Technology Marketing by Tatum MarketingJust another WordPress weblog

It’s been a while since I wrote about trade shows as a market tactic, so you might be interested in reading an article I recently wrote for Sales and Marketing Management magazine. Read more about it here: Escaping the Money Pit.

Put branding and b-to-b marketing together, and you have yourself a challenge. With so many decision-makers involved in the buying process, how can you make a lasting impression with your brand that resonates across the board?

“Stickiness” is the latest catch-word. Considering the average American is exposed to 3,000 commerical messages each day (Seth Godin, Permission Marketing), it takes more than just getting through. Your message must have staying power, particularly in complex, prolonged B2B sales cycles.

Image marketing is one way to make a memorable stamp. In a lot of ways, this is a form of engagement marketing because it requires participation from your buyers in a YouTube kind of way.

Never let the facts get in the way of good marketing strategy. Of course, you need to present the essential nuts and bolts of your offer. But you can do so in a compelling way. Use real-life analogies and stories that appeal on a human-interest level. Storytelling and case studies can be the sincerest forms of salesmanship – and often the most effective.

Providing stories that buyers relate to gets them thinking. The movie projector starts running in their head. They envision themselves in the same situation. Now you’ve reached them on an emotional level and further enhanced your credibility in the mind of the buyer.

And you will have succeeded in adding a bit of “stickiness” to your marketing message.

Ours is a world of instant gratification. For example, just think how impatient we become when a web page takes more than half a second to load.“Why is this taking soooo long??”

But good content marketing takes time – because it’s not done with the quick-hit, in-your-face tactics of interruption marketing. Instead, it’s all about engaging and educating, two of the best strategies for effective marketing these days.

Despite the desire to “have it now,” buyers don’t often make on-the-spot decisions. They want to be well-informed. They want their purchase to be based on solid research and sound reasoning – especially for complex, big-ticket sales in B2B and technology that often involve committees of decision-makers.

In any scenario, providing them with useful information on a consistent basis will move them closer to buying.

It’s a form of nurturing, sure. But it’s also about meeting the informational needs of your target audiences – and doing so consistently. Feed them regularly with relevant content.

And don’t make the mistake of applying a one-size-fits-all approach. Segmentation is highly important, because the key is keeping each audience engaged. If you miss the mark by delivering content they don’t relate to, it increases the likelihood they’ll wander off.

Blogs, articles, Ezines and web sites all offer opportunities to expand your reach and inform. Go beyond just showcasing your company. Draw your prospects into the process with content that compels them to learn more. And keep giving it to ‘em.

A common rut that b-to-b marketers often fall into is the “assumption trap.” They assume since a segmented set of prospects are all very similar on the surface, they likely share identical needs.So they take a one-size-fits-all approach to their marketing, figuring the response will be the same across the board.

But just as two people from the same background and demographic can have vast differences (heck, even siblings, for that matter!), so too, can seemingly identical businesses.

Kevin Akerman of Experian Marketing Information illustrated a great example of this in last month’s DM News. His hypothetical compared two small businesses in the home construction industry. Each had been operating for more than five years, had less than 10 employees and enjoyed a good commercial credit history.

The similarities ended there, however.

It turns out one of the businesses specialized in customized luxury homes for wealthy clientele who could afford mortgages in the $700K range. The other business was focused primarily in constructing low-income housing developments.

Further research of each business owner revealed the luxury home builder to have an annual income of $250K, nearly five times that of his counterpart.

Clearly, marketing to these two business owners in the same way would be counter-productive. It’s easy to see how market segmentation would group them as similar targets, but their contrasts require two very different offers.

In this case — as in most — it’s critical that B2B marketers do their homework and develop a clear picture, prospect by prospect. With a sharper focus on each target, a customized marketing approach can be applied, and chances for a direct hit are increased.

Sweat the small stuff, indeed.

Does this description apply to your prospects?

Introverted. Very technical. Love the internet. Don’t like sales people.

Maybe not entirely, but they likely share some similarities with the electronics engineers who were described that way in a recent profile.

Like them, most of your prospects don’t have much time or tolerance for marketing emails and calls. What they want are facts, not fluff.

The same can be said for most b-to-b and technology prospects. They tend to know what they want, and it’s not marketing mumbo-jumbo. They want answers and solutions to their problems right now, requiring a straight forward marketing message that addresses their needs.

