by tradesmeninsights | Feb 26, 2013 | Marketing Tips, Social Marketing, Traditional Marketing
In the B-to-B world, most sales are not immediate. The longer selling cycles for most industrial/contractor purchases involve more than one person and selling cycles can go from months to years.
So B-to-B marketers need to be patient. I believe Marketing should be the ones who nurture the leads through, and when ready, transition to sales to close the deal.
I think marketing, if the right processes are in place, is in a better position to move them through the process. Effective nurturing is a series of content-relevant info for each stage of the buying process.
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.
B-to-B companies shouldn’t be worried about quantity but quality of leads. According to Albertson Performance Group, quality lead nurturing can lead to 70% more sales. According to them, nurturing will:
- decrease selling cycles
- increase profit margins
- lessen the competition
- decrease price pressure
- get more referrals
Nurturing is the right way to show ROI on marketing efforts.
by tradesmeninsights | Feb 20, 2013 | Marketing Tips, Marketing Tools, Traditional Marketing
One of the biggest challenges for Manufacturers is trying to identify both their customers as well as potentials. It may seem strange to you that most Manufacturers who sell through various distribution channels don’t know who their ultimate customers are.
Distributors as a rule are very protective of “their” customers. Unless you need them to register for a warranty, you need other ways to entice them to give up their contact info. Some of the ways Manufacturers generate names are through trade shows, end-user calls, traditional advertising/PR and social media. You can have customer loyalty and other value-added programs.
The challenge is once you have all of these contacts, what/how do you manage them? That’s where database marketing comes in. This tool can help you segment your audiences into customers, potentials, different markets or applications. Then you can target the message which will increase the potential of folks reading and reacting to it.
Your message to a current user of your product should talk more about applications/performance data while the message to a potential new customer might be more features/benefits of a product or an end-user testimonial from one of their peers.
Your end goal from a customer viewpoint is to build a relationship with them and communicate with them on a regular basis. This will help you in identifying other areas you might help them with, and the more you know about what they do, the better you can offer them ideal solutions to help them.
The bottom line is you’re communicating with them, helping them solve their problems – you are building a customer retention model. If Contractors know, like and trust you, not only will they continue to buy from you, but will become your advocates on the street. They also will be a great source of market intelligence.
Database marketing in my opinion is one of the most important tools in our marketing tool box.
If you like this article, you might want to read:
How Does your Marketing Department Hand Off Leads to Sales?
5 Ways For Manufacturers To Improve E-mail Marketing to Tradesmen
E-mail Marketing for Industrial Marketers: Common Mistakes to Avoid
by tradesmeninsights | Feb 19, 2013 | Marketing Tips, Traditional Marketing
Blah, Blah, Blah. Is this what people hear when you give your 30-second elevator pitch that explains why your firm is different?
Recently I had to identify and vet potential web developers for several major projects for a client. After doing so and narrowing the field to four, we lined up a day for them to present themselves so we could evaluate them at the end of the day while everything was fresh in our minds.
What surprised me is that three out of the four firms used words like synergy, cutting edge, optimize and best practices to describe their business side. What are best practices anyway? When it came to back-end software terms, most of us other than the IT people didn’t have a clue.
The point I’m trying to make is instead of trying to impress people with big words, talk to them like human beings. I wonder if people actually listen to what they’re saying. You just don’t have normal conversations with other folks talking like that.
You want to engage people and to do that you need to act human.
Getting back to my web project. It came down to two firms who differentiated themselves by not talking about themselves, but instead talking about the client’s issues and how they might be able to help. They interacted by acting human. The firm that eventually won the business was because the client felt at ease with them and liked the way they thought about how to solve the problem.
Ironically all four of these firms had the technical competency to do the job, but for some it got lost in the translation.
Think about that next time you’re on a new business pitch. Be yourself, be human. (more…)
by tradesmeninsights | Feb 5, 2013 | Marketing Tips, Marketing Tools, Social Marketing, Traditional Marketing
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.
I recently finished eMarketing Strategies for the Complex Sale by Ardath Albee that I would recommend you read. Her insights and strategies have been used by many major companies.
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.
by tradesmeninsights | Jan 29, 2013 | Marketing Tips, Social Marketing
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.
by tradesmeninsights | Jan 23, 2013 | Marketing Tips, Social Marketing, Traditional Marketing
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.
- 5 Ways to Improve Construction Productivity
- What is Augmented Reality?
- Market Overviews
- Trends in Distribution and What it Means to the Distributor/Supplier Relationship
- Why Aren’t Young People Considering Blue Collar Jobs?
- 2012 Trends in Smartphones and Tablets
- How to Make Social Media Marketing More Effective: 10 Do’s and Don’t Tips
- Reaching Contractors by Mobile. Still not a Believer? See What Grainger is Doing.
- Here’s an Example of a Small Manufacturer who’s Leveraging Social Media
- LinkedIn: What Are Your Business Objectives?
