Like most service industries, over the past few years HVAC contractors have seen an explosion in online social directories like Angies List, ServiceMagic and InsiderPages.com. As these new social directories take hold, and consumers begin to learn from each other, share stories and rate contractors, their popularity has made other archaic directories like the yellow pages a thing of the past. In fact, according to a recent Decision Analyst study, the Yellow Pages have seen a decline in usage by more than 24% since 2002.

So are these new social directories the preferred advertising medium of the future? The jury is still out on that question. All of these companies are trying to capture that Holy Grail of endorsements that have traditionally only come from word-of-mouth opinions of family, friends, and co-workers. Have they successfully accomplished that…not yet.

Studies show that over 31% of respondents still report that they seek the advice of friends,
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Are you tired of all the gloom and doom news regarding the economy? I am. I watch the news constantly looking for any positive signs. I’m still watching and waiting. But I’m an optimist. I can’t single-handily fix the economy but I wonder what I can do, what I might recommend to B-to-B marketers that will help them get through this tough time and prepare for that eventual turnaround.

Last week I attended the monthly, early-morning coffee chat with members of our local chapter of the AIGA (American Institute of Graphic Arts). The predetermined topic was, “What challenges are we facing in our business and what are we doing to cope?” Not surprisingly, many are experiencing similar issues: reduced staff, unpredictable workloads and just the uncertainty of what is to come.

There were a few positive indicators. Two firms noted that a few of their clients were taking the opportunity during the slow time to fine-tune their branding and these
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Mr. Immelt has a very good sense of what he wants the GE brand to stand for going forward - innovation in emerging businesses in the 21st century (for now, that means big investments in health-care and energy.) Much of the growth in GE’s strategy will come
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I recently had the opportunity to be part of a panel on this subject at a meeting of the American Marketing Association’s, Houston Chapter’s B2B Special Interest Group.

Here’s a brief recap of what was discussed:

The overall message of the meeting was that successful B2B marketers view these as times of opportunity. A period that requires an "uncertain times" strategy with the brand and protecting the brand is the driver. It is a critically opportune time to make sure your brand message is integrated into all communications associated with your brand.

Michelle Reed, Vice President Strategic Marketing,
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When was the last time you saw a company advertise itself as “combative and adversarial?” Have you seen any vision statements that say “We struggle with our customers for common ground?” How about a tagline that says, “Committed to losing your trust?”

Of course not. But more than half of b-to-b technology companies are branding themselves this way by their actions, according to a new study by the Chief Marketing Officer Council, reported in a recent online article in B2B Magazine.

According to the study, which surveyed 1,000 b-to-b technology buyers, IT marketing and customer relationship executives and their channel partners, 56% of vendors perceive themselves as being customer-centric, but only 12% of customers agree. Even more telling is that more than half of customers surveyed described their relationship with
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"Every Honeywell employee is a brand ambassador. With every customer contact and whenever we represent Honeywell, we have the opportunity either to strengthen the Honeywell brand or to cause it to lose some of its luster and prestige."

I have also seen it used to describe celebrities that are hired as spokespeople. For example, that same search gave me these results:

"Toyota has roped in actor Aamir Khan as its Brand Ambassador for its utility vehicle Innova."

"TAG Heuer today announced Hollywood superstars Brad Pitt and Uma Thurman as brand ambassadors."

In the Web 2.0 world we are engaging new technologies to communicate with our prospects and customers.
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“We can’t hire better sales reps or dealers because of our standing in the market.”

 “We don’t have top-of-mind awareness at customers.”

 “We need a consistent message that conveys our value
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