Of Course It’s A Gamble! But Who Says You Can’t Win?
What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas. That’s what they say. I say that’s easier said than done. When you have spent a riveting session with the unmatched Tony Robbins in the “entertainment capital of the world”, how can you possibly just leave it all behind?
No matter how many times you go back, you return home from Vegas with a little more wind beneath your wings. A lot more, actually. It’s a city with many nicknames and each one fits equally. In my case, this is not so much the impact of “sin city” but more the result of taking in all the life lessons that this “gambling capital of the world” has to offer.
I’m not much of a gambler, not even as an occasional fun pastime. It intrigues me though to witness how seasoned gamblers are constantly adjusting and refining their strategy. Seems odd to even think about having a “strategy” for a “gamble”. Yet, these individuals don’t just spin the wheel and hope for the best. They watch, they study, they plan carefully; and then they win some, they lose some. They keep doing this over and over, but not in the exact same way each time. They change tactic, they keep an eye on other players, they recalculate and then they play again.
B2B lead generation is, to my mind, always a bit of a gamble. You never really know what the exact outcome of your planned activities will be. You can, however, plan for measurable success and then improve upon the aspects that are not very effective.
How do you plan for B2B marketing and lead generation success?
Read this four-part series called the Back to School B2B Primer:
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4
B2B Content Marketing – It’s No Longer Just A Tactic
Yes, it used to be. Today, it is the very foundation of your B2B marketing and lead generation strategy. As a B2B marketer, your “gamble” just got a whole lot more interesting. Not easier, but much more meaningful. You can’t keep doing the same things over and over and expecting different results. As we know, that’s insanity—defined! You can and should go in with eyes wide open and hands and feet ready to jump into action proactively. Knowing what best-in-class B2B companies are doing, how they are implementing demand generation strategy, what’s working for them, what’s not, can provide useful learning to enhance your own B2B marketing efforts.
I want to share with you some valuable insights presented by the Content Marketing Institute and MarketingProfs. In their 2014 Benchmarks, Budgets and Trends report on B2B Content Marketing in North America, I gathered these top ten statistics and findings:
- 93% of B2B marketers use content marketing.
- 42% of B2B marketers say they are effective at content marketing.
- 73% of B2B content marketers are producing more content than they did a year ago.
- Among the most effective B2B content marketers:
- 66% have a documented content strategy
- 86% have someone to oversee content marketing strategy.
- 35% are still challenged with producing engaging content.
- On average, 30% of B2B marketing budgets are allocated to content marketing.
- B2B marketers use an average of 13 content marketing tactics, with social media being the most popular at 87%.
- Although adoption rates for social media are high, B2B marketers are unsure of its effectiveness.
- Brand awareness and lead generation continue to be the top goals for B2B content marketing.
- The top two criteria for content marketing measurement metrics are web traffic and quality of sales leads.
- Compared to small companies, larger organizations more frequently outsource content creation. Writing and design are the two functions most likely to be outsourced.
How can you improve your B2B lead generation with these trends and best practices in mind? What changes do you need to bring about in your B2B marketing strategy? How big a role is content marketing playing in demand generation for your company?
Feel free to share and let’s discuss this on my blog. You can also email or call me, Louis Foong, at (905) 709-3827.
Featured image credit: Shutterstock
