MarketingProfs operates on the belief that learning changes lives. And from that perspective, it might be fair to suggest next week’s B2B Forum will be a life-changing experience for those in attendance, because there is a whole lot of learning in store.
Dubbed by MarketingProfs as the “most let’s get down to business but not take ourselves too seriously while doing it marketing conference on the planet,” B2B Forum brings together many of the brightest minds in the industry around a singular focus: improving. The well-rounded agenda on tap will run the gamut of vital topics in the modern B2B marketing environment, offering opportunities to improve by learning from foremost experts and leaders in the field.
These 12 sessions, in particular, stand out to us as must-see attractions amidst a schedule brimming with brilliant business minds.
12 Must-See Sessions at This Year’s B2B Forum
#1 – Through the Looking-Glass: Enter a New World of Always-On Influencer Programs
Speaker: Ashley Zeckman, Senior Director of Digital Strategy, TopRank Marketing
Time: Wednesday, Oct. 16 from noon-12:45 p.m.
Don’t be late for this very important date. Our Senior Director of Digital Strategy will guide you through a Wonderland-themed exploration of ongoing influencer engagements, and the mutual value they can provide. You’ll learn how to develop an always-on influencer program and avoid falling down the rabbit hole.
#2 – Dessert & Development: The Truth About Personalization
Speaker: Tom Treanor, Global Head of Marketing, Arm Treasure Data
Time: Wednesday, Oct. 16 from 1:35-2:15 p.m.
The larger a company and its audience, the greater the challenges involved with scaling personalization. As Arm Treasure Data’s* Global Head of Marketing, Tom has seen many of the struggles and successes on this front experienced by enterprise organizations around the world. The benchmarks and insights he’ll share promise to be useful for businesses of any size.
#3 – Dessert & Development: ABM Nirvana — Reaching the Buying Committee at Your Target Accounts
Speaker: Peter Isaacson, Chief Marketing Officer, Demandbase
Time: Wednesday, Oct. 16 from 1:35-2:15 p.m.
Understanding the nuances of buying committees is critical for B2B marketers everywhere, and is being increasingly emphasized in the age of account-based marketing. Being able to reach these committees with relevant and timely messaging is of the essence, and new waves of technology are breaking down the barriers. Demandbase’s CMO will enlighten us on what’s happening and what’s coming.
#4 – How to Create a Messaging Framework That Resonates
Speaker: Pam Didner, B2B Tech Marketing Consultant & Author, Relentless Pursuit
Time: Wednesday, Oct. 16 from 2:30-3:15 p.m.
We often have only a small amount of time and/or space to communicate the value of our product or service to those who can benefit from it. It’s crucial that we make the most out of these opportunities with a message that makes an impact. As one of the top B2B tech marketing consultants in the biz, Pam knows how to align value propositions with customer pain points, and will share some of her best tips. She’ll even provide templates you can put to use right away.
#5 – The Secret to a Truly Measurable Content Strategy
Speaker: Robert Rose, Chief Troublemaker, The Content Advisory
Time: Wednesday, Oct. 16 from 3:30-4:15 p.m.
Content can feel like an ambiguous frontier, and as a result, it tends to be managed haphazardly. Even the most seasoned marketers and sophisticated organizations fall into this trap. Through his work with the Content Advisory, Robert has witnessed this phenomenon in many different settings, and he’s helped plenty of companies work through it. He’ll show you how to treat content as a scalable and measurable business model.
#6 – How to Combine Account Based Marketing and Social Selling on LinkedIn
Speaker: Ty Heath, Global Lead of The B2B Institute, LinkedIn
Time: Wednesday, Oct. 16 from 4:45-5:30 p.m.
LinkedIn* is a key fixture in the evolution of modern B2B sales, enabling reps to become more personalized, insightful, and relationship-driven in their outreach. When converging this approach with ABM fundamentals, you create a powerful engine for business development. Ty will break down the research and lay out a six-step framework in her session, and you can prime yourself for it by checking out her recent B2B Spotlight interview with Lee Odden.
