G’day you B2B folks! 

We’ve all wasted marketing budget – myself included. 

And now many of us are being asked to do more with less. So we need to be smart about how we’re spending. Particularly when it comes to creating demand for your brand. 

So today I’m going to run through 6 of the most common ways B2B marketers are wasting budget… AND how to fix it. 

(P.S. – a HUGE thank you to all who applied to our November cohort of our 12 week demand gen program, The B2B Incubator. I’m sorry we couldn’t fit in everyone this cohort! Next one is in February 2024 – please check it out and apply here to reserve your spot nice and early.)

You should be able to read today’s issue in 5 minutes or less.

💡 6 Common Ways You’re Wasting Budget Creating Demand

1) Too Much Experimentation

The amount of $$$ I see wasted because companies are A/B testing content and messaging is WILD. Stop making guesses as to what your Dream Customers care about.

Instead, speak to your customers. Take the time to deeply understand them and what they care about. Figure out how you’re uniquely placed to make their lives better.

Validate these are issues they care about. Commit, measure and give it time to work

Then you can A/B test.

(P.S. check out our guide to customer research here).

2)  All The Gear and No Idea: 

Decided you want a podcast to be the pillar of your demand creation efforts?

You DON’T need:
/ a professional microphone
/ a $1,000+ camera
/ a team of designers and editors

Most laptops are fine to start with as a proof of concept.

AI editing tools like Descript make you sound awesome too with just one click

3) You’re Being Lazy With Distribution

Key to a demand creation program is making sure your ‘buying committee’ sees your helpful content

Handing your money over to LinkedIn isn’t the only way to do this

You can also ‘work your way in’ with  your audience. Infiltrate their organic communities. Be helpful.

See if anyone in your organisation has connections with ‘influencers’ in your industry. Collaborate with them to push your content to Dream Customers.

Ask yourself if there are better ways to spend your money other than ad platforms. Is there a newsletter list your Dream Customers follow that you can pay for a spot on? Is there a podcast you can buy your way into?

4) You’ve Scaled it Too Fast

Marketers don’t need to go ‘all in’ on demand creation straight away.

Instead:
(a) create pilot programs
(b) look for leading indicators it’s working
(c) build processes to make it repeatable
(d) THEN it’s time to scale

5) You’re Not Listening

Demand creation programs should create a two way conversation between you and your audience.

Take the time to pause, listen, and adjust.

Your efforts will multiply.

6) You Need To Niche Down

The broader the audience, the harder (more expensive) it is to get your message through.

Make yourself the BIG FISH in the SMALL POND

You can always move to a bigger pond later

✏️ Doodle of the Week

📖 3 Articles and Resources

1) Go from Zero to Demand Generation in 12 weeks: We give you the strategy, templates & tools you need to drive more pipeline and revenue for your brand. It’s the exact framework we use to grow our clients and our own business. Check it out now!

2) What B2B can learn from B2C: Is B2C really the gold standard? Is there anything we can learn from it, or is it just too different? Kev and I dive into this topic on episode 114 of The B2B Playbook podcast.

3) Taking your content program to the next level: Education hubs are an incredible resource that organisations build to offer serious value. Think about what Hubspot has done with its free courses. We show you why that isn’t just reserved for ‘the big guys’ and how you can do it too.

Thanks for reading!

P.S. Don’t forget to subscribe to The B2B Playbook podcast.