B2B Marketing Highlights: 2024 Recap

SPEAKERS

Christian Klepp

Christian Klepp  00:01

Welcome everyone to this episode of B2B marketers on a mission podcast, and I’m your host, Christian Klepp. This will be the final episode of 2024 and we will be taking a short break over the holidays before returning with new episodes in February 2025.

Christian Klepp  00:16

Today, I’m going to be talking to you about some of the best episodes of 2024 and some highlights from the amazing conversations I’ve had this year with some talented B2B marketers. I’m going to be discussing in my category what the episodes topic was and what I think you should look out for. Let’s dive in.

Christian Klepp  00:38

Okay, so here we go on the topic and the category of B2B content marketing. We start out with Episode 127 and that was with Linda Malone, a great and talented B2B copywriter, and she talks about how to help B2B companies find their value proposition. And we also talked about why that’s important. So look out for Linda’s advice on what to find when you’re conducting customer interviews, and how to leverage AI the right way. She also gave us some actionable tips on how to develop a value proposition that truly differentiates your B2B Company from the competition.

Christian Klepp  01:13

Moving on to Episode 130 with Mr. Casey Hill, he takes us behind the scenes of building owned assets that perform, which I think is extremely important, right? He highlights the importance of setting the right goals and performance indicators and how to be more thoughtful about attribution. He also explains why segmentation and personalization are paramount, and discusses some key trends that B2B marketers should be aware of.

Christian Klepp  01:40

Then there’s episode 138 with Joe Sweeney, and he talks about how to create truly differentiated B2B content that provides a unique perspective. So he highlights the pitfalls to avoid and why boring B2B content is a thing of the past. And I actually talked to him about what boring actually means, right? He also discussed the importance of conducting research and why B2B marketers should build relationships with subject matter experts or SMEs ( small and medium enterprises).

Christian Klepp  02:08

Moving on to Episode 139, with Miss Naomi Soman, this one was also really interesting. So she talks about how to develop the right personas for B2B content. She explained or elaborated on how marketers can leverage customer research to great personas that are actually useful based on moments in the buyer’s journey. She also talked about why mapping B2B messaging across the customer journey at different stages of the funnel is crucial.

Christian Klepp  02:37

Then there’s episode 152 with Jessica Malnik, and this was also a great conversation, and she talks about how to build a powerful B2B content mold that creates lasting results for B2B brands. Jessica discussed the importance of the content mode framework that she has and why she thinks the current B2B content marketing playbook is broken. So keep a lookout for her signature content mode, and what that consists of and how content marketers can use AI ethically.

Christian Klepp  03:07

Then we move on to Episode 157 with Mr. Jamie Woodbridge from TheInboxClub, and he talks about how to implement better B2B email marketing campaigns that are interesting, relevant and stand out in a sea of digital noise. So he discussed the untapped potential of email marketing and the importance of first party data and high quality subscribers. He highlighted the pitfalls to avoid, the key metrics to focus on, and how data privacy and AI can impact email marketing. So we’re moving on now from B2B, content marketing to li case studies, which is also a really interesting area.

Christian Klepp  03:45

So we start off with Episode 129, with Alexander Ferguson, who is a good friend, a return guest, and fellow Lord of the Rings nerd who can sing. I just found that out recently. So he talked about how to craft interesting and engaging customer stories. He also highlighted the pitfalls to avoid and what marketers should look out for when conducting customer interviews. He elaborated on how you can add more emotion to your B2B videos and provides actionable tips that marketers can also implement immediately.

Christian Klepp  04:20

Moving on from there to Episode 156, with Jessica Deckinger. She talks about how video up levels every part of the customer journey. So during the conversation, Jessica dispelled that common misconception that video production is a huge endeavor, so Hollywood style, right? That requires specialized skills and expensive resources, which is totally not the case. She highlights the pitfalls to avoid, how to get internal buy in for video production and how videos can impact the customer journey across different stages. So we depart now from the video case studies area to LinkedIn, the topic in the category of LinkedIn.

Christian Klepp  05:03

And here we have episode 128, with Mr. Anthony Lung. And he talked about how to get engagement on your LinkedIn content, which I think we all want, if you’re active on that platform. So Anthony talked about why a lot of content on LinkedIn falls flat, and what can be done about it, so it’s looking at it from a bit more of a constructive perspective, right? What pitfalls to avoid and why you should conduct research before writing anything. So back to the strategy piece. He also elaborated on whether companies should or shouldn’t be leveraging B2B influencers, why a personal brand is crucial, and what people who are hesitant to post on LinkedIn should be doing.

Christian Klepp  05:44

We move on from there to Episode 153 with Mr. Indrek Poldvee from Estonia, who talked about how to leverage LinkedIn untapped potential and what that untapped potential is. Well, you just have to tune into the episode, right? But he highlights the importance of having a good LinkedIn profile, and why an understanding of your audience and having the right strategy and messaging are paramount. He also provided us with some actionable tips and explained why commenting on other people’s posts helps to build trust. So we now move on from LinkedIn to the demand gen category, and here we’ve got a few good ones as well.

