Tirico and Kelly Lindenau replay a session hosted by Elle Woulfe, SVP of Global Marketing at Formstack. Throughout her presentation, Woulfe uncovered how practitioners can skillfully navigate the hurdles of rapid marketing transformation, even with limited resources. With an ingenious squad structure and a sharp focus on marketing objectives, she unveiled the secrets behind Formstack's impressive growth across all the company’s KPIs.
Tune in to learn about how:
- Breaking teams into focused squads focused on specific metrics helps organize work and create accountability;
- Standardizing processes and collapsing duplicate efforts extracts more value from existing work;
- Synchronizing communication and keeping work visible help smaller teams work efficiently together; and
- Verticalizing marketing efforts where the business sees success can help double down on wins.
RELATED LINKS
- Connect with Elle here!
- Learn more about Formstack.
- Follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter.
- Register now for the B2B Marketing Exchange!
Marketers might not know it, but their segmentation and persona strategies might be hurting them. The urgency of customer needs should drive segmentation strategies, but most companies take a flawed, inside-out approach that obscures accurate signals in buyer behavior.
In today’s episode, Hosts Klaudia Tirico and Kelly Lindenau replay Neil Baron’s session from the B2B Sales & Marketing Exchange. As Managing Director of Baron Strategic Partners and a contributor to Harvard Business Review, Baron shares hard-won lessons and stories from his experiences working with top companies on their segmentation and persona strategies. Throughout his session, he revealed common pitfalls in customer segmentation that stifle revenue growth while providing his proven framework to segment and target customers more effectively.
Tune in to learn about:
- Baron’s personal experience with poor B2B market segmentation and its consequences;
- Marketing and sales strategies for addressing urgent buyer needs; and
- Effective segmentation strategies that put customer expectations first.
RELATED LINKS
- Connect with Neil here!
- Read Neil’s work in Harvard Business Review.
- Follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter.
Register now for the B2B Marketing Exchange!
Standing out from the crowd is essential in B2B marketing, but it’s difficult to truly connect with customers on a deeper level. By harnessing the power of storytelling and crafting compelling narratives, marketers can create memorable and relatable moments with lasting impact on their target audience.
In this episode of the B2B Marketing Exchange Podcast, Host Kelly Lindenau interviews Jeanne Kirby, VP of Marketing at full service marketing and communications agency Inviso Corporation, from the show floor at #B2BSMX. The pair explore the art of crafting compelling stories and discover how it can help B2B marketers forge stronger connections with their customers.
Tune in to learn:
- Why you should prioritize storytelling;
- How to stay close to customers through your content creation; and
- Where AI fits into the grand scheme of creating compelling stories.
RELATED LINKS
- Connect with Jeanne here!
- Learn more about Inviso Corporation.
- Follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter.
- Register now for the B2B Marketing Exchange!
In a world filled with endless content and fleeting attention spans, captivating your audience has become more challenging than ever. But fear not, for AI is here to revolutionize the way we approach storytelling in marketing. By leveraging cutting-edge technologies, AI can unlock a world of creativity, personalization and immersive experiences that will captivate your audience like never before.
During this episode, we’re listening back to a session presented by Jeanne Kirby, VP of full service marketing and communications agency Inviso Corporation. She discussed how stories are more memorable than facts and statistics, and how AI can help you find the right stories to tell.
Tune in to:
- Hear examples of how telling stories about personal experiences or customers can help form connections;
- Get tips for how to craft effective marketing stories, such as finding a relatable hook, using video and AI, keeping the message simple and evoking emotions; and
- Learn why storytelling is a powerful way for businesses to engage customers and generate sales.
RELATED LINKS
- Connect with Jeanne here!
- Learn more about Inviso.
- Follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter!
- Register now for the B2B Marketing Exchange!
In the keynote session at the 2023 B2B Sales & Marketing Exchange this past August, industry thought leader and author Roderick Jefferson dove into the profound significance of consistency, collaboration and success, emphasizing their role in driving business growth and customer satisfaction.
During this episode, we’re going back to Boston to listen in on Roderick’s session. Throughout his presentation, he showed attendees how they can embark on a journey to unlock the true potential of sales enablement and revolutionize their organization's approach to sales.
Tune in to learn how to:
- Personalize the customer experience by focusing on helping customers rather than just selling;
- Use AI to improve processes like lead scoring, content generation and role playing;
- Measure outcomes and high-value activities rather than just activities;
- Align business functions by bringing them together regularly to ensure everyone is on the same page;
- Continually iterate sales processes, playbooks and strategies based on customer feedback; and
- Speak the language of each business function to partner with them effectively.
RELATED LINKS
- Connect with Roderick here!
- Learn more about Roderick Jefferson.
- Follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter!
Register now for the B2B Marketing Exchange!
Innovation has always been a game-changer in the marketing world, constantly shaping and reshaping strategies to stay ahead of the curve. But what happens when things get a little weird in the economy? How do marketing leaders deal with the unexpected and find new opportunities in unusual circumstances?
During this episode of the #B2BMX podcast, we’re going back to Scottsdale to revisit a keynote session presented by Ali Haeri, SVP of Marketing at the Connected TV advertising platform company MNTN. Ali shared terrific insights into what the company believes innovation looks like in marketing during a weird economic moment and what it means for those at the top of the marketing game.
Tune in to learn:
- Why innovation beats technology in marketing, and the best marketing ideas are low-tech;
- How this innovation enables companies to “cut through the noise” in the marketplace;
- What it means to play the “long game” with your content;
- What channels benefit from these innovations, like TV and social media.
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As the world shifts and adapts to new ways of living and working, so are B2B buyers! Sellers must adjust their tactics to meet new demands. People don't want to be sold to anymore — they already have access to a lot of information and are looking for confirmation to buy or not from your company.
It's like buying a car, people hate the experience because they feel like they'll be sold something that costs more than they want to spend and with a poor ROI.
During this episode of the #B2BMX podcast, our host Klaudia Tirico chats with Roderick Jefferson, a Sales Coach for Growth Companies and author of “Sales Enablement 3.0.” The pair discuss the difference between sales enablement and sales training and talk shop about how sales teams can break the mold and build better relationships with prospective clients.
Tune in to learn:
- The importance of enablement in onboarding;
- How to adapt onboarding for different generations;
- The concept of “ever-boarding” and how it can impact your sales team;
- Tailoring Assessment, Management and Learning Management Systems to the company's maturation cycle; and
- How to move beyond smiley sheets and attendance reports with your sales enablement efforts.
Plus, get a sneak peek into Roderick’s upcoming keynote at the B2B Sales & Marketing Exchange!
RELATED LINKS
- Connect with Roderick here!
- Check out Roderick’s book here.
- Follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter!
- Check out the agenda and register for B2BSMX 2023 — use code PODCAST25 at checkout and receive 25% off your ticket!
When it comes to closing deals, there's no one better at it than the CIA. They are experts in the art of persuasion and building long-lasting relationships with clients — skills that are just as crucial in the world of B2B sales.
During this episode of the #B2BMX podcast, we're returning to a fantastic session hosted by Jeremy Hurewitz, creator of the Sell Like A Spy program. He's a pro at using spy tradecraft and applying it specifically to B2B marketing and sales practices.
Hurewitz draws parallels between the day-to-day work of CIA officers and the responsibilities of BDRs and account managers. He takes listeners on a journey through the unique psychological skills that spies use to make sales and build lasting relationships with clients. Tune in to learn:
- What it means to “sell like a spy;”
- The real challenges of getting to know your prospect;
- How vulnerability cultivates intimacy and humanity breeds credibility; and
- How to learn about people without asking them a question!
RELATED LINKS
- Connect with Jeremy here!
- Learn more about Sell Like A Spy.
- Follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter!
- Check out the agenda and register for B2BSMX 2023 — use code PODCAST25 at checkout and receive 25% off your ticket!
In the fast-paced business world, companies are always looking for smarter ways to align sales and marketing teams to achieve shared goals and objectives. It's no easy feat, but luckily, companies can see success when they use artificial intelligence (AI) effectively. By leveraging AI tools, practitioners can streamline this alignment process, making it more efficient and effective than ever!
During this episode of the #B2BMX podcast, Host Klaudia Tirico chats with Dani Buckley, VP, and General Manager at the sales performance agency LeadG2. The pair discuss how AI is used in marketing and sales alignment and its benefits to businesses. Tune in to learn:
- The true role marketing plays in successfully enabling sales teams to sell smarter and faster;
- Tips and tricks for keeping your teams aligned;
- What are the key components of making a sales play and why they’re essential;
- Best practices for our audience to use when building a sales play to ensure it’s strategic, valuable and practical; and
- Why it is so important for sales to have a framework to work from!
RELATED LINKS
- Connect with Dani here!
- Learn more about LeadG2.
- Follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter!
- Check out the agenda and register for B2BSMX 2023 — use code PODCAST25 at checkout and receive 25% off your ticket!
In today's crowded and ever-evolving market, marketers are increasingly working to create content that stands out. However, the key to success lies in going beyond the norm and telling bigger stories that break the sea of sameness. This was the take-home message from a session presented by the one-and-only Jay Baer at the 2023 B2B Marketing Exchange. He encouraged attendees to give themselves, and their teams, permission to find their edge and go-to-market in new, innovative ways.
During this episode of the #B2BMX podcast, we listen to Jay’s session to learn more about the importance of passion when creating content and marketing efforts that delight customers. If marketers are passionate about what they make, everyone else will embrace it, too! Tune in to learn:
- Whether it’s truly possible to “do more with less”;
- Why bravery is currently in short supply in the B2B market;
- Why time-to-win is more important than your pricing model; and
- Tips and best practices to create impactful and bold customer experiences.
RELATED LINKS
- Connect with Jay here!
- Follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter!
- Check out the agenda and register for B2BSMX 2023 — use code PODCAST25 at checkout and receive 25% off your ticket!
For some, marketing is all about leads, leads and more leads. But according to industry veteran Sangram Vajre, Co-founder and CEO of the new go-to-market analyst firm GTM Partners, it’s possible to double revenue every five years without adding new customers — it all rests in how companies go to market.
During this episode of the #B2BMX podcast, Hosts Klaudia Tirico and Kelly Lindenau chat with Sangram about the importance of companies needing to change their vocabulary and way of measuring success to create more efficient and responsible growth. Tune in to learn:
- The two key acronyms for success — ROI and NRR;
- How AI can help B2B marketing and sales professionals;
- How can practitioners can position themselves to embrace the future of marketing and sales; and
- How Sangram’s new company looks to help others change the way they go to market.
RELATED LINKS
- Connect with Sangram here!
- Learn more about GTM Partners.
- Check out the agenda and register for B2BSMX 2023 — use code PODCAST25 at checkout and receive 25% off your ticket!
Successful B2B content is all about its intended audience. Think of it as a fancy cocktail party: If you only talk about yourself, everyone will bail out! Mixing audience-centric content with proven tools and strategies gets everyone's attention without breaking the bank.
In this episode, we hear a conversation between our host, Kelly Lindenau, and Alexis Carroll, a Sr. Content Strategist at the B2B content and creative agency Content4Demand. On the show floor at B2BMX this past February, the pair talked about ways B2B marketers can get out of the habit of talking about themselves to give their audience what they need to make a purchase decision. Tune in to learn:
- How to keep the focus on the buyer when creating meaningful content;
- Why interactive content is rising in popularity and the trends influencing its popularity;
- How tools like ChatGPT and other AI can positively (and negatively) impact the content creation process; and
- Why a case study portfolio can address multiple issues that prospects struggle with across the buying journey.
RELATED LINKS
- Connect with Alexis here!
- Learn more about Content4Demand.
- Check out the agenda and register for B2BSMX 2023 — use code PODCAST25 at checkout and receive 25% off your ticket!
Many businesses believe ABM requires complex technology systems and strategies, but the team at Southwest Airlines begs to differ. They kept it simple to get more business travelers flying by focusing on engagement and revenue, and achieved outstanding results in the process: The promotion led to an impressive 22% increase in incremental revenue from a single account!
In this episode, we look back at one of the most popular sessions of #B2BMX, which featured Alexis Skipper and Mia Meade of Southwest Airlines and Neha Shah of Salesforce as they discussed their unique ABM case study. The trio also touched upon the top challenges and trends of 2022 and shared strategies to overcome them in 2023 and beyond. Tune in to learn:
- In-depth research from Salesforce’s “Global State of Marketing” report;
- The challenges marketers are facing with customer expectations and measuring marketing impact;
- How referral programs and other strategies are an effective tool to drive engagement with accounts and open new opportunities; and
- Tips and best practices from Southwest Airlines on leveraging marketing automation to implement these strategies.
RELATED LINKS
- Connect with Neha Shah, Alexis Skipper and Mia Meade!
- Take a deeper look at Salesforce’s “Global State of Marketing Report”!
- It’s never too early to save your seat for #B2BSMX 2023 in Boston! Register before June 22 to save more than $800 off your pass.
Most B2B marketers are seeking new ways to create more integrated and comprehensive strategies to help them reach the right accounts across multiple channels. And while it can be daunting to try and craft a practical multichannel approach, it doesn’t have to be intimidating.
In this episode, we hear a conversation between Host Kelly Lindenau and Megan Wolfe, VP of Portfolio, ABM, Alliances and Campaign Marketing at the management and tech consulting firm ZS. The show was recorded live in the B2BMX23 Marketplace in Arizona, and the pair discussed the best practices for executing a multichannel ABM campaign (and provided some sci-fi book recommendations, too!). Tune in to learn:
- How buyer and marketing expectations shifted to necessitate a multichannel mentality;
- The new motions of going to market through a campaign approach; and
- Best practices for executing a multichannel ABM campaign that drives results!
RELATED LINKS
- Connect with Megan here!
- To dive deeper into ZS’s ABM journey, check out this article!
- It’s never too early to save your seat for B2BSMX 2023 in Boston! Register before June 22, 2023 to save more than $800 off your pass.
In the B2B world, disruption is inevitable. However, how companies respond to these disruptions is what sets them apart. As the world becomes more complex, CMOs face new challenges and must rise to the occasion with innovative solutions.
In this episode, we listen to an intriguing panel held during our last B2B Marketing Exchange in Arizona. The panel included:
- Karen Steele, CMO of Sendoso;
- Natalie Cunningham, CMO of Terminus;
- Bryan Law, CMO of ZoomInfo; and
- Nate Skinner, CMO of Onfido.
The group discussed how CMOs could thrive amidst disruption and what strategies they implement to stay ahead of the game. Tune in to learn:
- What’s driving the go-to-market motion today;
- The importance of customer marketing, retention and growth; and
- Insightful motivation for aspiring CMOs.
RELATED LINKS
- Connect with Karen, Natalie, Bryan and Nate on LinkedIn!
- Check out our CMO Outlook Guide to learn about industry priorities for the coming years.
