B2B Marketers on a Mission

How to Optimize the Customer Experience for ABM

It’s a topic that is discussed quite intensively by B2B marketers: account-based marketing, or ABM. When done the right way, it will help both sales and marketers to ensure that targeted accounts are engaging and that the pipeline continues to grow, resulting in more revenue.

Join us as we chat with B2B marketing expert Cristina Daroca (Head of Americas Marketing, Riverbed Technology) about how to optimize the experience for customers and prospects for ABM. During our discussion, Cristina talked about why ABM is not going anywhere anytime soon, the importance of conducting customer research, and what pitfalls to avoid. She also provides actionable tips that B2B marketers can take and what key metrics they should focus on in ABM.

https://youtu.be/7P6RDyVcY5U

Topics discussed in episode

• Cristina explains why she believes that ABM is not going away [2:54] and why some people believe that ABM is becoming obsolete [4:07]
• Why ABM is not something you can scale to every single account [6:04]
• Some common pitfalls to avoid [7:23]
• How to deal with internal pushback regarding ABM [10:43]
• The importance of market research to improve all ABM-related activities [14:25]
• Cristina’s perspective on using AI for ABM [18:39]
• The key components that will help improve the experience for customers and prospects in ABM: [23:50]
  • Start with research
  • Align with your sales team
  • Identify the target audience (accounts) and their needs
  • Building the campaign – select the right channels, content, human elements
  • Document everything
• Actionable tips: [27:21]
  • Don’t overcomplicate ABM
  • Think about the things that you can do to impact the experience that your customers are having with you
  • Consider in-person activities: get your audience to speak with their peers, listen to them and understand them better.
• ABM metrics: [32:01]
  • Engagement
  • Pipeline
  • Revenue
  • Ideally, have a control group when measuring the results

Companies and links mentioned

• Cristina Daroca on LinkedIn
• Riverbed

SPEAKERS

Cristina Daroca, Christian Klepp

Christian Klepp 00:03

Welcome to B2B Marketers on a Mission, a podcast for changemakers where we question the conventional, debunk marketing myths, provide actionable tips, think differently, disrupt industries, and take your marketing to a new level, from improving your campaigns to making you a better marketer. These are the inspirational stories that will help us change the way we think and approach B2B marketing, one conversation at a time. This podcast is brought to you by EINBLICK Consulting, helping you to stand out in the market and drive revenue to your B2B business. And now your host, Christian Klepp.

Okay, welcome, everyone to this episode of B2B Marketers on a Mission. This is the show where we help you to question the conventional, think differently, disrupt your industry and take your marketing to new heights. This is your host Christian Klepp. And today I’m joined by someone on a mission to build and develop winning marketing teams. So coming to us from Boston, Massachusetts, señora Cristina Rocca, buenas tardes y bienvenidos!

Cristina Daroca 01:11

Muchas gracias. Hi, everyone, thanks for having me.

Christian Klepp 01:14

It’s definitely, probably one of my New Year’s resolutions, improve your Spanish. Cristina, it’s great to have you on the show. And you have the honor of being my last interview for 2023. Let’s get started. Because wow this is going to be, I’m sure it’s gonna be an exciting conversation. You have quite a diverse background. I think that’s the understatement of the year. Right? In the field of marketing. You’re also... I recently noticed this that you are one of LinkedIn’s top B2B marketing strategy voices. So congrats by the way. One of the disciplines that you’re undoubtedly passionate about, and why I say undoubtedly is because you write about it a lot on LinkedIn. It’s on the topic of Account Based Marketing or ABM. So for this conversation, let’s focus on a topic that has clearly become a part of your professional vision. Right. So B2B Marketers on a Mission. So if this is your mission, how to optim...

How B2B Marketers Can Build Greater Trust

In many B2B organizations, the C-suite inherently distrusts the marketing department. There is this ideological disconnect between marketing, the C-suite, and the rest of the organization. One side is thought and process-driven and then there’s marketing which requires unconventional thinking, experimentation, and a deep understanding of human behavior. How can B2B marketers bridge the trust gap and build credibility inside and outside their organizations? How can they effectively get “buy-in” from the C-suite?

