June 27, 2008 | 9:48pm
Where ideas come from. (Melissa Zane)
Not long ago, I was part of a team that needed to come up with a positioning ad campaign for one of our clients. Our account manager reviewed the situation with our creative team. Towards the end of his review, I remember him saying, "OK, and here are a few of my stupid thoughts and ideas...." Then he continued to rattle-off several things. One of his so-called "stupid ideas" really stuck in my head. So much so, I spent hours one weekend working on taking that idea—and several others—to the next level, showing how they could work in a series. During our next team meeting, the creative folks and I presented the ideas, and then built upon those ideas, making them stronger and stronger. There is nothing I find worse than a so-so idea that looks good. ---More--- |
June 25, 2008 | 11:50am
Are your employees on board? (Erin Michalak)
Although it is essential, many marketers often skip the crucial step of internal branding. Selling your brand to your employees should come way before you try to sell your brand to your customers and/or prospects. If your employees don’t believe in what you are selling or don’t understand it, then it is likely all you will deliver to your customers are empty promises. Your first step, after you’ve determined what your brand positioning and messaging should be, is to infuse the brand personality into all aspects of the company. Support from upper management is key. ---More--- |
June 25, 2008 | 11:45am
Strategy, Branding and Leadership (Chuck Manners)
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 |
January 25, 2008 | 1:47pm
In a recent article published by The Economic Times, Nirmalya Kumar encourages B-to-B companies to embrace a new culture of communications when selling to prospective customers – the 3Vs – “valued customer, value proposition and value network.” While seen as a complement to the 4Ps that comprise the typical marketing mix (product, pricing, promotion and placement), the 3V-approach is more strategic in nature. Therefore, it is more likely to engage the CEO at a strategic level during a time when many CMOs are struggling to stay relevant and remain on the payroll (the average tenure of a CMO is 26.8 months according to BtoB Magazine). Realizing this philosophy of customer value management |
December 28, 2007 | 10:49am
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 |
September 22, 2007 | 2:10pm
Breaking the B-to-B Branding "Code" (Russ Green)
The term “branding” is often misunderstood and not always warmly embraced in the business-to-business environment. But B-to-B branding is vital to a marketer’s success. It is the process of defining and differentiating your company and how you add value to your markets and customers. Good branding is part of every successful B-to-B marketing program. Sometimes it simply uses “code.” Over the past weeks, we have talked to prospective clients and heard many of the “code words” that reveal a branding issue.
“We can’t hire better sales reps or dealers because of our standing in the market.” “Our reps need help with messaging.”
“We don’t have top-of-mind awareness at customers.” “We have lost sight of what we truly represent in the market.”
“We need a consistent message that conveys our value |
September 8, 2007 | 12:10pm
Sound Branding (Curt Hitchcock)
Think he’s crazy, think again. J.D. ---More--- |
August 31, 2007 | 3:44pm
#1 At What Cost? (Russ Green)
Twice last week I heard about B-to-B marketing directors who were "ordered" to achieve the #1 ranking in Google search results for one or more keywords that were important to their company. That was the goal. Period. In one case, the company shelled out $75,000 over three months before they realized that they weren't getting significant results in terms of leads. “Gotta be #1” might be a perfectly good move under the right circumstances, but absent strategy the mentality is reminiscent of the rush into e-commerce in the 1990s and that's a cautionary tale. If this approach catches on we’ll find ourselves in an auction situation and prices will soar. Hopefully that won’t happen, but until the search phenomenon matures a little, you might find yourself facing a similar dictate. You have to be responsive but, other than throwing money at it, what can you do? First, if your management is stuck on buying their way into first place, you can ask if---More--- |
June 7, 2007 | 5:05pm
Thanks Larry! (Ken Jones)
Between a recent morning commute and my daily reading of trade publications it occurred to me that a new wave of B2B brand positioning/sloganeering is going on. It wasn’t that long ago that everybody wanted to be a “solutions” company. Now it seems, thanks in part to Larry the Cable Guy’s ubiquitous “Git R Done” that “solutions” are out and “action” is in. During my drive I heard two B2B marketers’ radio commercials use a variation of Larry’s catch phrase. A construction equipment rental company is using “Consider it Done”, and a construction supply distributor is using “For Those That Get it Done”. Later that day I saw a print ad for a manufacturer in the same market space using “We make it happen”. I hope that Larry is getting some residuals. I’ve always believed that brand positioning is about creating a difference. |
