business-to-business

June 27, 2017 by Marc Hausman

Non-Knowing Sales Rep Exposed

She asked in the Email subject line if I were OK. She didn’t care about my well-being though. It didn’t take a genius to figure that out.

The Email was the third in a series of messages I received from a sales rep at a marketing firm pushing content development services. She offered to save my consultancy “serious time” when it comes to writing high quality blog posts.

Of course, much of Strategic Communications Group’s (Strategic) work is in thought leadership content creation — for a client’s Web site or blog, or for one of our online buyer communities. We are not a viable prospect for this vendor. A quick review of our corporate Web would have proven that out.

In her Email pitch, the sender then made an unexpected shift in strategy from empathy to humor.

“I’m going to assume that you’re not dead or kidnapped,” she wrote. Are you in prison? If you are in jail, don’t worry – I’ll post bail for you. Just let know the best way to connect so I know where to send the money.”

OK…I get it…an attempt to be funny. To make jest of the fact I have yet to respond to one of these template pitches. However, as someone who has performed stand-up comedy for nearly a decade (seriously!) I am well versed in the three tenets of humor:

Be relevant to the audience’s interests
Be timely
Be responsive to reaction and feedback

To meet these standards, it helps to actually know something the person. And this, my friend, is ultimately why most sales outreach with little, if any, diligence is so darn ineffective. When we don’t know the prospect or customer, there is simply no way to credibly connect with them.

May 31, 2017 by Marc Hausman

Crash and Burn with “Hopeful” Content

For years the missives wandered into my Email inbox from exotic locales such as Pune, Bangalore and Bucharest. Regardless of the origin, the offer was the same: cheap content creation to gin up search optimization.

Google’s adoption of a more sophisticated search algorithm that penalizes low value and limited social sharing strangled many of these content farms. However, as any business-to-business marketer will attest, the pitches solider on. The source, theme and value proposition have merely shifted.

“I came across your profile on LinkedIn and found it very interesting,” she wrote to me last week. “We’re primarily focused on creating high quality blog content…think well researched, time consuming blog posts…not generic 500 word SEO fluff.”

That is compelling, right? Companies that produce and publish a steady stream of thought leadership oriented content attract more qualified leads and close a higher percentage of business.

If that’s true, why is there so much dissatisfaction with the content marketing process?

It is because few marketers have taken the critical step of connecting engagement to demand. For many, content creation is a “check the box” tactic that – like other brand oriented activities – relies on hope to produce a measurable outcome.

Marketers tend to live in a world of hope with their content. I hope a prospect finds it. I hope it inspires them to contact my company. I hope my sales team moves on the opportunity. I hope it turns into revenue.

Here are three ways you can elevate your content program from a hopeful tactic to a strategic function that generates sales pipeline:

Align content creation with account based marketing. Here is an example from Dupont Fabros Technology’s From the Racks corporate blog.
Integrate with CRM and/or marketing automation platforms. Content can be repurposed for nurturing and drip campaigns. Prospect interaction tracked via analytics can inform lead scoring and qualification process.
Publish where the prospects are. Strategic Communications Group manages online buyer communities in government, healthcare, financial services, retail and insurance. We’re always on the hunt for content relevant to our readers.

January 19, 2017 by Marc Hausman

Marketers Back Side Bitten

Cheers’ lovable character, Norm Peterson.

“It’s a dog eat dog world and I am wearing milk bone underwear.”

The character Norm Peterson on the TV sitcom Cheers was known for his rumpled demeanor and timely quips. His playful underwear jab probably resonates with today’s marketer who may feel like a bite has been taken out of their back side.

Why?

Expectations have changed. Once primarily a creative endeavor, corporate, product and field marketers are now held accountable for measurable outcomes and top line revenue growth. In fact, a recent study by Accenture found the top marketer is the first to be fired when a company fails to hit its projections. Not sales. Not product. Marketing.

Data driven marketing…the buyer’s journey…connecting brand to engagement…ultimately, the nomenclature is irrelevant. What is absolutely apparent is your customers, partners, colleagues and shareholders demand more from you.

Oh yeah, and this accountability arrives in an environment where budgets are constrained. Like Peterson said on Cheers, you are sporting milk bone underwear.

In 2017, Strategic Communications Group (Strategic) has repositioned to help our clients thrive in this landscape. Our new website reflects our approach, which includes:

Buyer Communities: Digital spaces we create for your brand to consistently deliver a thought leadership message and feed the sales funnel.

Digital Insights and Metrics: We help you move from traffic numbers to buyer insights from your digital assets, and understand how your buyer communities stack up against other brands across multiple industries.

Marketing and Sales Training: Our market insight and sales training programs help you motivate sales teams to action, arming them with timely and meaningful customer intelligence.

November 11, 2016 by Marc Hausman

Mind Visuals for Impact

A visual image makes things memorable.

Here is an example. In England during the 19^th century doctors were less than reliable when it came to declaring someone dead.

For that reason, people were often buried with a cord inside their casket attached to a small bell hanging above their grave. If they happened to wake up, they could give that cord a tug to alert bystanders that they were alive.

Two hundreds years later we still use expressions like “dead ringer” and “saved by the bell.”

The take-away for marketers is to think visually to present a compelling value proposition or credible differentiation for your company.

This isn’t custom photography or a snappy illustration. It is about the power of words and the ability they have to paint a picture in the mind of your customers, prospects, partners and influencers. You’ll cut through. You will stay top of mind.

Victorian era dead ringer device. (Source: www.oldstl.com)

July 15, 2016 by Marc Hausman

Content Sources for the Thought Leadership-less

The value and impact of thought leadership continues to rage. Corporate marketers espouse its virtues. Analysts research its impact. And consultants hype their wares.

What happens though when your organization and its executives have little to say?

Come on…everyone has some sort of perspective, right? Credible companies participate in and shape industry dialogue and debate.

It may surprise you to learn the number one concern I hear from your peers when it comes to content marketing, social media engagement and digital promotion is the inability to identify thought leaders in their organization. Here is an Email I received just this week from an experienced marketer who works for one of the world’s largest and most successful B2B brands:

We just don’t feel comfortable from a content and message perspective, as we are still building it all this year.

Cue up the dramatic music! Is the promise of content lost for these thought leadership-less companies?

The answer is, of course, no.

Content that engages, educates and (when appropriate) entertains can be sourced from a myriad of third parties. This will allow your company to still realize the ROI of thought leadership content.

Consider these sources:

1. Strategic and Technology Partners. I suspect they: a) have white papers, case studies, presentations and blog posts; and b) would welcome your help to distribute these materials to the market.

Plus, your investment of time and resources solidifies the relationship.

2. Market Research Firms, Industry Analysts and Business/Trade Media. They are in the business of thought leadership and, similar to your partners, will most likely applaud your efforts to help them attract new readers.

Please be sure to respect copyright by linking to their sites, rather than repurposing their content for your own agenda.

3. Your Own Customers and Prospects. That’s right, act like a journalist and interview ‘em. Publish a Q&A or a podcast.

Keep in mind though the objective is NOT to promote you or your company’s solutions. Rather, it is about their thoughts, views and perspective about the industry. You know, thought leadership.

Here is a link to three examples of how Strategic Communications Group (Strategic) executes on this via our Modern Marketing Today program.

Magic.Elixir.Photo — The thought leadership elixir can be sourced from third parties. (Image: http://www.gilliancasey.com/)

Non-Knowing Sales Rep Exposed

Crash and Burn with “Hopeful” Content

Marketers Back Side Bitten

Mind Visuals for Impact

Content Sources for the Thought Leadership-less

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