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.

What Can Archery Teach You About Marketing?

Posted on May 11, 2009 by Jodi Kaplan

“Targeting Gone Wild
Reach 70 million people at MySpace”

I saw an ad with that headline on ProBlogger, and whoever paid for it has indeed gone wild (and crazy too). That’s not targeting, that’s closing your eyes, praying, and hoping to hit something.

70 million? 70 million what? Does it really pay to market to that many random people?

A better approach would be to create a profile of an ideal customer, and market specifically to businesses that fit that profile. As in archery, the closer you get to the center of the target, the better your score (and your revenue). In archery, the target is pretty clear. There are rings, worth different numbers of points.

You get more points if your arrow hits the center, and fewer points if you hit one of the outer rings; no points at all for hitting the white background (or the haystacks). So, how do you improve your marketing aim?

Develop a biography of your ideal customer

If it’s a business, think about what size company you want to support. Fortune 500 companies work differently (move more slowly and have more paperwork) than smaller firms. However, they also have larger budgets. Think about the kinds of services you want to offer and whether they are more suited to a large or small firm. A small business may not need a sophisticated bookkeeping program, but a large business will.

Where are your customers located?

Worldwide companies will have different needs than local businesses. Public companies have different reporting requirements than private firms. Can you support large companies with branches in many cities or countries? A web designer can easily support an international clientele, but a caterer can’t.

Focus on a specific industry or industries

What areas are you most expert in? For example, establishing yourself as the go-to company providing marketing for electrical distributors or the social media guru for pet stores will help you grow your niche (and improve your revenue).

Who do you want to reach?

Are you looking for the CIO or an HR manager? The CIO will have different problems (and need different solutions) than the HR manager. For instance, while both may be customers for software services, the CIO may be much more concerned about data backup systems, while the HR manager needs software to track employee sick days and vacation time.

What’s their budget?

Don’t aim your $5,000 solution (no matter how wonderful it is) at someone who is only authorized to spend $500. Look for the decision maker. Allow time for a decision. Businesses to business marketing is a bit different that consumer marketing. Generally, the time lines are longer, more specs are required, and more people may be involved in the process.

The better your aim; the better your results.

Photo: matt gibson/

How to Get Groupies (Even If You’re Not a Rock Star)

Posted on May 7, 2009 by Jodi Kaplan

Rock star fans will travel miles to see their favorite band. They’ll wait in line for hours, in the cold, the rain, and snow, hoping for tickets. They’ll collect posters, share favorite songs (sing the lyrics), and memorize every word of the lyrics. Before the Web, there were liner notes. Now, there’s official web sites, twitter streams, and fan pages.

You may not be a rock star, but you can still have enthusiastic followers. Here’s how:

Offer additional formats for a small additional charge.
Collect information about what your customers want/need and develop new products/services based on their answers. You can do this for free with surveymonkey.
At a trade show, ask prospects to fill out a questionnaire (in order to gain permission to talk to them). Offer a prize as a reward. You’ll get better leads, plus information you can use to target your promotions.
Email customers when a new product or service arrives that’s relevant to their problem or interests. What if your favorite bookstore emailed (or tweeted) when the latest mystery by your favorite author arrived?
Use your newsletter to conduct polls, give tips on how to use your product, and direct customers to complementary products.

Photo: anirud hkoul

What do Landing Pages Have in Common with Grade School?

Posted on May 6, 2009 by Jodi Kaplan

Remember back in school when the teacher assigned homework on current events? First you had to find a story, then you had to play reporter. You always had to talk about WHO, WHAT, WHEN, WHERE, HOW, and WHY.

Well, landing pages are like that too. In case you’re not familiar with them, a landing page is a Web page set up as part of a promotional campaign. You develop them as a arrival point for different products and services based on keyword searches, email campaigns, TV, or even print.

What does this have to do with current events homework? The landing page has to follow a similar format.

WHO: Who are your customers (seniors, teenagers, business owners, moms, VPs of Marketing)?

