A few days ago, I published a list of my ten most frequently read posts of 2023. I ranked posts based on cumulative total reads, which means that posts published later in the year were at a major disadvantage...

A few days ago, I published a list of my ten most frequently read posts of 2023. I ranked posts based on cumulative total reads, which means that posts published later in the year were at a major disadvantage compared to those published earlier in the year. In the 2023 list, only one of my top ten posts was published after April 1st.

Several posts that I published later in the year have attracted a significant number of readers, but not enough to crack the top ten list. In a way, these posts are like the ugly duckling in the much-loved fairy tale by Hans Christian Andersen. They just need more time for their popularity to become evident.

Before we close the books on 2023, I wanted to highlight a few of these ugly duckling posts that, with time, may become beautiful swans.

The list I'm providing here is very subjective. I've selected posts that I believe will have continuing relevance for marketers in 2024. So, in case you missed any of them, here are three posts from this year that are worth reading as you start the new year.

"What B2B Marketers Can Learn From Missing Bullet Holes"

Source:  Wikipedia

This post focuses on the importance of avoiding selection bias when making decisions based on data. Selection bias can occur when the data used in an analysis (the "sample") is not representative of the relevant "population" in some important respect.

It's easy for marketers to fall prey to selection bias. As I wrote in the post:

"Selection bias is a troublesome issue because, like all humans, we marketers tend to base our decisions on the evidence that's readily available or easily obtainable, and we tend to ignore the issue of what evidence may be missing. In many cases, unfortunately, the evidence we can easily access isn't broad enough to give us valid answers to the issues we are seeking to address."

"How to Judge the Strength of Your Value Propositions"

By now, many of you will have completed most or all of your strategic planning for 2024. As part of that planning, you've probably identified the value propositions you will use with your customers and prospects.

Compelling value propositions are obviously essential for successful marketing, and it's important to periodically monitor the effectiveness of your value propositions. The best way to determine the strength of your value propositions is to test them with real customers and/or prospects, but that approach isn't always practical for some B2B companies. This post describes a framework that you can use internally to judge the effectiveness of your value propositions.

"How to Take the "Vanity" Out of Marketing Metrics"

Source:  ESO via Flickr (CC)

Marketers are usually advised to avoid using "vanity metrics" to measure marketing performance. The primary criticism of vanity metrics is that they don't have a measurable relationship with strategic business outcomes.

The real problem with vanity metrics is not with the metrics themselves, but rather with the failure of marketers to place those metrics in the appropriate context.

This post provides a detailed explanation of how to link marketing activities to specific marketing objectives and how to link those objectives to strategic business outcomes. Making those linkages visible is what converts vanity metrics into meaningful marketing performance measures.

Top image courtesy of Carol VanHook via Flickr (CC).

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