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On this date…

…something exceptional happened.

What, you may ask? Well – there’s always SOMETHING – google it and you’ll get a huge list of big moments on any given date.

How about this week – listen to the song I’ve chosen, and see how you can tie it in to our weekly theme, and perhaps some specific event. Deal? I’d love to hear your thoughts!

Now give this song by Tom Petty a listen with me as we see what the experts are saying this week!

B2B Flip-flop

Since I started my career in marketing I’ve seen what I call the B2B flip-flop happen every year. Usually starts in January, when sales complains that a) we don’t get enough leads from marketing or b) we don’t get enough QUALITY leads from marketing. Strategies are developed, lead definitions changed, and marketing initiatives engaged! That’s the flip.

Then, invariably, 2-4 months later, based on feedback from sales, the strategy is reversed. That’s the flop. It’s a very reactive strategy, and unfortunately – this misalignment between sales and marketing continues all these years later.

Do you have anyone in your B2B life that causes you all sorts of grief because of their shortsightedness? Maybe it’s a business partner with too much focus on revenue and an ignorance of what’s best and ‘right’ for the organization. Maybe it’s a client focusing on immediate results and not thinking about the longer-term benefits.

According to Clayton Christensen, that’s a dangerous way to build a strategy:

“In your life, there are going to be constant demands for your time and attention. How are you going to decide which of those demands gets resources? The trap many people fall into is to allocate their time to whoever screams loudest, and their talent to whatever offers them the fastest reward.“

Seth Godin says that,

“when you hustle a colleague or a friend, they can tell. They can tell that you’re being selfish, angling for a short-term win and trading something precious for something now.“

So as you plan for 2023 and kick off the new year, keep these things in mind. As we know, sales and marketing programs – especially in B2B – take time. If you don’t give your programs a chance to run before you pivot, then you’ll never be able to ramp up properly and achieve any real success.

What’s in Your Junk Drawer?

On this date in 1839, daguerreotype was announced and became the first publicly available process of photography. (See? I can google too!) For the following 20 years daguerreotype was the most commonly used process – but of course, we know that photography processes have changed many times since.

I was cleaning out my ‘old tech’ drawer the other day – the place where old phones, external drives, and media players go to die. It’s astounding when I think about all of the different pieces of technology I embraced (and then subsequently tossed when they became obsolete). And even more astounding when I start tallying my total spend on these gadgets!

Do you have a tech ‘junk’ drawer? Is it because we’re tech enthusiasts and innovators and just want to try the coolest new gadget? According to Vox, it’s partly because our tech stuff is just plain worse now – and the cult of consumerism has ushered in an era of badly made products. Amen! And don’t get me started on trying to get support or return a tech product nowadays…

And if you’re a tech geek like me, you’ll appreciate this video of rare and bizarre media types. Long play microgroove? 500k floppy disks? LaserDiscs!! Check it out here. How many of these are in YOUR junk drawer?

How does this impact B2B? No matter how awesome and revolutionary your technology is, use these bygone technologies as a reminder – markets change, your customers’ needs change, and technology changes. Don’t rest on your laurels to become the disruptor that gets disrupted – always be innovating!

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