That’s why we’re talking to B2B marketing expert Gee Ranasinha (Founder & CEO, KEXINO) about how marketers can build trust with senior management and other business units. During our conversation, Gee discussed the pitfalls marketers should avoid, the importance of understanding your audience, and why it’s imperative to find those internal champions within the organization.

https://youtu.be/gKjLMRiWKCc

Topics discussed in episode

• Gee explains why the C-suite and senior management distrust the marketing department [1:52]
• An example of how marketers can improve their communication with the C-suite and other departments like finance [15:13]
• Gee elaborates on the role of research and strategy in building trust [19:59]
• How marketers can find their internal champion(s) and collaborate effectively with them [29:42]

Companies and links mentioned

• Gee Ranasinha
• KEXINO

SPEAKERS

Gee Ranasinha, Christian Klepp

Christian Klepp 00:03

Welcome to B2B Marketers on a Mission, a podcast for changemakers, where we question the conventional, debunk marketing myths, provide actionable tips, think differently, disrupt the industries, and take your marketing to a new level, from improving your campaigns to making you a better marketer. These are the inspirational stories that will help us change the way we think and approach B2B marketing, one conversation at a time. This podcast is brought to you by EINBLICK Consulting, helping you to stand out in the market and drive revenue to your B2B business. And now your host, Christian Klepp. Welcome, everyone to this episode of B2B Marketers on a Mission. This is the show where we help you to question that conventional, think differently, disrupt your industry, and take your marketing to new heights. This is your host Christian Klepp. And today I’m joined by someone on a mission to deliver better B2B marketing solutions for startups and small businesses. So coming to us from Strasbourg, France, Gee Ranasinha, welcome to the show.

Gee Ranasinha 01:06

Delighted to be here, Christian, thanks for inviting me.

Christian Klepp 01:10

Glad to be connected Gee. And I’m really looking forward to this conversation. Because ma’am, have we got a lot of ground to cover. So let’s dive in. So Gee, you’ve got quite a distinguished background in the world of B2B marketing, but for this conversation, let’s focus on a topic that has become part of your professional mission, right. And we spoke at length about this in the previous conversation, how marketers can build trust with the C-suite and the rest of your organization. So I’m going to kick this interview off with something we talked about previously, the C-suite inherently distrust the marketing department. And shocker, it’s marketing’s fault. So why do you believe that?

Gee Ranasinha 01:52

I think there are a number of reasons Christian and I think it’s primarily due to the nature of work that happens within the C-suite, business departments compared with marketing. So I think there is a ideological disconnect between the C-suite senior management and marketing for a number of reasons, one of those reasons being that pretty much every other business silo within the organization operates in a very cause and effect. Let’s call it mathematical, almost Newtonian, in its approach, you know, two plus two is always four, everything follows logic, process and rigor. You think of it like engineering, or mathematics or something, okay. And just by happenstance, the vast majority of people in the C-suite, or certainly senior managers seem to have reached that position within the organization, through a route which takes them through economics, finance, engineering, science type métier, subjects, were like I say, Everything’s very Newtonian in its ap...

Contact Marketing: Getting a Meeting with Anyone (Part 1)

Regardless of whether you’re in sales or marketing, we can all agree that nothing happens if you’re not able to get meetings. Imagine if there was a way to change the course of your career and business by being able to effectively reach out to important prospects and contacts. One person has found a way to do this through a method he calls Contact Marketing. In this exciting 2-part interview, we talk to Stu Heinecke (Author/Marketer/WSJ Cartoonist) about this incredible technique that has enabled him to teach thousands of professionals worldwide how to get a meeting with anyone.

Tune in next week for Part 2 of this fun, witty, and insightful conversation.

https://vimeo.com/452417119%20%20Embed%20code

Topics discussed in this episode:

• How Contact Marketing all started [09:46]
• Why is Contact Marketing so effective? [16:50]
• The story of the 69,500,000% ROI. [25:39]

Resources & links mentioned in this episode:

• Stu Heinecke
• Wall Street Journal
• Andrei Zinkevich

Click here to access the episode key takeaways.

SPEAKERS

Christian Klepp, Stu Heinecke

Christian Klepp 00:09

Hi, and welcome to the B2B Marketers on a Mission podcast. I’m your host, Christian Klepp, and one of the founders of EINBLICK Consulting. Our goal is to share inspirational stories, tips, and insights from B2B marketers, digital entrepreneurs, and industry experts that will help you to think differently, succeed, and scale your business.

Christian Klepp 00:30

Okay, ladies and gentlemen, welcome to this episode of the B2B Marketers on a Mission Podcast. I’m your host, Christian Klepp, and today I’m really excited to have a guest on the show that I connected with over LinkedIn, as many people do these days. And this is somebody – I watched this presentation a couple of weeks ago at the full funnel B2B marketing summit, and that was hosted by Andrei Zinkevich, I believe it was. So, we connected on LinkedIn and the rest is history. So, Mr. Stu Heinecke, welcome to the show.

