The 10 Traits B2B Buyers and Managers Value Most in Salespeople
42 percent of B2B buyers value active listening when it comes to interacting with salespeople, according to recently-released survey data from LinkedIn (client), while 38 percent value problem solving, 38 percent confidence, and 34 percent who said that they value relationship building skills. MarketingProfs
Addressing the B2B void between product data and online sales [Survey]
52.8 percent of B2B professionals expect to add voice-controlled search technology to their customer experience (CX) program within the next 12 months, according to newly-released report data, while 44.8 percent plan to add live chat, and 39 percent expect to install new augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) technology. Digital Commerce 360
The Biggest Challenges to Aligning B2B Marketing and Sales Teams
Half of marketing and sales professionals primarily at B2B firms find that their biggest challenge to aligning sales and marketing is a lack of complete or accurate data about target accounts and prospects, according to recently-released survey data, while some 47 percent said that communication was the top alignment challenge. MarketingProfs
New Report Looks at How COVID-19 Consumption Behaviors will Influence Gen Z Activity Moving Forward
Younger consumers in the Gen Z and millennial demographics have shifted their digital habits more quickly during the pandemic, and are more likely to stick to the new patterns in the future, according to newly-released Snapchat survey data using predictive technology. Social Media Today
Advertisers continue to defer ad spend due to COVID-19: report
Major multinational firms have maintained holding off on a return to pre-pandemic advertising spending, with 40 percent expecting to defer ad spend by six months, according to recently-released World Federation of Advertisers (WFA) data of interest to digital marketers. Mobile Marketing
Twitter starts rolling out audio tweets on iOS
Twitter has given some of the platform’s iOS users the ability to record and include audio in tweets, opening an array of new marketing options for digital advertisers, the firm recently announced. The current test — which is not yet available to Android device users — allows audio recordings of up to 140 seconds with the ability to roll longer audio into multiple tweets, Twitter noted. The Verge
Google’s latest experiment is Keen, an automated, machine-learning based version of Pinterest
Google has launched a pin-board image-based content curation service test called Keen, that utilizes both machine learning along with human collaboration techniques to form automated Pinterest-like collections, the firm has announced. TechCrunch
LinkedIn Publishes New Guide on Using Its Events and Live-Streaming Tools
LinkedIn (client) has published an expanded new guide to help brands use both LinkedIn Live and Events with their Pages, along with announcing forthcoming features for capturing event registrations and retargeting event attendees, the Microsoft-owned platform announced. Social Media Today
Google pushes “text fragment links” with new Chrome extension
Google has rolled out its own deep-link capable extension that allows Chrome users to cite any portion of a webpage even if it hasn’t been set up as anchor text on the hosting website, the search giant recently announced. Will the move lead to marketers increasing their use of citation-specific linking? Ars Technica
What Support Do B2B Marketers Offer Sales?
52 percent of B2B marketers utilize case studies as their top choice for providing information to sales, according to recently-released survey data, while 51 percent use product or service collateral, 48 percent use primary research, 45 percent commercial insights, and 43 percent video material. MarketingCharts
ON THE LIGHTER SIDE:
A lighthearted look at “strategic options in a recession” by Marketoonist Tom Fishburne — Marketoonist
IBM Condemns Use Of Facial Recognition Software For Anything Other Than Matching People With Their Celebrity Doppelganger — The Onion
TOPRANK MARKETING & CLIENTS IN THE NEWS:
- TopRank Marketing / Prophix — 8 Interactive eBook Examples to Inspire Your B2B Content Marketing — DivvyHQ
- Lee Odden — Virtual Summer School: Making the Most of New Digital Opportunities — IABC Minnesota / Eventbrite
- TopRank Marketing / Prophix / LinkedIn — LinkedIn Marketing: The Definitive Guide [2020] — Loomly
- Lane R. Ellis / TopRank Marketing — Der SEO-Wochenrückblick KW 25/20 [In German] — artaxo GmbH
- Nick Nelson — 10 Tips to Help Small Businesses Create Better Customer Experiences — Small Business Trends
- Lee Odden / TopRank Marketing — Directivos en redes sociales ¿Qué tan sociales deben ser? [3 tips] [In Spanish] — Luismaram
Have you found your own top B2B content marketing or digital advertising stories from the past week of news? Please let us know in the comments below.
Thank you for taking the time to join us, and we hope you’ll come back next Friday for another collection of the most relevant B2B and digital marketing industry news. In the meantime, you can follow us at @toprank on Twitter for even more timely daily news. Also, don’t miss the full video summary on our TopRank Marketing TV YouTube Channel.
