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When you think of sales, what do you think of: Herb Tarlek from WKRP (RIP Frank Bonner)? The Wolf of Wall Street? That person that sold you your last car? What do your customers think when they interact with YOUR sales team? As we know, it’s all about the experience…

Give this classic Jimi Hendrix track a listen with me, and let’s see what the experts are saying this week…

Driving ABM Success in 2021 – Are You Experienced?

We saw some great ABM content from #B2BMX last week. What will drive ABM success in 2021? Here are some highlights:

Experiential marketing and customization – We’ve mentioned ABX (Account-Based Experience) before, and Demandbase outlines how to use the F.I.R.E. methodology to streamline the target selection process:

• An account’s Fit into the organization’s ICP;
• The level of Intent a prospect is demonstrating;
• A review of the account Relationship; and
• An analysis of an account’s Engagement.

Research-backed content & personalized outreach – According to Orbit, the boundaries of the personal and the professional have eroded due to the pandemic. Marketing to an account without engaging each individual within that account in a genuine human way falls short. They also shared some tactical examples using digital marketing and account research:

• Customizing Content for Individuals – Research reports, surveys, e-books;
• Recalling First-Person Experiences – Speak to your own personal experiences 1:1; and
• Leveraging Social Media Data – Determine buying interest through social media activity.

Marketing teams must generate unique research that positions them as thought leaders while demonstrating the value of their solutions. Being human is no longer an option, it’s essential. Team members must be creative in finding ways to quickly connect – get your mind together, then come on across to your prospects.

Disco – Still Sucks?

I feel like I’ve given Dave Grohl a lot of airtime in these newsletters lately; he certainly knows how to stay top of mind. This story is a fun one – and definitely worth sharing! Foo Fighters are going to release a disco album as ‘The Dee Gees’ – what a great name. And the name of the album? “Hail Satin” (no, that’s not a typo… it’s Satin).

A lot of what I originally learned about disco was from my Sesame Street Fever album, American Bandstand, and watching WKRP episodes where disco was consistently insulted. This album, however, will be something I’ll check out – and it will include four Bee Gees covers.

Dave Grohl and the Foos consistently crack me up. Their sense of humour and general attitude of fun are awesome, and I think a lot of fans appreciate it. It reinforces how YOUR brand voice is important – and infusing personality and a sense of humour into your B2B sales and marketing can be a great way to get noticed. Because really, it’s all about the experience!

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

The post Building a Memorable Experience appeared first on Virtual Causeway.

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

What’s that saying – ‘You only get one chance to make a first impression?’ How many of us have had subpar sales experiences recently? That interaction with a salesperson can be the reason you do or don’t move forward! And unfortunately, many have negative perceptions and are skeptical about sales reps.

Give this song by the Lowest of the Low a listen with me as we see what the experts are saying this week:

Why Account-Based Experience (ABX) Matters

If you’ve been keeping up with our What Do B2B Marketers Do Now? (WDBMD) blog/webinar series, then you should know by now that I love Account-Based Marketing (ABM). As more of our customers leverage ABM in their go-to-market strategies, I find that they need reminding of how essential customer experience is in their account engagement!

ABX is a strategy that uses data and insights to orchestrate relevant, trusted Marketing and Sales actions throughout the B2B customer lifecycle. Aside from avoiding those nasty sales stereotypes (cue back to this week’s song), why is trust so important? Demandbase outlines five reasons why customer-centric thinking is critical for ABM success!

• The experience is the key driver of revenue, retention and satisfaction.
• ABX sells to the account, not the lead.
• ABX explicitly brings all revenue teams into the account-based world.
• It’s about reaching buying teams when they want to engage, not when they don’t.
• You work with modern buyers on their terms, and always based on trust.

Sometimes you’ll find that everybody’s so caught up in their ABM strategy, systems, and processes that they forget about the most important thing – the customer experience! ABX doesn’t invalidate ABM strategies – it simply takes best practices learned from ABM and codifies them under the more expansive principle of customer experience. Put your pedal down to the floor and get started!

Messaging and the Art of Repetition

There are three ways to end a song:

• Cold End – abrupt, defined, very clear the song is over.
• Last Chord – one final note that’s allowed to naturally fade away.
• Fade-out – the chorus or another catchy part of the song gets quieter and quieter into nothingness.

(Note: I have a variation to the last chord technique called the ‘trash can ending:’ basically, play that last chord as loud and as long as possible with as much noise as you can – think, car chase scene in a movie where one car ends up barreling into a pile of trash cans. )

So why did the fade-out become such a popular way to end a song? According to Alan Cross, the fade-out started in the 1950s, thanks to modern recording techniques and equipment. By fading out at the end of the song, performers didn’t have to come up with an ending! Plus – it was a great way to emphasize the chorus or hook of the song. By repeating the hook as the song ended, the hope was that the song would be burned into the listener’s brain. Or it could simply be more pragmatic – the fade-out allowed producers to end songs early, making them the ideal length for radio play.

As usual, I ask: How does this impact B2B?

As sales or marketing professionals, messaging is something we live and breathe. Depending on your audience, the medium/channel, and the message – the impression you want to leave with your clients can vary. Do you want your message to be that of a fast, aggressive punk rock song – with a cold end? Or do you want to fade out gracefully and leave that message in your prospect’s brain through all of that repetition?

Remember – repetition works. Repetition works.

Whatever your choice, make sure you are consistent with your brand voice, and that your senses – and your messaging – aren’t all disjointed.

As always, don’t hesitate to call me to brainstorm or just say hello. (And remember – repetition works!)

Looking forward,
Rick

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

The post Reputation and Repetition appeared first on Virtual Causeway.