WHAT: What are you selling, and what do you want people to do once they reach your page?

WHEN: Is the offer limited? Must they act now? Or is it “evergreen”?

WHERE: Where should visitors go on your page? Is it clear?

HOW: How do they respond or order? Click on a button? Call?

WHY: Why should people buy from you? What problem do they have? How do you solve it?

Focus on one thing only. Don’t try to sell four or five things on the same landing page. If you want to promote five products, make a separate page for each one. Make the call to action (click here, buy here) clear and big and obvious.

I saw a landing page for a summer camp recently that looked like a calendar. It listed several different sports (basketball, baseball, etc.) and the dates, but had no information on why anyone would want to send their child there. There were no clear buttons to sign-up or get more information.

The page had too much text and not enough pictures. If you operate a summer camp, have different pages for each sport. Show pictures of happy children playing. Paint a picture in words of the fun the children will have.

Organize the site for the buyer, not for yourself. Include separate menu bars for each audience. Use emotions, make them see the product. If you sell fruit, don’t say we have apples, pears, oranges, etc. Say, “these ripe, juicy Bartlett pears are so sweet and delicious you’ll need a napkin handy to wipe your chin.” See the difference?

Now go do your homework.

What Can A Jar of Jam Tell Us About Customer Service?

Posted on May 5, 2009 by Jodi Kaplan

One Sunday afternoon a few months ago, I bit down on the PB &J sandwich I’d just made and it went *crunch*. I looked more closely, and found there was glass in it! (it’s OK, I wasn’t hurt).

I emailed Polaner (the jam company) and told them what happened. Less than 2 hours later (on a weekend), I got an email from Marge. She apologized profusely, told me she’d reported it to their Quality Assurance Manager at the plant, and asked for the UPC information for the product so they could track it through their system.

Why does this matter? I got an email from a real person. She apologized for the problem. She told me she’d taken steps to inform the appropriate people about it. She asked me for more details so they could track down the problem and correct it. Her actions let me know I was an important customer and that my problem mattered to the company.

This is not only good service, it’s also the best way to retain your customers. In fact, Internet Retailer just published a survey (4/3/09) which found that excellent customer service beat all other methods for keeping customers happy and loyal.

Finding glass in my jam was unpleasant, but I will buy that brand again, because they treated me well.

Is Your Web Site Missing Vital Information?

Posted on April 29, 2009 by Jodi Kaplan

Visitors to your site may arrive by keywords, searching specifically for your site, or trying to solve a problem. In addition to selling, offer useful information that will keep visitors coming back (and establish your company as an expert source of information and advice).

Add articles and how-tos

Offer tips on using your product. If you sell video games, give advice on getting past the angry gang at Level 14. If you sell dog food, have a section on why eggs are good for dogs.

An accounting software company could offer guides to running general ledger, accounts payable and other reports. AWeber (an email marketing campaign company) has an extensive knowledge base of tutorials, webinars, and videos covering every step of an email marketing campaign, from how to set up the initial message to creating forms to autoresponders (one or a series of emails sent automatically, such as an e-course).

Start a blog

This is also a chance to interact with prospects and customers. Showcase your expertise, and talk back (through comments and e-mail). It’s also good for search engine results (frequently updated copy gets Google’s attention).

I’m using WordPress for this blog; most hosting companies include it with their regular service, so you don’t even have to pay extra. Ask yours for more details on how to install it.

Write a white paper or report

Address a particularly vexing problem in your industry, or a point of pain for your customers. If you’re a computer expert write “10 Ways to Keep Your PC Safe From Viruses”. Offer it as a download and use it to build your contact list of potential prospects.

Produce a newsletter

Offer it to the people who download your white paper. It allows you to keep in contact with potential clients. Include information that’s useful. Don’t make it a hard sell. You want to keep your prospects engaged and interested (not turn them off).

After a few months, add back issues of your newsletter to your Web site (it offers fresh content, also liked by search engines, and offers a single place to find older issues (easier than searching through Outlook!).