Weekend Favs April 30

Weekend Favs April 30 written by John Jantsch read more at Duct Tape Marketing

My weekend blog post routine includes posting links to a handful of tools or great content I ran across during the week.

I don’t go into depth about the finds, but encourage you to check them out if they sound interesting. The photo in the post is a favorite for the week from an online source or one that I took out there on the road.

• Aircam – is a real-time, AI-powered platform that provides professional business photos for multi-location businesses at an affordable price.
• Ludwig.guru – is a linguistic search engine that helps you find the perfect word or sentence to express your ideas. Essentially, it helps you write better English in an easy and smart way.
• Wizenguides – Essential strategy guides for the busy startup founder. These online guides were built to help entrepreneurs avoid common mistakes and take guessing out of their work. 

These are my weekend favs, I would love to hear about some of yours – Tweet me @ducttape

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B2B Marketing News: Social Becoming Top B2B Media, B2B Content & Lead Tactics Studies, & Marketers Concerned Over Twitter Takeover

B2B Mixology: Paid Search Is Top Channel And TV Use Is Growing, Email Near Bottom 56 percent of B2B executives have said that paid search is key among their marketing mix, with 44 percent singling out video and display advertisements as a top component, while just 16 percent chose email — three of several findings of interest to B2B marketers contained in newly-released survey data . MediaPost B2B Buyers Say Research & Data Are Key Factors in Content Shareability, Memorability Just over half of B2B buyers consider content that uses research data to be a key factor in making it memorable and more apt to lead to contacting a brand for further information, while storytelling that resonates with B2B buyers was also a top component of effective content, according to recently-released survey data. MarketingCharts [bctt tweet="“There are countless amazing people and companies with stories worth telling. Stories we tell NOT because they're the most sensational, but because they are stories worth telling.” — Jay Acunzo @JayAcunzo" username="toprank"] 18 Examples Of Awesome B2B Content Marketing [BuzzSumo] A review of millions of B2B marketing content examples has shown that content mentioning eBooks received the greatest engagement, with an average piece of B2B content receiving some 31 shares — two of numerous statistics of interest to digital marketers contained in recently-released data from BuzzSumo. BuzzSumo 3 Points About B2B Buyers’ Content Preferences [Survey] When it comes to which content types B2B buyers prefer, research and survey reports, case studies, and webinars were the top three content formats B2B buyers said they use for researching purchases, followed by B2B media publications, white papers, and eBooks, according to newly-released survey data. MarketingCharts Will Social Become the Dominant Media for B2B Brands? [ANA] 83 percent of B2B professionals have pinpointed social media and social advertising as the top B2B marketing tactic, followed by email at 75 percent, search engine optimization (SEO) at 61 percent, and content marketing and blogging at 57 percent, according to new data from the Association of National Advertisers (ANA). ANA Ad Spending Expands For 13th Consecutive Month In March, Top Categories Continue To Ebb The U.S. advertising market’s rate of spending grew by 5.7 percent in March compared to the same month in 2021, with digital categories continuing to see the biggest performance gains, and helping to drive ad market expansion that has now grown for 13 consecutive months, according to newly-released report data.. MediaPost LinkedIn Adds New Profile Links and Newsletter Promotion Options Microsoft's LinkedIn has rolled out the ability to showcase a link near the top of user profiles, along with several new options for using the professional social platform's digital newsletter feature, and more robust group post analytics, LinkedIn (client) recently announced. Social Media Today Musk's pitch for free speech may turn Twitter advertisers jittery Twitter's recent purchase by Elon Musk has caused rising concerns among some advertisers that worry about how the change at the company's helm will affect marketing opportunities on the platform, and Reuters takes a look. Reuters Instagram to improve its ranking system to better highlight original content Meta-owned Instagram announced recently that it has implemented changes aimed at better surfacing original content, while decreasing the visibility of content that is reposted, in a shift that could help B2B marketers gain exposure for original brand content. TechCrunch The Top Tactics for Generating High-Quality B2B Leads [Report] 44 percent of B2B marketers said that content creation was one of their top three areas of marketing spending, followed by webinars at 37 percent, SEO and search engine marketing (SEM) at 32 percent, marketing technology services at 31 percent, and marketing technology tools at 26 percent — one of numerous statistics of interest contained in newly-released survey data of interest to B2B marketers. MarketingProfs ON THE LIGHTER SIDE: A lighthearted look at “product/market fit” by Marketoonist Tom Fishburne — Marketoonist Brands Get Down To Earth — MediaPost TOPRANK MARKETING & CLIENTS IN THE NEWS:

• Lee Odden — Lee Odden on Getting the Most Out of Influencer Marketing [Video] — Oktopost
• TopRank Marketing — Learning resources for tourism marketing newbies — Tourism Currents
• Lee Odden — The Top 100 Marketing Influencers to Follow in 2022 — Relevance

Have you come across your own top B2B marketing news for the week? If so, please don't hesitate to let us know in the comments below. Thank you for taking the time to join us for this week's TopRank Marketing B2B marketing news, and please return again next Friday for another selection of the most relevant B2B and digital marketing industry news. In the meantime, you can follow us on our LinkedIn page, or at @toprank on Twitter for even more timely daily news.

The post B2B Marketing News: Social Becoming Top B2B Media, B2B Content & Lead Tactics Studies, & Marketers Concerned Over Twitter Takeover appeared first on B2B Marketing Blog - TopRank®.

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3 Steps For Creating The Perfect Recruitment Strategy

3 KPI’s Guaranteed To Double Your Website Revenue

3 KPI’s Guaranteed To Double Your Website Revenue written by Sara Nay read more at Duct Tape Marketing



About the show:

The Agency Spark Podcast, hosted by Sara Nay, is a collection of short-form interviews from thought leaders in the marketing consultancy and agency space. Each episode focuses on a single topic with actionable insights you can apply today. Check out the new Spark Lab Consulting website here!

About this episode:

In this episode of the Agency Spark Podcast, Sara talks with Michael Buzinski on 3 KPI’s guaranteed to double your website revenue.

Michael Buzinski, President & CMO of Buzzworthy Integrated Marketing, is a lifelong entrepreneur, digital marketing thought leader, and best-selling author. Dubbed a “visionary marketer” by the American Marketing Association, Michael’s sole mission is to help entrepreneurs avoid the time drain and frustration of managing profitable digital marketing campaigns. Buzz, as most call him, has simplified digital marketing success with the Rule of 26 and is on a mission to double the website revenue of service-centric businesses across America.

More from Michael Buzinski:

• Rule of 26 
• Buzzworthy

 

 

This episode of the Agency Spark Podcast is brought to you by Monday.com, a powerful project management platform. Monday.com helps teams easily build, run, and scale their dream workflows on one platform.  I personally am a user and big fan of Monday.com – I start my workday pulling up the platform and spend my day working within it for everything from task management to running client engagements. Learn more about Monday.com at ducttape.me/monday. 

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Fueling Your Growth With Facebook Groups And Communities

Enduring Engagement: 5 Easy Ways To Build New B2B Marketing Connections & Make Them Last

How can B2B marketers create new professional connections that endure, and strengthen their existing business relationships? With ostensibly more ways than ever to find new connections both online and off, the task can seem overwhelming. Luckily, by making clear goals and putting a strategy in place to achieve them, marketers can start truly tapping into the power of building new connections and making them — along with existing ones — stand the test of time. Let’s start right in on our journey of professional network expansion, and look at how we can take both current and newfound business relationships to new heights.

