Avitage

MARCH 7, 2012

At our recent SMEI breakfast we had an excellent conversation on customer — and video — interviews. As a result, I suspected that most B2B marketing professionals don’t have a successful framework for thinking about, much less acquiring, effective customer interviews for marketing and selling content.

Planning 120

Planning Content Case Study Case Studies 120

Avitage

FEBRUARY 28, 2013

If content is the fuel for inbound marketing then customer stories or insights are the active performance enhancing ingredients. Well-developed messages targeted to address key buyer questions are better understood when contextualized with customer stories.

Acquisitions 120

Acquisitions Custom Publishing Inbound Marketing Buy 120

Avitage

FEBRUARY 28, 2013

If content is the fuel for inbound marketing then customer stories or insights are the active performance enhancing ingredients. Well-developed messages targeted to address key buyer questions are better understood when contextualized with customer stories. Trying to find stories when you need them is not easy.

Acquisitions 120

Acquisitions Barriers Custom Publishing Inbound Marketing 120

Avitage

FEBRUARY 28, 2013

If content is the fuel for inbound marketing then customer stories or insights are the active performance enhancing ingredients. Well-developed messages targeted to address key buyer questions are better understood when contextualized with customer stories. Trying to find stories when you need them is not easy.

Acquisitions 120

Acquisitions Barriers Inbound Marketing Positioning 120

Avitage

AUGUST 1, 2012

This post is for my current and future clients who think they won’t deal with social media because their customers don’t “use” it. OK, but ask yourself these questions: do your customers conduct online research, do they use Google? Both limit easily achievable possibilities.

Social Media 120

Social Media Media RSS Aggregators 120

Avitage

OCTOBER 22, 2016

.” Now we’re telling them, “sell into the ‘hidden opportunity market’ ” As a result of recent client work, I’ve re-examined CEB’s Challenger Customer for clues on how to improve B2B sales practices, especially for sales content. I’ve re-read Challenger Customer in detail at least 5 times.

RFP 120

RFP B2B Sales Marketing & Strategy Marketing 120

Avitage

AUGUST 8, 2013

This three minute […] The post What are your customer’s stories? Marketing and Sales Strategy content strategy customer stories' This requires new thinking about these professions, the principles and practices that inform best practices. We dismiss this at our peril. appeared first on Avitage.

Practices 120

Practices Marketing & Strategy Marketing Strategy Content 120

Avitage

AUGUST 8, 2013

Unlike most marketing discussions of stories, Godin invites us to consider the story our next customers are telling themselves before they meet us. Marketing and Sales Strategy content strategy customer stories' This three minute excerpt can stimulate breakthrough thinking to guide your content strategy discussions.

Practices 120

Practices Marketing Strategy Marketing & Strategy Content 120

Avitage

AUGUST 8, 2013

Unlike most marketing discussions of stories, Godin invites us to consider the story our next customers are telling themselves before they meet us. Marketing and Sales Strategy content strategy customer stories' This three minute excerpt can stimulate breakthrough thinking to guide your content strategy discussions.

Practices 120

Practices Marketing Strategy Marketing & Strategy Content 120

Avitage

SEPTEMBER 26, 2017

Customers may not understand key underlying causes of their problems that are resolved by new solutions. Sellers could be addressing problems customers aren’t even aware of. With new paradigm offers, this means customers are not familiar with the product or solution category. They are adopting a value sales model.

Lead Ranking 120

Lead Ranking Startups Marketing & Strategy B2B Sales 120

Avitage

MARCH 7, 2012

The company initially applied a typical market research approach before it engaged “one of Christensen’s fellow researchers, who approached the situation by trying to deduce the ‘job’ that customers were ‘hiring’ a milkshake to do.”

Merchandising 120

Merchandising Content Comparison Demographics 120

Avitage

AUGUST 10, 2017

Too many executives aren’t aware of this imperative or the impact it has on new customer acquisition, revenue growth, selling costs or customer experience. Content is the first “product” prospective customers “acquire” through sharing their attention and contact information.

