Blog – Page 6

December 12, 2017 by Marc Hausman

3 Glorious Guesses for 2018

Prescience delivers popularity.

It’s why so many analysts, pundits and prognosticators share their vision for tomorrow this time of year. Predictions attract readership and encourage engagement.

I like engaged readers. So, I guess it is my turn to take a shot at the future. Cue up the dramatic music because here we go…Marc’s three most glorious guesses for marketers in 2018.

Guess #1: B2B marketers recognize customer intimacy can not be achieved with a platform. Customer relationship management and marketing automation software make the sales process more scalable and predictive. Yet, it fails to replace the relationship building process required to secure the deal. People do business with companies they know and trust. A buyer is more than a faceless and vanilla lead score. Companies need competent and relationship-oriented sales professionals.

Guess #2: Effective content is elegant and sophisticated. Content marketing shops in low cost, international geographies have done their best to commoditize the product. They offer pennies per word leading to an explosion in volume. A re-discovery of the impact of carefully crafted prose on reader engagement and search optimization will soon arrive.

Guess #3: Simplification of the marketing stack. Once the industry savants at Gartner suggested the CMO will soon outspend the CTO on technology, a myriad of vendors pivoted their development and M&A focus. The result: a complex and disjointed bounty of applications and tools. Marketers are marketers. We’re not technologists. The stack will thin to become more easily understood and implemented.

What do you think? Am I off target? Did I miss anything? Comment here or Tweet me @StrategicGuy.

December 7, 2017 by Marc Hausman

Connected Aviation Today Showcases the “Must Haves”

I am often asked by business-to-business marketers about the attributes that provide the foundation for successful content marketing and demand generation program. There are three primary “must haves,” which include:

Industry segment or technical area that is timely and of interest among key audiences (i.e. customers, prospects, partners, market influencers, etc.);
Recognized and established brand as a program sponsor to lend credibility; and
Commitment to thought leadership in editorial strategy and development, rather than promotional or marketing speak.

Here is a recent example: Connected Aviation Today, introduced by Rockwell Collins. Take a few moments to review the site, check out the user interface and evaluate the editorial strategy. Message me here on this blog or via Twitter @StrategicGuy with your thoughts.

November 1, 2017 by Marc Hausman

What Sales NEVER Tells Marketers

I just had the most unexpected phone conversation with a new business prospect. My head is still spinning. Here’s the story…

Each week I set aside time to dial marketers who I have yet to meet. I quickly introduce Strategic Communications Group (Strategic) and, since I am calling unannounced, attempt to schedule an initial phone conversation at a later date.

Yesterday, the North American field marketing lead at a global technology products company picked up her line. We chatted for a minute and agreed to compare calendars via Email. Then, she hit me with a surprise.

“Hey, while I have you on the phone. You are in sales. Tell me, what does my sales team not share with me when it comes to their expectations of marketing?”

Imagine that! Rather than simply rushing me off, this marketer viewed the conversation as an opportunity to gather insight and intelligence to help her be more successful. I was happy to oblige.

A comprehensive view of a prospect helps me initiate a dialogue. Provide me intelligence based on the prospect’s digital footprint and social engagement. How are they engaging with content? Where do they interact? By understanding areas of possible need, my rate of success in securing a first meeting will skyrocket.
Sales cycles have gaps in time. Help me fill them. I don’t want to contact a prospect to just “follow up.” Develop thought leadership oriented content I can use to maintain a dialogue when they are not ready to buy.
Steer me away from unproductive activities. I want to attend events…organize Webinars…sponsor conferences. Help me understand if these tactics are misguided and will fail to reach the right audience.
And perhaps most important…

That’s when I stopped. The line remained quiet for a good 10 seconds. You could practically feel the anticipation.

“Well?”, she finally asked.

I will tell you during our introductory call, I explained. That’s because the goal of each step in the sales process is simply to reach the next step.

What is my final (and most important) expectation of marketing? Look for an update to this blog post in the next few days.

—————————————————————————————–

What is my last “sales guy” expectation of marketing? Help me develop a voice on social media.

Sales reps identify and qualify more leads when they are actively engaged in social networks, especially LinkedIn. Unfortunately, many refrain from social engagement because they are unclear of how to do it in a disciplined and a professional way. This is an area where marketers can help.

October 16, 2017 by Marc Hausman

The Most Honest Review of GAIN You’ll Read All Day

Let’s imagine what I am about to write is in a whisper as I suspect my opinion will be unpopular: most industry conferences are a waste of time and resources for exhibitors and attendees.

Why?

The content offered is typically regurgitated fare delivered by speakers, panelists and presenters who lack experience or polish. Curse you PowerPoint! I am happy to go the rest of my days without hearing another rambling review of five bullets per slide.

The conference experience can be worse for vendors. They are often relegated to a poorly attended exhibit area where sales reps huddle around checking sports scores on ESPN.com and scoping the occasional prospect. Buyers prefer not to be sold to – by Email, on the phone and in-person.

There is value in networking and professional connections at conferences. Is it worth day(s) out of the office? Does it make up for the scramble to catch up on deliverables? I’m not the only one who wonders.

It is with this mindset that I strode in to the Hyatt Regency Reston this past Friday for the annual GAIN conference, hosted by Government Marketing University. I was there to represent Modern Marketing Today, Strategic Communications Group’s (Strategic) online buyer community comprised of business-to-business and public sector marketing and sales professionals.

My assignment from Modern Marketing Today’s managing editor: as part of our sponsorship of GAIN, write a recap of the event for the site. Oh yuck…cue up some mood music of impending doom.

Imagine my pleasant surprise when GAIN far exceeded expectations. The attendance was top notch and included the best government-focused marketers in the mid-Atlantic region. The networking rocked, and I had the chance to catch up with clients, prospects and other valuable industry contacts.

The speakers were pass-able. Yet, kudos should be extended to the organizers who did their best to inject creativity into an agenda that could have very easily been staid and dusty.

So…here is my honest review of GAIN – the good, the bad and the better.

The Good

Lisa Dezzutti of market research firm Market Connections delivered an informative presentation on trends in event marketing and relevance to public sector customers. Market Connections’ research reports are top drawer and often reveal changing preferences and perceptions among government buyers.

Here are two slides from Lisa’s talk:

The Bad

Many of the other speakers prattled on about best practices in content creation and account based marketing. Have a strategy…tell a story…establish metrics. Blah, blah, blah. This would have been timely and insightful if the calendar read 2012.

Plus, too many of the speaking slots were gifted to sponsoring vendors. Admittedly, most did their best to cut back on the sales pitch. Yet, the conference suffered from a lack of industry representation on the agenda.

The Better

Brocade’s Federal Marketing Lead Ginger Kessler accepted a “Mission Impossible” by delivering a roast of the audience entitled “A Day in the Life of a Government Marketer.”

As I have performed stand-up comedy as a hobby for a decade, I recognize and appreciate the challenge of writing content that appeals to such a niche audience. Ginger pulled it off…and then some. Her remarks were entertaining and her delivery style personable and engaging.

Well played, Ginger. And kudos to the GAIN organizers for stepping outside of the usual.

A Concluding Thought

Hosting a conference is a Herculean task that invites lots of criticism. This post is a tame example.

GAIN pulled it off in 2017. The event will return next year. Bigger. Better. More valuable. And, guess what? Even though I despise most conferences I’ll be back too. GAIN is a must attend.

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