Tony Uphoff says, “Marketing business products and services to other businesses used to be relatively simple. You developed a series of ads touting the features and benefits of your product or service, and you ran those ads in leading trade journals and exhibited at leading trade and association shows. This straightforward approach existed for well over 100 years until the Internet came along, irrevocably changing how marketers reach, engage and sell to business decision makers. Today, B2B marketers have a dizzying array of brands, platforms, services and technologies being pitched to them,... [...]

Tom Whatley says, “For many B2B marketers, getting in front of senior decision-makers is a tough task. These are people who would really move the needle for you if you get them to sign up for your product or service. When marketing to the C-suite, though, you’ve got to do things that are different from much of your other marketing efforts. Sure, content marketing and the like can work, but it will only get you so far—and only if you’ve created something that will get past the noise. Senior decision-makers spend only 2% of their time on new suppliers—people trying to sell... [...]

Rainmaker team says, “What tools does the content marketer need to stay organized? What to do about subscribers who aren’t confirming their opt-in? And what’s the difference in approach between B2B and B2C marketing? Confessions of a Pink-Haired Marketer host Sonia Simone answers these questions (and a few more) this week“. The Difference Between B2B and B2C Marketing (and Other Questions) ‘Copyblogger’ Blog  [...]

Peter O’Neill says, “Our new B2B marketing role pages are just one month old, and we have already published new reports on B2B channels, marketing through communities, B2B metrics that matter, and thought leadership programs. All topics at the sharp end of B2B marketing. Our team was also present at Forrester’s two Marketing Leadership Forums held in New York and London. In addition to giving topic presentations there, we ran a 90-minute consulting workshop for over 100 B2B marketers in New York advising attendees on how to formulate their target personas and potential content for... [...]

Ayaz Nanji says, “Some 85% of B2B companies say their sales team’s ability to articulate product/service value is one of the most critical factors in closing deals, according to a recent report from Corporate Visions. The report was based on data from a survey of more than 500 B2B marketers and salespeople from around the world who were polled about their sales messaging strategies and training. Additional key findings from the study: 41% of companies ask their salespeople to role-play practice product/service value messaging in front of others. 49% of respondents say managers are... [...]

Andy Hoar says, “Forrester forecasts that 1 million US B2B salespeople will lose their jobs to self-service eCommerce by the year 2020. B2B buyers now favor do-it-yourself online options for researching and buying products and services, and they are demanding that B2B sellers fully enable those digital paths to purchase. Yet too many of today’s B2B companies still insist that B2B buyers interact with sales reps in order to complete a purchase. For a minority of customers who are buying complex and expensive products and services, talking to a sales rep can be a value-added experience.... [...]

Ayaz Nanji says, “B2B buyers say thorough contact information is the content element that best establishes credibility on a vendor website, according to a recent report from KoMarketing and Huff Industrial Marketing. The report was based on data from an October and November 2014 survey of 262 professionals who are responsible for, or influence, B2B purchase decisions; 94% of respondents are based in the United States. In addition to contact details, survey respondents say, About/team bio information and traditional marketing collateral, such as research reports, case studies, and whitepapers,... [...]

Peter O’Neill says, “Welcome to our new B2B Marketing role pages. Our research and advisory work will focus on the sharp end of B2B marketing (see below). By that I mean all the work that marketers do to generate and accelerate revenue for their company. You’ll find our reports useful if you do demand generation, lead-to-revenue management, field marketing, content marketing as it is related to buyer engagement, and, of course, all aspects of sales and channel enablement. B2B companies must rapidly adjust their go-to-market strategies, as they face disintermediation from the B2B... [...]

Rachel Balik says, “Every week, we get an automated email from one of display ad vendors with this subject line, “Rachel, you could get more clicks by increasing your budget.” Well, you don’t say! What bothers me about this email is that they’re not promising me better performance or a more optimized campaign. This is basically the equivalent of saying, “Rachel, you could get a second coffee by paying for a second coffee!” To extend that metaphor into my display ad campaigns, I don’t want a second coffee. I want a higher quality coffee, maybe one with an espresso shot in it.... [...]

Peter O’Neill says, “Today, I continue my introduction to the new analysts (from April 1st) in our group providing research and advisory for B2B Marketing professionals, including sales enablement. In addition to Laura Ramos, whom I introduced last week, we are also being joined by experienced Forrester analysts Kim Celestre and Lori Wizdo. So, as an introduction to Kim’s work, let me point you to a recent report: Executive Q&A: How Online Communities Help You Achieve A Social Depth Objective, which is currently on the Marketing Leadership pages on this website. This report... [...]