Lost your marketing mojo? Five steps to retrieve it.

Most of us got into B2B marketing as we like dealing with complex products, services and ideas. We like the intellectual challenge. But come on, it’s getting a little ridiculous now!

Bamboozled by the hundreds, thousands, millions, billions (probably) of new marketing tools, tactics, and technologies that we’re expected to be experts on, are we spending enough time thinking about how to connect with the people that matter the most? Have we lost sight of the customer? Well, yes and no according to this year’s B2B Marketing Conference – The Customer Champion.

There were some great examples of ‘customer centric’ [cringe!] B2B marketing on show: Xerox, Return on Optimism and Arcadis, Sustainable Cities Index. Both showing how time spent developing a great campaign idea with the customer in mind pays off.

Generating sales pipelines in the billions, these campaigns show us at our best.

But the wonderful Doug Kessler closed the conference by asking: why do your customers ignore your content? Turns out, because a lot of it’s crap. Doug exposed some epic fails by well known global brands; it seems B2B marketers can lose their mojo, from time to time.

The customer, your inspiration, can feel very far away when you’re stuck on the content treadmill, whilst simultaneously trying to get your head around the next big tool, tactic, or piece of technology. When we spoke to CMOs, 82% agreed that B2B marketing is in a crisis of creativity.

So, how do you get your mojo back? How do you find your inspiration? Taking the time to develop a creative habit might be a good start. Here are my five steps to flex your creative muscle.

1. Open: Become good at noticing - use the world around you
2. Curious: Expose yourself to other disciplines, industries, people
3. Cultured: Look to the edges and the mainstream
4. Idle: Look away, daydream, walk, run, listen
5. Positive: Avoid cynicism and negativity