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	<title>demand generation Archives | Virtual Causeway</title>
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	<title>demand generation Archives | Virtual Causeway</title>
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	<item>
		<title>Reflections on Demand Generation</title>
		<link>https://virtualcauseway.com/reflections-on-demand-generation/</link>
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		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Thomas Krol]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Mon, 29 May 2023 18:26:21 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[Blog]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[ABM]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[B2B Marketing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[demand gen]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[demand generation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[WDBMD]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">https://virtualcauseway.com/?p=2950</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[<p>What Do B2B Marketers Do Now? is an ongoing email. Join the mailing list to be the first to receive these weekly insights! Memorial Day isn't just about barbecues and the start of summer. For many, it's a day of reflection and contemplation. As marketers, how often do we reflect on the past and think about [...]</p>
<p>The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://virtualcauseway.com/reflections-on-demand-generation/">Reflections on Demand Generation</a> appeared first on <a rel="nofollow" href="https://virtualcauseway.com">Virtual Causeway</a>.</p>
]]></description>
										<content:encoded><![CDATA[<blockquote>
<h3><em>What Do B2B Marketers Do Now?</em> is an ongoing email. <a href="https://lp.constantcontactpages.com/su/dL2IjAt" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Join the mailing list</span></a> to be the first to receive these weekly insights!</h3>
</blockquote>
<p class="_ad_q1">Memorial Day isn&#8217;t just about barbecues and the start of summer. For many, it&#8217;s a day of reflection and contemplation. As marketers, how often do we reflect on the past and think about the motivation driving our activities?</p>
<p class="_ad_q1">I started this weekly email/blog during COVID to share best practices and learnings with the B2B community… and to infuse some musical references and forge a link with my personal interest in sales, marketing, music, and tech.</p>
<p class="_ad_q1">I hope you still get some value from these emails, and of course, always want to hear from you!</p>
<p class="_ad_q1">Check out this new <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=idib1kDvPyM" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong>song</strong></span></a> by Foo Fighters as we see what the experts are saying this week…</p>
<h2 class="_ad_q1">Demand Gen Reflections</h2>
<p class="_ad_q1">How have your campaigns been performing? <em>Where are you now</em> in terms of your demand gen for 2023? As you reflect back on your year so far, perhaps you&#8217;ve had your share of failures and successes. What are some of the <a href="https://www.drift.com/learn/demand-generation/demand-generation-challenges/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong>challenges</strong></span></a> or pitfalls in your demand gen? If you&#8217;re like many B2B organizations, they could be:</p>
<ul>
<li class="_ad_q1">Not talking to your customers enough</li>
<li class="_ad_q1">Not generating results from your content</li>
<li class="_ad_q1">Not converting your leads into opportunities and clients</li>
<li class="_ad_q1">Not having the right data to make decisions</li>
</ul>
<p class="_ad_q1">After many years of B2B campaigns and millions of leads generated, I can say that quality always trumps quantity. Many marketers choose quantity, wasting time on leads that aren&#8217;t likely to buy. Instead, businesses should focus on high-quality leads to grow their sales. Good things take time and it&#8217;s important to set long-term goals.</p>
<p class="_ad_q1">Perhaps it&#8217;s time to <em>go back to square one</em> and reflect on those goals… it might be necessary to rework them with the long term in mind.</p>
<h2 class="_ad_q1">The Foos&#8217; New Drummer</h2>
<p class="_ad_q1">You may have seen that Foo Fighters <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/music/2023/may/22/foo-fighters-announce-josh-freese-as-new-drummer-after-taylor-hawkins-death" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong>announced</strong></span></a> their new drummer, Josh Freese. The band revealed the news in a tongue-in-cheek livestream titled &#8220;Foo Fighters: Preparing Music for Concerts,&#8221; which promised a few surprises.</p>
<p class="_ad_q1">Recorded in their studio, the livestream opened with the band teasing the identity of their new drummer by calling in a slew of famous cameos, including Tommy Lee from Mötley Crüe, RHCP&#8217;s Chad Smith, and Tool&#8217;s Danny Carey.</p>
<p class="_ad_q1">In January, the band announced they would remain together and continue performing after the death of their drummer Taylor Hawkins. There has been much speculation this year regarding the replacement for Hawkins, and the band had been tight-lipped about possible recruits.</p>
<p class="_ad_q1">How do you think the band handled this whole process? In typical Foos form, they had a &#8216;genuine-ness&#8217; and a sense of humour throughout. Replacing a key member of the band could have alienated fans or contradicted their overall perception. Would you have done anything different to maintain continuity?</p>
<p class="_ad_q1">It&#8217;s one thing to say, <em>&#8220;I&#8217;ll take care of everything from now on.&#8221;</em> But it&#8217;s a whole other thing to assure your stakeholders that they&#8217;re in good hands. Reflect back on what was done previously to ensure you can maintain the same standard that your fans (or your customers/clients) will hold you to.</p>
<p class="_ad_q1">As always, don&#8217;t hesitate to call me to brainstorm or just say hello!</p>
<p>Looking forward,<br />
Rick</p>
<p><strong>Rick Endrulat, President | ricke@v-causeway.com | <a href="http://www.linkedin.com/in/rickendrulat" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">www.linkedin.com/in/rickendrulat</a></strong></p>
<p>The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://virtualcauseway.com/reflections-on-demand-generation/">Reflections on Demand Generation</a> appeared first on <a rel="nofollow" href="https://virtualcauseway.com">Virtual Causeway</a>.</p>
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		<item>
		<title>Quit Buzzing about Buzzwords</title>
		<link>https://virtualcauseway.com/quit-buzzing-about-buzzwords/</link>
					<comments>https://virtualcauseway.com/quit-buzzing-about-buzzwords/#respond</comments>
		
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Thomas Krol]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Mon, 27 Mar 2023 14:36:30 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[Blog]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[ABM]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[account-based marketing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[demand gen]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[demand generation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[TLA]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[WDBMD]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">https://virtualcauseway.com/?p=2910</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[<p>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 with our love of TLAs? Come on – we all love to shorten things and make Three-Letter Acronyms out of common phrases… which is your favourite? Here at Virtual Causeway, we [...]</p>
<p>The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://virtualcauseway.com/quit-buzzing-about-buzzwords/">Quit Buzzing about Buzzwords</a> appeared first on <a rel="nofollow" href="https://virtualcauseway.com">Virtual Causeway</a>.</p>
