Kateryna Reshetilo of Greenice: 5 Tips for Your B2B Marketing Strategy

An Interview With Rachel Kline

Every business has products that sell well, known as ‘cash cows’ in the BCG matrix. It is crucial to continue generating revenue from these products. However, it is inevitable that these products will eventually lose their popularity. It would be unfortunate if there are no replacements ready.

The B2B marketing landscape is a complex and evolving space, with its unique challenges and opportunities. Navigating it effectively requires well-thought-out strategies and insightful tactics. With a myriad of digital channels available, what are the best ways to connect, engage, and convert potential business clients? As a part of this series, we had the pleasure of interviewing Kateryna Reshetilo, Head of Marketing at Greenice.

Kateryna’s job is to understand the markets the company is serving, formulate the best offerings for potential clients, and market them in the most effective way. Kateryna uses Content Marketing as the main way to reach target audiences. She believes that helping potential clients by providing advice and useful information is the best marketing strategy.

Thank you so much for doing this with us! Before we dive in, our readers would love to “get to know you” a bit better. Can you share your personal backstory with us?

I’m from Ukraine, but I studied business and marketing in the Netherlands. It was a dream come true, and I had big ideas about the business world. But when I came back to Ukraine, things were different than I imagined. The real business world was tougher and more complex.

I tried different jobs in marketing until I decided to work on my own as a freelancer. This choice made me focus on one area: Content Marketing. I liked the idea of helping and teaching potential clients through marketing. I even got certified in Inbound Marketing because of it.

One company I worked with was Greenice, a web development agency. I started as a freelancer, but soon, I became their main marketing person. When I joined, there was no marketing at all. They were already good at what they did, so clients came to them. But they wanted to do more. Now, with my help, they have a marketing team and a website full of helpful content that attracts clients from all over the world.

In short, I’m a marketer focused on finding the best ways to promote a business. I believe in content marketing, especially in the IT world. I think marketing should help and benefit people. That’s why I love content marketing — it’s about giving value and being useful.

None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful for who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story about that?

I guess my husband is this person. He is the one to support me through all the difficult times both professional and personal. He believes in me even when I don’t. So, I am sure, that without his support in my professional journey I would not be where I am today.

Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?

Having a growth mindset has always been one of the guiding principles in my life. I am deeply inspired by quotes like:

• “Whether you think you can or you think you can’t, you’re right.” — Henry Ford
• “With the right mindset, we can’t lose — we either practice what we’ve learned or we learn what we need to practice.” — Noura

Quotes like these serve as a constant source of motivation, helping me stay calm and persevere. I firmly believe that we have the power to shape our lives and tap into our unlimited potential.

Can you share with us three strengths, skills, or characteristics that helped you to reach this place in your career? How can others actively build these areas within themselves?

I believe that these three qualities best describe me professionally:

Persistence — I never give up easily. I continue to make efforts until I achieve success. While this trait has led to impressive results, I also need to be cautious about potential burnout.

Out-of-the-box thinking — Many of the challenges I face at work do not come with instruction manuals. Additionally, as a small company with limited marketing resources, I have learned to find creative solutions and be resourceful. We always strive to accomplish more with less.

Big-picture perspective — I regularly zoom out and question the “why” behind both problems and solutions. I ensure that we do not lose sight of our larger, more important goals by solely focusing on quick wins or cost-cutting measures.

Which skills are you still trying to grow now?

I always have a long list of skills that I want to improve, as I see myself as a work-in-progress.

Currently, my main focus is on enhancing my resilience and stress management. Like all Ukrainians, regardless of where they are in the world, I am experiencing significant stress due to the war in my country. Therefore, I am educating myself about the nature of fear and anxiety, how the brain functions, and different techniques for managing stress. Mindfulness and meditation are at the top of my list to master.

In terms of hard skills, I aim to improve my proficiency in working with AI and utilizing it for my work. To achieve this, I am currently enrolled in a course on Prompt Engineering.

Let’s talk about B2B marketing. Can you share some insights into how you perceive the current landscape of B2B marketing?

I have noticed a few changes in the software development services industry. One significant change is the intensification of competition in our typical marketing channels. New competitors are emerging daily, and many existing ones are increasing their marketing efforts. As a result, we are experiencing a decrease in ROI from our proven processes and strategies.

There have also been substantial changes in the field of SEO. These changes are partly driven by the rise of generative AI, which has led to a mass production of content. With content creation becoming easier, there is now an abundance of content, making Google’s task of indexing and ranking much more challenging. This is why Google is placing a strong emphasis on Expertise, Experience, Authority, and Trust (E-E-A-T). In other words, who said something can be as important as what is being said. The authority and trustworthiness of the source now determine the success of SEO efforts. This has made SEO even more complex, as it requires diverse skills such as PR, SMM, and personal branding, among others.

