If you’d like to hear more detail around the ten steps above, then please see my presentation below
I’ve been lucky enough to conduct a number of conference keynote presentations during my career but achieved a first yesterday when I conducted the closing keynote presentation for B2BMarketing Get Stacked #b2bgetstacked event from my home office! Originally scheduled as a physical event in late March, the team at @b2bmarketing did an incredible job in transforming #b2bgetstacked into a highly effective virtual event (they even managed a virtual networking drinks session!). Presenting from home was certainly somewhat of a challenge (self managed lighting and sound control for example!) but once into my stride, I really enjoyed the experience. Would I prefer to stand up in front of a large audience and benefit from the audience engagement that face-to-face conferences deliver? Absolutely yes. But in today’s climate, the virtual conference is a necessity and I believe it worked exceptionally well for #b2bgetstacked. Indeed, I think this is going to become the new normal as we all pivot to digital experiences and engagement.
For yesterday’s session, I was asked to explore how I have gone about working with my team (and the good folks @Agent3) to deliver Martech success within the context of increased complexity within the martech space. I tried to call upon my experiences of leading B2B teams over the last few years. I figured this would be a timely presentation in the week that Scott Brinker delivered his very latest martech landscape, increasing the number of brands referenced to an eye watering 8,000! With such a proliferation of possible options (surely at this volume, we are now talking madtech rather than martech?!), the need for senior marketers to cut through the noise and settle on how to drive value, fast, for their organisation is ever greater. Particularly so, today, with the current renewed pressure on budgets. So, my presentation for @b2bgetstacked was very much centred around my practical steps for getting the most from your martech investment and, indeed, slowing down to speed up. With the volume of brands out there vying for your business, it’s often more effective to take stock, ensure each component in your mix is operating optimally and, ultimately, do more with less.
My advice covered the following ten steps:
1) Be data driven, not delirious. There is no need to try to ‘boil the ocean’ but understand your data enough that you can see where improvements need to be made.
2) Keep it simple. Less really can be more – focus on the ‘good enough’ and not necessarily perfection.
3) Focus on the problems you face and what you have. Don’t let the tech make your decisions!
4) Learn from others. Getting peer group advice often leads to more positive outcomes than investment in new technology
5) Make a decision and stick with it. Go for it and see it through.
6) Partner wisely: go with trusted partners, who understand your business and add value rather than ‘suppliers’
7) Think global, then “be global”. Include all teams in any purchasing decisions and take them along with you.
8) Communicate, communicate, communicate – with all key stakeholders and the broader team.
9) Build in review cycles: get scores on the doors, review, and move on.
10) Be guided by your (revenue) goals. Revenue has to be the driver, and brand is a component within that. ABM programs can help with this.
If you’d like to hear more detail around the ten steps above, then please see my presentation below. And of course, if you have any feedback or points, I’d love to hear them! You can find me on twitter as @chboorman – feel free to get in touch!