His father Walter Gretzky taught Wayne Gretzky many important lessons as a young hockey player. Wayne Gretzky, the NHL's all-time leading scorer and holder of 61 records (most of which will never be broken), is often referred to as the greatest hockey player ever. One lesson is "You miss 100 per cent of the shots that you don't take." Marketers know how important it is to plan, execute, and measure the results of campaigns. It is important to do and the saying, "Talk is cheap", demonstrates the importance of taking ACTION.
Wayne's amazing hockey game was marked with keen anticipation and playmaking. He had more assists than total goals and assists than any other player. Wayne was an avid thinker and visualizer, often imagining several plays after the action on the ice. Others reacted in rapid-fire fashion to it. Although it is a cliché, "Skate to the puck's destination, not where it has been" is a very useful marketing tip. We must be ready to respond to changes, anticipating trends and being proactive.
Digital transformation was significantly accelerated by the global pandemic. IDC defines digital maturity and transformation as "using information at center of new business models, using Third Platform technologies (mobile computing big data analytics social media and cloud computing), creating new customer experience and optimizing data-driven decisions-making to transform your company". This has transformed marketing, which was already on the right track to marketing transformation. IDC calls this "digital-first" relationship between technology and business.
Digital-first marketing is a new era. Laurie Buczek is the research vice president of IDC CMO Advisory. She stated that B2B tech buyers are digital-first and digital every step of their buying journey. This is the moment when customer-centric marketing leaders will take on the leadership role of conducting the orchestra. They will design self-service digital experiences and digital sales experiences across connected channels using personalized, connected content. Marketing can orchestrate this, just like Wayne Gretzky who set up many goals with unmatched creativity and insight. This is more true than ever in the age of digital-first B2B advertising.
The analogy of Wayne Gretzky skating to the puck's destination – what should CMOs and their teams do in this digital-first era of B2B marketing? Here are five key points:
- You should adopt a digital-first strategy for marketing. This includes hybrid execution and delivery across all campaigns, tactics, and understanding when and where to use them. Customer experience (CX), while not completely digital, can have variations based on demographics and firmographics. We need to consider that content consumption can be done both online and offline.
- Next-generation customer engagement is possible with consistent messaging, content and value to individual personas and enhanced enablement. In partnership with sales, marketing must take charge of customer experience and lead the customer journey in a way that is unprecedented. IDC's Adaptive Customer Engagement model is a great place to start. It demonstrates the need for alignment between sales and marketing as well as the role of content and value-based thought leadership. This allows you to leverage enablement and world-class orchestration in order to make this happen.
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- Curate digital, outside-in, creative content that delivers value across the customer journey (CX) & experience (CX). This can be done in an on-line or off-line manner, using a hybrid approach. Thought leadership is essential for the buyer's journey. It must provide business value, as I have previously discussed in "Momentum ITSMA Marketing Vision 2022 – The Journey to Thought Leadership Marketing Excellence". LinkedIn research showed that there was a significant increase in thought leadership content, but most of it failed to provide tangible value. It was often focused on the company's goals and not what prospects or customers wanted. Research that helps to establish trustworthiness is key to thought leadership.
- Create and leverage communities and personalize content. Develop and execute social marketing programs and campaigns. Social Media is an important element of the Third Platform! These "watering holes", which are specific to target personas and buying segments, must be identified and used to create and leverage communities and social media campaigns. My friend and colleague Mark Bornstein, Chief Webinerd and VP Marketing at ON24, championed the "Modern Webinar". It was a concept that rose to prominence during the global pandemic. In an age of digital-first, Webinars don't seem to be losing their value or importance.
- It would be remiss not to mention Scott Brinker (the fathers Marketing Technology (MarTech), and Howard Dresner (the mother of Business Intelligence(BI), respectively). They taught me how important and valuable it is to combine technology, analytics, data, and technology. MarTech solutions must be optimized for data- and insight-driven decision-making. Brinker proclaimed the era of "marketing technologists", which is a term that has been embraced by many. Although not everyone needs to be a data scientist, all marketers need to have greater data literacy and comfort with BI and MarTech tools. This is the age of digital-first marketing. Dresner's definition of "data leader" is accurate. Data leadership encompasses all functional areas, with data literacy (and programs), and key success factors.
