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Programme planning

The Rubicon Agency
In Corporate comms, Enterprise demand generation, Programme planning

Is instigating a salesforce feeding frenzy so last season?

Salesforce feeding frenzy blog header

How the rules of engagement are changing.

It’s often alluded that sales teams are ‘coin operated’ and the single biggest motivator are pound/dollar signs. Although this is a very large brush to tar all tech sales teams with, there are clear advantages for marketers who have a very single-minded sales arm that they need to motivate or influence. But the question that has to be asked is, are these types of initiatives past their sell by date with the movement away from volume product sales?

SPIF (Sales Promotion Incentive Fund) campaigns have been traditionally used as a catalyst to boost a specific product, solution or service either to hit end of quarter/year sales targets or to provide stimulated demand for a new offering. Now that buyer sprawl has permeated outside the IT function into other business units such as marketing and HR, and conscious efforts have been made to sell into the boardroom, are product pushes now becoming constrained to traditional IT buyers?

Well in the purest sense, yes. In order to push through last minute deals requires a number of proverbial stars to align:

Product knowledge: The buyer needs to be up-to-speed with the technology and how it can impact the business. Lack of understanding or a more complex offering will increase lead times, size of decision maker groups and will ultimately not be suitable for a SPIF type campaign.

Imminent need: Technology purchases aren’t an impulse buy. The product, solution or service needs to already be on the radar of the prospect and preferably the vendor in question is already on the shortlist for a proposal.

Low risk: This ties into the above 2 points. Large scale, large ticket, transformative solutions are just too risk-laden to be purchased on a whim. Sure, they can tie into a longer term incentive programme but not in the ‘stack ‘em high, sell ‘em cheap’ mould of quarterly incentive schemes.

Funding: Budget cycles may be preventative to purchase so flexible funding or an Opex led model may be required to close the deal when funds aren’t readily available. If this isn’t an option then don’t be surprised if the deal falls flat.
So, if this technique has a captive audience, the traditional SPIF model needs to be re-engineered to reward sales teams that push technology solutions with longer lead times, more diverse and elevated decision maker groups which also have larger associated price tags. As we know figures and pipeline drive sales teams so instigating a programme of this nature needs to encapsulate a number of hooks to ensure buy-in. Failure to do so will result in an unengaged and unmotivated salesforce that defaults back to box pushing.

Accountability

Attribution modelling now allows complete visibility of the sales pipeline and the relevant touch point the prospect has received on along the way. By implementing such a transparent pipeline allows sales teams to be compensated even when lead times span over several quarters.

Short-term reward vs long-term pay-off

Like football managers, sales people are judged on results. Failure to meet quotas or quarterly benchmarks can be detrimental to their job prospects. Being able to change mindsets and focus from quick sales wins to longer term account penetration is no easy feat. But, if positioned correctly and sales teams adopt the vision then the rewards can prove plentiful and frequent.

Championing success

Recognition can be a potent tool on a number of levels. Kudos amongst peers shouldn’t be underestimated, by positioning members of the organisation as sales champions not only demonstrates campaign success, it also embeds a sense of aspiration coupled with a dose of healthy competition amongst co-workers “if they can achieve this then so can I”.

Ownership

Unlike selling point products to IT (with limited emotional attachment associated to them), the boardroom is completely different sales environment altogether. Being able to talk the language of business can deepen relationships, further embed the tech vendor into the organisation and open the door to future opportunities. The golden goose scenario is one where sales teams aspire to be, so once they have a foot in the door ensuring ownership and involvement is paramount.

To understand how to maximise the effectiveness of your internal sales programmes talk to The Rubicon Agency and see how sales enablement can be tailored to your organisation.

The Rubicon Agency
In Our industry, Programme planning, Proposition development, Thought leadership

Dealing with disruption

Dealing with Disruption blog header

How to be a credible disruptee in your technology market.

To be in the tech industry is to continually be in the path of disruption.

In a relatively brief period, disruption has been frequent and rapid in the tech industry – from the demise of mainframe computing to the replacement of twisted copper pairs with fibre cable and onwards to the arrival of the Internet. From the growth of Big Data; the transition to cloud computing; mobile, and the Internet of Things (IoT) – disruptions have created a ripple effect that’s transformed businesses, markets, commerce, behaviour and culture.

