Buyer content preferences in product or service selection
I think everyone agrees that customer-centred content converts better than product-centred content. But which content are prospects looking for when they’re deciding on which products to buy?
Marketing Automatation Software Guide did some research on what informs the B2B purchase decision helps answer this question, so I thought we’d provide a summary to help you think about how customer-centric your site in terms of the different types of information available to explain the product.
Content used to inform decisions when researching a market?
During the initial evaluation of a product, these are the factors that are important. No surprise that pricing is at the top of the list since it will often require a phone call in B2B. Proof of features and demonstrations are also popular.
Content…
5 areas of B2B email marketing to review
Email is in decline with the next generation of business professionals more likely to rely on SMS and social network messaging. Yet, most B2B companies still use email-based newsletters as a primary way of attempting to communicate with and engaging customers and prospects.
Email statistics
A recent Forrester report titled ‘How US Marketer’s use email’ heaped further concern on business use of email by summarizing:
6 in 10 B2B companies are keeping their marketing spend flat in 2011
71% use email to communicate with customers and prospects on a regular basis
33 % don’t routinely remove bad email addresses from databases
43% of B2B marketers think email will become more important to their marketing activity
(more…)…
An introduction to selecting the right B2B social media options
Most business-to-business (B2B) companies are already employing some form of social media as part of their marketing mix. But how many B2B marketers really think about their customers, who they are, what they look like, what they like and where they congregate, before selecting and using social media tools? And which are the right tools to use? I think there's a danger that companies feel they have to use everything, but fail to prioritise on the social media networks that matter [Editor's note - you discuss with colleagues what to prioritise with our Digital Marketing Radar].
The social media business conundrum
Using social media and selecting the right tools is the urgent marketing challenge facing B2B marketers. But they are faced with huge challenges that their B2C colleagues are not. The immediate and emotional nature of the B2C purchase compared to the complicated,…
How Cisco approach reactivating their inactive subscribers
Value: [rating=3]
Our commentary : We're alerting you to this Marketing Sherpa post reviewing a Cisco.com campaign since it's got a specific process you could follow for a common problem in B2B or B2C marketing. It's also got some example subject line or creative to inspire!
[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="652" caption="Source: Marketing Sherpa"][/caption]
Marketing implications My summary of the process followed is:
1. Select a segment of database to test
2. Review segments in terms of potential value
3. Brainstorm and select the right segment for the audience (in this case based on position)
4. Send creative - example subject lines and creative are shown
Recommended link: Marketing Sherpa B2B Cisco Email case study…
Trends From Social Tech 2010
Value: [rating=3]
Our commentary: So, you have the website, the blog, Twitter account (with a degree of usage) and maybe even Facebook fan page, you're tooled up - but do you feel like you're just a hamster on a treadmill - we all do, sometimes. The question is - where's the magic? Ann Handley notes in a recent post at the Daily Fixblog, "B2B marketers + social = lots of room for improvement." She's written up her 4 take-aways from 'Social Tech 2010', an event focussed around the B2B marketer, and in particular for the high tech industries.
Marketing implications:
All content is not equal: You know the new mantras - "Content is King" - "We are all publishers"! But, "B2B companies have to produce the right kind of content: Web content that is honestly empathetic, seeded with utility for your customers, and that reflects your business's core values…
Considered, clever and committed - Cisco share their insight
Since experimenting with a blog back in 2005 Cisco's clever use of social media now plays a serious part in the company's worldwide presence, writes Meryl K. Evans in a post at the B2B Social Media Digest - Cisco staff update content regularly and engage with audiences, it's part of the company culture and their pride in being the 'human network'.
As background and context for colleagues on the journey to social media you may want to check:
The Timeline of The Journey to Social Media at Cisco
The company's vision to inform it's social media strategy is considered and simple - the company's director of social media, John Earnhardt says Cisco "€œchanging the way we work, live, play and learn" We believe it's something that networking technology inherently does. We connect. We make the world a smaller place through video and…
