6 Ways B2B Marketers Are Falling Short Today

Marketing Roller CoasterAs I came back from the B2B Marketing Innovation Summit, put on by Demandbase, I couldn’t shake the feeling that we aren’t doing enough. That I’m not doing enough.

Sure, marketing is changing faster today than it did yesterday. Blah blah blah. It doesn’t matter how fast marketing is changing! The real question is “how are you changing?”

Here are six areas that struck me. No, they aren’t new. But they are places many B2B marketers, including myself, should be doing so much more. [Read more…]

5 B2B Marketing Mistakes That Are Hard To Avoid

Marketing Mistakes: But it looked like a good decision!The hardest mistakes to avoid are the ones that initially look like the right decision.

We all make mistakes. Sometimes you can see them coming, other times you only see them in hindsight unless you already know what to look for.

What mistakes should you see coming? Here are five mistakes that often don’t look like mistakes until after all is said and done, pulling from my own (regrettable) experiences. [Read more…]

B2B Marketing and the Cheap Tchotchke Mistake

At a recent conference, I returned to my room to a bag full of tchotchkes from sponsors. Most went straight into the trash.

Filling my hotel room with cheap junk is not a good way to make me think fondly of you or your product.

When you are marketing a marketing service to marketers, the bar is even higher than it is for most B2B marketers. Your marketing will be seen as an indicator of the quality of your marketing service. [Read more…]

Getting Out of the B2B Lead Generation Trap

TrapsMost B2B marketing organizations miss the biggest opportunities to impact their business because they have not identified the right goals.

Why isn’t business coming out of your ears?

Dig into that question, ask why of every answer or assumption you come up with, and you will eventually get to the root challenge and the basis for goals that can move your business forward.

It is easier said than done. [Read more…]

4 B2B Marketing Scenarios: One Size Does Not Fit All

Join #B2BChat on Twitter every Thursday at 8:00 PM EasternB2B marketing discussions on Twitter and blogs have a tendency to focus on singular topics, such as Twitter, marketing automation, or lead generation, as if they are right for everyone and we just need to do them well.

However, the people B2B marketers want to reach are ultimately trying to solve a challenge or embrace an opportunity based on their unique business.

Shouldn’t B2B marketing solutions be just as unique? [Read more…]

Is Focusing On Your Audience Getting In Your Way?

St Petersburg Pier as seen through rear view mirrorOf course not! As B2B marketers, focusing on your audience is absolutely critical.

However, you must look forward, at where your audience will be. Research and observation tell you where your audience has been and what they have been interested in. But what will they be interested in and using in 6, 12 or 24 months?

If you are focused on what your B2B target audience has done in the past or is doing today, you will miss new opportunities like the Internet (2000), Twitter (2009) or Pinterest (2011) to connect with your audience. [Read more…]

20 B2B Marketers Losing their Brand on Pinterest

Pinterest LogoPinterest is the marketing flavor du jour. Media and press are touting the ability of Pinterest to drive traffic and the time spent on Pinterest.

Many B2B marketers do not have any presence on Pinterest. In my search for major B2B marketers on Pinterest, I only found a handful using it actively. Here are three of the better B2B marketing examples I found. [Read more…]

Corporate Websites for Demand Generation: B2B Discussion Highlights

Join #B2BChat on Twitter every Thursday at 8:00 PM EasternThe latest #B2Bchat discussion focused on the relationship (or lack thereof) between corporate websites and demand generation.

Can corporate websites support demand generation and lead capture? Or do marketers need to build microsites to support demand generation effectively?

These are some of the questions we tackled on B2Bchat on February 8, 2012, and I had the privledge of moderating the discussion on Twitter.

As always, there were some great insights shared during the chat. Here are my key takeaways from the discussion. [Read more…]