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What’s that smell? Smells like coffee.

It’s the way many of us start the morning – and especially on a soon-to-be busy Monday morning, the extra caffeine jolt is not only welcome but necessary!

Grab your beverage of choice, shut the door, and give this song by The Tragically Hip a listen as we see what the experts are saying this week.

Tired of Content Creation…?

I ask myself (almost) every week if it’s worth it for me to write these posts. There are always competing priorities, and sometimes content creation gets pushed to the side. Seems I’m not alone: some 65% of B2B marketers say they’re not spending enough time on content promotion, according to recent research.

The report was based on data from a survey conducted April through June 2023, among 364 B2B content marketers from around the globe. A huge majority of respondents (82%) who feel they don’t spend enough time on content promotion attribute it to being too busy with other tasks.

What stops you from spending more time promoting content?

• Lack of time due to other tasks
• Lack of buy-in from stakeholders
• Fear of over-promotion
• Lack of budget
• Not having a proper strategy

These are some of the main reasons cited by respondents of the survey – sound familiar? And who could blame you? I think every person who deals in content creation or promotion has felt a few of these pains at some point. And yet – the same survey had nearly 85% of respondents saying content promotion has had a positive impact on their marketing strategy!

So you may need to make an effort to carve out some time for it, and you may need to cut through some marketing noise, but if you hit the target, that content promotion will be worth your while!

More Music Catalogue Sales

There have been some recent and interesting music catalogue sales – including this sale of Katy Perry’s catalogue for $225 million to Litmus.

The music world is being shaken up by a growing group of companies buying up the song catalogues of successful artists. The artist gets a huge infusion of cash upfront, taking away financial pressure for the rest of their lives. They also enjoy certain (and potentially enormous) tax advantages, thanks to certain capital gains laws. It’s then up to these companies to exploit the value in these songs in order to make their money back and turn a profit.

If you’re interested in the running list of catalogue sales, click here.

What do you think? Are these artists making the right move? If you regret it, please say something… but with some of these price tags, it’s hard to argue! And what about in B2B? Growth through acquisition is a pretty common phenomenon. But have you seen any sales that you thought were just the wrong move?

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 Keep It Up! The Value of Creating and Promoting Marketing Content appeared first on Virtual Causeway.

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As a guitarist, I’ve listened to my share of loud music. Back in the ’80s, there was no such thing as an unnecessary amplifier… the more the better! Just look at the videos from then – the back of the stage filled with huge amplifiers – which I thought was super cool.

But when it comes to language, Seth Godin advises against unnecessary amplifiers. That got me thinking about our communications and how we love hyperbole.

We might as well jump in and see what the experts are saying this week… so give this song by Van Halen a listen as we do!

AI’s Role in ABM

Artificial Intelligence seems to be on everyone’s mind these days. B2B Marketing Zone lists ways AI can support ABM. These are just a few:

• Segmenting your market
• Generating targeted content
• Scoring leads and determining when to engage

Of course, there are challenges in implementing AI for ABM. Understanding what data to collect and ensuring output quality are some big ones. Will AI-generated targeted content be too full of unnecessary amplifiers? Will it get to what’s real and have the right tone for your organization?

You won’t know until you begin, but there are definitely best practices you can follow when integrating AI. Make sure your goals and objectives are clear from the outset, regularly test your results, and ensure you have the resources available to manage and maintain your AI software… and soon enough, nothin’ will get you down!

Music & Tech Trends

Walls of amps aside, have you been wondering how music tech is trending in 2023? Bob Lefsetz shared some of his predictions. I found them particularly interesting, as just about all of them apply to B2B as well!

• Independent creators will continue to grow
• Ticketing is heading for a crunch point
• If TikTok is killed, Instagram reels will burgeon
• It’s harder to gain traction than ever before – so people will look for new ways to get noticed
• Everything happens slower than it ever did before
• In a digital world, people crave live, breathing events
• In an era of authenticity and credibility, sell out at your peril

Some of these trends sound awfully familiar, don’t they?

It was just last month we looked at a study finding that B2B sales cycles have increased (everything happening slower). And I don’t know how many times I’ve said this, but it bears repeating: in a digital world – that’s now increasingly AI-driven – live, breathing human touchpoints are more important than ever!

There are challenges we may be facing with tech and AI. But there are some big advantages, too. So go ahead and jump – just make sure you’re making the necessary preparations for it!

