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This year Content Marketing Institute and MarketingProfs published their 7th B2B Content Marketing Benchmarks, Budgets and Trends – North America study. While there are many studies that are published every year, this is one that I truly analyze and review as it is full of insights and shows a very clear picture of where B2B marketers are on their path to maturity.The study was a bit different this year with some new questions and sections, but overall, comparing this year to previous studies provides insight into how B2B marketing organizations are succeeding and in many cases, continuing to be challenged with the discipline of content marketing.It Takes a Village-It was surprising to me to see that 55% of organizations have small teams (some only one person) that are responsible for serving the entire organization with content. Less than 40% of those surveyed said they have a dedicated organization and/or people throughout the organization.Good content that engages buyers and aligns to the buyers purchase process is not easy to create. It takes time to understand your buyer, their pain points and challenges and their buyers journey. According to CEB, in a typical B2B buying cycle there are on average 6.8 people involved in the buyers committee all of whom want specific content that is relevant to their role.With this being the case, how is it expected that only a handful or only one person will be able to create compelling content? In order for content to be done properly and produce value, there must be a team dedicated to it.Measurement Must Be a Priority-When asked, “Is it clear what an effective or successful content marketing program looks like?” only 41% responded yes. The other with 59% responded with an unsure or a no. While this may be while only 28% are mature or sophisticated, the need for measurement has never been more apparent.According to the study the following are true:

29% of a B2B marketing budget is spent on content marketing

39% of organizations will increase their content marketing spend

45% will spend the same amount next year as they did this year

That is quite an investment to make without an understanding of the results. While producing relevant and engaging content is crucial, it is just as, if not more important to know the impact these investments are making on an organization.The Metrics Do Not Align to Goals-Respondents to the study listed lead generation as the number one goal for their marketing efforts. Yet when asked “Which metrics does your organization use to determine how well its content marketing is producing results?” only 57% stated they were measuring sales lead quality.If the goal of content is to generate demand, simply measuring web traffic (78% do as the leading metric) will not give any indication on success or failure. If B2B marketers are going to improve on measuring value, they must measure that which aligns to their goals.

How would you characterize the success of your organizations current overall content marketing approach? 22% stating very or extremely successful and 53% stating moderately successful (I am not sure the goal of organizations is to be marginal)

How does the success of your organizations current overall content marketing approach compare with one year ago? 62% saying either somewhat more or much more successful

There is Improvement, But Still a Long Way To GoWhile 72% of organizations reported more effectiveness with their content (with web visits are the leading metric this is questionable), the telling statistics that tell the true story of how organizations are faring with content marketing were the following:

Only 37% of B2B organizations have a documented content strategy (sorry but if you say you have one but it is documented, YOU DO NOT HAVE A STRATEGY!!)

Only 22% say their organizations approach to content marketing is very or extremely successful

Only 28% of respondents stated their organizations are either sophisticated or mature with content marketing

Only 34% state their organizations are extremely or very effective at meeting their content marketing goals

With all of the attention given, money invested and time spent on content, one would think we would be much further along. What is more perplexing with these low numbers is that 63% of respondents stated that their organizations were either extremely or very committed to content marketing.I believe it is time (I have said this many times before) for marketing leaders to truly take a look at this commitment to content and rather than invest in more content production, invest in understanding buyers at a deeper level so that their content can be better informed. Simultaneously, invest in better enabling and equipping content marketers with the needed skills so they can perform their roles at the highest levels.Content marketing is not going anywhere anytime soon and is necessary to engage, nurture and convert buyers and build customer relationships, but year over year the numbers either stay flat or decline indicating we have a problem. Hopefully 2017 (I said this about 2016) is the year marketing leaders take the time to address it.

Are you interested in starting a home based business?Starting your own home based business is a smart thing to do because it will enable you to earn income either part time or full time from home, take control of your financial future, give you more time with your family, ease the stress burden in your life and so much more.But where do you start? How do you find a home based business that is right for you?There are lots of work at home scams online today that will leave you broke before you can even ask “what happened?” This article will help you to find the right home based business by simplifying the search process.Step 1 – Ask yourself the following questions
A. What are your hobbies?
B. What are your personal interests? Or what do you enjoy doing?
C. What are you passionate about?
D. What do you enjoy doing for family and friends?
E. If you could have a dream job what would you be doing now for a career?Step 2 – Take an honest look at your answers to the questions from step one and search for a home based business that deals with something that you enjoy doing, are passionate about and could eventually see yourself doing as a full time career.Step 3 – Once you find a home based business that excites you the next step is to do more research about the company. In doing your research I would use Google, work at home forums or blogs and last but not least the Better Business Bureau because the BBB will give you a report of that companies activities and let you know if the company has a good or bad reputation.Step 4 – Make contact with a distributor or sales representative for that company. Once you make contact see if there is a pre-recorded presentation you can listen to, Webinar you can watch online or in person sales presentation you can attend. Don’t neglect this step because the more information you have about the company the better!Step 5 – Before you join ask your recruiter or upline the following questions.
A. How long have you been with the company? If they have only been with the company for less than 6 months watch out because those people are only opportunity hoppers and have no long term success in the industry.
B. How much money have they made in the company? Can they provide documentation of their income? If they can’t or won’t provide income documentation watch out for people like this because they may be lying to you.
C. What type of training and support will they provide? Any company that you sign up with should provide you with the knowledge and support to get going because without adequate training you’re going to be left hanging.Step 6 – Stay committed to your home based business. This is one of the most important elements that people lack when they join a home based business because the average person that gets involved in a work at home opportunity buys into the false claims on money they can make with very little work and when the business opportunity does not deliver on those claims they give up within 30 days or less and begin to seek another home based business opportunity. For true success in your home based business I recommend that you stay committed to it for a minimum of 90 to 120 days because this is a good bench mark to reach before you ask yourself if the business is going to work out or not.Step 7 – Stay motivated! Another important thing that the average person lacks in starting their home based business is the motivation to stick with it. Here’s how you can stay motivated.A. Find a mentor. This person should be someone who has achieved what you hope to achieve in your life. You want to find someone who has the answers to your questions and can provide you with the motivation and encouragement to keep going when you feel like quitting.
B. Hang out with positive people.
C. Start reading personal growth books. I recommend Anthony Robbins, Jim Rohn & Dale Carnegie.
D. Watch personal growth DVDs. You can easily find great personal growth video content on YouTube and just about everywhere else online.
E. Write out your goals and what you want to accomplish for your life.
F. Keep pictures in your house of the things you want to buy, places that you want to go and things that you want to do with your life.I hope these steps will help you in finding the right home business opportunity and accomplishing all your goals and dreams!Best wishes on your success!