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

This may be the last time you hear from me.

As you may know, the Smashing Pumpkins are looking for a new guitarist, and maybe it’s finally time to throw my hat in the ring. As of today, my Slack status has been officially changed to ‘Busy Practicing for my SP audition.’ What do you think…don’t quit my day job?

In the meantime, give this song by the Pumpkins a listen as I polish my guitar riffs for my audition! Oh – and let’s also see what the experts are saying this week…

Oversharing on LinkedIn

We all use LinkedIn in our daily business lives. When I first started using LinkedIn, it was a good way to stay in contact with your professional network. Over the years it has expanded and turned into an integral part of many professional lives. However, some would say that it’s become very noisy and losing its focus. Others say that it’s simply a forum for “self-actualizing virtue signaling.”

No matter your opinion on the platform, most would agree that oversharing on LinkedIn is getting worse. According to Forbes, this phenomenon isn’t new, and it could be that the lines have blurred – and many people consider those in their networks close personal friends and confidants!

Today, many professionals overshare almost like the public act of confession itself will remedy their situation. “Misery loves company” could be the simple answer for many, and they hope to use LinkedIn as a therapy session, or to receive emotional or concrete support that they may feel they don’t get in their personal lives. And some may overshare simply because they imagine they’re so important or interesting that others will be fascinated or concerned.

What do you think? Is this a case of (as this week’s song mentions) those who are desperate and displeased with whoever they are? Either way, I think it’s about balance. As in all things marketing, understanding your voice and your brand is important. How much you share – and how you share it – has an impact.

(Over) Sharing Pumpkins

What do you think about the Smashing Pumpkins’ public announcement of their guitarist search? The lucky person will replace Jeff Schroeder, who has been a touring guitarist with the band for 16 years. He left the gig back in October. Here’s the interesting (and inspiring) thing about Jeff – he got the gig while he was a student at UCLA. A friend messaged him with details of the job and said “You should apply, dude.” He did and he got it.

So what’s the deal with the announcement? Do you think they’re REALLY going to audition for the job? Are they searching for that hidden diamond you cannot find?

Or is this like that B2B tradeshow, where the winners of the raffle usually also happen to be the vendor’s biggest clients and prospects?

Maybe it’s a big PR stunt. Maybe I’ll never get my big break. Who knows? But they definitely got my attention!

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 The Value of Sharing (and Danger of Oversharing) on LinkedIn 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!

I’ve been feeling flustered lately.

Yes – more than usual. But it seems like I’m not alone. I’ve seen many articles talking about this ‘cognitive fog’ that more and more of us are experiencing recently.

When I’m feeling like I need to cut through that foggy and sedated feeling, music helps! And nothing kicks me in the ass like a good punk rock tune!

Give this song by the ‘Godfathers of Punk’ a listen as we see what the experts are saying this week!

B2B Buyer Fog

There are more Americans who say they have serious cognitive problems – with remembering, concentrating or making decisions – than at any time in the last 15 years, data from the Census Bureau shows. And it’s not just ‘older’ adults – a significant portion of the data relates to young adults.

There are many potential reasons for this – long COVID, over-reliance on devices for everyday/simple tasks, increased stress, etc. But it got me thinking about how this relates to B2B. Since I started my career, researchers have been telling us, year after year, that sales cycles are becoming longer and more complex. Perhaps this aligns to that reduced ability to make decisions?

I see this with my clients – especially this year, as we throw economic uncertainty into the mix. I’ve noticed a marked increase in ‘pushed’ deals and a general lack of decisive action as it relates to spending and budgets.

According to Seth Godin, perhaps a more powerful estimate or Statement of Work is the way to get some movement and overcome any pricing objections.

“If your estimate:

• is clear and easy to understand by the sort of people you’d like to have as clients
• if it demonstrates full understanding of the work to be done
• if it highlights alternatives
• if it includes examples of proven satisfaction when you’ve done this work for others
• and if it’s delivered ahead of schedule

…then you’ve restated the problem. You’ve brought the client along on the journey with you, and established that they’re not spending more for the same thing, they’re spending more for a better, safer, higher status, more reliable thing.”

This might not be scalable – but perhaps it’s time to look at the quality of your SOWs and quotes. When you provide a quote, you’re giving a teaser of the craft you do. So the high standard you have for your own work should be reflected! Otherwise, you could end up with nothin’ to do and nowhere to go as your bids lose out to the cheaper alternatives.