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 Growing Role of AI in ABM appeared first on Virtual Causeway.

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Wow. Time flies.

Today is this newsletter’s sesquicentennial! 150 weeks of B2B tech, sales, marketing, and music. This all started as a way to stay in touch with my peers, share, and collaborate during a global pandemic. Despite the current grim economic outlook, I hope those dog days are over and we’re on to bigger and better things in 2023!

Thanks for coming along for the ride – give this song by Florence + The Machine a listen (150bpm by the way…) with me as we see what the experts are saying this week.

What Makes You Feel Good at Work?

With all the media hyping financial uncertainty and recession, maybe we’ll work extra hard to find ways to feel good. What makes you feel good? At work, perhaps it’s reducing the number of meetings you attend!

Shopify thinks that eliminating meetings will help productivity. They recently reinforced their commitment to a radical reduction in meetings – including zero meetings on Wednesdays.

With many workforces remote, the number of meetings seems to have increased exponentially in the name of keeping people connected! If you know me, you know I’m critical of long or unnecessary meetings. Here at Virtual Causeway, we have policies like “Get S#!T Done Wednesdays” to keep the team focused on productivity.

A recent analysis found one-on-one meetings are up 500% since the start of the pandemic… but another study found a productivity increase of 73% in companies that ban meetings three days a week.

So what do you think? Should you take all those extra meetings in your calendar and wash them away?

Music and the Math of Feeling Good

If you’re like me, music makes you feel good. Listening has the power to stir our emotions at any age. But why do certain combinations of sounds have such a strong effect on the way we feel? How does the brain translate music into an emotion?

A Dutch neuroscientist has tackled the analysis of one very specific type of music: the feel-good song. Jacob Jolij, an assistant professor at the University of Groningen, has come up with a formula that describes the anatomy of these songs to find out why they make us feel so warm and fuzzy inside. Jolij applied this formula to a database of the most popular feel-good songs from the last 50 years to see where the good vibes come from in these tunes.

The result – a ‘Feel Good Index’ (FGI) – includes the sum of positive references in the lyrics, beats per minute (bpm), and the song’s key. The higher a song’s FGI, the more feel-good it is predicted to be. Happy lyrics, a fast tempo (like this week’s 150bpm song), and a major key all help create music we perceive as brimming with positive emotion. With the average pop song running at a tempo of 116 bpm, 150 really runs fast!

Looking for some more 150bpm songs to help you feel good? Here’s a list to get you started!

What about B2B? Find what it is that makes your clients feel good if you want to survive. It might not be music, exactly… but what’s the figurative 150bpm that you can give them?

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 Meetings and the Math of Music appeared first on Virtual Causeway.

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When’s the last time you thanked a client for being a customer? Your clients have many options and they chose you! Do you even know why they chose to work with you?

If you live in the Great White North like I do, this weekend is all about thanks – and I thank YOU for reading and for reaching out and sharing with me! Give this song by Alanis Morisette (also from north of the border) a listen with me as we see what the experts are saying this week.

Making the most of on-demand B2B content

On-demand content has become the go-to source of information and entertainment for consumers. Just think of all the on-demand content you consume on a daily basis at home! How can we translate this to B2B, and how can we make the most of its potential?

According to DemandBase, there are three key steps:

Become a media company. With geo-targeting, digital marketing, and data absolutely everywhere, companies must be excellent storytellers and their own media companies.

Empower ‘Click & Go’ purchases with content. Make it as easy as possible for folks in a variety of roles to purchase what you sell, and then use content to cross-sell and upsell.

Focus on quality. Content being available on-demand isn’t enough; it must be good.

Bring these three steps together: Become your own media company, generate content with a focus on quality over quantity, and make that content truly on-demand – easy for whoever needs it to get it. Then you’ll be able to reach buyers, build trust, and grow your business.

And speaking of on-demand content…

Hot Takes (almost) Live!

In case you missed it, our friends at breadcrumbs.io ran a kick-ass event that I was happy to be part of. Hot Takes Live had 30 top SaaS leaders dishing out hot takes and harsh truths on product-led growth, RevOps, marketing, and sales – and I was one of them!

Blunt, in-your-face, and engaging – what a great event! You can check out the replay (on-demand) here.

Giving thanks

Here is a fun, short list of songs our team has put together about giving thanks – feel free to give a listen… enjoy!

