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

Now check this out: I received a fax the other day. That’s right – a fax.

I don’t have an actual fax machine, but apparently I’m still paying for an eFax service subscription (who knew?). I saw it in my inbox, and my interest was piqued. So I opened it. It was a product promotion I wasn’t interested in, but I still opened and read it. Definitely not the same ol’ marketing email overflowing my inbox!

Give this song by Mötley Crüe a listen with me as we see what the experts are saying this week.

The B2B Buyer in 2023

What does your buyer look like? Insider Intelligence provides details on what the B2B buyer looks like in 2023. Some highlights:

• 75% agree that the average buying cycle time has increased
• 59% of B2B buyers are aged 26-40

Before a B2B sales meeting is accepted, buyers go to the supplier’s site, attend webinars by the supplier, conduct research, and evaluate the supplier on peer review sites.

The first time I saw John Neeson from SiriusDecisions (now Forrester) speak WAY back in 2007, the trends he identified in the B2B space were:

• A 22% longer sales cycle compared to 5 years earlier
• More people involved in the sales cycle (3.5 more stakeholders than previously for enterprise decisions)
• More research being done by the buyer BEFORE even speaking to a vendor

Sound familiar? It seems like the same trends are being regurgitated every year!

What are you seeing in your organization? Is the B2B sales process becoming more involved and difficult, or is this just the same ol’ ball and chain?

Radio Still Rocks!

New data shows that we still love listening to the radio. Tuning is up since people started going back to the office!

Just over 3,100 Canadians were asked about their habits when it came to audio listening. Compared to spring 2021, things break down like this:

• AM/FM radio accounts for 39% of all listening, followed by YouTube and then ad-free streaming services like Spotify’s premium tier.
• Tuning on smartphones is up by 5% (27-32%) and by 4% on computers.
• In the car, radio’s share is up to 62%, largely because we’re commuting to work again.
• For freemium model music streaming, ad-free listening is up from 23% to 25%, while the ad-supported tier is down from 22% to 18%.

You know we just gotta say, incredibly, old-fashioned radio still wins!

Maybe it’s not the same as a resurgence in fax communications, but it does show that some of these old-school channels are still successfully reaching audiences! Maybe we should rethink the channels we’re using to contact our buyers. There’s a lot of B2B noise out there – how do you get in front of your buyers without winding up in the same ol’ situation??

As always, don’t hesitate to call me to brainstorm or just say hello – and feel free to fax me at 519-489-2713! I’d love to hear from you!

Looking forward,
Rick

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

The post Revisiting those Old Marketing Channels 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’m excited. I’m off to a conference this week and going to see how ‘back to normal’ things are in the B2B event world. I’ll report back next week, but it seems the tables have turned.

In the meantime, give this song by R.E.M. a listen as we see what the experts are saying this week.

Blame the HubSpot Data

I’ve been keeping an eye on the HubSpot data the past few months, and I’m disappointed that it hasn’t been updated since February! Why? No idea. This data has been an important part of many marketers’ planning process since the pandemic hit! I hope they continue to update the stats – as I think this aggregate data is invaluable and can really help us spot trends!

So far this year, we’ve seen:

• Deals Closed took a dip early Q1, but increased again mid-quarter. I’d be interested to see which has continued: the up or the up-and-down?
• Sales Email Sends continue to steadily increase, but Responses are still hovering below the pre-COVID benchmark.
• Sales Calls and Conversations took an end-of-year drop (not that surprising), but have been working back up since.

What other trends are you seeing? Are you pining for the updates from HubSpot like me – or are you in the It’s not my thing so let it go camp?

Spotify Bangs Out Impressive Numbers

Whatever happened to #deletespotify?

Netflix stock tanked after the company revealed that it had lost subscribers for the first time. And some were predicting bad things for Spotify when it announced its financial results last week. Well – looks like the opposite happened. It seems Spotify was able to roll right over the Joe Rogan controversy on their ascent to top global streaming audio platform.

Spotify reported that it now has 422 million monthly active users (up 19% from a year ago) and 182 million people (up 15%) paying for the premium service. In Q1, Spotify added 16 million listeners – but only 2 million subscribers in the same period. Spotify blames that on the “wind-down of [their] Russian operations,” which resulted in 1.5 million disconnects.

Revenue was US$2.82 billion (up 24% year-over-year) thanks to increases of 23% in subscription revenue and 31% in ad revenue. There are also 4 million podcasts available on the platform, which is up from 3.6 million at the end of 2021.

And things look good for the future. Spotify believes it will have 428 million monthly users by the end of June.

Is this a platform you can leverage in your B2B efforts? According to Forrester Research, many marketers stuck with Spotify through all the turmoil. With this much reach and growth – I’d love to hear some of your strategies for leveraging streaming platforms for your marketing efforts.

