Category Archives: Business to Business Marketing Strategies

Tips for improving your business to business marketing strategies and campaigns. Learn how to find a market niche, and why having a niche is so important. There are also posts about finding your ideal client (and why you need that too). Trying to market to everyone only leaves you “spraying and praying” without actually hitting anything.

These pages also cover common business to business marketing mistakes (made by companies both large and small). If you’ve made one of these, you’ll learn how you can fix the errors you’ve made (and avoid future gaffes).

Need more clients? Or better clients? Check out the posts on lead generation, how to set and negotiate higher fees, and what red flags to look for when prospecting for new work.

Finally, there are posts on creating your brand and your company’s “story.” What you are selling isn’t necessarily what you think. The way you present your products and services can make a big difference in your results.

Do Limited Offers Work?

Posted on November 1, 2010 by Jodi Kaplan

: Image by The Library of Congress via Flickr

When you’re doing a product launch, it’s common to have the offer for a limited time. It’s a way to increase urgency, and fuel more signups.

It also may have a practical reason (limited number of connections allowed in a mastermind group, attention required for individual students/forum members, etc).

Limited offers are great for something that’s exclusive, such as a limited edition handbag or lithograph. However, there is a right time, and a wrong time to use this tactic.

Someone on LinkedIn was following this formula and found that while it worked well with his newsletter list, it didn’t work so well with a PPC (pay per click Adwords) campaign.

Why did the limited offer fail?

A limited enrollment or signups for a short time works if there’s a good reason to limit it, such as giving forum members individual instruction. Saying you’re making a “special exception” isn’t believable – and it looks a little desperate.

Trust issues

Your newsletter list already knows and trusts you – so they will sign up in higher numbers than people who don’t know you at all. They’ve seen your expertise, read your blog, signed up for your emails, maybe even already bought something from you. They are more likely to trust that whatever you offer will solve their problem.

Since the PPC people don’t know you it makes perfect sense that they are less likely to pay you – instead of going straight for the sale, offer them a free report of some kind and add them to your subscribers – warm them up first. It’s like dating, get to know the girl (or guy) first, don’t just walk up to a stranger and ask them to marry you.

Done correctly, a limited edition or limited offer can work really well. Done poorly, your marketing train will end up in the river.

A Little Marketing Secret from Great Restaurants

Posted on October 28, 2010 by Jodi Kaplan

: Image by jspatchwork via Flickr

Have you ever been to a restaurant that gave you something extra?

Maybe a small plate of appetizers (often called an amuse bouche, loosely meaning fun in your mouth), or a serving of sorbet to clear your taste buds between courses.

It’s fun, it’s unexpected, and it’s (hopefully) delicious.

An amuse bouche for your customers

Try this technique on your own clients. Throw in a little something extra. Something that brings delight in a way that’s unexpected.

A touch of humor. For example, I have a client whose offices had suffered a series of floods. They eventually moved to a new location (far away from any rivers or bodies of water). I sent them a photo of a castle, perched on a high hill, to congratulate them.

You might also try an extra freebie. Send a copy of a book by the client’s favorite author (or a favorite of yours that you think they’d like). Or a card on their birthday (or a no particular reason card or note when it isn’t their birthday).

Try a faster turnaround time than promised.

Or send a box of cookies. Or even an actual amuse bouche.

Is Your Marketing Like a Bomb Blast?

Posted on October 26, 2010 by Jodi Kaplan

Image via Wikipedia

Ever hear someone say they’re going to do an “email blast” or a “phone blitz”?

If you’re talking about your marketing in terms that sound more like you’re in the army than in business, it may be time to rethink what you’re doing. We do tend to think of marketing in terms that sound vaguely militaristic: targeting customers, planning campaigns, deploying ads. But we’re trying to win hearts and minds, not blow them up.

Nobody wants to be on the receiving end of a “blast.” Ouch!

Do some research

When the phone rang yesterday, I was in the middle of a project. I glanced at the call ID and saw it was an insurance company – but since I do have a policy with them I answered. The trouble was that they had no idea who (or what) they were calling.