When disruption arrives, it divides technology players into two camps: those who create it (the ‘disruptor’), and those who have to deal with it (the ‘disruptee’). And while it may seem that those who create it are assured a market advantage, history has shown that’s not always the case. Think back to Steve Jobs acquiring the fruit of someone else’s labours on personal computing technology and making it the first of many Apple market disruptions that changed the world.

Two responses are key for those tech businesses that are obliged to deal with disruption:

The first is recognition – of the true impact that disruption will have on your market, your customers and at a higher level – brand and future success.

Of course, analysts and commentators love a bit of disruption. With every claim of next-generation technology and ‘game-changing’ innovation we see a raft of five- and ten-year predictions around who will or won’t survive in their current form, and who tomorrow’s winners will be.

For some organisations disruption means rethinking the portfolio, delivery and the value chain – for others it’s more deep-rooted and about changing organisational behaviours, culture and skillsets. Whatever the level of ‘organisation reinvention’, the marketing function must consider what level of commitment it wants to invest to propel the cause:

  1. focus efforts on promoting and amplifying the effects of individual change projects around the business
  2. exert greater commitment and influence by supporting a broader programmatic transformation, together with other business functions sharing common beliefs
  3. prepared to lead the charge and act as a change agent and debate-generator for a more progressive model

Every level of commitment is not right for every business. But the point is that marketing leadership need a strong internal point of view about the stance they are taking and the role they should play.

The second response is authenticity – because you can’t ‘fake it ‘til you make it’ in the tech sector.

A thin veneer of IoT or a fluffy cloud proposition can cause more harm than good if it’s not credible, supported and sustainable. It’s not enough for the business to merely charge marketing with creating a quick fix – it needs more than a campaign or a sprinkle of ‘trouble-making’ on an existing portfolio.

Marketing is a key partner in propagating and communicating a culture of innovation – but the task needs to be around broader programmes that affect the value proposition, operating model and mindsets.

The process of recognition can benefit from impartial insight and an objective assessment and articulation of your strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. At this point, you begin to discover authenticity ie. what you and your technologies can truly offer now, and promise for the future.

Unless you’re able to match or even trump a technology disruption then your best strategy is to meet it with brand, marketing and ecosystem fire. But beware, a veneer of marketing won’t hide weaknesses such as a vision vacuum, unempowered sales people or a siloed portfolio.

Wherever your marketing leads, your portfolio, services and solutions must follow – with customer education, thought leadership and business-focussed benefits that demonstrate vision and a command of new disruptions. Those technology companies that can achieve this have the opportunity to catch the wave of disruption and leave others in their wake.

The Rubicon Agency
In Brand strategy, Miscellaneous, Our industry, Programme planning, Proposition development

McMarketing in the tech sector

McMarketing in the tech sector blog header

Does fast marketing simply create customer indigestion?

Like fast food, ‘fast marketing’ may appear to satisfy customers across the digital equivalent of a takeaway counter. But, with a limited menu and ingredients that may be lacking nutritional value, does it cater to the needs of marketers more than customers.

Fast marketing happens when marketers are institutionally influenced to choose quantity over quality, and convenience over content. When engagement assets, landing pages, outreach or conversations are simply quickfried with little culinary skill, the results can leave customers feeling hungry or, worse still, with a bad aftertaste.

Across client-side and agency environments, four aspects appear to have contributed to a rise in fast marketing:

Professionalisation of Marketing Operations – introducing rigid, process driven leadership into marketing planning.

DevOps, Pivot and Agile Marketing – encouraging a ‘test/fail/learn/adapt’ approach to most disciplines in marketing.

Marketing from a platform – new build, automation and monitoring tools enable non-marketers to have marketing involvement.

Agency left-braining – agency culture and expertise has been skewed in favour of exploring tech possibilities ahead of – and often in absence of – content and creative considerations.

In an ‘all you can eat’ digital marketing age it would be wrong to imagine that markets and customers are so hungry for content that they’ll consume anything. It’s far better to assume they have the time and discernment to look for something more satisfying. And if you can feed them content that forms a healthy diet, they’ll not only be happy to digest but also keen to come back for more.

