Posted by Robert Celaschi on Thu, Aug 13, 2009
By Robert Celaschi
I won't buy your product or service if you don't tell me what it is.
Fun and games!
Here’s a fun game:
Guess what each company is selling, using these lines from their press releases.
“…an expert in the image solution arena.”
“This is a result of an improved customer focus and strong actions to improve our solution competitiveness.”
“… delivers business-aligned solutions
“… a provider of mobility solutions”
And my favorite of the moment:
“… a trusted solutions provider to customers in manufacturing, health care, financial services, public safety, transportation & logistics, and other industries.”
Believe it or not, these companies sell specific things: elevators, servers, computer consulting services, camera phones, iPhone applications.
Drifting off message
I know how we got here. Back in the mists of the 20th century, some truly brilliant marketing folks got the idea that their company did more than push a product out the door; the product actually solved a problem for their customers.
“Mr. Customer, we aren’t just selling you a widget polisher, we are providing a solution to your scuffed-widget problem.”
But somewhere along the way, companies got so fixated on “solution” that they forgot to say what they are selling.
Think about the marketing material you are writing right now. When it falls into my hands, it may be the first time I have run across your company, and I’d really like to know what business you are in. But I don’t have time to play detective. Tell me the specific product or service, preferably near the start.
If you want to call it a “solution” later on, that’s fine.
Reality check
Here’s your homework assignment: Pick up some of your marketing materials and look at them through the eyes of someone who never heard of your company. Is it clear from the start what you are offering? Or are you merely providing vague “solutions” for an undefined problem?
Get help
We design and copywrite marketing materials that encourage prospects to take the next step.
Posted by Rebekah Donaldson on Mon, Feb 09, 2009
Today Cris Rominger and I published a free B2B marketing e-book (550KB PDF) called The New Rules of Outsourcing B2B Marketing: What Marketing Directors need in a B2B marketing consultant today.
In it we discuss how the shift to inbound marketing affects Marketing Directors; the 5 essential traits your B2B marketer needs and why each is important; 10 questions to ask a prospective B2B marketing consultant; how to cut ROI guesswork; what B2B buyers are looking for; and why B2B marketing differs from B2C.
We’re hoping to hear feedback. Please weigh in. (Tip: to comment, scroll down to the bottom of an article.)
We started this e-book in the summer of 2008, and finished it… well… every time I open it I start tinkering. My file name for it is currently ”Outsourcing ebook FINAL v7″. But give birth we must.
My hope is that this blog post could work as a discussion area for the e-book. To try to get things rolling, here are some questions for you readers:
Premise: Changed marketing landscape
1. We argue that the marketing landscape has changed. Did we get it right? Leave anything out?
Premise: Specialization not enough
2. We argue that because of a changed marketing landscape, it takes special skills to see and seize opportunities. Did we get that right? Leave anything out?
To engage decision makers today, our view is that B2B companies need to:
- Prove their value through a strong business case
- Build sites and other communications vehicles in a way that fosters trust
- Pull in prospects
… and that doing it requires specialists in both new and traditional marketing disciplines. Still, it’s your B2B marketing partner’s job to see all the options and how they can work together.
Premise: higher bar for B2B marketing consultants
The e-book is really about what it takes to help Marketing Directors reach and engage today’s savvy B2B buyers without breaking the bank. We’re trying to articulate a standard to which Marketing Directors should hold us and other B2B marketing agencies.
Are there parts of the e-book you particularly agree or disagree with? We’re hoping to hear feedback. Please weigh in.
Posted by Rebekah Donaldson on Wed, Oct 29, 2008
There were dynamite questions to Laura Ramos and me on today's Forrester teleconference about B2B Marketing Obsolete, Really? (Part III). Let's continue the conversation!
Impact of social media on B2B marketing
[11/24 update: The archived teleconference ($250) is up.]
Laura has blogged and tweeted on the topic Will B2B Marketing Become Obsolete? In this presentation, some of the key questions she addressed were: What is the state of B2B marketing, and what factors increase the risk that marketing will become obsolete in B2B, high technology, and services firms? What is B2B marketing's biggest challenge in light of these changes? What are the five best practices for improving B2B marketing's standing inside the organization?
