Many manufacturers have capital goods that have long selling cycles. Most I think would welcome ways to pull buyers forward in the sales process via lead nurturing.
It’s an easy read and what I liked about it was it not only showed you what/how you need to do to engage the potential customer, but it also shows you a different way of looking at your company from the inside.
Even though prospects are more informed now than ever, so are their problems. They are looking for solutions not sales pitches. She shows you how to attract more prospects into your pipeline and then nurture them through the sales process (once you’ve figured it out). Instead of pushing what you have to sell, you need to be pushing the value you bring to the table. What you bring to the party must be relevant.
Cleveland-area agency earns awards for integrated marketing campaign and market-focused product guides.
BEREA, Ohio – January 2013 – Sonnhalter, a communications firm marketing to the professional tradesman in the construction, industrial and MRO markets, received two Silver Davey Awards in the integrated campaign: business-to-business and print collateral categories.
The Davey Awards honor the finest creative work from small firms, agencies and companies worldwide. The Davey Awards are named after King David who defeated the giant Goliath with a big idea and a little rock. The story resembles what small firms do each year by deriving strength from big ideas instead of big budgets.
Sonnhalter developed market-focused product guides for its client, Osborn, who is the world’s leading supplier of surface treatment solutions and high-quality finishing tools. The product guides help Osborn’s customers in the motor-driven vehicles, primary metals and welding markets navigate the best products for their applications.
“We recently started working with Sonnhalter and they stepped in as a key part of our team, producing quality material for us, including these product guides,” said Jeff Naymik, marketing manager at Osborn.
Sonnhalter also earned a silver Davey award for its 2012 self-promotion campaign. The integrated campaign focused on reinforcing the agency’s brand identity and increasing its visibility in the market. Focusing on the question, “Is your current agency dirty?” the campaign communicated the agency’s B2T, business-to-tradesmen, marketing niche as well as how Sonnhalter’s team isn’t afraid to get their hands dirty by digging into, and understanding, their clients’ industries.
“At Sonnhalter, we’re proud of how well we know our clients’ industries and can dig into their work,” said Matt Sonnhalter, vision architect at Sonnhalter. “These two awards are encouragement to keep doing what we’re doing.”
About Sonnhalter
Established in 1976, Sonnhalter is the leading B2T marketing communications firm to companies that target professional tradesmen in construction, industrial and MRO markets. Sonnhalter’s brand identity highlights its expertise in marketing to the professional tradesmen. Its tagline, “Not Afraid To Get Our Hands Dirty,” promotes the employees’ willingness to roll up their sleeves and dig deep into clients’ businesses, also, it refers to the market it targets: the tradesmen who work with – and dirty – their hands every day. Sonnhalter developed the acronym “B2T,” which stands for “business-to-tradesmen” to capture the essence of its specialty. In 2009, 2010, 2011 and 2012, Sonnhalter was named one of BtoB Magazine’s Top Agencies. For more information, visit the company website at www.Sonnhalter.com or visit the company blog at www.TradesmenInsights.com.
About The Davey Awards
The Davey Awards honor the “Davids” of creativity, the smaller agencies, companies, or organizations with annual billings or revenues below certain levels. Each year, The Davey Awards honor winners who derive their strength from big ideas, rather than big budgets.
The Davey Awards are judged by the International Academy of the Visual Arts, an invitation-only organization consisting of top-tier media, advertising, and marketing professionals from the world’s leading organizations and firms. For more information about the Davey Awards, visit www.daveyawards.com.
About Osborn
Osborn is the world’s leading supplier of surface treatment solutions and high-quality finishing tools for hundreds of industrial and commercial applications such as metal finishing, honing and surface polishing. Celebrating its 125th anniversary in 2012, Osborn now includes operations in 15 countries and serves customers in more than 100 countries. A unit of Jason Inc., Osborn carries more than 10,000 standard products and more than 100,000 customized solutions to serve a diverse of group customers and industries. For more information, visit www.Osborn.com.
So you finally got in the social media game and you’re trying to make your mark. With all the clutter and noise out there, you need to differentiate yourself (branding) and engage your potential customers. Let’s work smart and not hard.
Here are 3 tips to help you break through the clutter:
Be proactive – don’t just write posts. Locate where your potential customers hang out. Listen to what they’re saying about your company and products. What pain points are they talking about and how can you help them address those issues?
Train your employees – Social is a new marketing tool and we can’t assume that they know what your focus is for social or what their responsibilities are. They all need to be on the same page and there should be guidelines set up so everyone knows what their roles should be, the processes that are in place, and if a crisis occurs, the steps necessary to address them.
Develop a social media engagement schedule – if you have identified an audience like the professional tradesmen you need to know when they are active on social so you have a better opportunity to engage them. When you do, make sure someone who is knowledgeable on your product or service is available to answer their inquiries. Don’t let a low-level person who isn’t up to speed on your products be your spokesperson.
The bottom line for all of this is to drive more sales, and social media is just one more way of identifying and engaging new prospects.
Yeah, I know I’m a little late out of the gate with these, but I think some of these are worth rereading and some of you might have missed them the first time around.
For those of you who plan on attending the AHR Expo later this month in Dallas, we’ve created a guide to get you around the town during your free time and to entertain those important customers.
The guide includes recommendations from our friends who live and work in Dallas on the best restaurants, night life and sightseeing. We’ve even included phone numbers of taxi companies just in case you don’t want to drive.
We hope you have a great show and hope to see you either at the convention center or one of the establishments listed in the guide.
You may have some of the best content in the world, but if no one reads it, what’s the point? I recently read a post by Heidi Cohen, 13 Ways to Maximize Content Marketing Effectiveness that got me to thinking about getting back to the basics and making the effort of writing posts to pay off.
Here are some thoughts:
Come up with a strong headline – we have less than 3 seconds to capture attention. Make your headline make the reader stop.
Use images – a picture or graphic is worth its weight in gold. We are a visual society and the right image will help keep the reader on the page.
Get to the point – now that you’ve captured their attention, dive into the meat of what you want to say at the beginning.
You don’t have to have all the answers – link to relevant content. It reinforces the point that others share your point of view.
Get them to react – we need to add a call-to-action or ask for comments to get the readers involved. If they share the same opinion on the subject, I’m sure they would have something to contribute to the conversation.
Those are my thoughts. I’d like to hear what you’re doing to get more readership.
Now that the holidays are behind us and we’re all getting back to reality, I thought I’d share some thoughts on what we’re going to do to create better content this year. I was inspired by a post my friend Joe Pulizzi wrote, 42 Content Marketing Ideas for 2013. Thanks Joe for the inspiration!
Top 10 things I’m going to try to do this year to have better content:
Less content will mean more impact – make content more meaningful.
Find at least 3 other thought leaders in your company – build them into your plan.
Develop a list of the top 100 questions coming from your customers – then write to them.
Sit down with every salesperson and ask them what their customers biggest pain points are – then address them.
Define your most targeted audienceand consider doing a targeted print publication.
Assign someone to slide share to figure out how we can get the most out of it.
Make sure every content marketing landing page has only one call to action.
Develop a series of stories for your industry on an aspect no one has covered before – what better way of becoming a thought leader.
Double the number of email subscribers to your blog.
Commission a piece of research that is important to your audience.
Those are going to be my goals for 2013; what are yours?
I know we’re all faced with many challenges in our daily grind, but if you had to name just one thing that keeps nagging at you from a marketing angle, what would it be?
One of my biggest challenges is to keep up with our social media activities. Even though I’ve been doing it now for almost 3 years, it’s labor intensive and I always seem to run out of time even after I’ve delegated some of the activities off to other associates.
Sometimes it’s better to slow down and remember some of the basics like talking face-to-face to your customers. You get so much more from a one-on-one conversation, but we normally don’t have time to do that.
SlideShare is gaining traction more and more and it’s not just for slides. SlideShare is averaging over 60 million visits a month and 120 million page views. That means great traction for your SEO and you can target buyers/influencers via tags and channels (customize content).You can also use it for lead generation and there’s a great post in social media examiner,how to generate leads with slideshare that you may find interesting
It’s now owned by LinkedIn and they are doing a great job making it easy to connect with your LinkedIn contacts and groups.
So if SlideShare is becoming so important, we should start paying attention to the details on what and how things should be put up there. I recently read an article by Roger C. Parker in the Content Marketing Institute’s daily updates on a to-do check list (you can download it here) to make sure you’re getting the most out of SlideShare.
He outlines 22 tips on proofing, uploading files and even tips on working with PowerPoint. Here are a few of his points that hit home with me:
Are slide titles and text consistently placed and aligned?
Other than the title slide, are they numbered?
Does your presentation title appear at the top of each page?
Did you add your firm’s name, URL and contact info at the bottom of each page of your handouts?
Did you convert presentation files to Adobe Acrobat to preserve text formatting?
Did you check each link after uploading to make sure they work?
Did you create links between SlideShare and social media sites like LinkedIn and Twitter?
I guess the point is the devil is in the details and if we all take some time, we’ll get more out of our efforts on SlideShare. Roger suggested if you want to learn more you could read The Marketer’s Guide to SlideShare by Todd Wheatlan.
I know there’s been lots of discussions on the pros and cons of buying groups over the years, and I’m not here to try to sway you one way or the other.
I recently came back from STAFDA, which for those who don’t know, is an association of construction distributors and the manufacturers that sell into that market. What struck me at the trade show part of the event was it was obvious which manufacturers didn’t belong to a group. You saw plenty of Evergreen, Sphere 1 and NetPlus badges there, but they were concentrating mostly on seeing the manufacturing members of their respective groups. (I’m using STAFDA as an example and I’m not trying to pick on them.)
So my question is for those who don’t belong to a group (and don’t have a unique product), how do you justify going to one of these meetings? Should the association try to incentivize distributors to stop by new member booths? I feel sorry for those folks who ponied up the cash but not very many distributors stopped by.
Another interesting issue is that most of these buying groups have their own annual meetings and some are incorporating trade shows along with these get-togethers. From a manufacturing point of view, which shows do you go to? Obviously it’s the ones where you get the most bang for your buck.
Associations/buying groups may want to look at their model as things have changed over the past several years. They need to ask about the value proposition of getting these distributors and manufacturers together. Instead of trade shows (whoever introduces a new product at one of these), maybe there should be a series of round table discussions on how to improve the supply chain for everyone involved.
There are some really smart people out there (on both sides), and I believe a lot more could come out of these kinds of meetings and they could include all members.
Any of you belong to other type groups that have changed the model? I’d like to hear from you.
Podcasts are a very popular medium today and rightfully so. Podcasts can add another dimension to your audience as they can hear the voice behind the words.
You can also put them on iTunes which can give you access to more potential customers who are searching for info on key subjects by key words or phrases. Don’t be obsessed with the number of people who listen to your podcast but more on the quality of them.
There are several ways that you can use podcasts to get to the professional tradesmen. Here are a few to consider:
You initiate them. You can talk about issues affecting the tradesmen and possible solutions they could consider.
You can interview industry experts or association leaders that can talk about everything from legislative issues that might relate to your business in the future, or talk about things you can do now to improve your business.
Be a guest on someone else’s podcast. There are bloggers out there that target the same types of audiences you do. Follow them for a while, and if you determine it would be a good fit, contact the blogger and ask if they would consider doing a podcast with you. You’ll need to lay out the reasons why you think you can contribute to their audience and propose several topics for discussions. Don’t know any bloggers? Go to iTunes and type in under podcasts some of the key words that you are associated with. You’d be surprised at the number of podcasts that already exist. Listen to a few and contact the originator.
Podcasts help set you apart and be known as not only an industry leader, but if you do your own podcasts and get guests to interview, it will also show that you are wired to the right people who can give a different view or experience that will help your listener. It’s a win-win for everyone.
Now that the election is over, I’d like to see what you are anticipating 2013 to be like. I know a lot of you were waiting to see the election results, and they are what they are and we need to deal with the fiscal cliff, Obamacare and more.
I know we’re looking at a pretty fair year coming up. Most of our manufacturing clients have been doing well over the past 18 months, and those that are tied to the construction industry (especially housing) have positive signs that that segment is coming back.
I’d like to know what your thoughts are for 2013. Is it going to be a good, poor or flat year for you? Would you mind clicking on this quick survey and giving us your answer?
No matter what business we’re in, we’re all in the communicating business. I think sometimes we get so caught up in the day-to-day that we forget some simple pointers.
Today we have a guest post by Ryan Franklin, a small business blogger and marketer who writes on behalf of Ordoro. He points out the obvious but sometimes we need to be reminded.
Did you know that the golden rule applies to business, too? That is, treat clients how you would like to be treated. How do you expect to be treated when you have to call into a supplier with a customer service issue? That is how firms and tradesmen expect to be treated when they contact your company. So here are a few key points to communicate with those customers effectively.
Listen to your client. You may be hearing what your customer has to say, but are you listening? Active listening is an essential part to communicating with customers effectively. There is nothing worse than getting on the phone with a service provider to explain your issue with their product or service and realizing that the rep is just not listening – causing you to repeat everything you just said! Pay attention to what your clients are saying; picking up on keywords can assist you in directing the conversation to address the problem.
Do not interrupt your client. Another step to communicating with clients effectively is to avoid interruptions. The last thing your client wants is to be cut off mid-sentence. Show them respect by letting them have a fair chance to speak, and then address the issue carefully. If a client has a complicated issue or is upset about something, it can be helpful to repeat the situation back to them to show that you understand. This is plain common courtesy and good customer service, and clients will appreciate your willingness to listen.
Smile. This may seem a bit ridiculous when you are making calls on the telephone, but this point still applies. Call center representatives across the nation are taught to smile when they speak because it conveys a friendly demeanor between the rep and the customer. How do you feel when you clearly reach a customer service representative that obviously does not want to be at work that day? Customer service agents should always smile and make the customer feel like they care. This will ensure return customers and high client satisfaction.
Make small talk. Avoid dead air even if you are researching an issue for the customer. If you must put a client on hold, be diligent in checking back with them every 60-80 seconds. Even a minute can feel like an eternity when you are placed on hold. Every customer feels like their issue is of great importance and that’s how you should make them feel. Without your clients, you don’t have a job; treat each one of them like they are the only one you have. At that moment, they are.
Again, communicating with customers can be as simple as treating them as you would want to be treated. Train your representatives to think the same way.
Content Marketing is developing useful information to various questions a potential customer might have about your product or application. When someone goes to Google and types in a question, hopefully you already have an answer waiting on page 1 of the search results.
If not, you’ll be missing a big opportunity. If you haven’t capitalized on things like case studies, white papers, newsletters and blogging, you should consider trying some of them. They are content rich and will help you gain credibility.
So the question arises, what do I write about or how do I know what they want? Here’s a way to start. Ask your sales force, customer service, engineering and product management what are the top 10 issues you continually get asked. That should be a start.
Ask the question on some of your social media sites, like groups on LinkedIn. You might be surprised at the feedback you get. If you have the opportunity to visit customers or go to trade shows, ask the same type of questions. Then when you have all the questions, answer them!
The key to content marketing is how you present your info. Storytelling is one of the best ways.
We spend money generating leads, but most of us do a poor job when it comes to leading them through the sales funnel since not all leads are ready to buy. I think we would all agree that if we had a process, chances are we would increase the number of leads that turn into new business.
