Standard Deviation is a purposeful departure from the old B2B marketing playbook.
We see the mess that B2B buyers have to deal with; market confusion, lack of meaningful differentiation between solution providers, and overly complicated buying experiences. As a result, buyers often just stick with the status quo.
We partner with brands looking for an alternative.
B2B marketing through two lenses: activating demand for your solution among your likely buyers, and converting that demand into attractive Sales opportunities.
We provide a fresh take on B2B brand and demand marketing - from strategy and ideas through execution and activation. Like all B2B marketing teams, our clients are trying to increase the number of “hand raisers” from their target market.
But we don’t stop there. We also provide advisory services to improve Sales conversion from marketing-sourced, high-intent leads. After all, “leads” don’t grow your business. New customers do.
Like you, we’re lifelong students of B2B marketing. We’ve learned a LOT about what works and what doesn’t. And we’re testing new ideas every day.
Performance analysis requires a holistic view of channels.
Channels can’t be analyzed in a vacuum. Each is an interface to a customer at a different point in what is normally an indirect journey. They work together, and need to be analyzed together.
There’s no secret sauce.
But there are some common ingredients to successful B2B pipeline creation programs.
Strong performance starts with strong messaging.
We take time to understand key audience challenges - and the most compelling value of your solution – and activate this story with content worth consuming.
Transition from gated content promos to in-platform education
Formatting content to educate audiences in the platforms they’re using. The platforms don’t want audiences to leave. Audiences don’t want to leave. When your ad shows up, your brand has the microphone. Use it wisely to entertain, educate and persuade.
Frequent publishing
cadence, constant testing.
We try new things on a regular basis. Becoming a category leader at marketing requires nearly constant experimentation - and not every experiment will be a success. And even when you’re successful, audiences want to see new ideas regularly.
Measure marketing by Sales’ results (not “MQL”)
Your scoreboard should be the CRM (normally Salesforce), not what the ad platform tells you. It’s easier than ever for Marketing to skew metrics in an attempt to avoid the optics of failure. But you’re better than that. Know what drives real business growth – and what doesn’t.
Want to know how buyers learn about you? Ask them.
Demand capture techniques are easy to measure. They also get credit for most of the harder-to-measure demand creation workflows. But there are a variety of ways to attribute modern demand creation. One particularly easy way: ask your buyers.