- It’s never too early to save your seat for B2BSMX 2023 in Boston! Register before June 22, 2023 to save more than $800 off your pass.
In today's world of digital-first strategies, applying AI to your marketing efforts may be just what you've been looking for. But as AI technology is becoming increasingly accessible, it's important to approach its implementation thoughtfully and strategically.
In this episode, we listen to Pam Didner, global content marketing strategist, speaker and author, share insights, practical tips and best practices for applying AI to your work routine. During her session at the B2B Marketing Exchange earlier this year, she discussed the proper role of AI in marketing.
Tune in to learn:
- The impact of ChatGPT on B2B marketers;
- The four ways to incorporate AI into your marketing;
- The importance of having a buttoned-up AI workflow; and
- Practical examples of using AI to your audience’s benefit, not just your own.
RELATED LINKS
- Learn more about Pam and her work here!
- Check out our perspective on how AI is reshaping the industry.
- Make sure to save your seat for #B2BSMX, coming up this August! Use code XYZ123 to get XX% off your early bird ticket.
Sure, ChatGPT is innovative — but what does it mean for humans? Will content marketers be replaced? Or will AI enable them to do their job better and faster?
In this episode, Hosts Klaudia Tirico and Kelly Lindenau focused on AI and its role in helping build a more intelligent content stack through automation and analytics. They replayed a #B2BMX session from Forrester’s Phyllis Davidson, where she said that while the industry may not be ready to trust the machines, they have to try.
Tune in to learn:
- Insights into the current state of AI, automation, data management and analytics across key content technology categories;
- The importance of making use of new capabilities in current technology and how to assess these options; and
- How to effectively experiment with these tools to improve content generation and the delivery process.
RELATED LINKS
- Learn more about Phyllis and her work here.
- Check out the latest Forrester research on the future of content marketing.
It’s never too early to save your seat for B2BSMX 2023 in Boston! Register before May 25, 2023 to save over $1,000 of your pass.
In today's competitive marketplace, you need to stand out from the crowd and connect with potential clients in new and exciting ways. For Aleksandra Panyukhina, Experience Marketing Lead at Pixelz, this is where creativity comes in. By breaking the mold and taking a fresh approach to messaging, you can differentiate yourself in a crowded landscape and make an impact on your target audience.
In this episode, our host Klaudia Tirico chats with Aleksandra from the show floor at B2BMX 2023. The pair discuss Aleksandra’s role at Pixelz and how she helps the brand break out of that typical marketing mold. They also discuss why creativity is essential to B2B marketing and how employees leverage social media in unique ways to help their company resonate in a loud market.
Other talking points include:
- How the Pixelz team turned its organic social channels into the top acquisition channels for the company;
- How to create ongoing education and employee advocacy on social selling; and
- Aleksandra’s takeaways from B2BMX 2023!
RELATED LINKS
- Learn more about Aleksandra here!
- Learn more about Pixelz here!
- It’s never too early to save your seat for B2BSMX 2023 in Boston! Register before May 25, 2023 to save over $1,000 of your pass!
While ABM is a powerful way to target and engage with specific audiences, there isn’t one singular path to success. Forrester research shows ABM practitioners fall under five distinct “tribes,” each with their own approach, challenges and successes.
In this episode, we listen in on a recent session presented at B2BMX by Matt Steffen, Senior Analyst at Forrester, as he explored these ABM tribes and shared research-backed suggestions for improving ABM programs.
Other key takeaways include:
- How ABM deployment types impact particular customer interactions;
- What custom ABM training programs should look like and why they are important; and
- Industry data highlighting what’s working and what’s not.
RELATED LINKS
- Learn more about Matt here!
- Check out Forrester’s 2022 Global State of ABM study.
- It’s never too early to save your seat for B2BSMX 2023 in Boston! Register before May 25, 2023 to save over $1,000 of your pass!
Data, technology and content have become the cornerstones of modern marketing — and they work together to create powerful campaigns that connect with customers on a deeper level, drive more meaningful engagement and generate better conversions. Kyall Mai, SVP and Chief Innovation Officer at Esquire Bank, experienced this infusion firsthand when the bank leveraged those pillars to fuel a hyper-personalized ABM campaign.
In our first episode of Season 8, Co-host Klaudia Tirico sat down with Mai on the #B2BMX show floor to discuss Esquire Bank’s Killer Content Award-winning campaign, the steps needed to build a customer-centric company culture and what an ABM strategy looks like for a bank.
Listen in to learn:
- The key components for a customer-centric business culture;
- Where data and technology fit into the marketing mix;
- The value of hyper-personalized content hubs for target accounts;
- Mai’s background as a B2B martech specialist in data reporting and management for sales and marketing teams; and
- A quick look into Mai’s “side hustle” as a stand-up comedian!
RELATED LINKS
- Connect with Kyall on LinkedIn.
- Read more about how Esquire Bank won its Killer Content Award.
- It’s never too early to save your seat for #B2BSMX! Sign up for updates here.
- Want to have your questions answered on our show? Submit your question to be added to the wheel!
Looking forward to our eighth installment of the B2BMX podcast? Us too! So much so that we decided to spin things up on the show floor at our latest B2BMX event in Scottsdale, Ariz.
At our recording booth on the show floor, we brought a delightful little wheel for the attendees and guests to spin. The wheel contained a mix of business inquiries and lighthearted questions. We may or may not have served cocktails to help unlock the answers…
Check out this teaser to hear candid takes from B2B pros in the field and see what we plan on talking about during this season of the B2BMX Podcast! Also, be sure to submit questions below that we may include on our wheel for podcast guests to answer throughout the season!
RELATED LINKS
- Submit questions you’d like to see added to our Wheel!
- Connect with Demand Gen Report on LinkedIn and Twitter.
- Read more about our Killer Content Awards.
- It’s never too early to save your seat for B2BSMX 2023! Sign up for personal updates here.
It's the dream that marketers and salespeople have been chasing since long before they were given those titles: Perfect alignment between marketing and sales. Achieving this kind of synergy is especially critical for B2B organizations, where deep interactions are required to close deals with large customers. But here’s the good news: It’s not impossible!
In this episode, we take a look back at the keynote from last year’s B2B Sales & Marketing Exchange presented by Ali Haeri of MNTN. Ali shares his experience running the marketing team at MNTN, and provides tips and best practices for finally creating that alignment B2B companies have strived for the last three decades.
Tune in to learn:
- How we should re-examine the relationship between B2B sales and marketing;
- Why the fundamentals always win and drive success;
- How sales teams can effectively team up with marketing on touchpoint campaigns; and
- How to meet sales expectations while giving marketing the freedom to try new things.
RELATED LINKS
- It’s almost time for B2BMX 2023! Use the code PODCAST25 during checkout to get 25% off your ticket!
- Learn more about MNTN!
- Connect with Ali on LinkedIn!
The concept of “value creation” is growing in popularity as brands look to improve business performance and maximize customer value. For Michael Ruby, President and Chief Creative Officer at Park & Battery, value creation better positions businesses to differentiate their offerings from those of competitors, increase customer loyalty and satisfaction and improve the overall profitability of their operations.
In this episode, Michael shares a sneak peek at the first-ever Campfire Session at #B2BMX, where attendees will gain hands-on experience and learn how incorporating a value creation mentality into go-to-market initiatives can drive results!
Check out this episode to learn:
- What value creation is and how it works;
- How to effectively measure content efforts to ensure you are providing value;
- How to encourage others to tap into their creativity; and
- Things to keep in mind when tackling new content formats – like podcasts!
RELATED LINKS
- Check out the agenda and register for B2BMX 2023 — use the code PODCAST25 during checkout to get 25% off your ticket!
- Learn more about Park & Battery!
- Connect with Michael on LinkedIn and Twitter!
In today's marketing landscape, no one wants to feel spammed or bombarded with ads, which is something marketers traditionally struggled with when trying to advertise their solutions. According to Daniel Englebretson, Founder and Chief Customer Officer at Khronos, leveraging ABM and personalization strategies can help marketers ensure they are delivering valuable information rather than just advertising noise.
In this episode, Hosts Klaudia Tirico and Kelly Lindenau bring listeners back to Daniel’s #B2BSMX session, where he shared tips and tactics to use different channels and opportunities for personalized digital experiences. More importantly, he discussed strategies for driving the highest engagement with ABM via 1:1 messaging.
Listen in to learn:
- The different channels marketers can leverage for personalized experiences;
- How to address the entire “spectrum of relevancy” with ABM campaigns; and
- Some helpful use cases to show how to put these efforts into practice.
RELATED LINKS
- Check out the agenda and register for B2BMX 2023 — use the code PODCAST25 during checkout to get 25% off your ticket!
- Learn more about Khronos!
- Connect with Daniel on LinkedIn and Twitter!
Modern B2B marketers can captivate their customers and amplify their campaigns with state-of-the-art experiences, utilizing everything from interactive 3D billboards to augmented reality shopping. David Morris, an Experiential Consultant with NYCAP3D, is helping educate B2B leaders on how Web3 integrations and photogrammetry – the science and tech of making measurements from photographs – are exciting new tools that can build deeper emotional connections with customers.
In this episode, David shares details on photogrammetry, how it fits in the B2B marketing landscape and practical ways to leverage this new technology to build relationships with potential customers.
Tune in to learn:
- David’s thoughts on the current state of the B2B marketing landscape;
- How photogrammetry and other Web3 integrations impact the “quality versus quantity” debate in B2B marketing; and
- What B2BMX 2023 attendees can expect from David’s session in Scottsdale.
RELATED LINKS
- Check out the agenda and register for B2BMX 2023 — use the code PODCAST25 during checkout to get 25% off your ticket!
- Learn more about NYCAP3D!
- Connect with David on LinkedIn!
Sometimes, a shared passion is all you need to create a spark that can fuel ongoing training and education within a growing B2B company. Tabitha Adams, Director of Performance Marketing, Analytics and Technology for the global consulting firm Slalom, used the power of the wizarding world to build fellowship and community at the company.
In this episode, we chat with Tabitha about her experience creating a “Triwizard” training program for Slalom’s global marketing team to build a better learning community within the group. The two-time B2B Innovator Award winner also shares her thoughts on prioritizing and promoting diversity, equity and inclusion (DE&I) in the B2B space.
Listen to this episode to learn about:
- Why DE&I initiatives are essential for any business;
- Tabitha’s work within Slalom to raise awareness and improve reproductive rights, along with other DE&I initiatives; and
- Way too many Harry Potter references!
RELATED LINKS
- Check out the agenda and register for B2BMX 2023 — use the code PODCAST25 during checkout to get 25% off your ticket!
- Connect with Tabitha on LinkedIn!
- Read our coverage of B2B Diversity & Inclusion at Demand Gen Report!
Revenue leaders know that having an effective go-to-market strategy is critical for the success of their business. But the number one challenge many organizations face is achieving scalability—how can you "do more with less?"
In this episode, we look back at another 2022 B2B Sales & Marketing Exchange session hosted by Lisa Sharapata, former CMO of BoostUp.ai! Lisa offered amazing insights and actionable tips on how revenue leaders must change their go-to-market approach among the constantly changing buyer expectations we experience.
Some of the biggest takeaways from the session include:
- What “growth at all costs” looks like in the B2B marketplace;
- The “P-E-R-F-E-C-T” framework to follow when reassessing your go-to-market strategy;
- The difference between “market fit” and “customer fit”;
- Why reporting on your NRR, versus your ARR, is so much more important to understanding the growth of your business; and
- The importance of product market fit and ICP fit.
RELATED LINKS
- Check out the agenda and register for B2BMX 2023 — use the code PODCAST25 during checkout to get 25% off your ticket!
- Connect with Lisa Sharapata on LinkedIn!
Account-based advertising has been a staple of ABM platforms. However, with the loss of third-party cookies, increasing expenses and difficulty demonstrating tangible value, its future can seem a bit murky — to say the least. In this episode, we’re looking back at another session from the 2022 B2B Marketing Exchange presented by John Arnold, Principal Analyst at Forrester, who discussed how the task now falls upon marketers to navigate these challenging waters for ABM advertising success.
During his session, Arnold shared research and strategies to better assess advertising strategies throughout 2023, such as:
- How B2B buyers respond to advertisements in today’s markets;
- The advertising tactics that are working the best; and
- What the future has in store for B2B advertising and how it will impact go-to-market strategies.
Arnold also shares the five critical components of successful B2B advertising for the next few years.
RELATED LINKS
- Check out the agenda and register for B2BMX 2023 — use the code PODCAST25 during checkout to get 25% off your ticket!
- Learn more about B2BSMX!
- Check out Forrester’s recent report on B2B advertising!
Co-hosts Klaudia Tirico and Kelly Lindenau are kicking off the new year with a welcome blast from the #B2BSMX past! We are throwing it back to Mason Cosby, Director of Growth at Gravity Global, as he discussed why modern CMOs are shifting to a revenue flywheel approach when tasked with building a sustainable growth strategy.
During his session, Cosby covered the key components of the revenue flywheel strategy, such as:
- The different phases and specific KPIs to use to measure success;
- How this approach is different from the traditional lead gen strategy; and
- How ABM can help take a revenue flywheel strategy and turn it into tactical campaigns and plays for sales and marketing teams.
Plus, Cosby shared insights into how a successful ABM strategy generated $5.7 million in five months using a revenue flywheel.
RELATED LINKS
- Check out the agenda and register for B2BMX 2023
- Learn more about B2BSMX!
- Learn more about Gravity Global
Much like the spirits who brought Ebeneezer Scrooge back through time, co-hosts Klaudia Tirico and Kelly Lindenau are doing the same for the B2B marketing community — just in a nicer, more educational way.
Episode nine of the #B2BMX podcast takes listeners through a year in review, as Klaudia and Kelly revisit the best sessions and trendiest topics from the 2022 #B2BMX series. With insights from some of the industry’s finest minds — such as Uberflip’s Randy Frisch, Forrester’s Amy Hawthorne and Salesforce’s Juliet Randall, to name a few — the co-hosts walk marketers through the biggest trends of ’22 and touch upon universal ideals practitioners must carry into the new year.
Plus, as a little holiday present from the team, podcast listeners can receive 25% off their ticket to the upcoming #B2BMX event in Scottsdale, Ariz. Simply check out the event’s website and enter the code PODCAST25.
RELATED LINKS
In the latest episode of the B2BMX Podcast, we’re going back to Boston to join Tracey Barber, VP of Marketing at digital experience agency Verndale, as she shares how to combine multiple marketing strategies — including intent-based prospecting, buyer’s journey optimization, personalization, product recommendations and client and partner outreach — to maximize revenue.
You'll learn the various tools she recommends, as well as techniques for leveraging them most effectively to retain and cross-sell to customers, nurture leads and buyers and generate more opportunities for sales.
RELATED LINKS
Up next, co-hosts Klaudia Tirico and Kelly Lindenau present four strong female VPs and CEOs, who took the stage during B2BSMX in Boston to share everything they know about how to build a solid roadmap for channel leaders. Marketers know that creating a channel is a profitable route to success, but without a real plan, achieving success is a long and winding road.