Extending the analogy further, imagine catering to an extended decision making group (typical of the tech sector). The CIO wants an appetiser of tempting strategic advantages, a main course that has an aroma of innovation and finally, a selection of tasty testimonials. IT tend to prefer meat and potatoes with a gravy of integration and lifecycle benefits. And the CFO? He or she may want to spend longer comparing menu prices before making a final selection.

Four fast marketing fails that create customer indigestion

McMarketing in the tech sector - Mystery menu

Mystery menu – brand and product marketing fail to describe what’s on offer and why it should whet the customer’s appetite.

McMarketing in the tech sector - Cold Takeaway

Cold takeaway – call-to-action and sales enablement assets lack the intellectual rigour that may be baked into thought leadership, business case, use case, and other assets.

McMarketing in the tech sector - Bland flavours

Bland flavours – marketing serves up undifferentiated messaging that lacks any distinctive flavour.

McMarketing in the tech sector - Confusion cuisine

Confusion cuisine – paid, owned and earned content programmes provide a baffling buffet of themes, arguments and messages.

Fast marketing may be perpetuated by the speed and immediacy of a digital marketing age which continues to mature. Compare this to the introduction of fast food some six or seven decades ago and you realise it may take some time yet before we fully realise the downsides of convenience over quality. In the meantime, let’s not be too pious about the occasional equivalent of a takeaway content kebab or a McMessaging proposition but continue to strive for quality over convenience.

Fast Marketing fails:
– The all-you-can-eat buffet
– The cold take-away
– Bland ingredients

‘For a balanced diet of marketing – and one that’s trusted by leading tech brands such as Cisco, AT&T and Xerox – contact The Rubicon Agency.

The Rubicon Agency
In Programme planning

Emotionless automation

Emotionless Automation blog header

Like a scene from James Cameron’s Terminator, the machines are slowly but surely taking over the world of marketing. Thankfully, unlike the movie, we’re not quite at the post-apocalyptic state.

Leaving things to the computers is now part and parcel of big business. Whether it’s harnessing the power of big data to gain additional customer insight, embracing IoT connectivity amongst smart devices, or moving marketing operations onto one of the many automation platforms available to streamline productivity.

There can be no doubt that if managed correctly, artificial intelligence (AI) can add huge value to businesses. But from a marketing perspective, automation can risk becoming an incubator for lacklustre content with a decline towards a quantity over quality.

Connect the equivalent of an automatic gearbox to the marketing engine; fuel it with structured, engaging and targeted content and you’ll not only make the buyer journey smoother but also accelerate the delivery of qualified, in-mode prospects to sales. Unfortunately, the reality doesn’t always match this vision. Ill-conceived strategies, lack of empathy with decision makers and thinly veiled sales pitches masquerading as thought leadership tend to put the brakes on too many nurture programmes.

Safety in numbers

For many marketing automation practitioners, success (and ultimately failure) is all in the numbers, ie. how many prospects can we move through the sales funnel. Typically, this is governed by interactions with certain pieces of content that are then assigned a value. This value is recorded upon click and not upon the actual engagement with the content quality itself. Automation, it could be argued, simply encourages ‘click bait’. After all, if it’s short-term gratification that marketers require, then snappy headlines and empty promises will certainly deliver the quick hit that line managers need to report.

The road is long

In the realm of technology marketing, the decision-making process can be a long and winding road. Influencers can hail from both IT and business sides of the house. Buying cycles can vary wildly depending on the nature and price ticket of the purchase. In some cases, closing the sale can take in excess of 18 months. This is where hit and run, lacklustre content falls by the wayside. Instant gratification may yield superficial marketing results but in terms of deepening engagement and enhancing brand position these may well be compromised in the long-term.

Computer says ‘yes’

Another drawback of leaving ‘intelligent’ content distribution to a set of rules is that you are removing a degree of empathy with the prospect. On a large scale, there can be no denying the benefits of introducing a series of workflows which determines the order, frequency and type of content. Doing this manually would simply be foolhardy. However, for complex, big ticket, B2B purchases there is a degree of treating each prospect in the same way as you would with an Account Based Marketing (ABM) programme. If left to lead scoring, automation platforms could raise a flag that the prospect is ready to buy when in reality, they are merely showing the first signs of curiosity.