How have recent market trends and changes influenced your approach to outperforming competitors?

Now is the time to add new channels and innovate in existing ones.

Although we have not been active in social media, we have decided it’s time to start. As a small agency, we initially focused our efforts and resources on SEO and our website. However, implementing SMM will allow us to achieve two goals simultaneously. Firstly, it will provide us with a new lead generation channel. Secondly, it will enhance our SEO efforts by serving as additional proof of our experts’ and company’s trustworthiness (helping our E-E-A-T).

We are also utilizing generative AI in our marketing and exploring more ways to leverage its capabilities. Over the past six months, we have successfully employed AI as an assistant in content production for tasks such as topic research, editing and proofreading. It’s important to note that we use AI solely as an assistant and never rely on it to write content for us. Content creation involves various complex processes, including topic research, ideation, outlining, writing, editing, and proofreading. AI is invaluable for assisting with these tasks throughout the content creation process.

Similar to content creation, AI can also be utilized in other marketing activities that can be broken down into similar tasks. The rapid emergence of new AI capabilities, such as the advanced data analysis offered by the GPT-4 model, has opened up new opportunities for us to utilize AI in SEO research and analysis, as well as in producing original research-based content. We also aim to master tools like DALL-E and others to create visual content that resonates with our audience.

B2B buying cycles can often be lengthy and complex. How do you maintain engagement and nurture leads throughout the various stages of the buyer’s journey?

In our industry, the buying cycle can vary from a week to half a year, with the average falling somewhere in between. Our goal is to understand our buyers and provide them with the best possible support throughout their journey.

To achieve this, we have developed different personas based on client interviews and close collaboration with our sales and project management teams, who have direct contact with our clients. Each persona has a specific set of questions that they go through at each stage. To cater to these personas and their needs, we have written over a hundred comprehensive articles.

Keyword research plays a crucial role in helping us understand the exact wording that potential customers use when formulating their questions on search engines, particularly during the early stages of their buying process.

Our sales team and project managers assist us in understanding the needs of buyers at later stages. For example, we have written articles that describe the software development process and explain the project discovery phase, thanks to their insights. Additionally, we recently created a PDF brochure that provides a detailed description of our work process and methodology, ensuring that potential clients know what to expect. Case studies and client testimonials also play an integral role in nurturing leads during the later stages.

Once a lead enters our pipeline, we employ a semi-automated approach to nurturing. For early-stage leads, we utilize automated workflows and segment them to receive relevant email campaigns. For leads in later stages, we primarily rely on a manual approach. We tailor each follow-up email to their unique needs.

Personalization is gaining prominence in B2B marketing. What are some ways marketers can effectively leverage data to deliver personalized experiences?

In the world of B2B, we know how important it is to make things personal. We’ve spent a lot of time getting to know our audience. We’ve talked to clients and looked at data to create clear pictures of who they are, which we call personas. These personas help us make sure our content talks directly to what our audience is looking for.

Emails are another way we keep things personal. We send out messages that fit where our clients are in their journey with us. It’s like giving them the right information just when they need it.

We also have a chatbot on our website, and it’s not just any chatbot. It’s powered by the GPT 3.5 model, which means it’s pretty smart. We’ve trained it on our data, so visitors can ask questions about what we do, learn more about our services, or even set up a call with our team.

For us, it’s all about making sure our clients feel like we’re talking directly to them, understanding their needs, and being there to help.

ABM has also gained traction for its personalized approach to targeting high-value accounts. What advice would you give to fellow B2B marketers looking to adopt this strategy?

ABM is indeed a powerful strategy that’s been gaining traction, especially for its personalized approach to high-value accounts. While our agency is in the early stages of fully adopting ABM, we’ve explored certain aspects of it and are keen on integrating it more comprehensively once we’ve solidified our SMM strategies.

To fully adopt the ABM strategy, we intend to start small by focusing on a few high-value accounts, conduct thorough research to understand their specific needs, challenges, and decision-making processes, ensure close collaboration between our sales and marketing teams, create tailored content that addresses the unique pain points of each target account, and continuously measure and iterate our approach based on the results.

While we’re on the path to fully embracing ABM, I believe that a thoughtful, phased approach, combined with a commitment to understanding each target account deeply, is the key to success.

Fantastic. Here is the primary question of our interview. What are 5 Tips for Your B2B Marketing Strategy to Help You Beat Competitors?

1 . Cash your cows, but invest in your stars also

Every business has products that sell well, known as ‘cash cows’ in the BCG matrix. It is crucial to continue generating revenue from these products. However, it is inevitable that these products will eventually lose their popularity. It would be unfortunate if there are no replacements ready.

