First of all, I apologize for not sending out this newsletter on Tuesday. In our household, it was a rough week.

All of us were sick. The kids, my wife, and I. My seven-month-old daughter was taken to the ER last weekend and tested positive for respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) and double ear infections. My poor little girl.  

On this week's Fresh Salmon, I discuss why B2B companies need to transform their marketing into a media company, a Gartner segmentation framework, and AI's impact on learning.

Let's dive right in. . . .

1) Why Do B2B Companies Need To Turn Their Marketing Into A Media Company? 

The industry is buzzing about turning company marketing into a media company approach, particularly for B2B.

This is obviously not a new approach to marketing. For years, media companies have built large audiences all over the world. 

Media companies have been embracing emerging mediums like videos, podcasts, and others, they are building and engaging their subscriber base. By carefully distributing into channels they control themselves, they can access first-party engagement data to leverage their competitive advantage.

Thanks to pandemic, many B2B companies used this opportunity to create media marketing in-house. A shift from traditional marketing to media strategy.

Media is that strategy.

Why?

The landscape for content distribution has been disrupted by the advancement of mobile technologies. 

Besides written content, consumers are now consuming long- and short-form videos, podcasts, live streams, etc. 

Multimedia content distribution channels have been bolstered by the shift from text consumption to media consumption among the general population.

Text based content and SEO is no more competitive enough to get the audience reach.

Innovative companies are acquiring media companies and building media operations within their businesses to stay ahead of the curve.

Here are a few examples:

• Profitwell created Recur, their own media-arm.

• Hubspot acquired The Hustle.

• Salesforce launched Salesforce+.

• Mailchimp launched Mailchimp Presents.

In the near future, every company will be creating education and inspiration content for their target audience that goes beyond text based content.

It’s a move to think beyond Demand Generation, and not just focus on capturing the 5% of people who are in the market to buy your product. 

Rather it is Edutainment (Education + Entertainment) at a scale, and you are building a larger audience that goes way deeper into the 95% who are not yet ready to buy but have established a solid brand affinity with you. 

This way you are securing a spot in the buyer’s mind, and when they are ready they are compelled to reach out to you.

2) Segmentation - The Bullseye Framework

The need for effective market segmentation is practically the most important thing for a company's go-to-market strategy.

Most companies, especially startups, do not clearly define target segments or do not focus their marketing and sales efforts on them if they do.

Despite everyone agreeing that segmentation is important, most companies struggle with it, why does this happen?

The main reason for this is fear, in my opinion.

1. There will be insufficient revenue opportunities to meet the targets

2. The likelihood of missed opportunities if the targets are not right

3. There is a fear that being focused will limit the long-term potential

Some of the fears are legitimate, especially in early-stage companies. The pressure people feel is understandable. 

However, having well defined segments does not mean you have to limit yourself to only pursuing those opportunities; it is more of a guide than  a mandate.

Since 2016, I have followed Gartner's Bullseye Framework for Segmentation.

Your target segment is your bullseye. Inbound and outbound campaigns should focus primarily on content that "speaks" to that target audience, for both inbound and outbound use.

In the next ring, there are segments with similar needs. Encourage sales teams to pursue clients with similar needs, even if they are not in the target segment, if they need to expand their pipelines and leverage existing relationships. 

Don't let your team steer you toward customers with varying needs, as it will most likely require so much effort or enhancements that it won't be worth it.

The outer ring is made up of people who find you. Inbound marketing efforts should lead prospects in your target segment to you, but you cannot control that. You will also be found by others. 

Filter the same way you do for sales-generated opportunities. If the needs are similar, it is worth pursuing. Consider it twice if it takes you down a different path.

It can be seen that segmentation begins in marketing and extends to sales in terms of qualification. Embrace it across the organization - it is not just a marketing responsibility.

The implementation of this approach does not necessarily mean it will last forever. Keep an eye on the results. 

In the event that you are not as successful as you expected, you may need to adjust your target. Nevertheless, don't react knee-jerk to every situation. Take your time and adjust as necessary.

3) The Impact of AI on Learning and Development

The way we learn has been transformed by artificial intelligence.

But before we go into AI. Do you know that approximately 70% of the workforce enjoys learning at work?

Approximately 60% of people prefer to learn at their own pace, and 50% prefer to learn only when they need it.

Furthermore, an employee is online an average of 30 times per day and doesn't watch videos longer than four minutes.

According to this, there are four key trends emerging in corporate training space:

1. Trainings needs to be on the job

2. Trainings should be just in time 

3. Trainings should be personalized 

4. Micro-Learning delivers the best results, meaning delivering training in short digestible capsules

The good news is that AI is helping turn training into reality. 

Using Natural Language Processing (NLP), Sentiment Analysis, and Deep Learning, AI is able to provide context and personalized learning.

The best part - it is scalable and affordable. 

For example check this tool out ->

https://www.movio.la/

Using Movio you are able to create real-person training videos in 20+ languages !!

Movio makes it easy to create and manage training videos. With corporate videos, onboarding new talent is easier and less expensive than ever. I’m very impressed.

Disclaimer: I am not affiliated with Movio and I am not getting paid for mentioning them.

Interesting Thing That I Read Last Week

Technically, I read about this and then listened to it. . . .Mind blowing!!

AI is exploding in video, and soon in audio as well.

Podcast.ai created Joe Rogan interviewing Steve Jobs, and it's gooood….!

Go check out.

Tweet That I Noticed Last Week

Deeply meaningful. Quite accurate as well. 

In my own life, I follow this approach to make good decisions. So far, it's been working well. 

How about you?

Meme of The Week

😂😂😂. . .

What Do You Think?

This concludes this edition of Fresh Salmon.

I would like to hear what you thought of today's newsletter.

Also, let’s connect on Twitter and LinkedIn.

Cheers,

Vivek

PS. I love you ❤️