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.

How Your Audience Influences Content

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There’s a lot of talk about content marketing lately. Content is now king! Everyone is spewing out blog posts, articles, tweets, Instragram images, and Facebook posts in an unending stream of words. The trouble is, very few people seem to be tailoring that content to the audience they are trying to reach. Unfortunately for them, the audience can (and should) influence the content. I have even seen posts on Google Plus that were copy/pasted from Facebook (even down to asking for “likes”).

The trouble with that is that each audience is different. Aside from silly mistakes such as forgetting to substitute +1 for “like” savvy content marketers need to adjust their pitches and their messages to fit each specific audience.

Here’s why that matters




This is my friend Pat Ferdinandi. Her face is a bit swollen in these pictures because she fell (she’s OK, just bruised). When she fell, she broke her glasses and went to get new ones.

At the optometrist, she took two pictures, one with green glasses and one with red. Then she asked her friends on Facebook and on Google Plus which style they liked better (without telling them which pair she’d bought).

You might think that since the two groups were both connected to Pat that they would have quite a lot in common and share similar opinions.

Here’s the interesting part.

She got different answers.

Her friends on Google Plus liked the green glasses. Her followers on Facebook preferred the red ones.

Same question, two audiences, two different results.

What does this mean for marketing?

If you’re using social marketing (or any marketing), adjust your message, your style, and your content to fit your audience. Different groups will have different problems and concerns, and one size (message) might not be right for all.

This holds true both online and offline.

How your audience influences content

Let’s suppose Pat was selling tips on making videos (which she does), and she had two speaking engagements for audiences who wanted to learn more about creating videos.

The first one is at a community center in town, for talk to an audience of home computer users.  They want to learn the basics of making videos so that they can put videos on Youtube and send messages to their kids and grandkids. They’re not terribly computer savvy, and want easy, quick, solutions, that aren’t too technically oriented.

Change your message to fit your audience

The second event is a Chamber of Commerce meeting for small business owners. They want to know how to use videos for online classes, a business channel on Youtube, and promotional videos on their sites or blogs. This group has no interest (or time) in do-it-yourself; they’re more focused on marketing, presentation skills, and looking good on camera.

Even if Pat sells them the same information/help (how to make videos), she’d talk about different specific topics, and use different language (more tech-oriented for the businesses, less so for the grandmas) — changing her message to fit her audience.

Oh, and she bought the green ones.

(photos by Pat Ferdinandi; used with permission)

Is Pinterest Using Underhanded Marketing Tricks?

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English: A push pin, or thumbtack ???????: ???...

Image via Wikipedia

Pinterest seems to be the hottest thing since, well, heat.  It’s everywhere, and it’s apparently, addictive.

Post (or pin) photos of your favorite shoes, camera gear, or bookshelf chair and share them with your friends.  It’s been driving lots of traffic and creating lots of buzz.

Recently though, the buzz has sounded more like a swarm of angry wasps.

It turns out that Pinterest has been quietly adding affiliate links to those pictures.  So, if someone clicks on your camera bag photo and buys it, Pinterest makes money.

Money good

Nothing wrong with wanting to make money.  Pinterest is well-funded, but the ultimate goal is to be self-sufficient, not dependent on venture capitalists.

They “broke” the interaction

Pinterest got caught up in what they needed, i.e., money) rather than thinking about the people who use the site.

Users think they’re creating a sort of online scrapbook and sharing their interests with their friends.  They’re not thinking about shopping, but about inspiration and fun.

They didn’t know they were posting content that earned the company money.

No disclosure

Pinterest doesn’t mention this anywhere, and FTC rules in the U.S. require disclosure of affiliate relationships.  I’m not a lawyer, and whether that extends to content posted by a third party (users), I don’t know.  I do know that Squidoo has a disclosure statement at the bottom of every page on its site.

No response

As far as I can tell, they haven’t responded to any of the criticism.  The only response has been from Alicia Navarro (the CEO of the affiliate link company they’re using).

I’m no PR pro, but I do know that if you’re in the middle of a social media firestorm, you should respond to it.  Acknowledge there is a problem, explain what you’re going to do to fix it, and then report back when it’s done.

What do you think?  Are any of you on Pinterest? Does this bother you?

Get More Publicity by Promoting Other People

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Did you know you can get more publicity by promoting other people?

PR firms do it all the time, but you don’t have to be a PR firm to take advantage of this simple technique.

Fame

Image via Wikipedia

And you don’t have to do much extra work.  In fact,  you’re probably doing most of this anyway.

Here’s how it works.

1. Set up a few Google Alerts (this is free) for your clients and prospects.

You can control how often the alerts are sent, how many results you get, and the sources (news, blogs, discussions, etc).  When your client is mentioned somewhere, you’ll get an email alerting  you.

2. Read your email.

Your clients will tell you about their successes, awards, and new product launches. Take that information and use it to help them spread the word.  Post it in your social media streams, mention it on blog posts, or point it out in your own newsletter.  And, be sure to congratulate them (even if you weren’t directly responsible).

