Like many entrepreneurs, I used the final couple of months of 2021 to mirror on what occurred in the course of the 12 months 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 target of my content material must 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 ways.
2021 was a blended 12 months in a number of methods. The US economic 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 12 months, 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 effectively underway, however there’s proof the Omicron variant could produce proportionately fewer extreme instances of COVID-19, and there’s hope that this surge will likely 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 shoppers and enterprise consumers, 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 will likely 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 supply content material that readers will discover informative, thought-provoking and helpful. I have been gratified by the engagement this weblog has acquired, and I consider it is largely reaching its main aim.
However there’s at all times room for enchancment, and subsequently, I will be making a number of modifications right here starting subsequent week. Throughout every calendar month, I plan to publish three new kinds of posts.
E book Evaluations – Many necessary subjects can solely be addressed adequately in a full-length guide, so I will be writing a guide overview put up on a month-to-month foundation. Most of those evaluations will focus on books which were just lately revealed (often inside the previous 1-2 years). Often, nonetheless, I’ll overview an older guide that’s notably 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 just lately revealed analysis research. Every put up will often cowl 2 – 4 research, though I’ll often concentrate on a single research after I consider it is notably invaluable for entrepreneurs.
Deep Dives – Analysis signifies that enterprise professionals worth content material assets that present reliable and in-depth data and insights. Till just lately, weblog posts weren’t sometimes seen as automobile for addressing a subject in an in-depth manner, just because the standard view was that weblog posts must be comparatively brief.
That is altering, and I now regularly see longer weblog posts which might be extra like function articles in a periodical. For instance, the Harvard Enterprise Overview web site and the Sloan Administration Overview web site often publish longer on-line articles.
So this 12 months, I am planning to publish one put up every month that gives a extra in-depth therapy of an necessary matter. This can allow me to handle sure subjects in a extra cohesive and complete method.
The remaining one or two posts every month will likely 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 number 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 speedy use.
Let’s have an incredible 2022!
Picture courtesy of Amanda Slater through Flickr (CC).
