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
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What if you were a B2B marketing manager and a media rep called on you and said, "I have just the circulation you need. Every one of our subscribers is in the industries you serve. They all have expressed an interest in one or more of the products you make or services you provide. What's more, they have actually expressed an interest in YOUR products or services. Now don't you want to invest some marketing dollars to turn their interest into leads for your sales force?"

Well, would you? Of course you would. How could a B2B trade magazine make such claims? It couldn't. But you may be sitting on a "circulation" that can. It's your prospect (or inquiry) data base. And if you haven't been cultivating it and turning inquiries into interested and qualified leads, then you've missed out on one of the most efficient marketing communications tactics you could have been using during the 2009 economic downturn.

As we turn the corner into a recovery, take a fresh look
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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.
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If you know any architects you’ll probably agree that they can be fiercely loyal to certain brands, especially those that define their sense of style and good taste. Windows, doors, flooring, office furniture – especially chairs – right down to their brand of paint. 

So, when my neighbor, the architect, said that she and her husband were going to drive 40 miles for ice cream one evening I wasn’t too surprised. I just figured, it's a brand thing – Häagen-Dazs or Ben and Jerry’s.

The irony is that there's a great little café two blocks down the street that has wonderful ice cream. They offer a dozen different flavors and they're made right here in Lancaster, PA.

I didn’t know how much our neighbors spent on these junkets, but I assumed that they were doing their part to fuel the recovery. I'm sure that driving their SUV 40 miles cost as much as a couple cones at the local café. 

The
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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
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The challenge of every direct mail campaign is figuring out which lists are going to perform best. Where is your target audience? Sure, they might be hidden in the depths of a compiled database, however, you should be able to do better than that. 

Start with industry specific association lists. You may have to do some digging for availability, but I almost always get good results from a well targeted association list. Many direct mail brokers won’t go through the trouble of calling associations that do not advertise their member list. You may even find that as a member you are entitled to the list at a reduced rate or no cost at all. I’ve come across associations where the cost of membership was about the cost of renting the list as a non-member, so in addition to the list we received the added bonus of being listed in their online and print directories.
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So, you are getting ready for an old fashioned b-to-b direct mail campaign. Don’t be ashamed, according to BtoB Magazine’s 2009 Marketing Priorities and Plans survey, 74% of b-to-b marketers are planning to maintain or increase their direct marketing budget in 2009. Here are 5 tips to help you make the most of your campaign.

Use your Merge Purge Wisely - Most b-to-b rental lists are purchased with one-time use only, but when possible, be sure to use them completely. If your mail-house runs a merge purge for 10 rented lists and 30% are duplicates, that’s ok - you can mail the duplicates again. If the same name shows up on six rented lists, you’ve paid for the name six times and can use it six times. Just be sure that you are mailing the approved mail piece within the promised timeline.

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