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

There’s a lot of talk right now about scarcity marketing – the idea of limiting the supply of a product, whether it be through restricting availability to a certain time frame or decreasing production – often both. The principle is sound – we all want what we can’t have and love to flaunt when we have something others don’t – a little wouldn’t do, so the little gets more and more.

Give this song by Guns N’ Roses a listen with me as we see what the experts are saying this week…

Netflix no longer bingeing

You’ve probably heard the rumours that Netflix is going to abandon its ‘binge’ model. Is that not a concept that is ingrained in the product itself? Netflix was an alternative to HBO, which in turn was an alternative to cable networks. And binge-watching became a huge part of its value to its customers! Now I get up around whenever… when bingeing Breaking Bad on Netflix, I just couldn’t stop watching that ‘next episode’!

Many highlight Netflix as a great example of a PLG strategy that has been extremely successful – a great example of how to react flexibly and in a dynamic manner to the changing conditions generated by the market.

But abandoning the binge model seems to be contrary to this – potentially ignoring its customers in search of an ever-growing bottom line. (This is how the music business got in trouble!) Perhaps this is a misguided attempt at scarcity marketing, rationing out shows an episode at a time.

According to Bob Lefsetz, the tail is now wagging the dog. Investors are running the streaming companies, and Netflix should’ve known better and may need to kick them on down the line. Producing less content for more money AND bringing in ads, all while charging MORE, Netflix is starting to resemble the TV networks of yore that it was meant to make obsolete.

Fallacies of Product-Led Growth

Matt Papertsian is one of my favourite analysts at Forrester… and he’s got a great balanced take on PLG. To ensure the revenue engine stays aligned and focused on the customer, the B2B CMO has a huge role to play in addressing these fallacies of PLG:

1. Product-led growth puts the product first.
2. Companies must take an all-or-nothing approach.
3. Product-led growth is new!
4. The product has been ignored in favor of marketing and sales.
5. The product alone can scale the company.
6. Marketing is no longer needed at the top of the funnel.
7. Operationalizing the insights gleaned from user data is easier with a PLG strategy.

By dispelling these seven product-led growth fallacies, CMOs can use the skills unique to marketing to help the company scale for growth. Maybe our friends at Netflix should check this out as they keep tryin’ ta get better than before…

I might get burnt, but you’ll get to laugh live!

Outbound Isn’t Dead (You Just Suck At It) – that’s my session title! I’ll be speaking at breadcrumb.io’s Hot Takes Live online event on Sept. 27. But this one is meant to be different. They’ve gathered 30 of the top SaaS leaders to dish out hot takes and harsh truths on product-led growth, RevOps, marketing, and sales.

Trendy marketing and sales strategies emerge seemingly every day, but do they really live up to the hype? Don’t miss your opportunity to see whether I crash and burn or fight back the flames. It’s free, and you can register here.

I’ve been knockin’ and won’t leave you alone… So 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 Product-Led Growth: Don’t Let Misconceptions Lead You Astray 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!

Do you ever get that feeling? Like you’ve been here before? Or someone says something that triggers a ‘déjà vu’ moment? I think we all have these moments. As I type this intro, I am getting that same nagging feeling again…

Give this classic Aerosmith song a listen with me as we see what the experts are saying this week.

PLG – Same Old Story?

You’ve probably heard of Product-Led-Growth (PLG) – how about Product Qualified Leads (PQLs)? If this is all new to you, check out this primer on PQLs and PLG.

But is it just a new acronym for something we’ve already been doing as marketers? Is it just the same old story with a new name? One could say the same about ABM. Regardless, if you’re following a PLG marketing strategy, our friends at breadcrumbs.io have outlined the top pitfalls to avoid:

• Focusing on the wrong marketing metrics
• Writing too much content to drive awareness
• Burying new product features
• Assuming customers recognize the value of your product right away
• Neglecting customer feedback

What do you think? Is PLG an opportunity to change your direction in B2B marketing? Or is it all the same to you?

COVID Touring – Same Old Song & Dance?

Last year we saw many live music tours start back up, only to be cancelled by another COVID wave. With Coachella just completing two sold-out weekends at full capacity and without any masking or vax requirements, promoters like AEG and Live Nation are touting a ‘return to normal’ in ticket sales for 2022 events.

But at the same time, I’m seeing increasing numbers of announcements of tour ‘pauses’ from bands on the road. They are cancelling shows, abandoning tours, while sick and/or stuck in quarantine far from home.

Consider what catching COVID on the road means for a touring musician. Aside from the health risks, there is lost income and potentially very heavy debt. All the committed expenses of a tour remain: travel bookings, visas, vehicles, band, crew, equipment, merch… but without any earnings to offset them.

The contrast between what musicians are going through and Live Nation’s claim of a “normal pace and cadence” of touring is so extreme! You would have to see touring as completely separate from the musicians who do it to find this in any way normal. And if your business is only about selling tickets, food & drink, advertising, branding, and attracting capital investment… then do the musicians even play much of a role?

Is this just how the industry has always been? Is the Coachella festival itself the draw for attendees, or the acts performing? Is your B2B event the draw, or are your speakers and exhibitors? The sooner you figure this out, the sooner you can avoid the same old…

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 Just More of the Same in B2B? appeared first on Virtual Causeway.