Technology Marketing by Tatum MarketingJust another WordPress weblog

Today I’d like to continue a discussion I started in my last blog post: “Marketing to the Human Psyche.”

To recap, neural scientists have discovered a link between social needs and survival, a link which could trigger prospects to react to our marketing efforts as if we were a rabid dog.

I know what you’re thinking: “The software we sell isn’t going to harm anyone’s social status. If anything, it will elevate their status when higher-ups in their organization see how much money, time, and/or resources our software saves them.”

That might be true, but before prospects buy your software, they need to buy your story, and logic won’t work if they perceive you as a threat.

There are some techniques –- i.e. qualities –- that a recent strategy+business article suggests can be used to keep the threat response in check. One such quality is certainty. As human beings we crave it, and when we don’t get it, the uncertainty registers as a gap in our brain, causing us to pause until the conflict is resolved.

As marketers, we need to understand that any conflict we create in the prospect’s mind will either slow down the sales process, or stop it altogether. To keep the momentum up, create the perception of certainty. Here are six tactics that will make prospects feel more certain about you and your product.

Certainty-Building Tactic #1: Case Studies

We always knew that case studies can sell, but maybe now we understand a little better why they work: Prospects that relate to the people in our stories gain a sense of familiarity about our product.

Since no two people are identical, however, we need to have a portfolio of case studies that address the industries, geographical regions, organizations, and types of people we serve.

IT folks working in a Windows shop will relate to stories about other Windows-centric IT folks working in similar-sized organizations, government workers will relate to case studies that highlight other government workers, and so forth.

Certainty-Building Tactic #2: Analogies and comparisons

If you’re selling a bleeding-edge product, try to create a sense of familiarity by comparing yourself to a product or concept that was once unfamiliar, too.

Remember when we feared online banking? Nowadays, we don’t give it a second thought. If you can relate your product to something else that once conjured up similar feelings of uneasiness, you’ll help prospects “see” that your product isn’t as far-fetched as one might think.

Certainty-Building Tactic #3: Slower, more manageable steps

Nobody wants to have their name associated with a failed project, especially these days when budgets and job security weigh heavily on our minds. Marketers that sell large-scale, enterprise solutions can create a sense of certainty by helping prospects visualize a path to success.

Here again, case studies work because you can tell stories about how other clients achieved success by breaking down a large project into manageable chunks that fed off incremental successes.

Another way to accomplish this is to develop product offerings that let people buy only what they need right now, while at the same time showing them how your product will grow with them. In effect, people don’t want to buy a super-sized meal when all they need is a mid-afternoon snack.

Certainty-Building Tactic #4: Your own skin

Put some of your own skin in the game by finding ways to show prospects that you believe in your own product.

Money-back guarantees, technical support, and training are just a few good faith efforts that will make them feel more certain about their decision to go with you and your product.

Certainty-Building Tactic #5: Communities

While case studies are great, you can’t ask questions, and there’s always the suspicion that the story glosses over less-desirable bits.

Marketers can eliminate doubts by building into their website a means by which readers can send an e-mail or chat with the people in your stories.

Of course, this requires a bigger investment on your case study participants’ part, so if that seems unreasonable, set up an online community where prospects can freely discuss you and your product with existing customers.

Certainty-Building Tactic #6: An online sandbox

Remember how you felt when you installed Microsoft Office 2007? Despite the fact that I had been using Word for 20 odd years(!?), Word 2007, I found, was extremely unfamiliar and frustrating.

Let’s not follow Microsoft’s lead. Many software companies already offer free trials, but even then, people have to take the time to install the software; a task which can quickly become a roadblock to the sale.

If your software supports it, why not create a sandbox online where people can play with your product? The sandbox environment can be an extremely powerful tactic because 1) it makes it incredibly easy for prospects to demo your product to other people in their organization, and 2) it gives you unique insight into how customers actually use your product.

Stay tuned for my next blog post on November 17th, where I’ll cover the second psychological quality that will keep the rabid dog response at bay.

Sue Anderson-Lenz
Marketing Lure, Inc.

I admit it, I wasn’t a big fan of social media marketing, that is, until yesterday.

Yesterday is the day I realized how much I can positively influence my 14-year-old, boy-crazy niece who lives 500 miles away from me, and yesterday is when I realized how much my 14-year-old niece is like everybody else us marketers set our sights on when we jumped on the social media bandwagon.

You see, both 14-year-old girls and potential customers want to be in control. My niece doesn’t like being bossed around by big sis or Mom. Likewise, customers don’t like being told what to do. Both want to make up their own minds — on their own time — even when it comes to subjects that are new or unfamiliar to them.

Lectures and any attempts to control will build walls that grow higher with time. Keep nagging, and they’ll eventually push back, ignore you altogether, or start lying just to get you off their back.