In a previous era there were many different skills and even teams. Now they are all converging. The next generation of B2B marketing convergence is upon us. Marketing is now a key component of the B2B marketing convergence. Sales and marketing alignment (Account-based, or ABM) are essential to be a leader. We have the best marketing strategy ever. This is possible thanks to a growing and maturing portfolio in Marketing Technology (MarTech). However, we need to optimize what we have and then implement. Marketing is on the forefront of this exciting journey.
It's important to "skate to the puck where it is going, not where it's been." Marketing can be a team sport. Take your best shot, take lessons from others, adjust your orchestration, and learn from them. In this digital-first era, it's even more true than ever!
Marketing Insider Group's post Skate to the Puck: B2B Marketing in an Age of Digital First Marketing appeared first.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are the 7 Steps of Internet Marketing Strategy?
Internet marketing strategies are used to achieve business goals through online media. The seven main steps include planning and research, implementation, monitoring as well as analysis, optimization and evaluation. Each step is essential for effective internet marketing and should be performed regularly.
- Planning – This is the step that involves identifying your target market and creating a plan on how to reach them. Also, think about who might be interested in your product or service.
- You can use research to understand the needs and interests of your customers so that you can choose the products or services that best meet their needs. You also gain valuable insight into consumer behavior and trends.
- Implementation involves choosing a platform, such as Facebook, and deciding where to place ads. Once you have selected your platforms, make sure that they are correctly set up. Make sure you decide whether you will pay per click or invest money in advertising.
- Monitoring – This is how you can see if your efforts have been successful. Google Analytics Analytics can be used to track traffic flow, conversion rates and customer demographics.
- This allows you compare results to benchmarks as well as previous performance levels. This step allows you to determine where your areas are weak and how to improve them.
- Optimization – Optimizing the site is about making improvements to make it more attractive to visitors. For example, you could add new features or change how users navigate your site.
- Evaluation – Evaluate the performance of your campaign. Are there areas that could be improved? If you don't, then you have probably reached your goal. If you have any questions, it is important to revisit the situation.
What are the main types of marketing?
Marketing is the act and communication of ideas, values, messages, and information to consumers. It is common to hear “marketing” interchangeably used with advertising. Marketing does not just include advertising. Marketing includes all forms of communication that promote and market a product or service.
Three key components of marketing are branding, promotion and distribution. Branding refers to how a company identifies itself to its target audience. Promotion refers to attracting attention for your brand through paid advertising, promotions and other public relations activities. Distribution is how you get your message across to your target audience. It can be done through traditional methods like television, radio, print, and email, but new technologies have made this more accessible than ever.
What are the 4 types?
Marketing can be divided into 4 categories: Direct Mail Marketing (Traditional Advertising), Public Relations (Public Relations) and Digital Marketing. Each goal has a different purpose and should each be used for its intended purpose. These can be combined to help you reach your goals.
Why is it so important that your brand is defined?
Your company can simply call it a brand. A brand promises certain qualities and benefits that make your company stand out among competitors. Your brand is what makes you stand out from other companies in your industry.
A brand gives you credibility and authority. Your logo instantly identifies your company to potential customers. They trust your company because you have earned their respect.
Your brand is also an expression of your company's culture. If your employees feel passionate about your brand, it probably reflects your passion for your product or service.
Your brand isn't just words or pictures. It's a promise that your company lives up to. It is your promise to offer value to your customers.
When you set out to develop your brand, you need to consider several factors. First, you need to choose a name which clearly describes the company's mission. For example, if you run a bakery, you'd probably pick something like Sweet Dreams Bakery. However, if your company is a software one, DreamSpark Software would be the best choice.