ZZ Top – I Thank You

Fall Out Boy – Thnks fr th Mmrs

Queen – You’re My Best Friend

Dido – Thank You

The Radio Dept. – A Token of Gratitude

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 On-demand Content? Focus on Quality over Quantity 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 spent some time over the past week staring at the lake – the movement of the waves, the reflections on the water, boats in the sun – it seems different throughout the day. And I feel like our job, as marketers, is to try and roll with the ever-changing market and adjust as we can.

Give this cool tune by Queens of the Stone Age a listen with me as we see what the experts are saying this week…

Worried about the Rapidly Increasing Need for Content?

Ever feel like you can never produce enough content? More than half of us are still operating with either zero or just one full-time team member dedicated to content marketing. Top it off with a competitive market for freelance and contracted talent, and you’ll find some stressed-out marketers.

According to B2B Marketing Zone, there are strategies you can implement to meet the need for content despite the challenges:

1. Tighten standard operating procedures
2. Only create content your audience wants
3. Create content for SEO snippets

No matter who you are or what you’re selling, the best content strategy to keep you from coming undone will always be one that focuses on providing long-term value to your audience consistently, despite the demands of today.

And Speaking of Content… Check out this Podcast!

I recently had the chance to join Glenn Schmelzle on his podcast, Funnel Reboot. I suggest you check it out if you haven’t – lots of great lead gen content, and I am honoured he asked me to take part. We discussed how marketing can (and needs to) understand how new sales dynamics are affecting us – give it a listen!

Worried About Rapidly Increasing Ticket Prices?

Does it feel like the cost of concert tickets has been skyrocketing this summer? After a couple of years of being sidelined by the COVID pandemic, the live music industry has roared back to life – and it looks like artists and promoters are looking to make up for lost time (and money).

The Globe and Mail took a look at some upcoming Toronto shows and found that the cheapest tickets for Red Hot Chili Peppers are going for $200. Standing room at that show? Almost $900! If Kendrick Lamar is more to your taste, tickets will cost you about $500.

As of late June, the average ticket to one of the 100 most popular tours in North America cost $108.20 USD – a 17% increase over the average ticket in 2019, the last full year of live events, according to concert data provider Pollstar. And concertgoers are spending more after they arrive at shows. Live Nation’s revenue per fan from in-venue merch sales was up 30% compared with 2019.

There is evidence to suggest that the price increases are being driven at least partly by increased demand. In the first half of 2022, tours attracted 5% more audience members than in 2019 and took in 25% more revenue.

It’s no one cause, but a matter of that and this, these and those. The combination of high demand, the need to recoup the losses of the last couple of years, and surely some other factors we haven’t considered are resulting in some real financial pain for the fans.

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 Demand Increasing Rapidly? Don’t Panic! appeared first on Virtual Causeway.

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Everyone needs a vacation once in a while. This week is a team effort, as I am hopefully relaxing in the sun by the time you’re reading this! But never fear – our awesome team here at Virtual Causeway is pulling out all the stops this week to keep the car running!

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

Buyers’ Content Preferences in 2022

B2B buyers have become more reliant on content to inform purchasing decisions in recent years. According to the Content Preferences Survey by Demand Gen Report, 55% of buyers say they rely more on content now than they did a year ago. But every night the dream’s the same… and not surprisingly, digital channels are growing more and more crowded.

So how do you break through the noise?

It’s all about share-worthiness. As buying committees expand and your buyer becomes buyers, shareable content can help drive alignment around their goals and decisions. The report says if you want your content to cross a river so deep, it must:

• Have relevant and immediately shareable links
• Have shareable stats and quick-hitting insights
• Tell a story that resonates with the buying committee
• Be ungated and easy to share
• Be able to influence other internal stakeholders

Have you adjusted your content marketing strategy over the last few years? Or are your buyers expecting more content from you, but they don’t know when it’s coming?

And Speaking of Memorable Content…

In March, Arcade Fire announced the release of a new album. But they’ve been teasing an announcement about something for a couple months now, sending cryptic postcards to fans that simply said, “We missed you.”

We can’t help but think back on how they marketed past albums. This certainly isn’t the first time the band has gone an unconventional route. Their last album, Everything Now, was accompanied by an online shop selling overpriced merch like fidget spinners; concert dress codes; and a social media campaign that seemingly went awry.