Stu Heinecke 01:02

Here we are. I’ll tell you that’s where they... It’s kind of an amazing connection to have made. Of course, LinkedIn. But Andrei did that from Croatia, I think. Are you in Montreal?

Christian Klepp 01:19

I’m in Toronto.

Stu Heinecke 01:20

In Toronto. I’m on an island, just a little north of Seattle. So, I just find that amazing, that we’re making those kinds of connections so easily, it’s nothing. But, anyway, good to join you.

Christian Klepp 01:35

Likewise. And you know what I think is so brilliant about this connection, Stu? I try to post, I like to say meaningful content, on LinkedIn on a regular basis. And, very few people actually reach out to me and have the kind of conversations that you and I have had. So, this in itself is gold. Alright, well why don’t we get this started by you telling us a little bit about yourself, and what you do.

Stu Heinecke 01:59

I wrote a couple of books about getting meetings. And the thing is that, throughout my career, I’ve had this crazy unfair advantage. Unfair advantages are great, aren’t they? We should all have them, actually. So, I had this unfair advantage, and that... I was a cartoonist, and the first thing that I produced as an entrepreneur was, as an agency, was direct mail campaigns that use personalized cartoons. So, I’m now one of the Wall Street Journal cartoonists. It just gets worse and worse. The unfairness of it gets worse and worse. It’s not the cartoons, I hope. So, I’ve used cartoons my whole career. Now, the interesting thing is, I used them to break through to presidents and prime ministers. I broke through to, I don’t know if you’ll remember him or not, but Brian Mulroney, on behalf of the NHL. So I’ve broken through to people I should never be able to break through to. But on the other hand, I guess I’ve changed my mind about that – I guess I am supposed to break through to them. And we’re all supposed to break through the people who can change the scale of everything. They’re out there, and one meeting like that really can change a whole lot in your life. So, the thing is, I know that people have re...

How B2B Companies Can Protect Their Digital Customer Experience

As digitization continues to accelerate across different industries, it has become increasingly important for B2B companies to secure their digital platforms and channels. During this week’s episode, we talk to Kathleen Booth (VP of Marketing, clean.io) about why protecting digital engagements is necessary, some of the most common online threats that could negatively impact customer experience, and why marketers need to take more ownership of digital engagements.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ifcCmoAXKhY

Topics discussed in this episode:

• What is “digital engagement security”? [1:40]
• Why marketing leaders should educate themselves on digital engagement security and be responsible for it instead of leaving it to IT. [4:46] | [7:44]
• Kathleen elaborates on the different threats out there in the market – from third-party codes to browser extensions [10:07], social engineering [26:20], and malvertising [29:10]
• Digital engagement security starts with understanding your audience, their journey and engagement. [21:09]
• The key is to have a balance between customer experience, security [22:32] and ongoing monitoring. [23:12]

Companies & links mentioned in this episode:

• Kathleen Booth on LinkedIn
• clean.io
• Inbound Success podcast

Click here to access the episode key takeaways.

SPEAKERS

Christian Klepp, Kathleen Booth

Christian Klepp 00:00

Welcome to B2B Marketers on a Mission, a podcast for B2B marketers that helps you to question the conventional, think differently, disrupt your industry, and take your marketing to new heights. Each week, we talk to B2B marketing experts who share inspirational stories, discuss their thoughts and trending topics, and provide useful marketing tips and recommendations. And now, here’s your host and co-founder of EINBLICK Consulting, Christian Klepp.

Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to this episode of the B2B Marketers on a Mission podcast where you get your weekly dose of B2B marketing insights. I’m your host, Christian Klepp. And today, I am absolutely thrilled to be joined by someone, dare I say it, who is an absolute powerhouse in the world of B2B marketing, right? So she’s been named by top ranked as one of the 50 top B2B marketing influencers in 2019, she hosts her own podcast, she’s a startup mentor, and she’s an avid LinkedIn video content creator. I mean, I could go on and on and on, but I would rather let her do all the talking. So without further ado, let’s give it up for Kathleen booth. Kathleen, welcome to the show.

Kathleen Booth 01:07

Thank you so much for having me. Christian, I am so honored to be here.