Take a look at our quick guide to discover how content can be more ‘killer’ and less ‘filler’.

The Rubicon Agency
In Programme planning, Proposition development, Strategic content

Avoiding the technology vision vacuum

Vision vacuum blog header

Here’s an apocryphal story about ‘vision’. During the space race of the 1960s, a NASA employed road-sweeper was tending the rail path for the Apollo 11 rocket to reach its launch pad. He was asked what he was doing. ‘I’m putting men on the moon’, he replied.

Fast forward to 1984 and Steve Jobs is proclaiming that ‘the world will never be the same’ with the introduction of the iMac personal computer.

The importance of vision and thought leadership

Vision can be a powerful marketing asset when it’s developed and applied properly. On the other hand, an apparent lack of corporate vision and brand positioning can create a vacuum for competitors to fill with their own thought leadership. But vision is not necessarily about establishing a thought leadership position that few have seen before. It’s about painting a picture of an aspirational and positive future.

For a technology marketer, vision has to be more than a strapline or a cut and paste copy block from brand guidelines. With extended influencing and decision making groups amongst customers and prospects, the vision for a technology proposition has to pass through several lenses. It can’t be blurred or so distant it can’t be seen. And it has to be focussed on customer needs and aspirations. An effective vision or thought leading view of a tech marketing future has the power create a positive glow around a product or service.

Making thought leadership work harder

Once the vision or thought leadership notion is articulated it should permeate all content assets – from product sheets to high-level presentations – and everything else between. So instead of leaving the vision itself in a vacuum, it becomes credible, useable and attainable. In short, it becomes the glue that holds technology, service and brand propositions together.

The most successful examples of thought leadership promotion not only stimulate brand enthusiasm but can also create expectation and anticipation in the customer’s mind. Think of the zeal of early-adopters queueing overnight outside Apple stores.

If it’s a disruptive vision or thought leading position it needs careful articulation. People don’t buy disruption, they buy what’s best or better.

A message elevator can help to establish a vision or thought leadership that’s credible and supported by a portfolio of technology propositions capable of helping customers to achieve that vision. The vision itself can be elevated or grounded. It can be universal, or tailored to a vertical market. And if the idea of communicating a vision sounds awkward or even pretentious, you only have to remember that successful technology either begins with a vision, or aligns with a vision as market success grows.

Take a look at our quick guide to discover how content can be more ‘killer’ and less ‘filler’.

The Rubicon Agency
In Corporate comms, Programme planning, Thought leadership

Killer content for technology marketing

Killer content blog header

Somewhere between quality and quantity there’s a point at which content can be more ‘killer’ than filler’.

A point at which content can fulfil its proper role as a bridge between broadcast marketing propositions and customer acquisition.

Finding that point requires objectivity bordering on ruthlessness.

When marketing began embracing the power of content in the new digital age, the initial challenge seemed to be creation and curation. Now, it seems there’s no shortage of content flowing from a multitude of channels towards a market that appears to be drowning rather than waving.

As the enabler of the digital marketing age, the technology sector not only has ‘paternal’ rights to its content distribution capabilities but should also be one of its biggest beneficiaries. Let’s face it, technology marketing is different. It needs all the help it can get in order to penetrate extended decision making groups; align with buying cycles; provide clarity on complex technical arguments, and translate innovations into ‘must-have’ market benefits.

Content objectivity begins with an audit of everything you have that falls into the content spectrum – from a white paper to a vision manifesto and everything else between. If you’ve read the best-selling book ‘The life-changing magic of tidying’ by Marie Kondo you’ll realise that with the right method and mindset, any mountain of accumulation (in this case, content) can be conquered.

There is a method and a mindset that can be applied to creating killer content. It includes a recognition of ten typical reasons to conduct an audit; a checklist of sixteen essentials; four alternative assessment enablers and four key criteria for creation and curation. And if that sounds complicated, the good news is you don’t have to do it yourself. In fact, you’re more likely to get the best result if you leave it to a specialist.

