We bet on performance marketing as our ROI savior but what we got is marketing theatre more reminiscent of The Emperor with No Clothes...

It’s past time to activate Relevance Engineering for content marketing.
- help buyers think, not just click
- move from metrics to meaningful momentum
- and more

Growth at all costs based on shallow attribution made B2B marketing more of a sales function - giving away its strategic value.

We need to show how all our programs work together to increase sales effectiveness to regain the value we abandoned in favor of a short-sighted focus on the short term.

“While AI can enhance efficiency, human creativity and delivery leads to stronger memory, which can influence decision-making.”

As #B2B marketers rush to use #AI, we need consider where the true value plays out in supporting & enabling the creation and delivery of better buyer-driven experiences.

Want the A.I. Path To Predictable Growth? Want campaigns that hit the mark more than they miss?

Underneath all marketing is one core element. And if that is off -- the campaign won't succeed. Get this one thing dialed in.

https://campaigncoach.ai/the-a-i-path-to-predictable-growth/

Interesting discussion about the shift underway from keyword search to conversational (#AI) search from MIT. Along with why and what this change enables...

Are you ready?

89% of #B2B buyers are using #AI in their buying process.

Yet buyers are still frustrated with complex buying situations.

Here's a thought > What if we help them use AI to make easier, better buying decisions?

Think of it as the new version of helping them write the RFP

Why to consider it >

It takes more than your product to win the deal in #B2B.

Research by SBI found B2B buyers ranking “how they felt” during the buying process as carrying more weight “what they bought”

58% say we’ve nailed the logic/product part.

Only 24% say we succeed at how we make them feel.
We can fix that >

If you want to be relevant, grow engagement, and momentum with #B2B buyers, marketers need to commit to customer research.

Not as a one-time project, but continuously.

Buyers are in control. Do you know what matters - and why?

This customer research guide can help you consider what's possible >

The purpose of content in #B2B is to drive engagement and action toward change.

Subscriptions (SaaS) are a good model for what that means.

Here's how to think about it and 4 Factors to incorporate in your content marketing strategy >

@jonmiller2.bsky.social predictions for 2025 #B2B marketing.

I agree with most - but think some will take beyond 2025 to get there - but we'll see progress!

My favorite is #10 - which means we'll need to do the work to really understand our buyers to increase relevance.

Which is your favorite?

Are you seeing this scenario play out?

"...if we continue down the current path...we’ll lose marketing’s ability to drive business growth. We’ll create a generation of tactical executors - brilliant at optimisation, but blind to opportunity; experts in efficiency, but novices in effectiveness."

Let's face it > #B2B marketers struggle with personalization.

Relevance based on context beats basic attempts at personalization.

Try focusing on what’s “personal” to your audience to create a meaningful connection between the reader and the information.

What to know and why #buyerpersonas help >

I think #B2B marketers are sometimes stuck in campaign mode - Like the buyer's journey is all about a single campaign.

But it's not. It's about hundreds of interactions across the buying committee over months.

We need to ask questions of data as we go and continuously optimize for reality...

As #B2B marketers experiment with #GenAI it's important to have a way to validate what the AI spits out.

Relevance is critical, so you need to know if the content, social, email copy, etc. hits the mark.

A Buyer MVP (minimum viable persona) helps you hedge your bets...

Here's how >

#B2B marketers got carried away with demand over brand, short term over long.

I believe you need both. They’re part of the same story.

Marketers need a mindset shift to match the need for buyer-driven experiences that dictate which vendors get on short lists.

It's all about matching context...

Given the changes in buyer behaviors, I’ve become a bit obsessed with the #B2B buyer journey. The whole thing.

Not just as related to a specific campaign, but across as many channels and touchpoints as possible (acknowledging the dark funnel exists).

We need visibility. Here's why it matters...

I'm curious. What does being "data-driven" in #B2B marketing even mean?

It can't be looking at vanity metrics like clicks and views and thinking - yep, I'll do more of that thing.

I think it means tying marketing impacts to business objectives without losing track of the time lag.

Thoughts?

Feels great to be here! Any #B2B marketers hanging around?