For marketers, that puts a premium on not only being in the right place at the right time, but being there with relevant information. Prospects don’t have to be electronics engineers to qualify, either; it’s a truism across virtually all technology markets.

That doesn’t mean the message has to be all “business,” however. Texas Instruments is a good example of a large company that struck a balance. TI effectively delivered substance and technical data while also communicating brand with human-interest stories on its customer support offerings and its environmental efforts, to name a few.

The marketing model has been a winner on two fronts; first, by providing valuable information their prospects need and expect and then; second, by enhancing people’s perceptions through compelling stories that portray them as a company people enjoy doing business with.

Web analytics show us that most people arrive at a website by clicking on a link somewhere – usually from a search engine – and not by typing in the URL. This is important for a couple of reasons:

1. It means that most visitors enter your site at some point other than your home page.
2. It presents an opportunity to improve conversion rates by paying attention to the “intent of the click” and optimizing the page to give visitors what they want.

It’s the second reason that I’m going to talk about in this article.

One of the best ways to waste a lot of money in marketing is to run a pay-per-click (PPC) ad campaign – or any online ad for that matter – and direct people straight to your home page. This is almost guaranteed to break your visitors’ thought process and either confuse or distract them into NOT doing what you want them to do.

Let me put it another way.

When someone clicks a link on a search engine, they have a very specific reason for doing it. Something in your ad or listing interested them. If the next page they see captures and continues that interest, they will do what you want them to do – whether it’s to download a whitepaper, subscribe to a newsletter or order your product.

On the other hand, if the next page the visitors see doesn’t show them exactly what they’re looking for they’re likely to go away.

Have you ever been looking for a specific product such as a new camera for example (because I recently did this)? You google “Canon PowerShot SD850 IS” and see a bunch of ads that say “Canon PowerShot Lowest Price” or the equivalent. You click on one, it takes you to the retailer’s home page listing every electronic product known to man and you would have to first find cameras and then find Canon and then find the PowerShot SD850.

Forget it. If you have anything like limited attention span of a normal human being, you’re going to hit the back arrow and go to the next site. This time you are taken directly to a Canon PowerShot SD850 IS page with a big BUY NOW button on it. Retailer #1 just paid for a useless click while retailer #2 got a sale.

The same thing happens with software, services and any other business-to-business product. Give them what they’re looking for and they’ll stick with you. Make it hard for them and you lose them.

Fortunately for us marketers it’s exquisitely easy to understand where the buyer is coming from and what he or she expects to see on the next page. You know what your ad says. It doesn’t take decades of marketing experience to figure out what the buyer wants to see next.

This is why it amazes me to that so many companies waste so much money sending potential buyers to irrelevant web pages.

If you’re running an online ad campaign, take a look at where your visitors are being directed. Changes are very good you can make a better connection.

Technorati Tags: web site, home page, landing page, conversion rate

In the past, the standard B2B technology website was simply an extended online version of your marketing collateral. That is no longer enough.

Ours is now an interactive world. Visitors to your website expect not only to find and consume information, they also expect to be able to comment and collaborate with you. And, they expect fresh, updated content.

How do you provide that?

One good way to start is by adding a blog component to your website. By posting regularly to a blog and encouraging comments from readers you’ll not only begin a valuable two-way conversation with your customers and prospects, you’ll also be helping your search engine ranking since search engines love new content.

A few words of caution, however, before you jump into the blogosphere.

1. This is not your usual marketing channel. While I consider blogging to be an essential part of successful B2B marketing, if you approach it as a conventional command-and-control avenue of communication you will get burned.
2. Neither is blogging just another sales channel. It’s okay to weave the occasional sales message into your blog, but too much of that will quickly cost you readership and potential new business.
3. Blogging takes a significant time commitment. While there are reportedly an incredible number of new blogs launched every day (one per second according to the New York Times), just as many – if not more -are abandoned. You or someone on your team (a group of people is fine) must be able to keep up a frequent posting schedule. Once a week at minimum.
4. Bloggers should have decent writing skills. I disagree completely with some blogging experts who say that typos and poorly constructed sentences are part of the allure of blogging. Your writing need not be formal, but misspelled words and wildly wandering thoughts not only fail to communicate your message, they also make you look stupid.
5. Prepare to take the bad with the good. Some people will disagree with you. Some people may have bad things to say about your product or your company. These are opportunities to learn and to fix problems. You must be willing to let these voices be heard.

