Having a plan is one thing, but making it happen is a different thing altogether… maybe that’s why so many of our actual ‘New Year’s Resolutions’ fall off so early. 

We had a small, but engaged group at the April Tech Marketers Group event in Christchurch which was hosted by Lucy Pink of Contented AI in the beautiful surrounds of the Arts Centre.

This is a selection of the interesting current and, not-too-way-in-the distant, trends which I have tried to pick as relevant to scaling Kiwi tech and innovation companies.

A marketing engine is a set of systems, tools and processes which help you to run your marketing operation. In some organisations there are whole teams dedicated just to marketing operations, but that is not the reality for many with tighter budgets, or earlier on their journey.

Talking to your customers isn't just about sales, asking for confirmation of your next innovation, or resolving an issue; it's about genuine feedback and insight. 

The Marketing Audit Checklist is a simple checklist that will help you identify your priorities.

We all know that talking with customers about their challenges, how they use our products or what's stopping them from buying is incredibly valuable and important. But are you actually doing it?

Here’s a practical guide that Helen wrote for tech businesses to talk to their customers.

Our Free Marketing Calendar Template

A short summary video here of Donald Miller’s Storybrand book - on how to make your customer the hero of your messaging.

It is an oldie, but a goodie and focuses on keeping your customer at the heart of your messaging. There is a short version and a longer version.

This book is essentially an ABC of tech marketing and has many words of wisdom for those in the early and scaling stages.

Even marketing professionals often get distracted by being busy pumping out content, but it's often tactical and not as effective in driving your business objectives. 

Whether you are creating your ideal customer persona, developing your marketing messaging, updating your website, or briefing your sales team - don’t forget to think about the personal drivers of the people you are trying to persuade.

One of the most common issues I come across is the disconnect between the sales and marketing teams.  It creates a disjointed experience for customers and costs organisations money, both in lost opportunities and wasted staff time.   

By analysing and really understanding what is causing the slowdown you can make decisions and formulate a plan based on fact and evidence, rather than gut-feel.

Unless you have an endless budget for paid advertising or sales people, good content is a great tool to have in your business' toolbox.  

I thought I'd share some of the things I've been experimenting with here and I'd love to hear what you have had successes and struggles with.

It seems amazing to me that in today’s environment we still have to say “the customer needs to be at the centre” of what we do as a business, yet I still have these conversations on a regular basis.  

Last week I headed to Auckland for the annual New Zealand Tech Marketers Group (TMG) Conference: The Future Of Tech Marketing.