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Why More CEOs See Marketing as a Cost Center

Why More CEOs See Marketing as a Cost Center

Key takeaways: The marketing cost-center problem is old, but it’s accelerating. The share of CEOs who see marketing as a cost rather than a profit center jumped from 35% to 60% in one year. The cause is measurement. Only 13% of CEOs feel confident that marketing can show financial benefits, and producing more content with […]
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The Double AI Lie: You’re Losing Time and Your Edge

The Double AI Lie: You’re Losing Time and Your Edge

Key takeaways: AI and critical thinking have an increasingly complicated relationship. Research shows that heavy reliance on AI can reduce critical thinking, weaken independent judgment and make ideas more alike. AI can help with efficiency, but marketers still need to question assumptions, challenge outputs and focus on original thinking. AI has incredible power and potential, […]
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The Lab Results Are Fine: When B2B Marketing Data Hides a Sick System

The Lab Results Are Fine: When B2B Marketing Data Hides a Sick System

Key takeaways: Healthy B2B marketing data can make a broken system look fine. Isolated metrics, such as organic traffic, cost per click and lead volume, can hide problems with buyer intent, sales trust and pipeline movement. When sales cycles exceed historical norms or sales teams stop trusting marketing leads, marketing teams need to look at […]
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Why AI Is Ignoring Your B2B Customer Case Studies

Why AI Is Ignoring Your B2B Customer Case Studies

Key takeaways: When B2B customer case studies bury customer problems and measurable results beneath company background and product details, AI systems can’t identify the information buyers need. As a result, many case studies never appear in AI-generated answers. Most B2B customer case studies make it hard to identify the problem, the solution and the results. […]
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The Thought Leader’s Shortcut: Build a Content Bank From 1 Asset

The Thought Leader’s Shortcut: Build a Content Bank From 1 Asset

Key takeaways: Break one anchor asset into a Content Bank of articles, social posts, carousels, videos and sales tools. Use a content repurposing strategy and employee advocacy to distribute those assets and support a 90-day, multichannel campaign. This allows you to reach buyers throughout their research process. In the last Expert-Led Content Engine article, we […]
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The Trust Gap: Why Human Content Wins in an AI Market

The Trust Gap: Why Human Content Wins in an AI Market

Key takeaways: Human-first content in B2B is grounded in experience, a clear point of view and informed judgment. It helps buyers build trust before they with speak with sales. For years at The Simons Group, our North Star has been “content-first.” It’s how we keep the focus where it belongs: on the message rather than […]
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Stop Asking Experts to Write: The Two-Touchpoint Content Workflow

Stop Asking Experts to Write: The Two-Touchpoint Content Workflow

Key takeaways: A two-touchpoint content workflow concentrates expert involvement into two focused moments that support speed, cost discipline and buyer expectations. By structuring participation around an input session and an accuracy review, organizations share insights while buyers are evaluating options. In addition, this workflow reduces inefficient use of expert time, supports consistent execution and aligns […]
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Create a Quarterly Content Planning Sprint

Create a Quarterly Content Planning Sprint

Key takeaways: Quarterly content planning gives B2B teams a clear, repeatable way to set direction before execution. Rather than reacting to scattered requests, teams align on priorities, themes and proof points during a focused planning sprint that brings marketers and experts together at the right moment. Experts contribute insight once per quarter, while marketers carry […]
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B2B Trust Has Turned Inward. Thought Leadership Gets You In

B2B Trust Has Turned Inward. Thought Leadership Gets You In

Key takeaways: B2B trust now forms early and close to home. Buyers place greater confidence in familiar people and proven judgment. New research shows that thought leadership content plays a role in helping buyers assess expertise and reduce perceived risk. However, today, merely showing up with content isn’t enough. Organizations that pair expert-led insights with […]
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The ROI of Content Marketing: Why Sales Wins Start With Relevance

The ROI of Content Marketing: Why Sales Wins Start With Relevance

Key takeaways: The ROI of content marketing is measured by its ability to accelerate sales cycles, increase pipeline value and establish credibility before sales outreach. By answering buyers’ questions early, content marketing reduces time to close and improves marketing-qualified leads to sales-qualified leads (MQL to SQL) conversion rates. Effective content also functions as always-on sales […]
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An image of a person at a computer represents the importance of creating content that inspires and engages.

