Hot Content Marketing Topics From Top B2B Brands at #B2BMX

What makes B2B content marketing hotter than having a conference at a Scottsdale, Arizona resort in February?

How about tips from 10 top B2B brands and industry experts including senior executives from Forrester, Microsoft, Aptos, Lenovo, BrightFunnel, Oracle and Marketo.

In advance of the upcoming B2B Marketing Exchange conference coming up later this month, I reached out to other speakers for practical tips as a preview to their presentations. For fun, I also asked them what their favorite thing is about a February event in Arizona. I know, that’s kind of obvious but this willing group shared some interesting answers.

Real Marketing ROI:
“Sales are wonderful. Sales are important. Sales are the lifeblood of any business. But. Really, but. Sales are NOT the alpha and omega of how you demonstrate your worth as a marketer. Really. I can prove it. Please join me Tuesday morning as I walk you through six KPIs you probably haven’t thought of that can prove your dollars-and-cents, ROI worth to the CEO. The CFO, even. We’re not talking volume metrics like “likes,” but real, bottom line marketing value unrelated to selling more stuff (even if you still need to sell stuff).”

Presentation: B2B Content Metrics & KPIs You Can Take To The C-Suite

Best thing about a Winter conference in Arizona:
“I’m not the biggest hot weather fan, so you won’t get the expected response. It’s picking the brains of all the attendees, of course. I’m an analyst, so always researching. That, and the opportunity to grab a phosphate at my favorite soda fountain in the world, MacAlpines. After all the disruptive tech, it’s a visit to the 1940s!”

Rebecca Lieb, Principal at Conglomotron
@lieblink

Busting ABM Myths:
“ABM. Account. Based. Marketing. It’s everywhere, everything, and totally awesome. At least that’s what several dozen vendors and agencies would have you think. However, 73% of B2B marketers we surveyed wouldn’t agree — they find ABM “confusing and applied too broadly”. And only 1 in 5 believe ABM actually aligns their marketing and sales better. Join me Wednesday afternoon as I bust a few more ABM myths and talk about one of the biggest overlooked opportunities – using ABM to turn your existing customers into an authentic, active voice for your brand.”

Presentation: Customer Advocacy & Account-Based Strategies

Best thing about a Winter conference in Arizona:
“The Wurtz Farm Gourd Festival …because when I’m out of my gourd, I can always get a new one there.”

Laura Ramos, Vice President at Forrester
@lauraramos

Analytics into Insight:
“Through tracking the influence of all your marketing and sales touches using a tool that enables multiple attribution models and looking at how each activity moves a segment of buyers through the funnel, you can have a more systematic approach to planning out the ideal customer journey. Basing all of your program decisions on analytics enables you to send the right message, to the right person, at the right time.”

Presentation: What To Say Next: How B2B Marketers Can Turn Analytics Into Actionable Buyer Insight

Favorite thing about a Winter conference in Arizona:
“My favorite thing about AZ during any time of year are the cacti! Cactus is my favorite plant and marketing is my favorite thing–so the B2B event is a win-win for me.”

Dayna Rothman, VP of Marketing & Sales Development at BrightFunnel
@dayroth

Transformation to Customer Centric Marketing:
“In order to successfully implement new marketing tools and best practices, organizations need to win internal buy-in and drive adoption. Attend this session to learn how Oracle transformed its traditional marketing organization to Modern Marketing to coincide with the company’s shift to the cloud. During the session, you’ll discover how this enterprise software company changed its strategy, technology, training and processes that underpinned its transformation. You will also hear how marketing realigned itself with sales and changed its culture from product- to customer-centric.”

Presentation: New Approaches To Buyer Centric Marketing

Favorite thing about a Winter conference in Arizona:
“Conference in Arizona in February? Two words: #dryheat : )”

Kelvin Gee, Senior Director of Modern Marketing Business Transformation at Oracle
@kgee

No B.S. Marketing Truth:
“Not only is Jeff going to go into the neuroscience and psychology of how people make decisions and how you can influence them but also some cutting edge research on the customer journey every person is constantly on. He will cut the BS and marketing fluff we so often hear and give you practical ways to get started today. Not every technology is right for your business and not every marketing team is mature enough to chase the next big thing. So come and get a dose of marketing truth, a better understanding of how important marketing really is, and leave a bit more customer centered than when you walked in.”