]]></description>
										<content:encoded><![CDATA[<blockquote>
<h3><em>What Do B2B Marketers Do Now?</em> is an ongoing email. <a href="https://lp.constantcontactpages.com/su/dL2IjAt" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Join the mailing list</span></a> to be the first to receive these weekly insights!</h3>
</blockquote>
<p class="_ad_q1">What&#8217;s with our love of <strong>TLAs</strong>?</p>
<p class="_ad_q1">Come on – we all love to shorten things and make <strong>T</strong>hree-<strong>L</strong>etter <strong>A</strong>cronyms out of common phrases… which is your favourite? Here at Virtual Causeway, we tend to shorten it to VCW… and there are countless examples in B2B where we shorten common terms to their TLAs. Maybe it adds a little fun to our workday – making a secret code or language for your peers?</p>
<p class="_ad_q1">Give <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NhsK5WExrnE" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong>T.N.T.</strong></span></a> by AC/DC a listen and kickstart your morning as we see what the experts are saying this week.</p>
<h2 class="_ad_q1">Do you have a jargon problem?</h2>
<p class="_ad_q1">In my early career I learned SQL, the database programming language. Years later when I first saw the SiriusDecisions <a href="https://www.forrester.com/blogs/meetthenewestsiriusdecisionsdemandwaterfall/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong>Demand Waterfall</strong></span></a>, I was confused – what did SQL have to do with demand generation marketing? (Of course THEY were referring to Sales Qualified Leads.)</p>
<p class="_ad_q1">Are you confusing your customers or employees? According to <a href="https://hbr.org/2021/03/do-you-have-a-jargon-problem" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong>HBR</strong></span></a>, you might be!</p>
<p class="_ad_q1">Workplace jargon is a staple of the modern organization. Whether it&#8217;s buzzwords or TLAs, few things are more universally annoying. Organizational researchers even use it to measure employee perceptions of &#8220;bullshit&#8221; at their offices.</p>
<p class="_ad_q1">Yet jargon continues to thrive in most professions. But if it&#8217;s so disliked, why is it so common?</p>
<p class="_ad_q1">Jargon fulfils fundamental needs. It can make communication more efficient, or facilitate social bonding by reinforcing a shared identity. Another motive could be insecurity and the desire for status in one&#8217;s profession. Some may compensate for a lack of status by trying to signal that they have more of it than they actually do. And using jargon helps.</p>
<p class="_ad_q1">So how do we avoid alienating customers or employees with too much jargon? Identify whether jargon helps or hinders your daily work life. Ask yourself if there&#8217;s a simpler way to communicate the same idea or if the audience commonly uses the same jargon. If you have a jargon problem, it might start at the top – with your leadership team!</p>
<p class="_ad_q1">TLAs can be convenient <em>if you know what I mean</em>… but if you don&#8217;t, they could cause big problems! Remember, just like SQL, not every TLA is unique, and someone might think it means something else – so make sure you&#8217;re communicating the RIGHT messages to your audience, and scrap some TLAs.</p>
<h2 class="_ad_q1">CDs, LPs &amp; Vinyl Resurrection</h2>
<p class="_ad_q1">Growing up, I remember being fascinated by the covers of albums my brother and sister owned. Led Zeppelin, RUSH, AC/DC, The Cars – I would stare at the covers and read the liner notes religiously.</p>
<p class="_ad_q1">By the 2000s, vinyl was all but dead. We were all going digital and the consensus was that there was no point in keeping this ancient format. Vinyl records were dusty, scratchy, noisy, and easily damaged. They took up too much storage space, got warped and water damaged, and weren&#8217;t portable!</p>
<p class="_ad_q1">But two groups of people stood between vinyl and true extinction: old-school collectors who refused to buy into all the digital promises and DJs who preferred spinning records instead of mixing CDs.</p>
<p class="_ad_q1">Starting in 2008, a weird thing <a href="https://www.ajournalofmusicalthings.com/the-ongoing-history-of-new-music-episode-975-more-vinyl-stories/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong>happened</strong></span></a>: vinyl was <em>back in town</em> and starting to grow! And today, vinyl is doing something it hasn&#8217;t done since the early &#8217;90s: generating more revenue than compact discs. In sheer numbers, CDs still rule. But because vinyl sells at a premium, it&#8217;s bringing in more money.</p>
<p class="_ad_q1">What about B2B? Is there some tool – considered obsolete by most – that you can bring back to support your B2B, ABM, or PLG strategies?</p>
<h2 class="_ad_q1">One Stylus… Two Channels!</h2>
<p class="_ad_q1">Speaking of vinyl, here&#8217;s a little bonus. I&#8217;m a big nerd when it comes to the technology behind music. Ever wonder how vinyl is able to produce sound? This <a href="https://boingboing.net/2023/03/24/watch-this-excellent-explainer-video-on-how-vinyl-records-produce-stereo-sound.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong>video</strong></span></a> explains how dragging a needle through a groove pressed into a piece of plastic results in stereo sound.</p>
<p class="_ad_q1">As always, don&#8217;t hesitate to call me to brainstorm or just say hello!</p>
<p>Looking forward,<br />
Rick</p>
<p><strong>Rick Endrulat, President | ricke@v-causeway.com | <a href="http://www.linkedin.com/in/rickendrulat" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">www.linkedin.com/in/rickendrulat</a></strong></p>
<p>The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://virtualcauseway.com/quit-buzzing-about-buzzwords/">Quit Buzzing about Buzzwords</a> appeared first on <a rel="nofollow" href="https://virtualcauseway.com">Virtual Causeway</a>.</p>
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		<post-id xmlns="com-wordpress:feed-additions:1">2910</post-id>	</item>
		<item>
		<title>Scarcity and FOMO in B2B</title>
		<link>https://virtualcauseway.com/scarcity-and-fomo-in-b2b/</link>
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		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Thomas Krol]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Mon, 13 Mar 2023 15:47:52 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[Blog]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[B2B Marketing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[b2b sales]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[demand generation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Scarcity Marketing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[WDBMD]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">https://virtualcauseway.com/?p=2901</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[<p>What Do B2B Marketers Do Now? is an ongoing email. Join the mailing list to be the first to receive these weekly insights! Wake up. Get ready. Rush kids out the door. Rush to work. Rush to your first meeting. It's a daily routine for many. Throw in a seasonal time change, and it makes [...]</p>
<p>The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://virtualcauseway.com/scarcity-and-fomo-in-b2b/">Scarcity and FOMO in B2B</a> appeared first on <a rel="nofollow" href="https://virtualcauseway.com">Virtual Causeway</a>.</p>
]]></description>
										<content:encoded><![CDATA[<blockquote>
<h3><em>What Do B2B Marketers Do Now?</em> is an ongoing email. <a href="https://lp.constantcontactpages.com/su/dL2IjAt" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Join the mailing list</span></a> to be the first to receive these weekly insights!</h3>
</blockquote>
<p class="_ad_q1">Wake up. Get ready. Rush kids out the door. Rush to work. Rush to your first meeting. It&#8217;s a daily routine for many. Throw in a seasonal time change, and it makes for a frantic Monday!</p>