According to Forrester Research, companies that excel in lead nurturing generate 50% more sales-ready leads at 33% of the cost. This is especially true when it comes to dealing with social media leads. How is your marketing department handing off leads?
What is Lead Nurturing?
Lead nurturing is how your business establishes a relationship with a prospect that is still in the early stages of buying. This type of campaign focuses on creating a beneficial, working relationship so that when it comes time to buy, that lead turns to your business instead of someone else. Lead nurturing is:
Providing high-quality content that is relevant to where the potential is in the buying cycle
Establishing and building trust between you and the potential customer
Finding the most-qualified leads from your generation efforts
Does everyone within your organization understand your different stages in the selling cycle? Most sales funnels were set up for developing traditional leads. A question you must ask yourself is whether social media leads fit into your existing process and if so where? As a rule, social media leads take longer to convert because they are engaging you earlier in the process. How are you moving social media leads into your sales funnel?
Nurturing social leads needs to be handled differently. This will include decision-making content designed to answer questions, overcome objections and provide opportunities that arise during the purchasing process.
So take some time to identify and implement a lead follow-up process that includes nurturing. You’ll be glad you did.
It’s a pretty simple statement. It applies in our personal life as well as our business one. I was thinking about this statement, not only how it might relate to social media, but more importantly to everything we do.
Think about the people you deal with on a regular basis. What kind of reaction do you have when salesmen are always selling and not necessarily listening?
I don’t know about you, but I either try to avoid them or spend as little time as necessary with them. On the other hand, who do you like being around? It’s probably someone who listens not only about your work issues but also gets to know something about you, your family and what’s going on in your life.
These types of folks aren’t always looking for a sale. As a matter of a fact, they are probably trying to find out how they might be able to help you. Novel thought! You probably build relationships with these types of people.
Then why is it that lots of people who use social media for business are always pitching and not listening?Aren’t you trying to get someone to react to what you post online?
Don’t you think that by helping people by answering questions on what keeps them up at night would be a better way to engage folks in a conversation instead of telling them five reasons they should buy from you?
Stop pitching and start helping! If you can answer questions or give guidance on how to solve a problem, I guarantee you will start way more conversations online.
According to a recent post from B2B online marketing, LinkedIn, Blogging and Facebook are the top 3. This is according to a 2012 social media study of B2B marketers that were asked to choose the most important method they use for social media outreach.
In a study conducted by Social Media Examiner of over 1,900 B2B marketers, results indicate that while B2B marketers are finding success in their social media efforts, they still see room for improvement. Whether you’re a large company or starting a small business, here are a few statistics that show why you should be using social media.
Over 56% of B2B marketers acquired new business partnerships through social media.
53% of B2B marketers found social media helped them develop a loyal fan base.
Nearly 60% of B2B marketers saw improved search rankings from their social efforts.
Each social media channel is different and should be approached that way. Here are some highlights from the post:
Facebook is more personal. Let them know what your business offers them.
Create an online community that encourages conversations.
Use photos and videos to make it more interesting.
Engage by offering a strong call to action. You want them to start a conversation.
Blogging is a great SEO effort and link building.
Become a thought leader in your area and gain credibility.
Target each post to a specific audience for engagement and encourage folks to share your content.
Use strong key words to improve site’s performance on search engines.
LinkedIn is a great way to connect with other businesses in your industries.
Be active. Search and connect with individuals and groups that are relevant to you.
Ask for recommendations from previous and current customers. These short testimonials will help prospects see why people like working with you.
Social media, if used right, can help generate leads, interact with customers and potentials and help you build your thought leadership.
Branding is no longer a company logo, tagline and brand colors. Yes, it helps people identify with your company, but it doesn’t necessarily make them want to buy from you. Branding isn’t something that happens overnight. The essence of branding lies in what does it mean. So words play an important part in establishing a brand, and what better way to do that than by creating content.
Joe Pulizzi, founder of the Content Marketing Institute and known as the Godfather of Content Marketing, describes it “as a marketing technique of creating and distributing relevant and valuable content to attract, acquire and engage a clearly defined and understood target audience with the objective of driving profitable actions.” Does that sound like something we should be doing?
Eric Schmidt, CEO of Google says every two days we create more information as we did from the dawn of civilization up to 2003. We need to create and convince customers and prospects to generate content that mentions our brand.
Frank Strong in a recent post on CopyBlogger talks about the web and its endless 24/7 cycle fed by content and social actions. Shouldn’t you be a part of that?
Here are some things to think about:
Content is Currency – How are we spending ours? How much do we have to spend?
You currency becomes more valuable every time it’s shared by someone other than ourselves.
Your responsibility is to create content that’s worth sharing.
So take advantage of the tools that are out there, from blogs to LinkedIn, YouTube, webinars and the multitude of other options available to you.
Come on now, let’s be honest here. You got into social media maybe because you thought it might help your business overall, but maybe you got into it because everyone else was doing it and you didn’t want to be left out.
No matter why you got into it, many B-to-B companies are getting a big F in social media and they can’t figure out why. Social media isn’t a silver bullet, it’s not a stand-alone tactic, it’s something that should be used in conjunction with your other marketing tools.
In order to use social media, you also need to understand how and why to communicate using this media. Traditional feature/benefit, “how great we are” copy won’t work in this arena. Your customers/contractors are looking at ways to solve their problem, not get a sales pitch. They are going to Google it…” How to troubleshoot a specific plumbing problem?” If you want any chance of getting in front of that person, you had better written content and have it tagged properly with the right key words if you want to have a chance of being on the first page of the search results.
Lack of content – The more valuable content you have up there, the better your chances of success.
Focus on lead generation – Not number of followers or clicks. Leads turn into sales and isn’t that our end game?
Get management to buy-in – To do social media right it takes time and talent, and if you can get support from the C suite, you’re paddling upstream.
Identify your target audience – If you can’t do this, then how will you be able to find out what their critical issues are?
Don’t be boring. Make your communications exciting – Give them “HOLY COW” content.
Improve your website – You could be doing everything right in social media, but if where you’re sending them sucks, then you’ve lost all the momentum and credibility you’ve worked so hard to establish.
Learn from your mistakes and go out there and kick some butts!
Social media is transforming to be more visual and ultimately more mobile-friendly. LinkedIn recently introduced some changes to improve the overall Company Page experience and made it easier to interact with your connections.
I’ve asked Rachel Kerstetter, our PR Engineer, to give our readers an overview of LinkedIn’s changes and how you can take advantage of them.
Facebook started the wave of change by introducing timeline for brand pages and eventually individual profiles. Now, in the same short span of time, Twitter introduced a cover image and LinkedIn overhauled its company pages to be more visual and mobile-friendly.
Just as Facebook pushed all of its brand pages to timeline by a certain date, LinkedIn has a deadline of November 30th for all company profiles to have the new format.
Here are a few of the main changes that you should be aware of if you control a LinkedIn Company Profile:
Banner image at the top of company pages. Mimicking the Facebook cover photo, LinkedIn’s banner image gives you the opportunity to show off some personality for your company. This image should be 974 x 240 pixels; many companies that have already uploaded banner images have incorporated not only their branding but some of their corporate culture and a few have used it to highlight products or services. LinkedIn gives you the option to make this banner clickable to take people to your company’s website.
Career section. LinkedIn has highlighted the career section of company pages, making it easier for businesses looking for new talent to showcase opportunities.
Refined company information. The overhaul makes communicating about your company cleaner and hopefully more effective. The About section is now shorter, but you can post more links to send people to your blog or other social media as well as your company website. Products and services are more visible in the side bar, drawing attention with visuals. A custom company module gives you a place to showcase your company culture, awards, events or other information.
Better visibility. Updates from your company are now front and center on your company page and LinkedIn has updated their stream, so your company information is more visible overall.
LinkedIn is also rolling out changes to individual profiles:
You can now endorse others for their skills or be endorsed. Recommendations are still very powerful, but to show that a colleague or partner is particularly skilled in a certain area, you can now endorse individual skills. Your list of skills has been turned into a list of buttons, but if you have a wordy skill description, it will be cut off and there isn’t a way for your connections to see the entire skill, so take a look and shorten your skill descriptions if needed.
Mouse over a skill and click to endorse it
Profiles will also get a new look, without any action needed from you. I requested to be switched to the new design early, here’s a brief snapshot of what my profile looks like now:
To preview more of the new individual profiles and request to switch early too, check out LinkedIn’s blog.
Mobile is a hot topic, and I thought that a practical view from someone who is dealing with contractors on a daily basis would be beneficial. Fred Ode is CEO/Chairman of Foundation Software, and they are the leading accounting software for contractors. Fred has written several articles and is known for his insight into this market. Here are some practical ways contractors should be using mobile. Enjoy.
Stop where you are right now and look around. I bet there are at least two mobile devices in your vicinity. Depending on where you are—say a crowded street—there may be even more! This is the Mobile Age and many industries, including construction, are using this technology to improve their work processes.
So what types of mobile applications could benefit your construction business? One is a remote timecard entry.
Remote Timecard Entry
Contractors can now utilize remote timecard entry applications to streamline the flow of timecard and job data between the field and the office. Some other benefits of a remote timecard entry system are:
Less Double Entry, Fewer Errors. By entering time in the field, contractors can eliminate handwritten timecards (and the difficulty that comes with reading them!) Time is entered directly from the field in a digital format just once, and is then synced back to the office.
Data Defaults. Many apps have dropdown fields that already contain information pulled directly from the company’s accounting software like employee names, job codes, and more.
Multiple Timecard Formats. A good remote timecard entry app will offer multiple timecard formats, including single and group timecard options.
Benefits of Mobile Applications
When it comes down to it, the ultimate goal of any mobile app is to help contractors improve their processes across the board. Some of the benefits include:
Better Communication. Mobile devices can greatly improve communication between crew members. Workers on a large job site can instantly send one another updates, pictures and more.
Improved Workflow and Real-time Data. Along with communication, mobile devices also offer improved workflow and real-time data. Because communication is instant, there’s no waiting around to see if requests were approved or if the next steps can be taken.
Offline Capability. Some apps are equipped with offline capability, allowing contractors working in remote job locations to enter timecards, save them, and sync back to the office once they re-enter their service area.
Electronic Trail of Data. Using mobile applications also creates an electronic trail of data that contractors can reference at any time. Whether it’s solving an issue while a job is still active, or looking back at past jobs to better plan for future ones, the ability to save and learn from past data can only be beneficial.
Making the Move to Mobile
Remote timecard entry is just one of many helpful applications available to contractors. So where to begin with making a move into mobile? Start with a clear goal and thorough research. Find the options that will benefit the company and that have all the features they need. And don’t forget to get the end-users on board before starting the implementation process!
The correct answer in my mind is today. We all get caught up in the day-to-day to do list and putting out the most recent fire, but we should be aware of our brand daily.
Branding is about your whole organization, from the way you answer the phones, to the attitudes of your CSRs. It’s about a culture, things that are out of the control of the marketing department. Yes, marketing can control the look and feel of promotional materials, but once we’ve hooked a prospect, what happens when they contact the company and actually talk to a human being?
For those of you who are still getting your feet wet in social media, here’s a book that will help you get started. It’s called Content Rules by Ann Handley and C.C. Chapman.
It gives you insights on how to create blogs, podcasts, videos, e-books and more. It’s an easy read and they break down the book into three sections – content, how-to section and examples of success stories.
If a picture is worth a million words, then what’s a video worth?
B-to-B marketers are finally coming to realize that video is an important marketing tool. What some don’t realize is that putting it on your website may not be the best place to house it. Video should be housed somewhere like YouTube. From a branding perspective, start your own channel on YouTube. I don’t know a manufacturer that couldn’t take advantage of this marketing tool.
Here are some interesting stats:
Next to Google, YouTube is the next highest used search engine.
YouTube has 30 million daily active users. There are 500 hours worth of video being uploaded every minute.
Google says that an indexed video stands a 50-time greater chance of ranking on the first page of search than a textual page.
Video rates have 400% higher engagement than a static site.
Anyone can get into the video game today. You can buy a good camera for around $300 and there is editing suite software available that almost anyone can use.
Here are just a few of the ways that video can be effectively used for B2B business challenges:
Boost Awareness, Visibility and Reach
Customer Education with Product/Service Demos and Training
Build Trust with Customer Testimonials/Case Studies
Boost Engagement (keep attention on your message)
Lead Generation: Drive Interest and Boost Leads
Change Management: Leverage Video to Persuade and Motivate
Call to Action: Engage Emotion – Demonstrate Value – Create Interest – Drive Action
Branding: Craft a Consistent Message for a 24/7 Global Audience
So if you haven’t taken advantage of video, you should give it a try to see what kind of new activity will come your way.
Depending on what industry you’re in, the rule of thumb is that it takes anywhere from 5-9 times more effort to get a new customer than to keep an existing one. So why don’t we spend more time nurturing the ones we have?
We’re all guilty of taking customers for granted sometimes. I read an article on marketingprofs.com, The 7 Ps of Customer Retention that I thought was appropriate. Here are some highlights:
People – It’s about building relationships. Treat your customer as a person.
Product – Make sure your product is up to what you promised it would be.
Place – How does a customer communicate with you? Make it easy.
Price – You need to take care and give them a good price. They expect you to take care of them.
Promotions – Since they are already your customers, you know what they are buying and can make suggestions for other potential products/services they may be interested in.
Processes – Customer surveys, social media monitoring and customer engagement tools to understand how each customer is engaging with you.
Positioning – Know who you are and clearly communicate that to your customers. Keep the message simple and to the point.
Those are some suggestions on how to keep your current customers happy.
What surprised me in this world of “Post PC Era” where mobile seems to be taking over the world, that the old standbys of direct mail and emails are still alive and well.
Email is by far the most acceptable due in part to the channel’s familiarity, flexibility and universality with 91% using it on a daily basis. The key to success today is audience segmentation, data-driven insights and relevant content.
Direct mail – in an online world, the fact that 65% of consumers have made purchases as a result of a direct mail piece validates the channel. Interestingly, direct mail is the only unsolicited message that isn’t viewed as inappropriate by consumers.
So from a B-to-B point of view, what are you doing to capitalize on these two channels?
Here are some tips:
Keep your message targeted and to the point.
Give them a solution to a problem and don’t necessarily try to sell them something.
Use a list that is focused. More is not necessarily better.
Make an offer clear.
Give them an easy way to respond.
Those are some suggestions from me. What are you doing to capitalize on these two channels?
BEREA, Ohio – October 2012 – The Viega ProPress® for stainless product launch received a B2 Award of Excellence from the Business Marketing Association in the Multi-Channel Lead Generation category.
The B2 Awards are an international business-to-business marketing and communications contest that recognizes excellence among top agencies and corporate marketers. Sonnhalter, a communication firm marketing to the professional tradesman in the construction, industrial and MRO markets, enters award-worthy work, such as the Viega ProPress for stainless product launch, in marketing communication contests.
Viega ProPress for stainless steel is a pipe-joining system that uses press fittings to make air- and water-tight connections in the piping. The system is comprised of stainless steel pipe, valves and fittings in sizes up to 4 inches and makes secure connections in as few as seven seconds compared to more than an hour for some traditional pipe joining methods. For the product launch, Sonnhalter and Viega created a plan for promoting the system as the future in pipe joining and developed several elements including print and electronic communication in trade publications, brochures, direct mail, a micro site and a comprehensive public relations plan.