Stage Fog

As we know, COVID shut down live music for almost two years. Tours stopped, roadies lost their gigs, fog machines were shut down, and support staff were laid off. But once restrictions were lifted, the industry came back to life, albeit with a degree of difficulty. However – many roadies and musicians had already left the industry to pursue other careers to make ends meet.

The good news? This past summer has shown a return to the ‘before’ times for live music – huge shows, packed concerts and festivals, and record revenues.

But…

The industry is dealing with rising costs (as we all are). Plus, Gen Z (the lifeblood of so many live scenes) are reportedly drinking less at shows, putting a BIG kink in an important revenue stream: smaller venues greatly depend largely on bar sales for survival, so there’s cause for worry.

And merch cuts are increasing. To compensate for higher costs and lower alcohol sales, venues are demanding that they get a greater percentage of merchandise sales – impacting revenue for the artist.

I think we all realize higher prices are here to stay – so what will the new reality be in the live music scene? According to Alan Cross, fans will have to make a choice between saving up their money to see a big act or using that same cash to see multiple smaller shows. Residencies are becoming popular with big artists – once you get to the airport and put yourself on a plane (and in a hotel room), it can cost a small fortune!

Impact on B2B? Inflation and interest rates are prompting everyone to look at their discretionary spending. Entertainment is usually one of the first things that gets cut. How will these concerns impact YOUR clients’ spending?

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 Cutting Through the Fog of Sales Objections 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!

Have you ever gone to a movie and realized halfway through that it wasn’t going to get any better? You tell yourself to just get up and leave, but you don’t. Come on – this has happened to all of us…

Why do we stay?

Give this appropriately named song by the Clash a listen as we see what the experts are saying this week.

Why You Stay When You Should Go

Sunk cost fallacy – it can cripple your decision-making. It’s when one is reluctant to abandon a strategy or course of action because they’ve invested heavily in it, even when it’s clear that abandonment would be more beneficial.

We’ve all seen examples of this in B2B – how many times have we seen a sales rep that won’t let a deal go no matter how many times the close date is pushed? What about those leads that you hang onto – continually marketing to them, adding them to drip campaigns, and engaging in multiple qualification conversations that just don’t go anywhere!

So why can’t we let go?

Victor Antonio says there are 3 possible reasons:

• Sunk Cost: The longer you stay the more you’re delaying moving on to something more productive or fulfilling. If you go there could be trouble… but if you stay it will be double! So be honest with yourself: how much more are you losing by sticking around?
• Need for Closure: Life is full of mysteries; it’s always tease, tease, tease. Learn to accept that you don’t have to know the outcome, you simply have to know that it’s not for you. Focus on what YOU can control: your ability to walk away!
• FOMO: Ask yourself, “Even if things did change, is the outcome really worth holding on to? Is the juice worth the squeeze?” If it’s something you believe in strongly, then yes, hold on! Fight for it! But if you’ve decided you’ll be here till the end of time ‘just in case’… that’s never a good strategy.

We need to rewire our thinking. Don’t let your biases hold you back! I’ve always believed that it’s just as important to DISqualify a prospect as it is to qualify one. Otherwise, we run the risk of expensive outreach and marketing efforts that take us nowhere.

Other Lessons from The Clash

Our ‘musical guest’ this week – the Clash – were trendsetters in their time. There are many articles about the way the band was promoted and their rise in popularity… But what else can we learn from them?

This article is fun, and talks about what the Clash can teach us about B2B copywriting. It’s all about AUTHENTICITY – which, especially in this age of AI-generated content, is something that can be lacking. The Clash were told by their manager, “Write about what’s affecting you, what’s important.”

Maybe this is how you can stand out from your peers – and really produce content that resonates with your audience! What’s affecting them? What’s important to your leads and customers? Figure that out first, then come on and let them know that you’ve got what they need!

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 Know When to Abandon Ship on Your Leads 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 scares you? What challenges or obstacles from your professional life occupy your dreams (or haunt your nightmares)?

Hopefully handing over the reins for this week’s blog post won’t keep Rick up at night…

I’m Marlene Keay, and I’ve worked with Rick at Virtual Causeway for 16 years, managing hundreds of lead generation campaigns that help our clients’ sales and marketing teams achieve success!

Give this Freddy-inspired song by Dokken a listen as we share some tricks that help our team and clients sleep soundly and treat you to what the experts are saying this week.

