Demand Gen Dialogue

As the B2B industry adapted to an almost fully virtual remote work model 16 months ago, a nasty rumor started to spread — direct mail was dead. At first glance, there seemed to be some truth to the rumors as people abandoned their offices for the refuge of their home. After all, if consumers were wiping down each individual grocery purchase with antibacterial solutions, how kindly would they take to unsolicited packages turning up at their homes? 

According to the data (and social media accounts), recipients loved the sweet surprise. As prospects’ desires for humanized marketing strategies and brand experiences continued to grow, direct mail campaigns offered a feeling of closeness in a world that was consumed by plexiglass dividers and social distancing guidelines. 

In this episode of DGR Dialogue, Host Klaudia Tirico sits down with Marne Reed, PFL’s Chief Evangelist of Brand Experiences, to dive into the role direct sending campaigns played throughout the pandemic, as well as the increased presence that’s expected for the hybrid world.  

Throughout the episode, the pair discuss a variety of topics revolving around direct mail, including:

• The gaps in the digital experience and how sending campaigns fill them;
• How to use tactile elements to create event FOMO (fear of missing out);
• The opportunity to use mail strategies to increase engagement at virtual events;
• The potential direct mail holds to turn prospects into brand advocates;
• The increasing number of roles sending campaigns play in various marketing strategies; and
• Case studies and real-life examples to inspire listeners. 

We get it, everyone’s inboxes are flooded with webinar and virtual event invitations. So how do you stand out from competitors in a way that wows audiences and generates the engagement you’d expect from a physical event? Tactile marketing is the key (and we know from personal experience!). 

For this year’s B2B Sales & Marketing Exchange online experience, Demand Gen Report partnered with PFL to send attendees swag boxes filled with goodies to get people excited for the event. We sent more than 1,200 personalized packages to their homes and saw an outstanding 70% attendance rate! Plus, our attendees raved about the kits, sharing pictures online and engaging with us. 

In this episode, our Editorial Director Andrew Gaffney sits down with Nick Runyon, CMO of PFL, to discuss the planning behind the box and how we brought it to life. They also discussed: 

• The budget required to add a direct mail program into your marketing mix; 
• Creative ideas on what to include in your mailers; 
• The lead time required to do a successful mailing; and
• Key considerations to get direct mail integrated into your digital initiatives.

B2B marketers today are wrestling with the complexity of integration, according to Michael McLaren, Global CEO of the B2B Group at Merkle. Organizations are thinking beyond individual point solutions, and are looking at how technology, data and content can help develop more holistic experiences. That is why he believes merging with consultancy Digital Pi is a natural fit. During this special sit-down with editorial director Andrew Gaffney, Michael and Digital Pi's Ryan Vong discuss:

• The state of the martech space and new trends that are influencing it most; 
• New realities of B2B buying committees and how they're impacting marketing best practices; and 
• How the two companies plan to collaborate to better serve B2B organizations of all sizes. 

As Triblio’s Chief Customer Officer, Andrew Mahr has worked closely with customers to help them develop successful ABM plays for close to five years. So, who better to host a series of educational videos on the most pressing ABM topics challenging today’s practitioners than Andrew himself?

The company recently launched its “Ask an ABM Expert” series and we had a chance to sit down with Andrew to chat about all things ABM and the series itself. During our conversation, he shares:

• Frequently asked questions he gets from today’s ABM practitioners;
• Common challenges, such as alignment, content production and orchestration as a whole; and
• His advice on how B2B organizations can achieve organizational alignment.

Whether you’re an ABM veteran or just starting out, this is a conversation you don’t want to miss.

Terminus acquired Sigstr, bringing together two teams that are making great strides in the ABM marketplace. Tim Kopp, CEO of Terminus, and Bryan Wade, CEO of Sigstr, both agreed that the time to gain a 360-degree view of accounts and building meaningful relationships is… now!

In this podcast, Tim and Bryan sat down to discuss the acquisition on an intimate level. They discussed the ABM landscape and what their combined powers mean for practitioners in the coming months.

Other topics discussed include:

• What sparked the idea to combine Terminus and Sigstr;
• The reinvention of email in the B2B marketplace and its potential to evolve;
• How the acquisition unlocks a wealth of data and intelligence for ABM practitioners; and
• What current and prospective customers should expect in the imminent future.

Megan Heuer, former VP of Research at SiriusDecisions, was recently unveiled as the new VP of Marketing at Engagio, a company that has made notable strides in the ABM technology sector. Bringing her analyst background to the helm of the company’s marketing department, Heuer said that this is a prime opportunity for her to help the company reach “the promise of a genuine customer experience within B2B marketing.”

Topics discussed include:

• Heuer’s perspective on the state of account-based marketing in the B2B marketplace; 
• Her thoughts on where Engagio sits in the market and what drew her to this position; and  
• A discussion around the ongoing importance for better alignment within B2B companies to see better results. 

This week, B2B marketers will gather in Boston for Brightcove’s annual PLAY event, taking place May 14-16. Brightcove CMO Sara Larsen sat down with Demand Gen Report prior to the event to discuss the short- and long-term goals she’s been working towards since joining the company in September, what attendees can expect at the event, how video marketing strategies are changing and more.

“[We can] use video in B2B to move beyond some of the rational components of what we’re trying to talk about and really tell the story of what an enterprise solution can do and what impact it can have,” said Larsen. “Video is really the best place to do that because you can bring all the senses together to tell that story in a much more emotional way … The brands that have figured out how to tell a good story can now tell a great story with video because you can really amp up the connection with the viewer.”

New research from the Altimeter Group shows that 55% of marketers plan to spend more on influencer marketing in 2019. But according to Principal Analyst Brian Solis, marketers must rethink their approach and strategies to influencer marketing in order to be successful.

In a conversation with Demand Gen Report, Solis shared what he has named “Influence 2.0,” a new approach that includes building long-term influencer relationships and working with influencers to engage buyers at every touchpoint.

“Trust in companies, brands and executives plummets every year, but trust in peers or people ‘like me’ is always at the top,” said Solis. “At the end of the day, that’s what [influencers are] about … I think it is an under-appreciated strategy in the marketing arsenal.”

Although GDPR went into effect last May, 16% of companies still don’t have a plan for GDPR compliance and 11% don’t know if they have a plan, according to new research from the CMO Council. In a conversation with Liz Miller, SVP of Marketing at the CMO Council, she digs into the data to uncover the main misconceptions that are confusing B2B companies on GDPR. Miller also shares some of the key traits and themes found in the research when comparing leading GDPR-compliant companies versus laggards.

In a conversation with Kevin Cunningham, CEO of MRP, he discusses the current state of pipeline measurement in the B2B marketplace. Cunningham also shares his thoughts on how B2B organizations can leverage emerging AI capabilities and predictive analytics to enhance their pipeline measurement initiatives, while also sharing examples of how progressive companies are leveraging these types of insights to understand their pipeline.