1 — Embrace New Connections in Old Familiar Places

via GIPHY To begin your journey of network reassessment and expansion, it can be helpful to ask yourself whether you’re taking full advantage of the opportunities to find new connections in the digital and real-world places you already frequent the most — your old familiar places. Some B2B marketers make the mistake of only seeking out new business connections in new spots, while not fully taking advantage of connections that are right under their noses on old familiar ground, just waiting to be uncovered. You may use one social media platform almost exclusively for personal activity, however by shifting your connection-making goals to include revisiting familiar spots, you’ll likely find a surprising number of new people to connect with on a professional level as well. In the age of B2B influencer marketing, the lines between personal and professional relationships can sometimes become blurry, which when handled well is certainly a good thing, and such connections only tend to grow closer as time passes. How To Make It Last: Schedule time at regular interviews throughout the coming year to make contact with your new business connections. By scheduling at least a few outreach sessions with new connections, you give the relationship a real chance to grow over time, and create more changes for business opportunities to arise organically. [bctt tweet="“Schedule time at regular interviews throughout the coming year to make contact with your new connections. This gives the relationship a real chance to grow over time.” — Lane R. Ellis @lanerellis" username="toprank"]

2 — Seek Out New Opportunities in Fresh Spots

via GIPHY Where are the places you haven’t yet turned to when it comes to finding new connection opportunities? In 2022 you certainly don’t have to travel to Shangri-La or the moon to find new places to connect, as they’re more apt to be right in your own digital backyard. Such new spots can include a mixture of digital and real-world locations:

• TikTok
• A conference you’ve never attended
• Reddit
• Local business events
• Discord
• Local college event opportunities
• Snapchat
• Volunteering and mentoring opportunities
• Twitch
• Speaking at events
• Pinterest
• Conducting interviews, podcasts, and webinars
• YouTube

Each of these offer ample opportunities for making new connections. We recently examined how to get the most from B2B marketing events, in “In-Person, Virtual & Hybrid: How To Get The Most From B2B Marketing Events In 2022.” Each has its own nuances in precisely how to reach out and make new connections, however some elements are more universal, and can be applied wherever you may find yourself looking to meet a new business connection, such as:

• Make your connection request personal and earnest
• Use background research on your connection to inform your request
• Seek out any mutual connections and if appropriate mention your shared contact
• Be mindful that not everyone will even look at connection requests on every platform
• Follow up new in-person connections with a message of thanks

There are of course nearly infinite ways to refine the process of making new connections, however by keeping some of the basics in mind, and asking yourself, “Is this a connection request I’d feel good about getting?”, your networking strategy can only become stronger. How To Make It Last: Use the knowledge your new connections have about the platform or event where you met. While the venues may be new to you, your newfound connections may be seasoned pros there. Ask your new connections in these new-to–you areas for their advice about the best ways to make use of those new spots. [bctt tweet="“In 2022 you certainly don’t have to travel to Shangri-La or the moon to find new places to connect, as they’re more apt to be right in your own digital backyard.” — Lane R. Ellis @lanerellis" username="toprank"]

3 — Ask Your Network “Who Do I Need To Know?”

via GIPHY There are likely professionals known to your associates who you might never get the chance to connect with, unless you specifically ask. Master networkers are quite often the ones who regularly take advantage of this technique, and it may be one of the primary reasons they became top-notch networkers over time. It can be as simple as posting a message on your favorite social media platform asking, “Who do I need to know?” At in-person events, it’s wise to ask new connections you meet who they are most looking forward to hearing speak during the event, who they hope to meet, and why. How To Make It Last: Schedule time to ask this deceptively simple question regularly, whether it’s once a year or once a month. By making it an ongoing inquiry, you almost guarantee a continual array of fascinating new people to meet and forge new business relationships with. [bctt tweet="“Post a message on your favorite social media platform asking, 'Who do I need to know?'.” — Lane R. Ellis @lanerellis" username="toprank"]

4 — Grow Existing Connections in Newfound Ways

via GIPHY In some ways, expanding on your existing connections can provide the greatest opportunity to build long-lasting business relationships, as people you already know share a history with you, and are more likely to be open to new levels of engagement. Some of the many ways to grow existing connections in new ways include:

• Asking about top pain points and challenges
• Seeking a quote for content
• Connecting with existing connections on new platforms
• Asking for business words of wisdom
• Take a digital connection to the in-person level by making event plans

How To Make It Last: You likely already have a goldmine of existing connections, and can take these business relationships to new levels by expanding your interactions in creative ways, whether it’s through mutual interviews, podcasts, webinars, or making future in-person conference meeting plans. bctt tweet="“You likely already have a goldmine of existing connections, and can take these business relationships to new levels by expanding your interactions in creative ways.” — Lane R. Ellis @lanerellis" username="toprank"]

5 — Put the Matchmaking Power of Your Network to Full Use

via GIPHY Be a business connection matchmaker, and make the effort to connect key professionals in your network with others you know who seem like a good fit. This ties in nicely with our third tip of asking “Who should I know?” — and takes it to the next level by actively putting fellow professionals in touch with one another when you believe they may spark a powerful business conversation together. Part of the power of B2B influencer marketing comes under this heading, as the sharing, co-collaboration, and support that industry subject matter experts provide for one another are proven ways to elevate business efforts for everyone involved. How To Make It Last: One of the greatest gifts a B2B marketer can give their fellow professional is an earnest introduction to someone they believe will be a perfect business match. Don’t be afraid to be a business connection matchmaker, as those you connect may end up building digital empires together — collaborations that may come back to benefit you and your business somewhere down the road. [bctt tweet="“One of the greatest gifts a B2B marketer can give their fellow professional is an earnest introduction to someone they believe will be a perfect business match.” — Lane R. Ellis @lanerellis" username="toprank"]

Enduring Business Relationships Elevate B2B Marketing Success

via GIPHY By embracing new connections in familiar places, seeking opportunity from new-to-you spots, asking "Who do I need to know?", growing business relationships in new ways, and becoming a business connection matchmaker, you'll be ahead of the game when it comes to putting the power of your network to full use. Creating award-winning B2B marketing that elevates, gives voice to talent, and humanizes with authenticity takes considerable time and effort, which is why an increasing number of firms are choosing to work with a top digital marketing agency such as TopRank Marketing. Contact us to learn how we can help, as we’ve done for over 20 years for businesses ranging from LinkedIn, Dell and 3M to Adobe, Oracle, monday.com and others.

The post Enduring Engagement: 5 Easy Ways To Build New B2B Marketing Connections & Make Them Last appeared first on B2B Marketing Blog - TopRank®.

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Two Years In: How B2B Marketers Are Optimizing & Elevating Remote Work Experiences

I always enjoy those dystopian movies about remnants of humanity persisting in a bleak future where some natural disaster or other catastrophe has dramatically altered the state of the planet. Particularly, I like when we as viewers are dropped into these worlds, and able to see how their inhabitants have learned to acclimate and even thrive under extraordinary circumstances. In the book and film I Am Legend, for example, Dr. Robert Neville is already a self-sufficient “omega man” by the time we meet him, living a lonely life in New York City where everyone else has died or transformed into a nocturnal mutant zombie. He hunts for food by day in the barren wasteland of Manhattan. He swings by the video rental store and interacts with manikins to simulate social contact. At night, when the hostile monsters come out from hiding, he barricades himself and his dog inside an immaculately fortified home. I realize this seems like an incredibly dire way to introduce the topic of remote work in a post-pandemic world, but I promise the ultimate point I’m driving toward is an optimistic one: humans are amazingly adaptable and resilient. In real life, those qualities have come to the forefront over the past two years. While professionals across many sectors are adjusting to completely different work dynamics, in marketing this shift has been especially pronounced. TopRank Marketing is one of many agencies and departments around the world that have now gone fully remote. How are B2B marketers embracing this challenge and optimizing around this new style of work as its permanence sets in? Let’s dive into some trends and insights.

B2B Marketers Are Making Moves

Our clients at LinkedIn Marketing Solutions recently shared research around the marketing jobs market, which is experiencing tremendous change and churn amidst the so-called Great Reshuffle. LinkedIn found a 31% increase in marketers switching jobs year-over-year from 2020 to 2021, while tracking around 618,000 job departures in the industry last year alone. (Source: LinkedIn Marketing Solutions) The market is primed for these job-seekers. LinkedIn also saw 374% growth in marketing jobs last year, with more than 1.3 million positions posted. The remote paradigm breaks down geographic barriers and creates vastly larger pools of opportunity for both candidates and the companies looking to hire them. At TopRank Marketing, we now have remote employees in 10 different states. (And we’re hiring, by the way.)