Christian Klepp 01:10

It’s really great to have you on the show, Kathleen. And I’m really glad that we connected and yeah, let’s, uh, let’s get this conversation started. Because you know, to be honest, Kathleen, you are an expert in a field that I would dare say has gotten a little bit more airtime now than it has in the past. Right. So. And that topic is on what’s called digital engagement security. So like, just for the benefit of the audience, could you talk us talk to us about what that is exactly?

Kathleen Booth 01:40

Sure. So, you know, it’s a relatively new term. But I think it’s so timely, in the world we live in today, particularly given the events that have happened in the last year with COVID. So it’s all about recognizing that businesses are increasingly engaging with their customers, their audiences, their users, their prospects online in a digital environment and protecting those engagements is paramount to the brand itself to the company’s revenue, to the user experience, it sort of has replaced what used to be somebody walking into your office building and having a meeting with you, right? You know, you had a secure nice office building, it was a good user experience, comfortable lobby furniture, nobody felt unsafe there. And they could come and have a really positive experience with you as a company. And, and, you know, that’s really what we’re all about any business, it doesn’t matter who you are, we’re all about sellin...

How B2B Marketers Can Deliver More Business Impact

It goes without saying – marketers need a voice at the table of the organization. To have that voice, they need to be able to show that what they’re doing is creating true value for the organization’s business. What are some steps that B2B marketers can take to prove that what they’re doing is making an impact?

In this week’s episode, we have an in-depth conversation with Mark Stouse (Chairman & CEO, Proof Analytics) about what he believes the greatest enemy of a CMO is. Mark also elaborates on why it’s important for marketers to understand how their organization generates revenue, how their efforts should impact sales, what mistakes to avoid, and how marketers can measure the results of their initiatives to highlight the impact that they’re making on the business.

https://youtu.be/UliiB4eseV8

Topics discussed in this episode:

• Mark talks about the greatest enemy of a CMO. [1:38]
• Some of the common mistakes and misconceptions when it comes to how marketing needs to show their business impact. [08:02]
• Mark shares a case study where he and his team have managed to solve a challenge for a customer. [12:59]
• Some small steps that B2B marketers can take to prove that what they’re doing is making an impact on the business. [24:40]
• Key metrics that marketers should be paying attention to. [29:29]

Companies & links mentioned in this episode:

• Mark Stouse on LinkedIn
• Proof Analytics

Click here to access the episode key takeaways

SPEAKERS

Christian Klepp, Mark Stouse

Christian Klepp 00:00

Welcome to B2B Marketers on a Mission, a podcast for B2B marketers that helps you to question the conventional, think differently, disrupt your industry, and take your marketing to new heights. Each week, we talk to B2B marketing experts who share inspirational stories, discuss our thoughts and trending topics, and provide useful marketing tips and recommendations. And now, here’s your host and co-founder of EINBLICK Consulting, Christian Klepp. Welcome, everyone to this episode of the B2B Marketers on a Mission podcast where you get your weekly dose of B2B marketing insights. This is your host Christian Klepp. And today I’m joined by someone on a mission to help marketers and their companies to plan, predict, proof and pivot. So coming to us from Scottsdale Arizona Mark Stouse, welcome to the show.

Mark Stouse 00:47

Hey, it’s great to be here, man. Really is. Thank you.

Christian Klepp 00:51

Looking forward to this conversation Mark. So let’s, let’s dive in. I mean, like, I’ve enjoyed all the conversations that we’ve had so far, I think we fixed all the world’s problems in like, 15 minutes. (laugh)

Mark Stouse 01:03

Well, again, I think we succeeded in identifying them more than solving them. But yeah.

Christian Klepp 01:09

Identification is important.

Mark Stouse 01:12

It sure as hell is. Yeah.

Christian Klepp 01:15

All right. Well, let’s get this started. And let’s get it start. Let’s get this conversation started with something that you sent. And I believe it was on a conference a couple of years ago by the W2O group. And during that presentation, you spoke about what you felt was the greatest enemy of a CMO. So based on this, tell us about what you think that is, and why.

Mark Stouse 01:38

Yeah, I mean, there’s obviously a lot of different ways to look at this. But the thesis in that presentation, which I still agree with, is that the greatest enemy of the CMO is time lag. And what I mean by that is that almost every marketing investment that is made, takes a period of time to fully mature and fully generate impact, right, and thus, generate ROI. If you truncate it by saying, well, you know, we’re just going to look at whatever we can see in the next quarter in terms of impact, you’re leaving about 90, 95% of the total value of that investment on the table unidentified. And the only way that you can look and really understand the time lag is to use multivariable regression analytics, right. I mean, that’s the that’s not just an opinion. That’s...