Mind the (B2B Marketing Resource) Gap

When I’m chatting (aka. having a two-way therapy session) with senior B2B marketers there’s a recurring theme that keeps on cropping up of late.

Surprisingly, it’s nothing to do with AI. In fact, it has very little to do with tech, platforms, or the latest whizzy “growth hack” some numpty is touting. (Don’t believe everything you see on your LinkedIn feed)

In fact, it’s far more fundamental than all that.

It’s B2B marketing resourcing. Or to give it it’s less formal title “having the right people, with the right experience, in the right roles”.

And from what I’m hearing, it would seem that B2B marketing departments everywhere are currently in a chokehold.

(I can hear you nodding along from here!)

Senior B2B marketers are struggling to get fellow marketers with the right expertise and experience (and enough of them) in the right seats to cover everything that’s needed.

In recent conversations the situation has been described as “dire”, “a crisis” and also “an absolute clusterf**k”.

The resourcing gaps are big, scary, and everywhere too.

Sometimes they’re blindingly obvious. Sometimes they’re hiding in plain sight. And sometimes they rear their heads when we least expect it.

No matter how these gaps appear, having to plug them seems to have the same effect:

• CMOs and VPs having to constantly juggle balls and spin plates, reactively (rather than proactively), shifting limited numbers of people and teams between different projects and activities just to keep the lights on. Or picking up the slack themselves – which then saps all of the time/energy these senior types should be spending on higher-order, strategic stuff.
• Heads of Marketing and functional leaders being pulled this way and that, and dealing with constant rejigging and realignment (and the confusion this creates). They end up so stretched thin and stressed out they don’t know if they’re coming, going, or actually focused on anything that’s going to make any impact.
• Marketing managers and execs under relentless, never-ending, and constant pressure having to cover multiple roles concurrently – some of which they have little to no experience of, meaning they’re learning as they go. And through no fault of their own, not doing that great a job in the process.

Sound familiar? Thankfully, there is another option. We'll come back to that. 

It’s no surprise then that so many marketers are hurtling head-first towards burn out, break down, and exploring different career options away from our beloved discipline. I’ve recently heard “Park Ranger”, ‘Surf Instructor” and “I don’t really know but just not this” as potential new career paths.

This constant need to navigate gaps bigger than a really big thing can’t continue, clearly. For everyone’s sanity.

So, what are your options?

• Bury your head in the sand

By far the easiest option to take. Just do nothing, ignore what’s going on, and hope it all works itself out. But hope isn’t a strategy, is it? If you choose to ignore or fail to address the gaps you’ve got, they’ll only get wider until one day there’s just a blank space where the marketing function used to be.

• Keep calm and carry on

Just keep plugging away with the limited resources you’ve got and (again) hope it all works itself out. But (again) hope isn’t a strategy. This is a very flimsy sticking plaster at best that will most likely see your top people dash for the exit (and quickly) leaving you with even less to rely on to plug gaps.

• Fight the fight

Under-resourcing usually comes from a lack of understanding. If marketing is viewed as a cost centre rather than a value driver by the business, then it’s not going to get the funding it needs. So, you’ve got to go make the case, prove the value that can be added, and secure the resourcing to make that happen. Which is absolutely the right thing to do but far easier said than done.

It takes time and it’s also a bit of a “catch 22” scenario because you need to prove the value first to secure the resourcing/funding you need, but you need the resource/funding to prove the value. No wonder the word “clusterf**k” features here for the second time in this blog.

But there is also a hidden 4^th option.

One that enables gaps to be filled quickly, effectively, flexibly, and for a lower cost (in terms of time, effort, and budget) than going through the standard hiring rigmarole.

It’s called The Bench, and it’s something we’ve spun up at Sharper as a direct response to the resourcing pain we know B2B Marketers are going through.

• The Bench

I was chatting to a client who had a shortfall in resourcing (she’s not the one who said “clusterf***” by the way. But had to get that in here for the hattrick) and she asked me if I know anyone who could fill the gap.

And I did.

One of our Sharperinos.

In they went and quickly ramped things up to be in a position where they (and we) were delivering around 70% of the client’s marketing activity. So, the client then rang me and said “please can we have two more?”. It works like a dream for all parties involved.

In short, it’s quick, easy, and hassle-free access for you, as a client, to the dedicated hands-on support and B2B tech marketing expertise you need for as long as you need it.

Everyone comes with the Sharper stamp of approval, so you get more of the right resource (with less faff), lower capex, and dedicated, experienced marketers working shoulder-to-shoulder with you and your team - whatever shape, size, or style of support you need.

It’s all totally flexible too because we know how things can turn on a six pence, so we scope things exactly how you need them from a time, effort, and budget perspective.

If you’ve got resource gaps - and it’s highly likely you do, whether you know it or not - and you need a helping hand (or shoulder to cry on) then just get in touch and we’ll open up The Bench for you.