B2B and Industrial Marketing Blog
What is this man doing?
moar funny pictures
This was right across from our show booth, and this guy was like this for ten minutes. Since men don’t take that long to water the bushes, we decided he must have been checking his BlackBerry.
Written last Monday at 3:30pm while waiting for my show-crate to arrive at our booth at Moscone Center:
After three days, I wish I had ordered the carpet padding no matter the cost.
It happened again. Some nutty passenger attempts blowing up a plane, and suddenly other fliers have to endure stricter screening and flying rules. And as news of the revised policy spread, the jokes about Homeland Security followed.
It happened again. Some nutty customer attempts to rip the company off, and suddenly other customers have endure stricter screening and warranty rules. And as news of the revised policy spread, the jokes about the company followed.
🙂 See where I’m going with this?
We were looking at a supplier’s quotation today and the length of ‘terms and conditions’ dwarfed the actual product description and offer. Tons of rules about being a customer, whether you are even going to buy yet. But, because of ‘policy’ and past nutty customers, all that red tape is there for the company to CYA. Just like the TSA has you take off your shoes at the airport screening station.
At least at the airport, the ‘security theater’ serves a purpose to reassure the regular passengers that they are being protected.
While some official terms with the proposal certainly give an air of formality, I see no reason to cover irrelevant facts and CYA rules that aren’t important at the proposal stage. In this particular case, the footer of every page listed the US and Canadian accounts-payable address. This is in addition to the eighteen itemized paragraphs at the end of the quote. Eighteen!
But as the manager in charge of the process, unfortunately you’re damned either way…
It was interesting that the Secretary of Homeland Security first say the system “worked really very, very smoothly”, then having to retract and clarify that statement. Accurately, the system’s reaction worked well, but that they had someone with explosives on the plane to begin with was an obvious FAIL. Amazingly, some pundits see the ‘very smoothly’ comment as an excuse to chase Janet Napolitano out of office. Now Obama is promising a review of procedures and policies. Yay, more procedures. (Similar situation now in India, too.)
Bad customers are those that sap our time, resources, control, and escalate to high visibility. And, like Ms. Napolitano, they make us look like a fool. So much better to add some CYA text that everyone can ignore. It doesn’t stop the bad customers, it just makes for an easier yardstick to measure them.
In B2B, don’t we hire smart people to be our front lines with the customer? To develop relationships and weed out the bad customers? And we still wimp out and throw all this meaningless red tape into the process. While business via a handshake may be too casual, a handshake says that we will work together and politely observe each other’s process.
To flip that all around, isn’t that one of the main reasons there are flight attendants on flights? To make a human connection to the plane, the company, and the rest of the crew? Oh, and they’re the ones who go thru the useless safety briefing at the beginning of the flight. Nevermind. 🙂
Here is another voice putting to words the paradigm shifts we have been witnessing in the last few years. But the important point is noting that things HAVE changed, and that we need to act accordingly.
Tom Pick at WebMarketCentral Blog asks rhetorically Will Content Marketing Kill Trade Publications?:
“The challenges faced by trade publications go far beyond the current economic slowdown. Trade pubs traditionally flourished due to five conditions which simply no longer exist.”
For each of these bullets, he basically explains how we can do it (or are doing it) ourselves, without the trade publication’s help. So please go read Tom’s post for the detail.
Wow, he just made my job harder. Now I need to be a writer and publisher of content, bypassing the trade publications.
In truth, my niche marketplace moved me away from trade publications as soon as the web became viable for lead generation. But I haven’t worked the content part as a strategic approach to attracting my own audience.
The InfoCommerce Group just wrapped up their annual “Data Content” conference. In their weekly email, a list of new key words for the online database industry was offered up:
At the end of that list was this zinger:
“There are other keywords that came out of DC09, but, surprisingly, one keyword was barely heard at all:
Google.
While anything but irrelevant, Google has ceased to be an existential threat to the industry. Data publishers have largely made their peace with Google, and it doesn’t dominate their thoughts the way it once did. Google is a tool that can be profitably leveraged, and Google is no longer the enemy. This is likely due in no small part to Google maturing as a business enterprise, and its recent focus on opportunities far less threatening to those of us in the data business.”