Therefore, it is essential to always be on the lookout for new opportunities. It is not necessary to chase every new trend, but it is important to be aware of them and evaluate which ones are worth pursuing.

For example, generative AI is currently a popular trend, and as web developers, it is a valuable trend for us to not only observe but also participate in. We quickly embraced this trend by initiating internal R&D projects to gain new skills and test its potential. One of these projects involved creating an AI-powered chatbot for our website, which I mentioned earlier. We soon noticed a significant interest in generative AI from our target audience. Our familiarity with generative AI and our ability to showcase our previous internal projects became excellent conversation starters with potential clients. This has helped us to land new projects and add another service in our portfolio.

2 . Embrace AI

Yes, I am mentioning AI again. In this case, I am talking about using it to enhance your work. AI can provide you with a significant advantage in various areas if you are able to leverage it before your competitors. It can greatly enhance your productivity, allowing you to double, triple, and even quadruple your output. Additionally, it enables you to gain valuable insights and easily adapt to new content formats at minimal expense.

Therefore, it is crucial that you act swiftly and fully capitalize on AI for your work.

As I’ve mentioned before generative AI tools help us produce more content without any sacrifice of quality. Thanks to the new technology we are currently adopting new content formats, such as AI-generated pictures and videos. We are also uncovering advanced data analysis capabilities to gain new insights and improve our SEO.

3 . Master E-E-A-T

In today’s competitive digital landscape, it is increasingly challenging to stand out. This is where E-E-A-T comes into play. E-E-A-T stands for Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness, and it is the framework that Google uses to assess content quality. For B2B marketers, understanding and prioritizing E-E-A-T can be a game-changer. By emphasizing E-E-A-T, you can establish trust with potential clients, guide them in their purchasing decisions, and enhance the visibility of your website on search engines. Additionally, it is an effective strategy for building long-term relationships and positioning your business as an industry leader. Therefore, if you want to excel in SEO, make E-E-A-T a priority.

To effectively implement E-E-A-T, it is crucial to ensure that content is authored by knowledgeable experts. These experts should possess experience in the respective field, as the first ‘E’ in E-E-A-T represents experience, and the second ‘E’ signifies expertise, which includes theoretical knowledge and the ability to apply it. It is important to provide evidence for both aspects, such as relevant degrees, certifications, and case studies.

To achieve this, we collaborate with experts as co-authors for all our articles, explicitly referencing relevant projects to showcase our experience in the topics we cover. Furthermore, we regularly update our content to ensure its currency and relevance. Additionally, we establish credibility by earning backlinks from reputable sources and featuring customer testimonials or case studies on our website. Transparency is key, as we always provide clear sourcing and avoid misleading information.

With E-E-A-T, it is important to remember that merely claiming to be an expert is not enough; it is crucial to consistently prove it through valuable and trustworthy content.

4 . Diversify your marketing channels

There are two extreme approaches to marketing strategy: either being laser-focused, even fixated, on one or a few channels and audiences, or spreading thin across all possible channels and audiences. Both extremes are detrimental. In the first case, you miss out on growth opportunities and face the risks of relying solely on one or two marketing channels. If something happens to those channels, you won’t have any alternatives. In the second case, by trying everything at once, you risk depleting your resources without seeing any returns due to a lack of focus.

However, I must admit that I have been more guilty of the first approach. That’s why I plan to commit to LinkedIn marketing in the near future. I also recommend finding marketing channels that complement each other well, as this will help amplify your efforts. In our case, actively engaging with social media will benefit our SEO, and we’ll be able to repurpose our website content for social media with minimal investment.

5 . Befriend sales

Throughout my career in B2B marketing, I have been asked to and have also volunteered to help solve sales challenges. This may sound unconventional, but it is one of the downsides or upsides, depending on how you look at it, of working for a small agency. In times of crisis, if you believe you can help, you help.

I have greatly benefited from this participation as a marketer. Thanks to this, I have worked closely with people who are in direct contact with clients. I have also been in direct contact with clients myself, participating in the sales process. This has significantly improved my understanding of:

• the target audience and their needs, wants, and concerns
• the sales process and how marketing can assist at each stage

So, even if you cannot directly sell, I highly recommend at least spending time with the sales team. You can do this formally by attending their meetings, or informally by joining them for coffee breaks, lunches, or other activities.

It is important to be proactive in aligning marketing and sales. This prevents poor understanding and avoids blaming each other for poor results. Instead of waiting for the sales team to approach you with requests that you may not fully understand, reach out to them and gain as much context about their work as possible. At the same time, you can also help them understand what you do and how they can support you.

How do you utilize data or AI to refine your B2B marketing approach, and what tools have been particularly impactful in gaining a competitive advantage?

We have experimented with various AI tools for marketing, but our primary tools of choice at the moment are Notion AI and ChatGPT Plus.