New B2B Marketing Skills Are Being Prioritized

The traditional mainstays are still valuable. LinkedIn’s data shows that Social Media Advertising, Instagram, Presentation Skills, and Content Marketing were among the top-growing skills in marketing last year. But there are also some emerging areas where B2B marketers are wise to focus as work evolves. One of those is understanding and activating technology. As more collaboration and communication takes place digitally, it’s all the more essential to be able to get the most out of purpose-built tools that can support these efforts. [bctt tweet="“As more collaboration and communication takes place digitally, it’s all the more essential to be able to understand and activate marketing technology.” — Nick Nelson @NickNelsonMN" username="toprank"] A recent survey by Clevertouch Marketing found that “40% of technology is still going unused as three-quarters of marketers admit to not having the technical ability to achieve their digital ambitions.” This speaks to a clear opportunity, both for organizations and individual marketers.

• Organizations: Reevaluate your marketing tech stack. Figure out what’s getting used, what’s not, and why. Be sure to invite input from your teams – what actually helps them succeed in this setting? Which existing tools do they find needless or cumbersome?
• Individuals: Strengthen your skills around key marketing technologies. It’s particularly valuable, in my humble opinion, to brush up on data analytics tools, because data-informed marketers will rule the future of the industry. This is an ongoing focus of mine.

There’s another skill category that is perhaps more abstract than the sorts of hard skills referenced above but arguably more essential than any. And it brings us back to our initial remarks about the resilience of people.

Adaptability Is Emerging as THE Standout Skill

Harvard Business School professor Linda Hill recently shared findings from a survey of executives asking which qualities they are prioritizing in business leadership going forward. “First was adaptability,” she said. “Second was curiosity, next creativity, and then, comfort with ambiguity. Number five was digital literacy.” This makes all the sense in the world, given what we’re facing now and in the years ahead. Those who are able to handle all of the chaotic change and fast-tracked advancement taking place in stride, while continuing to elevate the B2B profession amidst it all, will become the vanguard of innovation. [bctt tweet="“Adaptive marketers who can handle change in stride and #ElevateB2B through the chaos will become the vanguard of innovation.” — Nick Nelson @NickNelsonMN" username="toprank"] Adaptive skills can absolutely be built and strengthened. Part of it is leveling up those digital and technical competencies – when you’re proficient with what’s now, you’re more ready for what’s next. Another part is challenging yourself and exercising different creative muscles. Try new things and get out of your comfort zone. Finally, commit to setting yourself up for success. I think I speak for many marketers in saying it’s easy to get so caught up in your clients, your campaigns, and your creative processes that you lose sight of your own needs. Personally, I spent way too long cooped up in a very small apartment, which became increasingly confining and constricting with each day spent there. Earlier this month, my wife and I finally moved into a much bigger space with a dedicated office, way more natural light, and better fresh air flow. It’s been life-changing, no joke. I’m grateful to say that TopRank Marketing goes above and beyond in supporting us as employees, providing the equipment and tools we need to optimize our work in a remote environment, as well as the flexibility and benefits necessary for a healthy work-life balance (which, by the way, has emerged as THE biggest priority for job-seekers, beating out even compensation). I am beyond proud of the work our team has done, and the way we’ve continued to grow through all the challenges brought by these past two years. Like I said earlier: humans are amazingly adaptable and resilient. B2B marketers embody these traits as well as anyone, and we’re seeing it proven before our very eyes. “How quickly one accepts the incredible if only one sees it enough.” ? Richard Matheson, I Am Legend

The post Two Years In: How B2B Marketers Are Optimizing & Elevating Remote Work Experiences appeared first on B2B Marketing Blog - TopRank®.

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Weekend Favs April 23

Weekend Favs April 23 written by John Jantsch read more at Duct Tape Marketing

My weekend blog post routine includes posting links to a handful of tools or great content I ran across during the week.

I don’t go into depth about the finds, but encourage you to check them out if they sound interesting. The photo in the post is a favorite for the week from an online source or one that I took out there on the road.

• Robinize – This one is great for content writers. This tool will help you save a lot of time on keyword research by revealing the terms and phrases that bring the most traffic to your competition.
• Close – Close is a CRM software that is offering a FREE lead generation course for small to medium-sized businesses. The course is six hours long and covers topics such as; prospecting, ideal customer profiles, referrals and more.
• Reflect – This integrated note-taking software helps you access all your thoughts and ideas in one place. It can sync with multiple devices, your browser, calendar, and kindle.

These are my weekend favs, I would love to hear about some of yours – Tweet me @ducttape

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B2B Marketing News: Influencer Marketing A Top B2B Strategy, B2B Event Industry Rebounds, Top Posting Times, & Marketers Overwhelmed By MarTech

B2B & B2C Instagram Marketing Trends of 2022 [Data from 500 Marketers] More than twice as many B2B marketers than B2C have said that influencer marketing will be their top strategy in 2022, with 70 percent of B2B marketers having said that partnering with influencers offered a high return on investment (ROI) — two of several findings of interest to digital marketers contained in newly-released HubSpot survey data detailing Instagram marketing trends. HubSpot [bctt tweet="“Don't see influencer marketing as 1-way transactional relationships that only benefit the brand. Focus on developing long-term mutually beneficial relationships that benefit both the brand & the influencers that you work with.” @justinlevy" username="toprank"] Marketers Are Overwhelmed By Martech, Study Finds Half of senior marketers said they were overwhelmed by marketing technology, with some 40 percent of the tools available to them going unused, while 30 percent have said that they are not able to fully utilize their marketing technology platforms — three of the statistics of interest to B2B marketers contained in recently-released survey data. MediaPost IAB: US digital ad revenue skyrocketed in 2021 despite mounting challenges When it comes to digital advertising in the U.S., growth of 35.4 percent year-over-year in 2021 contributed to $189.3 billion in revenue, an increase that was the fastest since 2006, led by digital video, which climbed 58.8 percent to $39.5 billion, according to newly-released report data. Marketing Dive Companies Are Set to Spend Billions on the Metaverse in the Next Decade. These Are the Groups They Should Target [Survey] 36 percent adults in the U.S. have said that they are interested in the metaverse, with 56 percent of millennials and 51 percent of Gen Z expressing interest, while 46 percent of men and 28 percent of women expressed interest, according to recently-released survey data. Morning Consult 8 in 10 Marketers Plan Changes to Their MarTech Stack This Year 64 percent of marketers have said that their marketing budgets are up from last year, with 82 percent noting that they want updated marketing technologies, while 37 percent pointed to customer data platform (CDP) technology as the top marketing solution they plan to invest in during 2022, according to newly-released report data. MarketingCharts Most Brands Are Turning To Zero-Party Data, Study Finds 90 percent of digital marketing decision makers have said by the end of 2022 their firms will be collecting zero-party data shared directly by customers, however only some 42 percent said they know how to effectively use that which they already have access to — two of several statistics of interest to B2B marketers contained in recent report data from Forrester. MediaPost New Report Highlights That Instagram Hashtags Don't Significantly Increase Post Engagement Posts on Instagram that used three or four hashtags achieved the highest rates of engagement when it came to impressions, with generally more hashtags leading to slightly lower rates, especially for accounts with between 50 thousand and a million followers, according to newly-released Socialinsider survey data. Social Media Today The best times to engage on social media [Sprout Social Report] Mornings on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday were the top times for achieving the highest levels of social media engagement, with mid-mornings during the middle of the week leading the way when it comes to the LinkedIn platform — two of several findings of interest to B2B marketers contained in recently-released Sprout Social survey data. MarTech Video Aids 95% Of Enterprise B2B Buyers In Conversion [Survey Results] 88 percent of B2B buyers said that during the past 90 days they have viewed videos to learn about a company's products or services, with 70 percent having pinpointed video as the top content format when it came to increasing awareness of business-related problems — two of numerous statistics of interest to digital marketers released in new B2B buyer report data. Search Engine Journal The B2B Exhibition Industry Improved Again in Q4 as 7 in 8 In-Person Events Went Ahead as Planned Just 12.5 percent of events were canceled during the final quarter of 2021, representing a continued and marked improvement since the final quarter of 2020 — when nearly 98 percent had been canceled — according to recently-released B2B exhibition survey daya. MarketingCharts ON THE LIGHTER SIDE: A lighthearted look at “the future of the metaverse” by Marketoonist Tom Fishburne — Marketoonist The Most Commonly Tattooed Brands [Infographic] — MarketingProfs April Fools' Day 2022 Pranks: Butterfinger Mayo, Invisible Earbuds, 7-Eleven Tiny Gulp — CNET TOPRANK MARKETING & CLIENTS IN THE NEWS:

• TopRank Marketing — The 15 Best Podcasts for Modern Marketers — LinkedIn (client)
• LinkedIn — How to Become a Trusted Voice in the Sustainability Conversation: Purna Virji on Marketing Smarts [Podcast] — MarketingProfs
• Lee Odden — Cross-GTM alignment, job changes, and collaboration – Cronycle’s weekly wrap up for April 18, 2022 — Cronycle

If you've found your own top B2B marketing news for the week, please don't hesitate to let us know in the comments below. Thanks for taking the time to join us for this week's edition of the TopRank Marketing B2B marketing news, and we hope that you'll return again next Friday for another array of the most relevant B2B and digital marketing industry news. In the meantime, you can follow us on our LinkedIn page, or at @toprank on Twitter for even more timely daily news.