The man asked to speak to the head of the HR department. Haven’t got one, I said. Then he (somewhat puzzled) asked for the benefits manager. Don’t have one of those either, I said. Then he made some confused sounds and hung up.

He clearly was working from a list of names he’d gotten somewhere, with little thought about whether it was the best marketing list, or if the names on it matched his ideal client profile. I don’t have a benefits manager, an HR department, or an employee manual. My only full-time employee is my cat. He doesn’t take vacations, although he does give marketing tips.

Make real connections

When prospecting (however you do it), you first want to pick people and companies who have a need for what you’re offering. No sense trying to sell diapers to people with no children (or grown children). While I’m not the customer he’s looking for, a little research might have given him clues to what I actually cared about – maybe a better deal on the policy I do have.

Don’t annoy people, get permission to talk to them and then be a problem solver, not a pitch man. What if instead he’d sent a booklet with tips on getting better/faster turnaround and service if I have a claim. Or, sent me a birthday card in a few weeks?

Has this happened to you too? What did you think?

Are You Marketing Backwards?

Posted on October 21, 2010 by Jodi Kaplan

: Image by tiny_packages via Flickr

We all know that Leonardo da Vinci wrote backwards, though nobody knows exactly why.

It may have been to keep his work secret, or because he was left-handed (and writing that way was less messy).

Doing things backwards worked for Leonardo, but it’s not a good idea for your marketing.

Is your marketing backwards?

I was just reading this blog post in the NY Times by Jay Goltz. He owns a picture framing company and his team was doing some sales planning for next year. They were trying to think of some ways to increase business.

A brainstorming session about a hypothetical 100 people in the area who needed framing, but went elsewhere, came up with the following possibilities :

“5 percent used us and for some reason decided they didn’t want to come back (we have a very high repeat and referral rate).

25 percent are loyal to another frame shop and have no reason to leave.

20 percent consider us too expensive.

50 percent don’t know about us.”

Self-focused marketing is looking the wrong way

So, they decided to increase their advertising to get the word out. Obviously, this isn’t scientific, and the author readily admits that. However, there’s another, bigger issue.

Say they spend more on ads, radio, adwords or whatever. Now more people know they exist. Is that enough?

Do you buy from the place you heard of (along with all the other places)? Or, do you buy from the place that’s remarkable? That treats you differently or offers something the other framing stores don’t?

There are lots of places near me (this store isn’t one of them), but no particular reason to choose one over the other. It’s a commodity. I have something I’ve been meaning to frame, and when I do, I’ll just pick one.

They were focusing on themselves, not their clients

They were looking in the wrong direction. They stopped and asked themselves how to get more sales, and their solution was focused inward – we’ll advertise more!

They never asked what the customer might want, such as pickup and delivery of large paintings or faster service. Neither did they focus on building a niche – maybe focus on museums (large, high-quality frames) or hotels (mass frame purchase).

What if the experience was special or unique in some way?

Like this dry cleaner (apologies in advance for the forced commercial; Seth Godin fans look closely at 1:55).

The reason that Hangers Cleaners is doing so well is that they made it convenient and made it fun with silly signs and t-shirts. How many silly dry cleaners have you ever seen?

Marketing forwards (outwards and toward the customer has led this company to improve its revenue, while its competitors are losing money.

Which way are you marketing?

Creativity or Science: Which Really Matters?

Posted on October 18, 2010 by Jodi Kaplan

: Image via Wikipedia

I just read a discussion on LinkedIn bemoaning the “death of creative.” Nobody remembers DDB (Bill Bernbach)! Everyone quotes David Ogilvy. David Ogilvy was “mechanistic.” All his layouts looked the same. It’s not creative. It’s not sexy.

Maybe not. However, Ogilvy’s ads looked the same because he measured response to find out what worked better. He measured because he started with The Gallup Organization (pollsters). He probably read Scientific Advertising by Claude Hopkins.

Sure, I love creative stuff too. But the truth is, you sell not by being creative (that makes you memorable and may win you awards). You sell by measuring – seeing what works, tweaking, testing. Rinse, lather, repeat. Which do you really want? Awards? Or cash?

(I’ll take the cash please).

Oh, and if you’d like a free copy of Scientific Advertising, you can download it here.