The COVID-19 pandemic has forced us all to adjust the way we conduct business. In the new normal, there will be even more emails sent, online meetings had, virtual events attended, and digital opportunities leveraged to connect and network with leads. As you adjust your business processes, it is more important than ever to remember that how you communicate and everything you communicate contributes to the overall perception of your company’s brand.

The title of this blog might be a bit off-putting to some!

Many will immediately think “We don’t forget about our customers! They are continual purchasers of X every month!” or perhaps “They have a long-term contract with us. We speak to them frequently and work with them all of the time.”

A few weeks ago, we posted a blog that was ultimately about people making their business social media presence and profiles a little too personal and how that won’t yield your business the long-term results you really want.

When it comes to marketing, many people have opinions about the death or imminent death of an entire approach or tactic. But these opinions often miss the mark because they don’t consider evolution.

We love anything to do with tech. We love writing white papers. However, we don’t always love the idea of writing a white paper for everything to do with tech. 

When we get into conversations about competitive marketing intelligence with our clients, they’ll often say something like, “Nope. No. We don’t need that. We just did that six months ago. We tore through all of the information on our competitor’s solution. Right down to the specifics of the hardware and software and how they’re listed. We know exactly what’s on the market now, and we have a pretty good guess about what competitors are going to bring to the market in the near future.” 

I was at the wrap-up meeting for a white paper we had just finished for a client.

Content marketing works. 

That’s probably why 91 percent of B2B marketers integrate it into their programs.¹ 

Leadership positioning is one of those marketing subjects that generates a lot of attention. A quick internet search will reveal more instructional “how to” content than anyone can possibly read. Unfortunately, some of the content is contradictory. Some of it focuses way too much on tactics and ignores the strategic considerations. And, all of it can cause marketers to lose sight of the forest while focusing on the trees. 

There are a lot of misconceptions about what public relations is. Let’s start with what it isn’t.