Hello there! Matt here from MessageUp.
I’ve been reading—listening, actually—to The Man Who Broke Capitalism, a vitriolic critique of Jack Welch, penned by New York Times reporter, David Gelles. The book has been widely lauded as a must read for anyone seeking to understand (and wish good riddance to) shareholder capitalism. Strong stuff and well worth your time.
Although I’ve read quite a bit about Neutron Jack, what jumped out for me was the outsized influence he had on how leaders across the country learned their craft. This applies both to his two decades in power at GE (1981-2001) but also for years since, thanks to the countless textbooks and university curricula that were written (and rewritten) based on Welchism and remain in use today.
It’s hard to change a paradigm, even when the successes it showered upon its creator and his acolytes are widely seen as short-sighted, unsustainable, and—by some measures—even unethical.
We face a similar challenge in the B2B world of sales and marketing. Several generations of business leaders have cut their teeth within a sales-led business model. “Always be closing” was a mantra long before the movie Glengarry Glen Ross made it famous. Marketers across industry are subordinated to the sales function, tasked with bringing it leads, servicing it with eye-catching collateral, and publicizing its successes.
Much like the spectacular demise of GE in the aftermath of Welch, however, things have suddenly changed. The last thing today’s B2B buyer wants to do is deal with a salesperson—both literally (in the purchasing process) and figuratively (on their list of least favorite people). This has turned the established order on its head, much as Welch did to corporate America, and ushered in a new era of marketing-led businesses.
What does this mean for the majority of business leaders who grew up in a sales-driven world? They need to learn to lead again.
My post this week on The Framework blog is titled B2B Content Marketing is a Team Sport. Learn to Lead Accordingly. I explore what this means, why it has happened, and what you must do to be a successful leader, whether in the c-suite, marketing, or elsewhere in the organization.
Once you’ve digested that (and added Gelles’ book to your reading list), we’ve found some other great reads for you across the web. Scrolling down to What We’ve Been Reading, you’ll find summaries and links for pieces that cover the role of video content, evolution of the B2B customer, creating a B2B podcast, and being mindful about content pollution.
And to wrap things up, this week’s One Step actionable tip gives you an 8 question thought exercise to explore how content marketing leadership is being demonstrated within your organization. However high or low your score, it should guide you to areas where improvements will quickly bear fruit.
And that’s it for another week. Thank you for reading (or listening). I look forward to seeing you back here next Wednesday, when I’ll be sharing some thoughts on the processes that keep successful B2B content marketing efforts humming.
Cheers!
~ Matt
o/b/o Team MessageUp
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Our Latest Posts on The Framework Blog
Feb 01, 2023 - B2B Content Marketing is a Team Sport. Learn to Lead Accordingly
Jan 25, 2023 - Six Ways to Bring Purpose and Mission into Your B2B Content
What We’ve Been Reading
Here are some articles we’ve been reading this week that you might enjoy and find helpful:
The Role Of Video Content For Modern Marketers
In this piece for Forbes Communication Council, Neha Gianchand, head of marketing at Straive, explains the important role video marketing plays in generating awareness about the brand, its identity, its solutions and the value it has to offer, capturing initial interest and setting up the customer for the next stage in their journey.
The Evolution of the B2B Customer
We read (and write) a lot about B2B marketing from the vendor's point of view, so it's important to also share solid analysis about the B2B customer. This dense but articulate piece by Jamill del Rosario, head of digital marketing and analytics at CIO Applications, covers a lot of ground, including the customer journey, embedding sustainability in the marketing narrative, and achieving empathy at scale.
How to Create a B2B Marketing Podcast in 2023—And Why You Should
Did you know that more Americans listen to podcasts than have Netflix accounts? That just one of the reasons Lesley Vos cites in her piece for MarketingProfs why B2B businesses should consider starting a podcast. Another strong argument is that listening to content requires less effort than reading or watching, and makes it easier to grasp.
Mindful Content Creation in the Age of Mass Production
In this thought-provoking piece for Martech Series, Ed Breault, CMO at Aprimo, explains content pollution, why you should care about it, and how to avoid contributing to the problem by building your content strategy around a sustainable framework—turning something inherently neutral into something connective.
One Step…
Building on this week’s theme of reorienting leadership within your business to support content marketing, here’s an 8 question thought exercise to help you assess the status quo.
Use the answers to identify areas for self-improvement or where tweaks to the way your organization is supporting content marketing can have an immediate positive impact.
Eight questions about leading B2B content marketing:
Does your Founder/CEO play an active role in explaining, championing, and supporting the content marketing effort?
Is the performance of content marketing discussed during business reviews at all levels in the organization, from c-suite to front lines?
Does your marketing leader have access to the resources they need to operationalize a successful content marketing strategy?
Are subject matter experts encouraged to demonstrate thought leadership by contributing their insights to company content?
Are front line, customer-facing team members encouraged to bring insights back to the content marketing team to help guide future content development?
Are department and/or team leads incentivized to make their team members available for content marketing efforts?
Is the criticality of content marketing to business success understood throughout your organization, making it a high priority alongside other essential business functions?
Are you empowered to give content marketing the support it needs from whatever position you occupy in the organization?
Be candid and constructive in the way you answer and act upon these questions. And if you need more help—either with the assessment or figuring out what to do with the answers—I’ll be happy to chat.
Subscribe Today and Recommend Us To Your Network
We greatly appreciate your support. Want to accept the inevitability of our latest updates hitting your inbox every Wednesday morning? Subscribe for free today!
Then, take thirty seconds and share the love with a deserving member of your network. Send them our Substack link (messageup.substack.com) so that they can sign up, too.