<p class="_ad_q1">How do we <em>break the chain</em> of this routine and actually get stuff done? Hopefully, this email gives you a few minutes every week to think bigger picture and get your head above the daily scheduling tyranny – or at the very least, some interesting tunes and a couple of deep thoughts!</p>
<p class="_ad_q1">Give this <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iLC-tHvkNvI" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong>song</strong></span></a> by Fleetwood Mac a listen as we see what the experts are saying this week…</p>
<h2 class="_ad_q1">FOMO and Demand</h2>
<p class="_ad_q1">It&#8217;s not just our time that&#8217;s in high demand. Reservations at a hot restaurant, limited edition memorabilia, concert tickets – it&#8217;s no secret that scarcity marketing works wonders for businesses. People always have a fear of missing out, and it&#8217;s what motivates them to act. Thanks to this FOMO, <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/5-ways-leverage-scarcity-your-b2b-marketing-gadi-vardi/?trk=public_profile_article_view" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong>scarcity marketing</strong></span></a> gets to thrive.</p>
<p class="_ad_q1">But how to decide who gets these items?</p>
<p class="_ad_q1">One attractive option is &#8220;first-come-first-served.&#8221; It feels fair. The theory is that people who really want what you have will spend (waste) time in line to show their commitment. But of course, this is a tax, and an uneven one at that, since some people value their time more than others.</p>
<p class="_ad_q1">Another is to simply auction off the scarce items. The good news is that the value of the scarce item won&#8217;t be squandered on time wasting, but goes to the company. This might feel unfair, as it rewards people with more assets, as so many things do.</p>
<p class="_ad_q1">The third (fairest?) method is to have a lottery. Invite your best customers or charge a commitment fee, and then randomly allocate the loot. The good news is that you won&#8217;t alienate customers who feel as though it&#8217;s their fault that they didn&#8217;t wait in line long enough, or spend enough.</p>
<p class="_ad_q1">Each decision has effects. And it&#8217;s up to the producer to <em>break the silence</em> and decide which emotions they want to be responsible for creating. How do you leverage scarcity at your organization – and what emotions does this build within your customers?</p>
<h2 class="_ad_q1">Swift Scarcity</h2>
<p class="_ad_q1">Interested in some tickets to Taylor Swift?</p>
<p class="_ad_q1">You&#8217;ve probably heard all the recent fuss about ticketing – but it seems that tickets are actually in abundance! Not cheap, but you can definitely get them. So what gives?</p>
<p class="_ad_q1">Of course, you won&#8217;t find these tickets on Ticketmaster – you&#8217;ll need to purchase from a third-party site. But wait… TICKETMASTER IS ALSO A RESALE SITE! That&#8217;s right: with most shows, though the primary sale may be over, you can still post available seats, as long as they&#8217;re no cheaper than the original price.</p>
<p class="_ad_q1">So why can&#8217;t you buy Taylor Swift tickets on Ticketmaster? According to <a href="https://lefsetz.com/wordpress/2023/03/11/taylor-swift-tickets-available/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong>Bob Lefsetz</strong></span></a>, it&#8217;s because SHE doesn&#8217;t want you to! Taylor is in control of ticketing, but Ticketmaster is the one that <a href="https://virtualcauseway.com/the-right-channel-partners-trust-the-man-behind-the-curtain/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;">takes the heat</span></strong></a>.</p>
<p class="_ad_q1">With all these ticketing &#8220;fiascos,&#8221; what we really have is just a small number of fans caught up in the hysteria, complaining. And they&#8217;re vocal about it, so the rest of us take notice, even if we still have no intention of going. So what is the true demand for Taylor Swift? If tickets were sold market by market, we might have found out it was less than perceived. Or maybe not. But by selling all the tickets at once, the question never came up!</p>
<p class="_ad_q1">It&#8217;s a complicated business, with a lot of players <em>running in the shadows</em> of their own kind of scarcity marketing.</p>
<p class="_ad_q1">And as always, don&#8217;t hesitate to call me to brainstorm or just say hello!</p>
<p>Looking forward,<br />
Rick</p>
<p><strong>Rick Endrulat, President | ricke@v-causeway.com | <a href="http://www.linkedin.com/in/rickendrulat" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">www.linkedin.com/in/rickendrulat</a></strong></p>
<p>The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://virtualcauseway.com/scarcity-and-fomo-in-b2b/">Scarcity and FOMO in B2B</a> appeared first on <a rel="nofollow" href="https://virtualcauseway.com">Virtual Causeway</a>.</p>
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		<post-id xmlns="com-wordpress:feed-additions:1">2901</post-id>	</item>
		<item>
		<title>&#8216;Tis the Season to Keep Leads Flowing</title>
		<link>https://virtualcauseway.com/tis-the-season-to-keep-leads-flowing/</link>
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		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Thomas Krol]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Mon, 05 Dec 2022 15:44:25 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[Blog]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[b2b sales]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[demand generation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[HubSpot]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Sales and Marketing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Sales Data]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[WDBMD]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">https://virtualcauseway.com/?p=2831</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[<p>What Do B2B Marketers Do Now? is an ongoing email. Join the mailing list to be the first to receive these weekly insights! First things first, why are we obsessed with Mondays? Monday mornings – the subject of many a song or story. Why such pain? Maybe it's the rush to get the garbage out [...]</p>
<p>The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://virtualcauseway.com/tis-the-season-to-keep-leads-flowing/">&#8216;Tis the Season to Keep Leads Flowing</a> appeared first on <a rel="nofollow" href="https://virtualcauseway.com">Virtual Causeway</a>.</p>
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										<content:encoded><![CDATA[<blockquote>
<h3><em>What Do B2B Marketers Do Now?</em> is an ongoing email. <a href="https://lp.constantcontactpages.com/su/dL2IjAt" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Join the mailing list</span></a> to be the first to receive these weekly insights!</h3>
</blockquote>
<p class="_ad_q1"><em>First things first</em>, why are we obsessed with Mondays? Monday mornings – the subject of many a song or story. Why such <em>pain</em>? Maybe it&#8217;s the rush to get the garbage out to the curb in time or to get the kids off to school. Or maybe the rush to get a weekly email newsletter (or blog post) written and ready to go before the work week starts!</p>
<p class="_ad_q1">Give this <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7wtfhZwyrcc" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong>song</strong></span></a> by Imagine Dragons a listen with me if you&#8217;re also a <em>believer</em> in procrastination as a great motivator!</p>
<h2 class="_ad_q1">B2B for the Holidays</h2>
<p class="_ad_q1"><em>Second thing second</em>, &#8217;tis the season to scale back your marketing and prepare for 2023, right? Wrong! Getting high-quality leads and generating steady demand through this holiday season doesn&#8217;t have to be a struggle. Keeping your campaigns running is a great way to ensure steady lead flow and a predictable Q1!</p>