Content 120

Content B2B Sales Acquisitions Vendors 120

Avitage

AUGUST 8, 2017

.” I have written, useful high-value content is a strategic business imperative in this digital era because it is a primary driver of: New customer acquisition and profitable revenue growth Marketing and sales productivity and lower selling costs Data acquisition about customers and buyers (DBL) Consistent, exceptional customer experience.

Content 120

Content Gartner Acquisitions Custom Publishing 120

Avitage

JANUARY 24, 2016

This is about content that addresses external audiences we generally refer to as “customers” B2B CEOs, CFOs and Sales leaders have a lot at stake in getting this right. This has resulted in limited thinking about the role, contribution and possibilities of customer content. Digital realities have changed this.

Marketing & Strategy 120

Marketing & Strategy B2B Business Content 120

Avitage

JANUARY 12, 2016

Since most functions we’ll address engage some version of the company’s “customers,” we believe the traditional approach no longer meets new requirements. These strategies naturally focus on the requirements and audiences of each function. Few companies have a universal, business level content strategy.

Marketing & Strategy 120

Marketing & Strategy Content B2B Sales Acquisitions 120

Avitage

JUNE 12, 2015

In this digital era, the nature and role of customer content has new meaning and significance. But most executives have never given serious consideration to customer content as a business asset. But most executives have never given serious consideration to customer content as a business asset. Collateral, right?”

ROI 120

ROI B2B Content Acquisitions 120

Avitage

JANUARY 16, 2018

When it comes to B2B customer-facing content, there’s too much assumption going on. Yet they are a critical part of many organization’s expansion, customer acquisition, and revenue growth plans. Subject experts don’t know the specific context and purpose for which that content is required.

Content 120

Content Domain Paid Search Agency B2B Sales 120

Avitage

NOVEMBER 13, 2014

This must support ALL customer facing, content dependent groups, including sales, sales training, customer service, HR (talent acquisition), and the sales channel. To meet new requirements, challenges and business imperatives, enterprises must embrace a new content (digital) mindset.

Enterprise Management 120

Enterprise Management Trends Marketing Management First-Mover Advantage 120

Avitage

APRIL 7, 2016

When it comes to customer facing content, much is written about content creative and techniques, tools and infrastructure. Hallmarks of these changes include exponential and simultaneous improvements to product quality, development times, design, functionality, customization, experience and often lower cost (among many others).

Process 120

Process Content Customer Surveys ROI 120

Avitage

AUGUST 14, 2017

Selling content provides Communication Support for key customer engagements and conversations. One of the most neglected communication support requirements is content customers can use to enroll and convince colleagues of the value of changing in a particular way. It’s similar, but must be produced and packaged differently.

Conversion 120

Conversion B2B Content B2B Sales 120

Avitage

NOVEMBER 12, 2014

Business-to-business enterprise marketing executives are accountable for uniting all customer facing activities associated with capturing new customers, growing revenue, and creating exceptional customer experiences across all touch points and the entire customer lifecycle.

First-Mover Advantage 120

First-Mover Advantage Content CMO Acquisitions 120

Avitage

MARCH 29, 2016

But if you’ve truly adopted a customer-centered sales philosophy you know you have new requirements. The right content addresses every key buyer decision point throughout the customer engagement process. Content is needed to get into more customer conversations.

B2B Sales 120

B2B Sales Marketing & Strategy B2B Content 120

Avitage

JANUARY 28, 2016

.” When it customs to B2B marketing and selling content, it appears most organizations don’t know either. In addition to being a driver of marketing and selling outcomes, content plays a critical role in acquiring data on customers, buyers and other key audiences. Even SiriusDecisions was surprised by the results.

Cost 120

Cost Organization B to B B2B 120

Avitage

JUNE 4, 2014

Traditional content creation methods will not meet use case requirements for customer facing digital content (Tweet this) Lack of effective enterprise content strategy practices has masked this problem. Content Operations Strategy content operations content strategy enterprise content strategy'

Enterprise Management 120

Enterprise Management Marketing & Strategy Content Paid Search Agency 120

Avitage

JANUARY 7, 2015

Continuum and process thinking applies to how you collaborate with or support ALL your customer facing, content constituent functions: sales, your sales channel, executive communications, customer service, HR for example. The content challenges of his customers are a real problem.