Find out more by downloading The Rubicon Agency free guide: ‘Killer or Filler – assessing content success for technology marketers’.

The Rubicon Agency
In Digital lead generation, Programme planning

How do you reduce noise to signal in technology marketing?

Noise to Signal blog header

In a world where content rules the marketing roost, quality trumps quantity.

However, there are too many examples of brands being guilty of marketing for marketing’s sake when a primary asset has been created.

Certain assets are packed with gems of information, facts and statistics that naturally lend themselves to be reworked and repackaged. There is however, a fine line between extracting, scaling & ‘chunking’ content and repetition.

Research reports are prime examples of assets that deliver the ‘mother-load’ of thought leadership hooks. Utilised correctly, the raw information can be disseminated and reassembled into a multitude of content. The context, pitch and salient points can be manipulated to stretch up (or down) the corporate pyramid to provide fresh insights and perspectives to the full influencer group. This is a true reflection of content manifestation; However, many marketers are guilty of not harnessing the value of such pieces. A sprinkling of window dressing and the same message (and sometimes the same lack of answers/insight) are rolled out across as many paid, owned and earned channels as physically possible. The result can create ‘white noise’ that undermines the opportunity to create audience engagement.

How to maximise the reach of your message?

We’ve all heard that the most important factor in content success is relevancy. Well, this still rings true when reconstituting the core points of your content asset. If we take our hypothetical research report as a starting point, the focus of the findings may be aimed at senior IT decision makers and include key challenges likely to be faced by CIOs. Sure, this could be adapted into a webinar format targeting the same type of prospect but it won’t resonate with the IT & Network Manager tier. Being able to manifest these insights into tangible careabouts for these guys really is the key to scale, reach and ultimately success.

So, what about social?

The same rules apply. Parachuting in the full version of your original content isn’t going to work for everyone. Adopting the proper tone of voice, message and insight is as important in social situations as reconstituting content into different formats for ‘classic’ marketing. Remember, all social channels and communities are different, so don’t adopt a one- size -fits- all policy. Saying the same thing to everyone in the same tone of voice is unlikely to get the message across or make you popular in social circles.

To find out if your content has the right noise to signal ratio, register for our unique M4 content audit.

The Rubicon Agency
In Programme planning

The medium isn’t the message

The Medium isn’t the Message

The phrase ‘you can’t judge a book by its cover’ first appeared more than 70 years ago in the thriller novel ‘Murder in the glass room’. Today, it’s a statement that could be applied to a particular aspect of technology marketing.

There’s a common misconception within technology marketing that certain mediums will automatically fulfil a role within the buyer journey by virtue of format, title or location. However, one thing that is often overlooked is the quality and purpose of the content that’s being provided for that medium.

For example, thought leadership pieces are often seen as the gatekeeper to engagement. The most popular of these is the tried and tested white paper. Having an engaging title, pitching as thought leadership reinforced by a reputable brand, and seeding it on vibrant and respected tech properties doesn’t guarantee that the content has ‘killer’ qualities.

Content should resonate with the audience in terms of pitch and clarity of the message, not the medium. Likewise, format doesn’t guarantee that the content will strike a chord with the user. We’ve all consumed white paper content that’s caused us to immediately regret trading your data – when it’s evident that there’s little enlightenment or clarity in return.

One of the more glamorous and (sometimes) costlier assets within the tech marketer’s repertoire is the positioner video. To use another metaphor, they say that a picture paints a thousand words which is true if executed correctly. Video content can cut through and explain complex technical architectures, elevate product information and even express a corporate vision. One thing to heed however, is just because it’s a video doesn’t mean it’s a panacea for poorly conceived content. Again, we’ve all experienced video content with patchy scripts, flimsy concepts, poor delivery and an over- or under- inflated pitch that leaves the audience more confused than an episode of The Twilight Zone.

A logical approach to content is to take an agnostic view of the outputs. Start with the message – who are we addressing? What is it we want to say? How do we want to pitch it? Is this content they are accustomed to receiving? Once you’ve answered these questions the format and medium should then be selected to serve the message… not the other way around.

