Marketing Minute: Should Your Company Consider an Influencer Program?

Influencers are becoming increasingly popular among consumer brands, but have you thought about it for B2T (business-to-trades) companies? Join Matt Sonnhalter as he discusses the questions you should ask yourself before starting an influencer program. He outlines three things to consider – social media, products that are conducive to good influencer content and an e-commerce presence.

 

To view other videos from Sonnhalter, visit our YouTube channel here and let us know if there’s a B2T marketing topic you’d like us to cover.

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What Are B2B Salespeople Doing Well – and Badly – When Selling Virtually?

By: Matt Sonnhalter, Vision Architect

When it comes to selling it’s important to keep your buyer in mind. Although it can be hard to please your buyer, sellers need to approach buyers, differentiate themselves from the competition, and demonstrate their value.

In their 2021 Buyer Preference Study, Korn Ferry answers these questions and more.

Here are some of the key findings that I found interesting:

1) Seller performance continues to decline – with the key to this decline being that buyers have continued to change faster than sellers, and sales organizations haven’t kept up.

2) Only 33% of salespeople are effective at selling in a “virtual” environment – the challenges of selling virtually, combined with longer buying cycles and changes in the buying process, mean that sellers have a more difficult path than ever to making the sale.

3) Buyers don’t view sellers as a valuable resource – respondents ranked sellers next to last out of 10 preferred resources used to solve business problems. Buyers are finding more value in using their past experiences with vendors, social networks and trade media or colleagues.

4) Buyers continue to engage sellers later and later in the sales process – over 79% wait until after they have full defined needs; over half (57%) identify solutions first. The earlier that sellers can be involved with the buyers then they have more time to influence the buyer’s decisions.

5) Factors influencing large purchase decisions – Features/Benefits, Ease of Use and Solution Value are listed as the Top 3, while “pricing” is seen as a secondary issue. Decision-making has many factors and depends on the buyer and for 27% they use analytical thinking and facts to make their decisions.

How has your sales team performed selling virtually?

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Buyers’ Online Event Fatigue

Buyers’ Online Event Fatigue

By: Matt Sonnhalter, Vision Architect

In 2020, companies and businesses turned to online events as an alternative to in-person events due to COVID-19. With those who previously held face-to-face events, 4 in 5 or 78% of people converted to online. Although online events were successful, people are starting to feel burnt out from them.

According to Activate Marketing Services in partnership with MarketingCharts, 9 in 10 or 90% of Demand Gen marketers agree that buyers are becoming fatigued with online events.

We all had to pivot last year to replace in-person events (tradeshows, association and industry meetings) … and most of us tried to fill the gap by replacing them with some sort of online/virtual event. With buyers becoming fatigued, and that will only be growing, companies are starting to redirect their focus. Instead, high-quality lead programs have risen up the ranks when respondents were asked to choose their top 3 options. That being said, companies are starting to focus more on content and engagement with their audience.

This doesn’t mean virtual events are going away anytime soon. Although I don’t know about you, but most of the online events I attended were pretty much busts.

What does your company have planned for the remainder of the year? Any in-person events? I know I’m scheduled to attend at least half a dozen trade shows between now and the end of the year and I can’t wait to continue to see people “live” and in person!

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America’s Bridges Are Falling Apart

by Matt Sonnhalter, Vision Architect

1 in 3 U.S. Bridges Needs Repair or Replacement

This infographic from Statista shows the Top 7 U.S. states by the number of structurally deficient bridges in 2020.

 

Who knew Iowa had so many bridges? I always thought of rows and rows of corn fields for them. 🙂

The full 2021 Bridge Conditions Report from the American Road & Transportation Builders Association (ARTBA) is alarming. Here are some key highlights and figures:

  • 220,000 of U.S. bridges—36 percent—need repair work

 

  • 79,500 of U. S. bridges need replacement 

 

  • At the current pace, it would take nearly 40 years to repair the current backlog of “structurally deficient” (SD) bridges

 

  • Motorists drive across structurally deficient bridges 171.5 million times daily

 

  • A structurally deficient bridge, on average, is nearly 68 years old, compared to 32 years for a bridge in good condition and 54 years for a bridge in fair condition.

 

Bridge inspections generally occur once every 24 months. Bridge ratings are updated as inspections are completed—each year some bridges are classified as poor or structurally deficient and others are removed from that category as they undergo repair, rehabilitation or replacement.

How are the bridges and infrastructure in your hometown?

 

 

 

 

 

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