The post B2B Marketing News: Influencer Marketing A Top B2B Strategy, B2B Event Industry Rebounds, Top Posting Times, & Marketers Overwhelmed By MarTech appeared first on B2B Marketing Blog - TopRank®.

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Local Marketing Strategies For Your Small Business

Local Marketing Strategies For Your Small Business written by John Jantsch read more at Duct Tape Marketing

Marketing Podcast with Laura Nelson

In this episode of the Duct Tape Marketing Podcast, I interview Laura Nelson. Laura has marketed, sold to, and collaborated with local businesses for over 10 years of her career as a marketer and business manager. She is currently VP of Marketing at Signpost, following roles with Broadly, Reputation.com, and Patch. Laura earned an MBA from the University of Michigan and a BFA at Carnegie Mellon University.

Key Takeaway:

Marketing has changed for all types of business in the last few years thanks to new platforms, channels, and technology. But for small businesses — the changes have been revolutionary, often leveling the playing field and providing a way to reach their customers and new audiences in a low-cost, targeted, and personalized way. In this episode, I talk with the VP of Marketing at Signpost, Laura Nelson, about the latest trends in local marketing and what strategies to focus on.

Questions I ask Laura Nelson:

• [1:17] So what did you work on in your fine arts and what do you do with it now in your life?
• [2:07] Let’s talk about the local versus national differences in marketing — are there any significant differences let’s say for a plumber versus say a software company when it comes to digital marketing?
• [3:57] Does a business with 10 locations need to be optimized for all 10 locations?
• [5:40] For a lot of businesses, the Google profile presence is one of the most important aspects of the business — what do you have to do to show up there?
• [8:52] Consumer behavior has changed dramatically — how have referrals changed the game for local businesses?
• [12:27] How do we get those reviews from customers that seem to be happy?
• [15:16] How do you manage all of the various channels available today like online, live chat, SMS, appointment scheduling, etc.?
• [18:02] What are some industries that you think are ahead of the curve in having automated and integrated communication?
• [20:25] What benefits can Duct Tape listeners redeem from Signposts?

More About Laura Nelson:

• Signpost.com

More About Duct Tape Marketing Consultant Network:

• Learn more here

Like this show? Click on over and give us a review on iTunes, please!

Duct Tape Transcript

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John Jantsch (00:00): This episode of the duct tape marketing podcast is brought to you by the salesman podcast, hosted by Will Barron and brought to you by the HubSpot podcast network. Look, if you work in sales, wanna learn how to sell, and frankly who doesn't check out the salesman podcast, where host will Barron helps sales professionals learn how to find buyers and win big business ineffective and ethical ways. And if you wanna start someplace, I recommend the four step process to influencing buying decisions. Listen to the Salesman Podcast, wherever you get your podcast.

John Jantsch (00:44): Hello, and welcome to another episode of the duct tape marketing podcast. This is John Jantsch. My guest today is Laura Nelson. She's marketed, sold to and collaborated with local businesses for over 10 years of her career. As a marketer and business manager, she's currently the vice president of marketing@signpostfollowingroleswithbroadlyreputation.com and patch. She an MBA from the university of Michigan and a BFA at Carnegie Mellon university. So Laura, welcome to the show.

Laura Nelson (01:15): Hi Jen. Thanks for having me.

John Jantsch (01:17): So what did you work on in your, uh, fine arts?

Laura Nelson (01:20): I was a paint drawing, um, print making specialists. So mostly two, two dimensional works. However, through the program, we had to learn how to use every medium from the traditional media to, uh, computer based video, everything in between.

John Jantsch (01:42): So, so what do you do with that now in life Still paint or,

Laura Nelson (01:47): Yeah. Awesome. I do still practice my art. I, I draw quite a bit and make prints of it and give them the friends or sell them. The pandemic was a great opportunity to get back into it. Just given that I had more spare time as

John Jantsch (02:03): We, I picked up the, I picked up the mandolin. Oh, there you go. So yeah, I think a lot of people did that. Yeah. So, so let's, you are at signpost for those that don't know signpost specializes in, in a lot of, uh, local marketing, uh, tactics. So we're gonna talk about local national differences in marketing. So let's start there. Are there any significant differences, uh, say for a plumber versus say a software company when it comes to digital marketing?

Laura Nelson (02:33): Yeah, absolutely. Um, a plumber primarily is trying to attract homeowners, you know, to his or her business right

John Jantsch (02:42): In their community generally. Right?

Laura Nelson (02:45): So like, you know, they are restricted by geography. They have a certain budget in mind. Often there are trade offs when they're budgeting for marketing versus other, you know, expenses and other staff, et cetera, company like ours signposts. We are a B2B or business to business company. So we sell all across the United States and we sell primarily to businesses rather than to homeowners plumbers are our customers. Right, right, right. Along with other contractors who are looking for ways to, uh, attract homeowners with looking for ways to build their brand and their communities and ultimately grow their businesses. Right.

John Jantsch (03:30): So that local business that works in a community, obviously they, they want people generally speaking in proximity for a lot of businesses to, to be able to go online and find them. I mean, that's obviously the major difference. And in, in my experience, especially lately, if they're not finding you in maps and things like that, it's almost like you don't exist because so many people are making or purchase decisions that way. What about that business that has 10 locations, they have a, a different problem, a different challenge. Do they need to be optimizing for all 10 locations? How does that kinda change their calculus when it comes to, to online local marketing?

Laura Nelson (04:13): Absolutely. And you know, we work with businesses that have one to 10 locations. It's just an example. That would be our sweet spot. You know, the single location is going to be solving for slightly like different problems than someone operating a business at 10 locations. Sure. They're thinking about scale and achieving economies of scale, right. Depending on how they're set up, you know, across multiple communities or multiple states, you know, they may have different, um, needs in turn of their marketing strategies, the reach and the software that they invest in. However, they, you know, the things that they have in common are the basics, right? You mentioned showing up on Google maps, like if your business is not optimized for that, you're not part of the conversation. A homeowner is not going to find you and, and pick your business.

John Jantsch (05:07): Yeah. The, so, so let's jump right to what makes Google maps happen. The Google business profile for a lot of businesses is I, I mean, we work with businesses. It's probably the most important aspect. I mean, it's scary because it's owned by somebody else, but it's, it is, it's probably the most important aspect having optimized, having the right signals there, having lots of good reviews, but obviously showing up. I mean, that, that, that, you know, for a lot of local marketers is maybe job one. I mean, so what advice, I, I know you work with business owners, helping them optimize that, uh, tool. So what, you know, what advice I, I'm sure people come to you all the time, say, I wanna show up in that thing of, of course you do. What do we have to do to show up in that thing?

Laura Nelson (05:49): You're absolutely right. John, the Google business profile also formerly known as Google. My business is probably the most important thing you can do to establish your business's presence online. And everyone wants to be in what we call that local repack, right? When someone searches for plumbers in your area or roofers cetera, you wanna be one of those businesses that's in the top three that are most obvious to those homeowners looking to solve a problem. The real challenge as you alluded to is that, you know, that is somewhat out of our control. Right? Right. There are basics that we can do to invest in improving that profile. Like first claim it first. And for most, if a business hasn't claimed their presence on Google, you know, they're missing out on this free opportunity to be found and chosen. So that's number one. But beyond that, there are optimizations to do right.

