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According to IBM’s CMO Study, 68% of global CMOs feel underprepared to manage social media. Given the rate things are changing in the social space, this isn’t surprising. It seems like a new network or technology is released nearly every day.
Unfortunately, rather than finding a way to keep up or hiring someone who can, some CMOs have opted for a “hands off” approach to social media. Instead of taking an active role in online conversations about their brands, some companies are choosing to stay silent, believing this decision to be a safe bet for a medium that is tough to control. While this belief might be legitimate in some rare cases, we think that companies should think long and hard before committing to a hands-off social media policy.
As the IBM study notes, some CMOs have learned about the drawbacks of a hands-off approach to social media the hard way.
“The risk is huge, whether you touch it our not,” an aerospace and defense CMO said in an interview with IBM. “Don’t make the mistake of thinking you can reduce the risk by not trying to manage it.”
We think this couldn’t be more accurate. Rather than staying mum, we recommend that you invest some serious time and resources in understanding what people are saying about your brand in social media and developing a sensible strategy for getting involved. If you’re worried about risk, developing a social media policy is a great place to start.
What are your thoughts on the hands-off social media approach?
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Due to the explosion of data we’ve been talking about so much lately, many marketing teams (70% according to NetVantage) are considering adding a Data Scientist to their teams. While this might sound like a made up title, it’s very real, and according to many marketers, it’s a very valuable position.
So what is a data scientist, exactly?
The Harvard Business Review explains their qualities as follows:
“Data scientists don’t do well on a short leash. They should have the freedom to experiment and explore possibilities. That said, they need close relationships with the rest of the business. The most important ties for them to forge are with executives in charge of products and services rather than with people overseeing business functions. As the story of Jonathan Goldman illustrates, their greatest opportunity to add value is not in creating reports or presentations for senior executives but in innovating with customer-facing products and processes.”
Want a more concrete description? Econsultancy says Data Scientists:
- “ May be involved in the design and development of systems that collect and process large amounts of data using tools like Hadoop and programming languages like R
- Need to have a deep understanding of statistics and probability
- Are capable of designing and testing predictive models
- Provide the greatest value by answering the questions ‘Where are we likely going?’ and ‘What would we need to do to go somewhere else?’
- Will realistically need to acquire a high level of domain expertise ”
Unsurprisingly, good data scientists are not easy to find, but by most accounts, they’re worth it.
However, answering the question of whether you should add a data scientist to your team requires more than a simple analysis of the value this role could bring to your team. It also requires an honest examination of your budget and the training and resources you could offer someone in this new role.
Are you considering adding a data scientist to your team? Tell us why (or why not) in the comments.
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On Monday, we talked about the struggle many marketers have with proving the ROI of their work. We think that one of the main reasons for their difficulty is the explosion of data, and the results of IBM’s CMO study seem to agree. There are so many sources of data, and sometimes, it feels near impossible to focus on what matters most.
To help you out, we’d like to share our list of the top three types of data well feel all marketers MUST pay attention to. While your list of measured data sources will probably contain more than three items, these three should definitely make the cut:
- Blogs – Today, your consumer is a publisher. They’re writing valuable content about your company, and failing to listen to what they’re saying would be a major missed opportunity. Want to track mentions of your brand on blogs? We recommend inkybee.com, a newly launched blogger outreach and measurement tool from Forth Metrics, LTD.
- Consumer reviews – Think reviews are only for business-to-consumer companies? Think again. Thanks to the proliferation of review sites like Yelp, CNET and Google Reviews, consumers are reviewing everything from restaurants to commercial refrigeration equipment. Make sure you’re hearing what they have to say, measuring sentiment and responding proactively. Deleting unfavorable responses does not count as a proactive response. Though we think true consumer reviews should be a priority, third party reviews could also be grouped into this category.
- Social Media – Every day, your customers (and target customers) are talking about your brand, and thanks to social media, you have the opportunity to listen in real time. Don’t waste it.
We like these three data sources most simply because they give you the best insight into your customers’ opinions, preferences and personalities, and the applications of insights from these data sources are practically endless.
However, we realize you might have other data priorities, and we’d love to hear about them! Tell us which data sources you get the most value from in the comments!