Luckily, these ladies share some amazing insights to guide marketers on that journey and make sure it is not a bumpy one! This panel discussion is led by Kathryn Rose, alongside MJ Patent, Tina Gravel and Michelle Accardi, to help marketers discover how to guide their partners’ marketing and sales experiences and set them up for success. Channel leaders need to support partners with the tools and tactics to avoid the hazards and potholes they will inevitably experience.
RELATED LINKS
- Register for #B2BMX in Scottsdale
- Kathryn Rose’s Linkedin
- MJ Patent’s Linkedin
- Tina Gravel’s Linkedin
- Michelle Accardi’s Linkedin
Let’s all close our eyes and pretend we are back at B2BSMX in Boston on a beautiful August day listening to Jeff Marcoux deliver an incredible session. It’s time to open your eyes and press play because co-hosts Klaudia Tirico and Kelly Lindenau are here to make that vision a reality.
On this week’s episode of the B2BMX podcast, Marcoux tackles how to transform your marketing on both a strategic and tactical level. Marcoux dives further into:
- How marketing can transform to become one of the most strategic elements within the business today;
- Ensuring that marketing execution is tied to the right goals and objectives;
- Understanding your overall business goals to gain go-to-market insights for planning;
- Using reverse funnels and intent data to define the job; and
- Aligning with sales targets to know when to push back and say “no.”
RELATED LINKS
What’s better than one female marketing leader… try FOUR powerhouse female marketing leaders! FullStory’s Jennifer Leaver, Reachdesk’s Amber Bogie, Gong’s Corrina Owens and 6senses’ Jess Gondolfo ignited the #B2BSMX stage in Boston during their panel, where they put ABX at the forefront of everyone’s minds.
Co-hosts Klaudia Tirico and Kelly Lindenau cannot contain their excitement in sharing this panel session with the audience because marketers need to prioritize ABX now more than ever and who better to elaborate on the “why?” than these revenue marketing leaders.
Tune in to learn how and why ABX creates the flywheel to elevate your go-to-market strategy and breaks down silos across teams. Here’s how marketers can:
- Use ABX as the glue that ties the flywheel together;
- Make sure ABX isn’t siloed;
- Give prospects a glimpse into what it’s like to be a customer;
- Move beyond looking at prospects and customers as just another logo; and
- Tap into CX as the next phase of integrating an ABX strategy.
RELATED LINKS
- Register for #B2BMX in Scottsdale
- Jennifer Leaver’s Linkedin
- FullStory
- Amber Bogie’s Linkedin
- Reachdesk
- Corrina Owens Linkedin
- Gong
- Jess Gondolfo's Linkedin
- 6sense
Here’s a flashback from the B2BMX stage in Boston, where Randy Frisch discussed why mapping content through the buyer and customer journey closes more deals. If you missed out on this live session, don’t worry, co-hosts Klaudia Tirico and Kelly Lindenau got you covered!
Uberflip’s Randy Frisch walks marketers through how to avoid the go-to-market trap. Here are his three simple steps to follow:
- Identify your target audience, usually with some sort of data source;
- Attract people with various channels, social, email or whatever you're hot on; and
- Find a destination where customers control what they want to do next.
Frisch also dives deeper into the importance of content tagging, as well as creating personalized experiences. If you’ve never heard Randy speak before, don’t miss this opportunity to hear from one of the best!
RELATED LINKS
We love having our friends at Corporate Visions speak at our B2BMX events because not only do they show us how to break through the status quo, they give us a science lesson that applies to our jobs as marketers.
During her keynote at #B2BSMX in August, Leslie Talbot, SVP of Marketing at Corporate Visions, dug deep into how to:
- Disrupt and dislodge your prospects’ status quo vendor to win new business;
- Defend, retain and grow your relationships with existing customers; and
- Use science-backed techniques and frameworks to win more revenue from your new prospects and existing customers.
Talbot was not afraid to pull back the curtain and explain the inner workings of buyers’ minds and how to target them on a subconscious level, making this episode a must-listen for all B2B practitioners!
RELATED LINKS
We are back with another episode of the B2BMX podcast, starring Terminus’ Natalie Cunningham who took the stage at #B2BSMX in Boston just a few months ago! Co-hosts Klaudia Tirico and Kelly Lindenau can’t wait to share this session with the audience, as it’s one for the books.
Cunningham enforces the idea of shifting time and resources to a proactive and strategic account centric GTM motion. It is no longer applicable to do the bare minimum in B2B; it is essential to focus on revenue impact, efficiency and predictability.
Tune in to episode two to learn:
- How to view the current state of B2B marketing as an opportunity;
- The transformation of today's CMO and its evolving role to drive alignment;
- The strategy behind account-based transformation; and
- Various insights into “the changing market.”
RELATED LINKS
What better way to kick off Season 7 than with an exclusive interview from the B2B Sales & Marketing Exchange in Boston!? Co-host Kelly Lindenau sat down with Brooke Sellas, Founder & CEO of B Squared Media, who put on an amazing session at the event and was kind enough to share even more insights with our audience.
It's safe to say Sellas did not disappoint: She shared an abundance of tips and tricks to implementing a successful marketing strategy while utilizing social media. Throughout the episode, Sellas dove deeper into:
- The role social media plays in B2B marketing and how practitioners can leverage it;
- How to understand customer voices and incorporate them into marketing strategies;
- The best strategies to harness the power of social media listening; and
- The value of ABM.
RELATED LINKS
Welcome to our Season 6 finale episode! Co-host Klaudia Tirico is coming to you live from last week’s B2B Sales and Marketing Exchange show floor in Boston alongside FullSurge’s Mitch Duckler. The pair discuss Duckler’s new book titled, “The Indispensable Brand: Move from Invisible to Invaluable,” and the significance of constructing a successful brand strategy.
Marketers are so focused on best practices, clicks, followers, comments, posts and shares that they forget to build up their brand, while driving transactions. Duckler stresses the direct correlation between brand differentiation and very important business metrics. Here are the essential ways a brand can be differentiated based on these four questions:
- What you do for your customer / the value you add;
- How you provide that benefit;
- Why your company does what it does / its purpose; and
- Who your target audience is / brand persona.
RELATED LINKS
- Take A Glimpse Into The Crystal Ball Of Sales
- CHECK OUT DEMAND GEN REPORT’S B2BSMX DAY 1 RECAP
- CHECK OUT DEMAND GEN REPORT’S B2BSMX DAY 2 RECAP
- CHECK OUT DEMAND GEN REPORT’S B2BSMX DAY 3 RECAP (LINK TK)
- SIGN UP FOR UPDATES FOR B2BMX IN SCOTTSDALE, FEB. 2023
While Co-hosts Klaudia Tirico and Kelly Lindenau enjoy their last day at the B2BSMX event in Boston, let’s reminisce about B2BMX Next-Level ABM. Mckinsey & Company’s Julia McClatchy is the star of the show this week as she takes a deep dive into all thing’s hybrid selling.
During this episode, McClatchy reveals key trends and shocking insights from the B2B Pulse and the Future Of Sales reports. Here are five high-level results:
- The rule of thirds has become entrenched;
- Consumerization of B2B is here;
- People are willing to spend big online;
- More channels equates to more growth;
- Loyalty is really up for grabs; and
- Personalization is key to growth.
RELATED LINKS
- Listen to Episode 14: How To Achieve Next Gen ABM
- Check out the B2B Pulse Report from McKinsey
Co-host Kelly Lindenau of the B2BMX Podcast is here with Hunters’ Sarah Breathnach to discuss the latest demand gen trends and share a preview of her session at the upcoming B2B Sales & Marketing Exchange event in Boston. Her session, titled: “Hiring A Marketing Team To Do Lead Gen Is A Huge Mistake. Here’s Why…” is one you won’t want to miss!
Breathnach shares the six steps she took to build a demand generation program within 12 months. Marketers must look at the areas where the business is currently weak and where they’re opportunities for improvement by:
- Auditing the current state of a program before making changes;
- Researching in terms of looking at the data;
- Talking to early customers, employees, salespeople and customer success; and
- Generating quick wins to make an immediate impact.
RELATED LINKS
Co-hosts Klaudia Tirico and Kelly Lindenau play back a noteworthy tape from #B2BMX: Next-Level ABM starring Rob Griffin and Thad Kahlow! The pair from Business Online discuss the three pillars that are essential for driving advanced ABM: Expertise, empathy and bold action. They explained how marketers tend to get lost in the complexities of ABM and data, so alignment is key to developing an overall successful program.
Griffin and Kahlow teach marketers how to navigate through the endless amounts of data, intent signals and technologies so they can understand key areas of prioritization. Tune into this episode to learn more about advancing your ABM by asking:
- Is my ABM program helping accelerate pipeline?
- Is my ABM program helping close revenue from an account perspective?
If the answer is no to these two questions… it’s time to re-evaluate your ABM program!
RELATED LINKS
Co-hosts Klaudia Tirico and Kelly Lindenau are back with a brand-new episode of the B2BMX Podcast with a keynote session all the way from our Next-Level ABM event in June. Forrester’s Terry Flaherty discusses some major insights into the process, systems and cultural issues with both MQLs and MQAs.
The ongoing debate between MQLs and MQAs continues and we’re here to get another perspective to solve the debate. Check out this episode to learn:
- Why MQLs don't work anymore;
- Why MQAs aren't the right approach;
- Why marketers want more opportunities;
- How to move from a lead-centric process to an opportunity-centric process; and
- The role that the MQL culture is playing in shaping and even stalling this transformation.
RELATED LINKS
The fish stinks from the head… If you have leaders in an organization who aren't facilitating encouraging team collaboration, intergenerational collaboration and inter-functional collaboration, then your organization is lacking.
Today’s episode of the #B2BMX podcast features host
Kelly Lindenau and Nancy A Shenker, CEO & Founder of theONswitch, as the pair provide a sneak peek into Shenker’s upcoming #B2BSMX session “Peace, Love and Revenue.” Learn the key ways to create cross-generational success in your business, including:
- Team collaboration;
- Integration & alignment; and
- Communication.
RELATED LINKS
Creating an environment where everyone feels included and is given the opportunity to contribute and participate is the very definition of DEI (Diversity, Equity, Inclusion). In this episode, co-hosts Klaudia Tirico and Kelly Lindenau introduce Natalie Gullatt, who spoke about diversity and inclusion during her session at #B2BMX back in February.
Gullatt discussed the future of DEI in business and marketing and the importance of diversifying your marketing team. Here are some key ways DEI benefits organizations:
- Brand reputation;
- Cost savings; and
- Better financial performance.
While ignoring DEI will result in:
- Lack of innovation;
- Loss of perception; and
- Potential harmful revelation.
RELATED LINKS
Hopefully, B2BMX podcast fans are familiar with the show “Ted Lasso” because co-hosts Klaudia Tirico and Kelly Lindenau don’t want you to miss out on this iconic pop-cultural reference! We are back with a replay from the B2B Marketing Exchange in Scottsdale, where Juliet Randall of Salesforce covers everything from strategizing and engaging with customers to partnering with sales to act as one integrated team. Randall shares her top five lessons on how to elevate your game and make trust a key component of your ABM program.
Here are five “Ted Lasso” quotes aligned with Salesforce’s five lessons in trust:
- “Don't you dare settle for fine.” Marketers must have goals to transform ABM;
- “Make the extra pass.” Marketers need to surrender the “me” for the “we” and trust in their sales team;
- “Be a goldfish.” When you make a mistake, learn from it and move on;
- “Speak up.” Don’t be afraid to communicate with sales, especially with the account intelligence marketers have today; and
- “Well, you say impossible, but all I hear is 'I'm possible.’” Remember to believe not only in your marketing skills but also trust in your team.
RELATED LINKS
To MQL, or not to MQL — that’s the question plaguing the industry as marketers are faced with varying reports concerning the future of leads. While some organizations claim the lead is dead, other folks aren’t so sure.
Host Kelly Lindenau sat down with Jon Russo, B2BFusion’s Founder and CMO, to discuss his take on the lead dilemma. Russo believes that, when adapted to modern B2B practices, MQLs are still a viable and beneficial component of marketers’ arsenals. As Lindenau and Russo dive into the world of leads, the pair discuss:
- The probability/possibility of eliminating leads, along with the challenges marketers would face in phasing leads out;
- The various factors giving leads a bad rep and making marketers consider elimination;
- How marketers can enhance and modernize their lead generation efforts; and
- The latest trends in B2B technology and how Russo sees the space evolving.
RELATED LINKS
For several years, Forrester has forecasted that demand gen and ABM would ultimately intersect as demand marketers improve the precision of their efforts and ABM marketers seek to deliver personalized experiences to more contacts in high-value accounts.
With Forrester research showing that this convergence is accelerating, Host Klaudia Tirico takes listeners back to Forrester’s B2BMX session in Scottsdale to dive deeper into the collision course of these two powerhouse strategies and the benefits it holds to marketers.
Forrester’s Bob Peterson shared new data and insights on the key trends demand gen and ABM marketers must consider to prepare for this eventual convergence. Tune in now to learn:
- The current trends driving the push to convergence of demand and ABM;
- The impact of this convergence on systems and resources;
- How to leverage this market shift to improve efficiencies and optimize performance; and
- New insights to better prepare your organization for this converged ecosystem.
RELATED LINKS
Spam isn’t just unwanted emails — it’s talking at people instead of with them. In the latest episode of the B2BMX podcast, Host Klaudia Tirico is bringing listeners back to the Scottsdale stage for Jon Miller’s keynote, “Unspam Your Brand: Account Intelligence For Smarter GTM.”
Throughout this episode, Miller will show you exactly how you can start using account intelligence to spot opportunities earlier, engage with prospects more intelligently and close deals faster. You’ll learn:
- Why GTM fragmentation forces smart people to do stupid things (like spam their buyers);
- How to develop your own Account Intelligence strategy and inject relevance into every step of every buying process; and
- Practical tips and campaign ideas you can implement at your company right away.
RELATED LINKS
It’s time to head back to the B2B Marketing Exchange in Scottsdale: No airplane ticket or pass needed. Hosts Klaudia Tirico and Kelly Lindenau are bringing listeners back to the #B2BMX stage to revisit “How Google Cloud & ServiceNow Meet Their Customers Where They Are With ABM,” featuring Folloze’s Ryan Yoo, Google Cloud’s Desiree Daniels and ServiceNow’s Carrie Feord.
Throughout their session, the experts uncovered how exactly ABM teams could identify, understand and engage their target accounts. Specifically, the trio discussed how to:
- Leverage a blended model between 1:1 and 1:many to scale globally across regions and verticals;
- Build account-based experiences based on well-defined content programs to support their account segmentation strategy; and
- Stay agile without making sacrifices on personalization or brand and data compliance.
