Archive for the ‘Marketing Strategy’ Category

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Why you need marketing in your sales-oriented company

Tuesday, December 23rd, 2008

When I talk to CEOs of small B2B companies, I often hear, “We don’t need marketing, we’re very sales-oriented.” I’ve heard it dozens of times.  Here’s why I think it’s wrong, but why I understand where those CEOs are coming from. When Mezzanine was in its early days, we were very sales driven too, and a lot of our success came from that orientation.  But something happens when a company grows - or tries to grow - beyond the size of what the CEO him or herself alone can sell.  It becomes very difficult to attract and retain business development people who can also do what the CEO does, because they rarely have the same expertise or industry knowledge.  And that’s when marketing is absolutely critical.  If the company doesn’t invest in marketing to build the reputation of the company, increase awareness and generate leads, the new sales people that the company attracts are going to have a very hard time being successful.  I’ve seen it cause hundreds of thousands of wasted dollars in recruiting, training and compensating business development people who end up failing in their role and leaving the company within a year. 

And that’s why you need marketing in your sales-oriented company!

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Frugal Marketing

Monday, December 1st, 2008

As times get harder and the economy slows, marketing remains necessary to bring in revenues. Many businesses tend to forget that the downturn of the economy impacts consumers as much (if not more) than businesses. During these times, consumer needs change.  It is important to try and understand how they’ve changed so that your product or service offerings can be customized to make them feel continue to feel at ease with their purchases. It isn’t about bombarding them with sales calls, catalogues or e-mails; it’s about changing and strengthening the dynamic of your relationships with customers.

The good news is that strengthening your relationship with customers doesn’t have to cost a fortune.  There are many cost efficient ways to approach marketing when times are tough and budgets are shrinking. Here are just a few questions to get the frugal marketing juices going:  When was the last time you engaged your customer community to find out what they really want in these changing times?  Are there people in your network who might be able to piggyback services with you?

Remember, it isn’t always about the amount of money that you spend, it’s about knowing who you want to talk with and then, being creative with your marketing techniques. For some other frugal marketing tips check out:

5 Free marketing ideas

3 Ways to drive a stronger bond with customers

5 tips for marketing in a recession

Marketing in a Recession

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Let’s Talk Facebook. The Economy bores me.

Friday, November 28th, 2008

I’ve promised myself I’m not going to write about “these economic times”.  Because, quite frankly, I’m really sick of hearing about it. However, as I start to think of another topic to write about, I find myself wondering who masterminded this incredible viral marketing campaign?

Whoever you are, let me be the first to say, you’ve done a great job.  You’ve managed to get people from all walks of life - some of whom know very little about economic forces - spreading the word (read: fear) as if they are experts on the subject to all of their family, friends, co-workers and pets.

I’d also like to thank whoever you are for helping to draw the attention of our budget concious small/medium business clients to relatively low cost and trackable marketing tactics such as social media, viral marketing and on-line advertising.  Lately, we’ve been receiving more and more questions from our network about marketing tactics that require lower media spends, while capitalizing on existing customers to produce tangible results.

To start, we’ll address the ”Business + Facebook?” question. Stay tuned for more on other social networks, viral marketing and other forms of digital media.

Should My Business Be on Facebook?

Maybe.  It depends on your target market and how you think you can engage them in this medium.  Before you dive in, consider the return on invesment (ROI).  While it’s free to create a facebook page, group or event, someone has to allocate time to manage your facebook presence, and to keep it up to date.  And although Facebook allows you to reach large networks of people in a venue that is designed to virally spread news, affiliations and content, it also opens you up to the good and bad that can be said about your business.  If you’d like someone elses opinion, Mari Smith shares her 10 Reasons to Use Facebook for Business.

Who’s on Facebook?

The make up of facebook users is changing rapidly.  I can’t tell you the number of status updates I see lamenting “I can’t believe my Mom is on Facebook!”.  Better get used to it kids. My 61 year old Mom and three of her four sisters are all on Facebook. In 2007, Forrester put out a presentation Big Brands & Facebook: Demographics, Case Studies & Best Practices.  You may be surprised at the statistics.  I’m willing to be they have certainly continued to move in the same direction over the last year.

I have a facebook profile and several friends, how can I leverage my profile for business?

Facebook has come out with some Business oriented features and third party applications that make it easier to connect your professional and social personas. Duct Tape Marketing suggests Top 10 Business Applications for Facebook. We recommend adding a LinkedIn badge to your facebook profile, and implementing a business card in your profile to alert business associates to your professional qualifications and network.

How Can I Advertise on Facebook?

There are a variety of ways to advertise on Facebook including text/display ads, creating a page or group, and running a poll. You can also create your own applications and use Facebook Connect with your own site, although you will need the help of a web developer. Facebook is always creating new ways of integrating self serve advertisements “quietly into the fabric of its community, rather than trying to interrupt or distract users” says Saul Hansell in his blog article “Why Facebook Likes Small Ads, Despite the Small Dollars”.

This gives a small taste of what we’d suggest you think about when tackling the “Business + Facebook?” question.  If you want more, check out the links below….

Facebook Marketing Bible

Facebook for Business: Opportunties and Limitations

Facebook Platform: 30+ Awesome Applications for Facebook