Meeting No-Shows – The Stuff of Nightmares

Those prospects that have committed to meet with you – they look like a great lead on paper – persona, ICP, need, and pain. You’ve done your homework and are all set. You’re a pro, so you join a few minutes early and then… wait… and wait. What happened? Where are they? What do you do now?

With so many virtual meeting platforms used every day our computers just can’t seem to keep up. Use this as an opportunity to serve your potential customer and give them a call directly. We suggest waiting 5-7 minutes and then reaching out by phone.

Here are our top tips for scheduling meetings so that maybe tonight they won’t be gone:

• Schedule calls as soon as possible, preferably within 5 business days.
• Follow up if the prospect hasn’t accepted your invite within 24 hours of sending.
• Call the prospect rather than having them join a conference bridge.
• Send a reminder a few hours before the scheduled meeting time.
• Use a strong, direct, prospect-centric title in your calendar invite – not “follow-up” or “check-in.”
• Sell the meeting, not the product! Focus on the value of investing their time in meeting with you, not more product features. For example, “My colleague Don will join this call and he is an expert in companies going through similar challenges as you.”
• Avoid scheduling calls during high no-show rate times like Monday AM and Friday PM. Track your own data as there may be differences based on the industry and the role (such as avoiding meetings with finance roles at month-end).
• Develop a process for rescheduling “ghosted” meetings. In my experience, you’ll be able to reschedule 50-75% of the no-shows.

What do you think? What strategies have you found work to make your meetings stick? If you have some ideas, come my way and let me know – I’d love to hear them!

How to Scare a B2B Marketer

According to this article from MarketingWeek, the number that strikes fear into the hearts of B2B CMOs is… 16%.

The LinkedIn Customer Insights Team recently analyzed the sales and marketing overlap of 7,046 companies, and found that the average overlap between marketing and sales reach is only 16%. That means in most companies each department is talking to a different buyer.

So how do you break the spell? When sales and marketing overlap, performance booms. The data shows that buyers are much more likely to respond to sellers if they’ve been exposed to marketing within the last 30 days. In fact, on average, they’re 19% more likely to accept a LinkedIn connection request and 15% more likely to open an InMail message from sales.

Don’t leave your sales and marketing teams standing in the night alone. The LinkedIn analysis found that high alignment can increase marketing-generated revenue by 208%, increase customer retention by 36%, and reduce sales and marketing expenses. Now those numbers will help you sleep well tonight!

Horror Movie Songs to Give You a Fright

Do you have your Halloween playlist ready? Horror movies and heavy music just go together so well, don’t they? So get your speaker ready to play these horror movie songs guaranteed to scare you (and the neighbours) this Halloween!

And don’t hesitate to call me (Marlene!) to brainstorm or just say hello!

Looking forward,
Marlene

Marlene Keay, Senior Project Manager, Client Services | marlenek@v-causeway.com | www.linkedin.com/in/marlenekeay

The post The Haunting of Meeting-Ghost House 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!

Can we build it up?

With Halloween only a week away, there’s a race to close out Q4 strong. While the pressure to meet year-end goals can be intense, it’s also a time to reflect on the progress made throughout the year and rally the team for a final push. Keeping a positive and motivated mindset is essential to tackle the challenges that come with closing out the year.

Give this song by Rival Sons a listen and see what the experts are saying this week.

The Power of Video & Animation

Last week we talked about the power of the human voice in the buyer’s journey – what about video? Simply put, being able to tell and show at the same time helps your audience understand better and stick around to hear more of your message. Seems like the perfect balance between that human voice and digital touch, right?

Our friends at Flikli explain that we absorb 80% of the information we see in visuals (as opposed to only 20% from reading). When you couple this innate preference for visuals with the dynamic, colourful nature of animated videos, it’s no surprise that they attract and hold attention more effectively than textual content: human beings are predominantly visual creatures.

So what other characteristics does video have that increase engagement?

• Simplicity: processing ease and enjoyment
• Emotion: creating connection and driving action
• Narrative: storytelling for memory enhancement
• Novelty: tapping into curiosity

Next time you’re looking for a compelling and interesting tactic for your marketing, maybe it’s time to try video or animation. It’s unique, spans both the human and digital channels and hopefully works for your money and earns its keep!

The Power of (Cloned) Voice???

There’s a new bootleg war – and it involves human voices!