Laura Nelson (06:51): Link it to your website, link it to your scheduler, add photos of your team and the work that you do, make sure your phone number's right. Yeah. I just went over to, uh, a granite countertop business over my lunch break a few minutes ago. And you know, I told him, Hey, I've tried to call you for two days and your number's not ringing through. Right. So we'll get into what happens next in terms of a homeowner making that next step. But getting all that critical information is, you know, absolutely essential to showing up online. And of course, I, I don't want to leave out customer reviews. Right. We don't know the perfect Google formula to, you know, what enables a business to rank in that three pack. But we do reviews are an important part of that. So having a lot of reviews, ensuring you've got a consistent, um, stream of them over time is really important.

John Jantsch (07:50): Yeah. And, and, and actually I think they are giving some pretty good clues these days, because if you do a local search, a lot of times what they surface will say, well, these words were in some of the reviews. I mean, and they'll actually show you some of those reviews. So we obviously know that they are, that they are using those really almost like keywords in the past for optimization. One of the things that, of course over the last 10 years, let's say has dramatically changed for local business is, is just the way people buy. You know, everybody wants to talk about how all the changes in these platforms and new, you know, new networks and things that show up, but it's really the consumer behavior, you know, has really changed dramatically. And I would say that even comes to referrals. So referrals are for local businesses, word of mouth for local businesses, still a huge, uh, way that they generate business. But you used to be, if I went across the fence and asked my neighbor and they said, oh, you should call this for remodelling contractor. I just picked up the phone. I called, you know, today I go and I do a full review of them, you know, to, before I ever call. So how has that, how has that, what I just described kind of changed the game for local vis.

Laura Nelson (08:58): Yeah, it definitely has. And we perfectly described how homeowners have shifted their behavior. Right? We'll still have those conversations with friends and neighbors and trust what they say, but then we're gonna go online to what we learned. Right. So if my neighbor tells me, Hey, work with this contractor, he did a great job. I still need to go on Google to figure out how to get in touch with him. Right. Right. If I see something lower than a four and a half or four stars, I'm gonna start to question right. That recommendation, right? These are people who are coming into homes and, you know, doing an important job. And you know, if the quality of the reviews isn't aligned with that recommendation, I'm gonna start doing my homework. I'm gonna start looking at other providers in my area. Yeah. That's one way, I think also, you know, first and foremost, people are starting that search on Google, right.

Laura Nelson (10:00): That's where the majority of people are starting, but there's this other class of referral that I don't want local business owners to miss out on. And, and that's the conversations that are happening in Facebook groups. Sure. On nextdoor, you know, especially when it's a tougher project. And for instance, I can refer back to the contracting project I'm working on right now. It's a smaller job. It's not a mansion, but I do have a renovation planned. And you know, I had a hard time connecting with the contractor through traditional means, right? Like filling out contact forms and calling people. Yeah. So I went on next door and posted, I went in faced groups to post and asked people, you know, who do you recommend? And I got a lot of responses that way. Yeah. So it's another important thing to keep an eye on.

John Jantsch (10:52): And now let's hear from our sponsor. Look, if you're tired of slowing down your teams with clunky software processes and marketing that is difficult to scale, HubSpot is here to help you and your business grow better with collaboration tools and built in SEO optimizations. A HubSpot CRM platform is tailor made to help you scale your marketing with ease, integrated calendars, tasks, and commenting, help hybrid teams stay connected while automated SEO recommendations, intuitively optimize your webpage content for increased organic traffic ditch, the difficult and dial up your marketing with tools that are easy to use and easy to scale learn how your business can grow better@ hubspot.com SOS.

John Jantsch (11:38): So many of the home services industries right now are swamped in, I mean, getting somebody to even call you back right now, it's gotten, uh, much more difficult than you would think it should be is hasn't it?

John Jantsch (11:48): So, so let's jump back to, uh, reviews. You mentioned that 4.5, uh, I've actually seen some interesting research on that, that, that says 4.6, 4.7 is actually the perfect score. And that's because I think as consumers, we see 105 star reviews and we kind of go, uh nobody's perfect. And so I think that's interesting. You actually wanna few three star reviews that you can respond to in a public way. I think, because it, it, it feels more believable, but I know I work with a lot of businesses that have customers that love them, but they still can't get reviews. So how do we get those reviews from customers that seem to be happy?

Laura Nelson (12:33): You're absolutely right about, you know, these mid four star reviews are great. Yeah. Right. Real business is perfect and they'll make mistakes and you'll see the occasional irate customer that adds to the authenticity of the reviews that are there. Right. So it's so painful and so personal. Right. Especially when a business gets a, a one star review it, the recommendation here is to bury it with positive reviews. Sure. So you asked how, right. It all comes down to putting a process in place and getting your team behind it and ensuring that you have the right tools. Yeah. So for example, I see team all the time who, you know, wrap up a job, they have a happy homeowner right there and, you know, fail to take the extra step and say like, you know, Hey, are you happy? And, and if so, would you mind writing a review for our business?

Laura Nelson (13:26): You know, these matter to us, they help us find more homeowners just like you. And you know, it'd be mean the world to us, if you did, that's one, you know, making that ask personal, when you wrap up every job and number two is actually following up, right. Gotta make it easy for the homeowner. If they can't find your Google listing, if they can't find your Yelp listing, even if they have the best intentions they're gonna move on with their day. Right. They're gonna go somewhere else. Like they wanted to do it, but it wasn't easy. And, and that's where tools like signposts can really make a difference. Right? You shoot, 'em a text message. You shoot, 'em an email goes right to your listing link and takes several steps out of the process and ensures that it gets done.

John Jantsch (14:13): Yeah. And I, it, it's funny that, uh, you know, QR codes are certainly high having a day again. Right. Um, because we all got used to ordering our hamburgers with them and

Laura Nelson (14:23): Yeah.

John Jantsch (14:23): So I'm seeing more and more people put those on business cards and things, you know, for reviews because it is actually, everybody knows how to do it now, you know, you you're seeing them in ads on television and things. I mean, it, it's kind of funny cuz they were hot 10 years ago and then it just kind of went away. But they really so, so to your point of making it easy, certainly a way to do it.

Laura Nelson (14:44): Yeah. QR codes are a great tool and, and you used to need a separate app to read them, but now we can read them through the cameras on our phones and you know, that's a great DIY way to leave behind a card with a customer, no matter what business you're in. Like they know how to use them. Now.

John Jantsch (15:05): It's kinda like when it's kinda like when podcasts first came out, it was very hard to listen to 'em and when apple put the app right on the iPhone, all of a sudden podcast took off as well.

Laura Nelson (15:15): Oh yeah.

John Jantsch (15:16): So what about all the, one of the things I know frustrates some business owners, but I think it's, it's like back in the day when it's like you, you have to take credit cards and checks and cash, you know, now you have to be online and chat. You have to use SMS, have to have appointment scheduling because people are going to, people want to interact with you the way they want to interact with you. How do you manage all of those various channels?

Laura Nelson (15:41): Yeah. It's incredibly difficult. And this is where technology and other services can make it super easy. I referenced that granite countertop store, my first breast for reference was not to call them, but they forced me into it.

John Jantsch (15:56): Right,

Laura Nelson (15:57): Right. So I will not always do that because I would like a path of lease resistance. Yeah. And that's what homeowners and customers are really gravitating toward, but I send way more texts a day than make phone calls. And I think that's common across the population. So if I can get a quick answer, you know, through text message or through chat, I'm gonna do that. I'm gonna take out the friction of a phone call, but that's like, that's very difficult for businesses to manage if they're using like their traditional tools. Yeah. Like, you know, the owner's cell phone and you know, a team member, cell phones and you know, a chat widget,

John Jantsch (16:37): Someone's gonna be there's yeah. Graded.

Laura Nelson (16:39): Yeah. If it's not integrated. Yes. It becomes overwhelming. Right. Right. And you have to hire someone to manage all of that. That's what signpost helps to make easy is to bring all of those messages into one place. So you don't and have 50 tabs open of leads coming from different sources that can come into one dashboard. Yeah. Right. And you've got all your messages there where you can fire off quick replies or automated replies too. Yep. Is really important. You know, if you miss a customer's call, for example, know, our system can send a text and ensure that customer was heard. Right. We got your message. We'll get back to you. And that enables you to start a text conversation, right. With them.

