B2B Content Marketing

Think about it, from autos to xylophones every person who sets out to buy anything envisions themselves utilizing the product or service prior to ownership.  They might think about how others will see and perceive them, a sweeter note, or how it will save them time or money.  I call this personal value.

The same is true for B2B sales, people set out to buy goods and services to solve business issues, and a projects success or failure has ramifications to the buyer or buyers, a promotion, more responsibility or acceptance into a peer group.  Often overlooked by most, personal value to the buyer, has a strong emotional influence in everyone’s purchasing decision.

How to uncover personal value?

Often we spout on about our products and services, we talk about bells and whistles, features and benefits.  Do you ask your prospects and clients, “what’s riding on the success and failure of this project?”  In other words, “what is in it for you?”

In the face of competition, we often bypass our client’s or prospects individual concerns and go directly to the group of decision makers en masse. We look inward at the product, because we are trained to think that the consensual nature of a decision depends on the cumulative discovery of facts. With that we think, the decision is determined by a group, rather then individuals, yet we all know that is not true, the best man does not always win.

Don’t get me wrong, the group will engage in rational calculation of benefits and cost, but the group’s decision criteria does not take into consideration individual wants or motives.  The individual will make it appear, articulate and justify their decision based upon adequately rational facts, and often justify their choice under the guise, “ready willing and able to do the right thing.”  Here is my point, you  can have the best product or service and not win the deal.  Why?  Perhaps if you took off your company’s hat for a bit, and ask the question, “what’s in for you?” you will win more deals, one heart and mind at a time.

On Friday, there was an interesting question asked in a Linkedin™ group called Lead Nurturing,   headed, Conference/Trade ROI, Does Anyone have a good way to figure out a show’s ROI? Or a good system for qualifying a show?

For a significant portion of my career, I worked for a research advisory company who had a high percentage of their revenue coming from conferences. This company had it all, field sales, great content, and lots of events.   The question always intrigued me, which channel had the greatest ROI?  Since our inception,  we have been asking that question via a poll on our website, “What is the most effective way to market your product or service?”  I pulled the latest results, below:

Meeting and conferences 21.43%

Surveys and white papers 25%

Direct mail and email 10.71%

References 42.86%

When it happened, I was quite surprised that conferences slipped to 3rd behind white papers.  I made a few calls, everyone I spoke to “in the business” was concerned about the continuing shift away from their trade-shows and conferences, but there are some bright spots, according to Tradeshow Week, not all shows are having problems. The 2009 Off-Price Specialist Show year-over-year attendance was up 10%. In addition, Integrated Systems-Europe, an audio-visual and electronics systems show held this past February  had attendance up 12%.

I don’t think trade shows and conferences are going away.  To draw, they will need to be micro-targeted to specific audiences and topics.  With that, show producers must use content marketing to justify and  articulate the business value an attendee will receive and marketers must pay closer attention to serving their prospects and clients on their time and their turf with B2B Content Marketing.

SWAG from SXSW Interactive-2009

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