If the above doesn’t scare you off – and I hope that it doesn’t – here are some good resources for learning more:

• Debbie Weil’s blog: Blogwrite for CEOs.
• Bernie Borges’ blog: Find and Convert
  
• Blogging for Business by Shel Holtz & TedDemopoulos
• Naked Conversations by Robert Scoble & Shel Israel

Technorati Tags: blog, web 2.0

B2B marketers have, for the most part, taken a back seat to their consumer-driven counterparts when it comes to the creative. But the gap appears to be closing.

An increasingly crowded marketplace has dictated the shift. To better reach prospects and cut through the clutter, B2B marketing has evolved with more integrated, provocative campaigns.

Not only has the creativity level spiked, but B2B campaigns are becoming more targeted and personalized than ever.

Why such a noticeable shift? It’s all about catching the eyes of busy executives. To do so most effectively requires multi-touch, interactive campaigns which allow your customers to interact with you on their terms. With so many media options and contact points, there are countless avenues of communication that can be traveled.

An integrated strategy should include:

• A combination of print, e-mail and web components to maximize impact;
• Occasional telemarketing to keep in touch with customers and uncover potential opportunities for additional sales or upgrades;
• Targeting. Quality lists are important to minimize loss and maximize ROI;
• Segmenting and profiling. Rather than “spray and pray” with direct mail offers, narrow the initial contact list and hone in on your best, high-probability prospects;
• Personalization. Make your marketing messages more relevant to the various, specific segments in each target market.

Despite the differences in their respective industries, B2B buyers are every bit as discerning as consumers. But smart creative is an equal-opportunity catalyst. The key is crafting a compelling message that gets attention and, better yet, gets response

Do you develop a specific value proposition for your best prospects? Or do you maintain a broader, one-size-fits-all approach in your lead nurturing?

Many technology companies fall into the latter category. Developing a strong value proposition takes time and hard work – especially for complex products — and time is always at a premium. But it’s a highly effective strategy that strengthens your marketing message dramatically by helping you communicate with prospects in their language and address their problems in a way that resonates.

It starts with understanding the prospects’ value chain. How will your product benefit them? For example, you must go beyond generalizations that your software will enhance workplace productivity. Show how that can be done with very specific examples that are tailored to the prospect and solve current problems that are unique to their workplace.

This is where familiarity and research are crucial. To gain that level of empathy requires days, weeks — even months — of interaction with company staff, decision makers and executives.

But once you’re armed with that knowledge, your sales and marketing efforts are able to work from the same playbook. They’re so much better tuned into what solutions the prospect is seeking, and have a clearer understanding of how to deliver that value.

What’s more is that the prospect is excited that you “get it.” You’re seen as a problem solver with the prospect’s best interests in mind. And that’s what makes the sale. You’re no longer just a sales commodity. You’re part of the solution that they desperately need. To them, that’s invaluable.

Normally, I frequent the health club for a break from work. But while climbing the Stairmaster the other day, all I could think about was technology marketing.

The place was packed with people I’d never seen before. It gets that way every January, when new members flood in, eager to exercise more, get in shape and lose weight.

Sure as the calendar will turn to February, the New Year’s resolutionists will be gone. Rather than commit and make fitness part of their routine, they settle back into their old ways – quite similar, unfortunately, to so many marketing plans.

You’ve likely implemented new strategies as a resolution to grow your business in ‘08. But many of those plans fizzle because technology marketers don’t view marketing as a long-term process. Rather, they often attempt single-tactic campaigns that fall short and deliver negligible ROI.

It’s the marketing version of a yo-yo diet. The thing is, diets don’t work — for marketing or fitness. An initial spike in business is nice, but what you really want are sustainable results. Consistency is key. You don’t cut out sweets for two weeks, drop a few pounds and call your weight loss program a success. It’s about dropping the weight and keeping it off by living a healthier lifestyle.

Likewise, you want a marketing system that combines a variety of tactics to keep your business top of mind with prospects and customers year-round, not just when it’s top of mind.

Go beyond resolutions by making a commitment to put more muscle in your marketing plans for ‘08. And follow through. You’ll be in much better shape.