“We were thrilled to receive the B2 Award of Excellence,” said Adina Barnes, director of market intelligence for Viega. “We’re proud to be recognized amongst the ranks of so many excellent campaigns.”
“We enjoyed working on this campaign,” said Matt Sonnhalter, vision architect at Sonnhalter. “Not only was it a fun project, the results of the product launch proved that it was award-winning caliber.”
A panel of senior-level marketers judged more than 800 entries for the 2012 B2 Awards and selected the Viega ProPress for stainless product launch to receive an Award of Excellence.
About Viega
Founded in 1899, Viega manufactures and distributes the highest quality plumbing, heating and pipe joining products in the world. With innovative systems like copper and stainless ProPress®, ProRadiant™ and PureFlow®, Viega is the global leader in residential, commercial and industrial piping applications. www.viega.com
About Sonnhalter
Established in 1976, Sonnhalter is the leading B2T marketing communications firm to companies that target professional tradesmen in construction, industrial and MRO markets. Sonnhalter’s brand identity highlights its expertise in marketing to the professional tradesmen. Its tagline, “Not Afraid To Get Our Hands Dirty,” promotes the employees’ willingness to roll up their sleeves and dig deep into clients’ businesses, also, it refers to the market it targets: the tradesmen who work with – and dirty – their hands every day. Sonnhalter developed the acronym “B2T,” which stands for “business-to-tradesmen” to capture the essence of its specialty. In 2009, 2010, 2011 and 2012, Sonnhalter was named one of BtoB Magazine’s Top Agencies. For more information, visit the company website at www.Sonnhalter.com or visit the company blog at www.TradesmenInsights.com.
About The B2 Awards
The Business Marketing Association’s B2 Awards recognize the work business marketers and agencies do to engage employees, sales forces, channel partners, government and consumers. Each year, hundreds of entries are judged by a panel of senior corporate marketers and B2B agency executives on the successful balance of style and results.
We’re so focused sometimes on our traditional ways of promoting our products that we sometime overlook the obvious. Today we have a guest post from Jeff Drust, VP Marketing at CDS (Catalog Data Solutions). CDS is a leading provider of software for product search, configuration and online CAD solutions. Enjoy.
Marketing organizations need to continually come up with new ways to get in front of the ever evolving selection and buying process. Industrial part and component suppliers can now do this in a more efficient way; realign their selling processes with the new buying process and turn it to their advantage with a new content type – CAD downloads like Brennan Industries.
CAD downloads as a type of marketing content, are both highly relevant and valuable to both parties. Industrial suppliers offering CAD downloads of their components (e.g. bearings) or engineered products (e.g. motors) create multiple benefits:
Adapt and exploit the new online world. Today, industrial suppliers’ websites are frontline sales tools that must help customers quickly find the ‘right’ product and conveniently save designers’ time when they spec your parts into their new designs ahead of the traditional buying process.
Increase sales. CAD models are the only type of online marketing content (e.g. white papers, case studies, brochures, videos, demos, recorded webinars, reviews, etc.) I’ve heard of leading to a sale nearly 50% of the time they’re downloaded!
Reach the real decision maker – influence the purchase process. Get selected at design time by the design engineer – the true decision maker. The more complex your parts are to draw (even a caster is complex to draw in 3D), the more design time you save customers and the more valuable your models are.
Reach new customers. Research into design engineers’ opinions shows that 97% rate CAD models important when selecting a supplier.
Decrease errors. Using the manufacturers’ CAD models should help eliminate potential CAD errors.
Generate low-cost, high-quality sales leads. Obtain sales leads in return for CAD model downloads – for one national distributor these leads cost ~90% less, convert faster and convert in higher proportion than traditional marketing generated sales leads!
Increase existing customer satisfaction and loyalty. By saving customers time and accelerating their time to market.
Obtain a competitive advantage. So far less than 10% of manufacturers offer downloadable CAD models.
Lower costs. Replace technical sales requests for CAD models with automated self-help downloads.
Enhance your distribution channel. Enable all these benefits within your distribution and OEM channel partners and make sure your CAD models are found online at sites like the CAD model search engine, 3DModelSpace.com.
If you’re interested in case studies and testimonials on the use of this type of content, search for “online cad downloads case studies” or see some at https://www.catalogdatasolutions.com/.
By Matt Sonnhalter, vision architect at Sonnhalter.
I don’t think any manufacturer out there would argue the importance of training. What manufacturer wouldn’t want to ensure their customers are trained properly on how to use their products or informed on their latest product offerings. Plus, training offers manufacturers a way to further differentiate themselves from competitors as well as continue to build their brand with their customers.
There are many ways to approach and handle training; from how-to videos and online training courses, to traditional, printed instructional manuals and sales people demonstrating products in the field. But sometimes there is no substitute for in-person training.
One manufacturer that is leading the way for in-person training is Viega. I should note that Viega is a former client of Sonnhalter. The Viega Education Facility, located in Nashua, NH, is a stand-alone, dedicated building for training and I have to say, a pretty impressive facility. It first opened up in 2006 and since then, over 10,000 people have completed training sessions. Viega averages over 200+ days of training per year, with attendees ranging from architects, contractors and engineers to apprentices, distributors and even Viega employees. Currently there are over 13 standard courses covered in two-day, three-day or five-day sessions.
Here are some course examples: Radiant Design, Piping and Controls, NFPA 13D Fire Sprinkler, Geothermal & Solar and Commercial Radiant Heating & Cooling. Every year, Viega revamps existing courses and adds new ones to encompass the latest technological advances, industry requirements and the newest practices. You can find details for all the individual training sessions as well as register and schedule your training online at www.viega.us/en/service/training..
I’ve had the opportunity to attend a Viega training session. This 2-day training session was focused on continuing education for media partners and included editorial staff from leading trade publications and associations. The training session included classroom discussions about systems and applications within residential, commercial and industrial environments as well as hands-on time to experience several manufacturers’ products and tools.
We were exposed to many different technologies and options as the training was not exclusive to Viega’s products. I personally had the opportunity to experience a wide variety of hands-on applications, from threading pipe and installing a radiant flooring system to pressing various materials (copper, stainless steel, PEX, carbon steel pipe) with the Viega ProPress® system.
It is great to see the level of commitment Viega continues to put behind training and education. I realize not every manufacturer can have a dedicated training facility or the resources to support it, but every manufacturer should have some level of product training.
What are you doing to ensure you are keeping your customers trained?
From a B-to-B perspective, I believe LinkedIn is probably one of the best and most under-used tools in social media.
Think about it. You normally link with people who have similar business interests. Why not let them know your thoughts on subjects using your blog content as one of those sources? I have over 800 connections and through those, I have the potential of reaching over 10 million folks that are connected to my connections. Chances are if someone likes what I have to say, they will share it with others not only on LinkedIn, but on other social platforms.
Your profile views also drive traffic to your blog – if you put a link to your blog homepage.
Make a conscious effort to add 2-3 new contacts each week – people you meet at networking events or business functions. LinkedIn even prompts you to invite people who are linked to others you’re already linked to.
Join Groups – there is a search box where you can look for people, companies or groups. Type in some key words and phrases and see what kinds of groups already exist that you should join.
Start a group – if no group exists, start one. What better way to establishing credibility in a specific market segment.
Most importantly, you need to become active! LinkedIn is one of my best sources for traffic to this blog.
You need to update your profile, post status updates, post links to blog posts, participate in group discussions and answer questions.
As you get more involved in social media, you need ways to manage all your activities. Social media can and is time-consuming, and you really need a plan to help you manage your time and resources.
Set goals – Be realistic and start small, but if you don’t set goals, what do you measure it against?
Know your target audience(s) – You need to talk to each of them in their persona.
Build an editorial calendar – Coordinate it around other marketing activities like trade shows, association meetings or new product launches.
Integrate with other marketing promotions – Social can stand alone and by integrating it into your other marketing activities, you get more bang for your buck.
Determine appropriate content categories – Identify and regularly write on these topics. Some examples would be new products, industry news, training, installation tips, etc.
Allocate appropriate resources – Remember, if you’re the quarterback of this, you don’t or shouldn’t have to do all the heavy lifting. Lean on internal experts from engineering and product management to help out in their areas of expertise.
Those are some tips that I use. What are you doing to help manage your social media?
In the manufacturing arena where competition is fierce, some companies have turned to blogs as a way to increase brand awareness, become a thought leader in their space, increase their web traffic and generate leads. If you’re a regular reader of this blog, you know I keep preaching the importance of a blog in your overall marketing plan, but I also stress the commitment needed to do it right and accomplish all your objectives.
I recently read a post from ThomasNet, 6 Ways to Ensure No One Reads Your Blog, and I thought I’d share them with you(tongue in cheek), so if you are considering blogging, these are the things you don’t want to do.
THINGS NOT TO DO
Post only things about you, your company and products – People do want to know about what you do, but they are also looking for help/guidance in their field of work. We have a rule of thumb that 1/3 of posts should be about you, 1/3 about the industry you serve and 1/3 about what other people have said about the industry.
Offer nothing original, helpful or insightful – That will surely keep them coming back. You need to answer the question, “What’s in it for me?” from the reader’s perspective. They should be looking at you as an expert in the field.
Ignore issues that customers want to hear about – What keeps them up at night? What are some controversial issues going on in the industry or associations you belong to?
Don’t have a keyword strategy – One of the big benefits of social is that by using keywords and phrases will help you get picked up by the search engines.
Post irregularly – You want people to follow you and it’s hard for them to do that if you post once a month. You need to publish content on a regular basis, even if it’s only once a month.
Write poorly – You don’t have to be a professional writer, but you need to be able to write and organize your thoughts. Well-written posts have a topic, your take on the topic and a conclusion for folks to think about and hopefully respond with their thoughts.
While I hope you’ve enjoyed my sense of entertaining you, on a serious note, blogs are great marketing tools. But like all tools, you need to know how to use them.
We’re all overworked and underpaid. Time for most of us is a resource we don’t seem to have enough of, and for those of us who write a blog, it sometimes seems even more scarce.
Time, or the lack thereof, can influence the quality of not only content, but also continuity of your post. We need to remember the reason why we’re doing a blog in the first place – generating exposure, thought leadership and potential customers.
I recently read an article by Brian Milne in ProBlogger that gives you some suggestions on finding time to write. Here are some highlights:
Get up early – I find this is a great way to start the day. It’s quiet and your mind is clear.
Write at lunch – Brown bag it and get away from the office (and all the distractions) and write a post on a nearby park bench.
Stay up late – This one doesn’t work for me as I’m not a night owl, but I know plenty of people who do their best work in the dark (no pun intended).
Utilize apps and shortcuts – use your mobile device to snap a photo and upload images. Take advantage of WordPress features to streamline posting.
Get some help – find others within the organization to write or go out and hire outside writers.
Accept guest posts – I’m sure there are like-minded people out there that you admire and respect that can give a different perspective on issues that are near and dear to you.
Do you read industry blogs and wonder if your company should get involved in blogging? Blogging can be a valuable marketing tool that gives your organization a way to prove its expertise.
In order to tap into the values that blogs offer, manufacturers need to ask themselves certain questions and make several decisions before their blog goes live. This webinar will help participants find out if a blog should be a part of their marketing plans and what all is involved in starting one.
Join us on September 25th at 2:00 p.m. EDT for the free one-hour webinar.
This webinar is available for viewing on our YouTube channel – click here.
Social forums are an ideal way for B-to-B companies to demonstrate their expertise and knowledge. Forums are intended for people to exchange ideas and gather info. There are several to choose from… Quora, HighTable and LinkedIn to name a few. Most of my experience has been using LinkedIn.
A recent article on Social Media Examiner by Kane Russell gives tips on using social forums in a B-to-B setting. Here are some highlights:
Comment from the perspective of a thought leader – answer questions and provide qualitative and quantitative supporting evidence. Acknowledge alternative solutions.
Respect other users – don’t argue but address disagreements using examples and data to make your point.
Join the conversation – respond directly and acknowledge what others have already said.
Be consistent and cover subject comprehensively – do this on both where you have expertise and on topics outside your business experience.
Add links where necessary – but make sure they are relevant.
If you haven’t participated in a forum, please expand your horizons and try. It’s a great way to learn and make new friends.
Most businesses’ social media plans fail because there isn’t a plan. Starting a Facebook account or blog with no plan on how they will react, not only with each other but with the rest of your marketing plan, is a disaster waiting to happen.
I read a good article by Jim Belosic on Social Media Examiner that outlines some pretty straightforward tips for your social media efforts to be successful. Here are some highlights:
Make a commitment – establishing yourself and your company doesn’t happen overnight. You need to make a commitment of time, energy and resources to ensure its success.
Find your best fit – go where your customers or potentials are. It could be Facebook or LinkedIn. Search for your business on sites like Yelp to see where you are mentioned.
Create expert content – don’t promote yourself; promote conversations about issues that affect your followers. This will help engage and position you as a thought leader which is one of your main objectives.
Delegate tasks – as you grow your social presence, don’t get overwhelmed. Get help and recruit more team members. You don’t have to do it alone, but should manage others efforts.
Happy Labor Day! We need to take time to say thanks to all the tradesmen that we come into contact with on a regular basis. What would we do without the electricians, plumbers, HVAC professionals? How would our factories run smoothly without all the MRO professionals out there?
Sonnhalter salutes America’s professional tradesmen and laborers on this very special holiday. Our working force built this country. And it’s because of each and every American’s labors that we enjoy the freedoms we have today.
At Sonnhalter, we earn our own living by marketing to professional tradesmen in industries like yours…from construction to industrial to MRO. To show our appreciation for such hard-working individuals, we offer a tip of the hardhat and our sincere thanks.
However you celebrate your Labor Day, enjoy it. You’ve certainly earned it.
Today we have a guest post from Derek Singleton from Software Advice, a company that helps companies pick the right software whether it’s for an application or industry. Derek has been a guest blogger before and it’s always good to get someone else’s insights. Enjoy.
Want a Construction Job? Get These Skills
In the construction industry, jobs are hard to come by. But a June report released by the Associated General Contractors of America (AGC) indicates that–at least in some states–it’s getting easier. In the report, the AGC finds that 20 states added new construction jobs.
According to AGC data, states with highest percentage of job gains are Montana and Wyoming which posted 12-month growth rates of 15.2 percent and 13.7 percent, respectively. At the opposite end of the spectrum are Alaska and Wisconsin with respective losses of 20 percent and 10.6 percent.
To find out what’s driving these job losses and gains, I recently caught up with AGC’s Chief Economist, Ken Simonson. In my conversation with Simonson, he highlighted three main drivers behind the current trends in construction employment:
Low vacancy rates are spurring investment in apartment complex construction.
The acceleration of natural gas extraction is fueling related construction job growth.
Manufacturing investment is leading to new manufacturing facility construction.
So what kinds of jobs fit well with these market drivers? Below I’ll profile a few relevant professions currently in demand.
Apartment Complex Construction
Apartment construction requires nearly every kind of construction trade on the job. However, there are a few particular positions that are particularly high demand.
Carpenter: Naturally, carpenters are in high demand as more complexes are built and they’re needed for everything from framing to setting crown molding.