<p class="_ad_q1">As economic worries continue to trouble B2B execs, many companies are worried about price hikes, labour shortages, and cutting costs. Scaling back on your marketing activities can be short-sighted and detrimental to your 2023 pipeline. Your sales team is (hopefully) focused on closing those year-end deals – so marketing needs to pump up its efforts. The holiday season is a GREAT time to get in front of qualified leads. In the 25+ years I&#8217;ve been doing this, I&#8217;ve seen the proof!</p>
<p class="_ad_q1">Here are just a few sources of holiday B2B lead gen ideas – give them a try!</p>
<ul>
<li class="_ad_q1">Keep your B2B <a href="https://www.wordstream.com/blog/ws/2022/11/04/b2b-holiday-marketing-ideas" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong>leads &amp; sales</strong></span></a> flowing over the holidays</li>
<li class="_ad_q1">B2B <a href="https://www.vbout.com/blog/10-b2b-holiday-marketing-trends-to-watch-out-for-in-2022/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong>marketing content trends</strong></span></a> for the holidays</li>
<li class="_ad_q1"><a href="https://www.spanglobalservices.com/blog/top-10-christmas-email-marketing-tips-for-lead-generation/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong>Email marketing</strong></span></a> for Christmas</li>
</ul>
<p class="_ad_q1">When HubSpot published their B2B benchmark data last year (Why did you stop, HubSpot? WHY??!?), it showed that response rates to marketing and sales conversations continued at a healthy pace in December and January. I&#8217;ll do my best over the next few weeks to share other data sources that can help you make your case… so you can show your team and <em>make them a believer!</em></p>
<h2 class="_ad_q1">Spotify Billion Club</h2>
<p class="_ad_q1"><em>Last things last</em>, in tech we like to talk about unicorns – those startups that are valued over $1 billion. What are the &#8216;unicorns&#8217; in music streaming?</p>
<p class="_ad_q1">Check out this <a href="https://www.visualcapitalist.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/songs-billions-streams-spotify-full.jpg" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong>graphic</strong></span></a> illustrating all songs (by decade) that have been streamed over a billion times on Spotify (Imagine Dragons&#8217; &#8220;Believer&#8221; was at 2.3 billion streams at the time of writing this post.)</p>
<p class="_ad_q1">So the next logical question is: how much do these streams represent financially to these artists? We&#8217;ve all read the stories outlining how Spotify pays much less per stream than many believe is fair.</p>
<p class="_ad_q1">If you&#8217;re interested, check out this <a href="https://dittomusic.com/en/blog/how-much-does-spotify-pay-per-stream/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong>calculator</strong></span></a> to see how much your favorite artist may have generated from those billion+ streams…</p>
<p class="_ad_q1">As always, don&#8217;t hesitate to call me to brainstorm or just say hello!</p>
<p>Looking forward,<br />
Rick</p>
<p><strong>Rick Endrulat, President | ricke@v-causeway.com | <a href="http://www.linkedin.com/in/rickendrulat" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">www.linkedin.com/in/rickendrulat</a></strong></p>
<p>The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://virtualcauseway.com/tis-the-season-to-keep-leads-flowing/">&#8216;Tis the Season to Keep Leads Flowing</a> appeared first on <a rel="nofollow" href="https://virtualcauseway.com">Virtual Causeway</a>.</p>
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		<post-id xmlns="com-wordpress:feed-additions:1">2831</post-id>	</item>
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		<title>Demand Increasing Rapidly? Don&#8217;t Panic!</title>
		<link>https://virtualcauseway.com/demand-increasing-rapidly-dont-panic/</link>
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		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Thomas Krol]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Mon, 18 Jul 2022 14:29:14 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[Blog]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[b2b lead generation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Content Marketing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[demand gen]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[demand generation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[lead gen]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Lead Generation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[WDBMD]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">https://virtualcauseway.com/?p=2727</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[<p>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 [...]</p>
<p>The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://virtualcauseway.com/demand-increasing-rapidly-dont-panic/">Demand Increasing Rapidly? Don&#8217;t Panic!</a> appeared first on <a rel="nofollow" href="https://virtualcauseway.com">Virtual Causeway</a>.</p>
]]></description>
										<content:encoded><![CDATA[<blockquote>
<h3><em>What Do B2B Marketers Do Now?</em> is an ongoing email. <a href="https://lp.constantcontactpages.com/su/dL2IjAt" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Join the mailing list</span></a> to be the first to receive these weekly insights!</h3>
</blockquote>
<p class="_ad_q1">I&#8217;ve spent some time over the past week staring at the lake – the movement of the waves, the reflections on the water, <em>boats in the sun</em> – 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.</p>
<p class="_ad_q1">Give this cool <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s88r_q7oufE" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong>tune</strong></span></a> by Queens of the Stone Age a listen with me as we see what the experts are saying this week…</p>
<h2 class="_ad_q1">Worried about the Rapidly Increasing Need for Content?</h2>
<p class="_ad_q1">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&#8217;ll find some stressed-out marketers.</p>
<p class="_ad_q1">According to <a href="https://www.b2bmarketingzone.com/edition/daily-mail-privacy-2022-07-14?open-article-id=21930476&amp;article-title=you-re-not-the-only-one-worried-about-the-rapidly-increasing-need-for-content&amp;blog-domain=contently.com&amp;blog-title=contently" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong>B2B Marketing Zone</strong></span></a>, there are strategies you can implement to meet the need for content despite the challenges:</p>
<ol>
<li class="_ad_q1">Tighten standard operating procedures</li>
<li class="_ad_q1">Only create content your audience wants</li>
<li class="_ad_q1">Create content for SEO snippets</li>
</ol>
<p class="_ad_q1">No matter who you are or what you&#8217;re selling, the best content strategy to keep you from <em>coming undone</em> will always be one that focuses on providing long-term value to your audience consistently, despite the demands of today.</p>
<h2 class="_ad_q1">And Speaking of Content… Check out this Podcast!</h2>
<p class="_ad_q1">I recently had the chance to join Glenn Schmelzle on his podcast, <a href="https://funnelreboot.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong>Funnel Reboot</strong></span></a>. I suggest you check it out if you haven&#8217;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 – <a href="https://funnelreboot.com/episode-97-reacting-to-a-reengineered-sales-team-with-rick-endrulat/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong>give it a listen</strong></span></a>!</p>
<h2 class="_ad_q1">Worried About Rapidly Increasing Ticket Prices?</h2>
<p class="_ad_q1">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).</p>
<p class="_ad_q1">The <a href="https://www.theglobeandmail.com/business/article-popular-concert-tickets-nearly-20-more-expensive-than-pre-pandemic/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong>Globe and Mail</strong></span></a> 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.</p>