#7 – Tale of Two Tech Companies: Scaling a Data-Driven Influencer Marketing Program
Speakers: Konstanze Alex, Director Global Enterprise (B2B) Influencer Relations and Digital Storytelling, Dell Technologies; Janine Wegner, Global Though Leadership Program Manager, Dell Technologies; Amisha Gandhi, Vice President of Influencer Marketing & Communications, SAP Ariba and SAP Fieldglass
Time: Thursday, Oct. 17 from 8:45-9:30 a.m.
Both Dell* and SAP Ariba* are on the cutting edge of enterprise influencer marketing, so any time their leaders talk about the subject, we tune in. Alex, Janine, and Amisha will dish on what it takes to create cross-functional partnerships and scalable influencer content, while coloring their insights with real-world examples.
#8 – Content Marketing Fitness — 10 Exercises to Build Your Marketing Beach Body
Speaker: Lee Odden, CEO, TopRank Marketing
Time: Thursday, Oct. 17 from 11:00-11:45 a.m.
It’s just as true in the world of marketing as it is in the world of fitness: shortcuts don’t work. The keys to both sustained weight loss and marketing results lie in cutting out bad habits and committing to an effective regimen. TopRank Marketing’s CEO will guide you through 10 marketing fitness exercises that can whip your strategy into shape.
#9 – The Importance of an Audio Strategy for B2B Marketers
Speaker: Tom Webster, Senior Vice President, Edison Research
Time: Thursday, Oct. 17 from 1:30-2:15 p.m.
Anyone who’s paying attention to content consumption trends can see the shift from text to audio. Podcasts are rapidly gaining popularity while smart speakers and voice assistants become increasingly prevalent. Edison Research’s SVP will draw from his experience working with clients like Audible, Spotify, and Pandora to sound off with best practices for a B2B audio strategy that delivers.
#10 – Account-Based Marketing: New Insights and Best Practices for 2020
Speaker: Jon Miller, CEO and Co-Founder, Engagio
Time: Thursday, Oct. 17 from 1:30-2:15 p.m.
When it comes to ABM, most of us have a good grasp by now of the “why.” Jon’s session promises to explain the “how.” The former Marketo co-founder and current Engagio CEO knows this changing landscape as well as anyone, and will provide a look at where account-based strategies are heading in the year to come.
#11 – Getting Personal: Improve Lead Generation With Customer Insights
Speaker: Brian Hood, Digital Director, Intuit ProConnect
Time: Thursday, Oct. 17 from 3:45-4:35 p.m.
Are you talking to your customers, or at them? Too many marketers are stuck in the latter mode, due to a lack of personalization, and lead generation suffers as a result. Intuit ProConnect’s Digital Director will illustrate the ways in which today’s B2B companies can drive business growth by leveraging customer insights and analytics to the fullest.
#12 – Follow the Fear: Creativity in B2B for Better, Stronger, More Fulfilling Results
Speaker: Tim Washer, Keynote Speaker, Event Emcee, and PowerPoint Comedian, Ridiculous Media
Time: Thursday, Oct. 17 from 3:45-4:30 p.m.
As Ann Handley told Lee in their B2B Spotlight conversation, “I think it’s important to approach our jobs not just as robots but as whole people.” This is very true, and it’s also important for us to approach our prospects and customers as people and not robots. That means speaking to emotion as well as logic. Tim is a master of infusing humor into marketing, and in this session he’ll cover the most powerful emotion of them all.
We’ll See You at MarketingProfs B2B Forum!
Will attending this conference change your life? We can’t guarantee that. But it will very likely change your marketing strategy for the better, because there will be so very much to learn. That’s an opportunity we’ll be taking seriously (but maybe not too seriously).
If you can’t make it to B2B Forum in person, be sure to follow our blog for live coverage of the event, including detailed recaps of many of the sessions listed above! And make sure to prep yourself for all the mind-expanding knowledge to come with these 16 B2B marketing fitness tips from the experts.
