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Secret to Great Marketing Work? Hint: It’s the Relationships

Enthusiasm and unbridled potential soaked the room.  One person gushed about his idea.  Another had just launched.  What trait did these entrepreneurs share?  They were all in high school. 

Last week I had the privilege of speaking with students studying economics at Our Lady of Good Counsel High School in Olney, Maryland.  The talk topic was entrepreneurship, and how to create and sustain a business.

After my story of Strategic Communications Group (Strategic), the students peppered me about customer service, financing, recruitment and promotion.  Then, I got hit with the whopper question:  what is the one thing I have learned in 20+ years running a business that every entrepreneur should know?

I cheated and gave the students two: 1) great work; for (and with) great people.

Let’s start with the second – great people.  My relationship with the senior team at Strategic runs deep.  It extends more than a decade.  This is no echo chamber though.  We have different personalities, beliefs and experiences, which allow for the cultivation of ideas.

It is a similar vibe with clients.  Not all, of course.  Some stroll in and out like the passing of a season.  With others you achieve a mutual respect and professional admiration that carries on.  That is the foundation of great work.

Here is an example.  This month Strategic launched a new online buyer community in partnership with Learning Without Tears called Today’s Modern Educator.  This initiative is our third collaboration in the past 12 years with Barbara Bernard.

In fact, the concept and maturation of the online buyer community resulted from our work with marketers like Rita Walston, Keith Hodson, Lisa Sherwin Wulf and others.  In essence, it is the foundational relationship with clients that guide a business.

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Lessons from Bloomberg’s Maiden Sale

Michael Bloomberg in the 1980s. (Photo source: HollywoodReporter.com)

It’s 1982.  Survivor’s Eye of the Tiger dominates the pop charts.  Imagine you work at financial services firm Merrill Lynch.  A young Michael Bloomberg arrives unannounced at your office with a cup of coffee for you.  What do you do?  Give him 15 minutes to pitch his product.

It is now 2018.  You are humming Ed Sheeran’s Perfect at your desk.  A bold and brash sales rep barges in.  What do you do?  Dial security.

Last week, entrepreneurs from across the United States gathered in Washington, DC for the 10,000 Small Businesses Summit, hosted by Goldman Sachs.  Billionaire (and former New York City mayor) Michael Bloomberg was among the A-list speakers.  He shared a wonderful story about how he scored his first customer for Bloomberg LP.

Every morning for nearly a year, Bloomberg scoured Merrill Lynch’s office chatting up anyone he stumbled across with the goal of building relationships.  One of his targets turned out to be the company’s chairman, who eventually approved funding to trial Bloomberg’s product.

“No matter how much digital we have, people are what make businesses,” Bloomberg told attendees at the conference.

While Bloomberg is spot on that the world works on the relationships, the approach to foster connections has been dramatically recast.  There is no walking the halls of customer accounts.  Cold calling is unproductive.  Unsolicited Emails get minimal response.

That is because broadband adoption, the searchable Web and social networks have empowered customers, and given them more control than ever before on how and when they consume information about products and services.  Gartner Group refers to these customers as enlightened buyers.  Forrester Research uses the phrase the buyer’s journey.

Today, it is incumbent for companies like yours to meet buyers on their terms.  Thought leadership content is the vehicle to accomplish that.  When combined with targeted distribution and analytics to assess engagement, lead generation and account based marketing becomes more disciplined and measurable.

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Connected Aviation Today Showcases the “Must Haves”

I am often asked by business-to-business marketers about the attributes that provide the foundation for successful content marketing and demand generation program.  There are three primary “must haves,” which include:

  1. Industry segment or technical area that is timely and of interest among key audiences (i.e. customers, prospects, partners, market influencers, etc.);
  2. Recognized and established brand as a program sponsor to lend credibility; and
  3. Commitment to thought leadership in editorial strategy and development, rather than promotional or marketing speak.

Here is a recent example:  Connected Aviation Today, introduced by Rockwell Collins.  Take a few moments to review the site, check out the user interface and evaluate the editorial strategy.  Message me here on this blog or via Twitter @StrategicGuy with your thoughts.

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What Sales NEVER Tells Marketers

I just had the most unexpected phone conversation with a new business prospect.  My head is still spinning.  Here’s the story…

Each week I set aside time to dial marketers who I have yet to meet.  I quickly introduce Strategic Communications Group (Strategic) and, since I am calling unannounced, attempt to schedule an initial phone conversation at a later date.

Yesterday, the North American field marketing lead at a global technology products company picked up her line.  We chatted for a minute and agreed to compare calendars via Email.  Then, she hit me with a surprise.

“Hey, while I have you on the phone.  You are in sales.  Tell me, what does my sales team not share with me when it comes to their expectations of marketing?”

Imagine that!  Rather than simply rushing me off, this marketer viewed the conversation as an opportunity to gather insight and intelligence to help her be more successful.  I was happy to oblige.

  1. A comprehensive view of a prospect helps me initiate a dialogue. Provide me intelligence based on the prospect’s digital footprint and social engagement. How are they engaging with content?  Where do they interact?  By understanding areas of possible need, my rate of success in securing a first meeting will skyrocket.
  2. Sales cycles have gaps in time. Help me fill them. I don’t want to contact a prospect to just “follow up.”  Develop thought leadership oriented content I can use to maintain a dialogue when they are not ready to buy.
  3. Steer me away from unproductive activities. I want to attend events…organize Webinars…sponsor conferences. Help me understand if these tactics are misguided and will fail to reach the right audience.
  4. And perhaps most important…

That’s when I stopped.   The line remained quiet for a good 10 seconds.  You could practically feel the anticipation.

“Well?”, she finally asked.

I will tell you during our introductory call, I explained.  That’s because the goal of each step in the sales process is simply to reach the next step.

What is my final (and most important) expectation of marketing?  Look for an update to this blog post in the next few days.

 

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What is my last “sales guy” expectation of marketing?  Help me develop a voice on social media. 

Sales reps identify and qualify more leads when they are actively engaged in social networks, especially LinkedIn.  Unfortunately, many refrain from social engagement because they are unclear of how to do it in a disciplined and a professional way.  This is an area where marketers can help.

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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:

  1. Be relevant to the audience’s interests
  2. Be timely
  3. 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.

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