“Gamification is one of the key factors for successful events, which is why event technology has become so important.”
Hi, Ney, can you give us a background of your professional journey?
For more than a decade, I have been involved in marketing at every level. Demand Generation strategies and Events Marketing are my areas of expertise. I have also written a best-selling book on social media marketing, which is currently available only in Portuguese, but I plan to translate it into English soon.
Back in Brazil, I founded and exited three successful companies, and since moving to Canada, I have taken on Demand Generation roles and specialized in Account Based Marketing.
My passion for marketing drives me to believe that the best marketing comes from understanding people, their behavior, their needs, and what drives them to make a purchase.
Tell us about your current role at Security Compass.
In my role at Security Compass, I oversee demand generation strategy and implementation alongside an awesome team and a collaborative partnership with other departments such as communication, product marketing, IT, sales, and customer success.
What sets Security Compass apart from the competition?
Only Security Compass offers multiple solutions to assist organizations at any stage of their security by design journey. We ascribe to the philosophy of “security by design” to ensure that code is planned from the start with security in mind.
Why, according to you, is event technology important? How has it evolved in the last decade?
Events are a vital part of any B2B marketing strategy. Engaging prospects, customers, and partners through events is the most effective way to build relationships. As companies grow globally, doing events in person becomes more expensive and it is not always possible to connect with everyone you should at events. It is for this reason that event technology becomes crucial for connecting and engaging people at your events. It’s great to see event technology finding ways to connect people, whether it’s an in-person, virtual or hybrid event. Gamification is one of the key factors for successful events, which is why event technology has become so important.
According to you, where does Account Based Marketing fit into the MarTech landscape?
Most companies and marketers today make the mistake of creating their strategy based on an ABM platform, not the other way around. There is no perfect ABM platform, so you should be able to build your strategy and choose the tools you believe will be most helpful. I don’t like to think about how Account Based Marketing fits into the MarTech landscape. A good strategy requires more than MarTech; it requires great people to think and make the most of the platforms.
How does an ABM strategy benefit B2B marketers, and what more does it have to offer in the future?
The ABM strategy is not about pushing, but about being present throughout the buyer’s journey. Segmentation isn’t all; it is about not wasting resources, it is about higher conversion rates, it is about faster deal velocity, and it is, mostly, about focus. I don’t see a future where ABM is not a table stake in the B2B space, mainly at the enterprise level. People matter in B2B, too, and marketing is about making people happy, also in B2B. How do you make people happy in B2B? By helping them become better professionals and achieving better results. How does ABM help you make people happy? The best way to do this is to educate them so they can make the right decision. It’s about truly connecting and engaging with your prospects at a different level, as an advisor and not as a pushy sales person. I heard once that ” people love buying, but they hate being sold to”, and ABM is about that, assisting people rather than selling to them. In the future, we’ll see more people understand it and the benefits of a well-designed ABM strategy for the company and the customers.
As a Demand Generation expert, which was the most successful campaign that you’ve executed and how did you do it?
The content we use in our campaigns varies, but we like to think of them as a single structure. Since each campaign plays a different role within the strategy, it’s hard to pinpoint just one. We break down our campaign structure into four stages. Creating Awareness, Engaging, Converting, and Convincing. Each of these stages includes accounts at different stages of their buyer journey, and the goal is to move them between stages until they are ready to contact us. Account and people activities are combined to determine which campaign to allocate them to. We have seen good results since we have developed and adapted the campaigns together as a team.
What are the most important steps in developing multi-channel demand generation programs?
Being where your prospects are. It’s as simple as that. It takes several touches to move forward in an Enterprise B2B buyer journey. A successful deal requires multiple touches from multiple people. Since people have different preferences, you should make sure your campaigns are multi-channel to reach everyone you need at different moments.
What would you like to advise our Martech readers keen on adapting new technology innovations for marketing?
Always put people first! The first thing you think about is your team and prospects, then you think about technology. Your problem cannot be solved by technology alone. A good team is made up of people who understand people. The purpose of technology is to help you scale and optimize what people do and need. It’s that simple!
The moto I live by and the advice I give myself is: You should never stop learning, because change is inevitable!
Thanks, Ney!
Ney Lins has been involved in marketing on every level for more than a decade. From Demand Generation to Events Marketing, Ney has also published a best-selling book on social media marketing (available in Portuguese only). Thousands of people and companies have benefitted from his book by putting into place an effective digital marketing strategy from the start. A leader with entrepreneurial flair and marketer with a proven track record of success in three continents, across several industries. In Ney’s view, marketing can be simple if people’s happiness is your first priority. Essentially, Lins emphasizes that “you are doing the best marketing possible when you completely understand people, their behaviors, their needs, and what motivates them to purchase something.”