3. Read your blog comments, and comments/traffic on your social media accounts.

Now that you have all that information, all you have to do is showcase it.  Write blog posts highlighting your clients’ successes.  Or, share it on social media.  It can be related to your products and services, or just something you’re proud they did  or achieved.

Everyone wins. (I’m doing this on another site, writing weekly posts highlighting remarkable people and businesses.  I get a link, and traffic too).

What Today’s Marketers Can Learn From Victorians

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Victorian, 1885

It’s a simple thing really.  It’s not even hard to do. And, we can still use this old-fashioned personalized marketing technique today.

In Victorian times, if you wanted to call on someone nearby you walked, took a carriage, or sent a servant (if you had one).

If the person lived far away, you had to rely on the mail, which could take weeks, even months.

Letters and cards were rare then, so they were treasured, and kept for years.  We can still read them, hundreds of years later.

 

Is faster always better?

Now, we have email, text messages, social networks and lots of other ways to contact nearly anyone – instantly.  Communication is fast, and largely disposable.  We can delete emails, edit posts, plus, like, and forget about it.

But sometimes, the fastest way isn’t the best way.

A few days ago, I got a belated holiday card from a friend.  I’d been about to toss all the cards, but kept them for a few days so I could enjoy them all.

Yesterday, my friend emailed asking if I’d gotten the card, and saying she was thinking of going entirely electronic next year.

Reach out and touch someone

It’s certainly faster (and cheaper) to send cards electronically, but they’re not as much fun. It’s marketing, sure, but it’s not really personalized marketing, especially if you’re sending the same message to hundreds or thousands of people.

When I get an e-card, I look at it, smile, and forget about it.  The physical cards get propped up on a shelf  where I can look at them, and smile throughout the entire holiday season. They make a much better impression than the electronic cards do.

A company that unexpectedly sends stickers, or a handwritten note, or a small gift will seem much more approachable and more “human.”

Have you tried this?  Or has anyone sent you something you didn’t expect?  An extra gift in your order?  Or a handwritten note?  What was it?

How To Get the Best About Page

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Your about page is usually one of the most visited pages on your site.  People stop, look at your post, or your home page, and then click to find out more. So, how can you get the best possible about page?

award for being the best

Image via Wikipedia

Standard “about” pages have some background about you, when you started your company, maybe awards you won, how long you’ve been in business and so on.

That’s OK, but it’s not really giving your visitors what they really want to see.

What people really want from your about page

They don’t really want to know about you at all

What they do want to know is.. whether you can help them.

So, take a look at your page.

Is it interchangeable with any other about page?  Are you cutting edge?  A leader?  An award-winner?

So are thousands of other firms.

What’s on the best about pages

You’re creative.  Stand out.  Yes, the work is important, and you should, of course, include samples. Link to examples of your best work.  It didn’t have to win awards.  Just show the work  you enjoyed.  And the work that got the best results.  Link to testimonials from your page, with whatever details you and the client can share.

The best about page connects with people

Sure, search engine spiders patrol the web, but pages and websites are read by actual people.  And businesses (says the Supreme Court) are people too.  The court thinks they get a “vote,” but in this case, the businesses are composed of people.  People make the decisions about who to work with, and whether firm A is a better fit than Firm B.

There’s no need to share anything embarrassing or get way too personal about what you had for lunch or your favorite brand of toilet paper.

Instead, share a few details about yourself, or your company.  Small details that will make your readers smile, or think, “oh yes, that’s happened to me too.”

Like how every Friday is worst music video ever day.  Or or a big project that nearly crashed and burned (but turned out to be a triumph).

Include a few favorite quotes, or a great piece of advice your grandmother gave you.

Don’t hide

People like pictures – of real people.  Include a picture of yourself (or your staff for a company page). Skip the stock photos (they’re not creative anyway). If your office is in a fun location (right next store to the Brooklyn Bridge), or it’s decorated in mid-century furniture, show photos of it.

Discuss your favorite clients

Talk about your favorite projects (and why you loved them).

Describe who you work for (not just specific companies, but types of companies).  Not that they’re industry leaders or innovators.  That’s important, but what you really need is a more complete picture of the client.

Which industries are your clients in?  What size?  What makes them appealing to you?  Why did  you decide to focus on those companies (and only those companies)?

Who you won’t work for

Face it, there are clients who probably just don’t appeal to you.  Maybe they’re too big (and bureaucratic), or maybe they have different corporate values, or maybe they’re in industries you just find plain boring.  That’s OK, you don’t have to work for everybody. In fact, you can make more by marketing to fewer people.

Stand for something

Spell out what your philosophy is (and have one).  If you’re committed to green technology, or supporting local stores vs. Walmart, then say so.

Spell out who you are, and who you’re not.

Continue the conversation

Give people an incentive to continue the conversation.  Include a newsletter signup.  Or a link to a free ebook (maybe tips on how to choose a designer or a web developer).

To continue this conversation, add something in the comments.