A B2B Marketer’s To Do List For 2010

Last week, Steve Parker, a regular guest blogger, wrote A Marketer’s 2010 New Year’s Resolutions.  Steve shares over 25 resolutions for 2010 and reminds us to reflect on the important things, like long-term goals and principles to live and work by.

From Steve’s list of resolutions comes my 2010 B2B Marketers’ To Do List. I share five business and five personal to dos to help you be a better marketer in 2010. Some of these to dos will become themes that I revisit throughout 2010. So I encourage you to print this list, revisit it regularly, and work to accomplish all ten by the end of the year. You with me?

BUSINESS TO DOs

Mind the gap – Right now in your organization, there is a gap between you and sales, you and your customers, you and your CEO, and you and your employees. Some gaps are big and some are really big. In 2010, make all these gaps smaller. How? Meet weekly with a different front line sales person, call at least one customer per week, take one task from your CEO’s to do list and report progress to her regularly, and eat with your employees – you’ll be amazed at what you can learn over meals.

Rethink everything – I know it’s a cliche. But it’s time to give everything another look – websites, collateral, trade show booth, emails – everything about your brand deserves rethinking. 2009 was about survival; 2010 must be about renewal.

Measure the return on every dollar spent – If the recession taught us anything, let it be that measurement of marketing investments makes them much easier to defend. It is no longer reasonable to run marketing initiatives without identifying and tracking at least a few key performance indicators and return on investment.

Learn more about the digital behaviors of your customers – Combine the ability to access content anytime, anywhere, on a growing number of devices with the increasing number of social networks and platforms, and you now have an entirely different landscape in which to influence buyers. Do you know how your prospects find you? Now more than ever it will be important to understand the digital lifestyles of your prospects and customers.

Get YOUR social strategy right, at YOUR pace – The key words here are: your, strategy, and pace. Social media isn’t one size fits all. Define your specific goals. Then develop your social media strategy. And don’t rush; you are not late to the game. Take the time to plan your social strategy properly. Make the execution of your social strategy at your pace. Ensure it is right for the amount of resources you are able to dedicate to it this year.

PERSONAL TO DOs

Put the iPhone down – Unless the meeting is about your company’s iPhone application, stop letting your iPhone or your Blackberry distract you. Your attention is needed in that meeting. You are the leader. Consider the example you are setting for your employees or the impression you are leaving with your boss.

Get your “social” hands dirty – Even if it is just watching your competitors, get a Twitter account, sign up for HootSuite or Tweetdeck, and learn the tools and lingo. You can not simply delegate your social media activities. You need to be as well versed in the whos, whats, wheres, and whys as your employees, or you will be left behind.

Check your ego at the door – There is a high likelihood you will be hiring again this year. If it’s not your practice now, focus on hiring people smarter than you, lots of them. Raising your company’s corporate IQ will not only help you, but also your customers.

Challenge your employees – If they’re not up for it, then do the hard thing and talk to them about it. In this day and age (do people say day and age anymore?), you need employees driving as hard as you are. Don’t settle for mediocrity from anyone.

Change at least three routines – Routines thwart creativity. Change things up a bit for the sake of change. It won’t hurt, I promise.

So that’s the list – you up for it? Add a comment and tell us: What else should marketers do in 2010 to make it better than 2009?

Author: Jeremy Victor | Website | Twitter

Jeremy's the founder of Make Good Media and Editor In Chief of B2Bbloggers.com. B2Bbloggers.com is a B2B Marketing online magazine discussing the evolution of B2B marketing. Topics include content marketing, B2B social media, demand generation, marketing automation, and more. Sign up. Get all the articles via email.