3 Reasons to Unleash Your MarCom Team at One More Conference

Does this seem odd to you?Product managers and R&D folks regularly attend conferences to learn more about the market, keep up with the science and improve their products.But MarCom teams (who ultimately translate all that knowledge into programs) rarely get the same opportunity to hone their craft. And yet we expect them to meet ever increasing lead generation targets.It seems odd to me.You've probably seen this meme floating around LinkedIn:

CFO: What if we train our people and they leave?CEO: What if we don't and they stay?

Who can argue with that?Two weeks ago, I traveled to Denver to attend the Authority Rainmaker conference. It's a two-day, one-track Woodstock of content marketing.  With an awesome soundtrack, I might add.I've been to conferences both as a scientist and as an exhibitor. This one was all about polishing my marketing chops.  It was a chance to meet my tribe and exchange ideas.Want to know my most valuable takeaway?If you don't want to be left behind, you should commit to investing in the capabilities of your MarCom team.  Today, I'm giving you three reasons to send your top performing MarCom people somewhere besides Pittcon or Neuroscience.

Learn from people outside our industry

The marketing world is moving fast. I'm a strong advocate for basic blocking and tackling.  But there is always something that can help your team generate more leads and sales. Do you want to lead the pack or just try to keep up?Maybe it's learning how the contrast principle will help you sell more product. Or a new way to differentiate your marketing that gets you noticed. Or understanding the difference between "Hand me that mustard," and "Do you have any Grey Poupon?"Just make sure you capture everything they learned when they return and pick one thing to take action on right away.

Ridiculous enthusiasm

Sharing a couple days and a lot of ideas with like minded people can't help but get them fired up. I get a serious buzz from talking to other marketers when I can help solve their problems AND find out what has worked for them that I can apply to my own campaigns. My wife said she could feel my excitement as I was texting about all the fantastic speakers that were educating and inspiring me.Give someone a couple people on your team a chance to meet and learn from some fascinating marketers. I guarantee they'll come back pumped up and ready to rock.

Loyalty

Your best employees want a challenge. They may not be looking for a promotion. They know their salary isn't going to leap forward. They just don't want to be bored.The opportunity to learn and be seen as worth investing in creates loyalty. You can train people and make them want to stay. Because they know they'll keep learning.

Bonus: Attract new talent to your company

Wouldn't you like to be seen as a company that gives a damn about great content marketing? From what I experienced last week, content marketers are passionate about what they do. They want to make things happen. (See also Ridiculous enthusiasm).If you are looking for talent, why not show up at the next Authority Rainmaker or Content Marketing World? You'll definitely come back with fresh ideas and maybe a new marketing superstar.Want to know what else I learned? Use the form at the top right of this page to subscribe to this blog. I'll share more in upcoming posts. Plus, you'll get a weekly helping of fresh ideas to get more leads and sales from your marketing with less effort.Photo Credit: @EthanBeute