{"id":46834,"date":"2024-08-23T11:33:09","date_gmt":"2024-08-23T15:33:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/directiveconsulting.com\/uk\/?p=46834"},"modified":"2024-08-26T12:13:32","modified_gmt":"2024-08-26T16:13:32","slug":"the-dual-threat-to-b2b-saas-marketing-success-hypocrisy-and-fear","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/directiveconsulting.com\/uk\/blog\/the-dual-threat-to-b2b-saas-marketing-success-hypocrisy-and-fear\/","title":{"rendered":"The Dual Threat to B2B SaaS Marketing Success: Hypocrisy and Fear"},"content":{"rendered":"

In today’s incredibly fast-paced and never-the-same-thing-twice B2B SaaS landscape, leaders face two very real and significant threats\u2014hypocrisy and fear.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Among the thousands of conversations we\u2019ve had with marketers, we\u2019ve noticed a troubling pattern. When asked if they read white papers or company blogs, the answer is almost always “no.” (This was just good for Directive\u2019s content team to know, too.) Yet, when we peek into their company’s LinkedIn ad accounts, a staggering 90% of their paid ads promote the very content they claim not to consume themselves. Riddle me that one, Batman.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Getting to the Root of the Problem<\/b><\/h2>\n

What’s causing this disconnect?\u00a0 It\u2019s pretty simple, actually: blind adherence to “best practices” and an overwhelming yearning for attribution. This is what has stifled marketers’ ability to think creatively and step outside the box. Deep down, B2B marketers know what they should do, but fear holds them back from pitching, persuading, and executing truly remarkable work.<\/span><\/p>\n

3 Real Solutions for Real Impact (+ a worksheet)<\/b><\/h2>\n

1. Go a mile deep and an inch wide<\/b><\/h3>\n

It\u2019s common knowledge (or it should be), that more marketing activities don\u2019t result in more bookings. The depth of execution is far more critical than ticking off every activity on a checklist\u2014be it Google Ads, Paid Social, Events, or Brand PR. It’s easy to get caught in the whirlwind of tasks, only to celebrate what goes live rather than the creativity and impact behind the efforts.<\/span><\/p>\n

TAKEAWAY:<\/b> As<\/span> Strava co-founder and executive chairman <\/span>Mark Gainey opines<\/span><\/a>, \u201cPick a niche, what some people may call too small of an opportunity, and going really deep there; trying to be authentic there, and develop leadership there in the hopes that the opportunity leads to something bigger.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

2. Set your sights higher.<\/b><\/h3>\n

It’s natural to want to avoid pointing out when something isn’t good enough for the brand. If your beloved and seldom-wrong Content team (ahem) just spent months crafting a killer asset, and there’s a push to \u201cget it live\u201d\u2014especially if it\u2019s in response to lead gen being down\u2014you still have to ask yourself, is this enough? Is this the right thing to do? Is good enough, good enough?<\/span><\/p>\n

The short answer is no.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The long answer is, building a brand should be about creating a market staple, not merely achieving a numerical target. To truly excel, we must set our aspirations high and hold everyone accountable to their creative potential. Remember, great marketing takes a leader willing to say “no” more often than “yes.”<\/span><\/p>\n

As<\/span> Directive\u2019s Director of Video<\/span><\/a>, Mike Farnham likes to say, \u201cYou need come back to the deeper purpose (brand ethos) and reasons why you are crafting particular assets, and hold that up to a mirror to see if it passes the test before shipping it. \u201c\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Mike goes on to say, \u201cA brand is the sum of thousands of touchpoints, and there’s no room for mediocrity\/anything less than 100%. CMOs\/marketers that have the brand oozing from their pores will intuitively say no more than yes, and that’s a muscle you need to develop. If you are just shipping stuff that meets the minimum, you might have weaker convictions than you think. The best tech marketers don’t settle for \u2018B2B’s generic best practices\u2019. Rather, they challenge the norm because they have a distinct POV\/conviction.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

3. Don\u2019t just know your product, be immersed in it.\u00a0<\/b><\/h3>\n

How can you come up with the brilliant ideas to make people care about your product if you aren\u2019t a power user yourself? We do a little exercise here: We immerse ourselves in our service pages, listen in on strategy calls, take the time to understand our clients\u2019 wants and needs, then we look at our brand value propositions. And sometimes, most times, we need to make some marketing shifts. (It happens.) Marketers suffer from a perception problem\u2014we stop engaging with our customers, cease using our own products, and construct narratives disconnected from reality.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

TAKEAWAY: <\/b>Want to try this exercise? It\u2019s pretty fun, tbh. We\u2019ve created a worksheet for you to track your findings:<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Marketing<\/p>\n