Like many entrepreneurs, I used the final couple of months of 2021 to replicate on what occurred in the course of the yr and to plan for 2022. Due to the unprecedented occasions of 2020 and 2021, I spent extra time than normal taking inventory of the state of B2B advertising and assessing what the main focus of my content material ought to be in 2022 and past.
The COVID-19 pandemic turned 2020 right into a nine-month-long train in disaster administration for a lot of firms. Enterprise shutdowns and work-from-home insurance policies compelled many B2B entrepreneurs to pivot their go-to-market technique and to make fast and substantial modifications to their advertising plans and techniques.
2021 was a combined yr in a number of methods. The US financial system skilled a strong restoration, and COVID-related fears and considerations eased considerably with the rollout of vaccines, the approval of vaccine boosters and the event of efficient antiviral therapeutics.
Then, close to the tip of final yr, the Omicron variant appeared, and the world confronted the prospect of one other main surge of COVID-19. Within the US, that surge is now nicely underway, however there’s proof the Omicron variant might produce proportionately fewer extreme instances of COVID-19, and there’s hope that this surge might be shorter than earlier ones. So 2021 demonstrated that COVID is not prone to disappear any time quickly.
There’s little doubt the pandemic modified the expectations and behaviors of customers and enterprise patrons, and it is also clear that a few of these modifications will persist after COVID-related considerations recede. The present problem for entrepreneurs is to find out which of these modifications might be longer-lasting and the way their advertising methods might want to evolve to achieve success.
Over the previous a number of weeks, I have been considering by way of whether or not or to what extent the occasions of the previous two years ought to have an effect on the content material I publish right here. My goal for this weblog has at all times been to offer content material that readers will discover informative, thought-provoking and helpful. I have been gratified by the engagement this weblog has obtained, and I consider it is largely attaining its main objective.
However there’s at all times room for enchancment, and subsequently, I will be making a couple of modifications right here starting subsequent week. Throughout every calendar month, I plan to publish three new varieties of posts.
Guide Evaluations – Many vital matters can solely be addressed adequately in a full-length guide, so I will be writing a guide evaluation put up on a month-to-month foundation. Most of those critiques will focus on books which have been not too long ago printed (normally inside the previous 1-2 years). Sometimes, nonetheless, I could evaluation an older guide that’s significantly related for entrepreneurs within the present enterprise setting.
Analysis Spherical-Ups – Common readers of this weblog will know that I regularly focus on the findings of marketing-related analysis research. Over the previous a number of years, the quantity of such research has elevated dramatically, as firms have realized they are often efficient for constructing thought management.
These Analysis Spherical-Up posts will briefly summarize the outcomes of not too long ago printed analysis research. Every put up will normally cowl 2 – 4 research, though I could often concentrate on a single research after I consider it is significantly invaluable for entrepreneurs.
Deep Dives – Analysis signifies that enterprise professionals worth content material sources that present reliable and in-depth data and insights. Till not too long ago, weblog posts weren’t usually seen as a great car for addressing a subject in an in-depth method, just because the standard view was that weblog posts ought to be comparatively quick.
That is altering, and I now regularly see longer weblog posts which can be extra like characteristic articles in a periodical. For instance, the Harvard Enterprise Overview web site and the Sloan Administration Overview web site recurrently publish longer on-line articles.
So this yr, I am planning to publish one put up every month that gives a extra in-depth therapy of an vital matter. This may allow me to deal with sure matters in a extra cohesive and complete method.
The remaining one or two posts every month might be just like these I have been writing since I launched this weblog greater than ten years in the past. I am hoping to incorporate a couple of posts primarily based on interviews with main advertising and enterprise thinkers, and I plan to publish a number of posts offering sensible, “how-to” steering that readers can put to rapid use.
Let’s have an ideal 2022!
Picture courtesy of Amanda Slater through Flickr (CC).