John Jantsch (17:23): You can say, while you're waiting, here's the 27 projects we did last week, right? Yeah, exactly.

Laura Nelson (17:27): You can customize that reply. You can send your scheduling link, you can get them kind of moving down the funnel of making a decision of whether they're going to hire you.

John Jantsch (17:37): Yeah. Yeah. It's a very differentiator too. Cuz a lot of people may maybe called three people, you know, Sunday night, you know, waiting for them to all come call 'em back Monday morning. And uh, yeah. All of a sudden you've advanced the ball a little bit by having

Laura Nelson (17:50): And people are gonna hire the person who responds first simple

John Jantsch (17:55): Cases. That's right. Especially the environment where we're in now, its anybody responds. They're probably gonna get hired. What are some industries where you think or ahead of the curve in this and, and then I guess maybe, well you don't have to name some that aren't doing it well other than to say, if you're not doing it well, you can learn from these people.

Laura Nelson (18:15): Yeah. I think, you know, in the realm that we're talking about, say online reviews and communications technologies. In my experience, I've seen dental and medical offices a little ahead of the curve there. That's not to, to say all of them are because you know, the issue now that we're seeing is that the software is pretty educated, so it doesn't solve all of their needs, but there was a time when dental adoption of these products was quite sure

John Jantsch (18:43): The it's probably true of anybody who lived by appointment, you know, scheduled all day long. You know, that, that, that those were probably some of the first adopters weren't they?

Laura Nelson (18:54): Yeah. Because like they, you know, they want to fill every slot in their day and they know if, you know, if someone cancels, didn't get a reminder as just an example and they're losing revenue yeah. For that spot. And it's very difficult for them to fill unless they've got a long waiting list and you know, people are available fill slots.

John Jantsch (19:11): Can I just complain about the people that send me an email, call me and send me a text as well. They really need to, it's like when we first got into the AI bots, you know, it's like, they've gotta be done well or they're really not very helpful.

Laura Nelson (19:25): I totally agree. I think that, you know, businesses, you've gotta choose one and my recommendation is communicate in the way back that the person came in. Right? Yeah. With the exception, if you missed their call, you ha you give them that option of texting back. That's just, you know, a common courtesy. Right. But yeah, aside from that, you know, people don't need to be bombarded. Correct. That's not a great experience and you know, that may turn them off. So it's really risky.

John Jantsch (19:55): Yeah.

Laura Nelson (19:56): To add on the question that you asked previously, signpost really concentrates on contractors though, we serve dozens and dozens of industries. We focus on contractors because we saw real need, you know, there are companies across the spectrum when it comes to tech adoption and, and marketing savviness. So we saw that, you know, there was a need, we had the best product market bit. And so that's why primarily we focus in that area.

John Jantsch (20:25): Yep. So we've mentioned the name signpost, it's just signpost.com. Do you, do you wanna invite anybody for the 50% off, uh, special because they're a duct tape listener.

Laura Nelson (20:36): Yes, absolutely. Um, visit, sign post. I can't guarantee that you'll get a 50% off rate, but you know, certainly if you are a listener, you are eligible for a promo rate. So visit signpost.com, visit the upper right corner and request a demo, check our product out, see if it's a good fit for your company.

John Jantsch (20:59): Laura saying, thanks so much for stopping by the duct tape marketing podcast. And hopefully we'll, uh, get to run into you one of these days out there on the road.

Laura Nelson (21:06): Thank you so much us John. Really appreciate it.

John Jantsch (21:09): All right. So that wraps up another episode. I wanna thank you so much for tuning in and you know, we love those reviews and comments. And just generally tell me what you think also did you know that you could offer the duct tape marketing system, our system to your clients and build a complete marketing consulting coaching business, or maybe level up an agency with some additional services. That's right. Check out the duct tape marketing consultant network. You can find it at ducttapemarketing.com and just scroll down a little and find that offer our system to your client's tab.

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This episode of the Duct Tape Marketing Podcast is brought to you by the HubSpot Podcast Network.

HubSpot Podcast Network is the audio destination for business professionals who seek the best education and inspiration on how to grow a business.

 

 

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Dominating The News Feed With Ads For Less Than $10 Per Day

Dominating The News Feed With Ads For Less Than $10 Per Day written by Sara Nay read more at Duct Tape Marketing



About the show:

The Agency Spark Podcast, hosted by Sara Nay, is a collection of short-form interviews from thought leaders in the marketing consultancy and agency space. Each episode focuses on a single topic with actionable insights you can apply today. Check out the new Spark Lab Consulting website here!

About this episode:

In this episode of the Agency Spark Podcast, Sara talks with Jody Milward on how to dominate the news feed with ads for less than $10 per day.

Jody likes to call herself an “accidental entrepreneur”. Like many women, after having kids she didn’t want to return to a 9-5 office gig so she started her first business as a Private Investigator (obvious choice, right?). After 9 years, 7 figures in revenue and much government red tape, it was time to move on and she stumbled into the Social Media and paid traffic world. From her first client in 2014 making $12 per hour to generating over 7 figures in revenue 6 years later, she’s lived and breathed digital marketing as a freelancer, sub-contractor, in-house, agency owner, consultant, speaker, educator and mentor.

More from Jody Milward:

• Get The Quick Start Guide To Becoming An In-Demand Ad Manager Here
• Jody’s Website
• Jody’s Facebook

 

 

This episode of the Agency Spark Podcast is brought to you by Podmatch, a platform that automatically matches ideal podcast hosts and guests for interviews. Imagine your favorite online dating app, but instead of using it for finding dates, you’re booking podcast interviews. I use Podmatch to find guests for Agency Spark and it’s made booking engaging and talented guests incredibly easy. Learn more here!

 

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Rolling Out The Red Carpet For Your Employees

Rolling Out The Red Carpet For Your Employees written by John Jantsch read more at Duct Tape Marketing

Marketing Podcast with Donna Cutting

In this episode of the Duct Tape Marketing Podcast, I interview Donna Cutting. Donna is the Founder and CEO of Red-Carpet Learning Worldwide and works with mission-driven leaders to help them create cultures of happy, engaged people who deliver exceptional customer service. She’s the author of three books including: The Celebrity Experience: Insider Secrets to Delivering Red-Carpet Customer Service and her new book Employees First! Inspire, Engage, and Focus on the HEART of Your Organization.

Key Takeaway:

The world is changing and it’s time to take care of the people who take care of your customers. How do we get an hourly employee who has never received red carpet customer service, to give it? The answer is obvious, isn’t it? You roll out the red carpet for them, of course.

In this episode, Donna Cutting joins me as we talk about how giving your team members a voice in your company, supporting them with knowledge and training, giving them purpose and equitable pay, translates into higher productivity and happier customers. We dive into core concepts from her new book Employees First! and share strategies for honoring the very people who make your company what it is—your internal customers—your team.

Questions I ask Donna Cutting:

• [1:18] Would you say that in a lot of ways you writing a book about inspiring and engaging with your employees is a derivative of customer service?
• [6:11] How do you get people to think about this as a journey?
• [9:54] Would you talk a little bit about the messaging that you’re seeing that really attracts the kind of employee that’s looking for something meaningful?
• [13:06] Similarly to buyer’s remorse, sometimes people experience remorse after taking a new job — how can we keep that experience as high as everything that attracted them?
• [15:54] What are you finding in that channel as a way to attract new employees?
• [17:17] Do we need to change the way that we think about women and diversity in the workplace?
• [19:50] Where can people find out more about the work that you do?

More About Donna Cutting:

• Her new book — Employees First! Inspire, Engage, and Focus on the HEART of Your Organization
• Red Carpet Learning

More About Duct Tape Marketing Consultant Network:

• Learn more here

Like this show? Click on over and give us a review on iTunes, please!

