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

Saying good-bye can be difficult. Or it can be easy. Some people definitely find it easier to say good riddance and move on than others. How do you feel about 2021? Are you reflecting on a strong and successful year, or ready to move on and start over in 2022?

Give this song by Green Day a listen as we look back on the past 12 months…

A Last Look at 2021…

HubSpot Data – The trends throughout the year have been positive. Deals closed, deals created, sales conversations, sales calls, sales emails all increasing steadily. However, sales email responses have declined over the year. Yup – if you want your prospects to talk to you, you still need to pick up the phone! However – a multi-channel approach of digital and human touchpoints remains the strongest strategy.

Sales Enablement – Forrester’s report outlines some key trends we’ve seen this year, including new expectations of sellers; a landscape of hybrid and virtual selling; the buying cycle is now split 45/55 between personal and self-guided interactions; and average buying interactions have increased from 17 to 27(!). Is selling really becoming something that unpredictable? Perhaps – but at the very least, sales organizations need to recognize that the pre-pandemic state of selling is history.

Music Catalog Sales – Another recent sale of music rights was by ZZ Top. Can’t keep up with all of these transactions? Check out the running list here.

Rush’s New Beer Commercial – There has been a trend of bands lending their name to alcoholic beverages for a while now. Check out Rush’s newest commercial for their beer – every ‘New World Man’ must have it!

Musician Emergency Funds – The working musician continues to be hit hard by this pandemic. If you’re interested in donating and helping out, here are some funds worth considering:
Unison Benevolent Fund
Sweet Relief COVID-19 Fund

Closing Holiday Thoughts

Thanks to all of you for your positive feedback, support, and advice. Creating these emails is a highlight of my week – and I hope you continue to get value from them. I wish you every success in 2022 and hope you have the time of your life relaxing with friends and family this holiday season. Happy New Year!

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 One Last Look at 2021… appeared first on Virtual Causeway.

Here is what the experts are saying, and some takeaways from the past week:

2020 State of Database Quality & Accuracy

Many of our clients have focused more of their budgets on data over the past six months. DemandGen Report’s study shows that as most B2B brands in 2020 have been forced to concentrate on digital marketing and sales initiatives, having an accurate and actionable database is an even bigger priority! According to the report, the top challenges marketers face when maintaining data quality in their contact database include:

• 78% say their data is old/outdated
• 61% do not have enough time/resources to implement an effective process
• 49% lack standard procedures to keep data up-to-date

It’s no surprise we can’t find what we’re looking for. I recall a Forrester statistic that marketers waste 21% of their marketing budgets due to bad data. I get that Q4 burning desire to just do something! But I urge you to make sure the foundations of your decisions are solid before you execute.

B2B Marketplace Hub

I was interested to read that Shell and IBM rolled out a B2B marketplace called Oren, a global mining services platform. What is interesting is that each of these companies is large enough and experienced enough to go it alone. But through creative collaborations and partnerships, they are creating a hub to support customers in making a challenging transition. Rather than focus solely on their piece of the puzzle, they understand the related challenges and are working to anticipate customer pain points through partnership offerings.

Could your customers benefit from a similar approach? I know as a salesperson you want your customer only to be with you! But you may have an opportunity to attract more attention and build stronger relationships with customers with a content-rich marketplace hub.

Brown M&Ms Anyone? Marketing Lessons from Van Halen

I felt like I had climbed the highest mountain when I could finally play an Eddie Van Halen guitar solo. And as a fan, I knew that the band contractually stipulated that a bowl of M&Ms was required backstage at every concert with the brown ones removed. Failure meant the band had the right to cancel the show and receive full compensation. Were they just divas? Was this rock and roll excess?

No, this little test was a cue. If the band arrived at a venue and David Lee Roth saw a brown M&M in the bowl he would demand a full check of the entire production. If they weren’t accurate on this M&M detail, then how many other things might have been missed?

In fact, as customers, we all use cues to determine whether something is high quality or low quality and what we might expect in terms of service. In the airline business, for example, the airlines know that if there are stains on the trays people feel nervous about the quality and safety of the aircraft. What cues are your customers using to assess your business?

I know Q4 sometimes feels like you’re scaling a city wall, but keep running – you’ll find what you’re looking for!

As always, don’t hesitate to call me to brainstorm or ask how I can help.

Looking forward,
Rick

Rick Endrulat | President | Virtual Causeway | 519.866.1600 x622

P.S. “What Do B2B Marketers Do Now?” is an ongoing weekly email. Want to be the first to receive these weekly insights? Sign up now to join the mailing list!

The post The B2B Search for Meaning appeared first on Virtual Causeway.