To find out if your content is suffering from medium over message register for our unique M4 content audit.

The Rubicon Agency
In Product marketing, Programme planning

Why speeds and feeds don’t work on a first date for technology marketing

Why speeds and feeds don’t work on a first date for technology marketing

‘Speeds and feeds’ is a phrase we often hear from tech marketers who are conscious that using technology features or technical integration language is not going to cut it with all of the influencers and decision makers in their target audience.

The challenge with technology marketing content can be sheer breadth and depth. Unlike some other sectors, technology often has a lot that needs to be said to an audience with a diverse range of care abouts and motivations.

There’s a time and a place to talk about ‘speeds and feeds’ but not on a first-date with a customer who may be more interested in say the power of collaboration solutions than the ins and outs of Unified Communications. In fact, extending the dating analogy to the concept of ‘speed-dating’ is a good way to imagine distilling all that could be said into the things that can actually make a customer romance blossom.

Most technologies could promise ‘greater agility, productivity and efficiency’ but as an opening chat-up line it’s unlikely to create an instant attraction – especially when the clock is ticking. That’s because we’re not telling our date anything they haven’t heard before.

How to woo technology decision makers

Context is key. That means absorbing and vetting everything that can be said with an almost obsessive aim to translate what really matters to the people we need to impress. Save the TCO arguments for the CFO and the SLA promises for the CTO and you’ll cut the ice much quicker. And if you’re stuck for what to say, you can try asking questions. Social and interactive tools are a perfect way to get a two-way conversation flowing.

A ‘messaging elevator’ is also a useful tool to set the upper and lower levels of content objectives – whether that means establishing the vertical and horizontal context for content or recognising an opportunity to raise the bar by talking about the business transformation capabilities of a technology solution. And if there is a place for ‘speeds and feeds’ it will also tell you where that should be.

To find out if your content needs to take a trip on the message elevator, register for our unique M4 content audit.

The Rubicon Agency
In Programme planning, Sales enablement

Five routes for implementing a content audit

Five routes for implementing a content audit

So you’ve identified the fact that your content has turned feral and requires an audit in order to keep it on-point. Realising the need to action this and actually implementing it, are two completely different things.

So what are your options?

Head in the sand

Well, the easy option and by no means the wisest, is to do nothing. The lack of budget, resource and skills may naturally demote the priority of reviewing the merits of your marketing assets from a necessity to a ‘nice to have’. The net result means that you carry on with the status quo more in hope than expectation that the content will resonate with your audience.

D.I.Y

Another approach is to conduct the assessment in-house. This mitigates the need for additional budget but does require a secondment of resource to complete the project. With head count often scarce, this could restrict your ability to perform a D.I.Y audit internally. There is also the additional risk that your content won’t be critiqued agnostically, after all it was produced by your peers and represents a view, a vision or a business/technical posture of your organisation. ‘Good’ content may be championed internally but may fail to deliver when syndicated to your prospects.

Ab Fab

The next route is to task your PR agency to conduct the review. From a journalistic point of view this may seem like a logical approach especially if they are technology specialists. Assessing pitch, tone and target audience should be second nature to a PR specialist. However expanding the content into a fully joined up marketing strategy may come as a stretch and fall outside of their capabilities.

Social soundboard

The same could be said for commissioning a dedicated social agency. Looking through the lens of ‘social-ability’, content will be assessed to see how sharable it can become through networks and communities. Messaging flex is important when ‘chunking’ content for the purposes of social distribution, although if the actual nub of the content is weak to begin with the results could be catastrophic if syndicated in social space.

Marketing mojo

The final option, and the one that has a more rounded approach to it, is to contract a marketing agency (with an affinity for technology) to critique your assets. Marketing agencies worth their salt should be judged on ROI, so analysing the content that ultimately they will use in their marketing campaigns is a natural progression.

Ensuring that the core message & pitch, vibrancy, audience resonance and ability manifest itself is critical to planning a successful content strategy and joined-up marketing approach.

We all know the importance of content. To leave it to evolve organically and even produce it sporadically without control runs the risk of attracting the wrong kind of audience or worse, no audience at all.

To understand more about our unique M4 content audit framework and how it can help you supercharge your content, register your interest today.