<p class="_ad_q1">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 <a href="https://news.pollstar.com/2022/06/24/concert-industry-roars-back-pollstar-2022-mid-year-report/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong>Pollstar</strong></span></a>. And concertgoers are spending more after they arrive at shows. Live Nation&#8217;s revenue per fan from in-venue merch sales was up 30% compared with 2019.</p>
<p class="_ad_q1">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.</p>
<p class="_ad_q1">It&#8217;s no one cause, but a matter of <em>that and this, these and those</em>. The combination of high demand, the need to recoup the losses of the last couple of years, and surely some other factors we haven&#8217;t considered are resulting in some real financial pain for the fans.</p>
<p class="_ad_q1">As always, don&#8217;t hesitate to call me to brainstorm or just say hello.</p>
<p>Looking forward,<br />
Rick</p>
<p><strong>Rick Endrulat, President | ricke@v-causeway.com | <a href="http://www.linkedin.com/in/rickendrulat" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">www.linkedin.com/in/rickendrulat</a></strong></p>
<p>The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://virtualcauseway.com/demand-increasing-rapidly-dont-panic/">Demand Increasing Rapidly? Don&#8217;t Panic!</a> appeared first on <a rel="nofollow" href="https://virtualcauseway.com">Virtual Causeway</a>.</p>
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		<post-id xmlns="com-wordpress:feed-additions:1">2727</post-id>	</item>
		<item>
		<title>The Death of the MQL</title>
		<link>https://virtualcauseway.com/the-death-of-the-mql/</link>
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		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Thomas Krol]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Mon, 06 Jun 2022 14:30:50 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[Blog]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[ABM]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[account-based marketing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[B2B Marketing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[demand generation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Marketing Qualified Lead]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[MQL]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[WDBMD]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">https://virtualcauseway.com/?p=2695</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[<p>What Do B2B Marketers Do Now? is an ongoing email. Join the mailing list to be the first to receive these weekly insights! Let's all take a collective deep breath – do you feel any calmer? It's safe to say that life has felt busy lately… REALLY busy. Between spring cleaning, yard work, soaking up [...]</p>
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]]></description>
										<content:encoded><![CDATA[<blockquote>
<h3><em>What Do B2B Marketers Do Now?</em> is an ongoing email. <a href="https://lp.constantcontactpages.com/su/dL2IjAt" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Join the mailing list</span></a> to be the first to receive these weekly insights!</h3>
</blockquote>
<p class="_ad_q1">Let&#8217;s all take a collective deep breath – do you feel any calmer? It&#8217;s safe to say that life has felt busy lately… REALLY busy. Between spring cleaning, yard work, soaking up the sun and getting back into the swing of things post-pandemic, it seems as if our to-do list is growing longer each day.</p>
<p class="_ad_q1">Give this <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5WPbqYoz9HA" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong>song</strong></span></a> by Bush a listen with me as we see what the experts are saying this week… and see how we can be <em>better than the rest</em>.</p>
<h2 class="_ad_q1">Say Goodbye to MQLs</h2>
<p class="_ad_q1">As your to-do list grows, are your lead follow-ups also getting out of control? The <strong>Death of the MQL</strong> has been a hot topic in the B2B arena lately as ABM&#8217;s meteoric rise in popularity continues. And though many marketers may find it difficult to let go of the metric they&#8217;ve held near and dear for so long, <a href="https://www.forrester.com/blogs/the-revenue-process-alignment-series-part-1-the-end-of-mqls/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong>Forrester</strong></span></a> has made a compelling case for doing so and embracing opportunity-based marketing as an alternative.</p>
<p class="_ad_q1">As opposed to a traditional lead-centric process, an opportunity-based approach recognizes that more than one person is making a purchasing decision. The biggest change, however, is the fact that when both Sales and Marketing are focused on opportunities, they are working in the same currency. When Sales trades in opportunities and Marketing deals with leads, they won&#8217;t be aligned <em>for years and years and years</em>.</p>
<p class="_ad_q1">You know what we&#8217;ve seen with our clients? When their Sales and Marketing teams are BOTH working with opportunities, there&#8217;s still a handover… but what Marketing is handing over already fits the goal Sales is working toward.</p>
<h2 class="_ad_q1">Say Hello to Big Streaming Numbers</h2>
<p class="_ad_q1">In the streaming world, however, it looks like quantity trumps quality – the complete opposite of our ABM/B2B world.</p>
<p class="_ad_q1">In 2018, the top 200 songs were <a href="https://lefsetz.com/wordpress/2022/05/31/streaming-statistics/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong>responsible</strong></span></a> for nearly one in 10 of all streams; in 2021, that metric fell to less than one in 20, according to Luminate. Last year, 95,000 songs hit one million streams, a 36% increase over 2018.</p>
<p class="_ad_q1">Sure, there&#8217;s more money in hits, both in actual streaming payments and in touring, merch, sponsorships, etc. But music streaming is turning into television streaming: there&#8217;s so much product that nothing is as big as it used to be.</p>
<p class="_ad_q1">Just like B2B, it&#8217;s a numbers game. Do you want to focus on high volume but fewer &#8216;hits,&#8217; or on lower volume and higher quality? Depending on your business you may go either way.</p>
<p class="_ad_q1">As always, don&#8217;t hesitate to call me to brainstorm or just say hello.</p>
<p>Looking forward,<br />
Rick</p>
<p><strong>Rick Endrulat, President | ricke@v-causeway.com | <a href="http://www.linkedin.com/in/rickendrulat" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">www.linkedin.com/in/rickendrulat</a></strong></p>
<p>The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://virtualcauseway.com/the-death-of-the-mql/">The Death of the MQL</a> appeared first on <a rel="nofollow" href="https://virtualcauseway.com">Virtual Causeway</a>.</p>
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		<post-id xmlns="com-wordpress:feed-additions:1">2695</post-id>	</item>
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		<title>Striking a Balance with Quantity and Quality</title>
		<link>https://virtualcauseway.com/striking-a-balance-with-quantity-and-quality/</link>
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		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Thomas Krol]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Mon, 23 May 2022 14:41:50 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[Blog]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[b2b events]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[b2b sales]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[B2B Selling]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[demand gen]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[demand generation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Lead Generation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Sales leads]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Tradeshows]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[WDBMD]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">https://virtualcauseway.com/?p=2659</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[<p>What Do B2B Marketers Do Now? is an ongoing email. Join the mailing list to be the first to receive these weekly insights! Quantity vs. Quality. That age-old debate. If I'd let my sales colleagues dictate spend over the years, I'm not sure any of those companies would still exist – but we certainly would have [...]</p>
