Author Archives: Mark Ditteaux

4 Ways To Engage Your B2B Customers And Build A Lasting Relationship

Leave a reply

The world of B2B marketing never stands still. What worked for your company several years ago is outdated, and if you aren’t keeping up with the marketing trends, you will be left behind. But no matter how much technology advances, or how many breakthrough ideas come about, one thing will always be certain: Your clients need to be drawn into your product or service in a way that engages them and makes them committed to your company. Luckily, there are many different marketing tactics you can use to accomplish this mission:

Draw Them in Online

Everyone uses the Internet. Even if your company doesn’t seem like the best fit for online purchasing, it is still crucial that you have a strong online presence. Direct Marketing News believes that every website should tell a story. It doesn’t matter if you are selling high-end printers or a consulting service, your website needs to draw in your visitors, build trust and, of course, get them to contact you.

So what is the best way to do that? You need to target your homepage to your ideal client. Demand Base recommends taking an in-depth look at your current customers to develop a persona for your target audience. Where do they live? How large is their company? What industry are they in? What did you help them accomplish with your product or service? When you can precisely narrow down whom you need to reach, you will be able to create the content needed to engage them.

Capitalize on Social Media

As you probably know, it is not enough to have a website; you also need to have a strong presence on social media. This is crucial for engaging your audience. While your website is great for information, it doesn’t offer many opportunities for interaction. According to Bite Global, social media allows you to connect with your current and potential clients on a personal level. This helps you build relationships that all but guarantee future business.

While the world of social media is very detailed, with separate rules for each platform, its success all comes down to being active in the communities it provides, offering valuable content to your followers and engaging in conversations with them. Again, social media is not about making sales (although that is the end goal); it is about getting to know your clients and prospects and allowing them to get to know you.

Personalize Your Follow-up

One of the biggest marketing mistakes B2B companies make is using automated follow-up. It is a giant waste of money and you may as well not even do it. However, if you take the time to personalize the correspondence you send, you will notice the true power of email marketing.

For example, you can keep track of when it is time for your client to restock your product. A few weeks before they are about to run out, send them an email with a friendly reminder, along with a discount code to use on their order. Always use their names, and throw in a sentence or two about their history with your company. They will feel like you value them as a customer, and they will probably make a purchase without a second thought.

Make a Lasting Impression

After you have engaged your clients online and built a relationship with them through social media, you need to seal the deal by leaving them with something tangible. It today’s online world, people love to have something to hold, and they will appreciate the extra effort. This can be done with a practical gift after a consult — such as a branded lunch tote or pen — or a handwritten thank-you note after a purchase. The goal is to send one final message that you do value their business and appreciate them as a customer.

Promotional Items: What Every B2B Marketer Needs To Know

Leave a reply

The world of B2B marketing is complex and diverse. From using SEO for lead generation to direct mail to help with branding, a company has a lot of options when deciding how to spend their marketing dollars. However, one marketing tactic that should never be overlooked is the use of promotional items.

Why Should B2B Marketing Include Imprinted Items?

In short, promotional items are some of the most affordable types of B2B marketing available, and they often yields the best results. It puts the name of the company in front of the desired end user time and time again. This repetitive visualization is what is often required for a company to finally decide to do business with another company.

 

Additionally, promotional items are much more effective than standard direct mail advertising because they usually do not just get thrown in the trash. Not only that, but the ROI is hard to compete with. The cost of most imprinted items is minimal compared to other lead generation techniques, and the amount of customers it can garner is quite dramatic.

Which Promotional Items to Choose?

While imprinted items can be ideal for B2B marketing, not all of them are created equal. A successful marketing campaign using promotional items focuses on quality over quantity. A company with a limited budget should invest in nicer items for fewer people instead of cheaper items for the masses. Generic, run-of-the-mill, cheap items will just end up in the trash, while nicer items will be used for many months to come. In fact, it is believed that some of them (like T-shirts and tote bags) are used for years after they are received.

 

A recent study by Promotional Products Association International backs up the belief that it is really all about quality. They surveyed over 700 recipients of promotional items to get an idea of their views of the items they received. When it comes to perceived value, those costing $25 or more definitely made the biggest impression on the recipient. When they were given an item that they believed cost more than $25, 71 percent of them said their opinion of the company improved — or made them more receptive to what the company had to offer. As the price of the item went down, so did the percentage of people who said it altered their opinion of that company. At a price range of $5 or less, only 33 percent of recipients said that the item improved their view of the company.

How Should Imprinted Items Be Used?

OK, so it is clear that promotional items are a necessary part of any B2B marketing campaign — but how exactly should these items be used? According to Marketing Made Simple, there are three main ways to effectively use imprinted items:

 

Advertising: When handed out at trade shows, sent in the mail or given away at the place of business, promotional items serve as an excellent branding tool.

 

Gifts: Promotional items can also be a great way to thank a new client for a recent purchase, congratulate them on a big accomplishment or even spread some holiday cheer.

 

Incentives: Offering useful, high-quality imprinted items with a certain dollar amount spent can also be a very successful way to encourage clients to place bigger orders.

 

When promotional items are incorporated into a B2B marketing campaign thoughtfully, a company will see large returns. As long as the company chooses unique items that are practical and well made, the ROI will be one of the most impressive in their marketing portfolio.

