It’s the most wonderful time of the year!
For B2B marketers, this time of year means a lot of things — wrapping up 2015, planning for the new year, executing holiday campaigns… the list goes on.
And while marketers are plugging away at their “to do” lists, they’re probably thinking of another list — a list of items that would make their job that much easier.
Behold, a holiday wish list for B2B marketers — add your suggestions in the comments!
1. Greater productivity
Since humans have yet to tap into the space-time continuum and figure out a way to add more hours to a day, B2B marketers are swamped. Consequently, we’re always trying to figure out a way to streamline our processes and 10x productivity.
2. Better data
You probably don’t need more data. You probably need better data.
Data the fuel to your B2B marketing strategy. It will help inform your content strategy, and work out inefficiencies in your funnel. (Learn more about data-driven content marketing in our free eBook).
3. More high quality leads
Of course, we want to crush our targets. But generating more leads isn’t always the answer — generating more high-quality leads is what we really want.
From your method of capturing new contacts to the moment you hand off that list of qualified leads, there are several steps to ensure Sales is reaching out to the right prospects with the highest probability of success and potential impact on revenue — it’s crucial for B2B organizations to get this process right.
4. Audience mind reading
Of course, this one’s a little bit ridiculous, but imagine being able to know exactly what your audience wanted from your content.
HubSpot’s Anum Hussain suggests interviewing a sample of your audience to better understand their goals and motivations and help accelerate the growth of your B2B blog. What strategies do you use to understand your audience?
5. Easy content strategy documentation
There’s no right way to document your content strategy, but there is a wrong way: not documenting it at all. Only 30% of B2B marketers say their organization is effective at content marketing. Documentation of your content marketing goals, processes and metrics is key to content marketing effectiveness.
6. Peace with the Sales team
Marketing and Sales: why can’t we all just get along?
SMarketing is possible, but it takes a lot of effort and dedication from both teams. Scheduling regular SMarketing meetings, asking each other the right questions, and empowering Sales with the right content is a great way to start.
7. Integrated tools
Dear Santa, I don’t want just one tool, I want one tool that works with everything.
This is part of the reason why choosing content marketing software for your organization is so difficult — the tools you want must work within your marketing stack.
8. A content forward culture
Today’s organizations are embracing content from every corner. It’s crucial to get buy-in from everyone, and encourage content production from your entire team.
Struggling to build the case for content marketing? Check out this great resource from Content Marketing Institute.
9. Influencer love
Getting on an influencer’s “nice list” is a great feeling. Even one tweet or content collaboration with an influencer can go a long way.
One of the biggest mistakes with influencer marketing is only reaching out when you need them. Focus on forming a relationship with the influencer first, then ask for their help.
10. Brand advocates
If you have customers who love your product or service, why aren’t you harnessing the power of that love?!
Advocate marketing is an especially great tactic for B2B marketing because you can recruit your advocates to help build case studies and other great content. If there’s one tool that should be on your holiday wish list, it’s Influitive.
11. An unlimited budget
What’s the first thing you’d do if your VP of Marketing handed you their credit card and said “sky’s the limit”?
When marketing budget is tight, it’s important to ensure you’re justifying your spend. In this webinar, Marketo’s VP of Demand Generation discusses how you can conquer the content ROI conundrum.
12. A killer content experience
Your content is only as good as the experience in which it lives. Give your content the gift of a great content experience — make sure it’s responsive, easy for the end user to navigate, and includes targeted and contextual CTAs.
‘Tis the season for gift giving
As you may have guessed from the image at the top of this blog post, we’ve got a special holiday surprise just for B2B marketers that we hope will a) help you grow into a better marketer, and b) let you have some fun this holiday season!
Starting on December 7th, 2015, we’ll be launching the 12 Days of Uberflippin’ Giveaways on our Holiday Hub.
Sign up to receive one free gift in your inbox on every business day until December 22nd!