Millwork: The millwork trade is in high demand to produce the doors, crown moldings, window casings, etc. needed to finish an apartment.
Electrician: Electricians that are familiar with multi-family electrical wiring and know how to run standard power distribution to lighting and other outlets in apartments are needed to provide power to an apartment.
Natural Gas Extraction
The growth in natural gas extraction from underground shales is also supporting new construction jobs. The majority of these jobs involve heavy construction or civil engineering.
Earthwork and Excavation: The earthwork industry is needed on natural gas extraction for everything from mining the minerals that are used in extraction to clearing roadway to the drill site.
Civil Engineering: Of course, effectively planning these roadways requires civil engineers that can plan the infrastructure of these projects.
Manufacturing Facilities
Construction jobs are also being supported by the uptick in domestic manufacturing, which is prompting manufacturers to build new facilities in the U.S. As a result, there are two main professions that are in high demand.
Iron work: Iron work professionals are needed to put together the large steel frames that facilities require. Within the iron work profession, welders are among the most in demand professions as certified welders are hard to find given that it can take several years to achieve certification.
Electrician: Commercial electricians are needed when constructing a new manufacturing facility because of the need to install power and controls to motors and HVAC systems at the facility–in addition to the need to run power distribution directly from an electrical grid.
If you’re interested in learning more about how these jobs (and skills) fit into the trends I highlighted above, please stop by Software Advice to check out my original article and leave your thoughts here.
GlobalSpec recently released its annual marketing trends report for the industrial sector. The online survey identified trends, challenges and anticipated expenditures in the Industrial market.
Their surveys usually give a relatively good pulse of what’s happening in the space. As I said in my headline, it should come as no surprise that the Industrial market is holding its own especially when you compare it to the last few years.
Here are some highlights:
83% of companies anticipate increased sales over 2011
35% of companies are spending more on marketing in 2012
67% said customer acquisition/lead generation is their primary focus
68% said they would increase spending on webinars
It seems like lead generation is still at the top of priorities. It’s good to see that companies are starting to integrate digital and traditional marketing programs together with online taking more of a role. It was also nice to see more and more manufacturers are starting to use social media with LinkedIn being the most used followed by Facebook.
The report is only 18 pages and is an easy read. Hope you get something out of it.
Customer service. We all say we have it, but what is it? Where does it start?
Unless you are offering something you can’t get anywhere else, then you’re going to have competition from someone. So what makes your customers or potentials want to do business with you instead of them?
Assuming you have a good product then I’d say the customer experience would be the major deal sealer or breaker. Customer service starts the moment someone from your company answers the phone through the sales process and follow-up with your customer service department if a question or problem arises.
I guess what I’m trying to say is your company’s customer service should start with every employee. Those that are on the front line (be it a CS or delivery man), they have the one-on-one contact with the customer and can sway future purchases by their actions or inactions. We all build our business around repeat sales so everyone in the company needs to be goodwill ambassadors. The challenge for all of us is to find the friction in our process and smooth it out.
Let me give you two examples of positive CS experiences.
1- I recently had to go to Buffalo for an association/trade show for one of our new clients. The host hotel was the Buffalo Hyatt and we stayed there. They were going through some renovations like any other hotel, but I seemed to notice that everyone who worked there had a very positive attitude that was focused on the customers and it showed. When we checked out and our car came from the valet, it was filthy dirty (it was clean when we checked in) and I come to find out from the valet that they park guest cars outside so they can retrieve them quicker for guests. Needless to say, the positive experience of the last three days was ending on a sour note. The next day (Sunday), I get the standard thank you for staying at the Hyatt, yada, yada, yada, and if there is anything that we could do to improve our service, please email me (general manager). So I did, explained my story and in less than 15 minutes had a response from him apologizing and crediting our bill for $30 to get a car wash. The end result when/if I’m back in Buffalo, there is a better than 50/50 chance of me staying there again.
2- At that same show, I had the chance to talk to several dealers for this new client and asked them why they did business with Buyers Products. They all said it was because they made a good product, but more importantly the main reason is they did what they said they were going to do, when they said they were going to do it, and if any problems arose, they had their back with any product problems. Several told stories of how they needed product over the weekend and their salesman would actually deliver it to them before Monday morning. They are in a very competitive market and are growing at a pace that outsets the industry standards. Wonder why?
The key for us all is to follow our customers’ experience. From how they find out about you through the repeat orders. If there is friction along the line, work to smooth out the process so your customers have a positive experience.
I believe we all struggle with writing the kinds of emails that will make prospects take some sort of action. We’re careful not to sell too much or give away too much info, but where is the balance, that sweet spot that makes the difference?
I ran across an article by Ben Settle on Copyblogger that I thought was interesting, and I wanted to share some of his insights. He calls his writing style “infotainment.” It’s a way to present your content in a way that’s fun to consume but still delivers value at the same time.
I think those of us in the B-to-B space and especially the manufacturing sector are so focused on the features/benefits of what they are trying to sell that we don’t engage our target audience.
Here are three tips for us to consider:
Inject your personality into every email – show customers the real you; maybe even crack a joke!
Storytelling – stories are naturally entertaining and it’s easy to process info from them.
Culture references pop – work something in (where possible) about the latest craze, TV or current event.
What are you doing to get people engaged in your email campaigns?
Social media is no different from any other marketing tool. In order for it to be successful, you need to have a specific plan with action items that can not only be attained but measured. Once you have a plan, get the C suite to buy into your goals and objectives and keep them in the loop as things move forward.
Once you get approval, make sure you integrate social media programs into your other marketing plans. It can’t and shouldn’t stand alone.
I recently read a good article by Heidi Cohen that outlines seven social media goals. Here are some highlights:
Build brand awareness – a great way to engage directly with prospects.
Protect your reputation – you need to know what folks are saying about your brand.
Learn more about your customers – use social as a kind of market research.
Increase customers or prospects – based on your content you can engage new potentials.
What are you doing to ensure your social media program is a success?
We subscribe to The Kiplinger Letter to keep abreast of the pulse of the markets and insights on what lies ahead. His observations and predictions of what’s ahead are usually right on.
In one of his recent newsletters he was talking about job creation and where the big need will be moving forward as the economy starts to pick up. According to Kiplinger, 85% of future jobs will come from six sectors, Health Care, Hospitality, Construction, Manufacturing, Business Services and Retail.
Among college degrees – science, math, engineering, technology and health sciences have the best prospects.
Among skilled workers – plumbers, electricians and HVAC mechanics can count on good demands. What’s interesting is that Kiplinger says that 25% of these folks (licensed skilled workers) will earn a bigger income than the average college graduate.
Sage Lewis is Founder and CEO of SageRock Inc., a digital marketing agency in business since 1999 and recognized as a Marketing Sherpa top ten U.S. search marketing company.
You do a search on Google for your top-selling product and there you are in spot #1. Whew. Your listing is followed by your best distributor and then after him that new startup you signed on that knows how to market online, but has a website from 1998. Then the trade publications are interspersed in there, touting your product in their article but, sure enough, your competitor’s ad is all over the landing page. The paid search is filled mostly with competitors and Ebay folk selling parts without your permission.
Face it, this is a mess.
Your brand and products are being represented by everyone with a vague interest in them online. You want to control the marketing message, but how? Ideally people would come to you and localize for the distributor, but you can’t tell partners to disengage because it’s driving revenue for everybody. You talked about cookie cutter distribution sites, but those flop in Google. You can’t fund top distributor’s marketing the same as the guy who sells every competing line indiscriminately. Besides they all talk after 3 beers and you don’t need that hassle.
So, you do your own SEO and Paid Search and keep your head down, right? Wrong. There IS a solution to this madness. Here’s what you can do to fix this:
Create a system
What’s the ideal? Step one is defining the goal. What does page one on Google realistically need to look like when you visit? Now make it happen. How? That’s the system part.
Part one of the system:
Create a portal, a first place of contact for those selling product. It should be populated with everything you wish they inherently knew and thought you didn’t have to tell them (you do).
Shareable useful content:
Approved photos
Press releases on product and parts
Video tutorials on selling and running demos
Downloadable brochures and sales PDFs
Recommended products by industry, price and other demo targeting
Tools and Resources:
Training in effective SEO and PPC practices
Google Analytics basics
Localized targeting advice for PPC
Local Page claim instructions
SEO phrase recommendations for product and location (help everyone understand long vs. short tail)
Ideal Phrases for distributors vs. corporate (and why they should comply for their best interest)
Web design consultation and improvement tips and options
Free software for managing digital marketing
Policy:
Link back requirements
Duplicate content restrictions
Spam and other deal breakers
Blog and social media policies
Launch the System
An onsite launch / workshop is ideal.
Explain and build excitement about the common goal (Discuss the master plan for online dominance).
Show everyone how working together means increased revenue for those who comply.
Bring in experts for your event.
Give funding incentives for those who follow the system
People won’t do it. Plain and simple. Money talks. Match investment. Give marketing dollars to those who use the portal and comply with the system. The smart ones will see the benefit and jump all over it.
Monitor and follow-up
Use the tools in the portal to do your own digital marketing work.
Monitor who’s doing what out there and reach out to the eyesores and the high achievers.
Combat competitors who hijack product phrases. In paid, by contacting Google about policy and inorganic by creating content strategies that smack spam landing pages down.
Encourage those complying to share success.
Offer additional incentives for high achievers.
Is it a lot of work? Yes. Is it free of investment? No. Is it worth it in the long run? Of course. Take back your brand.
It still boggles my mind that companies who rush into social media ignore feedback once they do get it. I wonder if they do that with traditional feedback? Why get into it if you aren’t going to participate? What I don’t get is why many companies are ignoring social media on a day-to-day basis. The object of the medium is to engage with like-minded people who are looking for information or products.
I recently read a post by Jeffrey Cohen from socialmediaB2, 69% of B2B Companies Ignore Social Media Feedback. He cites a recent study by Satmetrix that shines some light on worldwide social media practices. They interviewed almost 1200 companies from around the world.
“Businesses recognize the need for a social media strategy, however many are challenged in putting an effective strategy in place,” said Richard Owen, chief executive officer, Satmetrix. “While 77 percent of consumers post about products, 67 percent of businesses have no means of measuring what is being said, and less than one in 20 have any insight into the sentiment of what is being said. This is both a huge threat and a massive lost opportunity. Not only are companies running the risk of losing customers by not addressing their issues shared online, but they are also walking past the opportunity to capitalize on positive comments made on the social web.”
Highlights of the study include:
Businesses are blind to the threats and opportunities of social media:
Thirty nine percent have no social media tracking in place at all.
Fifty one percent of B2B have no tracking compared to 22 percent of B2C companies surveyed.
Fifty five percent of companies ignore customers who provide feedback via social media – by having no process in place to respond:
This increases to 69 percent for B2B companies compared to 42 percent for B2C.
Sixty seven percent of companies do not measure or quantify social media – increasing to 75 percent for B2B companies:
For those that do have some form of quantification, 56 percent just count the comments and followers.
Only 4 percent have any form of sentiment analysis.
Sixty percent of businesses do not have an integrated social media strategy (either do nothing, track or follow-up only).
North America leads the way with 43 percent of North American companies having a follow-up process compared to about 25 percent in other regions.
So where does your company’s social media program stack up? Do you have a strategy in place?
B-to-B marketers are responsible for generating leads from various sources, among them today are social media. I read a report a few months ago by Pardot, a B-to-B cloud marketing automation software provider that said 42% of B-to-B marketers report zero social media leads.
I can’t believe that that high a percentage of users of social media aren’t getting any types of leads. I know some folks use social primarily for brand awareness, but for most of us, the end game (strategy) is to generate leads and eventually a sale. We target a very small market niche, and our blog alone gets 40-50,000 hits a year, many of which turn into opportunities for us.
I’d like you to take a quick poll to see if you’re getting any leads, and if so, do you know where from? Thanks, and you’ll be able to see responses from the other participants.
Miles Free, Technical Director of the Precision Machined Products Association (PMPA), has been a contributor before to this audience and he and I share the same enthusiasm about giving young people other options than a 4-year college degree. The association has been a great supporter of Right Skills Now that are local technical training programs that are very successful
Miles writes a blog for the association called Speaking of Precision. Miles sheds some current insights into the issue. Enjoy!
I remember the excitement of back to school when I was child – new clothes, new shoes, maybe a new notebook, and new school supplies. These items embodied my parents’ wishes for us to succeed academically and earn a better place in the world. Blue-collar budgets meant money was tight, and a well thought out list assured that they did the best for the family with the resources we had.
It is back to school time and while my children have long since left the nest, I have been thinking about what we, would as employers, put on this year’s back to school list for our shops and for our industry?
People that want to work. At a meeting in Chicago recently, I met a VP of Operations from a major soft drink company. What is number one on his list? He told me ‘people that want to work.’ Really. ‘I am looking for people looking for a job, not those just looking for a paycheck. I’m looking for solid people who can make a difference as they make a career.’ His company offers internships and a company development program, but his first task every week is to review his vacancies report. Add people who want to work to the list.
Looking for talent, not labor. U.S Productivity is high, and one consequence is that we need talented people, not just bodies in the ‘labor gang.’ U.S. productivity doubled from 2008 to 2009; then it doubled again in 2010 according to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. The jobs that were cut in 2008 and 2009 tended to be the least skilled positions at any company, according to most press reports.
Now, companies seem to have hit the limit for what they can produce with the talent that they have. To make more sales, they need to add talent, not just bodies. Add talented people to the list.
Urgent need for craft workers. Much of the value add in our industry comes from the programming, set-up and operation of high-tech multiple axis CNC machines. This is not ‘just push the big green button’ work. An inefficient program can cost the company dollars per part if the program runs too slow. Setting up the machine in a longer time than that planned results in higher costs and lost profits. Operators have to be on top of their game to assure all features are produced to spec and that tools are replaced before they create problems. The craftsmen (and women!) in our precision machining industry add value by what they know and how they do.
Our industry’s employees are getting closer to retirement. Median age (half the workforce is older, half is younger) was reported to be 51 for occupations in our industry according to BLS. According to Mark Doms, Chief Economist for the U.S. Department of Commerce, there is a “…longer-term trend of an increase in the average age of those employed in the manufacturing industry. Those age 45 years or older now comprise almost half of manufacturing employment, up from about one-third in the mid-to-late 1990s.” With 10,000 baby boomers turning age 65 each day, our industry – every industry – needs a plan to retain the knowledge and capture the skills of our departing workers.
Willing to train. My parents bought me my school supplies, knowing that I would take them to school. Given the need to replace our retiring highly productive craft workers, what has changed is that for employers at least, we are going to have to step up our investment in training, cross training, and setting up programs for knowledge retention and the capturing of ‘tribal knowledge.’ Unlike my parents, who bought me school supplies, packed my lunch, and sent me off to school, employers today need to take charge of the training and development of the people who add value in our shops. We can no longer take for granted that a surplus of craft machinists is ‘out there’ somewhere just waiting for our offer. We need to actively manage for today’s reality – High productivity, high technology workplaces require skilled, talented, trained employees. We can’t just take what the schools give us. We need to tell the schools what we are looking for in our hires.
