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Think benefits, not technology, when you’re trying to sell your products to other firms. Here are seven mistakes to avoid
Most business-to-business (B2B) companies in the food industry would like to be better at marketing. Often, such companies are very focused on engineering or production.
Engineering-oriented companies look to technology to drive sales. But that has problems. Without a marketing focus, new developments or improvements may miss their mark. The people who make decisions on what to buy may never find out.
Production-oriented companies often focus on keeping machines filled to capacity, rather than providing goods that meet the everchanging needs of users. There are seven common mistakes that
B2B companies make when marketing. Here’s how to avoid them.
1. Don’t Promote Technology
Of course it’s important to launch new technology. But to succeed it’s critical to market the value of the innovation to potential users, rather than the technology itself. In the late 1990s many technology companies promoted ‘robust innovations’ without explaining how users could benefit from these new products. The focus was on how the new technology worked, rather than romoting
how business could save money by cutting costs and boosting output.
2. Avoid Marketing to Just Technocrats
Technology and engineering oriented companies tend to direct their communications to technology managers and engineering directors. It’s important to keep these technocrats in the loop. But decision to buy is usually taken by corporate executives—and they’re not technology experts.
These chief executives and directors of marketing, sales, operations, finance and human resources, have big picture objectives. They’re interested in how new technologies will increase revenues and increase profitability. So translate technology features into benefits that build business and reduce costs, so that top executives at prospect companies can clearly understand the value of your offering. Sales presentations that are too technical will only glaze the eyes of many high-level executives. The result: short meetings and no sales.
3. Avoid Jargon
During the technology driven economy of the late 1990s, many press releases, advertisements, direct mail and other promotions used high-tech jargon. Specialists had to translate and explain these messages to business leaders.
Often, the value of these innovations was lost in translation, as specialists couldn’t clearly explain the benefits of the new technology without using a high-tech vocabulary.
Use layman terms to communicate value and how business managers can apply the new technologies to grow business efficiently and profitability.
4. Avoid Obscure Branding
Link brand names to a major benefit that buyers will gain by using your innovation. Brands that associate with an important user benefit will help propel sales faster than obscurely named products. Don’t allow brands that consist of original or made-up words to stand on their own; position them with a single-phrase tag line that clearly highlights an important benefit to the user.
5. Avoid Gimmicks
The goal is to be clever in highlighting the value of your message to key decision makers so they clearly understand how your technology will improve their enterprise and grow profits. Too often technology and B2B marketers use ‘creative’ promotions to attract attention. Unfortunately, the impact value of these tactics relates very little to important benefits offered by featured products. Potential buyers are confused. Without clear links to major user benefits, ‘creativity’ will not move sales on its own.
Production-oriented companies often focus on keeping machines filled to capacity, rather than providing goods that meet the ever-changing needs of users.
6. Avoid Shotgun Advertising
Use your advertising budget strategically to fuel sales. Avoid using advertising to launch new products and systems. Introduce technologies using professionally written news releases and feature articles that highlight benefits to users. Target publicity so that it breaks news to important specifiers in key markets.
Use published press releases and feature articles as credible direct mail and sales literature. Follow-up product launches with testimonials and case histories. These feature articles demonstrate how customers who successfully applied your innovations are achieving new levels of profitable growth.
Fuel momentum generated by publicity by initiating space advertising in magazines that effectively target key specifiers. Make sure these ads run for a minimum of four months in a calendar year to make an impact on the reader’s perceptions, and accelerate sales. Use ‘powerful quotes’ from testimonials featured in publicity. They will to add credence to your advertising.
7. Avoid Dichotomy in Marketing and Sales
Many businesses have a major flaw: marketing and sales operate on two parallel tracks. Marketing invests in strategies to grow revenues in selected markets; meanwhile, sales follows its own agenda. Typically, marketing generates leads from targeted specifiers, on whom sales personnel never call, or as in many cases, sales people rarely visit with prospects beyond purchasing departments.
An effective B2B organisation has both sales and marketing reporting to a marketing professional so revenues grow in both the short and long term. Also, by selling to specifiers based on the value of technologies and products, you avoid commoditising goods and services.
*ALAN ISACSON IS PRESIDENT AND FOUNDER OF ABI, A LEADING BUSINESS-TO-BUSINESS MARKETING PUBLIC RELATIONS AGENCY WITH OFFICES IN ASIA, EUROPE AND NORTH AMERICA. www.abipr.com
Most business-to-business (B2B) companies in the food industry would like to be better at marketing. Often, such companies are very focused on engineering or production.
