This question was recently posed to a
LinkedIn Group of which I’m a member, and it got me thinking, because it’s a question you could approach from a few different angles. For instance, one challenging thing can be setting up and measuring an effective
lead nurturing campaign. So, instead of thinking tactically, I took a step back and thought about what’s been most challenging for me.
With that in mind, I’m an agency guy, so from an agency perspective in the B2B space, the number-one hardest thing seems to be getting buy-in from our clients. It’s not because there’s a question of whether or not inbound marketing works (Luckily, we have results to share that make that a low hurdle), but because inbound encompasses social media, which in a lot of cases is still met with raised eyebrows.
Many of the B2B marketers we’ve encountered seem to understand the importance of social media, and recognize that they should be doing something (if only listening), but many are still hesitant to take that first step. The challenge, therefore, has been putting social into the proper context (i.e. inbound), showing them how it relates to their current business objectives, proving that it’s not so intimidating and, finally, that they can hit the ground running once they have a game plan in place.
Along these same lines, the second hardest part is keeping the client engaged so they can sustain their inbound activity by continually creating fresh content. As the agency, we’ll step in to fill a void – whether it’s writing a blog or recognizing opportunities to leverage inbound for offline channels (e.g. tradeshows, existing media buys, etc.) – but, especially with content creation, we prefer that it comes from internal resources. It comes across as more genuine, is often more accurate and it adds a layer of credibility that resonates with the target audience. It’s challenging, and it takes a lot of effort, but the payoff makes it all worthwhile.
There have been other challenges for sure, but these are the ones that seem to surface more often than not. I don’t begrudge it. In fact, I welcome it, because each time we overcome these objections to inbound marketing, it makes us a better partner for our clients.
What have been your biggest inbound marketing challenges?
Patrick Maness is Director of Marketing Strategy with B-to-B marketing agency MLT Creative and heads their Rhode Island office.
Known as the Idea Launch PadTM for B-to-B marketers, MLT Creative's services include strategic planning, positioning, brand development, direct marketing, advertising and sales promotions for business-to-business clients.
OK. I admit it. There are days I know I've reach my daily allowance of hearing any combination of the following words: social media, SEO, PPC, RSS,
Twitter, tweet, re-tweet,
LinkedIn, Facebook, inbound, link score, landing page, and of course...(wait for it)...blog. If you haven't done this in awhile, stop and say it with me: blog. A frumpy little word if there ever there was, no?
I know what you're thinking. You're thinking, "Patrick, you're a b-to-b marketer in the 21st century. What's your problem? Do you need a vacation? Would you rather be doing something else? You should be eating this stuff up."
While a trip back to the Willamette Valley sans kids would be nice, the answer is no. I love what I do and couldn't imagine doing anything else, especially today, especially right now. If you don't know what I'm referring to, read Groundswell, The New Rules of Marketing & PR, Inbound Marketing.
If you're a marketing, advertising or public relations professional worth your salt, you know the score, and I'm sure you all agree. The way we do business has already changed dramatically; it's constantly evolving and it's very exciting. But that has nothing and at the same time everything to do with this post.
The enormous focus that has been placed on these new marketing 2.0 practices seems to be greatly overshadowing the other tried and true (if only for now) disciplines that are still being successfully utilized. They are the "outbound" or "push" tactics that you would think are no longer being practiced based on peer-to-peer chatter.
The fact is that many of our business-to-business clients continue to allocate more (if not all) of their marketing dollars to outbound programs whether they involve print advertising, direct mail, sales collateral, point-of-sale, tradeshows...you get the idea. This is because many of their customers and prospects still go to tradeshows, they still read the trade rags, they still open their mail and they still physically go somewhere to conduct business.
The point is that there's no match for knowing exactly who you're trying to reach and the best ways to reach them, even if the best way to reach them is seemingly going the way of the Dodo.
So, who's with me? What other brave soul out there is going to join me in writing about an integrated sales promotion involving direct mail, banner ads, landing pages and telemarketing?
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Patrick Maness is Director, Strategy with B-to-B marketing agency MLT Creative and heads their Rhode Island office.
Known as the Idea Launch PadTM for B-to-B marketers, MLT Creative's services include strategic planning, positioning, brand development, advertising and sales promotions for business-to-business clients.
As someone who used to be a Digital Tourist, I am now encouraging everyone at our B2B marketing agency, as well as our clients to become engaged and enlightend Digital Citizens.
