Planning 2021: Part one of our three part series for tech marketers starts with insights…

With so many new macro forces at play, the results are lots of micro changes in the mindset and behaviour of all audiences. Personas and customer journeys are changing. The digital deluge has seen each company trying to shout louder than the last, but our advice? Listen. New insight methodologies and new platforms are there to be used. You don’t want to drown in data but you do need to understand what is engaging your core audience now…in a month…in a quarter. 

The best jumping off point for a campaign that will truly engage your audience is understanding. Now is the time to work with your agency to update your competitor analysis, the media landscape analysis and a key narrative analysis across traditional and social media. Use your customer base, social following or industry influencers to gather all-important intel that will give your campaign the edge. We are also working with clients to benchmark what success looks like using mastery modelling – a great tool to use every twelve months or so. So often B2B brands overlook this part of the process, but it is nimbly done with the right tools, and truly game changing for ROI. 

Be brutal with the insight you gather. Laser focus on your audience hierarchy. Who is it that will truly be the catalyst to achieving your goals? What motivates them and what drives them mad? Pick your battles in order to be able to really effect change. What level of seniority do you really need to reach: the decision-making C-suite or the operational managers?. Consider using some of the budget you might have spent on big events on bespoke quantitative and qualitative insight. Not only can it be used for planning but can be brought into your creative brainstorms and of course used as data-led earned and owned media content.

The insights you gather will also allow a review  – and potentially a refresh – of your positioning and messaging. Market differentiation is increasingly important. What was once a motivating mission, or a future-facing goal may now be considered a hygiene factor. What will make your audience sit up, listen and remember you? Work with your agency to provocatively push on your USP – if they have experience across your sector this can be an invaluable perspective and process. Update your proof points: what has the business achieved in the last 8 months – despite the challenges – that can irrefutably prove your USP, your market position. Proof points are an often overlooked but essential part of your messaging toolkit. 

Now that you can map what your audience wants to hear with what your company needs to say, you can begin the next stage of your planning: identifying objectives and strategic solutions. Keep an eye out for part 2 of our content series.