The Recording Industry Association of America recently released its annual Notorious Markets List, which it submits to the US Trade Representative in hopes that the American government will do something about it. It names countries that are either ignoring the theft of music or not doing enough to combat it.

This year, the list cites a new problem: voice clones.

The year 2023 saw an eruption of unauthorized AI vocal clone services that infringe not only the rights of the artists whose voices are being cloned but also the rights of those that own the sound recordings in each underlying musical track. This has led to an explosion of unauthorized derivative works of our members’ sound recordings which harm sound recording artists and copyright owners.

Only one site is mentioned by name: a cloning service designed by a 20-year-old computer science student in the UK. Voicify.ai features vocal models of artists like Michael Jackson, Justin Bieber, Ariana Grande, Taylor Swift, Elvis Presley, Bruno Mars, Eminem, Harry Styles, Adele, Ed Sheeran and many others – and even goes beyond the music industry to include the likes of Obama, Trump, and Biden! Within seconds, anyone can have any one of these people say or sing anything you’d like.

Is this illegal? It’s unclear. The law has a lot of catching up to do when it comes to artificial intelligence.

What do you think? With pressure and time, some countries will likely introduce legislation around this… but maybe not everywhere. How might that affect the B2B landscape?

As always, don’t hesitate to call me to brainstorm or just say hello. Or even better, have one of the above artists or celebrities say hello on your behalf!

Looking forward,
Rick

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

The post Voice and Video – Better Together 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 your Sunday night ritual? Many of us have them, and hopefully, yours isn’t just sitting at home feeling anxious about the upcoming work week!

Growing up, Sunday nights in my household were all about television – and Disney! I know much of my generation had the same experience – and developed a strong emotional connection to that brand.

The rest of the week the television would have spiderwebs on it – it’s hard to believe how limited screen time was growing up. But Sunday nights were special…

Give this song a listen and ‘no doubt’ you’ll see what the experts are saying this week!

The Power of Voice

I am a huge proponent of multi-touch sales and marketing motions – blending digital and human touches throughout the Buyer’s Journey. How do best-in-class organizations use the power of voice in their processes?

It’s all about building trust and relationships. Unlike emails or online ads, which often feel impersonal and are easily ignored, a phone call allows for real-time interaction between sales representatives and potential customers.

Where can a human voice add extra value in your sales and marketing activities?

Qualifying Prospects – In B2B marketing, identifying qualified leads is crucial for maximizing sales efforts and resources. Human touch plays a vital role in this process by allowing businesses to qualify prospects more effectively than other channels. This real-time, two-way conversation helps determine whether a lead is genuinely interested or just browsing. Interestingly, only a small number of web-generated leads are ever contacted by a real person – why is that?

Customer Feedback – By engaging in direct conversations with existing customers, businesses can gain valuable insights into their experiences, pain points, and suggestions for improvement. This feedback loop allows you to identify areas where you excel and areas requiring improvement or innovation – and is crucial for ensuring your business is meeting your target audience’s needs effectively.

If you think that you connect and the chemistry’s correct with your prospects, don’t just send out digital touches and presume they like what they hear… Get them on the phone! Have that two-way conversation! And if they don’t pick up, leave a message and call them back.

Lessons from The Voice

If you’re a fan of Gwen Stefani (or her band, No Doubt), then you’re probably familiar with the TV show The Voice.

If you’re not familiar, an aspiring singer will take the stage, and four superstars from the music industry (each from a different genre) will sit in chairs facing away. Each of them has a button, and they evaluate the performance on sound alone. If they’re impressed, they’ll hit their button, and their chair will spin around so they can face the performer. The goal is to form a team of student performers that will eventually compete against the teams of the other music industry stars.

So – what B2B lessons can we learn from this show?

• Be excellent – do your job well!
• Know your audience
• Remove biases
• Supplier power – (for those of us who are fans of Porter’s 5 Forces)
• Salesmanship

Shows like this can be a treasure trove of business cases and leadership lessons!

What do you think? Are you a fan of the show? If so, maybe you’ve gleaned some other lessons from it. I’d love to hear them!

As always, don’t hesitate to call me to brainstorm or just say hello. And if I don’t answer, just leave a message and I’ll call you back!

Looking forward,
Rick

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

The post There’s Sales Strength in Voice 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!

Who does your dirty work?

