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B2B Marketing Tips

Last week our friend and colleague, Scott Salkin of IDS Technology Marketing, held a lunch and learn for the members of the Arizona Technology Council.

Scott’s presentation – 6 Myths of B2B Marketing – provided many helpful B2B marketing tips that address the changing role of the B2B marketing function in today’s digital world.

Here’s the presentation:

Key Takeaways and B2B Marketing Tips

Here’s the quick and dirty summary of Scott’s 1-hour workshop:

  • In 2012, 91% of B2B marketers used social media. It’s not going away.
  • Branding directly affects lead generation.
  • Sales enablement is important for B2B buyers, and 57% feel that sales reps are typically not well enough prepared for their initial meeting.
  • Print, direct mail, and telemarketing (yes, telemarketing!) can still be very effective in the B2B world.
  • B2B marketing strategy doesn’t have to be difficult; focus on the nuts and bolts: goal, target audience, offer, fulfillment.

B2B Marketing Doesn’t Have to Be Boring…

And the final takeaway? B2B marketers can be creative.

The days of feature/benefit selling and data sheets and decisions made solely on cost/benefit analysis are waning. B2B buyers make emotional decisions, just like consumers, and feel personal connections with B2B brands.

So go ahead with that crazy campaign idea.

Scott Salkin Presenting B2B Marketing Tips

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

If Scott can work Marshawn Lynch (a.k.a. “Beast Mode,” the RB for the Seattle Seahawks) into his educational presentation, you can get away with your crazy campaign idea.

You’ll stand out … and your market might love you for it.

And if you work for a technology company and are looking for ways to sharpen your strategy, generate leads and enhance your sales enablement, don’t hesitate to reach out to Scott.

We’ve worked with him for years.

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Generating Marketing Campaign Ideas

Marketing Campaign IdeasYour marketing calendar calls for three new campaigns to launch in the next 90 days. Business goals are outlined, but you’re under the gun to come up with something fresh … and effective. You’ve met with your creative team, but your marketing campaign ideas are all tired, or not very good.

If you’re a B2C marketer using an agency or dedicated creative team, give your team some examples of campaigns that you like, and ask them to use those concepts as guidance during their brainstorming.

If you’re B2B and have previously focused on pragmatic, value-driven marketing campaigns, take a look at some consumer campaigns for inspiration. The days of boring feature/benefit messages are over; B2B marketers are now leveraging the same types of creative ideas as consumer-oriented marketers in their campaigns.

A Dating Story … to Sell Software

For an example of how a B2B company used a creative B2C campaign theme, take a look at the case study for Central Desktop’s “The Breakup” campaign, courtesy of MarketingSherpa.

Central Desktop is a B2B software company with a cloud-based collaboration and project management platform. The Breakup campaign highlights a few interesting points:

    • The use of a dating story, delivered cartoon-style, to emphasize visual appeal to its target audience. The microsite is here.
    • A simple, hand-written “breakup-note” direct mailpiece.
    • Humorous, simple yet edgy email follow-up continuing the story.

This example shows that creativity, a long-time staple of B2C marketers, can be effective in B2B. This campaign yielded positive metrics as well as characters and a theme to use in future campaigns, displaying the burgeoning trend of B2C and B2B marketing convergence.

Award-Winning Marketing Campaigns

To get your creative juices flowing, here are more examples of past successful campaigns:

Brainstorming for Campaign Ideas

As you’re reviewing campaign examples, also think about campaigns you’ve run in the past. Which ones worked well? Can you modify the creative to extend their life? Can you use a similar theme?

What about your competitors? What campaigns have they run in the past that you liked?

Also think about other industries, even B2C if you’re B2B and vice versa. Then, list your marketing campaign creative ideas. Here you’re just focusing on the creative aspect.

As you’re considering your campaign concepts, think about making emotional connections with your audience, instead of making promises or filling your campaigns with product/service information or features/benefits.

Try something new … you might be surprised with the results! If you’ve been running the same old tired campaigns for years, your market might appreciate a fresh approach.

Good luck!

If you’d like additional help, we have a guided, interactive marketing campaign planning template in our marketing planning and management app. Feel free to create a free preview account to give it a try.

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Focus on the details of marketing execution to get great results.

Download a plan for it ... in our marketing management app.