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B2B Marketers: Are Your Glasses Half Empty or Half Full?

 

Lots of marketers seem overwhelmed by everything that now falls under their purview. Organizations are adopting marketing automation and inbound marketing software at dizzying rates. Participation in online communities and in an array of social media glass-half-empty.jpgchannels is flourishing. Mobile marketing has been added to the mix. It seems as if the company website needs to be updated in increasingly shorter time frames. Companies are augmenting trade shows with virtual events and webinars. The pressure is on to deliver higher quality leads.

 

All of these initiatives are dependent on producing a deep well of relevant, informative content – including printed material, audio, and video. And it starts with developing buyer personas, defining qualified leads, and developing lead-scoring criteria. It’s no wonder many marketers feel paralyzed.

 

I understand the fear of not knowing where to begin, how to get it all done, or figuring out how it all fits together. And yet, I can’t imagine a more exciting time to be a marketer. It’s all about a shift in perception, about flipping your conventional view of marketing on its head and considering how much more effective you can be every day.

 

Here’s an example of this thinking in action. Two weeks ago, I participated in a content marketing roundtable sponsored by Forum and hosted by Ardath Albee. One of the other participants – Joe Chernov, Director of Content for Eloqua (my client) – said his company is selling products and services but also has lots of valuable knowledge to share. And Eloqua has eagerly embraced this simple, yet powerful, concept. It actively participates in the online conversation, generates a range of content meant to educate and entertain, and is continually experimenting with ideas and tweaking its approaching. By its own admission, it does not have “marketing 2.0” down to a science, but it has taken the plunge. And it’s seeing tremendous results.  

 

Remember, none of us is perfect. But if you jump in with the right attitude and pursue the tremendous opportunity right outside your doors, I bet you’ll feel energized and hopeful rather than depleted and in despair. Consider how an attitude adjustment can impact your approach to marketing.

 

Instead of:                                                           
You:                                                                               
  • Thinking it’s too time-consuming to blog
 S eize the opportunity to deliver information in real time and stand out from the competition
  • Gating information and making it difficult for prospects and customers to access your content so you can add them to your database - even if it's too early for them to tell whether or not they want a relationship with you
 Share insights, increase mindshare, and give the impression that you’re interested in helping prospects and customers – which is much more likely to win you business than hounding prospects with unwanted phone calls and emails
  • Feeling it’s too much trouble to groom subject matter experts to participate in social media
Recognize that Google and Bing are including social authority in their algorithms, and that participating in social media can boost search engine results
  • Seeing leads get rejected by sales
 Generate high-quality leads that help fuel your company’s growth
  • Worrying about what’s being said about your company online
 Tap into your audience for real-time insight into industry trends, along with feedback on product features and names, white paper and webinar topics, and more
  • Limiting the scope of your thought leadership initiatives to keynote speeches and white papers
 Recognize that when you start a conversation in online communities, you are recognized as someone who is plugged into the marketplace of ideas 

 
So embrace your new place in B2B marketing and step outside of your comfort zone. It’s a mind-set that can ignite your engine, providing the fuel needed to drive your daily passion.

Still feeling more down than up about the brave new world of marketing? Make it a priority to read The New B2B Marketing Manifesto by Velocity Partners and get yourself fired up. 2011 is right around the corner – what better time to resolve a change in your outlook?

 

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