NZ Tech Marketing Conference - Take-Outs
Just One Thing
"Just One Thing" was the theme of the NZ Tech Marketers Conference which I attended last week in Auckland.
Just One new learning makes a difference.
Just One great contact opens many doors.
Just One inspiring speaker changes thinking.
Over a hundred marketers came together, from a range of tech companies. There was also a healthy Christchurch contingent, which always gives me a warm glow in my tummy. We missed a few Wellingtonians due to Covid though :(
Everyone will have their own reflections from the day, but I thought I'd share some of the themes and messages I took out.
A few key themes ran through a number of presentations - nothing unexpected, but it was interesting to see how they threaded their way through the various talks:
Sales & marketing interaction
Customer focus / understanding
Tech tools and platforms to help amplify, engage, manage customers...
The idea of taking baby steps, iterating & testing approaches
The concept of starting at the end - know where you're aiming for before starting the journey
These might all sound so absolutely obvious, but it's amazing how often we forget.
Below are my key take-outs from a handful of the speakers...enjoy reading.
Account Based Marketing (ABM) - Lisa Dennis, Knowledgence Associates
This is the principle of laser-focused approach to winning new and growing existing clients
Instead of hitting up a segment / market - you're focusing on winning specific business(es)
I've seen some debate about whether this is a one to one, one to few or one to a defined group: Lisa suggested to a max of 50 in one group
It's a whole of company approach - not just sales or marketing in isolation
Long-term relationship building across a company - can take 1-2 years
Need to go really deep into THEIR world - what's driving their business, what are their problems & really understand how you can be useful / helpful
You need to track and understanding the reputation of your business with those you're targeting
Be clear at the outset about what your objectives are - eg changing perceptions; penetrating further into a current client
Then develop a plan
You can build on existing activity as a starter
I'd like to see more tech companies understanding and using this approach, especially in the services / customised solutions space targeting a small number of big clients; less appropriate for a scaling SAAS model.
If you can name the organisation or person or department that you would ideally love to win, there's a good chance this approach will work for you.
The alignment of sales, marketing & product as told in fancy dress!
Future Trends - Ben Reid, Memia
I've known Ben for a long time and enjoy how he takes big picture, future thinking to a whole new head exploding level!
If you want to keep up to date with his global future scanning then sign up for his Memia newsletter.
There's some obvious things we need to be thinking of eg around privacy & data ownership, but things that grabbed my attention as a marketer:
The idea that I can create video content with virtual 'actors' that I can direct and script, or with photos of 'fake' people. The virtual humans in the video content have a little way to go before their eyes look real & don't freak me out, but the photos were indistinguishable to me. I've got a couple of clients in the health and education space who, for ethical reasons, have challenges getting imagery for their website or brochures, so I can definitely see that as being a use-case if it's easy enough to create
GTP-3 caused the biggest gasp in the room, when Ben demonstrated how an AI trained programme could be given a topic, then ideate content ideas, write a campaign brief, create the story itself and give it a flashy title ready for publishing. Or could write a whole report or whitepaper.
Maybe my job may be replaced sooner than I think - or it could be about making me more efficient, freeing me up to add value in other ways!!? Time may tell.
Community Building - Matt Snodgrass, MarketingProfs
Community building gives warm and fuzzies in my world, so it was great to hear Matt speak and give examples of companies who have successful mastered community engagement
There's no one 'right' channel - use what works for your own community
Be genuine and have an appropriate tone for your company
Having a strong community helps when you stuff up (which we all do!)
Increasingly prospects want to hear from their peers and others 'like them' rather than you the selling business - your community can be your best cheerleaders
I'd love to see more tech businesses adding this to their marketing mix. Sure, you might loose tight control of the conversation, but the value and benefit can be massive.
Prospect Acquisition - Alex McNaughton, SalesLeaders
This talk hammered home the need to have a really robust action plan with lots of touch-points and echoed conversations I often have with clients.
Most companies don’t have enough touch-points
Most companies need more collateral and assets
Get assets for every step of the customer journey
Use multiple channels, not just one - including phone calls, LinkedIn, email, videos
These should be within eg a month to get a meeting
Single purpose, short, sharp emails work best - ie don't try and cram too much in
Short videos also work well
Make it personalised; like it’s written by you, even if it's part of an automated sequence
Aim for 12% open rate across whole sequence - if one email under performs then change it, if something performs well ... bring it to the fore
Mix it up every 6-8 weeks
Have a Sales & Marketing Content Committee
Calls to Action need to be tighter
Don't forget to have a process to nurture lost leads
Understanding Customers - Caroline Maillols, Atlassian
It sometimes surprises me how many businesses don't regularly get feedback or input from their customers and prospects. Not surprisingly, Caroline talked about why this was important and how you can keep customers at the heart of what you do.
Customers are prepared to pay more for a good experience
80% switch with a poor experience
It's important to build a shared understanding within your organisation of your customers
Ask your customer for their feedback eg using the NPS (Net Promoter Score), or through customer interviews
People are more than willing to share their experience if you do something about it
Build empathy in your team - use personas to understand what a customer might say/ do / think / feel
Map the customer journey and who owns each part of the experience; identify gaps
Use tools so people can keep the customer at the heart when making decisions, eg
The "Customer Chair" in each meeting
A booklet / flyer in each meeting room for each persona
Task one of your team to represent the customer persona during key meetings
Tell customers that you’re doing all this and are trying to understand them
This is a short & incomplete overview of a day jammed with good insights and reflections.
I'd love to hear from you with your comments, reflections or questions.
