Nearbound Weekend 04/27: My Key Takeaways from Goldenhour

Ella Richmond 6 min

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A REFLECTION FROM SHAWNIE

Thoughts from Goldenhour

I recently had the opportunity to attend the Goldenhour conference held by AudiencePlus in Brooklyn, New York alongside a couple hundred of the industry’s best marketers and GTM professionals. And for it being a somewhat gloomy, chilly day—as well as AudiencePlus’ first in-person conference—it lived up to its name.

The “golden hour” is that fleeting period just after sunrise or just before sunset where the light is infused with gold hues, signifying the beginning or end of the day and providing a particular moment of clarity of what has passed and what is to come.

Goldenhour provided a recognition of both of these things for GTM leaders working in the current market:

We are at the end of the COVID/post-COVID shift that had us riding the ups and downs like we were clutching an out-of-control mechanical bull.
We are moving into a new era. An era that is asking us to get creative, take risks, and reprioritize trust above all else.

As I went through my chosen breakout session and keynote talks (I’ll be working my way through the ones I missed very soon!), I couldn’t help but notice some key trends and themes, and how almost all validated nearbound—the GTM strategy I have spent the last year of my life living, breathing, and helping build into a category.

Here are my key learnings from the Goldenhour conference and how they can be actioned through nearbound.

Takeaway #1: B2B Marketing is under a lot of pressure

In his opening keynote, Anthony Kennada, Founder & CEO of AudiencePlus, shared that marketers had reported having 44% fewer resources this year, but with 78% higher expectations. This has caused a 44% decrease in morale amongst their teams.

How nearbound can help

Using a nearbound marketing strategy alleviates so many of these pain points:

It allows you to do more with less by leaning on the network and relationships your partners have with your audience.
It helps you reach those sky-high objectives by increasing deal size and win rates.
It takes the pressure off your teams’ shoulders by allowing them to outsource the talent, influence, and expertise of partners’ teams, rather than trying to do everything alone.

Learn why partnerships and marketing will lead the way in 2024.

Takeaway #2: Customer trust has to be at the front and center

We have to put the customer at the center of everything to win their trust. From how we think about them, to the content we create for them, to the quality of our content, to how we show up for them.

“Follow the human, not the title.” — Colin Flemming, EVP, Global Marketing at Salesforce

“When creating content, use a LUSH framework: Likeable, user-integrated, shareable, human-to-human.” — Chelsea Castle, Sr Director of Brand & Content at Lavender

“Production quality builds trust with partners and prospects. Impress them!” — Mark Kilens, Founder & CEO at TackGTM

“My advice to aspiring CMOs? Talk to customers and be known for action.” — Jack Foster, CMO at WorkRamp

How nearbound can help

Marketers have the power to work alongside their partners to go bigger than pushing integrations or products, but to also show up together for the customers. This increases trust and has a positive impact on your brand, revenue impact, and retention.

Here are 3 tactics you can start today.

Takeaway #3: Metrics will make or break your success

It’s not exactly news, but marketers have once again found themselves trying to meet KPIs that don’t exactly match up to the way things actually work.

“The money-in, money-out mentality doesn’t give enough time for campaigns to work. And it’s not aligned with how people buy in B2B” — Liam Moroney, Storybook Marketing

How nearbound can help

One way to get more focused on your metrics and the campaigns you use to meet them is with nearbound ABM.

Nearbound ABM combines the power of your ecosystem, trusted partnerships, and targeted marketing to accelerate revenue growth and overcome challenges in partnerships, marketing, and sales.

Learn more about Nearbound ABM.

Takeaway #4: Content is currency

Many marketers at Goldenhour recognized that, in the new world, buying patterns are nonlinear. Buyers will see and hear about you from multiple sources and channels before ever deciding to convert—and many of those moments aren’t controlled by your company.

“Marketing influences every dollar of revenue.” — Jill Rowley

If we want to be a part of these moments, we need to create content that focuses on building trust with our audience and solving customer needs.

“Be involved in the moments that build up to a lead.” — Liam Moroney

How nearbound can help

Nearbound marketing is about leveraging your network (your brand evangelists) to create content that allows you to access and influence the moments of the funnel that were previously out of your reach.

Check out how to create content through your network, or get the full playbook in Nearbound and the Rise of Who Economy by Jared Fuller here.

You can read my full breakdown of the Goldenhour conference here.

—Shawnie