B2B Better – Details, episodes & analysis

In this episode, I’m excited to be joined by Yiuwin Tsang, CEO of Disruptive Thinking. 

I was really interested in speaking with Yiuwin to unpack his journey in finding differentiation in an incredibly saturated sector - B2B marketing services. 

During this interview, he took us through his journey from a blank slate to a thriving agency, sharing his blueprint around three core pillars of growth - building the right team, implementing discipline around business development, and getting to grips with the customer journey - all while building the right systems and process to track and analyse efforts. 

If you work in a small, service-led business and are hitting a wall when it comes to growth - this is the episode for you.

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Big thanks to Sopro for sponsoring this week’s episode of B2B Better. They just published "The State of Prospecting 2024" - a bumper report that offers data-backed advice on optimizing outreach. You can check it out by visiting this link. 

https://sopro.io/b2b-better/

In this episode, I speak with Frans Swarttouw, Founder of GETTING THE MARKET

I was really interested in speaking to Frans as a fellow owner of a creative services business - and one that is so niche in its target market to boot.

How does the company differentiate from more generic, we do all things for all people, type agencies?

What are the advantages and disadvantages of being so laser-focused on a specific niche?

And when you have become the big fish in a small pond - what comes next? How do you expand in a meaningful and sustainable way?

To answer these questions, Frans shared his insights on developing a personalised email campaign targeting new geographies and how he approaches validating a prospecting ‘hypothesis’ through A/B testing.

You can visit the GETTING THE MARKET website here: https://gettingthemarket.com/

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Big thanks to Sopro for sponsoring this week’s episode of B2B Better. They just published "The State of Prospecting 2024" - a bumper report that offers data-backed advice on optimizing outreach. You can check it out by visiting this link. 

https://sopro.io/b2b-better/

**Thanks to Hubspot for sponsoring this episode.**

Today, I spoke with Leslie Venetz, Founder of Sales Team Builder.

It's budgeting season, and you know what that means! Marketers across the globe are sitting down to try and figure out whether spending a six-figure sum on a booth at a trade show is still a good idea.

Especially when that booth has historically yielded little to no ROI.

There has to be a better way, right? That's what Leslie and I try to answer.

We sat down to discuss why a lot of trade show activations fail to deliver a return on investment, how to strategise for brand awareness versus pipeline generation, and why ego plays a big role in decisions around marketing spend.

This is a must-listen for anyone who is responsible for delivering a trade show activation and needs some fresh thinking on how to justify the expense.

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Have you thought about launching a podcast for your brand but aren't sure where to start? Book 60 minutes with me to brainstorm some ideas and get practical advice on how to create a show your customers care about.

Totally free.

Drop me an email at jason@b2b-better.com or book a time to chat with me using this link:

https://www.b2b-better.com/podcast-assessment

You can also follow me on LinkedIn.

Head over here: linkedin.com/in/jasonbradwell

In this episode, I sit down with Josh Krakauer, CEO of Sculpt, a B2B social media marketing agency.

We talk about whether companies should look to Clubhouse as a channel to have a direct, authentic conversation with their audience, what makes a successful room (it's mainly the moderator) and how to measure that sweet ROI.

This is real advice for the everyday B2B marketer who wants to be better.

You can follow Josh on Twitter here: @JHKrak

Also - why not check out my weekly newsletter, The B2B Bite, where I break down marketing strategy and tactics for B2B leaders into fun-size, actionable chunks?

Head over here: b2bbite.substack.com

You can also follow me on LinkedIn.

Head over here: linkedin.com/in/jasonbradwell/

Got a marketing problem you just can seem to unstick? Pick a time and we'll jump on a call to talk it out. Free of charge. No obligation to anything. Organise a free 30-minute strategy call.

Head over here: calendly.com/jasonbradwell/30-minute-consultation-call

In this episode, I speak with Lauren Lynch, who previously was Director of Marketing at Set Solutions, a Trace 3 company.

We had a really interesting conversation on a strategy she deployed to both fund and grow a popular podcast with IT professionals by leveraging 'Marketing Development Funds' - i.e. budget she was awarded through reseller agreements to run promotional campaigns.

Lauren went right back to the start of the initiative, from how she got started, won buy-in from the C-suite, looked beyond downloads as a success metric and discovered new, unique ways of driving growth.

I also share some tips on how to capture email addresses from a brand-owned podcast (something you NEED to be thinking about if you want CFO sign-off) and how to attribute success to the medium.

Hint - it's not downloads.

This is a must-listen for anyone who wants to launch a media brand, start a podcast, or experiment with new channels but need to know how to get buy-in from the C-suite.

**

Have you thought about launching a podcast for your brand but aren't sure where to start? Book 60 minutes with me to brainstorm some ideas and get practical advice on how to create a show your customers care about.

Totally free.

