"THE GROWTH BLOG" - A RESOURCE FOR B2B LEADERS, MARKETERS, SALES & SERVICE PROFESSIONALS

The emergence of the social-centric internet has significant and wide-reaching implications for B2B companies looking to build their presence in the marketplace and develop trusted and authentic connections to prospects. B2B Marketers will need to refine their content strategy (Again? I know, I know...) and ask their senior leaders for their assistance.

"The goal is not to be seen, but to be remembered."

What is the social-centric internet, and why should I care?

For well over a decade, the search-centric Internet dominated, guiding our inbound marketing and sales strategies. However, a profound transformation is unfolding: the rise of a social-centric Internet. This change is evident in our daily lives. How often do you check social media compared to searching on Google? When you search, you might end up on a company page and, perhaps, download an article. When you connect via LinkedIn, it's human-centric, one-to-one, which can be much more helpful if you are looking for assistance and just as powerful if you are helping solve the problems your customers faces. 

A New Playbook: Social First, Search Second

The previous B2B marketing playbook prioritized search engine optimisation, placing social media engagement as a secondary focus. Now, it's time to flip these priorities. The new approach puts social media engagement at the forefront. 

Why? Social channels were built to allow humans to interact with other humans in the digital realm. This allows us to build a community of like-minded individuals who share a common focus and are working on solving the same problems. It's a more natural, authentic way to connect than via Google search. But there is good news on this front too. Pete Caputa, CEO of Databox puts it like this:

"The crazy part, though, is that doing this right helps search strategy too. Content is so much more insightful, thorough, multi-perspective, data-backed when it's built by the community. And that's what Google wants."

So it's a win-win.

For B2B businesses, adapting to this shift can feel uncomfortable. Social media in the consumer world is "on the nose" for many people. A race to the bottom, where vacuous influencers reign supreme, algorithms seem to serve up increasingly toxic content from bad actors and any interesting or valuable content is swamped by advertising posts.

"Surely this is not the place for B2B brands who have spent years curating their brands as reliable, trusted business partners to play," I hear you say!

Indeed. And LinkedIn, the social channel for business, has suffered to some degree from becoming a noisy, spammy place. But it's THE social channel B2B businesses must master, and it is the key to building the right type of influence over your target buyers - one that builds trust and authentic relationships.

Here are some ideas that I hope help B2B organisations harness LinkedIn to grow their business.

In today's competitive landscape, successful companies differentiate themselves by prioritising exceptional customer experiences across every touchpoint with their organisation. These days, customers expect suppliers to be easy to research, engage with, buy from, and get service from when they become a customer.

Investing in new go-to-market software to support your sales and marketing teams is undoubtedly an exhilarating prospect. It comes with the promise of revolutionising your endeavours and propelling growth for the whole business. However, beneath the excitement, a nagging concern often lingers.

Will the team actually use the software in their daily work?

Will we be able to unlock the full potential of the software, or will we be plagued by low user adoption and patchy competence?

Frankly, it's a valid concern; too often this has been the past experience of sales and marketing managers. They have either already tried to drive the adoption of new marketing and sales software and copped the blame when it hasn't gone well, or been on "the shop floor" when a new mandatory system has been foisted on them by the senior executives and rather than helping with their work, has just added to the jobs to be done to keep the boss happy. 

The key to releasing the power of your software investment and achieving rapid ROI is to select an experienced implementation partner who has "been there, done that" many, many times before. Here's a guide to help you make that choice:

In the ever-evolving world of sales, Sales Managers play a pivotal role in steering their sales teams towards success. This article focuses on the specific pain points of Sales Managers and how deploying the next generation of smart sales software offers essential features to help them gain control, create visibility, and build a repeatable sales process that leads to increased revenue.

At g2m, we are unapologetic advocates for HubSpot's Sales Hub software as we believe it's the best sales toolset for sales managers (and their teams) in the world, however this list should provide a handy general list of pain points and how to solve them.

Sales Managers: The Drivers of Sales Team Excellence

Sales Managers are the lynchpins of the sales process, responsible for coaching and guiding their sales reps to achieve their targets. However, they face distinct challenges that require precise solutions.

Let's explore the primary pain points of Sales Managers and how today's latest sales tools can be used to address them:

Many businesses and households are cautious amid a challenging, uncertain economic landscape marked by rising costs driven by inflationary pressure and interest rate rises. As companies wrestle with these challenges, many are rethinking their go-to-market investments and tools and opting for a clearer, simpler, more effective - and ultimately cheaper approach.

The proliferation of Apps and software throughout every nook and cranny of the business has led to increasing chaos, inefficiency, and escalating expenses. Understandably, firms are taking a long, hard look at their investments.

For heads of sales and marketing, the key to success lies in creating blistering clarity in your go-to-market strategy. In this blog post, we'll explore the benefits of clear-eyed thinking and offer a blueprint for leaders to streamline their approach, reduce costs, and drive operational efficiency.

When it comes to winning business, thought leadership and demonstrating high-quality thinking reign supreme - and now it's official!

FT Longitude's (A content strategy firm owned by the Financial Times) Gareth Lofthouse authored a survey of over 2,600 senior executives, and at the top of their priority list was the "quality of a firm's ideas and their thought leadership." This places high-value content at the forefront of sales enablement, outshining conventional tactics like pricing and product strength.

The true game-changer, your competitive edge, lies in the ideas, insights and understanding that your organisation has. It puts you in pole position to win and keep business.

Here we summarise the 5 ways thought leadership can enable your sales team:

The impact of AI technology on B2B sales and marketing is a lot less dramatic and dsystopian than in many areas,  where it may pose some genuinely scary threats to life as we know it. However, it is already bringing opportunities and challenges for many B2B marketers and salespeople.

One early challenge for B2B go-to-market teams is the proliferation of copycat content generated by AI algorithms. If you think your target audience are experiencing digital fatigue now -  you ain't seen nothing yet!  Soon your heartfelt blog, proven sales playbook, LinkedIn post, carefully crafted case studies and artfully created eBooks will be swamped by a Tsunami of competently written but utterly vanilla schlock.  Your ability to influence your buyers as they move through their buying journey maybe be forever weakened.

In this blog post, we will provide some suggestions that we hope will help businesses to stand out in the era of copycat content. By focusing on unique value propositions, personalised messaging, human connection, creativity and trust, you can differentiate your brand and make a lasting impact in the crowded digital space.