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.

Should Your Copy be Long or Short?

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“Some say, ‘Be very brief. People will read but little.’ Would you say that to a salesman? With a prospect standing before him, would you confine him to any certain number of words? That would be an unthinkable handicap.”

Those words were not written in the age of the Internet. They were penned by Claude Hopkins, over 100 years ago, in his book Scientific Advertising (get a free copy here).

What held true then still holds true today. Use the number of words, amount of benefits and features, and the information you need in order to make your sale. No more. No less.

Tell your whole story. Consider that your reader is someone who knows little or nothing about your product. The people already using your product are unlikely to read your ads. Instead appeal to prospects; people who either don’t know you, or know little about you.

Tailor your appeal to those people and those people only. The readers you want are the people who are interested in your offer. Nobody reads ads for fun, regardless of their length. Think of your readers as prospects, standing in front of you, looking for information. Give them what they need to take action.

Seek to persuade, and gain sales (not applause or awards). Have a picture of your ideal customer in mind; her likes, dislikes, habits, and problems. Then create your advertisement based on what you would do face to face. Don’t write your ads to please yourself. Write them to please your customer.

Will Your New Product Succeed or Fail?

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You’ve got a great idea, and a brilliant marketing campaign, looks like all is good to go. Right?

Or wrong?

Jim Kronenberger (current Director of Sales at American Le Mans Series) said on LinkedIn that he once worked for a company that had a great marketing idea. They rented two bright yellow Hummers, loaded them down with emergency communications gear, and made the rounds of state and local agencies.

The agencies loved it! They had few plans for a disaster and really wanted a solution.

So far, so good. The company found a problem, created a solution, and selected a market that desperately wanted their product.

But something went wrong. It seems that the agencies had no money to pay for the equipment. They needed a 1-2 year lead time to apply for grants and get the funds necessary to purchase the equipment.

The agencies had a need, but no authority and no money. Eventually, – after wasting lots of time and money – Jim’s employer had to give up.

When looking for prospects, or generating ideas for a new product, ask yourself:

1) Is there a need for this?

2) Is there a niche I can exploit?

3) Is the market for this product big enough? You may love garlic and sausage-flavored ice cream, but will anyone else?

4) Can your target market afford your solution? There’s no sense trying to sell Louis Vuitton handbags to people applying for food stamps.

5) M-A-D (not angry – but Money, Authority, and Need). Make sure the people you’re talking to have all three.

When promoting your product, don’t assume that your customers’ tastes, opinions, and habits mirror yours exactly. Choose based on what will truly appeal to them (not what appeals to you).

If you’re not sure, ask them!

Did You Ask Permission?

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I’ve been getting a lot of questions about what is (and isn’t) OK with permission marketing campaigns, especially email.

We all understand it’s important to get permission for your email marketing (so you don’t look like a spammer), but sometimes the details can be a bit fuzzy.

For example, my online grocer sent me an email today. I’m signed up to receive their weekly newsletter (with deals and weekly specials), but this wasn’t it. I was confused (and annoyed). It seems they’ve started a second newsletter. They never asked me if I wanted it or told me it was coming.

Yes, it’s “kosher” under CAN-SPAM, but it’s not a good idea. This company is irritating me, rather than delighting me.  And, they’re forcing me to say no to something, rather than yes.

So, if you want to start a newsletter, create a course, or add a new side business, make sure you get permission before you start sending it.

Dos and don’ts for getting permission

These apply to both new and existing newsletters.

DO

  • Include a double opt-in on your email list. This is a two-step process requiring new visitors to first click on your link, fill in any requested information, and then confirm their registration through a separate email It sounds complicated, but your email service provider will handle it automatically.
  • Talk to people who want to hear from you. Offer to help people at networking events or on forums. If someone needs a great caterer, and you know one, connect them.
  • Send email and newsletters that are personal, relevant, and anticipated. If someone you talk to at an event expresses an interest in first editions of Nancy Drew mysteries, and you come across one, let them know.
  • Answer questions on your blog. (If you have one, send it to me here).
  • Respond to blog comments (start a conversation).

DON’T

  • Scrape names from Web sites, or pull names from directories.
  • Add names from ccd emails from other people.
  • Use a list that someone gave you.  That’s not permission, it’s spamming.
  • Email people who attended an event you sponsored. It’s a bit better if that was clearly stated in advance as part of the registration process; but even then it’s annoying.
  • Assume that signing up for an event at  your bar or restaurant equals permission to promote other, unrelated events or lunch specials.

Get permission for a second newsletter

If you already have a newsletter and want to start a new one, first, tell your readers about the new offering in your existing newsletter.  Announce it over a period of several issues (days, weeks, months, however often you send it).  Subscribers may miss one.  You might also follow up with people who didn’t open the initial email. Send them a separate announcement.

Second, when you make the announcement, ask readers to click on the link to sign up. Make this double opt-in (sign up email and confirmation email), just like your initial newsletter.  You don’t want people signing up by mistake.  And, Canada now requires proof of permission as part of their “CAN-SPAM” law.

Third, add the sign-up for the new newsletter to your home page, social media campaigns, and other relevant places.  Make the link easy to find.

As you build the list offer the subscribers to either newsletter the option of getting the other one.

Add the sign up for the new publication on your home page. Also include it in your social media campaigns and other relevant places (Facebook wall, Google+ profile, etc.)

If you do send a sample to your existing subscribers, make it clear that it’s a one-time thing, and you won’t send another one unless they sign up for it.

Clip art licensed from the Clip Art Gallery on DiscoverySchool.com

Let’s Get Personal

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A letter addressed without a name looks almost as odd as this sign. Personalizing a direct marketing or sales letter costs a bit more, but it’s worth the money. Everyone likes to see their own name in print, and using the prospect’s name immediately establishes relevancy — hey, this is for me!

You can personalize direct mail print letters by adding an extra field in your database for a salutation, and, if you like, add more references throughout the letter with additional fields. You don’t need fancy software, a mail merge in Word will do the trick.

You can do the same thing in an email with a bit of code added to your email messages (check with your email provider on how to do this).

On the Web, use a personalized URL (PURL) with a matching landing page. You can then track the visits and the clicks for each one.

image from Natalie Maynor on Flickr

Marketing Your Business in a Recession

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I was flipping through the news channels and saw a viewer email saying that many are complaining that the auto companies are still advertising heavily. He said that years ago he worked for a company that cut back on advertising to save money in hard times. They then went out of business, because nobody knew who they were.

Don’t use the recession to market less, use the recession to market smart. Take a look at where and how you spend your marketing budget. Is that big TV sports buy the best thing? Or would you be better off making a funny video that could go viral?