Chapter 12 of the book Inbound Marketing describes a Digital Citizen as "a person that is very familiar with the web and speaks web fluently." Some people are practically born with this citizenship and it comes to them naturally. Others, like me, have to work at it. 
When testing your staff and/or prospective employees, for Digital Citizenship.There are a few questions the authors of the book recommend you ask:
- What RSS reader do you use? Can you show it to me?
- Do you rank first for your name in Google?
- Do you use Delicious? Can you show it to me?
- Do you have a blog? Can you show it to me?
- Do you use Facebook or LinkedIn? When was the last time you updated your profile?
- Do you use Twitter? Can you show it to me?
- Do you have a channel on YouTube? Can you show it to me?
If this sounds foreign to you, don't worry.
If I'd taken this test a year ago, I would have failed it miserably. You don't have to be a born braniac to develop the skills and knowledge you need to pass inspection and start lifting your marketing results.
I am a true believer in inbound marketing, especially if it's implemented strategically along with more conventional outbound marketing efforts and centered around a dynamic business website at the hub.
Ask anyone at MLT Creative and they'll tell you how adamant I am that they actively practice what we preach to our clients. I encourage them to stay active across multiple social media, contribute to our blog and to follow and engage with other experts in the field of B2B marketing.
I think we all should keep learning--and that means you too.
Whether on the client side or agency side of things, if you're in marketing and want to outthink and outperform your competition, you need to know all you can about inbound marketing. It's not easy to keep up. But it can be fun.
Lately, I've had a good time declaring a "Digital Citizen's Arrest!" on any employee who's been inactive on social media or blogging. I publicly shame them via email, a Twitter post, or maybe even call them out in a creative swirl session in front of everyone.
I'm not sure if anyone here finds this is as funny as I do, but hopefully you get the point.
This is the most exciting time ever to be in marketing, and it's no time to pull an illegal U-turn like Barney Fife.
Here's some ideas from two of the B2B braniacs and maniacs I learn from.
Recently B2B creative Doug Kessler of Velocity Partners asked and answered the question, "How often do you need to publish content to do content marketing right?"
B2B copywriter Joan Damico posted another article advocating a great idea: Create a customized B2B Marcom Tool she calls your Conversation Calendar.
What are you doing new to drive your marketing efforts this year?
Are you being a good Digital Citizen?
Billy Mitchell is the president and senior creative director of Atlanta-based B2B marketing firm MLT Creative. Located on the east side of Atlanta, GA, with a Northeast office in Rhode Island, Mitchell co-founded MLT Creative in 1984 along with partners Craig Lindberg and Glenn Taylor.
Known as the Idea Launch PadTM for B-to-B marketers, MLT Creative's services include strategic planning, positioning, brand development, advertising and sales promotions for business-to-business clients.
Though MLT Creative is a B2B marketing agency, we also have a passion for advertising in general, and an endless fascination with the industry’s history. That’s why our offices are home to hundreds of classic advertising characters, in figurines of plastic, porcelain, metal and clay. Some of these brand mascots are relics of a bygone era, while some endure to this day, but each of them has a story. And every week, I’ll take a closer look at one.
So be sure to check out our collection, and if there’s one you’re curious about (many are rare — some even bizarre), don’t hesitate to mention it in the comments or an email, and I’ll feature it another week.
This Week's Character Study: The Jolly Green Giant
Santa Claus isn't the only figure who's famous for bellowing "Ho, Ho, Ho" — though your kids might not be as thrilled to get gifts from this vegetable-pushing pitchman.
Created by Leo Burnett in 1928, The Jolly Green Giant has 
remained the symbol of the Green Giant food company ever since. He maintains a friendly demeanor despite his monsterous size, and is always decked out in his trademark duds: a leafy, jumbo-sized tunic, wreath and boots that match his emerald hue. He was voiced in his earliest stop-motion incarnation by jazz singer Len Dresslar, and later portrayed in live action form by Olympic athlete Keith R. Wegeman.
Over the decades, he's been name-dropped by everyone from Johnny Carson to the Ghostbusters, and has become such a beloved character that the town of Blue Earth, Minnesota erected a 55-foot-tall statue of him, which towers over the highway to this day.
Character Study is an ongoing series featuring background trivia on the classic advertising characters from the private collection of MLT Creative.
Chase Mitchell is a copywriter at MLT Creative, an Atlanta-based advertising agency specializing in business-to-business marketing.