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If you’re struggling with ROI, you’re not alone. According to a recent study of global CMOs conducted by IBM, over 50% of global CMOs are having trouble providing hard numbers to prove the value of their work.
This is a serious problem, as the same study showed that 63% of CMOs said they believe marketing ROI “will become the most important measure of success over the next three to five years.” Reading between the lines, your job rides on your ability to prove ROI.
The first step to correcting this ROI problem is recognizing its root. From our perspective, struggles with ROI are the result of many interrelated factors, none of which can be considered in a vacuum. Here are some of the main reasons people tell us they have trouble proving ROI:
- So much of marketing is about building awareness. Technology is making measurement easier, but that doesn’t change the fact that a great number of the tactics we engage in are still aimed at building name recognition and a caché of goodwill toward our brands. Short of conducting comprehensive awareness studies (which are expensive and out of reach for many companies) it’s difficult to prove how much marketing is impacting consumer awareness. It’s even more difficult to tie that data to tangible results for a company’s bottom line.
- Too much data. It’s no secret that we’re in the middle of a data explosion. According to Google, more content is created every 48 hours today than between the beginning of time and 2013, and much of that content is about brands. Making sense of all of this data and communicating it in a way that makes sense from a business perspective is not an easy job.
- A changing environment. Before the Internet Age, measurement was fairly straightforward. We knew exactly which channels we had to pay attention to, and we knew how to reach our customers. Now, new channels are coming to the surface all the time, and we’re working with business models (and marketing plans) that are in a state of constant flux. This makes measuring ROI, and especially tracking it over time, a tall order.
While these challenges might seem insurmountable, we have a lot of ideas about ways you can ease the ROI pain, which we’ll share in upcoming posts.
For now, tell us: what’s your biggest barrier to proving ROI?
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It’s the end of February, and time for the monthly roundup of our favorite B2B marketing blog posts from around the web. The posts we’ve chosen touch on themes that this month’s readers will find familiar: Social Networks, Marketing Technology, and a good old-fashioned “Learn from the Big Guys” post.
The Top 9 Social Networks for Businesses
Michael Brenner, B2BMarketingInsider.com
Most of us came of age long before social networks began to be a major player in the marketing game. Ever wonder which networks your business should target? This helpful post by Michael Brenner not only gives you nine social networks to consider, it includes graphs that help you see where each one is heading.
2013 Mobile Marketing Trends: 2 key data points to help you understand this growing behavior
Daniel Burstein, MarketingSherpa.com
Chalk another one up to technology’s crazy-fast growth. This article explains why you shouldn’t ignore mobile marketing. Daniel Burstein not only analyzes each data point, he tells you exactly why it matters to you – and how to use it. There’s also a link to a whitepaper if you have a burning thirst for more mobile marketing info.
3 Marketing Lessons from the Fortune 500’s Best B2B Companies
Mathew Sweezy, ExtactTarget.com
Don’t you love learning from other businesses’ mistakes? All the hindsight, none of the regrets. In this post, Mathew Sweezy follows up on a similar article he wrote, but he focuses on the lessons all B2B marketers can learn from the Big Guys of B2B. His conclusions about what they are doing right – and wrong – may help you reevaluate your own marketing plans.
Mega-List of Features in Marketing Automation (Not in CRM)
Jon Miller, Marketo.com
“‘I already have a CRM system…so why do I need marketing automation?’” This question is the introduction of an inclusive blog post written by Marketo.com’s Jon Miller. And Mr. Miller explains in depth the differences between CRM (even a CRM with a marketing function) and true marketing automation. It’s a surprisingly easy read, thanks to tables that contrast the functionality of each program. If you need a substantial background in this subject, this is a good place to start. Pay special attention to his conclusion.
If you’ve missed these posts, add at least one of them to your reading list.
What are you reading this month?
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Nobody likes fear. In fact, we usually do our best to avoid it. We like to talk about how marketing is based on desire and fulfillment, not anxiety and doubt. But the fact of the matter is that B2B marketing is shifting. While consumers might wonder if they can afford a new computer, business owners are wondering if their company will be able to adapt and survive. As B2B marketers, we need to address these fears
No matter what industry you specialize in, there are three fears that are common to all businesspeople, from the small business owner working out of a home office to the head of a huge corporation. These are:
Fear of Waste
Fear of Losing Customers
Fear of Losing Credibility
Smart B2B marketers learn to neutralize these fears by analyzing them and showing their clients how their savvy service can help.