Top b2b social media platforms
During the presentation I mentioned a marketer's question late last year about whether social media platforms like Facebook, LinkedIn, etc, are used mostly by a younger set. It's a reasonable question - isn't a 48 year old corporate decision maker going to be a later adopter of these tools than, say, an 18 year old?
Overall, probably - but check out this Quantcast info showing that it's far more likely that a LinkedIn user is age 35-49 than 34 or younger.
On top of that, look at the thumbnail showing LinkedIn user growth charted over the last 18 months - there's been several hundred percent growth.
What IS b2b marketing?
Before the call I too tapped colleagues - asking for input on this topic via this blog, tweeting, and posting a query on LinkedIn.
On LinkedIn, I asked
"What IS b2b marketing today? how will it change or stay the same in the next few years?"
The question elicited more and stronger reactions from colleagues than I'd expected. Several said emphatically that *of course* businesses will always need to tell their story, ergo marketing will always be essential as the storyteller.
B2B Marketing Teleconference Q&A
Questions that I noted from attendees this morning included (I'm roughly paraphrasing based on my understanding of what I heard - and also giving these not in the order received):
Q1: Won't B2B buyers "see through" businesses' use of social media... and possibly resent that the platform is being used to subtly pitch them (albeit in a new way)?
A: I think this is an incredibly insightful question! The short version of my own stab at an answer was that there are good practices and bad practices when it comes to businesses engaging with buyers through social media. Per excellent advice about business blogging from Tom Pick, David Meerman Scott, Laura Ramos, and others, good practices seem to include:
- Transparency
- Letting your personality show
- Being authentic
- Being humble
- Writing without company approvals/editing
- Being consistent about contibuting
If you’re thinking about getting started, I think it’s a good bet to
- Cite data or personal experience as a starting point for framing an issue
- Ask for help from readers in answering tough questions
- Acknowledge other bloggers thinking about similar issues
- Offer your frank opinion
On the flip side, it’s a bad bet (and, in some cases, just ethically wrong) to be
- Self-centered, as in never or seldom acknowledging others who are contributing to the marketplace of ideas
- Excessively proud, as in using a ‘do this, do that’ tone as if you’re the consummate guru
- Lazy, as in dropping the ball once your audience gives you their attention
- Salesy, as in pitching your products or services
- A robber, as in using others’ ideas without giving credit (ala the recent 3M fiasco)
Q2: With social media in the mix, how should b2b marketers measure ROI now?
A: It seems to me that frequently and closely examining correlations between CRM data and marketing efforts is important. And I suggested not settling for a “sorry, no impact/correlation” report from Sales unless you (the marketer) have talked with customers themselves.
- I cited an example where a marketer I worked with had to record in the CRM of marketing’s role in some major deals — this was overcome by asking customers directly for their perspective.
- In another case, cross-tabbing CRM data with which customers had participated in case studies helped to uncover a possible connection between case study participation and higher customer lifetime value.
Q3: What about PR efforts to reach traditional media at trade shows – worthwhile or not worthwhile?
A: I fielded this one, responding that I’d suggest having both traditional and non-traditional media contacts on your radar. Coverage in traditional media outlets is still useful and important because not all B2B buyers follow industry blogs or discussion forums and, even with those that do, there is still credibility imparted through coverage in some pubs.
Last but not least, traditional media contacts want a 2.0 style two-way dialogue with PR people, too. There is more on this idea in the bottom section of my interview with Ron Trujillo, editor of the Sacramento Business Journal.
There was also a question about research and examples showing how to make social media work for business. For that, Laura’s recent report Making Social Media Work In B2B Marketing is a recommended resource.
B2B marketing’s future — your thoughts?
What do you think the answers are to the above questions? Did we get it right? Did we leave anything out?
Posted by Rebekah Donaldson on Sat, Oct 11, 2008
Do you think there are any feature-talk lovers?
B2B marketers agree that if you pound your audience with "we-we" messaging - meaning talk about your products and services and what they do and how they're different - they'll be turned off.
Writing B2B tech marketing content - are we due for a shift?
I espouse this very message with clients - or, I should say, most clients. The paradigm shift that so many companies need to make is articulated by David Meerman Scott in his video "Nobody Cares About Your Products and Services."
Still, when I watch this video I think about how business decision makers and most consumers are Solution-Talk Lovers, while technical decision makers are generally Solution-Talk Haters.
