Name: Tom Pick

Judging for: B2B Marketing Zone

Check it out: 

What do you do, and what is your favorite part of your job?

I’m an independent digital marketing consultant. I work primarily with small to midsized B2B technology companies, in software, services, and med tech. I help clients with strategy and execution across content marketing, social media, SEO/SEM, and influencer marketing.

My favorite part of what I do is when I can report significant, quantifiable results to clients from our efforts, like dramatic increases in organic search traffic or improved AdWords performance.

How did you get started in B2B marketing?

I started my career as a technical writer at a digital prepress technology company. The marketing team there often asked for my help in writing ad copy or journal articles because I had to know the products so well. Then I stated going with them to trade shows. It was fascinating, so I got my MBA and moved over to marketing.

Since then, I’ve worked a dozen-plus years on the corporate marketing side in software, services, and hardware companies, and another dozen-plus years on the agency / consulting side.

What makes you a qualified judge?

I’ve done an enormous amount of writing about marketing and technology, on my own sites, leading marketing blogs, and on behalf of clients. I’ve developed marketing strategy and plans, and worked to execute those both through direct reports and coordinated efforts with client teams. Writing well over 1,000 blog posts alone has taught me a lot of lessons, 12 of which of which I summarized on LinkedIn Pulse here.

What’s a notable trend in B2B Marketing that you’re seeing lately? 

There’s a huge amount of interest in partner marketing, which is an under-used strategy currently. This can take many forms — working with industry influencers, vertical websites like eLearningLearning or Human Resources Today, industry associations, or other vendors who sell complementary products. The attraction is finding ways to reach buyers through the trusted relationships they’ve already established.