Process 120

Process Campaigns Buyer Personas Buyer's Journey 120

Avitage

NOVEMBER 12, 2014

Content Header Target Audiences: VP of Marketing / CMO VP Sales Product Marketing Sales Enablement Purpose: Introduce a new perspective and suggested approach to improve customer conversations and content, as well as the productivity, effectiveness and efficiency of marketing, sales and content development teams. “Personas!

Paid Search Agency 120

Paid Search Agency Conversion Marketing & Strategy Content 120

Avitage

APRIL 3, 2016

See 7 reasons you’re not getting the most out of your customer facing content) What is Content Source Content source is a repository of all text elements that are used in, or to create content.

Resources 120

Resources Content Verticals Landing Pages 120

Avitage

JANUARY 19, 2016

According to SiriusDecisions, 71% of sales leaders identify customer conversations as their biggest challenge to hitting their revenue targets. The objective is to actually create value for customers, and differentiation for vendors, through conversations that deliver insights and useful ideas. is a considered average.

B2B Sales 120

B2B Sales Design Conversion B2B 120

Avitage

JANUARY 28, 2016

Content is a primary driver of top business objectives and outcomes: New customer acquisition and organic revenue growth Sales and marketing productivity and efficiency, and lower selling costs Acquire data on customers, buyers […]. These new realities have made content a strategic imperative of the business.

ROI 120

ROI Urgency Marketing B2B Content 120

Avitage

JANUARY 11, 2016

This is a question I regularly ask B2B sales professionals, especially those with new customer acquisition responsibility (hunter), more than an account maintenance (farmer) role. ” “Selling is the way that you help customers to buy products and services from your business.” What is Selling?

B2B Sales 120

B2B Sales Acquisitions Buy B2B 120

Avitage

JUNE 10, 2014

Enterprise organizations face a serious challenge with the creation and management of content that impacts the success of new customer acquisition and profitable revenue growth, as well as tactical marketing and selling initiatives.

Enterprise Management 120

Enterprise Management Marketing Management Marketing & Strategy Content 120

Avitage

JUNE 8, 2014

This post will explain how the nature of Google+ participation is different from LinkedIn and other social sites, and why that should make it a primary hub for all your customer facing content. What if the theory, “be on the social channels your customers are on” is wrong? You’re being a publisher.

Google 120

Google Paid Search Agency Companies Content 120

Avitage

JULY 23, 2015

With businesses unable to keep pace with evolving consumer behavior and the marketing landscape, the pressure is on to put marketing operations—skilled people, efficient processes, and supportive technology—in a position to enable brands to not just connect with customers but also shape their interactions.

Paid Search Agency 120

Paid Search Agency Digital Transformation Content Marketing & Strategy 120

Avitage

JULY 17, 2015

Given the role of the sales organization to deliver primary business outcomes — new customer acquisition and profitable revenue growth — if your sales content sucks (technical term in the content business) why would you think your marketing content is any better? “So what, isn’t this semantics,” you ask?

Content 120

Content Webinar Metrics Acquisitions B2B Sales 120

Avitage

MARCH 13, 2015

Or, you are accountable for any number of other content dependent, customer engaging groups across your organization. Your inventory and budgets are starved for the customer relevant content you require. You each know the performance of your group suffers due to poor, missing or impossible to find content for key situations.

Wikipedia 120

Wikipedia Lead Gen Lead Ranking Budget Programs 120

Avitage

AUGUST 29, 2018

The long-prevailing wisdom is to align content to the customer’s buying stage and/or the sales process stage. This approach reflects an outdated content alignment and management mindset. It’s the folder mindset that says, “we need to group content within hierarchical folder categories.”

Content 120

Content Tagging Buyer's Journey Buy 120

Avitage

APRIL 26, 2017

Many B2B selling organizations hit a wall in their new customer acquisition and revenue growth rates. This is the result of a critical underlying cause they unaware of, and do not fully appreciate even when they become aware. Sales pipeline quality, volume and conversion rates are both symptom and impact of this condition.

B2B Sales 149

B2B Sales B2B Class Consulting 149