Here's my case: I've been business to business technology marketing since about 1997. And I've found that there is a strong correlation between geekiness and love of feature talk. But geekiness is not limited to just high tech geeks (who, like Devo and Napolean Dynamite, are totally hot...).
For example, think of the Car Geek who reads articles about the design of a new type of overhead cam. The Camping Gear Geek who reads all the Consumer Reports rankings on sleeping bags then goes to the store and reads all the pull sheets on sleeping bags at REI. There is the Coffee Geek who hand roasts coffee - but only coffee grown in the shade of native trees and without supplemental watering. Diaper Geeks who review the latest diaper tape innovations in parent forums.
Writing for B2B tech marketing: if the shoe fits...
And there are guys, like my husband, who want every feature of their full size operating built-from-the-ground-up R2D2 to exactly match the movie version. Getting features right is intrisincally valuable, in their view... not just pragmatic. The features themselves are art.
The only Feature-Talk Lovers who have rattled me, though, are the mid-level IT guys. They are Solution-Talk Haters and proud of it. They'd rather chew their own leg off than listen to a bunch of girly marketing fluff about how I understand their problems and have a solution etc etc. They want to get down to brass tacks and hear what the damn features are without the patronizing spoon-feeding of conclusions, thank you very much.
Writing B2B content: toward a solution
How can we reconcile the existence of Solution-Talk Haters with the marketing worldview that says ‘features talk bad, solution talk good'?
Do we have to do this?
No One Cares About Your Products and Services*
*Unless your best customers really do
Posted by Rebekah Donaldson on Sun, Oct 05, 2008
Cris Rominger and I will lead the Sacramento Area Regional Technology Alliance (SARTA) Leadership Series seminar titled “How to Succeed at Web Marketing in 2009″ on Wednesday, October 15, 2008.
About this web marketing seminar
Succeeding at web marketing is important for virtually all businesses – but none more so than early stage and small firms. Web marketing can bring outsized returns for a relatively modest investment. Plus, you can see what exactly works with your audience, unlike in offline mediums.
In a recent survey of 1,000 business decision makers by marketing research firm Enquiro, 92 percent of respondents said they turn to online resources in the early stages of the buying cycle. And 77 percent named Google as their first choice among all search engines.
In this session we’ll show you charts and examples of what works and what doesn’t in web marketing today and 9 ways to make your business website work harder for you. You may be able to do all the steps yourself.
Attendees get a briefing and question-and-answer session plus a checklist, charts, samples of effective websites, and case studies.
Posted by Rebekah Donaldson on Fri, Sep 26, 2008
Some marketers I know sense, on a gut level, that the marketplace has experienced a significant shift in power. No longer are just vendors hunting prospects. Prospects, now, are experienced marksmen too.
What is your role now?
So… what now? What does this mean for B2B marketers? Should we change professions? Retool our company’s marketing?
Wait and see?
Fresh insights on Oct 29th
Laura Ramos, VP and Principal Analyst at Forrester Research Inc., has invited me to talk with her on the Forrester teleconference “Why B2B Marketing Risks Becoming Obsolete” on Wed, October 29th, 8-9 am PT.
Among other questions, she will address:
- What factors increase the risk that marketing will become obsolete in B2B, high technology, and services firms?
- What is B2B marketing’s biggest challenge in light of these changes?
Worth 1,000 words
Having been to many a marketing seminar since 1995, I was impressed when I got the material for this Forrester teleconference. The insights are fresh – and my expectations were high. I’ve started referring to one of the charts in client meetings. And Laura’s graphic illustrating B2B marketing 2.0 is worth 1,000 words.
To learn more and register
http://www.forrester.com/rb/teleconference/why_b2b_marketing_risks_becoming_obsolete/q/id/5224/t/1
Posted by Rebekah Donaldson on Thu, Aug 28, 2008
This morning was the “Future of Green Business in Sacramento” forum hosted by the Sacramento Business Journal. The event, moderated by Ron Trujillo, was sold out in advance. And a Monday article at Greentech Media, “Can Sacramento Become a Greentech Hub?“, cited four reasons to think Sacramento will be a green technology hub. Namely:
“1. A university bent on commercializing its technology….
“2. A big technology executive alumni club….
“3. Cozy government relations….
“4. Property values….
