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.

Free Creative Brief Template

Posted on November 3, 2011 by Jodi Kaplan

You know how frustrating it can be to do the same project over and over? Or when the creative you hired doesn’t seem to “get” what you want?

A few weeks ago, I wrote a post about using a creative brief to turn tough clients into easy ones. This week, I thought I’d share an actual sample of a creative brief template.

Using a creative brief can help eliminate a lot of the frustration on both sides. Whether you are a web developer or a designer, having your client’s wants, needs, and expectations on paper will help smooth the creative and design process and help your project move ahead more quickly.

Seven essential elements of a creative brief

First, you need a quick overview of the project. What product or service are they promoting? What is the goal of this service? What is the situation in the rest of the market? What is the competition doing?

Second, what is the goal of the project? Is it a branding exercise? Or an effort to get more sales? Is the product new, or a relaunch of an existing product?

Third, what makes the service (or the product) special? How does it differ from existing products? What’s the most important thing your audience should know about your product? What are the next three or four most important benefits?

Fourth, who is your target audience? Who are they? Where can you find them? What’s their age, job, interests? Why would your intended audience want to pay for it? What does it do for them? How does it make them feel?

Fifth, what’s the best way to talk to them? Should it be formal? Or more relaxed? Write down everything you know about how they think, who they are, and how to reach them. What design and writing styles would appeal to them the most?

Sixth, where will this be used? Is it for print? For a website? Or a social media campaign? Or will it be used in multiple campaigns/media?

Seventh, what are the due dates for each stage of the project? Who else needs to be involved? Will you need additional resources (designers, printers, web developers) in order to finish the project?

Creatives working with clients

This creative brief is perfect for the initial consultation meeting. Use it to screen your clients (it will help you decide if a prospect is a good fit). Or, send it after the contract is signed. There’s space to outline their strategy, identify their audience, and how they want to separate themselves from the competition.

Businesses hiring a creative

If, on the other hand, you want to hire a creative, use the form to explain more about your business, your competition, and your philosophy. It will help your designer (or your copywriter) to come up with concepts or copy. This will make their jobs easier, and save time (and possibly, money).

For example, if the designer or web developer knows you want a playful, bright, colorful design for your new kids clothing store, they won’t bother developing concepts with dark colors and a formal look more suitable for a law firm. Fewer concepts and fewer changes means fewer charges (or extra charges).

If your designer knows your audience in advance, it will be easier for him or her to choose what fonts to use, decide which colors are appropriate, and how to approach your project.

The same information will help your copywriter. If you know how to find your ideal client, what keeps them up at night, and what your company’s biggest marketing challenges are it will be easier to write copy, and ask pertinent questions.

Download your creative brief template here.

Tuesday Travels: Fortune Cookie Marketing

Posted on November 1, 2011 by Jodi Kaplan

Image via Wikipedia

Today’s roundup is about marketing, from debunking a few marketing myths, to a plan that fits on a fortune cookie.

The Marketing Myth – Marketing doesn’t have to be time consuming, just (as they say) do it.

5 Quick Ways to Improve Your Marketing – Better results, less stress.

Listen First, Sell Later – Speaking of listening, Chris Brogan just reviewed my friend Bob Poole’s book, Listen First Sell Later.

There are three simple rules: don’t be obnoxious, listen (a lot), and be persistent. You can fit it on a fortune cookie.

If you need help, email me

How to Hire a Graphic Designer

Posted on October 12, 2011 by Jodi Kaplan

Need a new logo? Or illustrations for your web site? Maybe a brochure?

Not sure how to hire a graphic designer? Or what to look for?

Image by Stepheye via Flickr

You can search on Google or elance for ‘graphic designer’ or ‘logo design” and get a long list of designers anxious to be hired. But are they any good? And do they have the right skills for your job?

Here’s how to sort through all those names and hire the designer who is right for you.

Offline or online skills

Brochures require different skills than web design. Web mistakes are easy to fix. Printing errors are costly and time-consuming. Ask them if they have experience with the type of project you have in mind.

Think about how your design will be used. Web only? Or web and print? Low-resolution images are OK on the web, but will look awful in print. Web colors and print colors are generated differently, so colors will look different in print than they do on the web.

Design style

What sort of “style” do they have? Closer to a cartoon? Or more like a painting? Look for a designer whose portfolio matches the result you have in mind. A designer who specializes in anime might not be a good fit for an insurance company.

Process

How do they work? Do you chat in advance? Give them some background on what you’re looking for, the kinds of other sites/brochures you like? How many design ideas are included?

