Is B2B branding more nuanced than we thought?

In his introduction to April's Referrers' and Thank You Lunch, align.me's Co-founder and Executive Director, Brett referenced the stage musical Les Mis for its excellent branding. Part of what makes Les Mis so memorable is its striking colour, music, and movement. Every time the curtain goes up, each audience member, new or old, sits in their chair and expects to see a brilliantly produced performance. The Les Mis brand is a 'promise', and the cast and crew for each city's Les Mis production deliver on the promise in every performance. So, much like this iconic musical, B2B READ MORE ›

By |Strategy|
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Copywriting for B2B: 5 ways it can be used to improve your marketing

It may surprise people just how much of marketing involves writing. But if you look closely, writing is everywhere: in ads, eBooks, landing pages, websites… even video scripts. This means that good writing is incredibly important to making sure your marketing is a success. Even more so when it comes to copywriting for B2B, where the buyer's journey is longer and more complex and relies on a wide variety of marketing campaigns and collateral. Yet copywriting isn't always given the attention that it deserves - it can often be an afterthought, or a task handballed off to READ MORE ›

By |Tactics|
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Organic vs. paid content: Where they fit into your B2B LinkedIn marketing strategy

LinkedIn has quickly become one of the most popular social networks in the world. Its focus on businesses and professionals makes it one of the best tools for B2B marketing, yet many organisations still aren't aware of just how powerful the platform can be for them. Used in the right way, B2B businesses can use LinkedIn to increase brand awareness, engage with current and potential customers, and drive new opportunities for their business. Yet few are truly optimising their LinkedIn marketing strategy to achieve these benefits - and some are neglecting LinkedIn altogether. Here we'll be discussing READ MORE ›

By |Tactics|
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Why B2B content marketing could be your greatest asset in 2022

It's understandable that some B2B businesses have yet to utilise content marketing in their strategy - but the growing importance of content marketing can't be emphasised enough. Whilst content marketing has grown in popularity over the last decade, the benefits to B2B businesses may not yet be clear enough for some executives to want to invest in it. In our blog below we take a deep dive into why B2B businesses should consider investing in content marketing in 2022: No B2B content marketing plan? You might be missing big opportunities With a longer sales cycle and more READ MORE ›

By |Tactics|
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How to brief an agency through the lens of the buyer’s journey

  align.me co-founder Hugh recently appeared on the Growth Colony podcast to share his insights into how to effectively brief agencies and freelancers. The Growth Colony podcast is where B2B founders, CMOs, marketing & sales leaders talk about their successes, failures, what is working for them today in the B2B marketing world and everything in between. Briefing agencies and freelancers is a complicated process, and if you’re not able to get it right it can lead to a loss in profits and time. On the podcast, Hugh shares his expertise on the importance of briefing correctly, READ MORE ›

By |Skills|
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Buyer-centric go-to-market strategy (with a little help from Geoffrey Moore)

This article is something of an essay on my current thinking about buyer-centric go-to-market strategy and has been shaped by a recent conversation with strategy luminary Geoffrey Moore. Why buyer-centric go-to-market strategy? And why now? As a high-school drop-out, I was in a customer service role from 1980 and earned my first sales role in 1983. I was lucky enough to start my career in sales at a company with a deep commitment to soft-skills training, and to work for managers committed to nurturing any skills they'd helped me acquire. I did very well. Not through any READ MORE ›

By |Strategy|
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Here’s why the buyer’s journey isn’t dead

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8TtNWA3IjvM   Earlier this month, our co-founder Hugh was interviewed on the Pathmonk Presents podcast by host and design/UX expert Lukas Haensch. The Pathmonk podcast is a fast and effective show to sharpen your growth marketing skills. Hugh was interviewed to cast more light on recent statements purporting that the buyer's journey is dead. And as an expert on marketing and sales funnels, it was clear that Hugh could help bring more clarity as he discussed why this statement is categorically untrue. From here, we get an unfiltered view of Hugh's expertise on buyer-centric thinking, the READ MORE ›

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Five ways to lift B2B landing page conversions

A good landing page is key to a successful marketing campaign – it's what will convert your visitors into leads, after all. But a B2B landing page can often be tricky to create due to a lack of understanding of the wants and desires of your audience. B2B consumers are often driven by a real need for a product and have more pragmatic purchasing habits than their B2C counterparts. Knowing how to build an attractive and effective landing page for these consumers will lead to higher conversion rates, a better reputation for your business, and more sales. READ MORE ›

By |Tactics|
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First marketing job? Here’s how to stand out

Anyone's first few months in a new job will naturally be a little scary. There are new things to learn, people to befriend, and clients to impress! These factors are particularly important with graduate roles where there's the added layer of venturing into a full-time position for the first time. Landing a job can often feel like the hardest part for grads. This is especially true in a harsh and competitive job market, like the one we've been seeing for the last several years now. However, getting hired is only the first step. You then not only READ MORE ›

By |Skills|
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A Leaders guide to crossing the chasm post-Covid

Back in 2016, I wrote and shared an article that looked at how you should consider market maturity as an input to setting effective go-to-market strategy. The article was originally triggered by a conversation with the owner of a prospect (later a customer of align.me)  Justin Annesley the Managing Director of local printing company  Inkifingus. Justin was struggling with accelerating his SME print business revenue during a period where traditional printers like his needed to transition from long-run print to shorter run, digitally enabled solutions. Many of his traditional buyers were moving away from him to lower READ MORE ›

By |Strategy|
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