Eliminate the skills gap. The policy wonks in Washington D.C., many state capitals, and on our TV ‘news programs’ can debate the finer points of whether or not the U.S. has a skills gap or a skills mismatch. Every employer that I have spoken with in the precision machining industry has told me that if they didn’t have an opening, they would create one for the right candidate if they applied at their shop. That fact alone tells me that the debate is irrelevant. U.S. advanced manufacturing companies must have a talented, trained cadre of capable workers in our industry specialties like CNC programming, Setup, and operation, if we are to remain competitive and sustain manufacturing as a competitive strength here in North America.
Like my folks who wanted to see their kids earn a better place in the world, our companies should be leaders in helping to improve the visibility, value and prestige of the advanced manufacturing people who make a difference in our shops each and every day. By applying their talent, skills and efforts, cars are safer, food and beverages are delivered hygienically, and aircraft and medical devices can be relied upon. As employers, we have a list of what we need. Our job now is to turn that list into a list of actions to make a difference.
The first item on that list should be “to increase the visibility, value and prestige of precision machinists, programmers, engineers and our other high value team members.” If we take this first step, we will make it possible to find people who want to work, people with talent,people able to be trained for our craft, so that we can eliminate the skills gap and keep our shops as competitive and sustainable centers of advanced manufacturing and productive value adding activity.
The longest journey starts with but a single step. Let’s take that first step to let the world know just how good a career awaits them in precision machining. We can, we must, sustain the competitiveness of our shops and industry through our back to school investment.
For those of you who read me on a regular basis, you know I’m high on LinkedIn and what it can do to help you grow your business contact list. With over 161 million business members, there are certainly opportunities there if you know where and how to look.
That’s why I’m always trying to improve how I use this important business tool. As Reid Hoffman, the founder of LinkedIn says, “It’s better to be the best connected than the most connected.”
Jeff Korhan wrote a great post recently in social media examiner that outlines and shows examples of 10 LinkedIn Tips for Building Your Business. All the tips are free to use. Here are some highlights:
Use appropriate key words and phrases in your heading and title – they are different and your heading gives you an opportunity to elaborate on your skills and areas of expertise.
Make sure your online and offline business network are housed within LinkedIn – By linking in other business contacts you ensure its completeness of your entire network.
Tag your skills and expertise – this helps reinforce your capabilities for those who come across your profile and you can use up to 50 tags.
Personally welcome those new connections – It only takes a minute and it’s the first step in starting a relationship.
Hopefully you are using and benefiting from using LinkedIn.
Recently, our President, Matt Sonnhalter, was part of a webinar and he’d like to share some highlights of what’s to come in regards to mobile. Enjoy.
I was recently a co-presenter for a B2B Mobile Marketing webinar sponsored by CFE Media. During the course of my research and prep for this webinar, I was overwhelmed by some of the mobile stats I came across…here are just a few:
– Mobile will be the “first screen” for all Web usage sometime between 2013-2015 (Gartner/Morgan Stanley) – which means mobile devices will finally overtake PCs
– 5.3 billion mobile subscriptions worldwide (ITU) – more than the combined penetration of PCs, landlines and TVs
– 50% of American adults own a smartphone as of February 2012 (CTIA)
– 29% of US adults own a tablet/eReader as of January 2012 (Pew Research Center)
There also continues to be tremendous growth in pretty much all aspects of mobile marketing tactics:
– Revenues from mobile apps will reach $46B by 2016 (ABI Research)
– 20 million QR code scans were recorded alone in Q3 2011 – a 440% increases year-over-year (ScanLife)
– Almost 40 million US mobile users access social media sites daily (comScore)
So why is mobile relevant for B2B marketers trying to reach the professional tradesmen? Smartphones are an integral part of today’s professional tradesman toolbox. These guys are always “on the go;” on the job site and in the field…they need to be able to access information whenever and from wherever they want…these guys are not sitting behind a desk in front of a computer screen. And I’ve got news for you; if your company has a website…you are already playing in the mobile space! So how can you make sure your brand/company is represented well? Here are two simple steps to help get you started with mobile marketing:
1) Optimize for Mobile – make sure all of your Web content is “optimized” for the mobile environment; look-and-feel for smaller size requirements (e.g. easy to read text; no Flash; images that load quickly); but you also have to make sure your content is transformed into: quick answers, bite-sized units (e.g. 100-200 words) and easy-to-digest formats (e.g. audio podcasts and/or video)
2) Integrate – before you run out and develop a completely separate mobile marketing strategy and plan, take a look at your existing marketing programs and determine how you can start integrating mobile components; such as QR codes on print or collateral pieces or optimized e-newsletters so they are legible on mobile devices
I think it is fair to say that “mobile” is certainly here to stay, so make sure it is part of your overall marketing program moving forward.
It’s been a few months now since Amazon announced its serious entry into the MRO market with Amazon Supply. The new service directly goes head to head with Grainger, Fastenal, McMaster Carr and MSC Direct.
If you already sell through any of these, what are your feelings about another player in the market?
More importantly, what about all those independent distributors in Hometown USA? I have to believe most of you get more sales from them (and more profits) than you do from the big boys. How do you think this will affect them?
Here are our three takeaways:
1) User Interface – which will challenge the current online transaction experience from established industrial suppliers/distributors; b-to-b commerce will be competing against a better and more established b-to-c customer experience standard
2) Price Transparency – which industry observers say will lead to reduction in pricing and margins
3) Expansion into Other Verticals – potential for Amazon Supply to expand beyond MRO into other vertical markets
For those of us who write blogs, we do it with the sole purpose of sharing insights and tips that hopefully make your job easier. Our biggest challenge once the killer content is written is to make sure as many eyes as possible see it. Professional tradesmen are always on the go, and I want to make sure they get what they want in short concise bits of information.
It’s true optimization is usually associated with search, but you can insure that your content performs well on social media platforms. I recently read a post by Heidi Cohen, 11 Tactics to Optimize Your Blog that I found very interesting and wanted to share some of the points she makes:
Focus on just a few keyword phrases – prioritize them by the words you want to cover.
Create great headlines – you need to catch their attention so they stop and smell the roses.
Use good photos/graphics – It’s true a picture is worth a thousand words and it attracts readers.
Make your posts easy to read – use headings and bullet points. It also helps search engines.
Make content spreadable – RSS feeds, emails or social media.
It should come as no surprise to anyone that smartphones and tablets are changing the way we all communicate and do business. This couldn’t be more true, especially for small businesses like contractors. These guys are “time starved” and are not sitting behind a computer all day. They are out taking care of business.
A recent survey by Cargo and Inc. Magazine in emarketer.com showed the vast majority (915) of U.S. small companies place importance on wireless communications and smartphones for their businesses. Tablets were not far behind at (64%). You can certainly bet that contractors of all kinds are on the top of this list.
So, if you’re not considering mobile as a key way to communicate with those professional tradesman, you should be.
Here’s a simple tip to get started: Adapt your mobile web presence for Apple OS-based devices (iPads make up 79% followed by Android devices at 39%).
No matter what kind of promotion you’re doing, when going after the professional tradesmen, the bottom line is you want them to ask for more info and ultimately a sale. You can’t do that in an ad (print or digital) by itself. You need those that are interested in whatever it is you’re selling to go somewhere to get more info. Effective landing pages make it clear what visitor is going to do/get for the site.
A landing page is ideal for a next step in the lead process. A good landing page will target a particular audience using a unique page that allows visitors to download the appropriate content (you wouldn’t have the same offer for say a tradesman and for a design engineer). They also help you track and monitor activity by offers so you know what works and what doesn’t.
Landing pages help segment markets, capture leads and make it possible to monitor advertising effectiveness.
By directing them to a specific page with an offer and the appropriate form to fill out, it makes it more likely that they will complete the form and convert to a lead.
If your visitors decide to download your offer, why not invite them to share your content?
Lead nurturing is a very important part of the process. 50% of those who respond aren’t ready to buy just yet.
78% of sales that start with a web inquiry get won by the first company that responds.
By sending a follow-up thank you to those that downloaded material, you have the opportunity to offer them additional info and downloads, as well as asking them to share this with others via social media.
I bet for most of you it’s that you’re afraid you won’t be able to publish relevant content on a regular basis. I’m the first to admit starting a blog is a commitment, but one that’s well worth it.
Your blog can be the center of your social media plan where you can repurpose posts to your Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn accounts. We have found that consistent posts have helped us become the thought leader in marketing to the professional tradesman and have generated new clients from it.
Since content is usually the stumbling block to starting a blog, here are some suggestions on where and how you can get good content. You need to realize you don’t have to write everything. You need to be the “go-to” resource for your niche, so utilize other experts.
Try to do one original post a week.
Supplement other posts by sharing industry/association news with your insights.
Set up a Google Reader account where you can send RSS feeds of people you want to read on a regular basis and repost their articles with commentary and insights from your point of view.
Case studies and testimonials – Get your sales staff involved. These are great stories and it’s great when customers tell, in their own words, how you helped them solve a problem.
Stats/surveys – folks love to get industry info or trends. Start your own survey and share the results. It’s a great way of getting a conversation going.
Look internally – some of your best resources might just be down the hall. Talk with sales, customer service and engineering. They probably can give you more topics and issues to talk about than anyone else, and it’s relevant to your industry.
Those are some suggestions for getting great content, and don’t think you need to be the sole source of content. Make it a team effort.
We’ve talked a lot about mobile and what it means to both manufacturers and distributors when trying to reach the professional tradesmen. For those who are still on the fence about mobile and where it’s going, here is some useful info.
I recently read a few articles in emarketer.com on mobile that brought up several good points. emarketer.com interviewed Geoff Robertson from Grainger on how they are using mobile in their sales process.
Here are some highlights:
Over the past 12 months, Grainger has seen a 400% increase in mobile activity.
Beyond the location and availability issues, Grainger is trying to help companies streamline their workflow by giving those who are requesting the parts to list them, and then those responsible for purchasing can sign off all using mobile technology.
Over 50% of their users feel comfortable ordering over mobile devices.
Google has an entirely separate algorithm for mobile device searches.
Google reported that 1 in 7 searches are now done on mobile devices.
If you don’t have a mobile strategy in place, it should get on your radar screen soon or you’ll be missing lots of opportunities.
Our vision architect, Matt Sonnhalter, will be presenting on CFE Media’s webcast, “Mobile Marketing: What Impression Are You Making and How Will You Measure It?”
Matt, along with Kim Dushinski author of The Mobile Marketing Handbook, will discuss how B2B marketers can make a good mobile impression. Whether you’re ready for mobile, or not, it’s here. If you have a website, you’re already being viewed on mobile devices.
Join Matt on Tuesday, June 19 at 2 PM EST for this free, informative presentation. You can register here.
I recently read a post by Jeffrey L. Cohen from Social Media B2B about storytelling that got me thinking on how folks in our space could be doing a better job of doing just that.
Think about if you’re at a party or other social gathering, where do you find the crowds of people (other than the bar)? It’s usually around someone who is entertaining people. Most of these folks are great storytellers and keep you engaged and interested because of the way they tell the story.
I think all of us in the business community get so involved in the day-to-day grind that all we’re worried about is “Just the Facts” and we’re losing opportunities to engage our customers or potentials in a conversation. If we’re interested in “Just the Facts” then we are not allowing for a conversation to begin, because either we’re too busy telling someone something or trying to get info out of someone.
I think we need to sometimes step back and re-evaluate how we’re talking to customers or prospects, especially if you’re using social media. No one wants to hear about your products, they want to hear how you can help solve their problems. One way to share this info is by telling them compelling stories. Most old timers struggle with this especially in the social media sector that the marketing is now customer-centric not product.
Jeff highlights 4 great ways to use storytelling in your business that will help you engage more people.
Company History – Tell your story through the lens of the customer. Be authentic and leave out all the buzzwords. Use key events as sources for stories.
Customer Successes – This should be an easy one. Tell how you solved a problem for a customer and even give a quote or two.
Employee Activities – People like to do business with people they know, like and trust. Put a face with a name of those in CS or those who are writing for your social accounts. Let them tell their stories and what they are passionate about.
Community Support – Every company does something locally. We support and do a tool drive for our local Habitat for Humanity. Let your customers see another side of you and what’s important.
Those are my thoughts on how to use storytelling. Do you have any interesting ones you’d like to share?
We live in a 10 second sound bite world where everything needs to be done NOW.
If we take that attitude, especially in sales, new customers are going to be hard to come by. People buy from those they know, like and trust. That’s not an overnight thing in most cases. Patience truly is a virtue when it comes to selling.
It’s usually a process, and depending on what you’re buying, it may have more stages and take longer. No matter if it’s face-to-face or online, there’s a process most of us go through when purchasing something, whether it’s at work or home.
Most companies have identified the stages customers need to go through before making a purchase. Our challenge is finding out up front where they are in that process and then start moving them through the steps at their pace, not ours.
The key is being able to help them through the process without scaring them off. Here are a few suggestions on what might help:
Make it about them and their issues (customer centric).
Take baby steps in asking them questions to get them to the development stage in the process.
Get info back to them that relates to the particular request with a possible solution and ask them another question to continue to engage them.
The more tailored the information, the better chances are of having them buy from you when the time is right.
Those are some of the things we try to do to woo new customers. What are you doing?
Does your company have a social media strategy for your social media efforts? Most companies have jumped on the bandwagon but appear to be shooting from the hip with no strategy or measurements in place.
Companies are going about social strategy backwards, by first concentrating on the tools and technologies instead of focusing on what they want to achieve. My understanding of social media and how to monetize it was greatly expedited because my rifled focus on applying it for new business.
A survey conducted by marketing firm Digital Brand Expressions found that 78 percent of client companies responding to their survey said they use social media, but only 41 percent said they have a strategic plan in place to direct their social media efforts.
Other key findings from this survey that should be of interest:
Of the companies that have no plan in place, 88% agree that it is important.
Of those companies that work from some plan, 94% said that marketing activities are included in the plan.
71% of those with a plan said their Marketing Department is the group with the primary responsibility for creating and maintaining the firm’s social media presence.
Of the planners, 71% indicate they use social media for public relations communications, while 55% said that they used social media for sales-related activities. A surprisingly small percentage (16%) say their HR team is using social media for recruiting, employee retention, training and development, etc. and 26% use it for customer service.
Social media efforts are being led primarily by Marketing (71%) and PR (29%) departments.
Even among those with a plan, few (29%) have written policies and communications protocols in place, leaving the organization exposed to problems arising out of employees communicating in ways that inadvertently hurt, rather than help, their company brands.
“It’s fairly well established that social media is a channel that businesses must participate in, leaving CEOs with the new challenge of planning and implementing brand aligned initiatives enterprise-wide,” said Veronica Fielding, president and CEO of Digital Brand Expressions.
Manufacturers should get on the bandwagon and start using social media. You can be afraid of it and then you’re missing lots of opportunities to tell your story and generate interest in your company and what you do.
This guest post was provided by Dean Vella who writes about social media training and Internet marketing for University Alliance, a division of Bisk Education Inc. and talks about ways you can get started. Enjoy.
Social media campaigns have grown in staggering numbers over the past few years, with business-to-business (B2B) manufacturers among the companies now using this relatively new method of marketing to develop their businesses.
A recent survey by Forrester Research found that B2B marketing budgets are expected to increase an average of 6.8% in 2012. Manufacturing firms projected a 7% increase, up from 4% in 2011.