These insights jive with what I see in the board rooms of organizations working to position our region for growth. There, key business and technology leaders are working as passionate volunteers to kick Sacramento up a notch.
Here are just two examples:
The Marketing Committee of the Sacramento Area Regional Technology Alliance is now headed by Scott Lenet. Among other projects, SARTA is accelerating the development of clean energy technology ventures here. Scott’s agreeing to oversee SARTA marketing is no small committment. And it brings remarkable value to members and affiliates of SARTA.
The campaign for a Powerhouse Science Center is co-chaired by Michele Wong – one of the 100 most influential people in Sacramento. Powerhouse will celebrate the breakthroughs coming out of our region in green energy, high tech, food science, biotech, and other areas. It’s success will contribute to better regional test scores, job growth, and innovation. (Get Powerhouse email updates.)
The fifth element: passion
So there’s a fifth thing we’ve got going for us. It’s not quite captured by “technology executive alumni club” — though that’s close. It’s a something that is harder to quantify but perhaps even more important:
5. Passionate, influential volunteers determined to kick Sacramento up a notch…
Posted by Rebekah Donaldson on Thu, May 15, 2008
I spoke last month with a reporter writing about the health and direction of the Sacramento region tech industry. There’s doom and gloom in much of the news, but all the software companies I work with are positioning for growth. Where is the disconnect happening?
I may have a skewed sample. Clients I work with are working their tails off to attract the best clients with the least amount of effort and expense. And that’s the sort of company that calls in a Sacramento marketing consultant.
Other positives: at least three of our South Placer area tech clients are hiring not firing. Several will roll out additional products and services in summer and fall ‘08.
Every time there’s negative buzz about the economy, Sacramento technology firms choose a path with respect to lead generation — actively or by default. Cut back? Accelerate? Wait and see?
It seems to me that the most successful players are not reactionary — they find ways to get closer to and more trusted by their clients and target audiences, proverbial rain or shine.
Zooming out to look at our whole region, the SARTA Technology Index rose by 2.79 percent to a new high over the second quarter of 2007. In fact, it slightly outperformed major public indices. (Credit: http://www.sarta.org/go/sarta/tech-index/)
That said, the Sac Region is in a poor competitive position world wide. Job creation follows engineering and math. US engineering graduates 122,000, Asian Countries 636,000 and 370,000 in European countries.
Why is that? Education is really the engine for our region’s growth. And Sacramento is in the lowest 25% of high school science and math proficiency in a state that is almost last at 49th.
70% of all jobs offered in the region do not require a college degree. So some think there is NO true job creation happening here, and that it’s a country-wide problem that’s built over 30 years. Still, the Sac Region is almost last in USA. (Credit: Above stats assembled by Warren Smith of Warren Smith Group.)
Looking at those sorts of numbers, in ‘04 I joined in the activities of AeA, a national technology trade association addressing, among other issues, science and technology education.
Then a year or so ago I joined up with Michele Wong to work on establishing a landmark science center in downtown Sacramento called Powerhouse Science Center. It will be visible from I-5 when passing downtown, and should open by 2011. I’ll post a link in coming months.
The Powerhouse effort is the beginning of a new way to celebrate the breakthroughs coming out of our region in green energy/technology, food science, biotech, and other areas.
We are engaging the corporate community and large employers as partners in the solution. We want success to mean better test scores, job growth, more local tech and science innovation and — best of all — a lifelong love of science and technology among Sacramento region kids and young adults.
Posted by Rebekah Donaldson on Mon, Jan 21, 2008
Sales and marketing don't mix well at many organizations. But they should and they can.
I've added an article, "B2B Sales Tools That Work," to B2B Central about how B2B marketers can help develop sales tools that improve life on the front lines.
Posted by Rebekah Donaldson on Sat, Jan 12, 2008
Are you positioned so that decision makers who need your services, can find you?
When over 4,000 B2B technology buyers/decision makers were asked how they chose a new vendor or technology, 80% said they found the vendor — not the other way around. (Source: MarketingSherpa Business Technology Marketing Benchmark Guide 2007-2008)
What does this mean for your 08-09 B2B technology marketing efforts — does it mean you should scale back marketing efforts because your prospects find you anyway?
See my thoughts on what it means in my B2B Central article called “Ensuring Prospects Find You.”