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The Great Marketing Conversation, Part 2

By Candyce Edelen

PropelGrowth Blog
In January, PropelGrowth and DemandGenReport co-sponsored a great webcast where we brought together some of the top thought leaders in content marketing. On Thursday at 1:00 ET, we’ll be continuing the conversation.  Join us and listen in.

The Great Marketing Conversation LogoI had a planning session today with Ardath Albee and Robert Rose to work out some details on the agenda. I always wish we could record those planning discussions, because they’re always very informative. Here are some snippets from that conversation to whet your appetite for the event.

Making the Business Case for Content Marketing

It’s critical to build a business case and set reasonable expectations when you’re getting started with a content marketing program. Companies often want instant results, but that’s just not realistic. I love the way Ardath put it – “two email sends do not create transformation.” Most content marketing programs require 6 to 9 months of gestation before they start giving birth to demonstrable results in the pipeline. Robert pointed out, “Don’t focus on ROI, focus on building a solid business case.”

Knowing What to Report…And What NOT to Report

Most of the companies we work with have a 6 to 18 month sales cycle, but have to report results quarterly. So it’s critical to carefully set expectations and define meaningful KPIs (key performance indicators) that can demonstrate progress for the first few months of a content marketing program. Just as important as understanding what metrics to report, is knowing what NOT to report. In the session on Thursday, we’ll talk about problems that can occur if marketing reports on the wrong metrics (like database size).

Content Marketing Strategy

Ardath will talk about a content marketing strategy and using personas. In our discussion today, she told about a marketing team who was targeting all their content at the “CXO” level. Her research showed that the C-level executives never got involved in the decision process outside of signing the contract. So they moved the targeting downstream to the people who were really driving the business case. Ardath will talk more about this process on Thursday.

Storytelling

Storytelling is a key tactic to making a content program resonate and drive conversions. We’ll get Marcus Sheridan to talk more about that. He’s a master story-teller.

Building Momentum Through the Funnel

One of the hardest things for marketers is understanding how to influence the buying journey AFTER sales has gotten involved. Hubspot has an interesting approach for this, and we’ll have Mike Volpe talk about it. Marketing should be helping to build momentum all the way through the funnel and provide the right mix of educational, promotional, and product-focused material. We’ll talk about finding that balance.

Delivering the ROI

As Robert said, “If it’s not changing or enhancing consumer behavior, it’s not content marketing.” So we’ll talk about what it takes to make content marketing produce real results, delivering on the ROI and business case.

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Candyce Edelen
CEO at PropelGrowth
Candyce is the founder and CEO of PropelGrowth. She brings more than twenty years of experience in managing technology companies and has founded four companies prior to PropelGrowth. For the past ten years, Candyce has focused exclusively in the capital markets industry, launching two financial technology companies. Now, she helps financial technology vendors improve their marketing strategy, publish compelling content, and drive revenue through marketing and sales enablement. Contact Candyce at +1 970-300-2280.
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Latest posts by Candyce Edelen (see all)
  • 4 Steps to Optimize Your LinkedIn Profile for Sales Prospecting
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Filed Under: nrelate-exclude Tagged With: Ardath Albee, candyce edelen, Marcus Sheridan, Mike Volpe, Robert Rose

About Candyce Edelen

Candyce is the founder and CEO of PropelGrowth. She brings more than twenty years of experience in managing technology companies and has founded four companies prior to PropelGrowth. For the past ten years, Candyce has focused exclusively in the capital markets industry, launching two financial technology companies. Now, she helps financial technology vendors improve their marketing strategy, publish compelling content, and drive revenue through marketing and sales enablement. Contact Candyce at +1 970-300-2280.

Company Profile

PropelGrowth helps companies improve their marketing and sales. We start with in-depth buyer research. Then we develop a marketing and sales strategy and customer-centric messaging. Then we coach your team and help you execute on the strategy by developing thought leadership programs, content for every stage in the buying process, sales collateral, and tools to help buyers buy.

Figure out why and how your buyers buy

Develop a customer-centric marketing strategy

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Recent Posts

  • 4 Steps to Optimize Your LinkedIn Profile for Sales Prospecting
  • The Reality of Cold Calling for B2B Sales
  • Can Inbound Marketing Generate Enough Leads?
  • How to Fill Your Sales Pipeline Using LinkedIn for Prospecting
  • Tips from 8 ERP Resellers on How to Leapfrog Your Competition​
  • How to Win 74% of Your ERP Deals
  • Buyer Persona Research, the Key to Niche Marketing
  • 8 Ways a Niche Strategy Improves the Value of Your Practice

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  • Home
  • Who We Are
    • Why PropelGrowth?
    • Management Team
    • Acumatica Marketing Team
    • Privacy Policy
    • Back
  • What We Do
    • Marketing Strategy
      • Buyer Personas
      • Strategy Development
      • Acumatica Partner Marketing
      • Integrating PR
      • Creative Design
      • Back
    • Marketing Programs
      • Content Marketing for the Buying Process
      • Content Marketing Programs
      • Thought Leadership In The Buying Process
      • Thought Leadership Programs
      • Lead Generation and Lead Nurturing
      • LinkedIn Sales Prospecting
      • Marketing Coaching Program
      • Back
    • Marketing Content
      • Marketing Automation
      • Email Marketing
      • Website Content
      • Blogging and Article Marketing
      • Case Studies
      • White Papers and E-books
      • Research Studies
      • Live and Online Events
      • Back
    • LinkedIn LeadGen Master Class
    • Back
  • Who We Do It For
    • Who We Serve
    • Client Case Studies
      • What This CEO Learned From Buyer Persona Research Transformed Her Company
      • Back
    • Back
  • Resources
    • Sales Resources
      • Solving the No Decision Problem
      • Back
    • Marketing Resources
      • B2B Lead Conversion Rates
      • Back
    • The TrendSpotters Podcast Series
    • Back
  • Blog
  • Contact
  • Search
    • Back