{"id":3000009970,"date":"2019-11-14T18:55:36","date_gmt":"2019-11-14T22:55:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/deconstructed.wework.com\/?p=2808"},"modified":"2020-09-03T05:53:19","modified_gmt":"2020-09-03T09:53:19","slug":"b2b-marketing-growth-tips","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.wework.com\/ideas\/professional-development\/business-solutions\/b2b-marketing-growth-tips","title":{"rendered":"Tactics to use B2B marketing to drive business growth"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

B2B marketing is a constant balance between the emotional and the analytical. Running a successful marketing team means getting that balance consistently right, and it’s what keeps Nicole Parlapiano<\/a> up at night. As WeWork\u2019s head of marketing for the U.S. and Canada, she was inspired to share her insights about how to use B2B marketing to drive business growth with us after listening to Sydney Sloan\u2019s Up At Night<\/a><\/em> podcast episode<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

On the one hand, Parlapiano says, B2B marketing leaders need to run teams that come up with impactful creative that differentiates their product or service in a breakthrough way. That sometimes means not taking the traditional problem-solution route. On the other hand, those leaders need to be experts in the measurable metrics they\u2019re committed to, like opportunities and revenue. Parlapiano\u2019s overarching advice for B2B marketing leaders\u2014or anyone aspiring to climb the marketing ladder\u2014is to embrace the mix of creative and analytical.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, how does B2B marketing drive business growth? Parlapiano shared her six B2B marketing tips with us to help you get started.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1. Understand the context and complexities<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe tough part about B2B marketing is that it\u2019s a rational and emotional sell,” Parlapiano says. “The individuals involved usually care about different things, and the sales journey is long. It\u2019s marketing\u2019s job to inform and influence the buyer groups along the sales cycle, and to help expedite the sales cycle to close the deal.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bu you can learn from the experience, she explains. \u201cIf you are a marketer at any company, philosophically understanding the challenges of B2B marketing will help with internal communications and buy-in,” she says. “The better you are at explaining your plans and making your case for budgets with different stakeholder groups, the faster you can move.\u201d How does she make her case? She models.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The better you are at explaining your plans and making your case for budgets with different stakeholder groups, the faster you can move.<\/p>Nicole Parlapiano, head of marketing, U.S. and Canada, at WeWork<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

2. Model everything<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

With a background in private equity, Parlapiano said she\u2019s learned to apply financial models in order to internally build a business case for B2B marketing campaigns, and for campaign optimization.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI model everything,” she says. “I look at historical performance benchmarks, form my assumptions, and forecast what I think the campaign will yield. We usually like to look at three different scenarios: low yield, average, above average. This gives us a performance range. Midway through the campaign flight, we reevaluate and check where we are falling within that range and which areas of the funnel we can improve.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n

Not everything works as planned, she admits. \u201cYou sometimes need to know when to call it, when something just isn’t working no matter how much you try to optimize, and it becomes a waste of time, money, and resources to try to make it work,” she acknowledges. “I have a hard time doing that because my ego is saying it failed, which is hard to admit. But if everything is successful, we’re not really learning anything.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

3. Manage the biggest risk: executing the creative<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

\u201cCreative is always the most risky component when I\u2019m planning campaigns or programs,” Parlapiano explains. “I can recall many times in my career where the creative idea was amazing, and it just fell apart in execution, or where we played it too safe and it didn\u2019t move the needle. It\u2019s a hard thing to nail.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I can recall many times in my career where the creative idea was amazing, and it just fell apart in execution, or where we played it too safe and it didn\u2019t move the needle. It\u2019s a hard thing to nail.<\/p>Nicole Parlapiano<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

When you’re utilizing B2B marketing to drive business growth but the creative ideas fall apart, she says, it\u2019s due to one of two reasons: Either there are too many cooks in the kitchen, or the idea is impractical to execute. \u201cSometimes it\u2019s a great idea, but it can’t be executed in real life,\u201d she says. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Another problem she\u2019s encountered is being overly precious. \u201cIn hypergrowth, we don’t have time to be precious,” she explains. “It\u2019s more of a get-it-done mentality.\u201d Still, Parlapiano is a big believer in creative. \u201cI\u2019d say 60 percent of marketing effectiveness is message and creative articulation. Amazing creative trumps everything.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

4. Build bridges<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Parlapiano and her team agree to aggressive annual goals, then reassess on at least a weekly basis. But they don\u2019t agree to the goals in a vacuum\u2014Parlapiano has a close relationship with all of her cross-functional stakeholders: sales, government affairs, general managers, real estate, design, and of course the regional “C-We-O.” They sit together, they\u2019ve traveled together, and they\u2019ve built a lot of trust. And they have a strict \u201cno throwing under the bus\u201d mentality.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Building trust with fellow leaders may seem like simplistic advice, but Parlapiano\u2019s success has come by turning that trust into open conversations and clear agreement on the interdependence of marketing\u2019s goals.  \u201cEverything is connected,\u201d she says, \u201cfrom marketing to sales to real estate to the community teams on the ground.\u201d And by explaining exactly what inputs and follow-through she needs to hit her marketing objectives and impact the company\u2019s overall goals, Parlapiano is a more effective marketing leader.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

5. Hold clarity meetings, especially during rapid business growth<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

This is a shared technique that Parlapiano heard Sydney Sloan mention in her Up At Night<\/em> episode. Sloan said she uses a \u201cclearing meeting” with her CEO to discuss any issues or tensions. As she put it, \u201cI may agree or disagree, but I\u2019ve learned it\u2019s better to be aligned sometimes than to be right.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Parlapiano takes a similar approach. One of her biggest fears in growth mode is that the business moves so quickly that people can become confused about the company\u2019s purpose and what it’s driving toward. Or people make false assumptions. So she sets monthly \u201cclarity\u201d meetings with her leadership counterparts, a deliberate venue to resolve any ambiguity and to make sure everyone\u2019s aligned.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She takes the idea of clarity even further, practicing the inclusive management technique of balancing the opinions of extroverts with those of introverts. \u201cIf I know someone is naturally more introverted on my team, I will ask them for input after the meeting instead of calling them out in the room,” she explains. “Leadership needs to be inclusive, so I want to stay attuned to the emotions in the room.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

6. Be passionate about your product<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Parlapiano’s move from private equity to marketing was driven partly by the product, she says. She spent time working for dating site behemoth eharmony, where \u201cthe mission was to find someone a soulmate.\u201d She describes a headquarters filled with framed photos of marriages and families that eharmony helped create.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

WeWork\u2019s product can be seen in a similar way, she explains, and that helps her bring passion to her work every day. \u201cAt WeWork, we\u2019re trying to match people and companies with a physical space where\u2014for better or worse\u2014they will spend more time with their coworkers than with their families at home,” she says. “We want to make that a better experience. They may not meet their soulmate, but they could meet their business partner or a funding source, or form a stronger connection with coworkers.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Looking to find a space that\u2019s a perfect match for your business?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Reach out to WeWork to hear more about how it can connect you to new markets and opportunities for growth with less capital outlay. And be sure to listen to WeWork member Sydney Sloan\u2019s Up At Night podcast episode<\/a> on managing a B2B marketing team during hypergrowth.<\/p>\n\n\n