If you could describe the goal of B2B messaging in the simplest way possible, you might say that it’s to get the right message in front of the right audience, at the right time. Easy to say, tough to do. The most clever writing in the world won’t matter if it’s delivered at the wrong
How is it that the country with the largest oil reserves in the world is nearing economic collapse? The same reason B2B brands in a crowded space find it nearly impossible to survive: inflation. Inflation is an invisible force, but it can decimate both economies and B2B brands alike. In this article, I’ll explain how
If you’re responsible for marketing an early-stage business-to-business (B2B) company, you’ll eventually have to make a decision: When should you give your B2B brand an amazing visual identity? An Early B2B Brand Can Be Rough, But for Good Reason When your company started out, you probably had a visual identity that was serviceable but maybe
What’s the difference between a good and a great B2B pitch deck? A good pitch deck clearly explains your product and what it does. It thoroughly illustrates product features, and it demonstrates how smart and credible your team is. It’s easy to build good B2B pitch decks. There’s just one problem with good pitch decks,
Ask a marketer, what comes to mind when you think of branding? I bet you’ll think of phrases like “logo design,” “website building” and “advertising campaigns.” Indeed, marketers typically invest most of their time in the outward-facing elements of their brand. However, there is another, often overlooked aspect of branding that marketers don’t think about enough.
Every startup founder is faced with the same seemingly unanswerable question: how much time should you spend on marketing strategy versus tactics? In this post, I’m going to share one approach that will help you quit worrying about whether you’re spending too much time one or the other. Spoiler: it’s actually pretty easy. The Temptation
If you’re a startup founder who’s looking for someone to build your team, what do you look for in your first marketing hire? It’s a tough question. Before you start holding interviews for your first marketing hire, ask yourself this: what is the purpose marketing in the first place?
What does every (good) marketer do to develop a new brand? They spend time (and lots of it) trying to come up with a brilliant and unforgettable brand name. But despite all that hard work, great brands often die. Meanwhile, some brands that eschewed the traditional naming process manage to last decades. Is that fair?
Startups face no shortage of uncertainty, and nothing creates more uncertainty than going through a pivot. A pivot can be a soul-wrenching, sleepless, and hair-pulling ordeal that can leave you feeling like the whole startup thing was never worth it. That is, if you let it. But if you have the right attitude, a pivot
This post is Part III in series called “How To Pick a Target Market for a B2B Startup.” To start at the beginning, click here. Marketing guru Regis McKenna once wrote, “marketing people should be on the road half the time–meeting customers, talking to people, building relationships, and seeing where the next product is going.” You
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