It’s been four years since I was at InfoCommerce’s event as a speaker, with the talk Google Rules, Directories Drool. So the data/content world has adjusted to the scary monster that Google was then. Now, the relationship is more symbiotic.
What does this mean to B2B marketers?
Now we, as clients of data/content/directory services, should be looking beyond the threat to these services posed by Google, and be looking on how they might be delivering on those new key words I started this post with:
It’s a new ruler for the database people. How well are your suppliers doing?
Last week we were at an trade show for automotive test market. Sounds like a scary place to be in 2009. Or more likely, a scary place to be spending your marketing money. The show floor was probably 20-25% smaller, and our booth became the last booth in the far corner. And who wants to be in the far corner of the show?
And nothing can be as scary for a marketing manager as pulling into an show site and NOT having to wait to park.
But it was a great event to be at. I told several people that if this was my first time at the show, despite the very weak automotive industry, I would re-sign for 2010 in a heart-beat.
Here are some random observations:
But mostly, the human element was the most powerful at the event. Customers dropped by the booth. Salespeople were actively engaged. Relationships between ‘players’ in our industry were strengthened. Sure there were slow points, but it never felt ‘dead’. Some would say we had too many people at the show, but it only added to the value of the event, and the buzz for our company.
Most important, we were acting as a market leader and being treated as such. That’s a vibe you can’t get on a Google search results, or even in a normal sales situation. The right show is truly a marketplace!
Wow, seven years of B2Blog.com, and my first guest post!
One of my regular readers, Adam Oakley, was recently downsized out of his B2B marketing position. As much as I was concerned for him, I was also curious as to his experience looking for a new job. Now he has a new job marketing software, a big jump from nuts & bolts (really!). Like you, as a reader of B2Blog, he has demonstrated his smarts and savvy and bridged the gap from job to job and landed on his feet. I’ll let him introduce himself:
I recently found myself without regular employment. In response to economic pressures the company I was working for cut marketing efforts and my position was eliminated. It was good company with a great group of people and I enjoy the seven years I worked there. Even though the decision was a shock it did not put our family in any tragic financial position. In fact it has given us a chance to look at our future and decide the best direction. Here are five steps you can take right now if you are or suspect you might be job hunting soon.
Five Things to do While Looking for a Job
Talk
It’s clear that the most effective way to find new employment is through personal relationships. Ask for introductions to other individuals who might be of assistance to find new work. It is important to be clear how your network can help. Build a list of possible contacts and start getting in touch. Have coffee or go out lunch. Do whatever it takes to get in front of people.
Evaluate
One common theme I have noticed while going through the process of finding a new job, there are very few “exact fits” when it comes to new job opportunities. This is especially true for marketing professionals. It is unlikely you will take a role at a new company doing the same as your previous employer. This may sound obvious, but it creates unique challenges to address while exploring possible jobs. It is crucial to clearly identify the specific skills you excel in, back them up with past accomplishments, and find the best way to communicate it. Are you a traditional marketer, digital strategist, or a SEO expert? Do you enjoy sales, analysis, or creative thinking? All these factor into what type of job to target and how you pitch yourself to prospective employers.
Update
One habit that helped me tremendously was keeping a list of achievements or completed projects that I would update weekly. I was able to review this list to quickly identify accomplishments while updating my resume. It is also important to keep LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, and other social networks updated with the most current version of your career path.
Learn
As marketers, you most likely have a tendency to desire to be up to date on latest trends, best practices, and emerging platforms. If you’re like me then you’ve probably focused on the day-to-day tasks of your specific role. It’s easy to get into a routine and forget the importance of learning. This time of transition is a great chance to brush up on Photoshop, become an AdWords professional, or sign-up for a writing class at your local community college. Be careful though, it’s easy to use continuing education as a crutch and ignore your search.