If you will be using photos, who is responsible for finding them (and getting permission to use them)?

Payment

Normally, a designer will ask for a portion of the total price upfront, then an additional payment when they present design ideas, and a third on completion and approval.

Your vision

What colors do you want to use? Have you chosen a style? Do you want any specific elements (all type, type and graphic images, fire engines, wizards)? How is your business different? How do you want to convey that through color and design?

Get recommendations

Ask to see samples of their work. Contact references, and look for testimonials. Or, check my resources section. If you don’t find what you’re looking for, send me an email.

The Single Piece of Paper That Can Turn Tough Clients Into Easy Ones

Posted on October 10, 2011 by Jodi Kaplan

Ever have this problem? A client comes to you and wants some design work, or a new website. They expect ideas (and lots of them), but give you little direction. As time goes on, they get harder and harder to work with.

Image via Wikipedia

Sometimes they don’t know what they want. On other occasions, they have ideas, but have a great deal of difficulty expressing them in creative terms.

Both the client and the designer (or developer) can end up being pretty frustrated with each other. It can even doom the entire project.

So, how do you turn tough clients into easy ones?

It can be done, it just takes a bit of thought, some planning, and the willingness to try to meet the client on his/her terms.

What does the client want?

It’s tough for the designer to focus when you don’t know what the client is thinking. And, it’s hard for your client when they want something from you (and don’t get it). The best way to find out what they want is also the simplest. Ask them. Have them write it down (it often helps people focus their ideas).

Where are the ideas?

Or, you’re on the other side of the fence. You want ideas from your designer, but you’re frustrated because they’re only doing what you tell them (following instructions), when what you really want is some creative sparks. Why don’t they just give me what I really want, you cry!

If you’re a client, the designer can’t help unless you give them direction. The more specific, the better. It doesn’t have to be specific design directions (that’s their skill), but it does help if they understand who you want to reach, the image you want to project, and how you see your company.

The one-page answer

Larger agencies often use a “creative brief” for projects. It tells the designer, and you, what you’re looking for, and what you want to accomplish.

It’s a great way to focus your mind, and theirs. It reduces frustration, and gives everyone a starting point for discussions.

How to write a creative brief

The brief spells out some basic questions about marketing, design, and goals. Here are some questions to get you started (feel free to adapt them to fit your own needs):

What’s the problem/market situation?
What’s the opportunity? How are you different? How will the design (or site) convey that?
Who’s your target audience? (age, gender, job, interests, problems, pain points, etc)
What problem do you solve?
What are the primary features/benefits of your product/service?
Who is the competition? What are their strengths and weaknesses? Claims? Benefits?
What sort of style are you looking for? What other sites do you like?
What are the due dates for each stage (initial consultation, creative brainstorming, initial sketches/comps, presentation of ideas, approval, delivery)?
Do you need additional resources (talent, photos, etc).?

Put it all in writing, agree on it, and the whole process should go much more smoothly. If you need a guide for this, you can download a free creative brief template.

How to Write Ad Copy That Keeps Your Prospects Entranced

Posted on October 5, 2011 by Jodi Kaplan

Monday, I showed you two ads, one by Samsung and one by Apple.

Both are about electronics. Both have multi-million dollar campaigns behind them, sponsored by large well-known companies.

What’s the difference?

The Samsung ad starts off, “Nobody aspires to be second best, or make an average entrance…” Good, it’s telling me that I can be better than average! Unusual and remarkable.

Samsung loves themselves

But towards the end, it goes off the rails. It turns all of that into an ode to themselves, rather than about the people buying the phone.

“We have the best and brightest screen on our fastest phone ever. Because we’re Samsung, and that’s just the way we’re wired.”

The phone spins. You see the logo over and over, while the announcer repeats the product name.

Lastly, the words “The Wonder of Samsung” appear on the screen, along with the logo, and those of retailers that sell the phone.

You’re not better, Samsung is better.

Apple loves their audience

In contrast, the Apple ad says, “Are you curious about new ideas? Do you want to learn a new language? Or just a new word? ..Uncover a hidden talent? There has never been a better time to learn.”

The announcer never mentions the name of the product or who makes it. He never says “we” or “our” only “you.”

The Apple logo and the words “Ipad2” show up only briefly, at the end.

The entire experience is about the viewer.

And that’s why it works.

Focus on your audience

Run the one-minute marketing test on your ad or your email or your web page. See who you’re really talking about.

Write ad copy and promote your products and services to fulfill your audience’s desires, what they want to achieve, or save, or earn. They’ll be entranced.