So Here’s the Strategy…Look, Kittens!

One of my criticisms of B2B marketing is that it is still too dominated by old-school, US-style thinking – product-driven and financially obsessed. The corporate culture is all about the quarterly report – the numbers – and that leads to a reductive, short-term approach. It’s like we’ve all got attention deficit disorder.

Sorry, what was I saying?

Marketing shouldn’t be like this. If it is, you end up with bursts of campaigns rather than campaigns that are sustained, carefully thought through, and more effective in the long run. Burst campaigns soak up a lot of budget, achieve a spike of interest, then fizzle out. That’s not a good use of your cash.

The market isn’t going to disappear overnight; nor are your prospects, hopefully. They will still be there in years to come. So rather than taking a quarterly approach, we’ve got to think more strategically and respect the longevity of the market, otherwise you tend to see a very fragmented and inconsistent budget spend.