Maybe it’s not your thing, or maybe you know it all too well. Either way, platforms like Spotify are on the up and up, and worth at least some consideration for your own marketing efforts.

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 Streaming Victor, Spotify 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!

As we all rush to the finish line of 2021, it feels like we are in a last chance power drive, and we’re running till we drop. Let’s give this epic song by the Boss a listen as we see what the experts are saying this week…

Which channels will your prospects run to in 2022?

According to HubSpot, too often we forget that content marketing consists of two separate words – content and marketing. Creating content is usually the most fulfilling and enjoyable part of a marketer’s job but distributing that content is just as important. If no one sees your content, they won’t (can’t) engage!

This is why it’s important to understand marketing channels and which ones you should use to leverage your content marketing goals. In short, marketing channels are the different tools and platforms you use to communicate with your target audience. So while the decision to use specific channels should come from audience insights, it’s essential to understand the values of different channels.

Here are HubSpot’s Top B2B Marketing Channels for 2022:

• Social Media (LinkedIn)
• Website/Blog
• Email
• Content Marketing

While it may seem best to focus your efforts and investments on one single marketing channel, that strategy no longer gets the job done. In fact, HubSpot research shows that 92% of marketers leverage more than one channel and 81% leverage more than three.

So if you’re still on a single-channel strategy, perhaps 2022 is the time to make a change! And if you’re not sure where to start, let me know – together we can break this trap!

Getting to that Place…

…by selling your catalogue for $500 million!

Yup. That’s right. According to sources, Bruce Springsteen sold his catalogue to Sony for somewhere between $500 and $600 million. In May we talked about how the Red Hot Chili Peppers sold their catalogue for $140 million, and you can see a running list here – the Boss is just the latest to join these ranks but by far the highest of the disclosed price points!

According to Bob Lefsetz, the logic behind making this sale comes down to a simple calculation (and anyone who thinks Springsteen shouldn’t have sold runs on emotion).

And on the buyer’s side of things? Now it’s up to Sony to figure out how to monetize their new purchase and generate a significant return. And it seems every couple of years there’s a new opportunity. Like Lefsetz says, no one saw TikTok coming! And as social media companies are licensing music, Sony has a runway to start earning.

So what’s the takeaway for us in B2B? It just goes back to that multi-channel strategy. It’s important to be nimble and to be able to adapt. As marketers, we were born to run! So when those new marketing channels become available, give them a try – it may turn out to be a great investment!

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 Channels Prospects Run to 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!

Spring has arrived, the weather is warming, and we continue to look forward to safely enjoying warm-weather activities with friends! No matter where you are, and even if you are able to socialize outdoors, hopefully there was no rain on the weekend and you were able to get some fresh air!

Give this song a listen as we see what the experts are saying this week:

Do Blogs Lead to Purchases?

According to HubSpot’s Executive Marketing Leadership Survey, 20% of marketing leaders describe marketing blogs as one of the ‘most important channels’ for hitting goals. Sure – they can help boost SEO, overall site traffic, and online presence – but they can also eat up a lot of time and energy!

Blogs are no longer the most commonly used type of marketing content, but they can still be an effective way to market your brand and sell products. Trust and credibility developed by a thoughtful blog can lead to purchases! If a prospect trusts the advice or information given in your blog posts, they might trust that your offerings are better quality than your competitor’s because your brand knows the industry, what customers want, and the pain points that your product or service solves.

As you focus more on turning your blog traffic into revenue, keep these questions in mind:

• What information is valuable to my audience?
• Does my product require lead nurturing via gated offers?
• Will my tactics seem over-promotional or disengaging to my audience?

Livestreaming – The New Concert

Bandsintown surveyed 7,688 people and found that 86% of fans have watched at least one music livestream within the past 12 months, while 31% have streamed seven or more. 62% have paid for a livestream, while 55% say they will continue watching even when physical concerts return. Meanwhile, 70% of musicians surveyed said they had livestreamed during the last year, while 41% are now doing it once a month or more. 85% of them plan to keep doing it once they’re back on the road.

How does this impact B2B? Will this translate to our B2B events business? I’ve attended many virtual events over the past 12 months, and continue to be disappointed by efforts to translate that live/in-person experience to a pure digital experience. And paid virtual events – I’ve yet to feel like they have been worth the price tag. If you’ve had a great experience with virtual events (paid or free) – drop me a line and share your experience!

Are You Ready for B2B Account-Based Marketing?

I had a great conversation with Alisa Groocock from Forrester last week – we talked ABM readiness, structure, risks, and of course – sales and marketing alignment! Did you miss it? Click here to view the recording!

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

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