3. #C2C14!
§ 93% of us Use Content Marketing!
§ 73% have Someone in Charge!
§ B2B Marketers, on average, use:!
§ 13 tactics!
§ 6 social media platforms!
§ 73% ARE CREATING MORE CONTENT!
§ Bigger Budget Allocation!
Here’s how far IN we are…!
@ardath421
2014 B2B Marketing Benchmarks, Budgets & Trends Study – CMI, Marketing Profs!
6. #C2C14!
§ What if we can’t reach our customers?!
§ 66% convinced there’s no success
without a digital strategy!
Why It Matters!
@ardath421
Adobe
Digital
Distress
Report
8. #C2C14!
Change Must Happen!
§ Buyer’s Want…!
!
Relevance & Value!
!
New Ideas & Expertise!
!
Insight to Solving Problems!
!
Less vendor bias!
!
No pitches!
§ Marketers Still…!
Talk About Products!
!
Say the Same Old Stuff!
!
Elaborate About Features!
!
Promote themselves endlessly!
!
Pass Contacts off as Leads!
@ardath421
9. #C2C14!
How Are YOU Different?!
@ardath421
Company Strength!
CustomerNeeds!
Distinct Value!
The inflection point where what
you sell intersects with what
your customers care about.!
10. #C2C14!
Corporate Speak is Not It!
About page: (What they do)!
…world’s leading enterprise for business process
and document management!
!
But what their homepage says is: (What you get)!
How can Xerox simplify your business in ways you
might not expect?!
@ardath421
11. #C2C14!
Corporate message: (What they do)!
Teradata is the world’s leading provider of data warehousing, big data
analytics and marketing solutions. !
Distinct Value Represented: (What Customers Get)!
@ardath421
12. #C2C14!
Personas Are Active Tools!
A composite sketch of a target
market based on commonalities
relevant to what they care about
that you can act upon.!
!
Personas must focus on insights
that can:!
• Inform messaging!
• Architect stories!
• Prolong engagement!
• Build credibility!
• Accelerate momentum!
@ardath421
13. #C2C14!
First
Person
Scenarios
ObjecAves
OrientaAon
Obstacles
Problem
PresentaAon
QuesAons
Engagement
Scenarios
Elements of Active Personas!
@ardath421
14. #C2C14!
Product Manager - Pete!
ObjecAves
• Sell-‐through
• AdopAon
• RetenAon
• ConAnuous
Improvement
OrientaAon
• Heavy
Influencer
• Not
a
risk
taker
• Social
Lurker
• 10
yrs
in
career
Obstacles
• Must
convince
others
• Boss
can
say
no
• Must
steal
budget
Problems
• Churn
for
X
• Customers
aren’t
fully
adopAng
X
• Issues
with
X
As
the
product
manager
of
a
mature
category,
I
struggle
with
how
to
keep
buyers
using
X
with
so
much
compeAAon.
Product
lifecycles
have
become
shorter
and
it’s
making
forecasts
challenging.
Harry,
over
in
department
A
has
a
cool
new
product
and
gets
more
budget
than
me.
But
I
believe
in
this
product
and
know
our
customers
used
to.
What
I
need
is
to
figure
out
how
to
increase
renewals
and
what
will
make
the
value
a
must-‐have
for
our
customers.
@ardath421
15. #C2C14!
Using Questions Effectively!
@ardath421
Product Manager has a BIG question:!
How do I increase renewals for X?!
!
Small Q&A:!
How can I get customers to keep using X?!
What product improvements will help?!
How can I improve cross-sell with shorter lifecycles?!
!
16. #C2C14!
Create the Dialogue!
@ardath421
How
can
I
get
customers
to
keep
using
X?
How
adapAve
guidance
can
help
increase
customer
retenAon
by
X
%
and
amplify
customer
saAsfacAon
That
sounds
promising,
but
I
need
to
know
how
to
improve
the
product…
Gain
insights
from
customer
feedback
to
improve
product
design
and
increase
customer
lifeAme
CompeAtors
are
launching
products
so
fast
that
it’s
hard
to
meet
sell-‐through
forecasts
How
customer
service
contributes
to
customer
retenAon
–
even
with
shorter
product
lifecycles
20. #C2C14!
Metrics Must Show Movement!
• Time
spent
on
content
• Viewing
“see
also”
content
• Frequency
• Self-‐propelled
vs.
click
driven
Engagement
• Replies
to
messaging
• Posts
comments
or
quesAons
• Shares
your
content
with
peers
• Invites
conversaAons
Response
• Shows
concentraAon
on
a
specific
problem
or
objecAve
• Makes
progress
from
stage
to
stage
• Pace
of
progress
increases
• Agrees
to,
or
iniAates,
sales
conversaAon
Intent
@ardath421
21. #C2C14!
Ex 1: Unexpected Outcomes!
• Helped to grow database!
• Provided suggestions for content!
• Thank you replies serve as conversation starters!
• Initiated sales meetings!
• Forward from boss!
• Based on ideas in content!
!
Nurture Program based on monthly touches across 4 personas
with an extremely long sales cycle for a purchase in the 10s of
millions.!
@ardath421
22. #C2C14!
Ex 2: Re-Start a Mid-Funnel Stall!
@ardath421
Consistency and
continuity makes a
difference.!
!
If buyers stall, pick
up where you left
off when they were
active.!
!
Connect the dots
to create
MOVEMENT!!
23. #C2C14!
§ Figure out Your Company’s Distinct Value!
§ Review your personas as “active” tools!
§ Isolate the BIG questions for each persona!
§ Are you answering the small questions that lead to the BIG one?!
§ Convert One-off Campaigns into Stories for the Longer Term!
§ Identify Metrics that Show Movement!
What You Do Next!