Okay, maybe not ‘dirty work’ – but who helps you get stuff done? Sure – we have co-workers and employees – but what about those contractors, vendors, and freelancers that make things happen on a daily basis? How often do we give thanks to them?

Give this song by Steely Dan a listen as we see what the experts are saying this week!

Strategic Alliances: Who can get the job done?

The band Steely Dan was famous in the ’70s not only for their hit songs… but the two primary songwriters, Walter Becker and Donald Fagen, developed the band to the point where THEY WERE the band – and would surround themselves with the best of the best studio musicians for recording and touring. The result? Some of the most technically proficient music of their era, fusing jazz, soul, R&B, and rock.

This strategic alliances play is a lot more common in B2B than in the world of music. In fact, MarketingProfs outlines some of the benefits and risks of strategic alliances:

Benefits:

1. Access to new markets
2. Shared resources and expertise
3. Cost savings
4. Competitive advantage

Risks:

1. Coordination and integration challenges
2. Sharing confidential information
3. Dependency on partners
4. Potential conflicts of interest

Shifting to rely more heavily on strategic alliances – whether as a business or as a band – is a big decision. It’s important to weigh the pros and cons carefully, as Becker and Fagen probably did. Do you rely on these alliances in your business? How do you find yourself somebody who can do the job?

Song Lyrics: What are you searching for?

Are you the kind of person who searches for song lyrics? This survey comes from a site called Word List Finder. It focuses on American searches for song lyrics – and it’s super interesting. (And for my fellow Canadians – they insist that we search for country lyrics more than any other genre!)

These are the most-searched song lyrics in America:

1. Queen, “Bohemian Rhapsody”
2. Eagles, “Hotel California”
3. Eminem, “Lose Yourself”
4. Michael Jackson, “Billie Jean”
5. Dolly Parton, “Jolene”
6. Don McLean, “American Pie”
7. Backstreet Boys, “I Want It That Way”
8. Led Zeppelin, “Stairway to Heaven”
9. Taylor Swift, “Love Story”
10. Britney Spears, “Toxic”

And how about some lists by genre? Indie Rock:

1. alt-J, “Breezeblocks”
2. Mac DeMarco, “Chamber of Reflection”
3. Phoebe Bridgers, “Motion Sickness”
4. Violet Femmes, “Blister in the Sun”
5. Neutral Milk Hotel, “In the Aeroplane Over the Sea”

Punk:

1. Talking Heads, “Psycho Killer”
2. Green Day, “American Idiot”
3. Green Day, “Basket Case”
4. The Clash, “Should I Stay or Should I Go”
5. The Clash, “Rock the Casbah”

Rock:

1. Queen, “Bohemian Rhapsody”
2. Eagles, “Hotel California”
3. Don McLean, “American Pie”
4. Led Zeppelin, “Stairway to Heaven”
5. AC/DC, “Black in Black”

Check out the article for breakdowns by other genres, too.

What about B2B? Unless you’re like me and inserting lyrical references into a weekly blog like a thousand times before, you’re probably not searching for song lyrics for work. But what are you searching for? Probably things to help you in your work: software, services, or those strategic partners.

Perhaps more importantly, what are other people searching for? And if it’s you, how are you making sure they find you?

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 Searching for that Special Someone 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!

Traveling back into the city after spending some days in the country (or in my case, at the lake) is always a shock. The noise – it hits me hard! You don’t realize it until you’ve been away from it. Eventually, it turns into background noise, but it’s quite a shock at first.

How do you handle all the business noise out there – are your sales teams able to cut through to their prospects?

Whether you’re in the mean streets of the city or the relative tranquility of a quiet weekend getaway, give this song by Van Halen a listen as we see what the experts are saying this week.

Cutting Through the Noise

Simply getting on prospects’ radar is a major hurdle in B2B lead gen today. Every channel is clogged with marketing – both good and bad – and marketers are challenged to make the most of their automation investments and create content that connects.

Over the past month or so, I’ve been saving cold emails I’ve received from vendors trying to sell me stuff – and it’s been horrible. I see so many of the same subject lines over and over from different senders – are they so lazy that they all just use the same templates from their sales and marketing tech? Like Van Halen says, I see the same old faces and I hear that same old talk.

So how do you cut through the noise and get in front of those prospects? Some say intent data is the answer… but what kind? First, second, and third party intent data all have specific advantages and disadvantages – and it comes down to four factors: accuracy, cost, control, and quantity.