The Rubicon Agency
In Programme planning, Sales enablement

Why content audits sort the wheat from the chaff

Content audits - sorting the wheat from the chaff

Yes, we’ve all heard the expression that content is king, and that it plays a major role in influencing and even accelerating purchase decisions - especially in technology.

A strategic thought leadership piece, a well-timed blog article or a disruptive webcast can all open doors to decision makers outside of IT. But how can you be sure that that the content you are syndicating really has the cut-through you require?

The starting point for any marketer should be to conduct a content audit of their existing collateral to make sure that it ticks the boxes of the following 4 areas. Failure to do so leaves you open to scrutiny, missing the mark or publishing vanilla content that doesn’t cut-through at all, leaving both your Marketing Qualified Leads database and budget pot looking decidedly empty.

Messaging & pitch

The first question, which is usually governed by budget, time and resource, is whether to create or curate. Curation is the easier option, but the real question is does this satisfy your marketing objectives? Is the pitch of the content right? Does it talk to the audience in the language they are accustomed to?

Yes, the subject matter may be relevant, but if the message and pitch are ‘off base’ then there is absolutely no point in dusting off content from the marketing cupboards and sending it out more in hope than expectation.

Meaning and audience relevance

The next consideration should really be relevance to the audience. Distributing a deep-dive white paper on network architectures is absolutely fine if that’s what the audience usually consumes, but if the desired outcome is to stimulate conversation with a more business-oriented individual then you’ve missed the mark by a country mile.

Creating marketing mojo

Making sure that the pitch and relevance is on-point is a must. Ensuring your audience digs deeper than just the executive summary is imperative. However it’s not time to rest on your laurels just yet. Getting their attention is one thing, keeping it is another. Yes, the content may be right on the money but if it’s not engaging, entertaining or is just plain bland then the consumer is likely to hit the snooze button.

Manifestation & application flex

Being able to flex your message really depends upon the foundations you’ve built your content on. Having a robust message platform from the start really dictates how the content can be evolved over time. Dissecting the core proposition ready for social syndication, providing a linear customer journey dependent upon buyer maturity and being able to take on chameleon-like properties (I.e. adapting to different audiences and formats), ultimately determines if your approach has marketing stretch. Without proper planning you could inadvertently limit the scope of your conversation and result in your content being driven down a creative cul-de-sac.

Above are 4 ‘watch-outs’ that content marketers should be mindful of before any content syndication takes place. Taking a ‘suck it and see’ approach to content could result in low balling your proposition or turning off potential suitors altogether. Implementing a robust content strategy at the start of the campaign certainly alleviates uncomfortable wash-up meetings where the objectives have been missed.

To understand if your content could do with a shot in the arm, register for our unique M4 content audit.

The Rubicon Agency
In Programme planning, Sales enablement, Strategic content, Thought leadership

When content goes bad – the business case for auditing your collateral

When content goes bad

Producing content is an expensive exercise - in terms of time, resource and ultimately marketing budget.

So, how can you be sure your investment is delivering long term benefits? Not just initial enquiries, but much further and deeper than contact acquisition. An effective content strategy extends and strengthens customer relationships.

There can be no argument about the role content has within the technology sector, and how it makes up a critical part of the marketing mix. As early adopters of content marketing, the technology industry now faces new challenges as the late majority realise the value of content and joining the increasingly noisy party.

Content creation, if left unchecked, is in danger of losing its lustre. Coined back in 1997, CNet’s notion that ‘Everyone’s a publisher’ has definitely rung true. Content is no longer produced by niche teams, instead publishing sprawl has bled into other functions within the organisation. Now social departments, comms teams, product experts and business leaders all contribute to corporate content. This has resulted in variable levels of quality – in addition to moving us closer to saturation point where killer material is lost in the sheer noise of advertised ‘premium’ content.

So what are the essentials qualities for successful content?

What are the magic ingredients that make up killer content? Is it the promise of industry insight, best practice techniques, cutting edge research or inspiring thought leadership material that entice our target audience? Well, yes and no. These are all tried and tested methods, but how many times have you felt ‘suckered in’ after you’ve handed over your contact details?

