The team at Pipeline360 recently had the pleasure of attending the 2024 B2BMX event in beautiful Scottsdale. It was a great opportunity to introduce our recently launched brand to hundreds of top B2B marketers, learn a ton, and ultimately walk away inspired to continue our mission of helping marketers solve their top challenges.
And when I wasn’t spending time connecting with so many great marketers at our booth, I was attending some super informative sessions. Below I’ve captured my top insights and takeaways.
The timelessness of Taylor Swift’s influence
This year’s event theme was “Innovate. Adopt. Diversify,” and fittingly, the keynote speaker’s session was centered around Taylor Swift. Swiftie or not, it’s hard to think of a better example of someone who continues to deliver on all three of those tenants. From country, to pop, to B2B marketing (she was even discussed at our Sales Kickoff this year!), Taylor Swift continues to deliver! As keynote speaker, Forrester VP, Principal Analyst Phyllis Davidson noted, “Taylor’s strength lies in her ability to connect with her fans.” And as buyers’ expectations shift to a B2C mentality, it’s absolutely critical that we adapt, understanding that we have to break through the noise, and actually demonstrate not just that you know your buyers, but that you care about them. Or as I like to say, “put the personal back in personalization.”
Being different is cool
My mom always told me this, and I tell my kids the same thing. But it goes beyond being different for the sake of being different – it’s being your true self. During the opening session, Dan Gingiss at The Experience Maker, talked about the importance of customer experience – about being different. He had two quotes that really resonated with me: “No one ever talked about the average restaurant they went to last night” and “talk like a human!”
Everyone loves a good story
We all know this to be true – yet many organizations are still stuck in corporate jargon. As brand master Jay Mandel says “gone are the days of fabricated narratives and one-size-fits-all messaging. His session “From Manipulation to Empathy: Redefining Marketing in a Changing World” was filled with so much goodness! He painted a picture where marketers move beyond simply trying to push products and morph into empathetic storytellers and story doers (aka being a purpose driven company). What a great reminder that we’re all people – and that the brands that will succeed will do so by listening deeply, connecting authentically, and building meaningful relationships.
Like it or not, AI is here to stay
In a world where marketers are being asked to do more with less, AI stands to play a pivotal role. There were at least five sessions on AI, with many others speaking to how their products are benefitting from AI. My biggest takeaway in each of these sessions and follow-on conversations was that marketers are starting to adopt AI technologies but not necessarily strategies. In other words, AI is being leveraged to do things like draft emails, ingest information and translate that into insights, and create content – but marketers are still leery and perhaps not fully aware of the full potential (for better or worse!) that AI can have in transforming our industry. While l can personally appreciate that perspective, I walked away realizing there’s a great opportunity in front of us – to harness the power of AI combined with the power of the human touch. It goes back to my previous point that Jay Mandel made – nobody wants to hear from a robot!
Last but not least
There were so many other great sessions and themes, but like I also tell my kids, nobody wants to hear you talk if you never stop talking. Am I a terrible parent for saying that? That aside, a few other key points stood out that I’ll quickly summarize below:
- ABM is still alive and well – but it often remains misunderstood and underutilized
- Brand building has always been important, but may be more so now than ever
- Marketers must find a way to be scrappy but also build for scale
- Trust is everything – as our friend Tim Hicks at Integrate said, “trust is hard to earn, easy to lose, and must be at the center of everything you do.”
Echoing Taylor Swift’s sentiment in “Welcome to New York,” – “It’s a new soundtrack, I could dance to this beat, beat, beat forevermore.” We’re finding ourselves on the cusp of a new “era” of B2B marketing with evolving technologies and boundless possibilities. We must listen, embrace this new world, and keep moving forward in this new phase of B2B.
Thank you to everyone who made this a great event including the wonderful team at Demand Gen Report, the fantastic and insightful presenters, and all the amazing attendees. All of us at Pipeline360 are excited to continue supporting you along your journey and can’t wait to see you again soon!
