PR Series
Today’s guest is Mike Maynard, managing director and CEO of The Napier Group, a U.K.-based PR and Marketing agency for B2B technology companies.
“A sequence of happy accidents” is how he describes his path to his role now. He started off studying engineering in college. After seeking more enjoyment, he ran a technical support team and later went into marketing at the same company. In 2001, during the market crash, he bought an agency, Napier. To prevent it shrinking and dying out, he went the extra mile for clients which made it the agency it is today.
Today’s episode discusses his unique career path, his tips for targeting the right prospects with account-based marketing, and his perspective on global PR trends.
Some top tips …
In the sales process, the most important thing is turning down the wrong prospects. The best relationships are ones in which you can do things for the client that no one else can and that you enjoy the relationship with the client.
The PR industry struggles with being able to provide meaningful metrics. Mike recommends the AMEC framework, which takes into account the objectives, strategy, activity, outcomes, and impact.
Account-based marketing is a hyper-focused approach to marketing in which you hand-select specific companies you want to work with and focus your efforts on them, not just specific sectors you want to work with but the exact companies. This is helpful for professional services businesses and others in which you build a working relationship with your client or there are only a few major companies in your market that move the needle.
On the other hand, if you have a business that doesn’t only have a few key players or your business is one in which you don’t need a working relationship with your customer, then a mass market approach can be the right choice.
Today, the ethics of your company is equally as important as what your company does and the features and benefits it provides. Communicating this matters from a PR perspective.
This episode at a glance …
>> [4:57 to 11:46] How to identify the right prospects for your business
>> [11:47 to 13:48] How to identify the right tactics for your marketing efforts?
>> [13:49 to 16:30] How the AMEC framework can help provide meaningful metrics dependent on the client.
>> [16:31 to 18:23] Account-based marketing, why it’s often a better method to find the right clients, and how to run an ABM campaign
>> [18:24 to 19:33] When it makes sense to take a broad, mass marketing approach
>> [19:35 to 27:18] The top global trends impacting PR and marketing, including the shift to a higher consumer focus on the ethics of a company more so than the product features and the pros and cons of using AI in PR.
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Links in the episode & ways to reach Mike Maynard & Christie Bilbrey
https://amecorg.com/amecframework/
mike@napierb2b.com
https://marketingb2btech.napierb2b.com/
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