Social media offers companies the opportunity to distribute their brand message far and wide at faster-than-ever speed. There are pitfalls, however. The viral nature of social media means that companies can quickly lose control of their message. Once that control is relinquished, it can be extremely difficult to regain.
B2B Manufacturers and Social Media
Whether it’s through Facebook, LinkedIn or Twitter, B2B manufacturers are using social media networks to notify recipients about developments in the industry, offer advice on how best to use their products and answer customer questions. As a result, manufacturers are discovering that they now can connect directly with end users in addition to their business partners.
This can create a myriad of benefits. B2B manufacturing companies can acquire information first-hand from their users and business contacts. That provides them with tangible information from a variety of sources that can be leveraged into product development and innovations.
Social media campaigns also can help B2B manufacturers give a “face” to their organization. For example, with an estimated 800 million users, Facebook offers access to a massive, and potentially untapped, consumer base.
An Effective Strategy
Among the first steps in developing a social media campaign is to understand how the platform is different from traditional marketing methods. As previously mentioned, the spontaneous nature of social media makes it tricky – if not impossible – to control the message, the recipients or the timing of the dissemination of information.
Manufacturing companies can consider these factors before implementing a social media initiative:
Where are the customers?
Knowing which social network your users or customers prefer – whether it’s Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter or Google+ – is the first step in entering the social media fray.
Monitor carefully As much as it is critical to spread information about your organization, it’s just as imperative to carefully and consistently monitor the feedback from users and customers. As such, social media is more about the conversation than it is about the message. It’s important to identify those employees who have the social media training, knowledge and savvy to monitor feedback and post answers to questions and comments.
Use tools One of the major benefits of social media is the array of technology and tools it puts at a company’s disposal. Videos, links, blogs, podcasts and photo sharing – firms can use each of these components to share more information about their company with their customers. The interactive nature of the technology makes this a two-way relationship.There certainly are challenges with social media campaigns in terms of controlling the message. Despite those potential stumbling blocks, there is immense potential for B2B manufacturers and other companies to build new partnerships and attract new clients and customers through social media.
With all the marketing activities we are all doing today, we sometimes forget to review some of the old standbys like your website to make sure it’s current.
Today we have a guest post from Derek Singleton from Software Advice, a company that helps companies pick the right software whether it’s for an application or industry. Derek has been a guest blogger before and it’s always good to get someone else’s insights. Enjoy.
Graphic courtesy of: Thomas Industrial Network, Industrial Purchasing Barometer
The industrial buying market is undergoing changes. An industry that once relied purely on traditional marketing to generate sales leads is now moving online. Survey results released by the Thomas Industrial Network recently found that 9 out of 10 industrial buyers research and evaluate their purchases online today.
As more industrial buying activity moves online, manufacturers will need to focus on building their online presence. In order to make the most of the increase in online activity, manufacturers need to create a website that meets buyer expectations at each step of the purchasing cycle:
1. Discovery – Site visitors are just starting their research process and are trying to find companies that make what they need.
2. Research – Visitors are looking for information on product specs, operations procedures and materials used.
3. Sourcing – Individuals are ready to see detailed pricing and want schematics to ensure that your product works with what they’re building.
4. Procurement – This will usually happen offline.
Beyond modeling a website that guides visitors through the sales cycle, there are four other areas manufacturers should focus on to improve their websites.
Show Off Your Facility & Processes – It’s important to use your website to show off what differentiates you from the competition. If you have a clean, modern looking facility, then you should show it off with pictures or a video tour. If you’ve received awards or other accolades, let visitors know about it.
Create a Product Catalog – The product catalog is a great way to provide visitors with an easy way to navigate the products you make. It shouldn’t, however, simply be an electronic version of a print catalog. In the online world, buyers expect to be able to compare multiple products side-by-side. Your website should allow for this so visitors can narrow their options quickly.
Provide Detailed Product Specs and Schematics – Beyond product comparisons, buyers these days want to see detailed information on each product. It’s essential that photographs, detailed measurements, product tolerances, and schematics are provided for each product so they can move further along the sourcing process. Not providing this information can result in the visitor leaving your website.
Create Downloadable CAD Files – A final element to include in your website is the downloadable CAD file. Providing visitors with access to these files is a great way to speed up a purchase as it allows visitors to determine with greater precision whether your product meets their needs.
Naturally, content is only part of the equation. This content needs to be coupled with calls to action (CTAs) to convert visitors into leads. One critical CTA that works well for manufacturers is the request for more information. By balancing a website with the right content and CTAs, manufacturers can generate more leads online.
To see a few examples of how these web elements are being put to use on manufacturer websites, visit Software Advice, a site that reviews manufacturing software. You can find more detailed information at: Manufacturers, Listen Up: 5 Tips to Convert Your Web Traffic.
LinkedIn 277% More Effective for Lead Generation Than Facebook and Twitter.
In a study conducted by Hubspot, LinkedIn generated the highest visitor-to-lead conversion rate at 2.74%, almost 3 times higher (277%) than both Twitter (.69%) and Facebook (.77%).
200 million leads were generated on LinkedIn last year, according to their Advertising Chief, Jim Lister.
LinkedIn is an important social media platform for new business that helps you to:
Re-establish older connections with past colleagues and clients.
Find new connections and seek referrals.
Request and share recommendations.
Maintain top-of-mind awareness with prospects through status updates.
Gather the right kind of intelligence to make better targeting decisions.
Find and follow client and prospective clients using LinkedIn’s advanced search features. You can find people or companies in your geographic location, or within a particular industry or niche.
LinkedIn has been the “dark horse” of the social media platforms. This is partly because it is a difficult platform to master and networking isn’t easy. But LinkedIn, the world’s largest professional network, is stepping up improvements.
LinkedIn attracts dedicated users who are serious about business. Here are 12 LinkedIn improvements that will help you connect:
More than two million businesses with company pages are now allowed to post status updates to their followers. Watch for prospect’s company status updates and engage with them.
Targeted updates enable you to target your company’s status updates to specific followers so they can deliver the most relevant content to the most appropriate audiences.
To help facilitate conversations, a new polling feature has been added to LinkedIn Groups that’s designed to get a quick read on an issue.
Users can now create a custom group, very similar to a regular group, except you’ll be able to customize a space on the right side of the page. You can add video, integrate your blog, Twitter feeds or other RSS feeds. You can also easily add a poll, from which you can ask your group members questions.
An option available with a premium account is the ability to send InMails, or private emails through the LinkedIn network. Whether you know a person or not, you can contact anyone on the LinkedIn network, even if you don’t know them.
New Group Search helps you to find the right conversation faster among the 1.2 million groups.
The upgraded People You May Know feature makes it even easier to find and connect with people in your network.
LinkedIn Alumni makes it easier for you to tap into this important personal network and review relevant associations.
LinkedIn’s Follow Company button can now be added to their websites, making it easier for any consumer to begin following companies of interest.
Your LinkedIn Profile now puts more emphasis on Skills and Expertise. This means you can showcase your abilities to easily connect with people who have similar skills or with companies looking for specific expertise.
A new tab on your page called Follower Statistics, will add a new layer of reporting to the Page Statistics.
You can now embed a YouTube video on your companies overview page as well as on each individual service page.
If you’re in manufacturing, I don’t have to tell you the kinds of pressure you feel on a daily basis.
Eric Willis follows my blog and is a manufacturer of fasteners in the UK. Eric works as a distribution manager at EJOT UK providing high tension custom fasteners to the aerospace and defense market. EJOT’s global distribution network makes it one of the largest fastener suppliers based in Europe.
He’d like to share his insights on how to stay ahead of the game.
How to Stay Ahead of the Game in the Fastener World
The volatile and unpredictable economy we live in today has wreaked havoc not only for consumers but also for businesses and offices in all markets and industries. The global recession has brought about certain impacts and effects that have rattled businesses to their knees and has made business stability seem like an utter dream.
In the fastener manufacturing market, the level of competition is high and continues to escalate in rampant proportions. It looks as if new manufacturers and suppliers of fasteners are established every day. Unfortunately, the rates of consumers and prospective buyers looking for these materials and supplies have not significantly increased throughout the course of time. This has made the level of competition fiercer than ever.
So what do you do? In the mind of a true businessman, staying ahead of competitors are of paramount concern, one that should be above all else in your list of priorities as a business executive or owner. Staying ahead of the game in the world of fastener manufacturing and distribution is something one cannot simply plan overnight even for the versed and experienced owner or director. To stay ahead and ensure that traffic flows come your way, meticulously planning and perfectly executing the plan is of key essence, and can make or break your business.
For people who know little or have no familiarity or knowledge at all regarding the market or industry of manufacturing fasteners, you won’t likely think of the difficulty owners face when competing with each other. Making sure your business is always competitively operating in multinational markets is also very difficult with lots of variables outside of your control. With the ubiquity of outsourcing and the access of global resources in today’s modern day and age, the manufacturing world is actually in a consistent struggle with rivals.
Here are 3 tips and guidelines on how you can add a competitive edge on your game in the vast and “dog-eat-dog” world of manufacturing, in this case manufacturing of fasteners.
First, lower the expenses of your business. In a simpler and more comprehensible context, if you can make the fasteners while consuming fewer funds for the same quality and quantity as compared with rivals, you’ll be able to provide more savings and discounts to your consumers and tilt the game to your advantage. Several of the most effective means of lowering expenditures involve tactics like outsourced manufacturing of the product, correctly forecasting to allow demand-based manufacturing, eliminating all delays in prefabricated parts and creating shared utilities. When provided with respective applicability to your facility, these techniques may yield a substantial benefit over competitors who opt not to play strategically.
Secondly, understand the standards and demands of your clients. Avoid leaving any worries or doubts in your customer’s mind when they opt to work with you in the future. Meet your client’s needs and demands by rendering them with the fastener supplies they need quicker and cheaper as compared with rivals.
Thirdly, find or create a unique selling point. These could be large brand awareness campaigns through supplying high-profile events such as F1 cars, Prototype Aeroplanes or Extreme engineering designs. Brand awareness in a saturated market can be the difference between stagnated growth and true development of a business.
I’ve always been a big supporter of promoting manufacturing and tradesmen jobs. I recently came across a post from a client of ours, PMPA (Precision Machined Products Association). Miles Free, their Director of Industry Research and Technology, writes their blog, Speaking of Precision and I wanted to share his post.
Is now the right time for you to start your career in U.S. Manufacturing?
The phrase “get in on the ground floor” comes to mind…
I found this chart on Global Macro Monitor Blog on WordPress. They look at it for their purposes. Let’s look at it for ours.
I started my manufacturing career in September 1973, near the bottom of the “Nixon Decline.” It wasn’t easy – I had plenty of layoffs – but there was plenty of upside and I went from laborer in a sintering plant through a series of jobs to become, senior plant metallurgist, quality director, plant manager, division director for quality and technology.
Being in the right place at the right time (manufacturing) from 1973 to 1977 allowed me to take advantage of the upside in manufacturing that gave me the momentum to grow my career.
Looking at the chart above, 2012 looks like the exact same opportunity, only better.
Global Macro Monitor lists some of the factors which influenced the chart above:
Strengthening of the dollar during the 1980′s;
Globalization;
Entry of China and India into the global labor force;
The internet;
Improved productivity;
Technological innovation;
Demographics and worker preferences;
All of the above.
I speak and meet with precision machining company managers and owners daily.
All are looking for people with skills and talent.
All are investing in training for their proven performers.
Our National Technical Conference last week had over 102 first time attendees.
Twice as many companies offered internships as there were students in our first Right Skills Now class.
A comment I received yesterday on Linked In: “I teach Precision Machining and our students are all getting jobs now and the starting pay is getting better… ”
These are some very strong indicators that now is a great time to start a career in manufacturing.
If you can do the math and solve problems based on your experiences, we’d love to have you in our precision machining industry.
P.S. And even though I characterized it as the “Nixon Decline,” I am not at all holding any president responsible for these.
There are far more important factors at play in this chart than whether or not there is a Donkey or an Elephant in the oval office.
The reality is you can’t be all things to all people. Pick a side, draw a line in the sand. Your company will be better for it.
Content marketing over the last few years has become the big buzz word and is often associated with social media. While it can be used to foster social media relationships, content marketing goes way beyond that. As a matter of a fact, it defines who you are and what you stand for.
Years ago you had limited ways to communicate your value proposition, not so today. Today specialists not generalists (no matter what field) are the preferred choice when folks are looking for something and they have a multitude of ways to get information about your company. And people like to be associated with leaders.
Let me ask you a question. If you think this assumption is correct, what do you or your company stand for? Have you chosen a niche? Are you considered the leading expert in it? If not, you’d better do it soon or you may not be around in 10 years. So how are you going to define and get the word out about your specialty? Content marketing.
By creating good content and sharing it, you can establish yourself as the thought leader in your niche. You can attract and retain customers by creating and curating valuable and compelling content on a consistent basis.
Ten years ago before anyone heard of social media, companies still stood for something. I believe you’ve heard of IBM or Apple? You knew one was known for main frames and the other for PCs. Today when you think of either brand, what do you think of…computers or other things? IBM may still make main frames, but they got their butt kicked in PCs and are known more now for their consulting services. Apple was defined by the PC, but not today. When you think of Apple, you think phone, tablet and soon TV.
The point is, both of these companies reinvented themselves and used content marketing to help spread the word in different ways. IBM took advantage of both traditional and social media methods to communicate their position. Apple, on the other hand, didn’t rely on social media directly, but worked the social media system by getting great content out to bloggers and others on the social network to create the buzz for them.
What are you doing to spread the word? Are you using content marketing?
I’d like to hear your thoughts.
Here’s a few other posts you might find interesting:
I’ve been around this crazy business for over 35 years, and one of the biggest issues still today is handing off leads from marketing to sales. You would think that with all the technology today it would be easy, right? Not the case!
Several years ago, marketing would generate leads for various sources and pass them onto sales for follow-up. Then one day someone from the C suite asked how much new business are we getting from our promotional efforts? Marketing said we developed X amount of leads and Sales would say they were all crap. Obviously the finger-pointing wasn’t going to solve the question of how much new business are we getting.
Thus started the process of lead management, qualification, nurturing and at some point turning it over to sales with a little more history behind the leads than there were several years ago. Russ Hill from Ultimate Leads calls it the “Transition Zone.” It is the place in time where marketing hands off the lead they so carefully nurtured to sales to close the loop. But in order to do it successfully, you must have a process that everyone is in tune with, and sales needs to make sure to keep info on that lead current in your lead database so we know when a new customer has arrived, from where and what they bought.
A good follow-up marketing system should have three attributes: 1. It should be systematic.
2. It should generate consistent, predictable results.
3. It should require minimal physical interaction to make it run.
What are you doing to ensure you’re getting the most out of your leads?
Do you know where your customers and prospects are spending their time online? Wouldn’t that be an important part of an overall social media strategy to find and engage them?
If trends continue, social networks will soon surpass internet portals like AOL and Yahoo!
I recently read an article by Phil Mershon in Social Media Examiner that highlighted five ways to use market research intelligence on how consumers behave on social media networks. Although the article is focused more on the consumer side of things, he brings out some points that us in the B-to-B world should take notice of.
Here are some highlights:
Know where your customers spend their time – Over 21% of internet users spent their time on social networking sites. Do you know where your customers and prospects are spending their time? One way is to ask your current customer base where they find meaningful content.