ChatGPT Plus is invaluable for topic research and competitor analysis. Recently, we have also started leveraging advanced data analysis (Beta) for SEO by providing datasets from ahrefs to obtain insights and recommendations.

Notion AI is our go-to tool for writing, editing, and proofreading content. It was a natural fit for us as we were already using Notion to organize all our marketing efforts, including the content calendar. Now, we create all our content in Notion, taking advantage of its AI features.

Which digital channels have you found most effective in reaching your target audience, and how do you optimize your presence across these channels to outshine competitors?

Our main marketing channel is our website coupled with SEO. We have found that optimizing our website for search engines and creating relevant, lead-generating content has been highly effective in reaching our target audience. To outshine competitors, we focus on several key strategies:

1. Choosing relevant lead-generating topics: When selecting appropriate topics, we conduct market research and collaborate with our sales team and project managers. Then we conduct comprehensive keyword research to identify topics that are in high demand and resonate with our target audience’s interests and challenges.
2. Writing insightful, in-depth, well-researched articles: We prioritize quality over quantity and invest time and effort into creating valuable content that provides actionable insights and solutions to our audience’s challenges.
3. Co-authoring with experts: We collaborate with our experts (software developers and project managers) to co-author articles, ensuring that our content is backed by credible sources and authoritative voices. This not only enhances the quality of our content but also helps establish our authority in the industry.
4. Building links from authoritative websites: We actively pursue opportunities to build backlinks from reputable and relevant websites. This not only improves our website’s SEO performance but also boosts our credibility and visibility in the eyes of both search engines and potential clients.
5. Monitoring our KPIs and analyzing the competition: We regularly track and analyze key performance indicators (KPIs) starting from the macro-metrics such as SQL/MQL leads and contracts, to the micro ones such as organic traffic, CTRs, and keyword rankings among others. This allows us to identify areas for improvement and stay ahead of the competition by adapting our strategies accordingly.

In addition to our website and SEO efforts, we also optimize our presence on other digital channels. We actively promote our agency on prominent company review websites in our industry, such as Clutch and GoodFirms. By maintaining a strong presence on these platforms and showcasing positive client reviews and ratings, we enhance our reputation and credibility among potential clients.

Are there any underrated skills or qualities that you encourage others not to overlook?

There are several underrated skills and qualities that I encourage others not to overlook in their careers:

1. Curiosity and Desire to Learn: In today’s fast-paced world, it’s crucial for marketers to continuously learn and adapt to stay relevant. Keeping up with changing markets, consumer behavior, and evolving marketing practices is essential for success. Subscribing to industry podcasts, newsletters, reading books, and taking courses are great ways to stay informed. However, it’s equally important to apply this knowledge in practical ways to make it truly valuable.
2. Entrepreneurial Mindset: Having an entrepreneurial mindset means understanding how your role and professional goals align with the overall objectives of the company. It involves seeing the bigger picture and being resourceful in finding solutions. Taking ownership of your work and understanding how it contributes to the bottom line is crucial, especially in smaller companies where individual contributions are more visible.
3. Problem-Solving and Adaptability: Instead of relying on a set manual or waiting for instructions, it’s important to take ownership of work challenges and find ways to overcome them. This involves being proactive, seeking help when needed, acquiring new skills, and requesting additional resources. Taking responsibility for achieving goals and being persistent in finding solutions is key, especially in a rapidly evolving industry where adaptability is crucial.

By cultivating these underrated skills and qualities, individuals can position themselves for success in their marketing careers.

You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good for the greatest number of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger.

If I could inspire a movement to bring the most amount of good for the greatest number of people, it would focus on empowering and uplifting women in third-world countries, specifically in Ukraine. The goal would be to challenge societal stereotypes and limitations, and provide equal opportunities for women to pursue their passions and careers.

To achieve this, we need to showcase successful women in a wide range of careers as role models for women and girls. Their relatable stories will inspire and expand minds to new possibilities. Additionally, we need to educate society about the benefits of true equality for everyone. This will have a positive impact on families, communities, and the overall development of their countries. Given Ukraine’s need for rebuilding after the war, this is particularly important.

We are very blessed that some very prominent names in Business, VC funding, Sports, and Entertainment read this column. Is there a person in the world or in the US with whom you would love to have a private breakfast or lunch, and why? He or she might just see this if we tag them.

I would love to have breakfast with Tim Ferris. I have been following him for many years, and his work has had a tremendous impact on my life and work. He has taught me the entrepreneurial mindset, thinking outside of the box, being resourceful, and much more. Thanks to him, I have learned the importance of challenging the status quo, as that is what he does in all areas of life.

Thank you for these fantastic insights. We greatly appreciate the time you spent on this.