The cat that killed a presentation
The following story is true. Ridiculous, but true. The big presentation day dawned golden with promise. In the quiet northern Ohio town, the agency team met in the hotel lobby before heading off to the famous industrial client. “Better go through one last check,” advised the CEO. “This is a big one, after all.” “Creative, are all the concepts tight? Good. It’s almost showtime.” “Media, are we ready with a bulletproof plan for every segment? Thought so. We’ll own this market.” “Account, do you have the budget estimated down to the last penny? Nice. We’re really buttoned up.” “IT, is the presentation loaded and ready to roll? Perfect
B2B budget nightmares
B2B marketers are common sense people. We like programs with structure, strategy, best practices, smart spending and measurable ROI. However, sometimes even solid B2B professionals lose their grip on reality. To prove the point, consider the following statistics from HubSpot: 95% of B2B marketers expect to increase their budgets this year 63% of B2B firms do not follow a formal marketing RFP process The first stat is fueled by dreams of success. The second one is a B2B budget nightmare waiting to happen. RFPs provide the structure B2B marketers crave and eliminate those sleepless nights worrying about the budget. However, there are some seasoned B2B professionals who have sworn off the RFP process altogether. We wanted
B2B bookmarks: 3 websites that are keepers
B2Btimesuck.com B2Brabbithole.com B2Bpurgatory.com Those URLs describe the vast majority of websites targeted to B2B marketers. They draw you in with the promise of valuable insights for your specific needs. Then, they abandon you among thinly disguised ads, broken links and content that hasn’t been refreshed in over a decade. As a public service to our B2B community, Boomm would like to share some of our favorite B2B marketing sites; ones that have actual value. All these sites post fresh content regularly on topics that B2B marketers are confronting daily. When they do mix in ads for services, they’re generally for webinars or training that is both legitimate and enlightening. Here are 3 B2B marketing sites that
B2B success in three words
Assets, insights, trust. Those three simple words hold the key to B2B success. It really is that basic: If you can provide your B2B agency with assets, insights and trust, you will get their best work in return and stay within budget. Why do these essentials matter so much to the end results? And why are they so often neglected in the client-agency relationship? Let’s consider the role of each one and find out. What they are Assets come in a myriad of forms, including brand guidelines, logos, image libraries, fonts, videos, websites, sales data, market research and any other elements that will help give structure to the agency’s thinking. Assets may also include
The Artie problem
His coworkers hated Artie, and for good reason. At first, everyone in the agency loved him because Artie seemed totally selfless. He only wanted to help get things done, and he was always hanging around, just in case. But over time, some disturbing traits started to surface: When Shelia the account manager would pause while expressing a thought, Artie would finish her sentences If Justin the strategist mentioned a challenge, Artie would offer vague suggestions that never reflected the nuances of the situation When Akira the art director was designing a web page, Artie always offered alternative options If Michelle the writer was crafting a white paper, Artie stubbornly tried to correct
The happy accident of B2B
You wanted to work on Nike. Or Coca-Cola. Or Apple. You wanted to create commercials with A-listers like Snoop Dogg, Tina Fey, Peyton Manning and Aubrey Plaza. And you wanted to win so many awards that those celebrities would ask for your autograph. Yes, once upon a time you wanted it all. That’s the allure of B2C. Then something inexplicable happened. You accidentally stumbled into B2B. At first, you wondered what went wrong. Instead of being a rising star on some famous B2C brand, you were stuck on an account with a microscopic budget
The age of brilliant stupidity
B2B marketing is more sophisticated, nuanced and global than ever. Campaigns can accurately pinpoint age groups, locations, industries, titles, behaviors and even specific companies. Messaging can be tested, modified and optimized with remarkable dexterity. New platforms are emerging constantly and B2B marketers are finding innovative ways to leverage them. And the potential for using AI seems unlimited. No doubt about it, this is the Golden Age of B2B marketing: a time of brilliant, predictable prosperity. Then, the results come in. Sales are down, engagement is weak, the C-Suite is angry and the customer base isn’t growing. It all seems inexplicable. Perhaps the hard reality is that we’re in the age of Brilliant Stupidity. Our
Three tips for great content calendars
Late every year, B2B marketers face the dreaded content crunch. They sequester themselves in a conference room and try to chisel out their content marketing program for the upcoming year. The content crunch usually starts with the following steps: Report on the previous year’s performance, citing which topics generated the most engagement and should be prioritized in the upcoming year Set strategic goals for the overall content program across social media posts, blog articles, white papers, videos and all other forms of content Establish a budget for assets and content development So far everything makes sense. But now comes a crucial and challenging step: creating the content calendar. Actionable content calendars are the single most important
Thanksgiving Survival Kit
Thanksgiving is a wonderful concept. Family and friends gather, they share good food and gratitude, and everyone goes home happy and satisfied. However, like many great concepts, it sometimes falls flat in the execution. Thanksgiving has become the dreaded day when some of life’s most probing questions are asked. “Did you ever choose a major?” “When are you going to get married?” “Why don’t you have any children?” “When are you going to buy a house?” Ouch. And if you happen to be a B2B marketer, Turkey Day brings an entirely different set of mood-destroying comments. It’s the holiday when your family tries to figure out precisely what you do for a living and determine why anyone
True-life B2B horror stories
Boomm celebrates Halloween in a big way. One year, we held a scary story contest that resulted in some remarkably imaginative entries. Another year, our CEO Gary Mattes created a lighted sign that eerily glowed “BOO,” until the letters “MM” illuminated to complete the agency name. But the most frightening memories by far are from our old, haunted offices in La Grange. Boomm employees still whisper about “The Twins,” our resident ghosts. These spectral sisters were always making unexplained noises, knocking objects off shelves, rumbling about in the dusty attic, or triggering car alarms during client calls. The Twins made working late at Boomm an adventure for the brave hearted. In the spirit