5 Plays To Up Your B2B Marketing Game For 2015

Leave a reply

 B2B signpost

This year was a pretty good year, and you did an impressive job with your marketing budget. But that doesn’t get you off the hook for 2015. There is always room for improvement, and with technology changing daily, you can’t afford to be left behind. Some marketing tactics can always be used, like top-notch copywriting and creative promotional items, but others come and go as quickly as the latest iPhone. Here is what you need to do to stay in front of the curve for the new year.

Build a Connection

With the popularity of social media and the importance of relevant content to search results, being genuine has never been more crucial. As Forbes points out, people are no longer satisfied with simply seeing your offerings and making a purchase. They need to know who you are, what you stand for and that you sincerely care about them as a client.

 

To do this, you need be active on social media and have a blog with regularly posted content. However — and this is a big caveat — all of these efforts should be strictly focused on helping your target market. These platforms are not the place for strong sales language. That being said, you do want to make sure your branding is clear.

Brush Up on Copywriting

You may have been able to write a killer sales letter your first year on the job, but have you brushed up on your clients’ latest wants and needs? Chances are they have changed, and so should your approach. Read a new book, research your competitors, or attend industry conferences on the subject. Once you feel armed and ready, put your newfound knowledge to the test. The results may surprise you.

Optimize for Mobile

If you look at your own buying habits, chances are you have used your phone to make a purchase — or at least research one — several times in the past week. Guess what? You are not alone. Mobile use is rampant, and your website better be optimized for the occasion. Yes, this even applies to B2B business. Just because you don’t have a retail store or e-com site, that doesn’t mean your clients aren’t looking you up on the go. Don’t skimp here, because it will cost you big. People don’t have patience for poorly functioning sites when they are using their phones, so they will just move on to your competitor when your site is not cooperating.

Go Back to School

If you really want to step up your marketing game in 2015, B2B Marketing suggests heading back to class. There are so many online options today that you can fit into your busy schedule, so a lack of time is no longer an excuse. An MBA in marketing, business or business analytics will provide you with a fresh look at marketing that you can use to catapult your success. The degree may even be able to land you a raise.

Embrace Change

As you know, technology is constantly improving, and one of the biggest marketing mistakes you can make is not taking advantage of it. Yes, redoing your marketing strategy can be scary, expensive and time consuming, but if it makes the process more efficient and profitable in the long run, it is worth the effort. Continually seek out the latest improvements in lead generation and sales conversions and don’t be afraid to try some out.

 

It’s equally important to be willing to let some of your old marketing tactics go. Just because you have been using them for decades, that doesn’t mean they are still effective. If it has been several years since you have seen the ROI you were hoping for, it may be time to say goodbye and spend the funds on a strategy that is more relevant.

 

You know that the marketing game is always changing, and now is the time to really take an in-depth look at where your resources are going. Just because something worked this year, that doesn’t mean it’s going to work next year. You need to take the time now to reallocate your funds to make the most of your efforts come January.

 

Did you ever wonder what that was?

Leave a reply

CMYKCMYK_color_swatches.svg
The four process colors used in offset lithography printing. They are cyan, magenta, yellow and black (the key color). When these four colors are printed with halftone screens of various angles in this subtractive print method, they create oranges, reds, violets, and so on. The color gamut of CMYK is fairly limited, causing loss of color when a continuous tone photograph is reproduced using only 4 colors.
Indicia
4966957Postal permit information printed on objects to be mailed and accepted by U.S. Postal Service in place of stamps.

Overrun
Number of pieces printed or paper made in excess of the quantity ordered.
Pantone Matching System (PMS)®PMS-color-wheel-2
The registered trade name of a brand of color matching system commonly used in commercial printing. Pantone colors can be specified for ink, papers, plastics, and fabrics. Pantone chips are available for solid spot colors and for process ink mixes. Specifying Pantone colors is the only accurate and predictable way to know that the color in the imaging application is the color that will be printed (your monitor is NOT a predictable indication of printed colors).
Raster Image
Digital scanners and digital cameras produce raster images. A raster image can also be created new with a raster based application such as Photoshop® or Painter® or Canvas®. Raster images are pixel resolution dependent and can not be greatly increased in size without loosing picture quality. These are typically large files and are more demanding of RAM and processor speed. See also Vector Graphics.
Reverse
Type, graphic, or illustration reproduced by printing ink around its outline, thus allowing the underlying color or paper to show through and form the image. Also called knockout or liftout. The image “reverses out” of the ink color.
Tagged Image File Format (TIFF)
A common format for interchanging digital information, generally associated with greyscale or bitmap data.
Vector Graphics

raster_vs_vectorCreated from illustration programs such as Freehand® or Illustrator® , vector graphics are defined by points on the canvas and complex mathematical computations. Simple or complex shapes are created which can be overlapped, combined, aligned, etc. The shapes can be filled with color or gradients. Vector graphics have the advantage of creating small files and the artwork is always scalable to any size without loss of picture quality. Programs such as Illustrator also allow the placement of raster images on the canvas. In fact, the most recent versions of Photoshop and Illustrator really blur the line between the two programs.