Duct Tape Transcript

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John Jantsch (00:00): This episode of the duct tape marketing podcast is brought to you by the salesman podcast, hosted by Will Barron and brought to you by the HubSpot podcast network. Look, if you work in sales, wanna learn how to sell, and frankly who doesn't check out the salesman podcast, where hosts will Barron helps sales professionals learn how to find buyers and win big business ineffective and ethical ways. And if you wanna start someplace, I recommend the four step process to influencing buying decisions. Listen to the salesman podcast, wherever you get your podcast.

John Jantsch (00:43): Hello, and welcome to another episode of the duct tape marketing podcast. This is John Jantsch and my guest today is Donna Cutting. She is the founder and CEO of red carpet learning worldwide and works with mission driven leaders. To help them create cultures of happy, engaged people who deliver exceptional customer service. She's the author of three books, including the celebrity experience. And one we're gonna talk about today, a new one called employees first inspire, engage and focus on the heart of your organization. So welcome back, Donna.

Donna Cutting (01:15): Thanks, John. It's good. Always good to be here with you.

John Jantsch (01:18): So, you know, in a lot of ways you writing a book about treating your employees or inspiring engaging is really just sort of derivative of customer service, right? I mean, because guess who's delivering customer service.

Donna Cutting (01:32): Yeah, exactly. I actually love that. You put it that way because so many people will say, oh, you're switching now, you're going to a place I'm like, no, I'm not switching it all. We're talking about your internal customers. And in many ways it's the book I should have written first.

John Jantsch (01:49): Well, I mean, it's all just positioning because I mean, a lot of, I know in your previous work, a lot of customer services is about, I mean, your people are probably treating their customers about as well as you're treating your people. Right. So, I mean, there, there's definitely, you've definitely written in red carpet really about the idea of getting engaged, you know, people involved in the purpose. I mean, so it's really in a lot of ways, it's not that different, is it?

Donna Cutting (02:15): No, it's not. And there's always been, uh, it it's, it's definitely not because it all works together, right. It's how you treat your team member versus it is how they treat your, is how they treat your customers and all of that stems also from the culture that you're creating. So, and there's always been you're right. There's always been a chapter, a theme throughout both of my other books that focused, uh, perhaps more on traditional customers, but that you had to re really look at how you treat your employees as well. But this one is dedicated specifically to employees

John Jantsch (02:52): And we're really not just talking about, uh, foosball tables and cappuccino machines. I mean, you know, as like, oh, give 'em lots of perks. I mean, really at the heart of this is the idea of giving them a, a purpose or something to believe in, isn't it?

Donna Cutting (03:05): Yeah. It's a lot of different things cuz we're going through so many changes right now. And you can imagine John, it was such a daunting task to write a book in, in about the employee experience in a time when are going through, uh, such incredible chain, but yeah, really looking at what is it that people really want, you know, and one of those things that keeps coming up again and again is, and especially after, you know, having gone through what we've been through in the last couple of years, just really looking people are looking for meaning in their work and you know, what am I, what am I giving to that gives me a purpose that's beyond a paycheck and the paycheck's important. Don't get me wrong. It, it's probably more important than we've believed it to be in the past, but, but beyond the paycheck, what, what am I doing that is contributing to something that's greater than myself, that's making a difference in the world.

John Jantsch (04:05): Yeah. And that's maybe that's a bit of an attitude change. I, I, it certainly is something that's associated say with millennials and the next generation, but I think it's actually, as you said, we keep pointing to this, you know, with all the change we've gone through, I mean, a lot of feel 50 year olds are resigning from their possessions and looking for that, that meaning all of a sudden, I think that's probably a bigger, uh, sea change maybe than just kind of a generational change.

Donna Cutting (04:32): Yeah. There's a couple of things. Well I think all of us, right, or many of us I'll say many of us because I got called out on LinkedIn, by somebody who said, you know, they've always held to their values and nothing about them has changed since the pandemic. So we'll say many people, many people I think got really clear about what really matters, you know, in their life. And so that's, what's driving their choices. So if they choose to continue in you working work, life balance is going to be a huge part of the discussion, a part of their decision about where they want to work. But I think you're right. That's where we're seeing a lot of people who, you know, in their fifties, early sixties retiring a little sooner than they anticipated. They would in many cases because they've decided no it's time to, to move on, to really focus on what matters in my life. And this is a huge change because there are so many more people in that age bracket than even, you know, millennials and the generation Z. So that's causing a lot of a little disruption in the workplace right now.

John Jantsch (05:48): So one of the things that I've been, um, preaching for years is this idea of an end to end customer journey that, you know, that attracts the right people that, you know, really has them see you as the logical choice that retains customers that turns them into evangelists. And really, I think in a lot of ways for hiring, we're talking about the same kind of journey, right? I mean, there is an attraction component. There is a great experience, you know, component, there is a retention component. So, you know, how do you kind of view that end to end? Because a lot of people, oh, I need to run better ads on indeed, you know, as hiring. Right. So how do you get people to think about this as a journey?

Donna Cutting (06:23): Yeah. And you're absolutely right. It all works together and I think what's happened. You know, I think, I don't think we're talking about anything that people haven't heard before, but I think what it, what happened in the workplace before was a lot of like short term bandaid thinking the I've got to run a better ad on a indeed, you know, and, and really, I think the organizations that are gonna come ahead that are going to attract the best people that are going to are the ones who are going to look at the whole journey and say, really look at their organizational culture and ask the questions. Like, are we really making people feel valued? Are we really, are they clear even what the expectations are and what, you know, going back to, to traditional customer service? Like what does that even look like? And are we giving them the tools that they need and you know, are we supporting them in the way that they're excited and, and inspired and feel like they have some personal professional development that can happen in the organization and this takes time, it takes planning. It takes commitment. Yeah. But the organization know leaders that are willing to look at that journey and really commit to it are the ones five years, 10 years from now are gonna come out ahead.

John Jantsch (07:45): Yeah. And I think you, you missed a key. It also takes investment, you know, for a lot of organizations, but I use the word investment as opposed to cost because it, the theory is, uh, there's going to be a return on that investment.

Donna Cutting (07:57): There's gonna be a return. And also I think, you know, it's amazing to me, even with my own customers, when I ask the question, you know, have you put dollars and cents to what it's costing you to all this employee turnover that you have. And very few of them have, like, they know it's costing them money, but they don't know exactly how much. Sure. You know. Yeah. And I think if you people really looked at the numbers, the amount of money that they were spending because of this, you know what I'm calling bandaid thinking like quick fix thinking and not committing to that whole journey, they would find that the resources to be able to do it, or there is just shifting a focus from, you know, short term thinking to long term strategy.

John Jantsch (08:43): And now let's hear from our sponsor, you know, as a business owner, you eventually realize you can't do everything yourself, but hiring is complicated. And what if you only need part-time help your job is to be the visionary. But instead you spend countless hours on tasks that could be done easily and arguably better by someone else. And that's where the powerful multiplying effects of delegation, our mission critical our friends at Belay can help. Belay is an incredible organiz revolutionizing productivity with their virtual assistance bookkeepers website specialists and social media managers for growing organizations to help you get started. Belay is offering their latest, e-book delegate to elevate for free to all of my listeners. Now in this e-book, you'll learn how to re name time to focus on what you can do by delegating to download your free copy. Just text tape to 5, 5, 1, 2, 3, that's TAPE to 5, 5, 1, 2, 3, accomplish more and juggle less with Belay.

John Jantsch (09:54): So let's break down a couple of components. You know, one of the first one is, you know, messaging that attracts, we work with a lot of clients that now we've shifted to, you know, helping them attract folks in their marketing. Right. And you know, we were working with a contractor looking for skilled liper folks and you know, their ads are all about, here's the benefits you get, you know, here's what you can expect. You know, here's why this good job. And we changed their message and they were getting nothing with, and we changed their messaging to be something around the idea of, are you getting the respect that you deserve in your current job? And all of a sudden it's like, boom. You know, they got attention. And I think that's a part that a lot of people are missing. People. People don't necessarily change jobs for $2 an hour, you know, more it's they leave a bad situation. So talk a little bit about, you know, the messaging that you're seeing that really attracts that kind of player that's looking for something meaningful.