The social media mess was followed by an official apology from the band (also part of the marketing campaign), which placed the blame on Tannis Wright, a fictional marketing intern at the fictional company, Everything Now Corp.

A lot of fans were annoyed by the fake-news-themed campaign… but they sure didn’t forget it.

While we’re not saying you should go to the extreme of inventing fake companies and marketing interns to support your sales team, maybe we can still take some inspiration. Try something different. Your marketing content shouldn’t be the same old but with a different name. So what can you do so that buyers remember you?

Like Rick always says, don’t hesitate to call us to brainstorm or just say hello.

Looking forward,
Rick’s (totally real, non-fictional) team

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

The post Be Content with Your Content appeared first on Virtual Causeway.

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Life has a funny way of throwing you curveballs when you least expect it. And picking yourself back up can be one heck of a challenge. But without fail, the trees will bloom and the grass will grow – just as we grow within ourselves, personally and professionally.

This Foo Fighters song has always been significant to me – about growth, change, urgency, movement. Give it a listen as we see what the experts are saying this week.

Who is in the Driver’s Seat?

How are your sales and marketing teams coping with today’s buyer’s journey? With large buying committees, self-service journeys and content overload, sales and marketing teams are tasked with blending automation, content, analytics and resources in their strategies to deliver meaningful, personalized buyer engagements that increase deal velocity.

B2B buyers have officially moved into the driver’s seat when orchestrating purchases and researching vendors/solutions. According to Demand Gen Report, top priorities for organizations in this new era of selling include:

• Leveraging automation and behavioural signs to identify and target prospects most likely to convert
• Focusing on top content formats that resonate best in each step of the buyer’s journey
• Identifying needs of buying committees and supplying relevant information that appeals to all members

And I wonder, how often do you engage with committees in your buyer’s journey? Are you able to effectively map your buyer’s journey and provide appropriate content for each step – and each stakeholder – along the way? Or do they feel out of their head as they try to engage with you?

Times Like These

With Taylor Hawkins’ sudden passing over the weekend, there has been a multitude of memorial postings and messages by artists and fans worldwide. I’ve always been a fan, but seeing them for the first time at Dreamforce #6 in 2008 made me really love this band. The huge guitar sound, pounding and reckless drums, powerful vocals and tongue-in-cheek sense of humor – all had me wondering if anything could ever be this good again.

I thought I’d share some of my favourite Foo Fighters songs, and those of the crew here at Virtual Causeway:

“Everlong” (The Colour and the Shape, 1997) – Great song about risk, holding your breath and leaping into the unknown. And such a cool riff!

“Times Like These” (One by One, 2002) – Check out the acoustic version if you have a chance – great vocal performance.

“This is a Call” (Foo Fighters, 1995) – An energy, an optimism, a starting over – and stadium-sized hooks in this one.

“My Hero” (The Colour and the Shape, 1997) – The drums move the song forward in a way that almost takes over the track, but doesn’t, thanks to the strength of all the other elements.

“These Days” (Wasting Light, 2011) – The shift in Grohl’s voice from vulnerability to frustrated growling absolutely injects the song with utter sincerity.

Check out a full list and ranking of their songs here.

The only thing I’ll ever ask of you (but not really!) is: What are YOUR favourite songs? And what is it that makes them so great? I’d love to hear from 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 Be the Destination in your Buyer’s Journey 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!

The other day was one of those beautiful, clear and sunny winter days. Sure it was cold, but with the sun beating down it felt like anything was possible. How do we have more days like that in our day-to-day lives, deal with anxiety and still focus on building B2B possibilities in 2022?

Give this song by Tom Petty a listen with me as we see what the experts are saying this week…

B2B – A New Era of Uncertainty?

Workin’ on a mystery? Goin’ wherever it leads?

The process of B2B tech buying is changing. This shift is partly due to the post-COVID changes in the marketplace and that many buyers, like many of us, find themselves with less time on their hands than ever before. So, what exactly has changed? Let’s take a look at some of the changes that have led to this shift.

• With massive amounts of information on the internet, buyers can find almost anything they want to find about a product, technology, or service without ever having to speak to a representative.
• The buying process has gained a new level of complexity, with many sales interactions being completely remote.
• And there’s been a massive shift in the number of touchpoints between problem and solution, with buying interactions increasing from 16-17 pre-pandemic to 17-27 in the last year!