Tune into episode 6 to learn all about those takeaways and more!
RELATED LINKS
- Register for #B2BMX: Next-Level ABM in June
- Season 6, Episode 5
We’re back with episode 5 to share the replay of Jennifer Leaver’s impressive session from B2BMX in Scottsdale, Ariz. Leaver is the Senior Global ABM Manager at Bazaarvoice who shared her secrets to launching an ABM program from the ground up and for scale to become a major strategic partner for the sales org.
ABM strategies are now going beyond the marketing mix to involve Sales, CS and PMK to create customer experiences for a company’s most strategic accounts. All these teams are coming together to work towards one goal: Revenue. Leaver lets the audience in on the top priorities for constructing a successful ABM strategy, including:
- Strategically targeting the accounts that a business wants to go after;
- Creating a personalized experience for accounts;
- Starting small to scale and building playbooks; and
- Making sure there is enough bandwidth to create the content that is needed to support these campaigns (design, marketing ops, etc.).
RELATED LINKS
We’re switching things up on today’s episode — no replays! Instead, our friends from Content4Demand, a boutique B2B content strategy and creative agency, are on the podcast to make a case for interactive content.
Static PDFs are a thing of the past. In the digital-first world, interactive content is making waves for its ability to engage audiences in unique ways… and track that engagement to provide valuable insights that can enhance future content strategies. Not to mention, it can really help your brand stand out among the sea of long-form, all-text white papers.
Don’t think you have what it takes to create interactive content? Think again. In this episode, Content4Demand’s Lisa Wallace, VP of Sales; Holly Celeste Fisk, Director of Marketing; and Savannah Heil, Sr. Director of Digital Design, sit down with hosts Klaudia Tirico and Kelly Lindenau to discuss:
- What interactive content is and why it matters NOW;
- The types of interactive content you can create;
- The data and insights you can gain from interactive content;
- How to get started and get buy-in from the C-suite;
- Tips for writing for interactive content; and
- Everything in between!
RELATED LINKS
In the latest episode of the B2BMX Podcast, co-hosts Klaudia Tirico and Kelly Lindenau are taking folks back to B2BMX in Scottsdale, Ariz., where Forrester’s Amy Hawthorne shared 22 predictions, planning assumptions and survey insights for demand leaders in 2022.
B2B demand leaders must establish new foundations that meet these new expectations to help sustain pipeline momentum. Hawthorne took to the B2BMX stage to uncover everything from marketing best practices in an ongoing pandemic, trends and insights for today's demand program and tactic mix, to recommendations for moving away from the MQL. Hear her bold statement about how “the lead is dead” and let us know if you agree!
RELATED LINKS
Buyers feel like they are under attack from marketers’ constant emails and messaging, so they're essentially digging a moat for protection. They’re unsubscribing, deleting and ignoring anything that isn’t radically relevant to them. One of the things we have learned from history is that you cannot siege a moated castle head-on. Under difficult marketing circumstances, you do not take castles by force. All castles can be entered with a drawbridge. Instead of trying to force your way into the castle, try earning the attention of your buyer to actually get invited inside.
In this episode, co-hosts Klaudia Tirico and Kelly Lindenau play back Baer’s insightful and memorable keynote speech at B2BMX in Scottsdale, where he explained the three drawbridges to gain buyer trust.
RELATED LINKS
- Register for #B2BMX: Next-Level ABM in June
- Learn more about Jay Baer
- Learn more about Convince & Convert
If you missed B2BMX, then you can thank this podcast for spotlighting multiple exclusive sessions from the hottest event in Scottsdale, Ariz. Marketers from all over the country came together in February to share their knowledge, tactics and the tools needed to succeed in B2B marketing.
In our Season 6 kick-off episode, hosts Klaudia Tirico and Kelly Lindenau review key sessions and takeaways from #B2BMX 2022! To give you a glimpse into what you can expect from this season, the pair highlighted major insights from key B2B players on topics such as:
- Moving away from MQLs and focusing on account intelligence;
- The importance of working in sync as a team;
- Developing relevant messaging to increase engagement;
- Tailoring content to buyer needs;
- The convergence of demand gen and ABM; and
- Much more!
RELATED LINKS
- Register for #B2BMX: Next-Level ABM in June
- https://b2bmarketing.exchange/podcast/season-4-premiere/
- https://www.demandbase.com/author/jon-miller/
- https://www.forrester.com/analyst-bio/amy-hawthorne/BIO15544
- https://www.sugarcrm.com/
- https://www.linkedin.com/in/jennifer-leaver/
- https://www.linkedin.com/in/julietrandall/
- https://www.triblio.com/
- https://www.servicenow.com/
- https://www.salesforce.com/
- https://www.jaybaer.com/
- https://www.forrester.com/analyst-bio/robert-peterson/BIO15386
What makes audiences tick and click these days? In an overly saturated, digital-first world, generic, long-form content simply won't cut it. It's time to think outside the box and truly get creative to debunk the myth that B2B is boring once and for all.
That's exactly what this panel of all stars discussed at B2BMX in Scottsdale last week. In this special edition episode, host Klaudia Tirico took the B2BMX stage with Stefanie Larue, Digital Marketing Manager at Dade Systems, Lindsay Tjepkema, CEO & Co-founder of Casted, and Leigh Dow, VP of Global Marketing at Identiv to talk all things content — what's working, what isn't, how to measure it all and everything in between.
Specifically, the panel covers:
- The trends dominating content experiences in 2022 and beyond;
- New mediums that are both thought-provoking and fun to digest;
- How to create audio and video content on a dime;
- What type of content works well for various stages of the buyers journey;
- To gate or not to gate;
- How to measure the success of your content and leverage engagement insights to enhance content offerings; and
- Best practices for repurposing content.
Plus, you'll get specific insights on Identiv's Killer Content Award winning video campaign inspired by a Tom Cruise lookalike on TikTok!
If you’ve got serious #B2BMX FOMO, you can get the full experience online! Use the code B2BMXPOD to snag a virtual seat and get access to all the sessions from the show!
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*Forrest Gump voice* Demand Gen and ABM are like peas and carrots.
While the strategies were on separate journeys to support their own business goals, Forrester is forecasting that the two will become a converged ecosystem as demand gen and ABM marketers refine their goals and realize the overlapping nature.
For this week’s episode of the #B2BMX podcast, we’re replaying Steve Casey’s session from #B2BSMX that delves into the ins and outs of demand gen/ABM convergence and provides a roadmap of the journey marketing teams can take to combine the two.
Throughout his presentation, Casey explains:
- The key trends B2B marketers need to understand to plan for this convergence;
- The people, process and technology considerations that will help marketers prepare for the road ahead; and
- Arm marketers with the roadmap to support their journey through the demand gen/ABM landscape; and
- Much more!
RELATED LINKS
“To hybrid, or not to hybrid?”
-Hamlet in 2022, probably.
Event marketing underwent an impressive evolution over the past couple of years, especially as the repercussions of the Covid-19 pandemic forced marketers to rethink the medium and adapt it to the digital world. As in-person events start to return — hello, B2B Marketing Exchange! — organizations are struggling to determine the most successful event format: Virtual, in-person or hybrid?
For Aleksandra Panyukhina, an event’s delivery isn’t as important as the value it delivers. In the latest episode of the #B2BMX podcast, Panyukhini sits down with Host Klaudia Tirico to dive into the new era of event marketing. As Panyukhina teases her upcoming #B2BMX session, the pair chat about:
- Event marketing’s journey to the “cornerstone” of marketing strategies;
- How to focus on the end goal and attendee takeaways when planning events;
- The importance of planning events with an interactive mindset;
- An overview of the most valuable event technologies and tools; and
- Why marketing teams should track the event metrics that sales doesn’t use — such as post-event connections with sponsors — to inform future event planning.
There’s still time to snag your #B2BMX ticket — and with our podcast-exclusive 50% off discount code (B2BMXPOD), there’s no time to wait. See you next week!
RELATED LINKS
Content is a critical part of marketing, as compelling, informative assets help generate more interest in a brand and drive more leads down the sales pipeline. But the content creation process is still hindered by lack of interdepartmental communication between sales and marketing.
When Pam Didner takes the #B2BMX stage in just two short weeks, she’ll focus on two key components of content: “How To Make The Most Of Content Marketing For Sales” and “How To Create A High-Performance Team Among Sales/Ops/Marketing.” During her sessions, Didner will tighten the lens on internal communication to help align teams on common goals and shed a light on how to map content to specific stages of the buyer’s journey.
With those “how-tos” in mind, Host Klaudia Tirico sat down with Didner for a preview into her sessions on the latest episode of the #B2BMX podcast. Throughout their discussion, the duo touched on:
- The evolution of the B2B industry, with an analysis of the fundamentals that remained and the prospect/buyer behaviors that changed;
- The current state of sales enablement and why the line is starting to blur between sales and marketing;
- The content assets that resonate most strongly with buyers and buying committees, along with how to make the most out of them;
- Strategies for mapping content to different stages of the buyer’s journey; and
- Much more!
To learn all the content nuances your heart desires, be sure to use our exclusive #B2BMX podcast code (B2BMXPOD) to receive 50% off your ticket. Talk to you there!
RELATED LINKS
*Jan Brady voice* Content, content, content!
There’s no shortage of content ideas or delivery forms, but there is a shortage of buyers’ attention. As prospects and customers alike tune out the digital noise and grow more particular about the assets they interact with, marketers need to fundamentally realign their strategies to break through buyers’ wariness.
Jay Baer will take the keynote stage at this year’s B2B Marketing Exchange, so it was only fitting we invited him on the #B2BMX podcast to tease his session and provide insights into the current world of content. Throughout the pod, Baer sits down with Host Klaudia Tirico and discusses:
- The evergreen lessons he’s learned throughout his decades-long journey in the B2B space;
- The current state of content and the best ways to grab viewers’ attention;
- How to be fun and lively in content marketing and break B2B’s “boring” stigma;
- An inside look into his books, including the key takeaways and evolution of their principles;
- The continued beneficial elements of virtual events; and
- An analysis of the current state of tequila (yes, really!).
To grab your own glass of tequila with Baer in Scottsdale, take advantage of our exclusive #B2BMX podcast code (B2BMXPOD) to receive 50% off your ticket. Drink up!
With 33% of buyers preferring seller-free buying experiences, organizations must strike the balance between offering self-service options while still connecting with their buyers — something the majority are struggling to do.
In the latest episode of the #B2BMX podcast, Host Klaudia Tirico sits down with one of #B2BMX’s featured speakers Marcus Sheridan, who’s scheduled to deliver a keynote and host an exclusive workshop in Scottsdale. The pair discuss the ever-changing world of virtual, hybrid and in-person events, address the challenges presented by seller-free buying journeys and tease Sheridan’s sessions in Scottsdale.
Throughout their conversation, Sheridan provides a sneak peek into the topics he’ll address in his keynote, such as:
- The three tools organizations need on their websites to supplement buyers' desires for self-service journeys;
- How to create a hybrid event that incentivizes in-person attendance without compromising quality for virtual attendees;
- Tips and tricks to establish rapport with buyers as they self-navigate through their journeys;
- The divides and hurdles that are still keeping sales and marketing from achieving total alignment;
- The five questions that move the needle for content engagement; and
- Much more!
To ensure you don’t miss out on any of Sheridan’s nuggets of wisdom, take advantage of our exclusive #B2BMX podcast code (B2BMXPOD) to receive 50% off your ticket. What are you waiting for? Register now!
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Marketers can spend all day preaching the value prop of their solution — but what will build the most credibility is user-generated content (UGC). Today’s episode of the #B2BMX podcast features host Klaudia Tirico and Christina Kay, VP of Marketing for ResellerRatings, as the pair provide a sneak peek into Kay’s #B2BMX session “User-Generated Content: Why You Need It To Help Drive Sales + How To Do It.”
The pair dive into the best practices of UGC, such as how to identify the best customers to approach and the limitless content options it provides. Throughout the pod, Kay walks listeners through the benefits of UGC — such as generating deeper brand trust and gaining product insights. Specific topics of discussion include:
- UGC’s transition from the B2C space to B2B, and the specific benefits of it;
- The lessons involved with negative feedback and the importance of being humbled;
- Inspiration and examples to get marketers started with UGC;
- Immediate actionable insights and takeaways that attendees can expect from Kay’s sessions; and
- Much more!
Kay will dive deeper into these insights throughout her presentation at the in-person #B2BMX — make sure to take advantage of our exclusive #B2BMX podcast code (B2BMXPOD) to receive 50% off your ticket. What are you waiting for? Register now!
RELATED LINKS
We’re going B2B (back to Boston) for Season 5, Episode 7 of the #B2BMX podcast! Today, you’re getting exclusive access to #B2BSMX’s CMO Panel, where a series of industry hard-hitters provided actionable insights into achieving C-suite status, including the obstacles they encountered and how they overcame them.
Led by Sangram Vajre, the panelists — Shawn Herring, Head of Marketing for PandaDoc; Deanna Ransom, Head of Marketing at Senzing and former CMO of Televerde; and Gaurav Bhatia, CMO at PenFed Credit Union — discussed everything from their journeys to their current roles to the best ways of establishing respect amongst colleagues. Specifically, the panel touches upon:
- How to break through VP- and Director-level roles to hit the C-suite;
- The qualities attributed to “good” and “bad” CMOs;
- The importance of being flexible and holding open conversations about your goals;
- How to build credibility without becoming a “yes person” to get to your desired outcome; and
- Much more!
Plus, as an added bonus, #B2BMX podcast listeners can receive 50% off their ticket to the in-person B2BMX event in February by using the code B2BMXPOD to register now.
RELATED LINKS
· Register for the B2B Marketing Exchange in Scottsdale, Ariz.
We’ve taken the #B2BMX podcast off replay this week to bring you the latest predictions into the future of B2B marketing! In this week’s episode, Host Klaudia Tirico sits down with Jeff Pedowitz, CEO and President of The Pedowitz group, to shine new light on the requirements of modern marketers who want to see success in the new world brought about by the Covid-19 pandemic.
With a specific focus on what the coming months and years might hold for B2B marketers (hint: Hybrid and virtual are here to stay!), the pair dive into:
- An exclusive look into Pedowitz’s new book, “F The Funnel: A New Way To Engage Customers & Grow Revenue,” that explores the shortcomings of the traditional funnel system and the new model that could replace it;
- The lessons learned throughout the pandemic, including the importance of staying connected with clients after they sign the dotted line;
- The necessity of a hybrid event model and what the ideal event might look like;
- The emphasized importance on forming strong relationships with employees to retain talent amid the “The Great Resignation”; and
- Much more!
Plus, as an added bonus, #B2BMX podcast listeners can receive 50% off their ticket to the in-person B2BMX event in February by using the code B2BMXPOD to register now.
RELATED LINKS
· Register for the B2B Marketing Exchange in Scottsdale, Ariz.