Donna Cutting (10:47): Yeah. That's so interesting. It's funny. My friend, Steven Tweed who's in the home care space, he did a, a study with caregivers in, in the home care space. And one of the things they found was that putting a number like putting a salary or a wage on the ad was actually beneficial in attracting people, but it doesn't keep people. So what keeps people is exactly what I think you just said is, are people feeling, uh, respected? Are they, you honestly, John, this is, this is all of what I talk about. It's really about whether you're talking about traditional customers or employees or just people in general. We wanna be seen, we wanna be heard. We want to feel like we matter, right. That's, that's the bottom line of what we're talking about. So when people feel like they're not seeing, they're not her, they're not respected.

Donna Cutting (11:43): That is when they're more likely to start looking around. And right now they have a lot of different options. And I think, you know, I've been doing a study with hourly workers on what makes them feel valued. And a lot of times, I think, again, what we do in organizations is the quick, like we'll do employee appreciation day, right. Or the pizza party, or we're just gonna thank everybody, you know, the hero side, all of those wonderful things. I'm not putting them down, but none of that is coming up in my conversations with hourly workers about what makes them feel valued. It's more, you know, somebody individually noticed something that I did that I contributed, right. Or somebody saw something in the, my boss saw something in me that I didn't even see in myself. And now I've grown professionally, you know, as a result of that. And then just people knowing them, knowing their names. Yeah, yeah. You know, knowing what's going on in their life and then caring about their work life balance is really huge.

John Jantsch (12:52): So let's go to the next phase. You know, a lot of people probably have stories, listeners, I'm sure where they, you know, got a new job. They're all excited about, they showed up on day one and it's like, nobody greeted them. Nobody really made 'em feel welcome. And I know you have your red carpet onboarding. So maybe talk a little bit about some of the ways, I mean, that's the customer experience, right. Buyers remorse happened, you know, I took the job that's of alert of buyers remorse. Right. And so, you know, how can we keep that experience as high as everything that's attracted

Donna Cutting (13:19): From day one? And I think, I mean, this is so great for you too, because one of the things I think is that human resources and hiring managers could be working with people and marketing professionals. Right. Exactly. To really look at that experience. But one of the things that because of, uh, staffing shortages, yeah. You know, something that I'm seeing is people, you know, they bring 'em on board. They give 'em whatever education, they need to complete whatever compliance, you know, depending, especially in healthcare or financial services or whatever. They're like these compliance ribbon training, you know, education they need to have. And then they get 'em out there as soon as possible because they need people out on the floor and they're losing them within three days. You know, not sometime I've even heard. Some people say they ghost them in the middle of orientation.

Donna Cutting (14:10): Right. Like they start the day and then they leave at lunch. And so, so really being intentional about, yeah, what are you creating an orientation and an onboarding process that introduces them to your culture that connects them to coworkers that, um, communicates and clarifies all of those little things they need to know to really start the job effective. And yes, then those compliant activities. But then are you partnering up with someone who is well prepared to be able to mentor them through, you know, the first few weeks of their job? Are you looking at like, you know, how would you roll out the red carpet for a customer on their first day? And are you generating ideas around, around that as well? Like literally roll the red carpet. Sure. But are you sending note cards? Are you staying in touch? Are you checking back in with them? Is there a sign, you know, with their name on it, when they walk in the door, there could be any number of ways to do that. The focus is how in, and of course I share many of those ways in the book employees first, but it's really about acting with intention instead of just like bringing people in as quickly as possible and then throwing them out there because you have a need.

John Jantsch (15:33): All right, let's move on down the journey. One of the, probably most effective ways to get new employees is a happy employee, says, I've got a friend who ought to join us, but I hear time and time again from employees, they just can't get 'em to do it. Uh, they can't get, they don't get the referrals. They think they should, they make offers, they give money, they give bonuses. What are you finding in that avenue or that channel as a way to attract new employees?

Donna Cutting (16:00): Yeah. I, I mean, I'd be questioning why that is. Yeah, yeah. Right. You know, that's the thing because, and money and bonuses is one thing. Again, I see that a lot, like referral bonuses, I also, and on bonuses that it's a, a short term strategy though. If you have a group of employees who are really thrilled to be working at your company, they're, they're going to tell their friends they're going to recruit their friends. So one of the best things I think that employers can be doing right now is to really focus on ask what's our, our listening strategy. Like how are we really listen, you know, asking the right questions and listening to our employees without getting defensive, without jumping in with solutions, but then collaborating with people at all levels of the organization to create whatever that employee experience is going to be. That's gonna want, make them want to bring their friends to, to come and work with them.

John Jantsch (17:05): So couple things that are going on, you know, we already talked about the, how higher tough it was hiring, but one segment of the work force really dropped out during the pandemic. And that's, what do we need to do? We need to change the way that we think about women in the workplace, given what went on. Do we need to think differently about diversity in the workplace in general, and, and particularly for companies that, that just hasn't, I mean, right or wrong at just, hasn't been their thing, you know, how do they now start thinking we have to change? Or how do they start changing?

Donna Cutting (17:40): Yeah. So the answer to all of that is, is yes, because people's priorities are shifting. And I think people are less, less people in general are less likely to just accept the way it is. You know, they want something different. And so women, not just women, but families, right? Looking at mater maternity and paternity leave, looking at, you know, childcare, like all of those different things. And I'll go back to what I said at the last question is if you want the answers to, what's gonna be attractive to, to the women, you know, in your workplace. So the families in your workplace is to start asking them really, to sit down and say, you know, if this were an ideal workplace for women and families, you know, what would that include? And, and then start working towards bringing some of those elements in flexible scheduling, remote work, and some organizations, some positions remote work is not possible, but are you more flexible in your scheduling?

Donna Cutting (18:43): You know, all of those different things. And then going back to the second part of your question, which was about just diverse of the inclusion and equity in general. Absolutely. What I think needs to happen is much more, much deeper conversations around what that looks like in the workplace. What, what we've done again, that, that bandaid quick fix, like what we've done in the past is, oh, let's have a session on diversity in the work place. And then check that box when it's over. And I think, you know, this is gonna be something people are gonna be looking for, you know, how diverse are you, how inclusive is your organization? And that means taking a look at all of your language, who's gotta seat at the table. What is your website look like? You know, what kind of respect you know, is happening between coworkers and that's a much deeper conversation than, um, what many leaders have been willing to do in the past.

John Jantsch (19:42): Yeah. It's kind of a compliance versus culture. Exactly. Conversation.

Donna Cutting (19:46): Yeah, exactly. That's it.

John Jantsch (19:48): So Donna tell people, uh, where they can find out more about your work at the learning world or red carpet learning worldwide. And then obviously I pick up a copy of your new book.

Donna Cutting (19:58): Yes. Yes. So red carpet learning.com is the website. And always, you can connect with me on social, like all the social, LinkedIn, all of it. But employees first inspire, engage and focus on the heart of your organization by me, cutting available, amazon.com, Barnes and noble.com, Hudson book sellers, all those places where books are sold comes out April 1st. So depending on when you're listening to this podcast, you can either pre-order or order it then. Awesome.

John Jantsch (20:27): Awesome. Well, Don, it was great catching up. You, I appreciate you taking the time to stop by the show and hopefully we'll run into you. Uh, one of these days out there on the road again.

Donna Cutting (20:36): Thank you, John. I hope so, too. Always good to talk to you.

John Jantsch (20:39): All right. So that wraps up another episode. I wanna thank you so much for tuning in and you know, we love those reviews and comments. And just generally tell me what you think also did you know that you could offer the duct tape marketing system, our system to your clients, and build a complete marketing consulting coaching business, or maybe level up an agency with some additional services. That's right. Check out the duct tape marketing consultant network. You can find it at ducttapemarketing.com and just scroll down a little and find that offer our system to your client's tab.

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This episode of the Duct Tape Marketing Podcast is brought to you by the HubSpot Podcast Network and BELAY.

HubSpot Podcast Network is the audio destination for business professionals who seek the best education and inspiration on how to grow a business.

BELAY is an incredible organization revolutionizing productivity with its virtual assistants, bookkeepers, website specialists, and social media managers for growing organizations. To help you get started, BELAY is offering its latest book, Delegate to Elevate, for free to all our listeners. In this ebook, learn how to reclaim time to focus on what only you can do by delegating. To download your free copy, click here to claim or text TAPE to 55123. Accomplish more and juggle less with BELAY.

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