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Game of Differentiation How marketers must fight to be different and emerge victorious

Game of Differentiation: How marketers must fight to be different and emerge victorious

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Page 1: Game of Differentiation: How marketers must fight to be different and emerge victorious

Game of Differentiation

How marketers must fight to be different and emerge victorious

Page 2: Game of Differentiation: How marketers must fight to be different and emerge victorious

Game of Differentiation

It’s a matter of life and deathThe clans are assembling, the banners are unfurled, there’s

menace in the air and a chill on the wind. The ultimate clash is close at hand. Who will emerge victorious?

As the ongoing battle for customer acquisition and retention rages on, we compare the runners and riders.

In marketing, as in war, it’s all about differentiation.

Page 3: Game of Differentiation: How marketers must fight to be different and emerge victorious

What is differentiation?In this cutthroat era, marketeers must mark themselves as different. You need to prove your competitive edge and you need to create compelling content that stands out.

And that’s not all. You need to be sophisticated enough to differentiate by channel and audience, while avoiding the

hurdles and pitfalls on the way.

In short, you need to be a Differentiation Champion. Read on to learn how...

Page 4: Game of Differentiation: How marketers must fight to be different and emerge victorious

Battle Plan

Onward!

In this slideshare we’ll inspect the armies and assess the tactics of:

• Differentiation by channel• Differentiation by audience• Hurdles and obstacles• Data: the ultimate weapon

Page 5: Game of Differentiation: How marketers must fight to be different and emerge victorious

Differentiation By channel

He may not yet have mastered a smile, but Jon Snow is a dab hand at battle strategy.

The expert warrior uses different tactics and strategies to win victories on different terrains.

Jon Snow

Just like Jon, marketeers need to tailor their approach in different situations to maximise success.

Page 6: Game of Differentiation: How marketers must fight to be different and emerge victorious

Why differentiate content by channel?• Every channel has its strengths

and your content should be tailored to play to these

• Fun, entertaining content is more suited to social media channels

• Higher level research and insights lend themselves better to email marketing

Page 7: Game of Differentiation: How marketers must fight to be different and emerge victorious

What say your adversaries?We asked 172 B2B marketers why they

differentiate content by channel or audience:

71% 49%70% 41%said To provide an

improved customer experience

said To provide greater differentiation from the competition

said To attract more customers

said To increase customer loyalty

Page 8: Game of Differentiation: How marketers must fight to be different and emerge victorious

Just like Cersei, marketeers must deal with different audiences in different ways to win them over.

Differentiation By Audience

The Lannisters, led by Cersei, are the ultimate power brokers because they understand people.

From crafty alliance to surprise attack to open warfare, Cersei is a master manipulator, shifting her approach to conquer every adversary.

Cersei Lannister

Page 9: Game of Differentiation: How marketers must fight to be different and emerge victorious

Why differentiate content by audience?• To deliver a better customer

experience by offering only relevant content

• To attract and retain more customers by giving them what they want

Page 10: Game of Differentiation: How marketers must fight to be different and emerge victorious

What say your adversaries?We talked to 172 B2B marketers about

differentiation by audience...

83%77% 49%50% 41% 28%

tailor their content by audience

Industry LocationContent consumption

Seniority Device

83%

Page 11: Game of Differentiation: How marketers must fight to be different and emerge victorious

Calculating the Differentiation

All this fighting for customers (and kingdoms) doesn’t come cheap. You need to know you’re getting good results for your gold.

The Iron Bank

Just like the meticulous Iron Bank that funds the clans of Westeros, marketeers must measure

and evaluate to optimise outcomes.

Page 12: Game of Differentiation: How marketers must fight to be different and emerge victorious

What say your adversaries?We talked to 172 B2B marketers about how they measure their differentiation efforts...

77% 42%62% 36% 30%New lead

generation/pipeline

New customer

acquisition

New sales Customer retention

Contribution to profitability

Page 13: Game of Differentiation: How marketers must fight to be different and emerge victorious

The road to the Iron Throne is littered with the remains of those who didn’t make it.

Marketeers are coming up against their own hurdles and obstacles on the path to differentiation success.

Hurdles & Obstacles

Page 14: Game of Differentiation: How marketers must fight to be different and emerge victorious

We asked 172 B2B marketers about the challenges they face when trying to differentiate

Hurdles & Obstacles

Read on and learn from their unfortunate fates...

