Bad-fit Buyers

Caveat venditor: Bad-fit buyers are everywhere.

"Every new customer you bring on who isn’t the right fit presents a churn risk," says Dan Tyre on Hubspot.

Churn is a risk, because it opens new doors to bad reviews.

What are the signs to watch for? The bad-fit buyer:

• Is considerably larger or smaller than your typical customer

• Operates in an industry outside your target market or time zone

• Is discourteous and responds to questions with emotions, rather than facts

• Doesn’t want to answer questions or makes contradictory statements

• Is unwilling to take direction and seems competitive

• Doesn’t have resources (money, time, staff)

• Seeks a "silver bullet"

• Goes from excited to apathetic and back again

• Is disorganized and can’t spend time with you

• Cancels meetings with short or no notice

• Doesn’t follow simple directions (like please read the one-page outline)

• Seems to be going through the motions

• Has to hear you say the same thing at least four times before he gets it

"Almost all prospects will show some of these indicators," Tyre says. "The key is to be 100% transparent, have open conversations with your prospects, and set expectations at every step of the process."

Hot Spots

B2B events are hot.

Freeman (my employer) has just released a compilation of statistics that proves it. Among the findings:

• 225 million customers attend 1.8 million events annually

• $565 billion is spent on events annually

• 20% of a marketer's budget is devoted to events (the single largest spend)

• 48% of brands see an ROI on events from 3:1 to 5:1; 41% see even better

• 93% of executives say events increase their chance to close deals

• 98% of customers say events increase their purchase intent

• 79% of brands will boost their involvement in events this year

Brevity: Key to B2B Content Tilt

Stephen King's advice to writers who crave an audience:Leave out the boring parts.

"If you can't write your idea on the back of my calling card, you don't have a clear idea," impresarios say.

B2B marketers would do themselves a favor scribbling more (or less) on the backs of calling cards.

In Chief Content Officer, "content tilt" champion Joe Pulizzi praises PricewaterhouseCoopers' newsletter series 10 Minutes ("content tilt" equates to a brand's point of difference).

As its name implies, the series promises readers 10-minute mastery. 

And, as you'd expect, the topics are thorny: audits, cyber-security, data privacy, derivatives and eco-efficiency.

Pulizzi calls the newsletter series an example of content tilt "genius."

"PwC understands its audience members need intelligent, mission-critical information on complex business topics, but they don't have time for long-form content. The newsletter is designed to aid skimming, and is alway short and to the point."

PwC gets B2B content tilt.

Leave out the boring parts.

Remains of the Day

AOPs, rock on!

Over three nights in October, California mega-festival DesertTrip will feature a slate of "living legends" that includes Bob Dylan, Neil Young, Paul McCartney, The Rolling Stones and The Who.

Festival-goers who return all three nights will rock out to a cadre of 35 Grammy and Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award winners.

A wrinkled but ribald Benny Hill gave us a glimpse of the geriatric goings-on in 1972, when he aired Woodstick, his eight-minute spoof of Woodstock.

Speaking of The Who, the WHO claims you're officially "old" when you're 50, in many nations "the point when active contribution is no longer possible."

Adults and Older People (AOPs), rock on!

Benny Hill Woodstick by kermlinmaster

Beware Spectral Evidence

Before a judge ruled against its admission in 1693, spectral evidence was used to condemn Salem's witches to death.

A defendant could be convicted solely on the testimony of a witness who claimed the defendant appeared to him or her in a dream.

Inadmissible in a court of law, spectral evidence is a red herring that still holds sway in today's court of public opinion.

We're engulfed by everyday examples:

• Every social media user has the attention span of a goldfish (although NIH never issued that finding).

• Every business must innovate or die (although only 3% of new consumer products enjoy first-year sales above $50 million—the benchmark of a successful launch).

• Every Planned Parenthood clinic profits from fetal tissue sales (although the activist behind the claim has admitted to faking his documentary).

Before your next witch hunt, please, check your facts.