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 26, 2011 | Marketing Tips, Social Marketing, Traditional Marketing
We have used webinars successfully for several years now to promote new services and to share industry information and trends. They are a great tool to get the message out to many people at one time, and then you have the ability to archive them for people to come and view at their leisure.
Webinars are effective, and to get the most bang for your buck, you really need to cross the T’s and dot the I’s. There’s a lot that goes into a successful webinar starting with the topic itself. You need to give the professional tradesmen something they can take and make their own.
Andrew Spoeth from Marketo recently had an interesting post, How to Manage Successful Webinars: A Checklist that has several good points that you may want to look at.
I’m going to outline my top 10 tips on ways to improve your webinars:
- Build a great landing page – Clearly state your value proposition up front so the reader can see what’s in it for him.
- Set the time for the webinar outside of normal business hours – Let’s face it, these contractors have to make a living and they have crews to supervise. Consider doing a webinar later in the day, say around 4 PM. That way a contractor may have some of his tradesmen also sit in on the session. It’s better to inconvenience you than your customer.
- Registration form – Make it easy and don’t ask 20 questions in order for them to sign up.
- Give them an option of getting a copy of the slides without attending the actual webinar – In the world of contractors, shit happens and they may not be able to attend. This will get you their contact info for further follow-up.
- Use Social media – Both in the actual sign-up form so they can invite their friends, but also use it to promote the event.
- Promote – You need to build a schedule and build a good series of reasons why these tradesmen need to attend.
- Get your sales force and distributors involved – Have them pass out postcard size flyers when making calls and talk it up. If a distributor does a monthly newsletter or has a site, have him put it on there as a co-sponsor. You do all the work and he shares in the credit.
- Practice, practice, practice – Try to keep the presentation 20-30 minutes long and allow time for questions even though they may be via e-mail.
- Design a follow-up e-mail– Have yourself graded on the topic, how it was presented and what they might like as future topics.
- Get those names out to your sales force and distribution network for follow-up – Everyone should have at least had a phone message within a week.
Those are my thoughts. The key to a successful webinar is good planning.
If you like this post, you may want to read:
Webinars: Tips on How to Promote using E-mail.
Why Webinars are a Good Marketing Tool to Reach the Tradesman
by tradesmeninsights | May 25, 2011 | Marketing Tips, Traditional Marketing
I believe the rule of thumb is it takes 5 times as much effort to get a new customer than it does to keep an existing one. All too often we focus so much on getting new customers that we forget about who’s supporting us now!
Have you ever calculated what a customers worth is over time? Say you have a 30-year old contractor that usually buys $5,000 worth of your stuff a year. Doesn’t sound like much, but if you keep him happy, you probably will have him for 30 years before he retires. So assuming he doesn’t grow his business or you don’t come out with anything new for him to buy over the next 30 years, he would have spent $150,000 with you. Is he worth keeping? I’d say so. So what are you doing to keep him happy? Unless you’re selling a proprietary product, your competition is knocking on his door every chance they get.
I know many of you who follow me don’t buy shoes online, but I’d bet that if you asked your wife if she’s heard of Zappos, she’d say yes. I picked them as an example and even wrote a post on their book, Does Customer Service Deliver Happiness, where they show that by even selling name branded shoes online, they could, in many cases, outsell the brand itself in the online arena. The way they did it was with customer service.
So here are some points for you to consider when evaluating your Customer Service department:
- Try to keep the personal touch (human being) as the initial touch point if you can.
- Empower your CS people to solve a problem immediately without having to go through 3 levels of supervisors.
- Reward customers with a loyalty program as a way of saying thanks.
- Customer surveys are a great way to get feedback, not only on how you’re doing, but for getting ideas for future products.
I’d also suggest if you haven’t done so in a while to call your customer service department and see what your experience is. If you aren’t impressed, what do you think your customers will feel like?
I’d also suggest reading Delivering Happiness that shows how Zappos grew to be a billion dollar company using customer service to set them apart from their competition.
by tradesmeninsights | May 19, 2011 | Marketing Tips, Traditional Marketing
Email marketing is still a very good B-to-B business tactic. But like anything else, you’re always fighting for the attention of the professional tradesmen. Contractor’s inboxes are just as loaded as the rest of ours, so what do we need to do to get him to open ours?
Here are 5 tips to consider:
- Identify yourself – If they don’t know you, they probably won’t open it.
- Attention-getting subject line – Keep it short and benefit oriented.
- Provide relevant copy – What’s in it for me?
- Keep your copy focused and short – Get to the point; use bold headlines and give them a call to action.
- Build a good list – Use your existing customer lists but also ask your sales force for a list of its prospects and don’t be afraid to rent a reputable list.
Those are some of my tips. What’s working for you?
If you like this post, you might also like:
5 Tips to Improve Your B-to-B Direct Marketing Efforts.
by tradesmeninsights | May 18, 2011 | Traditional Marketing
I just got back from the ISA Show in Chicago. Most of the manufacturers that I talked to were pretty upbeat on business in general, but were somewhat disappointed with the turnout of distributors for the booth session. Sunday was slow in the morning and spotty in the afternoon. Monday it was a slow start, but traffic picked up around noon.
I left Monday, but I’d be interested in knowing how many people showed up for the closing luncheon. I liked it better last year in INDY where they closed the booth session down for the luncheon.
Is it me, or are 4 days for a meeting like this too much? I’ve got to think that a two-day affair could certainly accomplish what needs to be done. Anyone agree?
by tradesmeninsights | May 12, 2011 | Marketing Tools, Social Marketing, Traditional Marketing
Thought leadership starts with establishing a point of view.
I would imagine that most of us would like to be considered a thought leader in our respective business categories. A thought leader gains credibility with the market and over time becomes a trusted source.
The key word is over time as this is a long-term commitment on your part. If you’re going to make that kind of commitment, you need to have a plan. GlobalSpec has a good white paper, How to Become a Thought Leader in the Online Era, that’s worth reading.
Here are some highlights:
- What is your company’s position on how the industry you’re in is changing?
- What kind of challenges will your customers be facing?
- How are you addressing these issues that will affect the industry?
- What kinds of innovations are coming down the road that might impact the industry?
- What differentiates your company from the pack?
You need to draw a line in the sand and make a statement. If you start by answering the questions above, it will get you going down the right path. Once you have a point of view, it’s important to communicate that through your existing marketing and PR efforts, both traditional as well as social.
I’d like to hear what you’re doing to become a thought leader in your industry.