Here’s how to do just that:
Fear of Waste. Time and money are both limited commodities. In this economic climate, no one can afford to throw away money or spend time on a fruitless endeavor. A B2B marketing company can help businesses deal with this fear by demonstrating – preferably with case studies- how their service adds value, saves time, and saves money.
Fear of Losing Customers. Gaining new customers is great, but nothing feels worse than losing existing ones. If you can show your target market that your company’s products or services can help them maintain their current business by keeping their own customers happy, you’ll strike a chord.
Fear of Losing Credibility. Reputations are even more fragile in the Internet Age. Show your target market how you can help them stay current and credible, and your business will be something they can’t wait to spend money on.
Identifying fear is the first step in overcoming it. For B2B marketers, fear can be just as driving a force as desire. Show your clients how you can help them conquer a specific fear, and you’ll demonstrate the value of your services.
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We all love a happy customer, but if there’s one thing we love even more, it’s the customer who can’t stop talking about how great we are. What better marketing is there than someone recommending your company or product to everyone they meet?
Although it is too often neglected, word-of-mouth marketing is highly effective. A poll by Harris Interactive, available here, reveals that 45% of Americans are at least somewhat influenced by online customer reviews. These satisfied customers are our brand advocates, our unpaid spokesmen and spokeswomen. How can B2B marketers empower them? Read on to find out. We’re sharing five ways to fire up the conversation about your company.
How to Create and Reward Brand Advocates
The testimony of a brand advocate is enticing on two levels. Since they are unpaid, we assume they are also unbiased. And knowing that a real, live person has had a good experience with a company ups that company’s credibility majorly. So share the love with your brand advocates by giving them a story to tell and a reward for telling it. Here are some ideas to get you started:
1. Create Shareable Content That Sets You Apart
With so many businesses out there selling similar things, you need to differentiate yourself. So tell your story. Tell where you got your inspiration or why you’re just a bit different (and just a bit better) than the next guy. And make sure that you tell it in a way that people will want to talk about, or at least forward to their friends.
2. Tweet and Retweet
Take advantage of social media outlets that favor re-sharing information. Share news of an upcoming event on Twitter; blog about your awesome team. This will not only keep you connected with your customer, it will keep you current. And it will make it super-easy to pass the information along.
3. Reply with Thanks
How often have you read a reply to a comment on Yelp, TripAdvisor, or another review site? Thank your brand supporters by posting a quick reply and you’ll come across as a more customer-centric organization. You’ll also have a brand advocate who feels even better about trumpeting what a great experience he or she has had. It’s a win-win.
4. Include a Plus-One
When you are sending promotional materials to clients – whether it’s a coupon or an invitation to an upcoming members-only event – throw in an extra and suggest that your customer give it to another interested party.
5. Show the Love
Don’t just pawn off your loyal brand advocate with a social media shout-out and a coupon. Demonstrate them your appreciation by offering a special perk for referrals – for the refer-er and the refer-ee. This isn’t a new idea, but don’t discount it. Who doesn’t love a deal?
These tips will give your brand advocates the means to get your story out, and an incentive for doing so. You, in turn, get a whole new set of leads. That, my friends, is good business.
Image credit: Kevin Shorter
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According to a recent study, just over half of B2B companies are considering investing in new marketing automation systems this year. What about you? Would upgrading your current system bring you the results you want? Or are you just beginning to incorporate the potential of marketing automation into your future plans?
Marketing Automation has been around for more than 10 years, and the contenders for your hard-earned cash are many. With that in mind, we are presenting this roundup of our three favorite automated marketing systems.
Best For: Established small- and mid-sized companies
Ease of Use: Good
Functionality: Very Good
Budget: Midrange ($1,195-$3,195 per month)
Marketing automation is one of several services offered by Marketo. At the basic $1,195 level, Marketo gives you a spacious starting point: lead nurturing and scoring, landing pages, social media, webinars, email marketing, and real time performance reporting. Other levels expand the number of users and amount of content management and hosting.