Dangling the proverbial carrot of premium content often fails to deliver once we digest it; Regurgitated opinions, stale executions or uninspiring content leave the consumer feeling short changed and disenfranchised with your brand.

Too often, content is utilised as a contact acquisition tool, however if planned and executed from a 360° perspective the value can be increased exponentially. Applying more rigour outside the initial purchasing phase helps enable other functions within the organisation, including channel teams, field marketers, sales and account management. Providing progressively influential arguments accelerates the purchase cycle and even exploits customer relationships post acquisition.

How can those qualities be measured?

Making sure your message inspires interest and then maintains it is critical to how we measure the value of each asset. Ultimately, engagement, not just social metrics including likes, comments and shares, but more tangible measures (as stated in the introduction) are the benchmark here. Yes, Marketing Qualified Leads (MQL’s) are important but they shouldn’t be considered the only yardstick to measure success (or failure). Content should be part of the marketing mix for the long-haul and should go much deeper than a data acquisition tactic. In reality, it’s not just a numbers game.

Prospects may have felt duped after the first wave of activity could, on the face of it, be considered a warm lead when in reality they aren’t. The key, is to ensure that you have a campaign structure that contains equally engaging, entertaining and useful content that builds brand trust, engagement and ultimately advocacy.

Producing ‘deceitful’ content may yield an initial response, but value to the business may be minimal. Being too populist could result in droves of unqualified leads, too niche and the number of relevant leads could be reduced to a trickle.

How can they be improved?

The answer is to look at the bigger picture not just individual assets. Just as you would with an outreach campaign, each stage should be evaluated. Who am I talking to? What is the message we want to get across? Is it pitched correctly? Is it engaging? Does it align with the business strategy? What do we want them to do next? Looking at your content holistically may add an extra stage to the process but in the long run it makes good business sense.

Failure to properly audit your content inventory could prove costlier in the long-run with outreach budgets and potential customers being lost.

To make sure your content isn’t in danger of turning bad, register for our unique M4 content audit.

The Rubicon Agency
In Brand strategy, Disruptive technology, Market development, Programme planning, Thought leadership

Map, message and migrate – the path to disruption

Blog – the path to Disruption

It’s true that each of the ‘3 Degrees of Disruption’ will cause waves of discontent with traditional users, value chains and routes to market.

But ultimately, their ‘value creation’ needs to outweigh the ‘value erosion’. There’s a multiple of indices to this value – with wealth/prosperity, employment, competitiveness, innovation, sustainability and wellbeing at the more esoteric and philosophical level. For the more everyday marketer there’s market-share, customer sentiment, revenue streams and lifetime customer spend. The list across the two levels is extensive.

However, these two levels are not quite as disparate as they seem. For the disruption to fully succeed, the marketing function has to combine the attributes and qualities of both levels to vision, lobby, evangelise and trade their way to success. This is crucial as the key influencer group often includes commentators, media opinion formers, industry leaders and practitioners of the ‘current normal’ – as well as the ‘next normal’.

Take automated vehicles and transport as an interesting example. Whist there’s definitely a provocative user story there, it’s easy to ignore the impact on other stakeholders – town planners, insurance companies, driving schools, safety bodies, regulators/policy makers. For this disruption to be realised, it’s crucial that these stakeholders get on-board for the journey (excuse the pun!). If not, they will dissent, distract and deflect the evolution to death.

Marketing leaders need to articulate and quantify the two levels of value using an exciting and ever-expanding range of digital, social, experience and content tools. But, many marketers go into execution mode too quickly, without establishing robust stories and stakeholder visions at the outset. It’s essential that they’re developed in the early days – even though they can be recalibrated over time.

Let’s explore the pathway to Map, Message and Migrate to Disruption:

Map, Message and Migrate to Disruption infographic

It takes tech experience, marketing dexterity and a Jackanory-mindset to tackle the two levels. The pioneers of Disruptive Technology will typically demonstrate rapid change in terms of price/performance/choice relative to alternative approaches. Or they experience breakthroughs and improvements in capability that were previously unachievable. Dramatising this for the whole influencing and decision making group is arguably marketing’s most important task.

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