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]]></description>
										<content:encoded><![CDATA[<blockquote>
<h3><em>What Do B2B Marketers Do Now?</em> is an ongoing email. <a href="https://lp.constantcontactpages.com/su/dL2IjAt" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Join the mailing list</span></a> to be the first to receive these weekly insights!</h3>
</blockquote>
<p class="_ad_q1">Quantity vs. Quality. That age-old debate. If I&#8217;d let my sales colleagues dictate spend over the years, I&#8217;m not sure any of those companies would still exist – but we certainly would have been living the <em>rock &#8216;n&#8217; roll lifestyle!</em> When it comes to demand gen, how do you balance quantity and quality?</p>
<p class="_ad_q1">Give this <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2BW6CVqJNdU" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong>song</strong></span></a> by Cake a listen as we see what the experts are saying this week.</p>
<h2 class="_ad_q1">Tradeshows in 2022</h2>
<p class="_ad_q1">Have you been to a B2B tradeshow or conference in 2022? <a href="https://www.npws.net/blog/future-of-trade-shows/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong>Statistics indicate</strong></span></a> that the B2B trade show market in the United States was worth $15.58 billion USD in 2019. The market sharply declined to $5.6 billion in 2020 but is projected to rebound to $14.5 billion by 2024.</p>
<p class="_ad_q1">Will we truly see a return to in-person conferences this year? Or have we fully embraced the hybrid model?</p>
<p class="_ad_q1">A joint research tool created by CNN and Moody&#8217;s, the <a href="https://edition.cnn.com/business/us-economic-recovery-coronavirus" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><em><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong>Back to Normal Index</strong></span></em></a> reached 94% as of this week. This fascinating analytic scale – which touches on many aspects of life in America – set &#8216;normal&#8217; at 100, representing how things were going into March 2020. We&#8217;re not all the way back, but there&#8217;s cause for celebration to be sure.</p>
<p class="_ad_q1">A return to normalcy also means a return to business as usual and trade shows being an enduring source of new business generation. Here are some items you&#8217;ll need to consider if you&#8217;re thinking of exhibiting:</p>
<ul>
<li class="_ad_q1"><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Trade Show Safety.</span> Safety concerns continue to be front and center for attendees and organizers – and what if there are new restrictions?</li>
<li class="_ad_q1"><span style="text-decoration: underline;">B2B Trade Show Costs.</span> Your total trade show budget should be roughly three times the actual exhibit cost. At an average of $150/sq ft for a booth, assume a 10&#215;10 will cost you over $45,000.</li>
</ul>
<p class="_ad_q1">From what I&#8217;ve seen, these numbers are actually LOW! What are you seeing in your industry? Do you really NEED to be at that conference, or are you just <em>drinkin&#8217; what they&#8217;re selling?</em></p>
<h2 class="_ad_q1">Your Concert T-Shirt</h2>
<p class="_ad_q1">Have you been to a live concert recently?<em> How much did you pay for your concert t-shirt, that proves you were there, that you heard of them first?</em></p>
<p class="_ad_q1">As we all know, world events greatly impacted the merch business starting in 2020. The cost of blank garments is up, printing supplies are <em>shiny and costly</em>, and supply chain issues abound (plus the usual suspects, like inflation)!</p>
<p class="_ad_q1">This <a href="https://streamndestroy.substack.com/p/merch-prices?s=r" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong>article</strong></span></a> compares prices for merchandise among rock bands. It&#8217;s an interesting comparison – do you see any trends between the strength of the &#8216;brand&#8217; and the cost of the merch?</p>
<p class="_ad_q1">When looking at B2B vendors, do you find the price tends to match the prestige or the product? The quantity or the quality? Maybe you&#8217;re willing to pay a little more for something with better brand recognition&#8230; or maybe you prefer to <em>rock on completely with some brand-new</em> option.</p>
<p class="_ad_q1">Which do you prioritize?</p>
<p class="_ad_q1">As always, don&#8217;t hesitate to call me to brainstorm or just say hello.</p>
<p>Looking forward,<br />
Rick</p>
<p><strong>Rick Endrulat, President | ricke@v-causeway.com | <a href="http://www.linkedin.com/in/rickendrulat" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">www.linkedin.com/in/rickendrulat</a></strong></p>
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		<post-id xmlns="com-wordpress:feed-additions:1">2659</post-id>	</item>
		<item>
		<title>Make Your B2B Marketing the Stuff of Legends</title>
		<link>https://virtualcauseway.com/make-your-b2b-marketing-the-stuff-of-legends/</link>
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		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Thomas Krol]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Mon, 11 Apr 2022 14:15:09 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[Blog]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[B2B Marketing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[b2b sales]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[demand generation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Revenue Operations]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[RevOps]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Sales Data]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[sales operations]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Sales Ops]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[WDBMD]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">https://virtualcauseway.com/?p=2632</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[<p>What Do B2B Marketers Do Now? is an ongoing email. Join the mailing list to be the first to receive these weekly insights! I couldn't come up with an intro this week. Not sure why, but it was tough. And I feel like I need to make it good since my colleagues did such a [...]</p>
<p>The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://virtualcauseway.com/make-your-b2b-marketing-the-stuff-of-legends/">Make Your B2B Marketing the Stuff of Legends</a> appeared first on <a rel="nofollow" href="https://virtualcauseway.com">Virtual Causeway</a>.</p>
]]></description>
										<content:encoded><![CDATA[<blockquote>
<h3><em>What Do B2B Marketers Do Now?</em> is an ongoing email. <a href="https://lp.constantcontactpages.com/su/dL2IjAt" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Join the mailing list</span></a> to be the first to receive these weekly insights!</h3>
</blockquote>
<p class="_ad_q1">I couldn&#8217;t come up with an intro this week. Not sure why, but it was tough. And I feel like I need to make it good since my colleagues did such a great job of covering for me <a href="https://virtualcauseway.com/be-content-with-your-content/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong>last week</strong></span></a>. However – admitting my writer&#8217;s block is, in essence, creating an intro. A compelling one? You tell me!</p>
<p class="_ad_q1">Give this <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8A3HZvGN0qs" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong>song</strong></span></a> a listen with me, and see how this band got over their writer&#8217;s block by writing a song about writing the song! (Too &#8216;meta&#8217; for you?) Plus&#8230; who hasn&#8217;t pulled an all-nighter to meet a deadline – am I right?</p>