Develop content that is relevant to your reader – Content is king and if you want to stand out in the crowd, you need to become a good source for not only product info, but for industry issues. Remember, content isn’t about you but how you can help your customer or prospect.
Take video seriously – Next to Google, YouTube is the most searched site. Video views have increased 43% and currently over 100 million videos are viewed daily. What are you doing to tell your story and points of differentiation?
Consider the role of Mobile – 8% of all internet traffic comes from mobile devices. Make sure your website is mobile friendly and that content is easy to consume and respond to.
Using key words and investigating sources on the internet, you can find places where your customers and prospects are spending time. Get there and start engaging them.
So what do you do when someone engages you on a social media platform? Hopefully you respond and give them the info they requested, answered their question or directed them somewhere to get an answer. But then what’s the next step? Hopefully you don’t turn them over to your sales force without first determining where they are in your sales funnel.
Does everyone within your organization understand your different stages in the selling cycle? Most sales funnels were set up for developing traditional leads. A question you must ask yourself is whether social media leads fit into your existing process and if so where? As a rule, social media leads take longer to convert because they are engaging you earlier in the process.
Nurturing social leads needs to be handled differently.This will include decision-making content designed to answer questions, overcome objections and provide opportunities that arise during the purchasing process.
I recently read a good post by Nichole Kelly in Social Media Examiner, 5 Tips for Moving Social Media Leads Into the Sales Funnel that I thought might be of interest to you. She makes useful points from understanding the sales funnel to optimizing the path to conversion and explains why social media leads need to be nurtured differently.
What do you think? Have you successfully converted social media fans and followers into revenue? Are you still trying to figure out how to do this?
I just got back last week from the ISA (Industrial Supply Association) Show in San Antonio, and I have to tell you, if I were a manufacturer, I’d have to think about what I was getting out of that show. Since we represent manufacturers that go to these types of meetings, I thought I’d bring up the subject for some serious conversation.
In theory, it’s a place where manufacturers and their distribution counterparts come together via a format of speed dating where the manufacturer requests meetings with distributors (both existing customers and potentials). Like anything else, there are no shows for appointments. The booth program is a two-day affair and while the traffic was light on the first day, it was almost non-existent the second day.
If I was a distributor and could talk to as many suppliers as I could in a period of a few days, I would think they would want to take advantage of it. The manufacturers, as in most associations, foot the bills. They have to bring in product, booths and their associated expenses. What’s most disturbing is that the ratio of manufacturers to distributors is probably 10 to 1.
I don’t have the answer and I’m not trying to pick on ISA. STAFDA, NAED, NAHAD and many more face the same dilemma. There’s got to be a better way in a shorter period of time to make the most out of these meetings. Back in the day, these meetings were a place to showcase new products and programs, but with internet and all the other tools we have, I would hope at least your current customers would know about anything new.
I do recall that the fall meetings in Chicago for a day and a half at the airport were both efficient and successful. I believe it was due in part because the distributors were in the booth and you did your speed dating, but only the roles were reversed. NAED does this at their regional meetings, and as far as I can tell, the manufacturers like the format.
Any suggestions on how we can get these distributor/supplier get togethers to be better for all parties involved?
This month marks three years since I started blogging on Tradesmeninsights.com. With over 500 posts in the system and over 500 followers who are signed up for my monthly newsletter, I thought I’d reflect a bit on what’s come out of all my efforts over the past three years.
If you’re doing a blog or thinking about starting one, make sure you identify the objectives and expectations at the onset.
Our objective when starting the blog was to talk to those interested in reaching the professional tradesmen and ways you could do that. We also wanted to help educate our target audience (manufacturers) on ways they could integrate social media tools into their marketing mix since most of them were very traditional on how they approach things and didn’t like change.
I can remember back in the mid 90s when websites were the big thing and how even back then manufacturers were the last group to come to the party. For those of you who have been around long enough, you will remember those days. Can you image a business today without a website?
To become a thought leader in marketing to the professional tradesmen was our primary goal. We knew that if folks like you (by the way, if you’re a regular, thanks for sticking around) got benefit out of my babblings, we would eventually connect and might even do some business.
We have established dialogs with several folks and have been fortunate to start doing business with several of them. It’s gratifying to be at a trade association meeting or shows and be introduced to people who know who we are because of the blog. And oh, by the way, we are getting business from our blog which was one of our other objectives.
If you do a blog, make sure you have clear objectives and an audience that wants to learn more.
B-to-B customers are doing more homework online when it pertains to buying well before they start the actual buying process. So what are you doing to take advantage of these “opportunity zones” to be successful? B-to-B marketers – are you prepared for a more educated buyer?
We all are facing the challenges of doing more things with sometimes fewer resources, so it stands to reason that what we do, do we want it to give us the best results. Where are you getting your leads and how are you qualifying them? I recently read an article by Dave Thomas on B2B Online Marketing that talks about the results of a recent nationwide survey from BtoB Magazine and Bizo that highlights marketers biggest challenges in 2012.
Among them were:
Paid search came in as the second-ranked tool for marketing, followed by display advertising (35 percent);
60% of marketers claim their biggest challenge this year will be generating additional leads;
63% of marketers state that their marketing mix either falls short of sales demand or they are not entirely sure their mix is working;
56% note brand promotion as a major area of focus.
What I thought interesting was that their biggest challenge was that leads were falling short of sales demands. I guess does that mean that companies are forecasting growth and in order to attain it, they need more leads?
I guess the question I’d like to ask is are you experiencing these kinds of challenges, and if so, will you share with the rest of us?
Now that most companies are back on the offensive and are actively spending more money on marketing, I thought I would ask you where are you getting the best results?
I know the big focus and conversations over the last few years have been on social. Have you jumped in yet, and if so, what kind of results are you getting? What about traditional things like print ads in trade journals and direct mail? Is anyone gaining traction with these?
So to answer my own question, we’re finding in our self promotion that both traditional as well as social media are playing important roles in new business development
A few years ago, we added social media to our marketing mix with this blog. It’s been a major commitment by us to do 2-3 posts a week, but our strategy is paying off. We not only have clients following us, but also potentials who are looking at going after the professional tradesmen.
The blog increases our visibility and also visits to our website. We’ve had a run on inquiries over the last 6 months from folks who have been following us and like what we’re saying. From the market overviews to Podcasts with industry leaders, they have recognized that we specialize in a niche market they are trying to reach and have come to us for help. What’s nice about these new business opportunities is that we’re not competing for the business.
All of our new business isn’t coming from social. We’ve had a print campaign going for the last three years in the leading trade journals where we put a false cover on the copies that go to potential advertisers in those markets. This too has brought us several new business opportunities.
For those of you that are going to San Antonio this weekend for the ISA Show, Sonnhalter has put together an Insider’s Guide to San Antonio by asking friends and business associates about gems in the city that you might not be aware of. It includes Restaurants, Nightlife, Events and more. It’s available here.
A recent report by MarketingSherpa outlines the top priorities and challenges facing those of us that use this marketing tool. A free copy can be downloaded here.
This report re-emphasizes the fact that email marketing is not only alive, but is still an important part of the overall marketing programs of most companies.
Top 5 process priorities for B-to-B marketers include:
Growing and retaining subscribers – 64%
Delivering highly relevant content – 72%
Achieving or increasing ROI – 39%
Increasing email engagement metrics – 41%
Integrating email with other marketing tactics – 30%
It makes sense that to grow and retain subscribers, you need to deliver good and meaningful content. Another important consideration is list size isn’t as important as the quality of the list. You should be interested in building lists of followers who are active and want to share information.
B-to-B marketers usually have longer sales cycles, so it’s important to engage and take your prospect through the various stages of the buying process. This is reflected in 70% of B-to-B companies identifying this as an area for improvement.
The top 5 barriers facing B-to-B email marketers include:
Inadequate staffing – 53%
Lack of an effective email marketing strategy – 37%
Difficulty merging email lists with other systems – 36%
Unclear or constantly changing objectives – 31%
Inability to manufacture relevant content on a consistent basis – 31%
So tell me about your priorities and what your biggest challenges are with email marketing.
Google Reader will save time and allow you to consistently share and create appealing content that will be of primary interest to your target audience.
Social media is a great tool for new business, but it is the creation and curation of content that will provide success. Creating content is difficult. If you are going to write effectively, you must read and your reading will fuel your writing.
Constantly using search engines to find your resources is not only a huge waste of time, but you can easily get distracted. How often have you started a search for something in particular and 1-1/2 hours later, you can’t even recall what you were looking for?
The key to creating good content is to have a simple system that brings an organized approach to your online reading.
One of the most effective time management tools for an online reading program is an RSS Feed. There are a number of RSS Readers to choose from. My personal preference is Google Reader.
Once you have clearly identified your audience, Google Reader can help to organize your resources around their interests. You can be sure you are on the same page as your audience, reading what they are reading, discovering their trade publications, information and research from their associations, etc. You can also glean important information from sources that are not specifically relevant to your audience.
Here’s a sampling of what Google Reader will help you do:
Stay up to date with the very latest materials.
Comb quickly through online resources from hundreds of source sites in a single place.
Easily share your reading to your followers in Google+, Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter and Pinterest.
Keep materials organized by creating folders and tags. Just like with email, folders help you easily find what you are looking for. It is far better than managing your email inbox.
Quickly spot trends.
Monitor your competitors or your client’s competitors. Know what they are writing and sharing.
Create a consistent system that allows you to stay updated by reading the latest information from target audience’s industry publications, associations, even their competitors.
Use it for Google Alerts. You will want to have a lot more alerts being created for specific type material than you would have coming into your email inbox.
When online resource sites don’t pan out, easily drop them from your feed.
Use the share settings to share your favorite blog posts and articles directly to Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Google+ and other social media channels.
I have established the mornings as my daily reading time. Google Reader is set as the Home Page for my browser. It is the first thing I open each day. My readings are gathered from resources all over the internet and organized into a central location. It becomes my own personalized Continuing Education program.
If you read feeds on the iPhone or iPad, I recommend using Reeder, a nice app that can be used for that purpose. You will be able to view your feeds in “stacks” based on the folders that you have assigned to them.
I’m sure you’ll answer yes, but are you talking with them or at them? We all assume that email or phone calls are the best way to communicate with your customers. I’m surprised when I ask our clients that question that it’s based on their assumptions on how their customers wanted to be contacted.
It’s interesting that we all want to build relationships and engage our customers, but if you think about it, you’re doing it on your terms not necessarily on theirs.
Here’s what I’d suggest. Have your customer service department contact your customer base and ask them how they want to be contacted (most of this can be done on regular inbound calls), for example, regarding new products or new training that’s available. You may be surprised at their answers.
For new products, they may want a one-on-one with their salesman, and for training, they may want to be contacted by email. They should touch most of your customers in a normal period of a month or so, and for those that are reached from inbound calls, start an outbound campaign to those that haven’t purchased for some time. It will give your customer service people a reason to reach out, and who knows, they might even sell something!
I’m assuming you’re working with some sort of CRM system that can be updated, and when new things come up that need to be shared, you have a better chance of getting that message out if you deliver it the preferred way the customer wants.
Give it a try and let me know how it works for you.
I was invited to an industry roundtable event recently in conjunction with a regional trade show for the electrical industry, Electro Expo 2012 in Cleveland. The event was the brainchild of Rob Fisher from Madison Electric, which also hosted the event.
What was so unique about the event is that there were manufacturers, distributors, electrical contractors, electricians, building inspectors and even representatives from the IBEW and NAED there. Topics included industry landscape, building partnerships, media revolution, marketing best practices, emerging technologies and innovation and culture.
The event was two hours and the groups were broken up into tables with each disciple represented to discuss specific topics. At the end, someone from each table gave a summary of the issues and possible recommendations on solutions. A white paper will be issued and when it is, I’ll post a link.
It was a great event, and my compliments to Madison Electric for hosting it. Too bad other industries aren’t doing something similar to get all the stakeholders together to talk about common goals and ways to make doing business easier.
It’s ironic that every manufacturer or contractor that I talk to have plenty of work to do, but a limited number of qualified people to do it. Mike Rowe recently pointed out that young folks can make up to 100K a year working in a factory according to a recent article on CNN Money.com. The same holds true for other tradesmen like plumbers, electricians and HVAC contractors. These folks can make 60-80K a year, and they can’t ship those jobs across the pond.
These factory jobs aren’t low tech anymore, or are they in dingie old factories. These are high-tech, high-salary jobs running multi-million dollar manufacturing cells using the latest computer technology. Right Skills Now is a program that was started to get both technical schools and colleges to work together to train workforces. Its model can be started anywhere in the country and for various types of jobs.
If we want to have a resurrection of manufacturing jobs here, we need to start letting parents and kids know there are alternatives to a 4-year degree. If you’re a manufacturer or contractor, here are some grass-roots things you can do in your community to promote these kinds of jobs:
At career days at your schools, volunteer to talk to the kids. Give them the benefits of the opportunities that are available. Make it fun, exciting and cool!
Work with your trade associations and school guidance counselors to make sure they have the proper info to give to kids.
Have an open house or career day event and bring local students to your place and show them the opportunities.
What things can you add to the list? We’re all in this together and we need to let young people know about these opportunities.
Sonnhalter Releases Podcast About the State of the Construction Industry
BEREA, Ohio – February 2012 – Sonnhalter, a communications firm marketing to the professional tradesman in the construction, industrial and MRO markets, released a podcast interview with Georgia Foley of the Specialty Tools and Fasteners Distributors Association (STAFDA) about the state of the construction industry.
The podcast interview with Foley, who is the executive director of STAFDA, gives a brief overview of the construction industry in 2011 and the industry’s outlook after the first major industry show of the year, World of Concrete.
“The construction industry certainly continues to have its challenges as it moves into 2012,” said John Sonnhalter, rainmaker journeyman at Sonnhalter. “This podcast gives some valuable insight into where construction was last year and where the industry experts see it going in the year ahead.”
“Made in the USA has become increasingly important. Americans are paying attention to the country of origin and are making an effort to avoid products from other countries,” said Foley. “Manufacturing is improving and profits are up, but finding qualified employees is a problem for many.”
Established in 1976, Sonnhalter is the leading B2T marketing communications firm to companies that target professional tradesmen in construction, industrial and MRO markets. Sonnhalter’s brand identity highlights its expertise in marketing to the professional tradesmen. Its tagline, “Not Afraid To Get Our Hands Dirty,” promotes the employees’ willingness to roll up their sleeves and dig deep into clients’ businesses, also, it refers to the market it targets: the tradesmen who work with – and dirty – their hands every day. Sonnhalter developed the acronym “B2T,” which stands for “business-to-tradesmen” to capture the essence of its specialty. In 2009, 2010 and 2011, Sonnhalter was named one of BtoB Magazine’s Top Agencies. For more information, visit the company website at www.Sonnhalter.com or visit the company blog at www.TradesmenInsights.com.
About STAFDA
The Specialty Tools and Fasteners Distributors Association (STAFDA) was founded in 1976 and has approximately 2,500 member companies. STAFDA holds an annual convention each November for members to convene and take part in educational programs, seminars and a trade show that is well attended by leading manufacturers, distributors and representatives within the industry. For more information about STAFDA, visit www.stafda.org.