· Learn more about Jeff Pedowitz’s book here
· Check out what The Pedowitz Group has to offer B2B marketers
Coffee shops dot almost every corner, but if you were asked to name a coffee company, you’d likely say Starbucks or Dunkin’ Donuts — and completely neglect some mom-and-pop shops or local chains that probably deliver higher quality drinks. You see, name recognition doesn’t always correlate with quality; it just reflects successful branding. And branding is key to standing out in a crowded marketplace.
As marketing teams operate in a primarily digital world, they’re fighting harder than ever to catch prospects’ attention in an overcrowded and loud marketplace. This means building and maintaining strong company branding is more important than ever before.
Tune in to this exclusive keynote replay from #B2BSMX to learn all about Nick Westergaard’s seven “Brand Now” dynamics (meaning, structure, story, content, community, clarity and experience), and understand how you can use them in your own brand-building strategies to accelerate the success of demand gen campaigns.
Throughout his keynote, Westergaard helps listeners understand:
- The seven digital dynamics to build standout brands, as well as how to implement them;
- How to create a brand that features its own structure, meaning and story;
- The top strategies to generate content that catches prospects’ interests and creates an engaged community internally and externally; and
- The tips and tricks needed to deliver a strong brand experience online and off.
RELATED LINKS
Get ready to get a taste of what successful ABM looks like at large, enterprise organizations. As a leading ABM practitioner for the past seven years, Danny Nail has tested and re-tested a variety of different plays to scale ABM programs at companies such as SAP and now Microsoft. He’s essentially the Michelin star chef of ABM!
Today’s #B2BSMX session replay stars Nail himself, who will share a variety of recipes and learnings from some of his most successful ABM programs at SAP and Microsoft. The best part? Organizations of all shapes and sizes can learn a thing or two from Nail — even if you don’t work at the SAP and Microsoft’s of the world.
Check it out to get:
· Examples of 1:1 and 1:few plays and campaigns that hit the mark;
· His lessons learned from working with sales and some “dos and don’ts”;
· Top tools and best practices for scaling ABM;
· Insights into how Nail developed his own platform to streamline processes and scale ABM; and
· Examples of how generic campaigns and content offers can be customized to specific accounts.
RELATED LINKS
· Register for the B2B Marketing Exchange in Scottsdale, Ariz.
Christine Nurnberger and her team decided to pitch the implementation of Revenue Operations at Bottomline Technologies on a whim… the night before a meeting with the “higher ups.” No pressure, right?
The result? “YES! This is what we need,” the executives said after she made her case.
The rest is history… and during this session replay from #B2BSMX, Nurnberger shares her story on how RevOps came to life at Bottomline. Plus, you’ll get the scoop on why companies with revenue operations alignment perform better with 19% higher growth rates and/or 15% greater profitability, according to SiriusDecisions.
RELATED LINKS
It’s not psychic John Edward or the Long Island Medium — it's Mary Shea, the closest thing B2B has to a fortune teller. After accurately predicting sale reps’ evolution into a consultative role, Shea graced the #B2BSMX stage with her vision for the post-pandemic world through her keynote, “The Rise Of The Revenue Innovator: A New Class Of Leaders Drive Predictability In Unpredictable Times.”
Season 5 Episode 3 brings listeners back to Boston with an exclusive replay of Shea’s presentation. With a focus on the role new sales technology will play, she introduced what she believes to be the new cohort of leaders: Revenue Innovators. Throughout her presentation, she dove into the expectations the B2B community can have as the industry innovates and transforms to enable predictable revenue generation to grow.
Finger-pointing, accusations and deflections — no, this isn’t a Real Housewives reunion; it’s a meeting between sales and marketing following a soured deal or missed target. Most organizations know they need internal alignment for success, but unification is challenging when sales and marketing are measuring different metrics and working toward separate goals.
In this session replay from the 2021 B2B Sales & Marketing Exchange, Host Klaudia Tirico revisits “From Stage-1 To Closed/Won: 5 Tips To Break Down Barriers Between Sales & Marketing” featuring Qualified’s Sarah McConnell. Throughout her presentation, McConnell provided five valuable tips to help eliminate interdepartmental barriers and promote more efficient and successful RevOps.
Key takeaways from the session include:
- The importance of a company’s website in promoting sales and marketing alignment;
- How to eliminate economic and cultural friction that contributes to animosity between departments;
- Conversational marketing’s contribution to internal cohesion; and
- Real-world examples featuring top-converting conversational marketing strategies to help create pipeline and accelerate deals.
RELATED LINKS
Host Klaudia Tirico is picking up right where she left off with the season five premiere of the #B2BMX Podcast! While the season-four send-off featured an interview with Gartner’s Craig Rosenberg and a sneak peek into his keynote at the in-person B2B Sales & Marketing Exchange (#B2BSMX), the season-five opener features a highly anticipated replay of Rosenberg’s session.
As the opening keynote for the #B2BSMX event, Rosenberg’s insights helped set the stage for the entirety of the event (and this podcast!). Tune in now to learn all about the heightened need for consistent, omnichannel communication and the renewed focus on ideal customer profiles (ICPs). Specific takeaways from the session include:
- Why organizations must focus on ICPs to meaningfully engage with best-fit accounts;
- Best practices of modernizing orchestration practices to coordinate consistent messaging across all departments and channels;
- How to adapt to the new B2B buyer behaviors and demands;
- The importance of adjusting to the changing realities surrounding the abundance of content available to buyers; and
- Much more!
RELATED LINKS
“Alexa, play ‘The Final Countdown’ by Europe.”
OK, now that we’ve set the scene, welcome back to the B2BMX Podcast! We’re just days away from #B2BSMX, our first in-person event since the pandemic, so Host Klaudia Tirico sat down with Craig Rosenberg, Distinguished VP & Analyst at Gartner, to get the audience excited for the big return to in-person events.
Rosenberg has the honor of kicking off the first keynote of the event and closing out this season of the #B2BSMX podcast.
As the pair dive into all elements of the event, their excited energy is contagious as they run through the variety of insights, actionable advice and networking opportunities. Craig also provides a sneak peek into his opening keynote. With data as the (spoiler alert!) primary focus, the duo touch on:
- The heightened relevance of ensuring omnichannel communication remains consistent as representatives return to events;
- How the “2020 pivot” influenced marketing technology, strategies, data and campaigns;
- Data’s role as a universal unifier;
- The No. 1 thing organizations must keep in mind when assessing their martech stacks;
- What attendees can expect from #B2BSMX (and the return to in-person events in general); and
- Much more!
RELATED LINKS
Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DE&I) have become a critical discussion point for business leaders across B2B organizations. Despite their positive intent, however, many approaches and systems end up falling into the same traps. What are the keys to creating tangible, positive action within your organization?
In this session replay from our Next-Level ABM event, a powerful panel will provide the critical answers you need.
During this episode, you’ll learn:
- The true experiences of black professionals in the B2B sales and marketing professions;
- How to expand your candidate pool and attract talent;
- How to foster an environment that empowers and retains talent; and
- Supporting mentorship and sponsorship that drives talent growth and progression.
RELATED LINKS
One of the positive outcomes of 2020 was that companies pivoted their focus to their existing clients. After all, without clients there is no business.
In this fun and engaging keynote replay from #B2BMX, customer experience coach and former B2B/B2C marketing executive Dan Gingiss will share how client experience can be your company’s ultimate competitive advantage as well as provide new and credible marketing opportunities.
Take a listen to learn how to:
- Apply an easy, five-step framework for creating remarkable, shareable experiences and converting clients into marketing advocates;
- Reduce churn and increase customer lifetime value;
- Talk about client experience in your marketing; and
- Leverage examples from other successful companies across industries.
RELATED LINKS
Once viewed simply as “outbound callers,” SDRs are increasingly playing more strategic roles for B2B revenue teams. Given their active role on the front lines of interacting with target buyers, many progressive organizations are positioning SDRs as a key bridge between sales, marketing and customer success.
During this B2BMX session replay episode, Demand Gen Report's Andrew Gaffney chats with experts Nikki Ivey of SDRdefenders, Brian Vital of ZoomInfo and Ken Amar of Outreach to discuss the changing role of SDRs, looking specifically at:
- The changing approaches B2B companies are taking with SDRs to move beyond dialing for dollars;
- The tools and tactics companies are arming their SDR teams with and how they are driving more & better intelligence across the org;
- How companies are re-thinking the career path for SDRs; and
- The new metrics SDRs are impacting across the customer lifecycle.
RELATED LINKS
Last month, SurveyMonkey — a company that has been synonymous with market research and survey software — rebranded to Momentive, now defining itself as an agile experience management company focused on helping customers shape what's next.
A rebrand is more than just a fresh coat of paint, new logo and name, and during this week’s episode of the B2BMX Podcast, Host Klaudia Tirico sits down with Leela Srinivasan, CMO of Momentive, to get a behind-the-scenes look at the entire process and the role of the CMO during a rebrand.
Specifically, Klaudia and Leela touch on:
- How SurveyMonkey transitioned to Momentive during a pandemic and why now;
- The impact customer and employee feedback have on a rebrand;
- Marketing's role during a rebrand and important things to consider before diving in;
- The new role of brand in B2B marketing; and
- How to blur the lines between brand and demand.
RELATED LINKS
According to a new report from Forrester, combining human intuition and machine accuracy produces a more intelligent and transformative creative process for CMOs and agency executives. This allows organizations to move away from the status quo and escape the intuition-governed approach that can often lead to missed opportunities.
In this episode of the B2BMX Podcast, Host Klaudia Tirico sits down with Jay Pattisall, Principal Analyst at Forrester and one of the writers of the "Intelligent Creativity Energizes Marketing Productivity" report, to discuss the modern creative process and how organizations can engage with audiences on various channels (and specifically digital advertising) by combining human intuition and machine accuracy.
Check it out to learn:
- What "intelligent creativity" means for B2B marketing organizations;
- How intelligent creativity differs between B2B and B2C organizations;
- Why the over-saturation of digital advertisements is hindering organizations' ability to connect with buyers; and
- Solutions to stand out with digital ads and attract customers and prospects through creativity.
RELATED LINKS
- Access the "Intelligent Creativity Energizes Marketing Productivity" report by Forrester
- Read Jay’s blog on intelligent creativity
- Check out and register for the upcoming B2B Sales & Marketing Exchange in Boston!
A company’s brand encompasses everything from Zoom backgrounds to website content, so it’s important that brand experience is unified across all channels. As a result, an organization’s branding should be at the forefront of marketing strategies — but there are a few gray areas surrounding it. For instance, how strict should branding guidelines be? What shapes a brand? What are the signs that an organization needs to refine or recreate its brand?
In this session replay from the B2B Marketing Exchange in February, Alicia Esposito, G3 Communication’s Director, Content + New Media, led a panel discussion with professionals from Tomorrow.io (formerly ClimaCell) and Conductor that revolved around the ins and outs of brand creation and management.
Check it out to learn:
- How brands are shaped and driven by a combination of content and design;
- When to push the limits of brand guidelines and the most appropriate channels for doing so; and
- How to understand the various brand platforms and the role branding plays in creating a unified experience.
RELATED LINKS
The B2B buyer’s journey has changed dramatically and the role of marketers to influence that journey has shifted with it (and continues to!). As the original Marketo Co-founder and Founder of Engagio, Jon Miller predicted marketing automation’s rise and now he’s setting out new predictions for how marketers will need to align themselves to customers, bottom-of-funnel metrics and post-sale revenue.
In this session replay from the B2BMX online experience in February, Miller, who is now the Chief Marketing and Product Office at Demandbase, discusses these recent trends in buying and how new research on sales and marketing alignment highlights the explicit ways revenue teams can set themselves apart from the competition.
Check it out to learn:
- How to implement account-based best practices from leading practitioners;
- To recognize what works — and doesn't — for engaging accounts in conjunction with sales; and
- What's in store for B2B marketing in the next 10 years.
P.S. We just wrapped up our B2B Marketing Exchange Online Experience! If you missed out, you could catch it on demand! For our podcast listeners only, you can use the code VIPDGRAUD to access it all!
RELATED LINKS
- Learn more about Demandbase.
- Get The Clear & Complete Guide To ABX.
- Check out the B2BMX: Next-Level ABM event on-demand.
- Watch Klaudia’s CXO Conversations interview with Jon.
- Read the official B2B Sales & Marketing Exchange (#B2BSMX) announcement
- Check out the #B2BSMX website to sign up for updates.
In the middle of a major transformation of how companies go to market, 76% of global CEOs feel that their current business models will be unrecognizable in the next five years. Business ecosystems are the main reason why.
In this B2BMX session replay, Jay McBain, Forrester’s Principal Analyst, Channels Partnerships and Ecosystems, will present actionable advice on the changing marketing landscape and how to participate/lead/thrive in ecosystems.
Check it out to discover how to pivot channel messaging, content and campaigns to align with driving intra-firm value creation, leveraging network effects and incubating partner co-innovation all wrapped around an ecosystem opportunity.
RELATED LINKS
- Learn more about all things channel from Jay.
- Check out the B2BMX: Next-Level ABM event live this week or on-demand.
Social media has come a long way since the Myspace days. It has even evolved to become a key channel for B2B brands to engage with buyers and consumers … and even close deals.
B2C companies have a leg up on B2B companies when it comes to social media content, but modern B2B marketing teams have become very creative with the way they engage on channels such as LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook. In this episode, host Klaudia Tirico sits down with Xenia Muntean, CEO and Co-Founder of Planable, a content review and marketing collaboration platform. Xenia is passionate about all things social media so we got the scoop on what it takes for B2B brands to stand out on social channels to reach audiences in a fun and engaging way. They discuss:
- How social media content creation varies across B2B industries;
- The role of social media content management and collaboration;
- The steps orgs can take to unlock social media content's full potential;
- Key considerations for scaling social media content; and
- Unique examples of B2B social media content done right.
RELATED LINKS
So, you’ve got ABM plays running — and maybe they’re working — but what if they can get better? And what do you do next?
In this B2BMX session replay, three-time ABM practitioner and implementer Jeremy Middleton will share an ABM foundation framework that he used at Kenna Security, including how it worked versus sales expectations, how to use the foundation to identify full funnel improvements and how to work with sales to make it all work.
He’ll uncover unique insights such as:
- Look at your tools after having a process in place — is it time to change or simplify?
- Be picky at what tactics you run, and what tools to use to make them work.
- Never change your strategy; you only improve it. You only change your process.
- If you can’t make sense of your data, you’re starting too big.
RELATED LINKS
The marketing technology landscape is still growing at a rapid pace, leaving marketers to try and keep up with new software additions, integrations and acquisitions. Scott Brinker's 2020 Marketing Technology Landscape revealed more growth for martech solutions — reaching 8,000 solutions, a 13.6% lift from 2019.
