B2B companies finally understand the importance of brand
Jon LombardoThe moment is approaching when B2B brands realise they need to invest more in brand than performance. Just look at these examples for inspiration.
The ‘circles of doom’: Quantifying the misalignment of B2B marketing and sales
Jon LombardoMarketing can only generate an effective pipeline if it targets the same buyers as sales, but new research shows the overlap – even between brand and demand marketing – is often shockingly small.
AI has the power to change B2B market research forever
Jon LombardoMany are talking of the ways AI will rip up the rulebook on creativity, but for B2B the biggest disruption AI will cause is to diagnosis.
The law of brand user profiles: The sharpest nail in the coffin of hyper-targeting
Jon LombardoData shows B2B brands, like B2C, generally serve the same customers, which demonstrates the wisdom of marketing to every buyer in your category.
The 99:1 rule: How to invest in a recession
Jon LombardoFor B2B firms, investing in brand marketing is the best bet in good times, and it’s an even better bet in bad times when the pool of current buyers shrinks from 5% to 1%.
B2B brands shouldn’t fear rejection, but being unknown
Jon LombardoMarketers can’t control brand rejection but they can elevate awareness, so B2B brands should take charge of the levers they can pull to make their brand stand out.
This is the B2B century, and marketers will be the ones to lead it
Jon LombardoThe history of marketing is synonymous with consumer brands, but now B2B is the key driver of economic growth and it will be marketers who build those businesses.
‘Brain engine optimisation’ is the new search engine optimisation
Jon LombardoBrands – both B2B and B2C – should focus less on keywords and more on making themselves memorable at the point of the buying decision.
Forget personalisation, it’s impossible and it doesn’t work
Jon LombardoTrue personalisation is unachievable due to poor data quality, but it’s ineffective anyway and should be replaced with creative that resonates with everyone.
The ‘Flippening’ will usher in a Golden Age of B2B marketing
Jon LombardoBrand marketing creates more financial value than short-term performance marketing – the sooner B2B marketers flip their perspective and start allocating budgets accordingly, the better it will be for everyone in B2B.
The ‘product delusion’ is holding B2B back
Jon LombardoThere’s plentiful research to show buyers don’t make purchases logically, yet B2B marketers still try to make sales largely based on product features.
Brand characters could be the most undervalued asset in B2B marketing
Jon LombardoIt’s hard to tell a great story without a great character but most B2B brands seem reticent to entertain the idea. One exception is Salesforce, which introduced Astro who helped revitalise the brand and make it interesting again.
Use the ‘cash flow funnel’ to fight finance with finance
Jon LombardoB2B brand marketers need to learn to play the game and win over the CFO if they want to grow their brand and budget, which is where the cash flow funnel comes in.
The 95:5 rule is the new 60:40 rule
Jon LombardoB2B marketers shouldn’t be spending time and money convincing out-of-market buyers to consider a purchase but instead invest in making every buyer remember their brand next time they need its product.
Account-based madness: The new craze in B2B
Jon LombardoAccount-based marketing is not necessarily a bad idea, but B2B brands focus too much on personalisation, targeting and loyalty when executing it.