The job of marketing today isn’t to create new customers but to create passionate subscribers to our brand. Your community will take charge and social networking will continue to facilitate the power shift towards the consumer. Our challenges are to make a person stop, read, think and behave differently.
Joe Pulizzi, founder of the Content Marketing Institute and known as the Godfather of Content Marketing, describes it “as a marketing technique of creating and distributing relevant and valuable content to attract, acquire and engage a clearly defined and understood target audience with the objective of driving profitable actions.” Does that sound like something we should be doing?
Roper Public Affairs says that 80% of business decision makers prefer to get company info in a series of articles vs. advertisements. 70% say content marketing makes them feel closer to the sponsoring company, while 60% say company content helps them make better product decisions.
So how do we manage this thing called content management? I found a good book by Robert Rose and Joe Pulizzi called Managing Content Marketing that might be a helpful tool for your marketing team to read. They outline and focus on 5 areas:
Understand YOU – What makes you different? You need to define this before writing content to support it.
Understand THEM – Who and where are the communities you’re serving?
What content can you provide to help build loyalty?
Subscribers need to be fed, nurtured and unsubscribed when it’s time.
Measure success.
Content marketing is a different way to get the same information in front of customers, and we all need help and tools to manage it better.
We did a webcast with Joe Pulizzi on content marketing that might be of interest to you. You can watch it here.
LinkedIn has always been one of my best sources of activity to my blog. It also allows me to network with others who have the same interest in groups that I join, and I can always count on input from those who are linked with me if I need something or a question answered.
That’s why it wasn’t a big surprise to me when a recent study by HubSpot said that LinkedIn generated the highest visitor to lead conversion rate of 2.74%, almost 3 times higher than both Twitter and Facebook.
I guess that shows me that the people who are on LinkedIn are there for business purposes and are looking to network. So here are some tips on how to leverage LinkedIn:
Invest the time – develop and nurture your community. Don’t post something for the sake of posting. If you don’t have good content, wait until you do.
Focus content on what’s working – if blog posts are getting the most traffic, concentrate on doing more of them. If webinars or podcasts create more activity, focus on them.
Don’t forget lead generation content – call-to-action items need to be included in the mix so you’re continually inviting people to engage.
Keep learning – don’t take any success for granted. Keep working to improve your content.
Those are some of my thoughts. What are you doing to take advantage of LinkedIn?
Sonnhalter Releases Podcast About the Importance of Online Training
BEREA, Ohio – March 2012 – Sonnhalter, a communications firm marketing to the professional tradesman in the construction, industrial and MRO markets, released the podcast, “The Importance of Online Training.”
The podcast is an interview with Lisa Bordeaux from BlueVolt, an online learning management system that enables companies to train, track, and reward learning; about how manufacturers and distributors use online training and the different learning methods that it offers.
“This podcast offers valuable insights about online training,” said John Sonnhalter, rainmaker journeyman at Sonnhalter. “Everyone is looking for return on investments and Lisa shares how training can offer valuable returns.”
“Training, in our customers’ experience, is one of the most significant things you can do for the bottom line,” said Bordeaux. “And when we look at the data and the impact on sales, we’re consistently hearing companies tell us that they’re seeing anywhere between a 17 and 31 percent incremental increase in sales.”
Established in 1976, Sonnhalter is the leading B2T marketing communications firm to companies that target professional tradesmen in construction, industrial and MRO markets. Sonnhalter’s brand identity highlights its expertise in marketing to the professional tradesmen. Its tagline, “Not Afraid To Get Our Hands Dirty,” promotes the employees’ willingness to roll up their sleeves and dig deep into clients’ businesses, also, it refers to the market it targets: the tradesmen who work with – and dirty – their hands every day. Sonnhalter developed the acronym “B2T,” which stands for “business-to-tradesmen” to capture the essence of its specialty. In 2009, 2010 and 2011, Sonnhalter was named one of BtoB Magazine’s Top Agencies. For more information, visit the company website at www.Sonnhalter.com or visit the company blog at www.TradesmenInsights.com.
Portland, Oregon-based BlueVolt connects and advances participants in industries through its leading online Learning + Marketing Platform, its comprehensive, quality learning catalog, and its talented professional services team. Platform participants include manufacturers, associations, distributors, contractors, and skilled professionals in the electrical, plumbing, flooring, welding, and HVAC industries. The Platform enables online training and learning experiences including social/collaborative, blended, on-demand and live multi-camera webcast with enterprise-level functionality and performance. BlueVolt’s unique approach to training encourages learning with its proven reward program that is valuable to both content consumers and content sponsors. As of May 2010, BlueVolt delivered over 675,890 courses to over 86,000 registered users.
Facebook officially launched Timeline for brand pages on February 29th. The month of March is a transition period for pages to acclimate to the new layout and operation of Timeline. When March 30th comes around, all pages will be pushed to Timeline.
If your organization has a Facebook page there will be a lot of changes with the switch to Timeline, but there are four fairly easy things that you can do before March 30th to make the transition to Timeline smooth.
Consider the Cover Picture – Cover photos are one of the most noticeable changes in Timeline. If you haven’t set up your cover photo by March 30th, your page will have a blank strip where the cover should be. Cover photo sizes are 851 pixels wide and 315 pixels tall. Images not in those dimensions can be repositioned for the look that you want for your page. Facebook has restricted what can appear in cover photos, so when you design yours, keep in mind that your image cannot feature price/purchase information, contact information, calls to action or references to Facebook actions (Like, Share, etc.). There’s more information here (https://www.facebook.com/page_guidelines.php).While you’re considering your cover photo, look at your profile image again and make sure that it will work with the cover you choose.
Tell Your Story – Timeline gives pages the opportunity to tell the organization’s story. Even back before Facebook existed. Events can always be added to your Timeline later, but telling the basic story helps your fans know more about you. Some events that you may want to highlight include:
– When your organization was founded
– Important milestones (anniversaries, name changes, goals reached)
– Launches of new products or services
– Awards
Take a Tour – Take the time to put your page in the preview mode that Facebook gives you. That will let you adjust to the admin panel and features before your Timeline is published. Find where things are and see how your information section looks. You may want to make some adjustments before you publish.
Prepare for Change – There are a lot of changes that your page will experience. On the administrative side, you’ll need to make some decisions regarding some new features. One major change you’ll probably encounter is the feature that lets your fans message you. Previously, pages and their fans couldn’t private message on Facebook which lead many pages to answer questions and problems publically on the page or directing fans to email them.
Timeline gives you the option to tell your story and highlight the important parts. Many of the changes present opportunities to try new things with your brand.
As B-to-B marketers, we are concerned about demand generation as our fundamental mission with lead generation being the primary way of measuring success. Here are four ways that will help you get better results.
I read an interesting article by Jim Leach, VP-Marketing, Harris Corp that outlines the CORE items you need to focus on. Here are some highlights:
Content – You have two challenges here for creating great content. One, the people who probably know the most about your product are probably terrible writers and two, your audience has no time to read. Jim suggests that a product engineer or possibly a customer service person might be the ones to tap to write content. His rules are simple: be brief, be brilliant, and be gone.
Outreach – Your best source of info is from your sales force. They are out in the trenches every day and know what the pain points are for customers and potentials. Take those insights and turn them into content nugget one pagers with common themes that might be used in a drip marketing program.
Response – Don’t lead your potential back to your home page on the web where they have to start the search over for the particular item that interested them in the first place. Create specific landing pages with tailored messages and the ability to collect info and download valuable info depending on where they are on the sales ladder – awareness, research, evaluation, selection or purchase – you should have items on that page that address each step in the process so the potential can find what they want easily.
Engagement – Most B-to-B sales have longer buying cycles so you need to keep your prospect engaged throughout the process. Make sure that when they come back at you with questions to be sure to ask them some as well so you can continually update their status.
CORE marketing can help you focus your efforts and close more sales. What are you doing to improve your marketing results?
Now that we’ve crossed over into another year, are you reviewing what you did last year and trying to make improvements?
I ran across a paper by Radian6 (you can download it when you click) that highlighted 30 ideas to think about to include in your planning. They included ideas on strategy, listening, engagement and measurement. I’ve always respected them and their content.
Here are some points that hit home to me:
Socialize your culture, not just your technology. Your whole organization needs to adapt to empowered customer model.
Cultivate long-term relationships. It’s 5-10 times cheaper than getting a new client.
Pay attention to people talking about your brand. Listen and tag both advocates and detractors.
Great leaders listen.
It’s not enough to listen in the shadows.Your fans expect you to respond and start conversations.
Those are some of the ideas I’m going to try to work on this year. What are you planning on doing to improve your social media plan?
What they found is very interesting. The study drives home some alarming points on how many of us are less than satisfied with the performance of our website, social, search marketing and sales conversion efforts. Here are a few of the highlights I found interesting:
81% of B2B marketers find online marketing moderately to extremely challenging.
77% said their websites are not effective at generating leads.
63% of them are either vaguely aware or not aware of what is being said about them online.
35% don’t think social media is critical for their business.
On the positive side:
60% have implemented a social media strategy or will in the next year.
Doing a blog is a major commitment and lots of us haven’t pulled the trigger for just that reason. But I’m sure you’ve got good content to share, but how do you do it?
Jeffrey Cohen had an interesting post on socialmediab2b.com, 6 Ways to Create and Share B2B Social Media Content Without a Blog that I found to be interesting. You can house great content on your website and use links in social networks to bring them your info. Highlights from Jeff’s post include:
Email – When you’re at a trade show or industry conference, take notes of highlights and send them to your customer/client contact list.
YouTube – Shoot a quick video (use your phone) with a product manager highlighting one key feature of a product. Post on your YouTube channel and share a link on social sites.
LinkedIn – Post status updates. These will be visible to all those who follow you.
Google+ – Great place to have conversations and ask leading questions, not to mention the benefits of search results.
So you see, there are other ways to get your presence and expertise out in the marketplace. What are you doing to enhance your expertise?
We all know how busy contractors and the trades are. Most of their time is spent on the job site. They rely on their smartphones, and more and more are using tablets in the field. Mobile is not going away. Consider this stat:
77% of the world’s population (5.3 billion people) are mobile subscribers!
72.2 million people accessed social networking sites or blogs on their mobile devices.
Almost 40 million U.S. mobile users access social media sites daily.
Facebook,Twitter and LinkedIn increased their mobile audiences by more that 50% in 2011.
So what do you think the chances are that some of your target audience isn’t in the stats above? Mobile users are interacting with brands and you should not miss out on the opportunity to engage them.
Some of you may have already jumped into Google+. According to recent stats, as of January 2012, there are over 90 million users (Twitter has 100 million active users). To put this in perspective, they launched Google+ by invitation in June of 2011 and opened it up to the public in September of 2011. Google is positioning Google+ as their Facebook for B-to-B.
Google+ is a great content sharing platform, and building an audience on it may be one of the smartest things you do as a content marketer according to a recent post by Brian Clark on copyblogger, Why Google+ is an Inevitable Part of Your Content Marketing Strategy. Here are two highlights on why:
Google+ is a part of Google – they do a good job integrating with Google docs, Chrome, Google Reader, Gmail and YouTube.
Search – Google is the king of search and now they announced the Search, plus your world which merges personalized search with social search.
Brian also discusses concerns about Google having a stranglehold on the market and what we might expect moving forward.
The key for those of us who write content is to understand the language of our audience and make sure we reflect that in our content. Search will do the rest.
I know we all know “CONTENT IS KING” and we focus on putting out good stuff. But we should be just as focused on building the list to whom we’ll be sending all this valuable info.
It’s a fact that if you have an engaged database of subscribers, you have a captive audience not only for them to read, but to share. I recently read a post on problogger.net by James Penn entitled, 10 Ways to Get More Email Subscribers For Your Blog that I thought brought home some key points.
Among them are:
Use multiple opt-in forms – have 3-4 in your newsletter template. The more you have, the better the chances of them signing up.
Offer a freebie for signing up – give them a report, industry trends or white paper for signing up.
Use your most popular posts – they will continue to bring in traffic.
Create special reports on industry issues – use already existing content to create.
Ask readers to join your email list – what better way to get people on board
These are some great tips. What are you doing to increase your email lists?
According to a recent article in BtoB Magazine, Making the Most of Mobile is beginning to change. Here’s an interesting stat – in December of 2011, eMarketer released a study that showed mobile had surpassed print readership.Mobile increased by 30% in 2011 to 65 minutes a day compared to print at 44 minutes. Magazines are finding that their content consumption on smartphones and tablets are beginning to boom.
This trend isn’t just in the B-to-C market. B-to-B publications are beginning to focus on different delivery options. Summit Media Group who owns Packaging World found in a recent survey that 46% of their subscribers owned a tablet and that 78% planned to own one by the end of the year. Of those that currently own tablets, 74% said they read work-related digital magazines on these devices. They have incorporated “responsive design” into their websites which allows for optimum readability automatically.
Ziff Davis, a tech media company, is moving ALL its print magazines to digital and mobile and is clearly a leader in this endeavor. Newer media companies like WTWH Media which just started a few years ago focuses heavily on the digital aspect. Cygnus Business Media, Penton Media and others are starting to follow suit.
So bottom line for those of us that are trying to reach professional tradesmen, we now have another opportunity and avenue to reach them. Benefits of digital are:
We can measure responses
We can enhance our message by including links to videos, testimonials, etc.
If you haven’t included digital in your marketing plans, maybe it’s time you consider it.
I always like stories of the little guys who take on the 800# gorilla and win the battle. One of the benefits of social media is you don’t have to be an 800# gorilla to succeed. In my opinion, it’s the one who is consistent on providing good content and responding in a timely matter that really counts.
All too often larger companies need to go through a “process” that is very time-consuming for both posting content and answering questions.
Madison Electrical Products is a small, privately held manufacturer that services the electrical contractor marketplace and is one example of doing social media correctly. The family business was purchased a few years ago by an individual that thought there was some opportunity to grow and build value in the company. When he bought the business, Madison was considered a third-tier player that competed on price. Bringing in industry experts, they identified opportunities that they thought a company of their size could take advantage of.
According to Rob Fisher, Director of Marketing for Madison, what he found out was he couldn’t outspend his competitors, but he could outmarket them by using social.
“We started off slow, initially created basic Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn accounts. The first few months, we did a lot of monitoring and listening to discover what electrical contractors and distributors were discussing. Once we began participating, we kept the focus on addressing industry issues and trends.
We keep the self-promotion to a minimum. For us, we’re much more interested in using social media to learn from and talk with our industry peers. We also want to be a resource to help others in the industry, which is why we began blogging.”
Realizing that a “commodity product” approach would limit potential growth, Madison launched the Sparks Innovation Center, the industry’s first crowdsourced approach to product development. Contractors and electricians can submit product ideas for consideration through the Sparks page on Madison’s website. To date, Madison has received more than 120 submissions, with six products already launched and several more in the pipeline.
What a unique concept: Listen to what your customer wants and give it to him/her. Thanks to Madison’s commitment to online engagement and listening, coupled with their increased involvement in industry associations, they have become known as thought leaders and are currently making new products that aren’t commodities. Now, when Madison attends regional distributor meetings, they don’t have any problem filling up their dance card.
This is just one example of what a smaller company can do if they are committed to an ongoing program using social media. (By the way, these guys aren’t clients of ours.)
If trends continue, social networks will soon surpass internet portals like AOL and Yahoo!