Engineering-oriented companies look to technology to drive sales. But that has problems. Without a marketing focus, new developments or improvements may miss their mark. The people who make decisions on what to buy may never find out.
Production-oriented companies often focus on keeping machines filled to capacity, rather than providing goods that meet the everchanging needs of users. There are seven common mistakes that
B2B companies make when marketing. Here’s how to avoid them.
1. Don’t Promote Technology
Of course it’s important to launch new technology. But to succeed it’s critical to market the value of the innovation to potential users, rather than the technology itself. In the late 1990s many technology companies promoted ‘robust innovations’ without explaining how users could benefit from these new products. The focus was on how the new technology worked, rather than romoting
how business could save money by cutting costs and boosting output.
2. Avoid Marketing to Just Technocrats
Technology and engineering oriented companies tend to direct their communications to technology managers and engineering directors. It’s important to keep these technocrats in the loop. But decision to buy is usually taken by corporate executives—and they’re not technology experts.
These chief executives and directors of marketing, sales, operations, finance and human resources, have big picture objectives. They’re interested in how new technologies will increase revenues and increase profitability. So translate technology features into benefits that build business and reduce costs, so that top executives at prospect companies can clearly understand the value of your offering. Sales presentations that are too technical will only glaze the eyes of many high-level executives. The result: short meetings and no sales.
3. Avoid Jargon
During the technology driven economy of the late 1990s, many press releases, advertisements, direct mail and other promotions used high-tech jargon. Specialists had to translate and explain these messages to business leaders.
Often, the value of these innovations was lost in translation, as specialists couldn’t clearly explain the benefits of the new technology without using a high-tech vocabulary.
Use layman terms to communicate value and how business managers can apply the new technologies to grow business efficiently and profitability.
4. Avoid Obscure Branding
Link brand names to a major benefit that buyers will gain by using your innovation. Brands that associate with an important user benefit will help propel sales faster than obscurely named products. Don’t allow brands that consist of original or made-up words to stand on their own; position them with a single-phrase tag line that clearly highlights an important benefit to the user.
5. Avoid Gimmicks
The goal is to be clever in highlighting the value of your message to key decision makers so they clearly understand how your technology will improve their enterprise and grow profits. Too often technology and B2B marketers use ‘creative’ promotions to attract attention. Unfortunately, the impact value of these tactics relates very little to important benefits offered by featured products. Potential buyers are confused. Without clear links to major user benefits, ‘creativity’ will not move sales on its own.
Production-oriented companies often focus on keeping machines filled to capacity, rather than providing goods that meet the ever-changing needs of users.
6. Avoid Shotgun AdvertisingUse your advertising budget strategically to fuel sales. Avoid using advertising to launch new products and systems. Introduce technologies using professionally written news releases and feature articles that highlight benefits to users. Target publicity so that it breaks news to important specifiers in key markets.
Use published press releases and feature articles as credible direct mail and sales literature. Follow-up product launches with testimonials and case histories. These feature articles demonstrate how customers who successfully applied your innovations are achieving new levels of profitable growth.
Fuel momentum generated by publicity by initiating space advertising in magazines that effectively target key specifiers. Make sure these ads run for a minimum of four months in a calendar year to make an impact on the reader’s perceptions, and accelerate sales. Use ‘powerful quotes’ from testimonials featured in publicity. They will to add credence to your advertising.
7. Avoid Dichotomy in Marketing and Sales
Many businesses have a major flaw: marketing and sales operate on two parallel tracks. Marketing invests in strategies to grow revenues in selected markets; meanwhile, sales follows its own agenda. Typically, marketing generates leads from targeted specifiers, on whom sales personnel never call, or as in many cases, sales people rarely visit with prospects beyond purchasing departments.
An effective B2B organisation has both sales and marketing reporting to a marketing professional so revenues grow in both the short and long term. Also, by selling to specifiers based on the value of technologies and products, you avoid commoditising goods and services.
*ALAN ISACSON IS PRESIDENT AND FOUNDER OF ABI, A LEADING BUSINESS-TO-BUSINESS MARKETING PUBLIC RELATIONS AGENCY WITH OFFICES IN ASIA, EUROPE AND NORTH AMERICA. www.abipr.com
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