As a new medium for delivering a message, mobile marketing has been thrust into the spotlight - ready or not. As B2B marketers, we have to realize is that it’s about increasing our creativity (choosing the right format and targeting the right message) to reach the right audience. No more are we limited to a brief text message (“Send a text to 22222 to see if you’ve won”) to collect limited information or try to communicate a more involved marketing message.

With the advent of technology platforms like e-readers (is the Kindle on your Christmas list?), smaller computers (my Smartphone is better than your Netbook), portable entertainment units (if I could ever get my son off the PS3) and even navigation systems (yes, your GPS is watching you) the doors are opening to many more possibilities for your message to reach your B2B audience. But which one is the right one for you and what’s the right message to send?

Part of learning how these
---More---

Recently I’ve been involved with projects that include elements of both Branding and Direct Marketing. I’ve been asked where my team loyalties lie, since the tactics of each seem to be on the opposite ends of the playing field. But to me, the goal is always the same – winning the game.

Many a marketer will tell you the front line of direct marketing can support the brand but that the opposite is not true. Due to differing calls on the objective of most branding campaigns, direct marketing may not always be the best offense in promoting the look/feel of your company, i.e. leaving your fans with a good impression means nothing if there isn’t any forward progress. However, just because they aren’t exactly reciprocal doesn’t make them less important in the whole game plan.

Direct marketing campaigns tend to have a prominent goal – getting an immediate call to action from the customer. Blitz, deliver, convert, and score the sale.
---More---

The economy has taken a down turn but that doesn’t mean marketing tactics have to completely dissolve – it just means they have to adapt. There are various cost-effective ways to continually reach your audience, whether to generate leads, build brand or maintain awareness. The key is to continually integrate them into your marketing program throughout the year.

E-newsletters have become a very popular marketing tool and with the cut back of marketing dollars, you can definitely “do more with less”. Make sure that you not only develop an engaging piece but you reach your audience on a regular basis - whether weekly, monthly or quarterly. Think “campaign”, not just a single deployment.

To help drive traffic to your e-newsletter and grow your database, update your web site to include standard links to sign up for the newsletter. Integrating them into the navigation or including them at the bottom of each page will allow your audience
---More---

Today’s customers in the B2B market are increasingly savvy and have high expectations. They will not tolerate negative experiences or inconsistencies across channels. Successful B2B marketers need to understand that it's no longer about simply pushing the products they produce, but also outwardly addressing their customer’s needs at the center of the buying experience.

So how do you “pull” instead of “push”?  You need to understand and capture the customer’s needs and preferences – valid research and utilizing a hyper-integrated method of marketing throughout the buying cycle is a must. The customer’s experience must be optimized for the specific need at that specific moment, on their progression toward purchase. B2B marketers need to listen, gather feedback, and adjust to each changing phase.
---More---

Integrating your marketing 2.0 efforts cannot be overlooked nowadays. Search, social media components, email and direct mail all need to work together to help the customer along the buying process. Each element in itself does some pretty heavy lifting, but combining them to work in conjunction, you develop an assembly line of integration.

For example, some B2B companies are not only sending targeted emails to potential customers, but including blog elements into their campaigns. A simple combining of technologies not only allows them to reach and listen to their audience, but helps build a community – a community who likes to talk to each other.  They have been able to reach an audience they did not directly target and find out more than they originally expected. When you add a search element into the mix, you drive even more traffic to the community.

Following up your efforts with the correct analysis and constant realignment will have your
---More---

One of the most important – and often overlooked – aspects of an effective B-to-B direct marketing piece is strong offer or “call to action”. Targeted lists, clever copy, and a uniquely styled piece are all important but you cannot forget your main goal: action. Let your literature and website do the heavy lifting for information, your direct piece needs to get your audience to act.

According to many marketing gurus, 40% of a direct marketing piece’s impact comes from the value of the offer. That percentage is equal to the importance of sending to the targeted list in the first place, with the last 20% coming from the design/writing of the piece itself.

Unfortunately, I’ve seen too many B-to-B marketers place a majority of the importance (70%) on how the piece is designed and written, followed far behind by purchasing a list (20%) instead of building one, and lastly (10%) on a compelling call-to-action.
---More---

In the B-to-B marketing world, most companies sell products and services to relatively well-understood market niches or groups of prospects. So even though you may use broader communication tactics such as advertising and public relations to communicate branding and product messages to markets in total, it makes sense to use direct marketing tactics to deliver more tailored messages to smaller sets of potential customers.

To build brand affinity and deliver important messages, B-to-B marketers have long relied on direct mail and newsletters to deliver important company news and product information to known customers. These tools help supplement direct sales contact and keep you “top of mind” to your audience. Digital communications channels such as e-mail, e-newsletters and other tactics are making the task of customer cultivation, easier, faster, and more efficient.
---More---

E-mails, E-newsletters, Blogs, Social Networks, RSS feeds, Widgets, Wikis, Wireless – there are A LOT of online applications and services for a marketer to learn and use properly.   “How do I reach the right audience, at the right time, with the right message?” looms large in the ever growing B2B-shaped world.

According to Stefan Pollard, of EmailLabs, the key is to look at these channels as just “parts” of a strategic “whole”. Focusing on any one strategy can leave you with limited options to offer and virtual holes in reaching your customers - many of whom may be using different forms of communication (including non-Web 2.0).

So how can these channels of communication help you market effectively through e-mail?

• Blogs – helpful in gauging customer feedback or as a source of marketing research for your future emails or e-newsletters.
  ---More---

Relationship Marketing evolved in the 60’s and became popular in the 80’s.  It’s a classic and essential form of marketing that we should all strive to put into practice with existing and developing clients.

 

Relationship marketing emphasizes the understanding of your customers needs through their buying life cycle, providing products and services as they need them and, mostly importantly, building long-term relationships.

 Relationship Marketing is a powerful tool that can substantially increase the profitability of a business. According to Harvard Review contributors Riechheld and Sasser, a 5% increase in customer retention can lead to a 25-85% rise in profits, depending on the industry. How does this occur?

• High cost of acquisition – the longer the relationship, the lower the amortized cost
• Long-term
  ---More---

I don’t know about my fellow marketers, but I for one have had enough of the “buzz word” phenomena. In fact, buzz word is a buzz word anymore. There’s even a buzz word for when a buzz word becomes abused: buzz word backlash. I’d like to take that one step further and state that I believe we have serious case of buzz word whiplash in this country (hopefully that word won’t get picked up by the Web Bugs).

Googling my subject matter, I found there are hundreds sites on the internet dedicated solely to the proliferation of  buzz words - which buzz words to use to get your
---More---