So what does all this have to do with social media marketing?

Facebook, Twitter, and other social networking sites create an opportunity where you can open up honest lines of communication between you and the public.

Sure, teenage girls might yell “I hate you!” when they’re being rebellious, and customers might post negative things about you when they’re frustrated with your company. In the long run, however, none of this matters. What matters is how you respond to their frustrations.

Horizon Group Management’s recent lawsuit response to a negative tweet is an example where the reaction could end up doing more harm than good. Absolutely I agree Bonnen should have shown some restraint when it came to her twittering about alleged mold in her apartment, but even if Horizon wins their lawsuit, what have they gained?

There’s now more than 9500 references on the Internet for “horizon mold tweet” yet Horizon continues to stand behind their decision to sue. My niece, on the other hand, is beginning to open up to me through Facebook.

Teenagers need parental authority, but we can’t just tell customers to “go to their room” whenever they have an issue with us. Maybe, just maybe, Horizon could have avoided the whole PR nightmare with a social-friendly response.

Sue Anderson
Marketing Lure, Inc.  

If time is money and cash is king, then where does that leave Twitter?

The media tells us social media sites are where we need to be, but does all the time and effort you spend translate into new business or higher customer retention?

If you’re a high-tech firm that has derived tangible business benefits from your Twitter investment, I want to hear from you!

Share with me how you’ve worked Twitter into your marketing plan *plus* the specific, measurable results you’ve achieved since its introduction… and in return your company could earn a prominent spot in an upcoming Twitter story I’m writing.

But please, no pie-in-the-sky…. Don’t tell me how Twitter helps you create “brand awareness,” or how you’ve built up a following of thousands. None of that matters if you can’t tell me how you’ve turned that into money for your firm. I need real data, practical examples, and concrete tips to make this story truly valuable and entirely different from all the other puff pieces out there.

Help out your fellow cynics. Summarize your real-life Twitter experience in a short e-mail sent to sue-at-marketinglure.com, and don’t forget to tell me how I can reach you for a follow-up interview.

Thanks in advance for your help and insight!

Sue Anderson
Marketing Lure, Inc.

P.S. Deadline for submissions is March 31st.

Changes are in the wind – among them, changes in how we communicate.

I’ve discovered that Twitter is a good avenue for finding out about things that I might want to look into more closely. The folks I follow on Twitter keep me up-to-date with the latest trends, ideas, and topics. I get to pick and choose what I want to learn more about.

It occurred to me that this is a great way to keep you up-to-date on what’s happening in marketing. I post links to articles, websites, blogs, webinars and anything else I think you might find valuable; and you decide which ones you want to check out.

You’ll also learn a little more about me and – if you’re new to Twitter – something about “social media” in the process.

So, follow me on Twitter.

If you’re not on Twitter yet, here’s what to do:

1. Go to www.twitter.com.
2. Sign up for an account. (It’s free).
3. Set up your profile.
4. Now go to my twitter page and click on Follow.

See you there!

For technology marketers, there is some interesting and useful information in the Social Media Research Study, 2008 conducted by InformationWeek.  The term “social media” includes social networks, professional online networks, and user groups & forums.

Here are some highlights I discovered during a B2B magazine presentation called “The Hottest New Media Apps for Engaging B2B Buyers”.

• While IT buyers utilize a variety of social media for professional networking, the most widely used are communities within technology news and information web sites. This is where nearly three quarters (73%) of IT buyers go to engage with other professionals.
• Two thirds (67%) of those who connect through these online communities do so on a weekly basis.
• More than half (59%) of IT buyers take advantage of communities found at sites like Yahoo or Google for business-related issues. These folks seem to connect daily.
• About one quarter (close to half of 49%) have a LinkedIn account they use for business purposes.
• Far fewer have a FaceBook or MySpace account – and those are used for personal networking.
• 46% participate in user groups and forums.

So what does this mean if you sell to IT buyers?

Keep in mind that these numbers are trending upwards. More and more IT buyers are using various social media for business networking. While you may not have to worry about FaceBook, MySpace or even LinkedIn (for the time being); you’ll want to keep an eye on technology news and information websites, and check out those communities on Yahoo and Google.

A word of caution to those who are new to social media: this is not just another marketing channel. Blatant sales and marketing pushes are not welcome. Your best strategy is to a) identify the places your prospects are hanging out and then b) observe for a while.

Technorati Tags: social media, web 2.0, prospects, technology marketing, B2B marketing

Until recently the concept of Twitter and its relevance to business-to-business marketing completely escaped me, but then I tried it. What a cool way to communicate!

Now I’m in a contest with myself to see how many good people I can get to follow me. By virtue of the fact that you are reading this post, you are a good person.

Please follow me on Twitter under the name susan_p_tatum.

See you there!

Technorati Tags: twitter, social networking, communication