Christian Klepp  06:22

So episode 133, what was with Mr. Eddie Saunders, Jr, fellow, Lord of the Rings. Nerd. Hi Eddie. He talked about how to craft better demand gen campaigns that deliver good results. He discussed why it’s important to start with a campaign audit before doing anything else in which demand gen techniques he thinks are obsolete. He also talked about reverse engineering with intention, which I thought was a really interesting one, and positioning your company as the top choice for potential customers. He emphasized the need to be open to new strategies and digital channels and delivering relevant and helpful content and provided tips on which key metrics to focus on.

Christian Klepp  07:07

We move on from there to Episode 149 with Dilara Cosette, also known as the demand gen queen, and she talked about how to leverage social selling through brand ambassadorship. She explained the importance of personalization and being intentional in content creation, and she elaborated on pitfalls to avoid, how to get buy in for social selling. And you should also stick around, because she shared strategies for working with subject matter experts and obtaining testimonials.

Christian Klepp  07:38

So tune into this episode to get those tips moving on from demand gen to podcasting, we start with Episode 132 which I thought was a good one as well, and that’s what Mr. Eric Melchor. So Eric and I have become really good friends over these past two years, and he’s organized and put together this amazing community of B2B podcasters, and I’ve learned so much from our monthly virtual meetups. And he talks about how B2B companies can grow through podcasting. He also discussed why he feels this is an untapped opportunity for B2B brands, and highlighted which pitfalls they need to avoid. And Eric also talked about three ways for B2B companies to grow. The importance of having a good pitch in which metrics to pay attention to. So tune in for that.

Christian Klepp  08:28

Then we move on to Episode 142 with Mr. Robb Conlon, also a great friend who runs this great company called Westport studios out of port, Washington, Wisconsin, if memory serves me well. So Robb believes that podcasting is still a largely underutilized component in a company’s marketing mix. And he talked about how to leverage podcasts as part of your B2B marketing strategy. So Robb discussed why there are so many untapped opportunities in B2B podcasting and what you should avoid. And he explained how to get buy in from senior management for podcasts, because, let’s face it, not everybody will understand the benefits of launching a podcast. He also talked about the importance of understanding who your ideal listeners are, and provided some actionable tips. Moving on from podcasting to AI and market research, because, you know, we are in 2024, and it just wouldn’t be a podcast if we didn’t talk about AI right.

Christian Klepp  09:28

Starting off with Episode 151, with James Hipkin. So I’ve had the pleasure of interviewing James three times on this podcast, and it’s always been a great conversation. Every time for this particular episode, he talked about how insights into your target audience and how avatars of your target audience and buyer’s journey maps are crucial to B2B marketing success. He also elaborated on what important aspects of customer research B2B marketers should focus on, and provided tips on how to get in internal buy in to conduct the relevant research.

Christian Klepp  10:03

Moving on from there to Episode 154 with Mr. Dale Thomas, he talked about how to use AI for market research. So during our conversation, Dale reiterated the importance of embracing the use of AI for research purposes, highlighted the pitfalls to avoid, and talked about how B2B marketers can better organize their approach when they plan for market research, find experts and synthesize data.

Christian Klepp  10:27

Moving on from AI and market research to the category of strategic marketing, we start off with Episode 140 with Mr. Gee Ranasinha, and he talked about how marketers can build greater trust. So as we all know, there’s an ideological disconnect between marketing, the C suite and the rest of the organization. So during our conversation, Gee discussed the importance of understanding your internal audience as marketers and finding those champions within the organization right to help further your cause.

Christian Klepp  11:01

We move on from there to Jeff Coyle, who’s a return guest, who talked about how B2B marketers can leverage subject matter experts or SMEs for greater differentiation. So during this conversation, it was interesting because he explained why the rise of the SME is already here and how to get buy in from them. He also talked about how they can shed light on key insights that will be instrumental to B2B marketers in creating the right marketing assets.

Christian Klepp  11:31

We move on from there to Episode 144 with Mr. Ton Dobbe and Ton talked about how B2B SaaS companies can position themselves more strategically. He explained how they can become more remarkable and discover their hidden values. And Ton also talked about how B2B SaaS companies can uncover what he calls invisible things and provide some actionable tips on how they could become unique and ignite further growth.

Christian Klepp  11:58

Moving on from there to Episode 146 with a fellow that calls himself Marketing Max. He talked about a slightly controversial yet highly relevant topic, and that is how to fix marketing that isn’t working. Because, let’s face it, many B2B companies invest heavily marketing campaigns, but their efforts don’t always actually translate into sales or marketing engagement. So during this conversation, Marketing Max highlighted how having clear messaging, consistent touch points and an understanding of customer needs enables B2B marketers to implement campaigns that are effective, impactful and deliver the right outcomes.