Drop me an email at jason@b2b-better.com or book a time to chat with me using this link:

https://www.b2b-better.com/podcast-assessment

You can also follow me on LinkedIn.

Head over here: linkedin.com/in/jasonbradwell

Thanks to Tyler Wade for producing this episode of B2B Better. 

In this episode, I talk to Georgiana Laudi, Co-founder of Forget the Funnel. 

We talk about why the conventional marketing funnel is fundamentally broken (so stop using it) and what needs to take its place - actually talking to customers to figure out what they need and how to build a strategic plan that moves the needle. 

Gia also shares a step-by-step breakdown of her Customer-led Growth Framework, developed alongside Co-founder Claire Suellentrop, how to gather insights when actually getting a client on the phone is impossible, and what customer discovery looks like in startup versus enterprise.

This episode is a must-listen for anyone who cares about building strategies grounded in real-world insights versus following outdated frameworks or hyped-up “growth hacks”.

You can order the Forget the Funnel book here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Forget-Funnel-Customer-Led-Predictable-Recurring-ebook/dp/B0C386KSTG 

** Have you thought about launching a podcast for your brand but aren’t sure where to start? Book 60 minutes with me to brainstorm some ideas and get practical advice on how to create a show your customers care about.

Totally free.

Drop me an email at jason@b2b-better.com or book a time to chat with me using this link:

https://www.b2b-better.com/podcast-assessment

You can also follow me on LinkedIn.

Head over here: linkedin.com/in/jasonbradwell

Thanks to Tyler Wade for producing this episode of B2B Better.

In this episode, I talk to Amanda Natividad, VP of Marketing at SparkToro.

We talked about how to think about modern-day content marketing in B2B - from figuring out what your audience cares about (even without talking to them) to scaling a content programme on a shoestring.

Amanda also shared her thoughts on whether ChatGPT will soon drive us all out of a job.

(Hint - it won't)

This is a must-listen for anyone who cares about creating unique, differentiated content that customers actually care about.

Thanks to my friends at Sopro for sponsoring this episode. You can download their State of Prospecting 2023 report here: sopro.io/b2bbetter

***

Have you thought about launching a podcast for your brand but aren’t sure where to start? Book 60 minutes with me to brainstorm some ideas and get practical advice on how to create a show your customers care about.

Totally free.

Drop me an email at jason@b2b-better.com or book a time to chat with me using this link:

https://www.b2b-better.com/podcast-assessment

You can also follow me on LinkedIn.

Head over here: linkedin.com/in/jasonbradwell

In this episode, I talk to Andrew Davies, CMO of Paddle.

We talked about the recent launch of Paddle Studios - the premier new media platform for SaaS leaders - and why it exists, how the team develops, tests and ships new ideas using a 5-step framework, and how much Netflix inspired the final product.

This is a must-listen for any B2B brands who have ever asked themselves "Should we build a media company?"

Thanks to my friends at Sopro for sponsoring this episode. You can download their State of Prospecting 2023 report here: sopro.io/b2bbetter

***

Have you thought about launching a podcast for your brand but aren’t sure where to start? Book 60 minutes with me to brainstorm some ideas and get practical advice on how to create a show your customers care about.

Totally free.

Drop me an email at jason@b2b-better.com or book a time to chat with me using this link:

https://www.b2b-better.com/podcast-assessment

You can also follow me on LinkedIn.

Head over here: linkedin.com/in/jasonbradwell

In this episode, I talk to John Rougeux, Partner at Category Design Advisors.

We talked about what category design ACTUALLY means in B2B, the eight levers to pull to build a business that is radically different, and how to think about category design against company positioning.

You can learn more about John at www.categorydesignadvisors.com

And the Christopher Lochhead article we referenced can be found here:

https://categorypirates.substack.com/p/8-category-levers-how-to-build-a

***

Have you thought about launching a podcast for your brand but aren’t sure where to start? Book 60 minutes with me to brainstorm some ideas and get practical advice on how to create a show your customers care about.

Totally free.

Drop me an email at jason@b2b-better.com or book a time to chat with me using this link:

https://www.b2b-better.com/podcast-assessment

You can also follow me on LinkedIn.

Head over here: linkedin.com/in/jasonbradwell

In this episode, I talk to Lucy Heskins, Founder of Oh Blimey.

We talked about the components of an early-stage marketing strategy, how to acquire your first paying users and whether your first hire should be in-house or outsourced.

This is a must-listen for startup founders or first marketing hires stuck on where to focus time, energy and resources.

***

Have you thought about launching a podcast for your brand but aren’t sure where to start? Book 60 minutes with me to brainstorm some ideas and get practical advice on how to create a show your customers care about.

Totally free.

Drop me an email at jason@b2b-better.com or book a time to chat with me using this link:

https://www.b2b-better.com/podcast-assessment

You can also follow me on LinkedIn.

Head over here: linkedin.com/in/jasonbradwell