Presentation: Building A Customer-Centered Content Strategy

Best thing about a Winter conference in Arizona:
“- I might come back to Seattle a darker shade of off-white
– I get to have authentic horchata and tamales
– The incredible smell of creosote in the air, even better if it rains”

Jeff Marcoux, CMO Leader for Worldwide Enterprise Marketing at Microsoft
@jeffmarcoux

Scalable Deal Enablement:
“When was the last time you sat in on a sales meeting as an observer, as a…fly on the wall? If it’s been more than a couple months, it’s probably been too long. Because odds are, you won’t like what you see when salespeople take control of your message. Too often, they take liberties with your message, butcher your brand and punish prospects with pitiful PowerPoint slides. Eighteen months ago, we decided to take tight control of our message throughout the evaluation stage, and the difference was remarkable. More deals moved more quickly, win rates increased and average selling prices spiked. Join me on Tuesday for an inside look at how we averted “Deal Death by PowerPoint” by designing –and refining – a repeatable, scalable deal enablement process.”

Presentation: How Deal Enablement Can Avert Messaging Breakdowns

Best thing about a Winter conference in Arizona:
“The best part about hosting a conference in Scottsdale in February? Driving past all the MLB Spring Training complexes on the way from the airport. Nothing says hope and renewal are around the corner like Spring Training (especially when the weather is 80 degrees and sunny every day!).”

Dave Bruno, Marketing Director at Aptos
@davethewavesd

Predictive Lead Gen + Intent Marketing:
“We need to leave our egos at the door. Our customers don’t care about us until they are ready. We need to stop pushing what we ‘think’ they want and wait for them to tell us what they care about.”

Presentation: Case Study: How Lenovo Delivers Results Through Predictive-Powered Lead Generation
Presentation: Get Over It…Your Customers Don’t Care About You: Lenovo’s Intent-Driven Digital Marketing

Best thing about a Winter conference in Arizona:
“The chance of snow being 0%.”

Mike Ballard Senior Manager, Digital Marketing at Lenovo
@mballard5574

Make the Buyer the Hero:
“There’s always a story behind how your buyers get from problem to solution. The trick is in how you make the buyer the hero of the story and empower them to embrace change with your help. Personas can source the narrative that helps you do this really well.”

Presentation: How Buyer Personas Power Sustainable Stories That Turn Prospects Into Customers

Favorite thing about a Winter conference in Arizona:
“A short flight to a rockin party to kick off the year seeing old friends and new. And, of course, Mexican food!”

Ardath Albee, Principal Analyst at Marketing Interactions
@ardath421

Actionable ABM:
“Attend this fast-paced session to learn how to introduce and implement ABM into your overall marketing strategy. ABM can play nice with inbound and this session will illustrate how to create an actionable plan with scalable programs that drive real results.”

Presentation: Secret Sauce For Integrating ABM Into Your Full Marketing Plans

Favorite thing about a Winter conference in Arizona:
“My favorite thing about a February conference in Scottsdale is the chance to wear my cactus shirt.”

Heidi Bullock, Group Vice President of Global Marketing at Marketo
@HeidiBullock

Influence Trends & Tactics:
“We live in an age when there is too much content being published and most consumers don’t pay attention to the content that actually reaches them. Enter the role of influence in marketing: credible experts that have active networks paying attention. Brands that develop influencer relationships increase trust, content quality, reach and engagement. But how? That’s exactly what my presentation, “Influencing the Influencers: Top Trends & Best Practices for B2B Marketers” will provide.”

Presentation: Influencing The Influencers: Top Trends & Best Practices For B2B Marketers

Favorite thing about a Winter conference in Arizona:
“The best part of Minnesota Winters is leaving for somewhere warm, so the bar is not too high to be happy at a resort during February in Scottsdale.”

Lee Odden, CEO at TopRank Marketing
@leeodden (hey, that’s me!)

If you’re wondering how you might learn from this group of marketers and escape whatever the Winter weather is in your area, then be sure to look up the B2B Content2Conversion Conference happening February 20-22 at the Fairmont Princess in Scottsdale, Arizona.

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