Read Paul's Blogs
Insights, learnings and stories from the world of B2B marketing and communications, direct from Velo’s B2B agency team
Paul Crabtree
An IDM-qualified senior sales and marketing professional who has held board positions in various marketing agencies since 2005. Although he claims not to look old enough, the emerging silver locks tell a different story. As MD, founder and owner of Velo, his role is to lead the agency maintaining our quality standards to be the level that means we continue to be built on recommendation. He has a particular focus on new business, overseeing all our client relationships and leading our strategy function to make sure that our team has the skills and capabilities that our clients need, so we continue always craft great work to be proud of. Find him on LinkedIn here.
Same old B2B events? How to stand out.
At Velo, we’re big believers in B2B events – but only when they’re done well. When done badly, they’re a costly sponge. A glossy presence that eats up time, budget and goodwill. But when done well? They can do more than generate leads. They can fuel brand awareness, support ABM, enable sales conversations, and set […]
What sales enablement tools should you consider for your B2B Sales team?
Sales enablement tools are technology-based solutions built to increase the efficiency and effectiveness of sales teams. Most of our clients use a CRM tool such as Salesforce.com so we favour those that integrate. To determine the best tools, we advocate mapping the sales process and spending time with your team answering questions like: What […]
B2B sustainability creds without cliché is harder than it looks
Credential presentations used to be simple. You needed to show that you had: Relevant experience in working with similar companies or solving similar challenges Key people, especially if you provided professional services Capabilities that you differentiated via a unique theme, phased around an opinion or an approach Corporate information that provided reassurance around size, stability […]
ESG leaders are influencing your customers’ buying decisions. Who? What? How? Why? Your complete guide.
How do you reach ESG leaders as they are already influencing your customer’s buying decisions? Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) considerations guide business strategy across many sectors. For B2B marketers, understanding ESG and who drives this within their target customers is becoming more important. They are a new player in the buying unit, whose influence […]
What to choose the Best B2B marketing agency for you?
A View from the Agency Side. Choosing the right B2B agency isn’t easy. You can craft a detailed brief—laying out your context, challenges, and aspirations. You can scour the internet for agencies that look the part, hoping to find case studies that give you confidence. But ultimately, it’s still a leap of faith. The real […]
B2B Marketing Agency Selection, B2B Marketing in manufacturing, B2B Marketing in Professional Services, B2B Marketing in Technology
Why use a pitch when selecting an agency? It puts too much pressure on a client’s brief.
When looking for a new agency, common practice is to invite selected agencies to generate initial ideas, explain their approach, and share relevant experience around the problem you’re seeking to solve. Typically, most pitches involve an initial brief. This brief is crucial for the agency, as it provides the basis for deciding whether to participate […]
B2B Marketing Agency Selection
How should B2B marketers select a new agency that targets a niche? A comparison scorecard
When you’re considering appointing an agency, a bit of preplanning will make it much easier to select the right partner. For B2B marketers who target a niche, this is a harder process than it looks. Similar case studies are hard to find or rarely celebrated (when was the last time you saw a true niche […]
B2B Direct Mail is back. Did it ever go away?
“But is anyone in the office anymore?” This has been the standard objection to using direct mail over recent years. Mandated RTO policies are here. We know this as, in many places, it is causing conflict between management and employees. However, it feels like a one-way road, with some, like Publicis, going as far […]
B2B Marketing Agency Selection, B2B Sales Enablement
Why is it called “winning” a new client when a good client-agency relationship is a partnership?
The vocab is just wrong. If someone wins, someone else loses. To apply this vocab to starting a new business partnership exemplifies how the pitch process is broken. Most clients talk about appointing a new agency. Never winning a new agency. Why? In day-to-day life, you rarely speak this way. You don’t “win” a new member of […]
B2B Content, B2B Creative, B2B Marketing in Technology
What makes a creative B2B ad?
This article was prompted by a LinkedIn study into Drivers of B2B Ad Effectiveness. Using empirical data, it investigates what makes compelling B2B ads on LinkedIn. Of course, it has an agenda. Of course, LinkedIn is not the only channel used in B2B marketing. Of course, it has some flaws. But, it does have […]
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