by tradesmeninsights | Mar 25, 2015 | Marketing Tips, Marketing Tools, Social Marketing, Traditional Marketing
For a major new purchase, do you think a contractor or tradesman just walks into a distributor and asks what’s new, and then just buys it? Of course not.
They hear or read about a new or better solution to help them do their job better and more efficient. They research what other tradesman think about the idea, either on forums or in person. They research it online and download information to help them. It’s at this point they may contact their local distributor or manufacturer to get more questions answered or ask for a product demo.
The point is, the contractor has done lots of research long before they identify themselves to you as a potential sale.
Marketing’s role is to make sure that the right information is in the right place for contractors, whether it’s in trade publication ads, testimonials, product reviews, customer ratings, PR or social media. The fact is, B2B customers are 60-90% the way through a purchasing decision before they contact you! Yikes.
Heidi Cohen recently posted an article on how the 2015 B-to-B purchasing decision process has changed.
Here are some and points to consider:
- 5% of website visitors provide an email address
- 20% of marketing emails are opened
- 1% of leads are nurtured
These types of challenges require some sort of marketing automation tools to help you better reach and engage prospects. You need to determine what content they want, put it where they want it and understand the next steps in their process.
What are your biggest challenges?
by tradesmeninsights | Mar 17, 2015 | Marketing Tips, Social Marketing
As marketers, we’re all trying to do more with less which begs the question, when is enough enough? Or should the question be quality vs. quantity? I’m of the opinion that good content is better than more content and that we should be focusing on where it’s being targeted. The rule of thumb is your target audience needs to see your message at least 7 times before they believe it. That means you must have it on different venues to make sure you’re included. Heidi Cohen in a recent post talked about quality vs. quantity and how it’s affecting us all. 
These stats that only 38% marketers rate their content to be effective or very effective are disturbing. Especially for all the time and effort that you’re putting into it. Here are some more sobering facts from 2014 regarding more is less:
- Brand-generated content by channel increased by 78%
- Interactions per post per followers decreased by 60%
This might be a case of too much communications. We can’t stop, but we need to be more focused. It’s getting back to basics of:
- Knowing your customer
- Target content to meet your audience’s specific needs
- Deliver it where they are looking
What kind of problems are you running into? Are these points resonating with what you’re experiencing?
by tradesmeninsights | Mar 11, 2015 | Marketing Tips, Marketing Tools, Marketing Trends, Social Marketing
SlideShare is probably the most overlooked social media tool.
Close to 70 million visitors a month second only to YouTube is nothing to sneeze at. SlideShare was purchased by LinkedIn a few years ago which allows both platforms to work seamlessly together which is good news for you.
Why should you consider using it? It’s a great way to market your business, showcase your expertise as an industry leader. Not only can you put up Power Point presentations and white papers, you can upload videos by using SlideSharepro and have a way to repurpose your webinars or online training options.
If you’re worried about sharing your information with the world, you can upload content that you can make available to select audiences (by invitation only).
The most important reason for using SlideShare is to generate leads. Peg Fitzpatrick recently wrote a great post on Social Media Examiner on ways to capitalize on getting leads.
She focuses on ways to collect emails from viewers, how to use links in slides, why you should add visual calls to action and lastly, why the description. It’s a good quick read.
Heidi Cohen outlines 10 actionable marketing tactics to get the most out of leads.
Don’t miss out on this valuable tool that will help you not only become a thought leader, but generate leads at the same time.
by tradesmeninsights | Sep 10, 2014 | Marketing Tips, Public Relations, Social Marketing
There are all kinds of buzz words out there—integrated marketing, 360 degree marketing, etc. They all have the same goal in mind, and that is to take your marketing message and share it across all methods of communication. Place your customer in the center of your efforts and then deliver your information in various ways so they can get it in the format they prefer.
Heidi Cohen had an interesting post recently, 360 Degree Social Media Marketing, where she shared 37 different tactics that you can use.
Here are some highlights that manufacturers should consider:
- Be consistent – Develop content on a regular basis so you can start to build a relationship.
- Selective use of social media – Use the appropriate media to get in front of your prospects. Make sure you use photos and videos in making your points.
- Utilize customer service – they are talking to customers all the time. Create a FAQ segment to share. Give your customers options on ways to contact you other than on social.
- Collect customer feedback and input for research purposes. Hear firsthand their compliments and complaints on your products/services.
- Utilize social in your PR efforts – We all have brand advocates. Work with them to help build your visibility. Start a blog to establish thought leadership.
If you like this subject, you may want to reads:
Are You Getting Your Sales Force Involved in Social Media?
How Does Social Media Impact a B-to-B Purchase?
by tradesmeninsights | Feb 18, 2014 | Marketing Tips, Social Marketing, Traditional Marketing
I just saw a stat this week that over 90 percent of B-to-B companies are now using content marketing. I wonder if you asked them why, what the answer would be. Hopefully it’s not because everyone else is using it! If you’re using content, you know how much time it takes you and your team to develop and place good content.
Whether it’s content marketing or any other tactic, there should be good reasons for using it and a detailed plan of action – what to say, where to use it and how to measure it. I recently read an article by Heidi Cohen, Why Use Content Marketing – 7 Reasons that I thought would help us all in not only reviewing what we’re doing, but more importantly, evaluate and possibly refocus our efforts on those activities that are working.
We all have different reasons and priorities, and from a manufacturer’s point of view, here are three things you may want to consider when using content marketing:
- Build your brand – this should be true in any type of promotion, but building good content helps set you apart and builds your reputation.
- Attract new customers – Give customers what they want pre- and post-information that will help them through the sales cycle. Good content will sell itself.
- Support existing customers – with updated product/installation information, handy apps or other tools that will make doing their job easier. Remember, existing clients are your best repeat customers, so continue to engage them.
Why are you using Content Marketing and what tactics are working best for you?
If you like this post, you may want to read:
Manufacturers: What Are You Trying to Accomplish with Your Content Marketing?
Smaller Companies are Doing a Better Job with Content Marketing
What are you Doing to Improve your Content Marketing Performance?
Content Marketing: Have a Strategy and Be Relevant.