Christian Klepp  12:38

We move on from there to Episode 148 with Mr. Ren Agarwal, who is also returned guest. And he talked about, I thought it was a very interesting topic. So he talked about how marketing plays a vital role in a crisis. So he elaborated during the conversation on the new skills and approaches that marketers need to address expected and unexpected volatility, right? So he defined volatility in the context of modern marketing, how it creates opportunities for marketers, and provided advice on how teams can better prepare their organizations internally to respond to external challenges. We move on from strategic marketing to the topic of product led growth and productization, which was also very interesting.

Christian Klepp  13:24

So we start out with Episode 137 and that was with Dr Masha Petrova, and she talked about how to market complex products to engineers. Believe me, I’ve worked with engineers, and that’s no small feat. Masha believes that marketers can bridge that gap between them and the engineers once, once they understand how engineers think and work, how they search for information and what resonates with them. So during this discussion, Masha talked about how marketers should probe properly to extract better insights from engineers, and how to find an engineer who can be the subject matter expert, as well as the advocate for the company.

Christian Klepp  14:03

Moving on from there to episodes 147, and 158 by Eisha Armstrong, who is a return guest. So she talked about how to effectively promote B2B productized services for maximum impact. So in episode 147, she talked specifically about the deadly, the Seven Deadly Sins of productization, and how B2B companies can avoid these pitfalls. She highlighted the challenges in transitioning from a customized to a productized approach, and provided us with tips on how to deal with resistance to the productization of B2B solutions. So tune in if you want to find out what those are right. Then episode 158 Eisha talked about how to effectively promote productized B2B services for maximum impact. She also highlighted what the biggest obstacles are when companies productize, and how they can get to revenue faster and more efficiently. She also provided some actionable tips. Tips on how B2B marketers can build a marketing engine that generates enough leads to achieve targets for productized offerings. So you want to tune in to find out what those are.

Christian Klepp  15:10

So we move from episode 147 and 158 to Episode 160 which is with Mr. Wes Bush, and he talks about how to create a winning B2B product strategy. So he explained why he believes product like growth is only half the story, and he elaborated on the need for a solid system growth processes and a lean team. Wes also highlighted why clear messaging, positioning and the potential for a software product to streamline product marketing strategies are important. So tune in to find out about Wes is nine step framework to help scale product led businesses.

Christian Klepp  15:48

So we move on from that to marketing and sales. And we have one here, which is episode 155 with Mr. Hamish Knox. So he’s from the sales side. He’s a sales leader, and he talked about how B2B sales and marketing can generate better results. So Hamish explained why this ancient conflict persists and how to avoid it, right? And he provided actionable tips on how marketing can proactively work with sales and how they can get them involved in upcoming marketing initiatives that will resonate better with customers.

Christian Klepp  16:19

So we move on from marketing and sales to networking communities, and we’ve got two gentlemen here. Episode 145 is with Mr. Donnie Boivin, and he talked about how B2B marketers can leverage networking for success. Donnie explained how B2B marketers and other professionals can harness that power of networking for growth, and highlighted why most networking falls flat, and the importance of having a networking and follow up strategy. Episode 159 with Elzie Flenard III he talked about how B2B companies build strong communities for growth. And Elzie advised against quick, superficial and transactional efforts and emphasize the need for intentionality, understanding the audience and building trust. He also provided great examples of how communities can help B2B companies become authorities in their niche. So you want to tune in to this episode to listen to those tips.

Christian Klepp  17:16

We move on to the next category on the topic of websites. So that’s episode 136, with Mr. Sam Dunning. And this was also a great conversation, because he talked about how to create a B2B website for revenue and not vanity. So he walks us through how you can turn your B2B website into an incredible revenue generating machine. He highlighted also the seven The Deadly Sins of B2B websites and how to fix them, and left us with some actionable tips on building SEO from scratch for your website.

Christian Klepp  17:48

And the final category is marketing in a different language or culture. And this was episode 131 with Hugo Gomez, and he talked about how to successfully market to a Hispanic audience in the US. So we discussed how B2B companies can leverage cultural and linguistic insights in their marketing campaigns, and what roles multicultural best practices and data play. He also elaborated on the fundamental differences between English and Spanish and why a simple translation will not suffice.

Christian Klepp  18:24

If you’ve managed to get it to this point in the conversation, I would really like to thank you for your patience. But trust me, it’ll be worth it, because these were all great conversations. They weren’t just great conversations, they were very insightful and very pertinent and relevant to B2B marketers. So I’ll be dropping all the links to these episodes mentioned here in the show notes for easy access. And I hope you found this recap of the best of 2024 useful. So as mentioned earlier in the conversation, we’re going to go into winter hibernation, but we’ll be back in February 2025 with new episodes. So in the meantime, for those who celebrate, have a very Merry Christmas and all the best for 2025 and let’s continue to change and improve B2B marketing one conversation at a time.