When we were combing through CMI’s most recent B2B content marketing data, one stat stopped us in our tracks:
Only 29% of B2B marketers say their content marketing strategy is effective.
If you follow us (or read the data yourselves), you probably remember that content marketing strategy is strongly correlated with performance. In fact, top performers were nearly three times as likely to say their strategy was effective. (And only 2% of low performers said they had an effective strategy in place).
In other words, your outcomes are only as good as your strategy.
In other other words, strategy is, has, and ever will be king.
So, what do we do when we see stats like this? We stop, reprioritize strategy, and move forward on a path that aligns with our real goals.
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Stop (seriously, stop).
Marketing is so go-go-go, work-fast-break-stuff that it’s easy to just keep beating the same dead horses for fear that if we stop, we’ll lose momentum.
But momentum in the wrong direction is just wasted effort. Time spent on ineffective tactics is time wasted.
When you realize something isn’t working, it’s time to stop and make time for strategy.
Now, to do this, leadership needs to be on board. Because too often marketing teams are measured on outputs (rather than outcomes, which…let’s table that rant for another time) and stopping to prioritize strategy, brand conversations, and other foundational tasks can look like a halt in progress or a lack of productivity.
Since it’s actually a pause to fix cracks in your very marketing foundations, it’s vital that leadership understands what you are doing and that workers understand they won’t be penalized for producing “less” as you pause to get the train back on the rails.
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Re-center on your values, goals, and customer needs.
What does your company do? What do they stand for? Who do they serve? What do your customers care about? What are your values? What are your goals?
Your strategy should answer all these questions and align every single other thing you do to those goals, customer needs, and values.
If your tactics have gone off the rails, chances are you’ve come out of alignment (or never were aligned) with at least one of those things. (In fact, about half of B2B marketers said their strategy lacked clear goals). And it’s time to get back on track.
Another reality is that sometimes company goals or values change, and the strategy and tactics aren’t updated to reflect that. Taking the time to fix this now will push you toward that top performer category in the coming year(s).
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Be realistic about your capabilities.
Doing good work takes time and resources. And sometimes leadership gets a little delulu about how much we can squeeze into an hour or a single person’s workload. Part of the goal of your strategy should be to realistically assess your resources.
Do you have enough talent to tackle the things you want to? Do you have the skills in house or from an agency you can partner with? Do you need more headcount? Do you have enough budget?
Strategy should never be disconnected from the reality of schedules, headcount, and responsibilities. Can you have realistic goals and also stretch goals? Of course! But when we set company goals, benchmarks, and the tactics that will come from our strategy, it should be based on the reality of what our teams can achieve.
The fact that the biggest challenge cited by B2B marketers is resourcing (and that 23% say their content strategy sets unrealistic expectations) tells me that most companies aren’t doing a great job with this—and the strategy phase is where and when we should start fixing it.
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Ditch what isn’t working (and be ruthless).
Tactics that don’t align with your goals? Processes that take up time and offer no value? Features you’re working on that customers simply don’t want?
It’s time to give them a swift kick out the door.
You have limited resources. Prioritize them where they make the biggest real impact.
This means letting go of ineffective projects even if you have already poured tons of time and resources into them.
It means restructuring employee evaluations to reflect your new strategy and values (so that they don’t feel compelled to work on low-priority or ineffective items in order to hit outdated metrics).
And it means being honest with yourself when something no longer works.
Getting back to strategy
CMI noted of its recent research that the same problem crops up every single year. And the truth is that this is because we aren’t prioritizing fixing it.
If you want to nip that in the bud this year, now’s the time to hit the brakes.
And if you need help convincing leadership, formulating a strategy that actually works, and aligning your marketing with said strategy? That’s what we’re here for. Reach out anytime.