Page 15: Game of Differentiation: How marketers must fight to be different and emerge victorious

69%69%Just like the Greyjoys, 69% of B2B marketeers said they just didn’t have enough time to plan their content differentiation strategy.

Lack Of Time To Plan

Plucky Yara and tragic Theon were caught unawares on the high seas, losing an entire fleet to their dastardly uncle in a surprise attack.

With no forward plan and no strategy, for now they’re out of the game.

The Greyjoys

Page 16: Game of Differentiation: How marketers must fight to be different and emerge victorious

Lack Of Creativity

Cast your mind way back to the beginning. Mama and Papa Stark always played it safe.

They were solid, dependable and dutiful.

And look what happened to them. Outmanouevred by cunning and creative enemies,

they soon shuffled off this mortal coil, leaving their more dynamic children to pick up the baton.

Ned Stark

Just like Ned and Catelyn, 41% of B2B marketeers feel lack of business buy-in to be brave and creative is holding back their differentiation ambitions.41%41%

Page 17: Game of Differentiation: How marketers must fight to be different and emerge victorious

Inability to create thought leadership

Stannis was desperate to lead, but through a series of rash actions lost support, alienated his allies and was deserted by half his army.

By the time of his final execution at the hands of Brienne, he was already a dead man walking.

Stannis Baratheon

52%52% Just like Stannis, 52% of B2B marketeers say their inability to create thought leadership means they are failing to win at differentiation.

Page 18: Game of Differentiation: How marketers must fight to be different and emerge victorious

Lack Of Consistency

While the armies of Westeros scrabble for supremacy, a far greater threat marches from North of the Wall.

The zombie army of White Walkers threatens to put an end to everyone’s ambitions.

The White Walkers

In the fight for differentiation, the failure of consistency is a looming shadow that risks undermining everyone’s content efforts...

Page 19: Game of Differentiation: How marketers must fight to be different and emerge victorious

What are the consequences in store from a lack of consistency in differentiation?

Here’s what 172 B2B marketeers had to say:

71%

52%

58%

45%

56%

20%

it Presents a confusing message to customers

and prospects

it Causes damage to brand

it Weakens the message presented to customers

and prospects

it Damages customer trust

it Fails to differentiate our brand in the

marketplace

it Damages customer loyalty

Page 20: Game of Differentiation: How marketers must fight to be different and emerge victorious

Data is the Ultimate Champion

Dragons now darken the skies above Westeros, wielded by a woman determined to become ruler of the Seven Kingdoms.

The ultimate game changer, these fearsome beasts have the power to end the cycle of infighting once and for all, bringing victory for their champion.

Daenerys Targaryen

Just like Daenerys, marketeers now have a formidable weapon in their arsenal: data

Page 21: Game of Differentiation: How marketers must fight to be different and emerge victorious

In other words, unleash the data dragons to win the differentiation war!

44%83%

31%of B2B marketers

say lack of insight or data is holding them back from the goal of

differentiation

find it difficult to access data, and

say it’s very difficult

of marketers are collecting data but

are not using it to influence differentiation

Marketeers:unleash your data dragon!

34%

6%

Data gives you the power to target and differentiate your content to optimise engagement, results and return on investment.

Page 22: Game of Differentiation: How marketers must fight to be different and emerge victorious

Game of Differentiation

How to win the

The golden rules to be passed down to posterity...

Differentiate by channel.

Select a few channels and differentiate your

content to deliver a great customer

experience on all of them.

Differentiate by audience.

Segment your audience and tailor content

according to important factors like buying stage

and persona.

Measure and evaluate.

Assess and optimise your differentiation offers by tracking

key factors like leads generated and customers acquired.

Avoid the hurdles and pitfalls.

Give yourself time to plan, establish thought

leadership and get creative.

Unleash the data dragons!

Data and customer insight is your secret

weapon in the game of differentiation. Use it to

emerge victorious.

Page 23: Game of Differentiation: How marketers must fight to be different and emerge victorious

Ready to conquer Westeros and the rest of the world? First, be different.

Our webinar Dare to be Different turns marketing differentiation theory in hands-on, how-to advice to make you stand out from the crowd.

JOIN US AND TAKE YOUR VERY OWN IRON THRONE