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What is it about rainy summer days? Seems like we’ve had more than our fair share of them this year.

They’re even more annoying when you’re at the beach, the lake, the cottage, the summer home… and it’s during your holidays! Sure, it’s better weather to work, but when you’re somewhere vacationing – staying inside feels extra torturous. Then you just sit on the couch being comfortably numb as you scroll through socials or TV shows… which you can do at home anyway!

Give this song by Pink Floyd a listen as we see what the experts are saying this week.

Streaming Paralysis

Last week I talked about cutting through the noise in the B2B world. This past week, all I’ve seen are articles drawing me right back to that concept. Take this offering from Nielsen (the company that measures TV ratings), for example.

How many times have you logged in to your streaming platforms and endlessly cycled through Netflix, Amazon Prime, Apple TV+… and were left feeling down when you still couldn’t find anything to watch? Seems impossible, doesn’t it?

Well, this kind of paralysis is apparently common, and Nielsen says that it’s a real problem. In just three short years, the amount of content available to TV viewers has grown by more than 1.1 million individual programs. As a result, it’s typical for someone to spend up to 10-and-a-half minutes trying to find something to watch… and as many as 20% of viewers, overwhelmed by the sheer volume of choices, give up and go do something else instead.

And then there’s this: “60% of time spent streaming in May 2023 was dedicated to programming that first aired on linear channels. That’s up 5.2% from October 2022.” So shows like Grey’s Anatomy and Gilmore Girls are getting more playtime than made-for-streaming ones. This is just like what we see with music streaming, where people are spending more and more time with older music than anything contemporary.

How does this impact B2B? We should assume our own customers and prospects are facing a similar challenge – with all the content out there, they may be spinning their wheels – need some information, just the basic facts – and giving up when they can’t find any relevant information.

Hope you have a great (last) long weekend of the summer! And 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 Fighting Information Overload! 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!

If you’re like me (or my employees) you are trying to squeeze as much out of summer as possible. And hopefully, you’re enjoying the great outdoors this morning and not succumbing to the summertime blues… this week’s post will be short, and you’ll be back to your summer fun in no time!

Give this song by the Who a listen while we (briefly) see what the experts are saying this week…

Avoiding the Summer Slump

I was so optimistic a couple weeks ago. My clients seemed like they were proactively marketing through the summer months, and I was seeing some great activity. This past week? Not so much.

So – here are some ideas for you to get the juices flowing…

1. Focus on appointments vs. total revenue
2. Focus on referrals and upselling
3. Clean that database!
4. Refine your B2B content strategy
5. Focus on prospecting!!

See more details here and here.

Something our team has learned over the years – when you know a lot of people are gonna take two weeks off at these times, make a careful note of when your contact will be back and schedule a call in your CRM. And grab those contact names and emails mentioned in your prospects’ out-of-office notifications – build that database!!

Summer Touring is Booming…

…but smaller artists are singing the blues.

Over the course of the year, touring has rebounded into a booming and healthy business for touring acts. But while equipment is easier to come by, crew and vehicle shortages – along with “astronomical” prices – remain an issue for theatre and club acts on the road. These stings are felt especially by small and mid-range acts, who have to find ways to reduce costs in order to tour… or are cancelling tours altogether!

Check out this article. When you factor in revenue challenges from streaming, touring costs, and the additional effort required to stay on top of social media and build those connections with your fans… being a musician just to try to earn a dollar is not as easy or lucrative as many think!

What have you found in B2B? Have live events rebounded like they are for big musicians? Or are they still struggling alongside those smaller acts to make a comeback?

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 Squeeze the Most out of Summer (and Sales) appeared first on Virtual Causeway.