It’s Been Said Before, But It’s Worth Repeating

Welcome to The Beat by Rockstar CMO. I’m Ian Truscott, a CMO, trusted advisor, strategy consultant, and Chief Bottle Washer at Rockstar CMO. In this newsletter, I’d like to share a mix of what’s caught my eye, topics from our podcast, and our street knowledge blog.

Hi there!

Firstly, if you are one our new subscribers in January, thank you and welcome! There have been a few of you, thank you!

It seems there is a bit of a struggle in marketing writing right now, or maybe it’s just me. Since the marketing fundamentals have already been written, is there anything new to add?

Experience practitioners are eye-rolling at the next generation, who discover basic stuff like 1:1 marketing and share it on the socials like they invented it.

But, it’s not just the new kids. Just a moment ago, I saw a LinkedIn comment on a post about the importance of talking about outcomes from the CMO Alliance (who are no kids or fools), and the comment, from an experienced marketer said:

“This is good, but not new. Marketing has always been tasked with presenting the value of products or solutions as outcomes….”

Which is true, but did it need to be said?

It makes you think that it’s hard to put your head above the parapet without feeling like a bit of a cock. Even if you are the CMO Alliance - someone is rolling their eyes at your content.

However, if you read the other comments in that same post, clearly, some folks have got some value from this remix and repeat of a well-known B2B marketing maxim.

Similarly, we’ve just been chatting about buyer’s journeys on the podcast, and I published our take. There is nothing new or groundbreaking to see, just a distillation of the models we like with an appropriate Rockstar CMO acronym to give it some sizzle.

I wrote it partially to clarify my own thinking as it related to client work. But, when I posted it on LinkedIn, it didn’t just get likes, it got loves, which is bloody lovely.

And I imagine this is also similar to whatever the thought leadership topic your job is to share with the world.

We are all encouraged to niche, to be unique and all of that - but that seems to be a luxury for the content marketing pontificator.

If you are in an established category, you have competitors, influencers, analysts, prominent bloggers, speakers, and authors all vying for not just the same slice of the audience’s attention and brain but also how to present a fresh take on how the category of widget you are in helps a customer make their donuts, get rich, be successful or become more attractive.

Someone has probably said it already.

The difference is, that someone they trust (you) hasn’t said it to them.

The difference is that however subtle you may think it is, you have a different take, a different voice or something that your tribe respond to. I mean you didn’t just pull the handle of the B2B buzzword-bullshit-o-maker now did you? (Or ChatGPT)

The difference is that you were there at the moment of need. Maybe they’d never heard of the equivalent of “presenting outcomes” in my example above, or if they had, it was the wrong time for them to be receptive to it, but now you may not be unique, but you are there.

The difference is that that someone they trust, trusts you and it’s your take on how widgets help businesses make the donuts that they lean into and share.

Then of course, do you need to be the world leading expert, with the uniquest of insights?

No, you are not selling unique insight, you are selling a product or service that helps companies make better faster, cheaper donuts. You just need to be trusted by a minimum viable audience, or your pipeline.

You may have noticed, that rather than a song title as the subject line, I’ve cheated this week and shared a lyric; “It’s been said before, but it’s worth repeating”.

You may remember this from Jos Stone or the original by The White Stripes: “Fell in Love with a Girl”. I’m going with Jos Stone (“Fell in Love with a Boy”), as I like my Monday Mojo more mellow.

Let me know if this was worth repeating 🙂

Cheers!

Ian

Ian Truscott | Chief Bottle Washer Rockstar CMO

Say hello, reply to this email or find me on LinkedIn or my personal website.

This week’s podcast…

We’ve moved to two shows a week, but it’s been slightly disrupted recently and I didn’t send a newsletter last week, so…..

The week’s street knowledge….

Get your Monday Marketing Mojo Working

White Stripes / Joss Stone… White Stripes / Joss Stone… White Stripes / Joss Stone… White Stripes / Joss Stone…

I can’t decide…

OK, Joss Stone