4 head-turners from the SiriusDecisions Europe summit.

This was my first year to attend a SiriusDecisions Summit and it didn’t disappoint. In addition to the myriad planning and operational tools that were presented (which are still being absorbed and combined with our existing models), a few things really stood out for me.

From “Game of Thrones” to “Peppa Pig”, people like to consume their content when they are in the mood to do so—and this often means a binge. Not in a fortnightly ‘nurture’ email that interrupts them when they are most busy and least likely to appreciate it.

So, when your customer or prospect is in the mood and has set aside time to learn or research solutions, can they find your content quickly and in an intuitive sequence? Awkwardly, if you’re running classic email-driven lead nurture campaigns, then the answer is probably no.

Tech solutions like PathFactory are capitalising on this consumerisation of B2B. As they pointed out during a session at the Summit: ‘“B2B buying veterans are now used to always-on digital experiences and 80% of millennials now sitting on buying committees said they would never complete a lead-gen form.” Worth thinking about—if you can drag yourself away from “Narcos” long enough, that is.

As a creative agency, we have been guilty of putting content first: we have a great creative idea, we and the client get excited, then we build a promotional or distribution programme around it. Sadly, fun as that may be, it’s rarely the right approach.

The programme should come first: who are we talking to, where are they, where do we want to take them, what do we want them to do when they get there and what do we want them to do if they never get there?

From talking to marketers at the Summit, it’s clear that the world is awash with great content that has no home/purpose—which is sad but a symptom of a content-first approach. At Atomic Beta, we are intent on putting campaign architecture to the fore in everything we do and this was a salient reminder of the importance of that approach. 

The models, tools and technology that featured at the Summit put paid to the idea that B2B marketers can’t demonstrate their worth or impact in the boardroom. It’s just not credible.

The crusade for genuine alignment across marketing, sales, innovation, customer experience and beyond is what should now occupy the C-Suite. SiriusDecisions’ latest Economics of Alignment research demonstrates that aligned B2B organisations enjoy upwards of 30% faster revenue growth. That requires the whole boardroom working together—no mean feat but it’s what will separate the winners from the losers in the coming years.

We found it very hard to leave. Thanks to SiriusDecisions for their warm hospitality.