This infographic explains the pros and cons of each and helps you understand which one is best for meeting your business objectives.

My experience with second and third party intent data has been… iffy. Maybe you’ve had a different experience? But anything you can do to break the routine and reach the right person with the right message at the right time is key – and an integrated campaign with both human and digital touches is the way to go!

Spotify’s White Noise

I stumbled on this super interesting article the other day. As you may know, Spotify acquired the podcast creation app Anchor in 2019 in an attempt to scale their podcast business quickly. Now over 40% of all podcasts are being hosted on that platform. In particular, one segment of users found massive success with Spotify’s tools: white noise creators.

As of January, white noise and ambient podcasts accounted for 3 million daily consumption hours on the platform, inadvertently boosted by Spotify’s own algorithmic push for “talk” content (versus music).

Once Spotify realized how much attention was going to white noise podcasts, the company considered a move that would redirect audiences to comparable programming that was more economical for Spotify, boosting the platform’s gross profit by up to $38 million annually.

Spotify says they haven’t moved forward with this plan… though podcasters say their podcasts have vanished from their accounts and their downloads have dropped dramatically.

Spotify’s challenge with white noise podcasts mirrors a similar conversation happening in the music world. Universal Music Group and Warner Music have both voiced their displeasure at the fact that songs filled with noise are paid out of the same royalty pool shared by their superstars.

But what Spotify and these music giants don’t seem to realize about the biggest streaming platform’s push into podcasts: taking listeners’ time away from Drake or Taylor Swift (or Van Halen) removes them from the music ecosystem long before they’re driven to white noise soundscapes!

Are you seeing something similar in B2B? Our prospects are always searching for the latest thing, and that could be you. But if you’re having trouble getting in front of them, maybe what’s pulling their attention away is something you hadn’t even thought to watch out for!

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 B2B Messaging: Cutting Through the Noise 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.

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

Summer’s here!

Wow – can you believe we’re halfway through the year already? Feels like just yesterday we were working through our 2023 sales and marketing plans! Are you sailing into the summer with confidence, or are you constantly under pressure?

Give this song by Queen (and David Bowie) a listen as we hear what the experts are saying this week.

Stats/Trends – Knowing what this world is about

Q2 is almost wrapped. How are your sales and marketing activities trending?

As you know, I started this weekly email/blog during the pandemic to share stats, successes, and trends during turbulent times. I feel like it’s been too long since I’ve shared some actionable and tactical sales and marketing stats from my sources.

So here are some quick data points that you may find useful:

• The most effective channel for RDR (Revenue Development Rep) to engage a B2B buyer? Phone – 53%. Email – 36%. InMail, Social Media, and Website Chat all under 5%. Text (SMS) still under 1%.
• B2B buyer’s journey continues to stretch out. More than half of B2B purchases take longer than four months, and buyers engage in an average of 17 interaction types. Compared to just a year ago, 67% of B2B marketers say buyers are taking longer to commit to a purchase!
• Only 53% of sales professionals said that their organization’s sales tech stack aids productivity and positively impacts results. WOW! That’s a depressing statistic – with all the marketing and sales tech out there, how is this possible?

(Thanks to #forrb2bsummit and my awesome colleagues here at Virtual Causeway for sharing their data.)

Do these surprise you? What are you finding in your organization? Longer buying cycles, more buyer interactions, under-appreciated tech stacks… That’s a lot of pressure on people – how are you coping?

More Catalog Sales – Never rains but it pours

I’ve been closely following artists as they’ve sold their song catalogues over the past few years – seems like a way for many (aging?) artists to capitalize on the revenue potential of their songs as their touring and recording years dwindle.

Looks like Queen is in talks to sell their catalogue for the largest sum yet! As of now, Bruce Springsteen is the leader, having sold his song catalogue for around $500 million last year. If the rumours are true, Queen could sell their catalogue for over $1 billion!

Are these valuations getting ridiculous, or is there really that much value in their catalogues? In B2B, we see company valuations (especially in tech) that sometimes make us shake our heads, but if someone is willing to pay…

Many artists and bands might be feeling pressure pushin’ down to sell their catalogues. But with this price tag? Seems like a pretty easy choice!

Want to see the whole list of artists who have sold all or some of their catalogue? Here’s the running list compiled by fellow Canadian Alan Cross.

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 B2B Trends: When it Rains, it Pours! appeared first on Virtual Causeway.