What’s we love about Marketo: Marketo has a friendly, highly customizable user interface. Those who want to stay in the Marketo system can easily expand into other products and services, and this platform integrates very well with Salesforce. Marketo is especially popular with small- and mid-size companies in the tech, healthcare, and financial industries.
What we don’t love: Outside of its universe and Salesforce.com, Marketo can be reluctant to blend with other systems. (That’s the reason its ease of use slipped from an otherwise Very Good rating). Support for global and large-scale companies is currently limited.
Genius
Best For: Small and mid-sized businesses with tight budgets
Ease of Use: Very Good
Functionality: Average
Budget: Economy (free for solo operations; $400-$1,200 per month)
At the starting level, Genius provides a basic but fairly useful set of tools, including email marketing, analytics, landing page design, and optional search engine optimization. Its user interface is intuitive and has a minimal learning curve.
What we love about Genius: Its value for money spent. Some aspects of advanced marketing automation are missing, such as marketing event management or budget management, but many companies won’t even notice the lack. Genius’s target audience – small- and mid-size companies and those in software and IT – will also appreciate its web-centric approach.
What we don’t love: For some customers, the missing analytics and management tools can be a deal breaker.
Eloqua
Best For: Enterprise and large-scale companies, well-funded mid-sized businesses
Ease of Use: Very Good
Functionality: Very Good
Budget: High ($2,000-$4,000 per month)
Acquired by Oracle and active since 2000, Eloqua is at the top of the marketing automation game. According to its website, it is the industry leader in email deliverability and the most popular marketing automation service. Eloqua’s service package bundles templates, support, education, and coaching with the usual offerings of email marketing, lead nurturing, contact management, lead management, analytics, and land page design. Recent improvements to the user interface have upgraded its ease of use from below average to very good. And Eloqua also combines digital communication with traditional methods of print communication for the widest possible reach.
What we love about Eloqua: Talk about a one-stop shop! Eloqua offers a full range of services, from education to analysis, and comes with serious industry credentials.
What we don’t love: Eloqua’s comprehensive service package comes with a fat price tag that can put it out of reach of startups and cash-strapped companies.
We hope this roundup of our three marketing automation picks helps you find the solution that works for you!
Which MAS are you using? Tell us in the comments.
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Trying to keep your content fresh? For busy B2B marketers, this is an uphill challenge. The Internet is a bottomless pit of information; to stay at the top, you need to produce ever more interesting and relevant content. And content takes time.
There are a couple of options when it comes to keeping your content current. You can, of course, produce it in-house or outsource it to a writing service. Outsourcing has become especially popular but, while it saves time, it can be rather hard on the budget. Enter content curation, the latest answer to B2B marketing’s content woes.
Creation vs Curation
Content creation is simply creating content that didn’t previously exist. It could be posting a new photo or writing a block of text. Content curation makes use of existing content by gathering it all together in one place, be it a newsletter, a blog post, or on a Pinterest page.
Both content curation and creation have their place, but they each achieve different objectives. Content curation works like a floodlight, illuminating anything relevant that’s in sight.
Content creation is works more like a spotlight. It highlights only the content that is the most interesting and relevant to your audience because you’re custom tailoring it specifically to their needs.
To be sure, content curation is cheaper than content creation. Programs like Storify, Scoop.it and Paper.li (which we talked about last week) have made collating interesting copy as easy as point and click. For B2B marketers, content curation can be a great way of tapping into the vast amount of information on the internet and winnowing it down to what is relevant to you and to your client base. Once you’ve completed the selection process, you then repackage it and pass it on. You get new content, and the content creators get more views.
But is curated content really enough to keep your audience captivated? If it seems like the same ideas are being regurgitated over and over by everyone in your industry, it may not be. Your communities are craving something original, and you should be the one to step up to the plate and provide it.
Content curation is a convenient and cost-effective way to keep people informed about your industry, but when it comes to driving home sales and communicating the benefits of your brand, nothing beats unique, targeted content.
In short, content curation won’t replace content creation. And content creation need not be your sole source of fresh content. Used together, these two tools are powerful.