Perspective
Searching for a new job can be hard. It can take its toll mentally and physically. A healthy balance of work and relaxation is necessary. Take it seriously, but don’t try to put a square peg into a circular hole. That’s a good way to find the wrong job and be back at this process sooner than you want. Have fun, go to the gym, try to get some fresh air. There are only so many job postings, networking groups, or emails you can send in a day. Set goals and stick to them, but don’t obsess over the process.
Resources
The amount of information on the web regarding the best way to find a job is daunting. I would certainly recommend talking to people in your area and see what they’ve found helpful. In some places, Craigslist might have the best postings, others it could be the (gasp!) newspaper. In the end, I’ve found the best resource – is your personal network. Trusted friends, have the best insight and knowledge to help guide you the along.
Social
Job Search Engines
Bonus Tip:
One last reminder. Don’t wait to create your network, be fostering those relationships today–it will be the best investment you can make in your future.
Seth was swinging his guru-hammer awfully close to me today: Seth’s Blog: Promiscuous dispersal of your email address:
“I just went through the hassle of trying to get some B2B firms the details needed to give me an informed quote on a project.
I visited eight sites. Six of them hide their email address. They use forms of one sort of another. …
Email contact is like a first date. If you show up with a clipboard and a questionnaire, it’s not going to go well, I’m afraid. The object is to earn permission to respond.”
Sure, we B2B companies hide behind registration forms instead of a very public email address. And as a guru, Seth has a right to question why.
The most direct response is that it IS a lot like a first date. (I’ve actually blogged on that before.) But if I act like a slut, and let any prospect contact me nilly-willy, it only lowers expectations and makes for poor starting relationship. And a risk of wasting my salespeople’s time trying to clarify the prospects requirements (and figuring out who they really are).
In the end, B2B marketing is about the niches. There is a higher loss-factor in putting up a form to fill out. But that is a necessary filter to help keep you within that niche.
I’ve made it very easy for my site’s visitors to find what they want. That helps qualify them. And by that time they are willing to fill out the form. More than willing. They even call us, which is even better than an email or form-filling.
There are two new technologies that professional marketing types are all a-buzz about:
1. Social media
2. Marketing automation
Social media is something you can experience for yourself and decide where you fit in.
Marketing automation is a bit more vague. What am I automating? How does this replace what I already do? Or is it a whole new strategy? And most importantly, why would I try it?
Tom Pick over at the WebMarketCentral blog posts a helpful review of the whys, titled: Marketing Automation: Bringing a Gun to a Knife Fight :
“Those are the types of questions marketing automation / demand generation software vendors seek to address with their offerings. They apply technology to a difficult process. For b2b companies who are able to use such software effectively, the competitive advantage is akin to Indiana Jones taking on his would-be assassin in Raiders of the Lost Ark.
(Go to Tom’s full blog post to see the video, if you can’t remember the scene where Indiana wins a challenge with a sword-wielding assassin.)
The challenge for b2b marketers in adopting marketing automation / demand gen systems isn’t with the technology, which is stable and reasonably easy to use. It’s with internal processes, office politics and other issues. In the scene above, although Indy clearly had the technology advantage, if he’d been a lousy shot, or didn’t have his gun loaded properly, he’d have ended up as shredded professor in a hurry.”
His bullet points:
#4 seems to be the especially difficult step: what can the marketing automation tool be used to do to make it effective?
Like my efforts creating product-videos earlier this year, marketing automation takes a lot of work, especially because you are developing new skills and processes.
But to those who take it on, I think there is going to be a distinct competitive advantage. They just need to be careful in making sure it is communicating with customers & prospects properly, otherwise they’ll just be shooting themselves in the foot.
Have you switched to marketing automation? What do you think?
Maybe these are useful to some readers:
1. Trade your contacts with others with the Reach Lead Network ala Jigsaw. Cool feature is that they can resolve ‘social media’ contacts (i.e. Twitter followers) into real contact info.
2. If you are looking for new product/brand/company names to trademark, searching out conflicts is a pain. Well, until you’ve used Trademarkia. Very fast, slick, and loaded with data. Looks like they want to monetize Trademarks the way some folks do with domain names.
If you use these, leave a comment and let me know what you think.