What Do B2B Marketers Do Now? is an ongoing email. Join the mailing list to be the first to receive these weekly insights!

Do you ever get that feeling? Like you’ve been here before? Or someone says something that triggers a ‘déjà vu’ moment? I think we all have these moments. As I type this intro, I am getting that same nagging feeling again…

Give this classic Aerosmith song a listen with me as we see what the experts are saying this week.

PLG – Same Old Story?

You’ve probably heard of Product-Led-Growth (PLG) – how about Product Qualified Leads (PQLs)? If this is all new to you, check out this primer on PQLs and PLG.

But is it just a new acronym for something we’ve already been doing as marketers? Is it just the same old story with a new name? One could say the same about ABM. Regardless, if you’re following a PLG marketing strategy, our friends at breadcrumbs.io have outlined the top pitfalls to avoid:

  • Focusing on the wrong marketing metrics
  • Writing too much content to drive awareness
  • Burying new product features
  • Assuming customers recognize the value of your product right away
  • Neglecting customer feedback

What do you think? Is PLG an opportunity to change your direction in B2B marketing? Or is it all the same to you?

COVID Touring – Same Old Song & Dance?

Last year we saw many live music tours start back up, only to be cancelled by another COVID wave. With Coachella just completing two sold-out weekends at full capacity and without any masking or vax requirements, promoters like AEG and Live Nation are touting a ‘return to normal’ in ticket sales for 2022 events.

But at the same time, I’m seeing increasing numbers of announcements of tour ‘pauses’ from bands on the road. They are cancelling shows, abandoning tours, while sick and/or stuck in quarantine far from home.

Consider what catching COVID on the road means for a touring musician. Aside from the health risks, there is lost income and potentially very heavy debt. All the committed expenses of a tour remain: travel bookings, visas, vehicles, band, crew, equipment, merch… but without any earnings to offset them.

The contrast between what musicians are going through and Live Nation’s claim of a “normal pace and cadence” of touring is so extreme! You would have to see touring as completely separate from the musicians who do it to find this in any way normal. And if your business is only about selling tickets, food & drink, advertising, branding, and attracting capital investment… then do the musicians even play much of a role?

Is this just how the industry has always been? Is the Coachella festival itself the draw for attendees, or the acts performing? Is your B2B event the draw, or are your speakers and exhibitors? The sooner you figure this out, the sooner you can avoid the same old…

As always, don’t hesitate to call me to brainstorm or just say hello.

Looking forward,
Rick

Rick Endrulat, President | ricke@v-causeway.com | www.linkedin.com/in/rickendrulat