<h2 class="_ad_q1"><em>Staring Blindly into Space</em></h2>
<p class="_ad_q1">Sometimes you need some hard facts to help centre you and get you focused. If you want to increase productivity and revenue at your organization, you have to focus on metrics that matter.</p>
<p class="_ad_q1">Revenue teams have become increasingly more data-driven, which makes it easy to get bogged down in tracking every little data point. <a href="https://www.b2bmarketingzone.com/frs/21259516/the-definitive-guide-to-the-top-4-sales-enablement-metrics/email" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong>B2B Marketing Zone</strong></span></a> provides a guide to help you stay data-driven while avoiding data overload by focusing on four categories:</p>
<ul>
<li class="_ad_q1">Sales enablement</li>
<li class="_ad_q1">Sales effectiveness</li>
<li class="_ad_q1">Sales readiness</li>
<li class="_ad_q1">Sales engagement</li>
</ul>
<p class="_ad_q1">I like how these are defined and some of the tactical examples. Some are pretty standard (such as win rate, churn rate, and time to close), while things like impact to discounting, lead velocity rate, and contact instances per demo are some metrics I&#8217;ve seen used much less frequently.</p>
<p class="_ad_q1">Many organizations simply accept that these are qualitative metrics and don&#8217;t measure them. But if you&#8217;re looking to scale your teams, you need to build a strong data-driven process.</p>
<p class="_ad_q1">How do you track these categories? DO you track them?</p>
<h2 class="_ad_q1">Searching for Something to Say</h2>
<p class="_ad_q1">Sometimes, as a musical artist, it&#8217;s better to let the audience fill in the blanks. Who hasn&#8217;t been at a concert where the singer stops singing and lets the audience sing the chorus? Those can be magical moments at a show and really solidify the bond and engagement between the artist and the fans.</p>
<p class="_ad_q1">Now, how about songs where the audience creates their own lyrics to complement the song? A great example of this is the song &#8220;Mony Mony&#8221; – most notably, Billy Idol&#8217;s cover version. Being a high school student in the late &#8217;80s, I can remember every time this song came on, and the lewd lyrics that were sung in response to Billy&#8217;s chorus vocals. How did they start? How did it spread across the world?</p>
<p class="_ad_q1">Interestingly, Alan Cross has been studying the origin of these &#8216;special lyrics,&#8217; and <a href="https://www.ajournalofmusicalthings.com/where-did-the-special-lyrics-in-billy-idols-version-of-mony-mony-come-from/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong>shares</strong></span></a> his fascinating findings.</p>
<p class="_ad_q1">This shows how a little bit of myth and legend can make something bigger than it seems. It adds all sorts of magic and mystique to the song and increases audience engagement. And ultimately, helps sell more albums for the artist!</p>
<p class="_ad_q1"><em>Should I try to do some more?</em> Maybe there is some way – a little nudge – that you can get your customers to expand on your service offerings (hopefully in a positive way) and increase engagement.</p>
<p class="_ad_q1">As always, don&#8217;t hesitate to call me to brainstorm or just say hello.</p>
<p>Looking forward,<br />
Rick</p>
<p><strong>Rick Endrulat, President | ricke@v-causeway.com | <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/rickendrulat" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">www.linkedin.com/in/rickendrulat</a></strong></p>
<p>The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://virtualcauseway.com/make-your-b2b-marketing-the-stuff-of-legends/">Make Your B2B Marketing the Stuff of Legends</a> appeared first on <a rel="nofollow" href="https://virtualcauseway.com">Virtual Causeway</a>.</p>
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		<post-id xmlns="com-wordpress:feed-additions:1">2632</post-id>	</item>
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		<title>Be Content with Your Content</title>
		<link>https://virtualcauseway.com/be-content-with-your-content/</link>
					<comments>https://virtualcauseway.com/be-content-with-your-content/#respond</comments>
		
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Thomas Krol]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Mon, 04 Apr 2022 13:23:42 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[Blog]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[ABM]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[account-based marketing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Content Marketing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[demand generation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Lead Generation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[WDBMD]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">https://virtualcauseway.com/?p=2627</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[<p>What Do B2B Marketers Do Now? is an ongoing email. Join the mailing list to be the first to receive these weekly insights! 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 – [...]</p>
<p>The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://virtualcauseway.com/be-content-with-your-content/">Be Content with Your Content</a> appeared first on <a rel="nofollow" href="https://virtualcauseway.com">Virtual Causeway</a>.</p>
]]></description>
										<content:encoded><![CDATA[<blockquote>
<h3><em>What Do B2B Marketers Do Now?</em> is an ongoing email. <a href="https://lp.constantcontactpages.com/su/dL2IjAt" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Join the mailing list</span></a> to be the first to receive these weekly insights!</h3>
</blockquote>
<p class="_ad_q1">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&#8217;re reading this! But never fear – our awesome team here at Virtual Causeway is pulling out all the stops this week to <em>keep the car running!</em></p>
<p class="_ad_q1">Give this <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MSv1om_7DgU" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong>song</strong></span></a> by Arcade Fire a listen as we see what the experts are saying this week.</p>
<h2 class="_ad_q1">Buyers&#8217; Content Preferences in 2022</h2>
<p class="_ad_q1">B2B buyers have become more reliant on content to inform purchasing decisions in recent years. According to the Content Preferences <a href="https://www.demandgenreport.com/resources/research/2022-content-preferences-survey-b2b-buyers-crave-concise-research-based-content-to-inform-purchasing-process/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong>Survey</strong></span></a> by Demand Gen Report, 55% of buyers say they rely more on content now than they did a year ago. But <em>every night the dream&#8217;s the same&#8230;</em> and not surprisingly, digital channels are growing more and more crowded.</p>
<p class="_ad_q1">So how do you break through the noise?</p>
<p class="_ad_q1">It&#8217;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 <em>cross a river so deep</em>, it must:</p>
<ul>
<li class="_ad_q1">Have relevant and immediately shareable links</li>
<li class="_ad_q1">Have shareable stats and quick-hitting insights</li>
<li class="_ad_q1">Tell a story that resonates with the buying committee</li>
<li class="_ad_q1">Be ungated and easy to share</li>
<li class="_ad_q1">Be able to influence other internal stakeholders</li>
</ul>
<p class="_ad_q1">Have you adjusted your content marketing strategy over the last few years? Or are your buyers expecting more content from you, <em>but they don&#8217;t know when it&#8217;s coming?</em></p>
<h2 class="_ad_q1">And Speaking of Memorable Content&#8230;</h2>
<p class="_ad_q1">In March, Arcade Fire announced the release of a new album. But they&#8217;ve been teasing an announcement about something for a couple months now, sending cryptic postcards to fans that simply said, &#8220;We missed you.&#8221;</p>
