A few weeks ago I had the honor of presenting on how to Take the Pulse of Your Marketing: 5 benchmarks to Monitor and Strategies to Move the Needle at the 2023 Healthcare and IT Marketing Conference in Las Vegas. While attending the event, I also had the opportunity to sit in on some great sessions and panel discussions. One of my favorite panels was the Marketing Leadership Must-Do’s in 2023 Panel. This panel dove into what marketing leaders should be doing in 2023 to be successful, how they are responding to changes in budgets & staff, and the trends that should marketers be keeping their eyes on. The panel was comprised of the following marketing leaders:

• Chintan Shah, President and Managing Partner at KNB Communications
• Christine Slocumb, President of Clarity Quest Marketing
• Scott Collins, President of Aria Marketing
• Colin Hung, CMO and Editor at Healthcare Scene

This session was jam packed with great takeaways that I wanted to share with you. So, let’s dive in!

#1 Focus for Marketing Leaders in 2023

Sometimes it can feel hard to figure out what should be your top priority as a leader. Christine Slocumb shared that this year her focus is on the three A’s “Aim, Attribute and Advocate”. Aim for success but setting clear goals, make sure that you have attribution set up for all your campaigns so that you can show the impact of your marketing through data, and advocate to the c-level team to get more support for your team.

Chintan Shah will be focusing on having a nimble strategy this year. “Adjust quickly, show what’s working using data and move your strategy in response.”

How Marketing is Changing, and the Marketing and Technology Trends to Keep Your Eye on in 2023

While we have our tried-and-true best practices that we want to stick with, the marketing industry is changing rapidly, and our strategies should be ready to adjust. One of the biggest discussions I heard across every session of the conference was how AI will be impacting our marketing in 2023. There seemed to be a resounding agreement though that while AI can create content, it will be more important than ever to focus on quality over quantity.

“Your content needs to be your story and needs to be unique. All markets will be saturated with generic content.”

– Christine Slocumb

“AI needs a human hand holder. We don’t need more content, but we do need better content, and content with context. The best way to look think about AI for marketing, is the think of it more as a productivity tool”

– Scott Collins

Another way to make sure you have unique content that stands out from the mass of potential AI generated content is to focus on video marketing.

“To combat generic content, focus on vlogs which both AI and your competition can’t duplicate.”

– Christine Slocumb

In addition to AI, other key trends that marketing leaders should focus on:

• Personalization whenever possible.
• Leveraging segmentation beyond 1-2 criteria. Do a deep dive into the psychographics of your audience.
• Leverage new outlets like TikTok for thought leadership.
• Be smarter with your budget. With worry about the future of the economy, marketers need to be slower and more strategic when making decisions about spend. Before making decisions, look at your data to see what works and adjust to be more cost effective and efficient.

As a marketing leader, what are is your focus for 2023?

Lead generation and demand generation are often used interchangeably, but they are two distinct processes. Here, I will define lead generation and demand generation and explain the difference between the two. I will also provide an overview of B2B marketing, which is often used as the umbrella term that encompasses both lead generation and demand generation.

Lead generation is the process of identifying and nurturing potential customers (leads) who may be interested in your product or service. Demand generation, on the other hand, is the process of creating awareness and interest in your product or service among your target audience. B2B marketing is a subset of marketing that focuses on marketing products or services to other businesses rather than individual consumers.

Lead Generation vs. Demand Generation

Lead generation and demand generation both play important roles in the B2B marketing process. However, there are some key differences between the two.

Lead generation is focused on attracting potential customers who may be interested in your product or service. Once a lead has been generated, it is then the job of sales and marketing to further qualify the lead to determine whether they are a good fit for your product or service.  On the other hand, demand generation is focused on creating awareness and interest in your product or service among your target audience. Once someone has been exposed to your brand through demand generation efforts, they may then become a lead that can be nurtured by sales and marketing. In short, lead generation is about attracting potential customers while demand generation is about creating demand for your product or service.

What about B2B Marketing?

B2B marketing is a subset of marketing that focuses on marketing products or services to other businesses rather than individual consumers. The key distinction between B2C and B2B marketing lies in the fact that B2B purchases are usually made by a team of decision-makers within a company, whereas B2C purchases are typically made by individuals. As such, B2B marketers must take a different approach when crafting their marketing campaigns.  Some common examples of B2B products and services include office supplies, software applications, industrial equipment, business consulting services, etc.  To successfully market their products or services to other businesses, B2B marketers must have a firm understanding of their target market and what their needs are. Only then can they create effective marketing campaigns that will resonate with their intended audience.  

In conclusion, lead generation is focused on attracting potential customers while demand generation is focused on creating demand for your product or service within your target market. Both processes are important for any successful B2B marketing campaign. To learn more about how to create an effective B2B marketing campaign for your business, contact me today!