So how do you go about building the right martech stack for your company? Well, Dan McGaw has got you covered. His book, “Build Cool Sh*t: A Blueprint to Creating a Marketing technology Stack,” shares all of his tips, tools and best practices for creating a powerful — and flexible — martech stack. And he’s on the B2BMX Podcast today to dive deeper into:
- The inspiration behind the book and what to expect from it;
- The state of marketing technology;
- The future of the martech landscape and what we can expect in terms of consolidation;
- Tips for assessing and improving martech stack;
- The key components of a martech stack, and the nice-to-haves;
- The importance of having talent to manage the stack; and
- So much more!
RELATED LINKS
If there was anything positive that came out of the Covid-19 pandemic and its effects on B2B businesses, it’s the amount of agility, creativity and innovation that marketers from all industries were able to pull off.
One of those companies was Cedar, a patient payment and engagement platform for hospitals, health systems and medical groups that elevate the end-to-end patient experience. Their ability to scale experiential marketing by almost 2X to keep customers engaged and pipeline moving forward with a small team was truly mind-blowing.
In this episode, we take a look back at a B2BMX session led by Cedar’s Experiential Marketing Manager, Adrienne Lichten and Senior Director of Demand Generation, Caryne Say, who shared their shift to virtual experiential marketing and how the company delivered 21 experiences to keep customers engaged as they remain focused on ABM goals. Listen in to get the full story and:
- Get best practices for scaling into an experience-first marketing strategy;
- Learn how to manage an end-to-end strategy virtually; and
- Adapt your strategy within your budget.
RELATED LINKS
Roll out the red carpet because Tamsen Webster is back on the B2BMX Podcast!
In this episode, we talk to Tamsen about her upcoming book “Find Your Red Thread: Make Your Ideas Irresistible” and get all the tools and tips you need to succeed in bringing your great ideas to life in the B2B world. Specifically, Host Klaudia Tirico gets the scoop on:
- The top strategies for B2B teams to find their Red Thread and build upon it;
- The questions companies or individuals should ask themselves before presenting a big idea;
- How to set yourself up for success;
- Modern ways for presenters to get out of their heads and deliver a compelling presentation;
- How can finding the Red Thread helps teams strengthen their strategies and improve internal collaboration and consistency; and
- All the scoop about Tamsen's new book!
RELATED LINKS
This episode is sponsored by GrubHub.
Storytelling has become a powerful business tool because it begins and ends with empathy, drives an emotional experience with audiences and humanizes the brand at a deeper level.
In this episode, Miri Rodriguez, storyteller and author of the book “Brand Storytelling: Put Customers at the Heart of Your Brand Story,” shares practical tools to help you design a brand story that drives engaging relationships with your customers — and theirs. Listen to learn:
- What storytelling actually means for B2B marketers;
- How to deliver an emotional transfer of facts through storytelling — character, plot and conclusion;
- How to conduct meetings at a human level;
- How to find your universal truth — an actionable emotion that your brand can attest to; and
- Much more!
RELATED LINKS
- https://b2bmarketing.exchange/
- https://mirirod.com/en/
- https://www.brandstorytellingbook.com/en/
A word from our sponsors, GrubHub:
Grubhub Corporate Accounts make it easy for marketers to cater virtual events via their nationwide restaurant network. Visit corporate.grubhub.com to learn more.
This episode is sponsored by Rollworks.
It’s time to de-bunk the misconception that ABM is just for large organizations with large budgets. In fact, marketing teams of any size and scale can successfully use account-based approaches — and we dive deep into that with Randi Barshack, CMO of RollWorks, in today’s episode!
Not only that, but we sprinkled in key insights, takeaways and best practices on this topic from a recent session at #B2BMX presented by Devon Watts and Allison Dyer of RollWorks. Throughout the episode, we’ll discuss:
- How small teams can get started with ABM;
- What to do as you get additional budget, headcount, and technology for ABM;
- How to measure ABM success without strictly focusing on lead volume;
- How to be more efficient with all of your ABM channels; and
- Much more!
RELATED LINKS
- Learn more about B2BMX: Next-Level ABM
- Check out the latest State Of ABM Report
A word from our sponsors, Rollworks:
Download your free, editable ABM planning template at tinyurl.com/ABMPlanning And get some major props from your higher-ups.
Welcome back to a new season of the B2BMX Podcast! In this kick-off episode, hosts Klaudia Tirico and Alicia Esposito look back at some of the top sessions from the 2021 B2B Marketing Exchange to set the stage for what’s to come in Season 4.
In this episode, we highlight an overarching trend that took over the entire event (and the industry as a whole): Account-Based Marketing (ABM). With more organizations doubling down on ABM over the course of the past year, Alicia and Klaudia dive into the key trends and even some challenges presented by those who live and breathe ABM every day. Specifically, they touch on:
- New rules for revenue teams;
- The need to create scalable, personalized experiences;
- How modern teams are blending traditional demand gen with ABM;
- The next phase of ABM: Collaborative Innovation; and
- The future and the role intent data plays in ABM.
RELATED LINKS
- Learn more about #B2BMX
- Check out the 2021 ABM Benchmark Report
- Give our annual State of ABM Special Report a read
We don't often think about brand beyond shiny messages or cool logos ... but we should! In fact, brand touches and impacts everything we do.
With the acceleration of digital transformation, and the sudden pause of physical interactions, brand has quickly jumped to the top of the priority list for many B2B organizations. In fact, one-third of CMOs now place it as a top marketing capability, according to Gartner. It's time to focus on having a brand perspective, making sure purposes are communicated and differentiating yourself from the competition.
Michael Ruby, Chief Creative Officer at Retina Communications (the ANA 2020 Agency of the Year), will shine a light on the importance of brand in 2021 and beyond during his session at the upcoming B2B Marketing Exchange, which he will present alongside his CEO Ted Kohnen. But before he takes the stage, Ruby sat in the B2BMX Podcast hot seat to discuss the reinvigorated focus on brand, including:
- How to marry the experience you create with the numbers you need to generate;
- Why content is a more powerful engine for building brand than traditional advertising;
- The skills needed to effectively marry any discipline with brand; and
- How to prioritize brand no matter your bandwidth or budget.
RELATED LINKS
- Learn more about Retina Communications
- Check out Michael's session at #B2BMX
In the B2B world, we talk about how complex the decision-making process is. Buying cycles are getting longer, more people are involved and new channels and methods need to be used to convey value.
But for Ardath Albee, one key thing is missing from this narrative: how emotional the decision-making process is for our buyers. Consider how daunting it is to research all your options, compare them and whittle down options based on specific criteria. Then, think about how arduous it is to validate the investment, go through the implementation process and measure success. At each stage, the buyer is going through an emotional journey that could put their credibility, and in some cases their jobs, at risk.
That is why as a content strategist and CEO of her firm Marketing Interactions, she’s focused on helping B2B brands tap into empathy and emotions to create more relevant content experiences. Listen to this episode to learn:
- How emotion impacts all stages of the buying journey;
- Ways emotion can be considered, and applied, in content creation; and
- The formats and experiences that can help you evolve your approach to buyer enablement.
RELATED LINKS
- Learn more about Marketing Interactions
- Buy a copy of Adath’s books
Skip Miller is one of the top sales trainers in Silicon Valley. With a client roster that represents a who’s who in the space, including Zoom, Google, Tableau and Stripe, Skip has also helped small and growing businesses across industries.
What is the universal trend impacting all B2B organizations? Winning new logos.
During this episode of the B2BMX Podcast, Skip shares takeaways from his book, Outbounding: Win New Customers with Outbound Sales and End Your Dependence on Inbound Leads, including ways marketing and sales can better align and collaborate to create messaging that drives net-new sales and recurring revenue. Listen to this episode and learn how to:
- Successfully understand the needs of “below the line” and “above the line” buyers;
- Balance the power of highly personal interactions and automated activities; and
- Refine buyer journeys and outbounding strategies to accelerate the decision-making process.
RELATED LINKS
- Learn more about M3 Learning
- Buy a copy of Skip’s book
Competing with entrenched industry giants can be a monumental task. If anyone knows this all too well, it’s Casey Foss, Chief Marketing Officer at West Monroe, a technology and management consulting firm that competes with giant consultancies. Under Casey’s leadership, West Monroe’s marketing team takes a test-and-learn approach that allows them to be nimble, respond to changing market conditions and fail fast.
During this episode of the B2BMX Podcast, which is an audio replay of Casey’s highly praised session from the B2B Sales & Marketing Exchange, you’ll learn how to:
- Marry brand and demand to take innovative approaches to thought leadership content, events and advertising;
- Develop a growth marketing mindset by leveraging predictive capabilities and intent data to increase marketing efficiency and expand share of market; and
- Stretch dollars within refined market segmentation by leveraging account-based marketing.
RELATED LINKS
- Learn more about West Monroe
- See Casey’s session on demand
- Connect with Casey on LinkedIn
Whether B2B or B2C, all brands need to focus on building customer trust. This is especially true as more people grow cynical of media, political figures and businesses. Margot Bloomstein has helped organizations like Canon, Harvard University, Fidelity and Sallie Mae develop their brand messaging and content strategies. She has taken these experiences, and her study of the evolving media and business climate, to author a new book: Trustworthy: How the Smartest Brands Beat Cynicism and Bridge the Trust Gap.
During this episode of the B2BMX Podcast, hosts Klaudia Tirico and Alicia Esposito dig into Margot’s work and takeaways from the book. Tune into the convo to learn:
- The intrinsic and extrinsic factors hurting trust in B2B;
- How to apply voice, volume and vulnerability to win over cynics; and
- How marketing, design and content teams can better collaborate to tackle B2B’s big trust problem.
RELATED LINKS
- Learn more about Trustworthy
- Get more details on Appropriate, Inc.
Sure, they have a bad rap, but we believe that New Year’s Resolutions allow us to reflect on the past year and forge a positive path forward. Because so many of us had to navigate new challenges and new conditions in 2020, the B2BMX team wanted to hear how some of our peers were setting their goals for 2021.
In this special episode, hosts Klaudia Tirico and Alicia Esposito discuss some of the findings, which are featured in a new interactive experience. Experts and practitioners spotlighted in this episode include:
- Todd Henry, author and host, “The Accidental Creative”
- Tamsen Webster, Founder and Chief Message Strategist, Find the Red Thread
- Katie Martell, Producer, “Woke-Washed”
- Elle Woulfe, VP of Growth Marketing, Invision
- Sangram Vajre, Co-Founder, Terminus
- Randy Frisch, CMO, Uberflip
- Leela Srinivasan, CMO, SurveyMonkey
RELATED LINKS
Making your channel partners sort through everything you have simply to find what they need can make your portal a no-go zone. By creating personalized portals that recognize the variety of roles within partner organizations, channel-first companies are creating engaging and efficient experiences designed to set partners up for success.
During this episode, which is a replay of a B2B Sales & Marketing Exchange session, Cindi Johnson, Global Director of Partner Programs at Tanium, discusses how her company is boosting channel engagement—especially among partner sales staff—by creating personalized portal experiences. Johnson will review how Tanium is ensuring ongoing partner portal engagement with:
- An innovative onboarding strategy;
- A distributed publishing model that keeps content fresh; and
- Partner activity analytics that identify opportunities for improvement.
If you want to see the visuals to support the sound, check out the session on-demand now. Bonus: You’ll get access to our 50+ other sessions and keynotes.
With more than 17 years in the digital marketing space, Oren Greenberg has helped B2B and B2C organizations implement growth strategies that span different channels. Based on his experiences and conversations with clients, he believes the art and science of growth marketing will evolve significantly in 2021 to emphasize cost-efficiency, relationship building and deal expansion, and setting clear expectations based on revised budgets.
During this episode of the B2B Marketing Exchange podcast, Oren reveals how B2B organizations can establish and perfect their plans in the New Year. Key questions to answer include:
- Where are our strongest sources of growth?
- How will we need to adapt our channel mix to new realities?
- What will we need to do to ensure our content and campaigns stand out?
- What tests will we need to run to ensure we hit readjusted goals?
RELATED LINKS
- Learn more about Kurve
- Connect with Oren on LinkedIn
Today's Episode is sponsored by Terminus.
Did you know that less than 1% of marketers have a shot at becoming a CMO? Most marketers have no clue on what it takes to become a CMO and even worse, they cannot ask or a get a straight answer from their CEO. The reality is that if you want this highly coveted spot in the executive suite, you need to build and manage key relationships, identify your superpower and answer some tough questions about your goals and vision for your life.
After more than 50 CMO interviews on the #FlipMyFunnel podcast and by being a two-time CMO himself, Sangram Vajre is ready to help you determine whether you're suited for a CMO spot. This week's episode, which is a replay from the B2B Sales & Marketing Exchange online experience, covers it all. Listen in and learn:
- How to determine whether daily tasks match your expertise and passion points;
- The top skills to acquire and master; and
- What path you need to take to work towards a CMO role.
If you want to see the visuals to support the sound, check out the session on-demand now. Bonus: You’ll get access to our 50+ other sessions and keynotes.
Many thanks to this week's sponsor, Terminus!
Terminus gives revenue teams more data, more marketing channels, and more sales and marketing intelligence all in one single platform. Terminus is how modern companies acquire and retain customers by helping marketing, sales, and customer success generate revenue growth across every part of their funnel. See for yourself by scheduling a demo today.
This episode is sponsored by PFL.
2020 has been a year of learning, evolving and adapting for many of us, especially in our professional lives. In our efforts to pivot to "the new normal," we've had to take big risks. In some cases, that has meant failing miserably. But Annika Helmrich and Kathy Mammon believe the key to failing effectively is taking these learnings and doing something productive with them. This week's episode is a replay of one of our most popular sessions from the B2B Sales & Marketing Exchange online experience: 6 Lessons — And Struggles! — E2open Learned Navigating ABM In 2020. Check it out to learn how to:
- Cut execution time on webinars from two months to two weeks;
- Increase email conversion rates in a time of email overload;
- Test new engagement strategies with hyper-personalized ABM content journeys; and
- Combat webinar fatigue and declining attendee rates.
If you want to see the visuals to support the sound, check out the session on-demand now. Bonus: You’ll get access to our 50+ other sessions and keynotes.
A word from our sponsor, PFL:
For better account-based marketing, let PFL put your brand in their hands.
Ever laid in bed at 2 a.m. watching video after video on TikTok? If not, you’re missing out on an experience that can reshape your 2021 revenue strategy. Over the past eight months, Dr. Debbie Qaqish, Partner and Chief Strategy Officer for The Pedowitz Group, has spent way too much time on TikTok. And while many might think this a frivolous use of time, she has discovered three crucial takeaways that sales and marketing can use to grow revenue.
This week's episode is an audio version of Qaqish's session from this year's B2B Sales & Marketing Exchange online event. If you want to see the visuals to support the sound, check it out on-demand now. Bonus: You'll get access to our 50+ other sessions and keynotes.
