Business Marketing Business Marketing

Business Marketing

I think most business-to-business marketers should aim for "get it out" and "good enough" rather than aim for perfection.

Why?

·         Perfection is impossible to achieve.

·         Marketing campaigns and materials spend too long in concept and development.

·         Waiting for perfection causes significant delays in get your message out.  

   Even worse, your marketing messages never get delivered at all.

Consider these ideas and resources to get marketing done 

faster:With all this in mind, here are some ideas and resources to 

consider for your marketing:

Use what you've got

Refresh or repurpose your existing materials Iinstead of constantly re-inventing the marketing wheel, consider re-purposing or refreshing your existing materials.

The reasons someone should engage your company are often the same as in the past, so why not update the marketing materials that were successful in the past. (We are usually sick of our marketing materials long before they stop working with our prospects.)

Focus on clear messages

Craft clear, well-targeted headlines and messages which offer real solutions to your prospective customers' problems or pains. "Oh-so-clever" copy often doesn't communicate as well anyway.

Write that copy

The Copywriter's Handbook: A Step-by-Step Guide to Writing Copy That Sells by Robert W. Bly is a great book if you want to "do-it-yourself." Or you can find copywriters who can do the job for you by searching on the Internet using phrases like "B2B copywriter" or "direct mail copywriter."

Proofread your copy

To avoid typos and grammatical errors, use a proofreading service 

like www.proofreadnow.com.

Use compelling offers instead of give-aways

Compelling "how-to" or information offers or "buy now" calls-to-

action will get prospective customers to respond as an alternative to 

using costly give-aways.

Mark Joyner's book, The Irresistible Offer: How to Sell Your 

Product or Service in 3 Seconds or Less is worth reading.

Mailings: Get personal

Fire up your laser printer and send personalized letters to your 

prospects, instead of spending a lot of time creating fancy, 

expensive mailers. Then use window envelopes so the address on 

the letter shows through to avoid having to address the envelopes 

too.

Mailings: More ideas

One of the online letter shop services like www.mailersclub.com or 

www.usps.com/netpost to mail-merge, print and mail your business 

letters can save your team time and effort.

Remember, longer copy that is easy to skim (i.e. using subheads, 

bullets, call-outs, boldface, etc.) works with both those prospects 

who prefer to read all the details and those who prefer to get right to the bottom line. You can also use postcards as a less costly alternative. Companies like www.amazingmail.com, www.modernpostcard.com or www.touchpointmail.com can help you get your postcards designed, printed and mailed cost-effectively.

Use email instead of print

E-mails to your opt-in list of prospects are another option to 

developing more costly mailers. For a comprehensive listing of 

email service providers, see BtoB's 2010 Email Marketer Insight 

Guide (PDF).

Leverage your website

Instead of creating printed brochures, consider printing pages from your Web site instead. If you're worried about your company's image, place them in a glossy file folder, imprinted with your logo.

Events: Keep it simple

Instead of developing seminars, workshops, or executive briefings on your own, consider partnering-up with another company to or organization to co-produce an event, or simply take your prospects as your guest to Microsoft events on the subject.

Photos: Stock photo sites got better

Instead of paying for custom photography, consider low-cost stock photo websites like www.istockphoto.com orwww.photos.com.

Part-timers can help too

In addition to hiring full-time people, consider part-timers to help get the marketing job done.

As my oldest daughter just started kindergarten, I've met a number of moms (and a few Mr. Moms) who are ready to go back to work after taking a few years off to raise their children, but now only want to work part-time.

If you need specialized expertise on a project-by-project basis, consider hiring independent contractors like copywriters, designers or event coordinators.

And if you're willing to trade experience for enthusiasm, consider hiring one or more interns from your local college or university.