Create B2B Content That Isn’t Boring (With Curated Examples)

Creating content for sleek companies that have six-figure marketing budgets and life-changing stories is like scoring a front-row seat at a sold-out Taylor Swift concert. I’m all in! But if your business makes elevator parts or manages payroll processing, it might feel like trying to sell sand in the desert.

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A graphic of smiling, neutral and frowning faces represents customer testimonials in B2B marketing.

Customer Testimonials Are Marketing Rocket Fuel

In B2B marketing, customer testimonials are vital for winning business. Prospects need proof that real customers achieved results from your products and services. In other words, they want to make sure you’re worth it. But here’s the thing: Just because you have testimonials, doesn’t mean you should use them. The

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A row of stars represents the importance of customer feedback and managing your B2B brand's reputation.

Ignoring Customer Feedback Can Sink Your Brand’s Reputation

B2B buyers want to see customer feedback about your brand before they invest in your products and services. Reviews help them make informed decisions before they commit. B2B purchases can involve large financial commitments. Thus, it stands to reason buyers conduct independent research. They want to know if your solutions

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A pedestrian stop signal on a traffic light represents the B2B content killers that can prevent engagement.

Do You Know What’s Killing Your B2B Content?

When it comes to B2B content, we’ve all been there. You wrote what you thought was your best blog post or case study. Maybe you put the finishing touches on your new website. You were proud of your work. And then someone dumped all over it. The red sea of

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Power Up Your B2B Content With Trustworthy Stats

Including statistics in your B2B content can help convince buyers that your brand is a trustworthy source for information. It shows that your business is committed to providing accurate and reliable content. But it’s only effective if you use statistics responsibly. By using statistics responsibly, you’ll: Build buyer trust Enhance

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A fishing pole represents the challenge of fishing for strong headlines.

Hook Them In: How to Create Powerful B2B Headlines

Powerful B2B headlines entice readers to engage with your content. Whether you’re creating content for your website, customer advocacy programs, videos, case studies or social media channels, solid titles pull your audience in. The problem is they’re not easy to write. And with so much B2B marketing content available online,

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An image of a smiling woman represents the good impression that B2B case studies can make on buyers.

Proven Approaches for B2B Case Studies (With Examples)

B2B case studies are among the most valuable forms of marketing for buyers. When researching prospective purchases, they want to know what problems your business solved for other customers and the positive results. Case studies show them that they can achieve similar outcomes. Trust is key in B2B buyers’ decision-making.

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A bird on a tree stump represents how grammar can stymie everyone.

Are You ‘Continually’ Stumped ‘Continuously’?

Two simple adverbs trip me up every time. Whether I’m writing or editing content, I have to look them up: continually and continuously. They have such close meanings, but they’re not interchangeable. It seems I’m not alone, as I continually find incorrect usage in a variety of content. Do you

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Crack the Code of That Versus Which in Writing

One of the most common mistakes I see among new and veteran writers is using “that” and “which” incorrectly. Don’t feel bad if you don’t know when each is called for or why they’re not interchangeable. Grammar isn’t in everyone’s wheelhouse. Essential clauses The first step is to grasp essential

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A handshake represents working with subject experts.

How to Work with Subject Experts and Boost Brand Trust

Buyers want and need to trust brands more than ever before. They’re educating themselves and researching online before they buy. Trust is among the top three reasons that drive purchasing decisions, according to the 2023 Edelman Trust Barometer. Fifty-nine percent of survey respondents said they’re more likely to buy from

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