During the day, Christine Farrier is Senior Director of Partner Marketing at Demandbase. The rest of the time, she's building Black In SaaS, a community and platform designed to close the ever-present gap between event producers and black executives in the SaaS space. Her expertise in B2B has helped Christine build and nurture relationships, but Black In SaaS represents a new opportunity for vendors and other event hosts to call in a new, diverse set of voices to build out their communities. During this episode, Christine and co-host Alicia Esposito discuss the challenges with event planning, how Christine is building the Black In SaaS ecosystem and how all B2B players can get involved.
RELATED LINKS
- Learn more about Black In SaaS
- Register for the next Black In SaaS event: "How to Become an ACTUAL SaaS Thought Leader"
- Submit your details for the Black In SaaS directory
Today’s business leaders are looking to cut marketing costs while also achieving growth. They demand marketing to show ROI. And yet, every day, we are getting asked to promote our products and services in ways that may not work. In order to bridge this gap, the courageous marketer is focused on demonstrating business value to executives by making customers the heroes of the stories they tell. Because brilliant marketing leaders know that by focusing on customer value, we deliver better outcomes for the entire business.
In this presentation, which was first given at the B2B Sales & Marketing Exchange online experience, bestselling author Michael Brenner shares why the future of marketing is about activating the storytelling talent and expertise of your customers and employees. Learn:
- How we can start to re-define marketing as a strategic asset for business growth;
- How to grow your brand’s visibility and close new business in the midst of all the noise; and
- A powerful framework you can use to rally the entire organization around the customer.
This episode is sponsored by Demandbase.
Like many other event producers, Demand Gen Report had to completely reimagine its B2B Sales & Marketing Exchange event. As many teams know, this is not a copy-and-paste scenario. It's up to the content, marketing and customer success teams to collaborate and design an experience that's true to what makes the event great, while also embracing the best of digital.
During this episode, hosts Alicia Esposito and Klaudia Tirico sit down with Sheri Butts, who is Demand Gen Report's Director of Demand Generation and Growth Marketing, to discuss their journey in reimagining the B2B Sales & Marketing Exchange...struggles and all. They talk about:
- How they used editorial discussions and coverage to guide event decision-making;
- The need to emphasize real-life use cases, successes and failures;
- Why finding speakers with the right expertise is more important than paying for big names; and
- How to capitalize on digital tools to augment networking and community-driven programming.
RELATED LINKS
A word from our sponsor, Demandbase:
Get a first-look at the new Demandbase ABM platform. Click the link to join John Miller, Chief Product Officer at Demandbase, as he gives you an exclusive look under the hood!
This episode is sponsored by Demandbase.
Marketing and sales alignment is absolutely critical in the age of the buyer — no surprise there. But achieving and maintaining a strong level of collaboration and alignment is easier said than done, especially at a time when buyers have taken control of their purchasing journeys. During this episode, host Klaudia Tirico chats with Jeff Davis, who is the founder and principal of JD2 Consulting and an expert on sales and marketing alignment. They discuss:
- How the buyer and seller relationship has changed;
- The concept and definition of "alignment transformation," and why it’s important;
- Why teams simply can no longer operate in silos;
- How to close the gap between marketing and sales to create one cohesive revenue engine; and
- Best practices for accomplishing alignment and getting buy-in from the C-suite.
A word from our sponsor, Demandbase:
Get a first-look at the new Demandbase ABM platform. Click the link to join John Miller, Chief Product Officer at Demandbase, as he gives you an exclusive look under the hood!
This episode is sponsored by Demandbase.
Let's face it, we've all been feeling a lot of stress during the pandemic. Some of us are juggling work and family life. We're managing virtual schooling schedules, caring for at-risk family members, and simply trying to stay productive and creative in our daily work. If ever there was a time for us to be more empathetic and more understanding of each other, it's now. Emotional intelligence (EQ) and kindness are both crucial, especially in business. Mindfulness can help us achieve both. During this episode, host Alicia Esposito sits down with Cole Baker-Bagwell, who is the Founder of Cool Audrey, to discuss the intersection of mindfulness and business. They discuss:
- What "mindfulness" means in the context of business;
- Why it's so difficult to achieve;
- Exercises to help you get started with mindfulness; and
- How these practices impact business relationships and customer experiences.
RELATED LINKS
- Learn more about Cool Audrey
- Connect with Cole on LinkedIn
- Hear more of Cole's thoughts on mindfulness
A word from our sponsor, Demandbase:
Get a first-look at the new Demandbase ABM platform. Click the link to join John Miller, Chief Product Officer at Demandbase, as he gives you an exclusive look under the hood!
For B2B organizations, sales and marketing collaboration has always been advised. But today, it's crucial. Both parties must work together to develop captivating campaigns that combine relevant content and compelling conversations that set prospects and customers up for success. As the founder of Sales Schema, Dan Englander has helped agencies boost their customer acquisition and build loyal bases of satisfied customers. During this episode, he shares:
- Why sales teams need to think beyond the win;
- New channels and touch points for boosting attention and building relationships; and
- How to craft a compelling outreach email.
Has quarantine life left you in a digital daze? You're certainly not alone. Although we're all trying to stay safe and healthy in these times, we can't help but crave face-to-face interaction. We're looking for real, authentic conversations complete with eye contact. But how can we create that feeling for our audiences (and ourselves) when all we have are webinar platforms and virtual meeting rooms? Jay Acunzo, who is a podcast host, author, speaker and founder of Marketing Showrunners, has done his fair share of virtual experiences, and he has some strong thoughts about how COVID-19 is forcing marketers wake up from their digital daze and find new ways to connect with their communities.
During this discussion, he chats with Klaudia Tirico and Alicia Esposito about:
- What B2B event producers can learn from Stephen Colbert;
- Why it's more important than ever for brands to have strong points of view; and
- How B2B marketers can work their way up the "value pyramid" and build strong, engaged communities.
RELATED LINKS
- Learn more about Jay Acunzo
- Subscribe to his podcast
- Get a copy of his book, Break the Wheel
Because of COVID-19, our time online has skyrocketed. Rather than going to networking events and conferences to build new relationships, we're turning to virtual round tables and cocktail hours and, of course, social media. LinkedIn has become an integral "watering hole" for B2B professionals who are eager to find new job opportunities, share ideas and bolster their positions as thought leaders in their industry. But what new features and capabilities can B2B execs and brands take advantage of? During this episode, we sit down with Anthony Blatner of Modern Media to talk all things LinkedIn, including:
- Highly effective advertising solutions for brands;
- Free tools to boost brand and executive engagement;
- How to combat digital fatigue and LinkedIn inbox floods; and
- How to respond when being called out on LinkedIn.
RELATED LINKS
- Learn more about Modern Media
- Download the Modern Guide to Lead Generation
2020 B2B Innovator Awards
The deadline for B2B Innovator Awards nominations is Sept. 25, 2020 by 5 PM ET. For more information and to nominate, visit the nominations page here!
We've heard time and time again that in B2B, we're not speaking to nameless, faceless companies...we're talking to people. So why is it still so difficult for marketing and sales professionals to take a human-centered approach to engagement? We chip away at this question with Benjamin Shapiro, host of the MarTech Podcast. Before venturing into content creation and media, Shapiro worked for both B2B and B2C brands and noticed the need for more human-driven messaging and marketing execution. Listen in to hear his take on:
- Taking a human-centered approach to marketing messaging;
- Applying new messaging to content concepts; and
- Identifying new ways to amplify messaging and engage audiences.
RELATED LINKS
- Listen to the MarTech Podcast
- Learn more about Ben's work
It’s been a whirlwind of a season here on the B2BMX Podcast. During this season, we re-lived some of our best sessions from the B2B Marketing Exchange, and had a ton of follow-up conversations with experts to discuss how the trends we learned in Scottsdale in February have had to quickly pivot in light of the global health crisis. Our top moments from the show are all from B2B practitioners who are living and breathing these ever-changing times every day, and using powerful technology and creative tactics to amplify the human touch in an all-digital world. Join hosts Alicia Esposito and Klaudia Tirico as they look back at these inspiring talks.
When COVID hit, B2B organizations had to cancel events and quickly pivot to digital campaigns and experiences. The KPIs to measure impact changed and, in turn, so did the benchmarks to success. What measurement challenges did marketers face in light of these strategic pivots? How will buyer preferences and digital channels change the way marketers measure success? How can marketers take a data-driven approach to agility? Hosts Alicia Esposito and Klaudia Tirico get into these and other topics with Bonnie Crater, President and CEO of Full Circle Insights.
RELATED LINKS
- Learn more about Full Circle Insights
In her role as an ABM consultant, Sydney Switzer helps Vertex Marketing Agency clients get their programs off the ground and scale them successfully. Needless to say, she's seen her fair share of challenges and lessons learned over the years. During her chat with hosts Alicia Esposito and Klaudia Tirico, Sydney shares:
- Common challenges with ABM strategies;
- New rules and expectations for stellar personalization;
- ABM trends that may emerge amid COVID-19; and
- Different ways to personalize campaigns based on available time and bandwidth.
RELATED LINKS
- Learn more about Vertex Marketing Agency
- Dig into ABM personalization ideas and best practices
- Listen to the Vertex Marketing Agency podcast
- Check out Sydney's favorite podcast (if you're into health and wellness)
B2B buyers want to be in control of their journey. They want to access information when, where and how they want, and they want to determine when a sales rep engages with them and what they discuss in conversations. Messaging has emerged as an effective way to give buyers that power and arm sales and marketing with powerful insights about their audiences. This session replay from the 2020 B2B Marketing Exchange delves into how Unity leveraged real-time messaging. Jesus Requena, the company's Director of Growth Marketing reveals how you can:
- Increase quality leads to your inside sales team;
- Boost online conversions with assisted transactions and custom messaging; and
- Improve customer retention with targeted messaging.
The novel coronavirus has not only shaken up our personal lives. It has turned some careers, and even businesses, upside down. While some companies have implemented hiring freezes, others have been forced to fill employment gaps, going through hiring surges. In some cases, organizations have had to bolster their workforce by looking inward, upskilling current employees. During the 2020 B2B Marketing Exchange in Scottsdale, a panel of experts discussed how they're building the marketing teams of tomorrow. We believe some of their insights are still valuable -- that's why we're re-sharing this episode with you! But,, we believe some things have changed. That's why we brought back the panel moderator, Wes Lieser of Versique, to get his take on what's happening in the employee market, and how brands and individuals can move forward successfully.
Topics include:
- Coveted skills in the current climate;
- Soft skills to include on your resume and in interviews;
- Whether employers prefer generalists or specialists; and
- The current state of the talent pool, and how it will change over the next year.
Historically, taking a stand on political and social issues was considered a risky move for marketing and brand executives. In the current climate, however, it's risky not to take a stand. In a world where many judge a company's alignment (or misalignment) with these issues based on how quickly they respond, how can organizations (even those in B2B) ensure that they're not only taking the correct measures, but developing a strategy that can make a tangible impact? It's a lot for even seasoned executives to navigate, and that's why, for this episode of the B2BMX Podcast, we sit down with Katie Martell, marketing truth-teller and an expert on the cross-section of marketing and social movements.
During our discussion, we get to the heart of what's top-of-mind for us as content creators and community builders, including:
- Speed or quality of response. Is there a right answer?
- What is performative allyship and how can we ensure we don't do it?
- What are some ways to spot brand pandering?
- How can we best amplify the voices that need to be heard right now?
- How can we hold leadership and ourselves accountable every day?
- How can we drive positive change within our teams and make this change scale?
RELATED LINKS
- Learn more about Katie Martell's book and documentary
- Dive deeper into the risks of performative allyship
- Buy Me And White Supremacy
- Buy White Fragility: Why It's So Hard For White People To Talk About Racism
- See brand responses and statements regarding Black Lives Matter
The Marketing Technology Landscape Supergraphic now features more than 8,000 solutions, a 13.6% increase year over year. With every new solution, determining what to include in your tech stack (and what to throw out) feels more overwhelming. As the Head of Marketing Technology Innovation and Best Practices at Intuit, Masha Finkelstein is responsible for helping her team take a more strategic approach to martech research and implementation. During this presentation, which was first shared at the 2020 B2B Marketing Exchange, Masha reveals how you can:
- Audit existing tech and capabilities to identify clear gaps;
- Cut through the noise to better prioritize investments; and
- Take a buyer-first approach to vendor evaluation and selection.
As the Founder and CEO of his firm, Roderick Jefferson & Associates, Roderick Jefferson has made a career out of helping organizations get their sales enablement initiatives into tip-top shape. A speaker at the 2020 B2B Marketing Exchange, Roderick reveals how a few key adjustments to rep on-boarding, enablement and collaboration practices can help decrease time to revenue. Listen to this session to learn how to:
- Build a role-specific continuing education program;
- Develop a consistent, scalable and repeatable baseline of learning;
- Increase funnel opportunity by aligning all selling metrics to the buyer’s cycle; and
- Use the latest tools and technology to track revenue focused metrics & KPIs.
RELATED LINKS
- Learn more about Roderick Jefferson & Associates
Podcasting has exploded in the B2B realm. We've seen brands across industries and of all sizes use podcasting to share their unique thought leadership and interview experts in their field. But how is this area of the media landscape evolving as more brands create podcasts, and as more buyers rely on them? During this episode, we sit down with Tina Dietz, Founder of Twin Flames Studios, to get her take on how podcasting is evolving. Together, Tina and hosts Alicia Esposito and Klaudia Tirico go through:
- New podcasting formats and approaches;
- Creating strategies for the middle and bottom of the funnel;
- The "murkiness" of podcasting metrics; and
- How to use podcasting to build company culture.
RELATED LINKS
- Learn more about Twin Flames Studios
- Listen to Tina on a B2BMX panel about podcasting
Account-based marketing (ABM), like any marketing discipline, requires equal parts art and science. Without technology, ABM takes a lot of time and bandwidth to execute. However, without the human touch, you may lose the creativity and authenticity that goes into crafting compelling content and experiences. That's why Robin Bordoli, President of RollWorks believes that B2B organizations need to embrace the best of humans and machines in order to scale ABM successfully. During this episode, which is a replay of a 2020 B2BMX session, he explains why, and brings in Sam Kuehnle, who is the Team Lead of Digital Marketing at Blackbaud, to share his team's journey.
Key takeaways include:
- An overview of shifting customer expectations and the impact on marketing and sales programs;
- Examples of how companies are leveraging machine learning to scale programs;
- How ABM platforms can align marketing and sales teams; and
- Steps you can take today to start to scaling your account-based programs.
In 2019, Kelly Borter, Director of Industry Demand Generation at Salesforce, had one mission: to create a comprehensive, multi-channel campaign that engaged retail executives and positioned the company as a go-to resource for all things holiday. Sounds fun, right? But in an industry where holiday is a hot topic and there is a sea of vendors looking to stand out in this area, Kelly and her team needed a powerful story, and killer content, to succeed.