<p class="_ad_q1">We can&#8217;t help but think back on how they marketed past albums. This certainly isn&#8217;t the first time the band has gone an unconventional route. Their last album, <em>Everything Now</em>, was accompanied by an online shop selling overpriced merch like fidget spinners; concert dress codes; and a <a href="https://www.nme.com/news/music/arcade-fire-apologise-for-controversial-everything-now-social-media-campaign-2123629" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong>social media campaign</strong></span></a> that seemingly went awry.</p>
<p class="_ad_q1">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.</p>
<p class="_ad_q1">A lot of fans were annoyed by the fake-news-themed campaign&#8230; but they sure didn&#8217;t forget it.</p>
<p class="_ad_q1">While we&#8217;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&#8217;t be the <em>same old but with a different name</em>. So what can you do so that buyers remember you?</p>
<p class="_ad_q1">Like Rick always says, don&#8217;t hesitate to call us to brainstorm or just say hello.</p>
<p class="_ad_q1">Looking forward,<br />
Rick&#8217;s (totally real, non-fictional) team</p>
<p><strong>Rick Endrulat, President | ricke@v-causeway.com | <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/rickendrulat" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">www.linkedin.com/in/rickendrulat</a></strong></p>
<p>The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://virtualcauseway.com/be-content-with-your-content/">Be Content with Your Content</a> appeared first on <a rel="nofollow" href="https://virtualcauseway.com">Virtual Causeway</a>.</p>
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		<post-id xmlns="com-wordpress:feed-additions:1">2627</post-id>	</item>
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		<title>Be the Destination in your Buyer&#8217;s Journey</title>
		<link>https://virtualcauseway.com/destination-buyers-journey/</link>
					<comments>https://virtualcauseway.com/destination-buyers-journey/#respond</comments>
		
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Thomas Krol]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Mon, 28 Mar 2022 15:18:41 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[Blog]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[B2B Marketing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[b2b sales]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Content Marketing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[demand generation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Sales and Marketing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[WDBMD]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">https://virtualcauseway.com/?p=2621</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[<p>What Do B2B Marketers Do Now? is an ongoing email. Join the mailing list to be the first to receive these weekly insights! 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 [...]</p>
<p>The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://virtualcauseway.com/destination-buyers-journey/">Be the Destination in your Buyer&#8217;s Journey</a> appeared first on <a rel="nofollow" href="https://virtualcauseway.com">Virtual Causeway</a>.</p>
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										<content:encoded><![CDATA[<blockquote>
<h3><em>What Do B2B Marketers Do Now?</em> is an ongoing email. <a href="https://lp.constantcontactpages.com/su/dL2IjAt" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Join the mailing list</span></a> to be the first to receive these weekly insights!</h3>
</blockquote>
<p class="_ad_q1">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.</p>
<p class="_ad_q1">This Foo Fighters <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eBG7P-K-r1Y" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong>song</strong></span></a> 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.</p>
<h2 class="_ad_q1">Who is in the Driver&#8217;s Seat?</h2>
<p class="_ad_q1">How are your sales and marketing teams coping with today&#8217;s buyer&#8217;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.</p>
<p class="_ad_q1">B2B buyers have officially moved into the driver&#8217;s seat when orchestrating purchases and researching vendors/solutions. According to <a href="https://demandgenreport.com/resources/reports/2022-state-of-sales-acceleration-orgs-focused-on-engaging-prospects-on-their-own-terms-embracing-the-changing-buyer-s-journey/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong>Demand Gen Report</strong></span></a>, top priorities for organizations in this new era of selling include:</p>
<ul>
<li class="_ad_q1">Leveraging automation and behavioural signs to identify and target prospects most likely to convert</li>
<li class="_ad_q1">Focusing on top content formats that resonate best in each step of the buyer&#8217;s journey</li>
<li class="_ad_q1">Identifying needs of buying committees and supplying relevant information that appeals to all members</li>
</ul>
<p class="_ad_q1"><em>And I wonder</em>, how often do you engage with committees in your buyer&#8217;s journey? Are you able to effectively map your buyer&#8217;s journey and provide appropriate content for each step – and each stakeholder – along the way? Or do they feel <em>out of their head</em> as they try to engage with you?</p>
<h2 class="_ad_q1">Times Like These</h2>
<p class="_ad_q1">With Taylor Hawkins&#8217; sudden passing over the weekend, there has been a multitude of memorial postings and messages by artists and fans worldwide. I&#8217;ve always been a fan, but seeing them for the first time at <a href="https://nialljmurphy.medium.com/dreamforce-through-the-years-bands-and-speakers-2fc263e162a3" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong>Dreamforce #6</strong></span></a> 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 <em>if anything could ever be this good again</em>.</p>
<p class="_ad_q1">I thought I&#8217;d share some of my favourite Foo Fighters songs, and those of the crew here at Virtual Causeway:</p>
<p class="_ad_q1"><strong>&#8220;Everlong&#8221;</strong> (<em>The Colour and the Shape</em>, 1997) – Great song about risk, holding your breath and leaping into the unknown. And such a cool riff!</p>
<p class="_ad_q1"><strong>&#8220;Times Like These&#8221;</strong> (<em>One by One</em>, 2002) – Check out the acoustic version if you have a chance – great vocal performance.</p>
<p class="_ad_q1"><strong>&#8220;This is a Call&#8221;</strong> (<em>Foo Fighters</em>, 1995) – An energy, an optimism, a starting over – and stadium-sized hooks in this one.</p>
<p class="_ad_q1"><strong>&#8220;My Hero&#8221;</strong> (<em>The Colour and the Shape</em>, 1997) – The drums move the song forward in a way that almost takes over the track, but doesn&#8217;t, thanks to the strength of all the other elements.</p>
<p class="_ad_q1"><strong>&#8220;These Days&#8221;</strong> (<em>Wasting Light</em>, 2011) – The shift in Grohl&#8217;s voice from vulnerability to frustrated growling absolutely injects the song with utter sincerity.</p>
<p class="_ad_q1">Check out a full list and ranking of their songs <a href="https://consequence.net/2022/02/foo-fighters-songs-ranked-list/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong>here</strong></span></a>.</p>
<p class="_ad_q1"><em>The only thing I&#8217;ll ever ask of you</em> (but not really!) is: What are YOUR favourite songs? And what is it that makes them so great? I&#8217;d love to hear from you&#8230;</p>
<p class="_ad_q1">As always, don&#8217;t hesitate to call me to brainstorm or just say hello.</p>
<p>Looking forward,<br />
Rick</p>
<p><strong>Rick Endrulat, President | ricke@v-causeway.com | <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/rickendrulat" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">www.linkedin.com/in/rickendrulat</a></strong></p>
<p>The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://virtualcauseway.com/destination-buyers-journey/">Be the Destination in your Buyer&#8217;s Journey</a> appeared first on <a rel="nofollow" href="https://virtualcauseway.com">Virtual Causeway</a>.</p>
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