What's Your Mega-Hit Experience?

mlns='> Generate Demand for What Doesn’t Exist – Yet [View Message in Browser]( / [Add Us to Safe Sender List]( Weekly News 3.17.23 Connect With CMI  [Marketing Content to Gen Z? You Better Play by Their Rules]( To connect with Gen Z audiences, engage them on their terms. Follow this expert advice to learn what brand-created content might work best and how to deliver it in ways that slap. [Read more]( By Jodi Harris More of the week's best stuff: - [Twitter's Unskippable and Sephora x TikTok Add New Twist to a Proven Content Strategy]( by Content Marketing Institute Team - [Ask These 4 Questions To Stop Wasting Time on SEO Dead Ends (and Find Keyword Gold)]( John Hall - [Can Your Marketing Team Generate True Demand To Really Start the Customer Journey? [Rose-Colored Glasses]]( Robert Rose - [ICYMI: When Bad Happens in the World, Should Your Brand Change Its Publishing Plans?]( by Ann Gynn  What’s Your Thriller Experience? I see a common challenge in B2B marketing – teams seeking more budget and resources for demand-generation programs. “Now, wait a minute,” you might say. “It seems like demand gen for leads is the only thing we do.” To be clear, I mean true demand generation – not mid-funnel, inbound lead gen, nurturing, or sales enablement. Those are "demand identification" tactics, where marketing teams promote content to buyers already researching solutions. They focus on attracting prospects who realize change is needed but have not yet determined the best options. Demand generation is different. It happens when prospects don’t yet realize they have a need or want – where you try to manufacture demand where little or none exists. When you talk about the “customer’s journey,” you must ask how you can get people to want to take the journey in the first place. In many B2B organizations I’ve worked with, it’s common for teams to get plenty of resources or budget for nurturing leads, delivering them to salespeople, and developing content that speaks to solving X, Y, or Z challenges. But those teams are frustrated by their inability to get support for content and programs that generate awareness and demand for understanding what solving X, Y, or Z even means. As one marketer at a B2B technology firm tells me, “We can’t get the resources/budget to create programs to teach businesses why the challenge that our solution solves even exists. They only want to spend money on people who are already Googling for products to solve it.” Pop quiz: What do these products have in common? iPhone, Rubik’s Cube, Michael Jackson’s Thriller, and Toyota Corolla? You are correct if you guessed they were among the top-selling [products of all time](. That success came because of another commonality – they had marketing programs that generated demand. As much as people like to believe the most brilliant new products come from deep, contemplative thought and research on what potential customers need and want, the simple truth is that most don’t. They are either new-and-improved versions of something in the marketplace – something for which demand already exists. Or they are new and innovative but have zero relationships with what customers have identified as missing in their lives. No person needed or asked for a Rubik’s Cube, an iPhone, or a Toyota Corolla. No one was asked what they wanted in their next mobile phone or what kind of three-dimensional puzzle would be most compelling. No one was asked what Michael Jackson’s next album should be about. The secret to success for these four bestselling products – and so many others – occurred first when someone saw something that wasn’t there or envisioned a customer experience that could be better or more compelling. Then, the marketers for that “new” product spent a significant amount of their resources creating experiences to propel customer interest in exploring the journey they might take. In [Rose-Colored Glasses]( this week, I discuss the short-term thinking that causes senior leadership and marketers to undervalue true demand generation – and explain why it could put your other marketing efforts at risk. I’d love to hear your thoughts on my theories – Send me [an email](mailto:robert@contentadvisory.net) or leave a comment on [the article page](. In the meantime, remember: It's your story. Tell it well. Robert Rose Chief Strategy Advisor Content Marketing Institute Do you have colleagues or friends who would benefit from Robert's weekly updates? If so, please invite them to [subscribe]( here.   More From CMI Free Webinar Next Week The hiring process for a freelance writer can be tricky – there are many considerations to factor in, such as quality, reliability, and cost-effectiveness. Join next week’s webinar to explore the pitfalls of hiring the wrong freelance writer and the high costs that can come with it. As an added bonus, by attending this webinar you’ll be eligible for a FREE 15-minute consultation with a ClearVoice Content Specialist who can help evaluate your freelance needs and get you headed off to freelance hiring success. [Register now »](  Submit Your Entry to the Content Marketing Awards Did you pour your heart and soul (and maybe a few sleepless nights) into an innovative, game-changing content marketing program over the past year? Then you should be recognized for your hard work! CMI is now accepting entries for our 2023 Content Marketing Awards, the largest and longest-running international content marketing awards program recognizing the best in strategy, distribution, editorial, and visual storytelling. 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