During this episode, we go back to Kelly's presentation at the 2020 B2B Marketing Exchange, where she walks through every step of the planning and roll out their Salesforce Powers the Holiday campaign. Regardless of your product, industry and target buyer, you can glean valuable insights from Kelly as she walks through the campaign's:
- Overarching strategy;
- Theme and messaging;
- Team-based approach to activation;
- Emphasis on content repurposing and modularization; and
- 360-degree amplification, which included syndication with key partners.
Many B2B marketers have had to pivot their event strategies and budgets in the wake of COVID-19. Teams have also had to keep pace with internal goals and pivot in light of team and budget changes. With a strategy that relied heavily on in-person events, GumGum had to quickly adapt and find new ways to get in front of their audience. While some tactics, such as webinars, are tried and true, others were relatively new for the brand.
During this episode, hosts Klaudia and Alicia sit down with Som Puangladda, who is the VP of Global Marketing at GumGum, and discuss:
- GumGum's creative approaches to in-person events and sponsorships;
- How the brand has pivoted in light of COVID-19 and hundreds of event cancellations; and
- Ways the brand is embracing interactive formats to engage prospects and clients.
RELATED LINKS
- See GumGum's COVID-19 insights experience
- Dig into relevant content insights amid COVID-19
- Learn about GumGum Smile
Many B2B marketers tap happy, engaged clients for their content and campaigns. But what if we told you there was a lot of untapped potential, and that you could engage your clients in a holistic way to power all areas of your business? ADP did just that with the launch and expansion of its client advocacy program.
During this episode of the B2BMX podcast, we're featuring a session from our 2020 featuring Sarah Schreiner, who is Senior Client Insights Analyst at ADP. During her presentation she shares how the program has expanded into more than 5,000 clients and offers practical guidance to help you:
- Build a comprehensive base of client advocates;
- Identify and engage internal stakeholders to demonstrate value;
- Scale and ensure easy access to client insights; and
- Recognize unique opportunities to engage and celebrate client partners.
2020 Campaign Optimization Series
Looking for more awesome insights to guide your B2B marketing and sales strategies through the rest of 2020? Demand Gen Report's Campaign Optimization Series is happening soon, and it's touching on everything from ABM, to video, digital experiences, data orchestration, and so much more. Check out the agenda and learn how you can connect with context amid new realities.
Social media has always been a critical part of the B2B marketing mix. Brands rely on some or all of the key networks, like LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook and even Instagram, to amplify content assets, respond to audience feedback and build their communities. But the role and impact of social media is heightened today, as we socially distance and seek ways to stay connected.
That is why this panel featuring Courtney Beasley of Walker Sands and Linda Beaton of Flexport is not just relevant, but valuable. During their discussion with Klaudia Tirico, Editor of Demand Gen Report, they discuss:
- How to tailor social media strategies to audience needs and behaviors;
- The critical need to repurpose and modularize assets for snackable social content;
- The emergence of Instagram in B2B; and
- Ways to engage and empower employees to share brand messaging across social media.
Courtney and Linda also share some quick tips, including their favorite tools and platforms, how to measure social success, and how to best deal with trolls and social media haters.
Less than two months ago, more than 1,300 B2B marketing and sales executives converged to learn, network and get inspired at the 2020 B2B Marketing Exchange. The novel coronavirus was a mere blip in the news headlines. Needless to say, a lot has changed since we all gathered in Scottsdale, Arizona. For the season two premiere of the B2BMX Podcast, our co-hosts, Alicia Esposito and Klaudia Tirico, reflect on the event and how B2B has had to pivot since COVID-19 swept the globe. Jon Russo, Founder and CMO of B2B Fusion, and Jen Spencer, VP of Sales and Marketing at SmartBug Media, join the conversation to share how their conversations and priorities have changed since the event. They delve into:
- The increased pressure on marketing to do more with less;
- A pivot to the fundamentals, including buyer understanding and targeted messaging;
- The need to balance traditional demand gen and more targeted, ABM plays; and
- Ways brands can pivot in-person field events to be more digital but just as experiential.
For the season one finale of the B2B Marketing Exchange podcast, the Demand Gen Report team sits down with a few friends to reflect on how the event has grown and evolved. This jam-packed session, which is co-hosted by Alicia Esposito and Editor Klaudia Tirico includes three special guests: Andrew Gaffney, Editorial Director of Demand Gen Report; Christine Elliot, Global Leader, Demand Center and Content Strategy at JLL; and Dave Bruno, Marketing Director at Aptos. They discuss:
- The evolution of B2BMX, from content marketing event to the must-event conference for B2B marketing professionals;
- New content offerings and networking opportunities at this year's event;
- Key session themes and hot topics, and which are top-of mind; and
- Examples of lessons from B2BMX that have been applied within their organizations.
Todd Henry has made a living from creativity. A creative type himself, he has spent the last few years helping companies and individuals prioritize creative thought in their increasingly chaotic lives. During this episode of the B2BMX podcast, we sit down with Todd to hear his perspectives on how B2B organizations are balancing the need for creativity and the need for quick and efficient workflows. He also reveals how this new reality has:
- Impacted the way internal teams meet and collaborate;
- Changed the qualities of a successful manager; and
- Inspired shifting perspectives in "hustle culture" and work-life balance.
Along the way, Todd shares some inspiring anecdotes from his own conversations with creative pros on his podcast, The Accidental Creative, and the lessons he's learned speaking with these executives.
REFERENCES:
- Makers Schedule, Managers Schedule
- "This is Marketing" - Seth Godin
- "Orbiting The Giant Hairball" - Gordon MacKenzie
- "The Art of Possibility" - Benjamin and Rosamund Stone Zander
- "Herding Tigers" - Todd Henry
- "The Accidental Creative" - Todd Henry
Tamsen Webster has a heritage in marketing. With about two decades in the biz, she has held positions at Weight Watchers, Tedx and helped numerous marketers and brands uncover big ideas and tell incredible stories. Think B2B isn't a space for creative stories? Tamsen will prove otherwise. During our conversation, she shares:
- The difference between a narrative and a story;
- How marketers can find what drives their business and their brand; and
- The common "stop lights" in the buying journey that influence messaging and storytelling.
Jeffrey Shaw has experienced quite the career evolution, starting out as a photographer and eventually becoming a brand strategist, speaker and author. Why the jump? According to Jeffrey, it's all connected. During our sit-down, we talked about this connection and so much more. Listen in to get his thoughts on:
- Why marketers are still struggling to be audience-first;
- How technology can help, or hurt, marketing and sales strategies; and
- What trends he believes have the most potential for B2B organizations.
Events are a big investment. When designed and promoted effectively, they can drive big business value. But many times, events exist in a vacuum. When it's all over, it's never discussed again. During this presentation, Dave Bruno, Marketing Director at Aptos, explains how he implemented a completely new approach, using event content to fuel a multi-month content strategy and a series of programs. Embracing a new strategic framework, driving cross-functional collaboration and frequent communication and agile work, the Aptos team was able to take hard-hitting engagement topics from their annual user event to create:
- Real-time content
- Social media posts and imagery
- Video content
- Live blogs
- Long form thought leadership content
At the end of this episode, you'll have a tactical blueprint to help you get the most value out of your event investments.
Over the past five years, we've seen video explode. What was once a blip on marketers' radar has become an integral format to engage, educate and nurture buyers at all stages of the decision-making process. Why? Because buyers today crave content that's not just helpful and valuable; they want content that's easily to consume and react to. During this panel discussion, Candyce Edelen of PropelGrowth, Andreas Hauke of Hauke Digital, and Paul Casinelli formally of BrightCove offer tactical best practices that can help B2B brands bolster their video marketing efforts. During their discussion, the panelists touch on everything from:
- The different types of videos and storytelling approaches;
- How brands can video plan that's aligned to buyer needs and brand differentiators;
- Ways to scale video production at all budgets; and
- Using data and analytics to optimize video performance and ROI.
Netflix hasn't just transformed the way we consume media...it's changed the way we expect to interact with all brands. Whether they're making a purchase for their homes or their businesses, your buyers expect seamless access to timely, relevant and compelling content. As a result, marketers must adapt their strategies, collaborating with content and demand gen colleagues to design programs and content pieces that support these new needs.
During this compelling panel conversation, Mark Bornstein of ON24, Nick Mann of Red Hat, and Lisa Kenney of Blackbaud (former), dig into the "Netflix Effect" and its affect on B2B audiences. They dig into:
- How the pain points and expectations of their target buyers have changed;
- How their approaches to content creation have evolved; and
- The increasing role and impact of content experience.
In addition to compelling commentary on the state of content marketing, the panelists offer real-life examples of how they've adapted, including their challenges and results.
B2C brands have relied on direct mail for decades, but the trend is re-emerging in B2B in new and exciting ways. Brands across industry verticals are incorporating direct mail into their marketing and sales strategies, especially in their account-based marketing (ABM) efforts. But what are the keys to success for this medium? During this in-depth discussion, a panel of experts delve into real-life examples of how they have used direct mail to create personalized and immersive campaign experiences that help establish long-term buyer relationships.
Panelists include:
- Bailey Roberts, Conga
- Daniel Lambert, Rev (formerly of CareCloud)
- Brian Anderson, Demand Gen Report
What does a high school physics and chemistry teacher know about marketing? Plenty, clearly. In his two first years at Pramata Corporation, Jeremy Middleton, Senior Director of Digital Marketing & Revenue Operations, helped the company focus less on the volume of website traffic and the quality of buyer interactions. With a focus on creating awareness and engagement around a new, incredibly niche category, Middleton and his team adopted an ABM strategy that encompassed the following phases:
- Identified accounts and messaging;
- Determined personas;
- Re-engineered processes; and
- Consolidated tools.
Brian Fanzo is a Millennial that has seen it all. Coming from a cybersecurity background and working almost a decade with the Department of Defense, you’d never expect the guy to become one of the industry leaders in promoting brand authenticity and creating a true fanbase within your customer community. As a self-proclaimed “change evangelist” Brian has been helping B2B brands take a step back and address the elephant in the room: empathy and trust is what brands need to succeed.
We sat down with him for an up-close-and-personal look into the life of one of the most prominent thought leaders on the speaking circuit today. We learned about what brought Brian into the industry, as well as how he has taken what he has learned and observed over the years to help brands build authentic relationships with their customers.
Listen in to learn about:
- Brian’s experience in industries ranging from the U.S. government to his work with high-tech enterprises;
- Brand authenticity and how that is making and breaking B2B deals;
- Understanding the Millennial mindset to communicate with potential customers on their terms;
- Having authentic relationships with customers that can turn them into brand advocates; and
- Using that relationship to fuel go-to-market initiatives via tactics such as influencer and customer marketing.
B2B organizations are fighting to win top talent. Part of the challenge lies in generating interest among a pool of qualified candidates. However, most B2B firms struggle to identify the candidates with the right skills for specific jobs. Wes Lieser of Versique has been around the block, helping companies tackle their hiring and employee retention woes. During his session at B2B Marketing Exchange, he spotlights the common challenges B2B organizations face at all stages of the hiring process and how they can:
- Create job roles that align with tasks and objectives;
- Improve interviewing and onboarding processes; and
- Building a top-notch marketing team.
Buyers today are self-educated and self-guided. They want tools and insights aligned to where they are in the customer lifecycle, but are B2B brands giving them what they need? Laura Ramos, VP and Principal Analyst at Forrester, delves deep into buyer expectations, and how marketers can embrace empathy to create content and experiences that are:
- Human;
- Helpful; and
- Handy.
But accomplishing the three H's doesn't just require creativity; it requires rethinking the way your team thinks and operates.
Pam Didner is no stranger to the B2B world. With a career that spans approximately two decades, Pam has walked in the shoes of content strategies, digital marketers, marketers and even sales leaders. At every phase of her career, she has discovered new ways to hone her craft and expand her areas of expertise, helping her become a go-to resource for B2B practitioners trying to keep pace in this ever-changing landscape. We sat down with her for an intimate discussion to go through the key things she's learned and what recommendations she has for executives striving to build their credibility and influence in their organizations and beyond.
Get more valuable insights from Pam:
Killer Content Awards:
Want your content and campaigns showcased alongside the best in B2B? Submit your nomination for the ninth annual Killer Content Awards before November 1 for your chance to win!
What better way to prepare for 2020 than to reflect on the top trends of 2019? And let's be real, 2019 had it's fair share of trends reaching their full potential, while others generated a lot of hype. During this episode, Maureen Maggioni, Director of Salesforce Pardot Product Marketing, will reveal:
- The top 5 trends of 2019;
- How B2B organizations perceive and, in turn, are adopting these trends; and
- Why a unified customer view is the "secret sauce" for success.
Want your content and campaigns showcased alongside the best in B2B? Submit your nomination for the ninth annual Killer Content Awards before November 1 for your chance to win!
One in three Americans now listen to podcasts weekly. While there are millions of series available across podcasting outlets, from Spotify to Apple to SoundCloud, B2B brands have the opportunity to stand out by reaching buyers intimately through their speakers. But it's not just about starting a show and waiting for the subscriptions to roll in. B2B marketers must take a strategic approach to podcast planning so it integrates into a much larger, buyer focused strategy. Learn how three marketers did just that in this panel, featuring:
- Tina Dietz, Twin Flames Studios
- Dave Bruno, Aptos
- Cara Hogan, Zaius
2020 Killer Content Awards: Want your content and campaigns showcased alongside the best in B2B? Submit your nomination for the ninth annual Killer Content Awards before November 1 for your chance to win!
In 2017, Carbon Black didn't have a nurture campaign. As a result, the buyers who engaged with a piece of content and went on to talk to sales had little to no understanding of what Carbon Black was and how it could help address their pain points. The company built a multi-touch, immersive nurture strategy from the ground up, leading to a 388% improvement in SQL conversions. Hear how they did it by listening to this session from the B2B Sales & Marketing Exchange.
2020 Killer Content Awards: Want your content & campaigns showcased alongside the best in B2B? Submit your nomination for the ninth annual Killer Content Awards before November 1 for your chance to win! Nominate Now »
Creating a powerful demand gen engine isn’t just about mastering the art of inbound. And you certainly can’t just rely on outbound. PatientPop is a great example of a company that mastered the art of allbound—a combination of both approaches—to improve sales and marketing alignment and maximize their revenue results. During this session, you’ll hear from both sales and marketing about how they mastered this approach by having tough conversations and taking a hard look at their existing processes.
Sangram Vajre is one of the founding fathers of account-based marketing. Leading up to his latest book, “ABM Is B2B,” Sangram walked attendees through why this is the case, and how marketing is sort of like parenting. It may seem like a stretch, but the Terminus co-founder uses some real-life examples to make his case.
B2B marketers are dealing with a big trust problem. Their buyers are hungry for credible content that's supported by reputable third parties, from analysts to authors and other industry influencers. At the same time, they want marketers to tell these stories in a captivating way. It sounds like an impossible feat, but Lee Odden, Co-Founder and CEO of TopRank Marketing breaks down how your brand can break free of boring B2B with interactive, influencer content.