Next, consider how your brand will be presented. Will you use a recognized symbol? Will you use colors that complement your corporate image? Will you use logos?
Finally, consider the perception of your brand by your target audience. Do you present yourself as helpful and friendly? Do you seem trustworthy and professional? Do you appear knowledgeable and experienced?
These are all the questions that you should answer before building your brand.
How to Make an Ecommerce Marketing Plan
The first step is to identify what you want to sell. This should include products or services that relate to your business. But, you must also offer enough variety for customers to be interested.
Next, determine how much you can spend on advertising, promotions and other marketing methods. Multi-channel marketing may be necessary, such as email blasts, direct mail, social media, search engine optimization and other methods.
Once you have an idea of how much money is needed, you can begin to create a budget. A professional who specializes in emarketing might be able to help you choose the best marketing method for your company. They can help decide the best marketing strategy for your business.
Once you have a plan in place, it is time to implement it. To make this process easier, you can hire someone to do some or all of the work for you.
Don't reinvent the wheel and start from scratch. Be sure to use proven strategies that are working for other online sellers. Before making any changes, make sure to test it all.
It is important to remember that your ultimate goal in eCommerce marketing is to increase profits and sales. Your eCommerce marketing strategy has to take into consideration both short-term goals, and long-term objectives.
Read our article about eCommerce Marketing Tips if you are looking to increase your sales. We hope these tips will help you achieve success.
Statistics
- In 2017, 34% of marketers cited co-branding as the most effective way to increase the number of email subscribers. (influencermarketinghub.com)
- 81% of brands employ affiliate marketing, and eCommerce sites are particularly good candidates. (blog.hubspot.com)
- Companies that use personalization are seeing revenue increases ranging from 6-10%. (blog.hubspot.com)
- Meanwhile, a PartnerPath poll found that co-marketed ads help 68% of consumers arrive at a buying decision before even speaking to a salesperson. (influencermarketinghub.com)
- Today, 81% of brands around the world have affiliate programs. (influencermarketinghub.com)
External Links
influencermarketinghub.com
neilpatel.com
hubspot.com
youtube.com
How To
Six Types of Ecommerce Marketing
How can I market my eCommerce store
Ecommerce marketing can be one of the most challenging marketing tasks. It is important to understand the buying behavior of your customer and how they interact in your products and services. This knowledge allows you to build an effective strategy to help you reach your goals.
There are six types or eCommerce marketing strategies.
- Product Strategy – The first thing you need to do is decide which product you want. There are three main categories. These are physical goods (things), digital products (services), or membership sites. After you've chosen which category of goods you want to work with you will need decide whether you offer wholesale or regular retail prices. Wholesale pricing allows you to set the price for your products. While retail pricing charges customers directly for your products.
- Pricing Strategy: Next, decide how much you want to earn from selling products. Profit margins, competition and shipping costs are all important factors. There are two ways to increase profits when pricing your products: decrease your cost per unit and/or increase sales volume.
- Promotion Strategy – This is where the fun begins! It is important to create a promotion strategy that will work best for your company. There are many options, such as free shipping, special discount, deals, coupons, or other incentives. Try brainstorming new ideas for promotional items if you don’t have any.
- Shipping Strategy – After you have determined how to promote your products you must now think about how you will get them in front of people. What shipping method do you use? Do you intend to use a fulfillment facility or do all the work yourself?
- Merchandise Management System- The software you use to manage your inventory, track orders or fulfill orders is called the merchandise management system. You have many options depending on your budget and preference.
- Customer Service Strategy – You need to design a customer support strategy that will work for you business. Are you going to provide phone support or email support? Can customers contact you through live chat, social media, or even snail mail?
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By: Fred Isbell
Title: Skate to Where the Puck is Going: B2B Marketing in an Age of Digital-First Marketing
Sourced From: marketinginsidergroup.com/content-marketing/skate-to-where-the-puck-is-going-b2b-marketing-in-an-age-of-digital-first-marketing/
Published Date: Mon, 06 Feb 2023 10:00:32 +0000