by tradespeopleinsights | Mar 6, 2014 | Marketing Tips, Public Relations
By Rachel Kerstetter, PR Engineer, Sonnhalter
I spend about 90% of my time in the office writing something – news releases, feature articles, testimonial stories, ad copy, social media updates, blog posts, emails, etc.
When you’re writing anything from a formal proposal to a memo or a social media posting, the best advice to keep in mind is: Choose Your Words.
When choosing your words, make sure that your message is clear and concise. Why would you write 50 words when you could write 5?
Keep it short and clear. Make your point and let your busy audience move on.
by tradespeopleinsights | Mar 5, 2014 | Marketing Tips, Traditional Marketing
I had some time this week to reflect on almost 40 years in this crazy B-to-B marketing communications business and realized not much has changed.
Let me explain. In our business someone wants to sell something, so they ask us to help to communicate why they should be talking with them about product X as opposed to one of their competitors.
35 years ago, we didn’t have many options in the B-to-B space to get their message out. There was direct mail, trade shows, referrals (today we call it networking) and a newfangled machine called a fax that we could send messages out on. With the exception of referrals, we pretty much had control of the message, when it went and the frequency. The only thing we couldn’t control was when someone actually referred a customer to you.
Today we have so many other alternatives of getting our message out with digital offerings and social media. Some of these tactics we can still control what is said and when it goes out. Others, like social media, we have no control over messaging or when people decide to look at your info and better yet, contact you.
The point being in both cases is that we either identified a prospect or they identified us and the sales cycle started. No matter which scenario you chose, what comes next is the same. You need to talk with the prospect, listen to what they need and give them a reason to buy from you instead of your competitors. For most B-to-B items, unless they are considered a commodity, there are value-added benefits for doing business with one company over another. It could be a unique feature or a great support team after the sale.
I’ve always said an ad or blog post won’t sell anything. People and companies do, and they do it by interacting with each other in person on the phone or email. You can’t take the human element out of the equation in most cases, and I’ll guarantee you when you lose a sale that you thought you had, it could be because they liked what someone else said better.
My point is, you can use all the marketing tactics in the world, but if you don’t have good qualified sales to back it up, the sale won’t happen. That’s why it was important 40 years ago as it is today – sales and marketing need to work together as a team.
Like I said, the more things change, the more they stay the same.
by tradespeopleinsights | Mar 4, 2014 | Marketing Tips, Marketing Tools, Traditional Marketing, Uncategorized
Most folks are familiar with mobile apps, but I think we associate them more with retail/consumer applications instead of the B-to-B world. The key to a good app is no different from any other piece of content you develop. It has to answer and be helpful to your customers. To have an app for an app’s sake doesn’t do anyone any good. You need to be customer centric.
The reasons for having an app are pretty simple:
- How many contractors do you know that don’t have a smart phone?
- Mobile represents over 5.3 billion mobile subscriptions worldwide.
- Mobile devices are on the way to surpassing PCs as the first screen for all web usage according to a study by Grant/Morgan Stanley.
eMarketer had a post, Mobile Apps Help Lure Customers, Spur Loyalty, that I thought had some great points that would spill over into the B-to-B world for manufacturers to consider. The survey was done by Forbes Insights to executives of companies with revenues over $250,000. Most common reasons were: customer communications, customer service and product information. No real surprises here other than the way it’s accessed and delivered.
Apps can definitely play a role well beyond branding to both support existing customers, but to help potentials through the buying cycle. Potential apps that you might consider would be:
- Product information
- Installation and troubleshooting instructions videos
- Productivity tools
- Competitive cross reference charts
- Ability to check current inventory levels
- Distributor locator with direct links
These are only a few ideas. The point is, with mobile being the fastest growing segment, you need to have a presence there. Make sure your interfaces are user friendly and make sure they fall within the requirement of the app stores.
If you like this post, you might want to read:
Do You Have a Mobile App? Are You Promoting it?
Things to Consider When Using Mobile to Reach the Professional Tradesman.
by tradespeopleinsights | Feb 27, 2014 | Marketing Tips
By Rachel Kerstetter, PR Engineer
Producing and using video content effectively has been a popular conversation topic around the Sonnhalter office. I had the opportunity to attend a presentation on storytelling with video by Chris Miller, director of the Akron Digital Media Center and editor of the Akronist.com.
I asked Chris if he would be willing to share some ways that video helps tell a story or some tips on using video, here’s what he said:
- Because we live in such a visual culture, video has become a crucial means to communicate a message.
- Make sure your video is short and to the point – under three minutes is ideal – and be sure to focus on your audience and your message.
- The more personal you can make your video, the more effectively it will reach your audience. We relate to personal stories about everyday people. Profile a client or end customer – tell their story in their own words.
- Keep mobile on your mind when creating your video. Many people may watch it using mobile devices. So, again, shorter is better. Also consider posting Vine and Instagram videos with succinct messages.
- A compelling story is much more important than technical aspects (like special effects). A well-told story will transcend a lack of resources.
- Use B-roll (supplementary footage that helps alleviate the “talking head” interviews) and plan out your video by listing shots and locations ahead of time. A little planning will save you a lot of time in the editing process.
About Chris:
Chris Miller is the director of the Akron Digital Media Center and Akronist.com, as well as a community investment officer at Akron Community Foundation. Chris has more than a decade of digital and print journalism experience
by tradespeopleinsights | Feb 26, 2014 | Events/Trade Shows
For those of you that are heading to Las Vegas for the CONEXPO-CON/AGG Show, we put together an Insider’s Guide to Las Vegas 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.
We hope you have a good show. See you there.
by tradespeopleinsights | Feb 25, 2014 | Marketing Tips, Social Marketing, Traditional Marketing
We all get caught up with having to do more and more, especially when it comes to developing content and deploying it through various media channels. We get pressure from our bosses (clients) to be on every new thing that comes down the road. I recently read an article by Joe Pulizzi, the founder of The Content Marketing Institute, that addresses this actual issue – Do less, not more.
So here’s a novel thought, Don’t worry about quantity and start focusing more on quality. Let’s be realistic, we don’t have the time, resources or possibly content to do all things. Joe cites examples of great brands that started out by dominating one channel consistently over time. What a novel idea. Doesn’t it make sense to focus on and own the primary space you’re in? It doesn’t mean you can’t branch out into other means of getting your message out, but just take it slow.
So what does this mean for the manufacturers? It means do some homework to find out where your customers get their information. If it’s blogs, forums or LinkedIn groups, then start there. Create a blog, for example, that addresses your niche. Make sure you regularly contribute to it so you attract followers. Make sure topics are about solving customers’ questions/issues, not trying to sell them something. Engage them in a dialog of ways you can help them do your job better. Make whatever you do so good people can’t wait to read what’s coming next. In other words, over time, become the go-to resource for whatever specialty you offer.
I think you will find that by focusing on few things and doing them well will not only make you feel better, but will actually accomplish some of those marketing goals of becoming the industry expert.
What are your thoughts?
