Q&A: James Frost, marketing director, Nectar Business

Nectar Business recently launched a new six-part content marketing series targeting SMEs. Here, its marketing director, James Frost, shares his challenges and top tips

What was your first B2B-related job?

Marketing director at Nectar – with responsibility for running the Nectar Business programme.

What do you most enjoy about your job?

My role as a Small Business Awards judge, which I’ve done for three years now. This year we brought all the winners and judges together to discuss the challenges facing small business owners. The winners were able to share experiences and get advice from our judge Karren Brady. It was fantastic and we’ll definitely be running this event again next year for our winners.

Which B2B brand do you most admire?

As a coalition programme we work with some great B2B brands like Viking, DHL Express and Dulux Decorator Centres.

Whose job would you like most?

Alex Ferguson is coming up to retirement so I’ll keep my eyes peeled.

What’s the best piece of marketing advice you’ve ever been given?

Follow the magic in the idea, not the process.

To succeed, a B2B marketer must…

Harness insight to shape a more beneficial customer experience – one-size-fits-all is not a sustainable proposition for our SME customers. In the B2B world your customers have customers of their own and you need to work hard to stay ahead of their expectations. The best way to do this is to evolve your product/service delivery through actionable customer insight.

What is your favourite B2B ad campaign past or present?

Looking at the winners from this year’s B2B Marketing Awards, Google’s ‘When is a map more than a map’ is impressive. It wasn’t just a well-integrated campaign, across multiple channels, but the smart personalisation and pop-up style DM was really impactful.

What’s the next big thing in B2B marketing?

Connecting the dots of customer insight from traditional customer databases with new digital channels like social media, mobile and web. Integrating all the touchpoints and the interactions we have with our customers across platforms will be key to future success.

What marketing challenge are you currently wrestling with?

Deepening our customers’ emotional connection with the programme.

Which marketing campaign or idea do you wish you’d thought of?

I thought Amex’s recent campaign that let retailers issue coupons via Twitter was brilliant. All users had to do was sync their card to their Twitter account online and then tweet any offer hashtags run by companies on their Twitter feeds. The deal was then synced to the customer’s card and automatically redeemed when they went in store. It’s an effortless way to drive footfall and reward customers. 

My biggest extravagance is…

Reading the newspaper on my iPad on the way to the office in the mornings.

Which marketing or business books would you recommend?

Nectar Business generates lots of data and the challenge is to deliver insights to clients in an engaging way. There are some really smart ways to visualise data, and plenty of books on the subject, but one that is on our bookshelf in the office is Information is Beautiful by McCandless.

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