Posted by Rebekah Donaldson on Thu, Jul 24, 2008
Enquiro’s most recent ”B2B Survey” whitepaper, based on responses from 1,000 B2B buyers, shows just how important it is to get it right when it comes to a company’s online presence.
“… When asked what the top influences were on the purchase decision, respondents across all phases indicated that the website of the vendor, followed by distributor websites and search engines were the most important influencers,” say the report authors (who are, puzzlingly, not named).
B2B Buyer Influences (based on 1,000 B2B buyers surveyed)
This chart from the Enquiro whitepaper shows the top overall influences in all phases of the buying cycle, and among both offline and online sources, on a scale from 1 to 7:
One more notable excerpt:
“… Another significant finding was where this research tends to happen online. General search engines are often the first place people turn to begin their online research session and among the general search engines, Google holds a dominant position, being the first choice of 77.7% of respondents. As researchers begin to research their purchase, they rely heavily on information from the vendor’s own website….
Research into action
If your website does not show up in Google results when prospects type in a common description of your services — or if your website is not helping you get and stay in consideration throughout all phases of a sales cycle – there is room for improvement.
There is a new checklist posted in B2B Central, the Business Communications Group online resource center, that can help.
“B2B website ROI: a 12 point checklist“ suggests 12 ways to check your website’s performance. Access it at www.b2bcommunications.com/b2b-website-roi
Posted by Rebekah Donaldson on Tue, Jul 15, 2008
Webinars are like seminars - a group convenes to learn from an expert - except that you join from your computer. They're generally live, whereas webcasts are recorded content.
Today MarketingSherpa has just released a new chart showing the top 6 reasons webinar attendees say they bail on a webinar.
Chart: What Causes Webinar Attendees to Bail?
(A larger version of this chart available at http://www.marketingsherpa.com/1news/chartofweek-07-15-08-lp.htm)
Take-aways
The top 3 reasons for bailing on a webinar were (paraphrasing):
1. Bait and switch (content was not as advertised)
2. Boring presenter
3. Started with a commercial
You can apply this info to create stonger webinars
* Deliver as promised. As Sherpa says, “…presenters should always get a look at and sign off on the main topics being pitched by marketing. Opt to under-sell and over-deliver…”
* Don’t be boring. “People like presenters who grab their attention….Often, in technology sales, talented scientists and programmers don’t turn out to be dynamic speakers. What you gain in authority at a webinar, you will lose in boredom….”
(As someone who guides clients in planning B2B webinars, a big challenge for me is gauging whether a client will have great communication skills, or be a dry presenter. I’ve seen shy engineers light up the virtual room when given the floor. I’ve also seen senior sales professionals — who usually can be counted on to be superb communicators – use offensive language and mind-numbing cliches during presentations.)
* Be lowkey. Attendees want insights, not commercials.
Is this data for real?
MarketingSherpa serves up extraordinarily fresh insightful data. Still, this sort of chart might need to be taken with a grain of salt. It’s not revealing actual abandon rates from webinars, after all. (Has MarketingSherpa uncovered a company willing to test different content and reveal abandon rates?) It reflects what professionals think makes them abandon. People are pretty bad at recalling events, much less introspecting about their own behaviors.
Worth the work
Done right, webinars can be a cost-effective way to educate and build trust with clients and prospects. You can talk participants through slides you’ve prepared about a top-of-mind topic or communicate through live video to communicate key messages.
Done wrong, webinars bleed participants by the nanosecond. Worse, they can make it harder to build fruitful relationships with new contacts.
By applying the findings summarized here to prepare insightful webinars, you can cost-effectively build the pipeline, client relationships, and – perhaps most importantly in the long run – goodwill.
By recording and posting copies of your webinars, you can build a library of webcasts available at your website — and, with the right content and extra legwork, attract valuable inbound links from bloggers and media outlets who point out your content to their readers.
Your story
Have a webinar horror story? What about webinar follow up — how do you handle it?
Posted by Rebekah Donaldson on Mon, Jul 14, 2008
The last time I had to send in a photo of myself, I automatically asked a coworker to grab the standard formal portrait. You know the kind, the head-and-shoulders photo also known as a mug shot.
When we scrolled through them later, I groaned. It seems like they are, by their nature, too often bland and static. Fine for a passport, but not how I want the outside world to see me and Business Communications Group. Today, with more two-way conversation going on between our company and clients, it's important to show the real person who means business - who has a real personality.
So we tried getting some "environmental" shots - in the office, in the field, talking to staff and checking on projects.
But in the end I settled on a shot taken at the very end of the day at a coffee shop, when I was too tired to get frozen and awkward.
Lesson learned: Even when the occasion demands a plain head-and-shoulders photo, I don't have to look like I'm about to be booked and fingerprinted. Here is what I can suggest:
* Staying loose is the hardest part. To avoid freezing up, try walking in or turning around to face the camera just before the photo is taken.
* To get your mojo working, recite your company's boilerplate 3x with conviction (this helps when you're recording audio or video too)
* Avoid colorful backdrops, props and clutter - less is more. I had a rose colored wall behind on this one, and wish I didn't. A plain white background is great for most online contexts where photos are posted.
Posted by Rebekah Donaldson on Thu, Jul 10, 2008
I received this email from LegalZoom this afternoon and can't get over it the wry humor of the copywriter.
I'm posting without any sermonizing... just make sure you scroll down to the casual mention in the final bullet.
As my colleague Fiona said just now, "hey, I know how hard it is to align your story to a good trend angle."
But here comes a bolt of lightning now - nice knowing you.
Posted by Rebekah Donaldson on Wed, Jul 09, 2008
Has this ever happened to you: you’re tracking your email to see how many people open your message, how many click through to your website, etc. And parts of the report don’t match up?
Say, for instance, someone is listed as taking advantage of a free download from your site and as having received your email offering the download, but isn’t listed among those who clicked through from the original email.
My theory is that it’s not a glitch…it’s probably evidence of human nature at work.
That person may have gone to your company’s home page and followed links there. It’s very common for folks to do that though there is a link in an email or an ad that they’re “supposed” to use.
What’s your theory?
Posted by Rebekah Donaldson on Wed, Jul 09, 2008
As business to business sales cycles get longer, marketing requires cost-effective nurturing. And nothing is more cost-effective for nurturing, than email. You know this. So, taking the bull by the horns, you've gathered up all the contact information from prospects' business cards and other sources. Now, should you send from your desktop or use an email service provider?
Use the ESP. If you haven’t become familiar with them, check out examples such as:
As you ramp up, check your email marketing communications against the free checklist I’ve published, “Top 10 Email Marketing Mistakes.”
Also, for the very latest in best email marketing practices, get a copy of MarketingSherpa’s Email Marketing Benchmark Guide.
What Counts?
ESPs aren’t free, but prices can be less than a penny per email, and you can have access to tools such as templates and the ability to track “click-through” rates.
An ESP also can make sure you stay on good terms with your Internet service provider. After all, the last thing you want is for your carefully crafted email campaign to be misinterpreted as spam.
You have enough to do without managing the nuts and bolts of email deliverability and list updates… especially as the nuts and bolts are easily automated by use of an ESP.
p.s. This post was very nearly titled “Use an ESP, for heaven’s sake.” Fortunately, I remembered Tom Pick’s advice, in The 7 Deadly Sins of Blogging, to avoid Wrath. Tom is my religion.