7 Ways to Use Your Value Proposition in a Marketing Strategy
Understanding and articulating the unique value your organization delivers to your customers – your value proposition – is crucial for smart marketing. Here are seven ways to use the value proposition insights gleaned from customer interviews in a smart marketing strategy.
What’s Your Value Proposition? Ask Your Customers
Understanding the unique value your business delivers to customers is essential for a smart marketing strategy. Yet many businesses struggle to define their value proposition, especially B2B marketers that sell intangible business services.But defining your value proposition is easier than you think: Just ask your customers.In part one of a two-part post, here’s how Cleveland marketing consultant Jean Gianfagna recommends conducting customer interviews to determine a value proposition.
How to Survive Losing a Big Client: 12 Smart Strategies
The loss of a major client can be a huge blow to your business. But there are ways you can survive – and even thrive – following a customer defection. Here's how to do it strategically.
Marketing Best Practices: Using a CRM System for Marketing
A customer relationship management (CRM) system enables you to store, manage, and use your customer and prospect data for sales and marketing. Here are five best practices for using the capabilities of your CRM system in a smart B2B marketing strategy from my experience as a B2B marketing consultant.
10 Ways to Promote Premium Content in Your Marketing Strategy
Publishing premium content is a powerful tool for B2B lead generation. Here's how to promote premium content in a smart marketing strategy in part 3 of our 3-part guide to creating and using premium content for marketing.
Content Marketing Strategy: How to Create Premium Content
Premium content is a powerful marketing tactic, especially for B2B lead generation. Here are guidelines for developing effective premium content and seven tips for success, in part two of our three-part Smart Marketing Strategy series on premium content.
How to Use Premium Content in a Content Marketing Strategy
Most of the content marketers create – such as blog posts, tips, articles, and videos – is free. But if you’re using content marketing to generate leads and sales, especially for inbound B2B marketing, you also need to create “premium” content. What is premium content and how do you use it in a smart marketing strategy? Here are some answers in part one of a two-part post.
7 Ways Your Best Customers Can Help You Market Your Business
Loyal customers are essential to a successful business. But in addition to helping you reach your sales goals, your best customers can also play a powerful role in a smart marketing strategy. Here are seven ways to capitalize on the value of your best customers in marketing.
Big News: How to Tell Clients about Changes to Your Business
At some point, almost every business has important news to share with clients about major changes. Communicating big news is a pivotal moment in the customer relationship and it’s essential to do it right.Here are 12 tips for delivering important news to clients about your business from B2B marketing consultant Jean Gianfagna.
7 Reasons Why Referrals Don’t Turn into Sales
Referrals are like gold in marketing and sales. Someone who knows you endorses your capabilities to someone who trusts them AND needs what you provide. It’s an ideal setup for new business, especially if you’re a B2B marketer selling professional services.But many referrals don’t turn into sales. Marketers make costly mistakes that derail the sales process before, during, and after a referral takes place. Here are seven reasons why a referral may not result in a new customer and tips to avoid these mistakes in your sales and marketing strategy.
How to Create a “Drip” Direct Marketing Campaign
"Drip" direct marketing can be a smart marketing strategy for business-to-business (B2B) marketers. Here’s why drip marketing works and how to create a drip direct marketing campaign, from Cleveland, Ohio marketing consultant and strategist Jean Gianfagna.
How to Change Your Organization’s Name: A Marketer’s Guide
An identity change is a major undertaking with enormous marketing implications for any business. Where do you start? How do you do it? And how do you avoid mistakes? Here are the steps of planning a name change and selecting a new name for your organization.
6 Reasons You Still Need Print in a Smart Marketing Strategy
Do marketers still need printed promotional materials in a tech-driven world? The answer is yes. Here are six reasons why print still packs a punch in a smart marketing strategy.
The Ultimate B2B Content Marketing Tactic? Publish a Book
If you’re a B2B marketer and an expert in your field, there’s a content marketing tactic you should seriously consider: Writing a book. Here’s what makes a book such a powerful element of a smart marketing strategy, as shared by an expert at Content Marketing World in Cleveland, Ohio.
5 New Rules and 5 Proven Principles for Marketing Success
In this new, technology-driven world of marketing, do the proven principles of marketing strategy still apply? Or are there new rules for marketing success? Here are five new marketing rules created by the enormous impact of technology plus five time-tested marketing principles -- and the reasons to consider both in a smart marketing strategy.
Why It’s a Mistake to Take a Break from Blogging
If content marketing is part of your smart marketing strategy, consistent blogging is essential. In fact, letting your blog lapse can be a big marketing mistake. How do I know? I just did it. Here’s why a break in blogging can be bad for your business – and five ways to get your blog back on track.
Sales Pitch Fails: 7 Errors to Avoid in Your Next Presentation
You’re about to make a sales presentation to a prospective customer. You have the right experience, the right products and services, and competitive pricing. You’re an ideal fit for the customer’s needs. This should be a winning sales formula. But too often, it isn’t, because vendors make dumb mistakes during presentations that cost them the business. Here are seven things NOT to do when making a sales pitch to a prospect.
B2B Marketing Strategy: 10 Goals that Belong in Every Plan
The most important step in developing a business-to-business marketing strategy is the first one: Setting your goals. Why are you investing in marketing? What do you want that investment to achieve for your business? For B2B marketers, the answer to these questions can be surprisingly straightforward. In fact, in my experience as a B2B marketing consultant, there are 10 critical goals that apply to almost every B2B marketing strategy, whether you’re selling manufactured products, professional services, or commodities. Here are the 10 goals that belong in a smart B2B marketing strategy and why they matter:
7 Reasons Banks Fail at B2B Direct Marketing
Banks are spending big money marketing products and services to small businesses via direct mail. Most of these direct marketing campaigns are terrible. Here are seven reasons why so many banks fail at B2B direct marketing and some lessons for your smart marketing strategy.
