Whether you have had a great year or a disappointing one, the general sentiment at the end of the year is usually the same—“Glad this one is over” and “Hello New Year”. Around the world, people celebrate in different ways, from toasting and feasting to fireworks, cruises, music, dancing, and more. For me, personally, 2014 was an exceptional year—a truly transformational one. The positive energy and radical, new way of looking at the world around me have changed my life. I am now firmly in a position to say loud and clear to 2015—Bring it On!
Here are some resolutions I recommend for your B2B lead generation playbook to help you make 2015 the best year ever. Unlike other resolutions that we make every year and forget very fast, make these ones stick. Take action and see the difference.
1. Review and Update Your Playbook. What worked, what failed, where can you make improvements and how? Start with this fundamental step so you know what to keep and what to change in the New Year. Revisit these Tips to Refresh Your B2B Lead Generation.
2. Accept that Social is Here to Stay—Get with the Program. We have dilly-dallied, run scared, dipped a toe gingerly, celebrated small victories, and just done enough fooling around with social marketing. Now it’s time to get serious. No longer can we hide behind the excuse that social media is still new to B2B, it’s not. We have had the opportunity to experiment, test and figure out how to measure success. 2015 is the year to be acutely conscious of the fact that it’s no longer B2B and B2C, it’s H2H (human to human). Read this previous piece about The Changing Face of Marketing.
3. Collaborate Constantly. We have been talking about Sales and Marketing alignment but what we see in most organizations is mere lip-service. Working together on a few, randomly selected initiatives cannot forge the team spirit required to yield quantifiable results, ongoing. Collaboration in its true sense can only come about when day-to-day tasks are performed together without suspicion, angst and disdain lurking around. The C-Suite must take a lead role in enabling this collaboration between empowered, motivated sales staff and marketing teams.
4. Make Storytelling the Basis of Your Content Strategy. You know that content marketing is only going to get more and more challenging. Everybody is doing it, there’s too much noise, and customers are getting smarter at sifting and finding only what they want to see. You need to add true value and make your content stand out. There’s no better way to do that than by making sure every piece of content you put out tells an interesting and memorable story. Whatever you do, just don’t get stuck in a silo!
Dig Deep, Get Curious, and Personalize. Remember that essential Commandment of Marketing 101? Know Thy Customer. Now, more than ever before, you need to really know and understand your customer. Mountains of raw data can sit for hours in your data warehouse and do nothing useful. You need to start analyzing intelligently. Use predictive analytics and data monetization techniques to optimize your lead generation campaigns. Armed with insights you can actually use, start personalizing the most critical interactions customers have with your brand. Remember, Business is Personal.
Add your own resolutions to the list above, but only the ones you promise to stick with! Need more ideas? Join this exclusive, B2B LinkedIn Group and find out what resolutions your peers have made in 2015.
This article was syndicated from Business 2 Community: New Year’s Resolutions For Your B2B Lead Generation Playbook
More Sales & Marketing articles from Business 2 Community:
- 5 Traits Of Customer-Focused Companies
- 5 Ways UX Design Improves Inbound Marketing
- The Three Proven Customer Service Attributes that Drive Loyalty
- What Can Inbound Marketing Do For You In 2015?
- How To Deal With Angry, Frustrated Or Complaining Customers On Social Media (And Not Let It Affect Your Brand)
