What has the attention of marketers for 2019?
- Summary:
- It's a new year, but marketers are grappling with some classic problems. Here's Barb's rundown of the top issues marketing are reckoning with in 2019, from ABM to content marketing tools.
We can talk about AI and everything it is bringing to marketing and digital experiences, but what are the things most marketers are really thinking about? What do they have to get good at this year so that they can move on to new, innovative tactics?
Account-based marketing
Account-based marketing is on the list of every B2B marketer for 2019. And from what I have seen, a few companies are getting it right. But there are even more struggling. It’s not that the concepts are hard to understand, because they aren’t. But putting this strategy into practice is a whole different story, especially when your executives don’t fully understand the approach and what’s involved in doing it right.
The biggest challenge with ABM? List development. Figuring out the ideal customer profile (ICP) and then researching to find the right accounts and contacts. Get that part wrong, and you’re probably not going to succeed.
I want to talk to companies implementing this strategy. Not just the ones who are doing well, but more the ones who aren’t and why. Is it executive level buy-in? Toolset? Account definition and selection? Content? Or what?
Content and storytelling
I am, and always have been, a writer at heart. I love the idea of telling stories, and I try very hard to do that for my clients. But I won’t deny it’s a struggle. Storytelling is not straightforward in the marketing world. We aren’t looking to create the next Harry Potter or Dark Tower (if you are a Stephen King fan you’ll know this one).
It’s not hard to write a product datasheet, a blog post, or even a whitepaper. But how do those assets relate to a story? What is involved in creating the bigger story arc for your brand, product line, or service and then how do you break it down into relatable pieces? What are the pieces?
There are a few things to consider:
- What is the process of figuring out the right story and then mapping out its parts?
- What processes do you need have in place to create the content that helps tell the story - audio, video, and so on>
- The tools are constantly changing. This year, what tools are you trying that implement the story and related content across channels?
Content marketing tools
The new software category, “content experience platforms” has caught my attention as an output (or a channel) for telling the story. I’m not sold on this new category of content marketing tools, but I agree with the concepts and want to examine it further. And I think every marketer should be thinking the same thing.
There are many content marketing tools available. My goal is to dive deeper into some of the categories, looking at what they offer, why a marketing team would use them, and who has seen success with them. New solutions entering the market with innovative approaches will take top focus. The idea is to share these reviews with you - because you can’t look at everything.
Experiences, engagement and data privacy
GDPR did something good for marketing. It forced companies to take stock of the information they were capturing on customers and understand how they were using it. But GDPR was just the beginning of privacy regulations and expectations that are rising across the world.
Is it now a question of how to deliver better experiences with less information? Can you create engagement that doesn’t require knowing everything possible about your customers?
When marketing (and sales and support) finally clean house and get rid of customer information they haven’t asked permission to have, or they aren’t using, how do they move forward? How will the experience and engagement strategies change?
What’s your focus?
Looking at your marketing strategy for the next six months, are there initiatives on it that aren’t mentioned here. Marketing table stakes are shifting and what was once “nice-to-have” is now a priority. If you’d like to share your story let me know. Or share your thoughts in the comments section. Did I miss something critical?