by tradesmeninsights | Jun 21, 2011 | Marketing Trends, Social Marketing, Traditional Marketing
The Institute for the Study of Business Markets (ISBM) recently released their new finding on B-to-B Marketing Trends for 2012. The study highlights the need for change from investing in the best tools available to truly understanding the needs of your customers. This means getting access to meaningful market and competitive insights and helping clients understand the power of business segmentation.
Among the top 3 quantitative study results were:
- More effectively quantify and communicate value created for customers.
- Better understand what the customer really needs.
- Identify new opportunities for organic growth.
The study breaks down each of the seven findings into key findings, examples of who’s doing it right and a resource to help you along the way. It’s an easy read and one I’d recommend any marketer take the time to review.
by tradesmeninsights | Jun 16, 2011 | Marketing Trends, Traditional Marketing
The last two years for most of us in the B-to-B space hasn’t been much fun. Budgets cut, every move or project had to be justified seven different ways. When leads came in, ALL were followed. We ran a tight ship. Today, business is beginning to improve, budgets are increasing, new products are being launched, and for some of us, social media has been introduced which needs our attention.
All of these are good things, right? On the surface you’d probably say yes. But reality is your staff was probably cut when the downturn happened, but your workload wasn’t. Now with the increase in activity, new product launches and the additional responsibility, you’re probably pulling out your hair!
The sad truth is you may either be executing projects in a production style to get them out the door, or not spending the time on looking at or developing a plan to close the loop when leads do come in. I understand you may be under staffed and overworked, but management will be judging you on results and the famous ROI.
So how are you dealing with this? Some of our clients are looking outside at least temporarily to support programs (which is a good thing), and others are so busy putting out fires they don’t realize as fast as one goes out, another one is lit.
Reality is most marketing departments aren’t going to get back to staffing levels pre-2009. I’d like to hear what you’re doing to stay sane and deliver a good quality product.
by tradesmeninsights | Jun 14, 2011 | Marketing Trends, Social Marketing, Traditional Marketing
If you’re looking to reach the professionals who run and manage manufacturing facilities, which media would serve you best? It appears that an integrated plan is best. Gardner Publishing recently released findings from a survey, Media Usage of Manufacturing Facilities that showed high usage of the web, other e-forms of content delivery, along with traditional print advertising to be the leading sources of information.
They surveyed 1885 manufacturing executives, production managers and engineers mainly serving the durable goods industries. 80% of those surveyed indicated they had direct responsibility for the purpose of manufacturing equipment, software or tooling. Here are some key findings:
- Almost 90% use trade magazines, search engines, supplier or industry websites to locate info.
- There are few differences in preference for print versus digital media. There are generational differences though in the use of social media.
- Trade magazines continue to be the most preferred source for industry news, events and business/market data.
- Purchasing influences in this sector tend to be older, well educated and technically oriented.
- Trade shows remain a strong source of information.
- E-newletters also rank high for discovering new products and processes.
- Most used mobile device is a laptop followed by the smart phone.
The 28 page report details the findings and is available free.
by tradesmeninsights | Jun 1, 2011 | Marketing Tips, Marketing Tools, Marketing Trends, Traditional Marketing
Webinar will focus on: How to Plan, Measure and Market using QR Codes and how B-to-B marketers can take advantage of them.
Marketing trends and tactics are ever changing and keeping up can be overwhelming. Mobile technologies are the next big deal in marketing and QR codes are a large part of that. QR codes can get a passive prospect to take immediate action by turning a standard ad, for example, into an interactive mobile call-to-action.
Please join us Wednesday, June 29th at 2 PM (EST) for this free webinar. Scott Chapin, head of the Circle 44 Mobile unit of DigiKnow, will provide insights and the ins-and-outs of QR Codes, how to use them, how to develop them, and how to measure a program’s success.
Don’t miss this must-attend Webinar on June 29th.
This webinar is available for viewing on our YouTube channel – click here.
Please forward this to a friend or business associate that might be interested.
by tradesmeninsights | May 17, 2011 | Marketing Tips, Marketing Tools, Marketing Trends, Social Marketing
The professional tradesmen don’t go anywhere without their cell phones, and there’s a good chance that those phones are smartphones (50% of Americans will own a smartphone by the end of 2011). They depend on them everyday on the jobsite. So are you missing an opportunity?
I recently read a post by Heidi Cohen, 6 Must-Do Mobile Marketing Tactics that outlined some things for you to consider if you’re contemplating getting into mobile apps. Here are some highlights as they would apply to the professional tradesmen:
- Understand your goals – You need to determine your strategy and how it fits into your existing marketing plan.
- Know your market – Beyond identifying your audience, you need to figure out what kinds of things would be most useful for a contractor of a jobsite.
- Mobile websites – Make sure your existing website is formatted for mobile. Make sure the content you do have there is applicable to the contractor’s “on the go” needs. Make fields larger, make sure you have your logo and encourage action.
- Mobile search – Beyond your normal optimization, combine with mobile CTR. Don’t forget to to include local content like where the closest distributor of your products are.
- Mobile e-mails – Since e-mails are the most used application, why not develop an e-mail plan specifically for mobile? If your sales guys are demoing a new product at a local Depot, let them know about it and offer them a discount coupon for stopping by.
These are just some ideas on how to capitalize on mobile. If you’ve got an existing mobile program going on, I’d like to hear what you’re doing.
If you like this post you might like:
Mobile Marketing for B-to-B: Change in the Air(waves)
56 Mobile Marketing Facts
by tradesmeninsights | Apr 27, 2011 | Marketing Tips, Marketing Tools, Marketing Trends, Traditional Marketing
I’m sure you’ve seen these strange looking symbols and some of you (over 60% according to a recent post in eMarketing.com) know what they are.
These Quick Response codes are showing up more than in consumer applications to get people to use their smartphones to interact and get more info on the spot. They may take you to a video, coupon or an e-commerce site. The key is that once your initial communication stops them, whether it’s an ad or billboard, the QR code enables them to go to the next step on the spot using their phone.
So if you’re not using them in your marketing efforts, maybe you should try them. I’m curious how many of you are currently using QR codes and where are you sending them?
If you like this article, you may want to read:
U.S. Leads in Global Use of Mobile Barcodes
5 Practical Ways Manufacturers Can Use 2D Bar Codes