What the COVID-19 pandemic has brought on is a deep Era of Uncertainty that may very well last the rest of this decade.

So how do we deal with this as marketers?

Those now in charge of B2B tech purchases (often Millennials) care more about self-service, remote connectivity, data security, and privacy than previous buyers. These are the new concerns that have to be addressed, and they have to be addressed through passively provided information.

Hit cruise control when you provide good, direct information to your buyers. Allow them to discover that information on their own and make it easy for them to finalize purchases without having to go through a representative.

The B2B Metaverse?

Chinese tech giant Tencent Holdings is reportedly planning to acquire gaming smartphone manufacturer Black Shark in a move that could help the company build its own metaverse.

Tencent has stiff competition from other tech giants in a race to build the metaverse – namely from Meta (formerly known as Facebook). We’re definitely seeing a lot of expectations around metaverse technology plays.

What are your thoughts on metaverse as a B2B tool? Is there an application? How can we leverage this new medium to put the pedal down and make some time (and sales)?

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 Upheaval and Uncertainty in B2B Trends 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!

David Bowie would have turned 75 a couple of days ago. As someone who always innovated and embraced change, how would he react to the ups and downs of a pandemic-ridden world? Is it time to turn and face the strange and continue innovating and adapting in our own B2B worlds?

Give this Bowie song a listen with me as we see what the experts are saying this week…

What are Marketing Leaders Investing in This Year?

According to HubSpot, 48% of marketers expect their budgets to increase in 2022. Here is a list of where marketers are focusing investments this year (some highlights below):

• Podcasts and other audio opportunities
• Social responsibility and diversity marketing
• Influencer marketing
• Short-form videos
• Permanent social media content
• Marketing technology

Where are you investing this year? We’ve certainly seen an increase in the amount of audio and video content that our clients are leveraging in their marketing efforts. What fascinations are fascinating you?

Live Events in 2022?

We’ve recently seen the Grammys postponed, live events cancelled, and more music tours rescheduled again. How will the landscape for live events (B2B and B2C) evolve this year? Who knows… but the world’s largest tech show was actually live and IN PERSON last week!

Did you attend? How was the experience? It will be interesting to see how things shake out this year – we’re all very optimistic, but once again finding ourselves facing the strange and trying to figure out how to conduct business in this new environment.

Albums Turning 50

Louder has shared this list of landmark albums that are turning 50 in 2022. And talk about timing – David Bowie is on the list!

The inclusion of The Rise And Fall Of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars as a ‘landmark’ is no exaggeration. The creation of the glam rock character Ziggy Stardust was iconic, remaining quite possibly Bowie’s definitive work all these years later. It’s a masterclass in branding and transformation.

Nothing is constant, so we must always adapt. Don’t just watch the ripples change their size – make a splash! What other lessons can we learn from Ziggy and apply to our own branding and marketing practices in B2B?

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 Constant Change? Don’t just Face it – Embrace it! appeared first on Virtual Causeway.

I recorded a webinar on the Best Practices for Effective Lead Follow-Up with one of my top demand generation strategists at Virtual Causeway – Marlene Keay. You can listen to it here. And below is a checklist we developed for our own clients – feel free to use it for yourself! I hope it helps. And, of course, let us know if you have any questions.

Before you start generating leads, however, it’s important to have your process structured and sales committed to following up. Best practices suggest you develop a service level agreement between marketing and sales to ensure lead quality criteria are established, and that you also formalize follow-up timing, process and feedback loops with sales!

Your Lead Follow-Up Checklist

1. Review all the qualified lead information received.

2. Send a follow-up email or calendar invite to the prospect within 24 hours.

3. Send meeting reminders 1-2 days prior to meeting date.

4. Make a brief reminder call to combat email overload.

5. Begin the meeting on time.

6. If virtual meeting, call contact if they are not connected within 5 minutes. Use professional guilt tactics!

7. Engage prospect with relevant material that resonates with their needs and pain points.

8. Feedback results to Virtual Causeway or your marketing team to maximize effectiveness.

9. Continue to nurture and progress to close.

Plan out your lead follow-up to maximize your effectiveness and increase your sales. For bests results watch our webinar: Best Practices for Effective Leads Follow-Up or contact us to connect!

Looking forward,

Looking forward,
Rick

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

The post Is Your B2B Sales Funnel Leaking? appeared first on Virtual Causeway.