April 11th, 2011 - Posted in General by Kory Kendziora
It was back in 1991 when the famous Bill Swerski’s Superfans skit aired on Saturday Night Live. Good ole’ Chris Farley sporting Chicago Bears gear and a memorable accent expressing how delicious Chicago’s “Saasage” is. Marketing is a whole new ball game today than it was twenty years ago. We still connect with basic marketing methods such as direct mail, but can they actually be more effective now that social media has created continuous exposure of marketing advertisements? Social media is clearly an effective method of marketing, but if you could actually place a piece of direct mail in the hands of your target market, wouldn’t that be ideal? We make that happen. The first step is becoming a Superfan of our clients.
When you take on the role of “Superfan” there is a responsibility to uphold. As an IT marketing company, we commit to being a Superfan of each one of our clients. Putting ourselves in our clients’ shoes allows us to dig deeply into exactly what their customers are looking for and how we can generate individualized and focused campaigns to reach those customers. More specifically, we create effective questions to ask our clients’ customers using tailored, attention-getting strategies to reach net-new leads. We hit them with a 1-2 punch. First, we line up a marketing program that will have a large number of target customers holding in their hands a marketing piece with information that draws the customer to an online survey. The second punch comes after they answer a few questions – Do you have a problem with XYZ? Yes? BAM! Here’s a solution! Let’s set up a call to discuss.
Yes, it takes the dedication of a client Superfan to drive success. No, we have not attempted to obtain the Chicago Bears as a client…yet.
Oh, yeah…Da Bears!
March 3rd, 2011 - Posted in General, Strategy by Tim Freestone
Pop quiz:
When faced with the opportunity to have a phone conversation with a decision maker at a target account, the appropriate action is:
A) Get excited about the opportunity and fully prepare to better understand the decision makers issues so that the follow up face-to-face is an effective use of everyone’s time.
B) Get frustrated it’s not an in person meeting, discount the value of the connection and give it your C game.
C) Blow it off completely and complain that marketing doesn’t work.
Seems like an easy answer, but if I had a nickel for every time I saw B and C take place I’d have well over $20. Read the rest of this entry »
February 8th, 2011 - Posted in Strategy by Tim Freestone
Look – I realize I’m asking quite a lot of people. Perseverance is not a trait that pervades the IT industry. If there were a guild of actors of short-attention-span theater, this industry would certainly hold the annual convention. Also, I’m not making a directed statement – it’s a fairly universal trait across all players – sales, marketing, CEO’s, engineers – no favoritism here. I’m also not blaming anyone. I’m simply calling a spade a spade. We all function in a system where products mutate and migrate faster than Madonna’s wardrobe changes in an early nineties concert at Madison Square Garden. So it’s no wonder that the shadow (marketing and sales) of such an unruly beast be also A.D.D.
Again, I’m not bitter, simply painting a clear picture of reality before I lay out a sentiment for how to truly stand out as competent, dare I say exceptional, in a sea of deer-in-headlights mediocrity.
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January 19th, 2011 - Posted in Strategy by Tim Freestone
It’s our nature to seek instant gratification. Our society programs us this way: Instant Oatmeal, Hot Pockets, 5 Hour Energy Shots, Tivo. We want what we want now, and we don’t want to wait. We’re products of our environment and these “now” influences seemingly govern our lives. As a result, we act with instant gratification in mind in most that we do – personally and professionally.
So as IT marketers we’re inclined to gravitate towards processes and programs that promise instant results. And its not just our nature that drives us in this direction – forces such as funding, rapidly changing business priorities, and driving sales “numbers” are naturally designed to perpetuate this approach to IT marketing. But, for those of who have been in the marketing game long enough, we know that this approach results in unpredictability, consistent frustration, and wasted time and money. Read the rest of this entry »
November 15th, 2010 - Posted in Solution Provider Services by Tim Freestone
Nothing is more exciting than getting a hot lead – a prospect who wants to make a fast decision. Your sales costs stay low, and you turn an opportunity into revenue as quickly as possible with little effort. If only they were all that easy, right?
Of course, it rarely works that way. Most sales opportunities take some time and planning on your part in order to become revenue. For larger sales, the cycle can take quite a while to come to a conclusion, and you may have to wait a few months before you can even get started in earnest. Since some of the best opportunities you have may not be ready right away, you need to develop a lead cultivation strategy in order to keep the opportunity warm until you can engage the decision-maker in the sales process.
It’s what you do before you get started that can turn a long-term lead into your next big opportunity. Invest your time in cultivating a lead, and you’ll be the first call when it’s time to start discussing a purchase. Also, you’ll make it harder for your competitors to swoop in and steal the opportunity from you.
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November 10th, 2010 - Posted in Solution Provider Services by Tim Freestone
Sales intelligence is vital to winning new business. Without a sense of what a prospect needs and how your company can help, you’re left with nothing more than a cold call. Gain some information on your prospect, however, and you’ll have a much easier time identifying and proposing solutions.
Here are four ways you can get better sales intelligence:
1. Start with a survey: during your lead generation efforts, be sure to include a survey that aligns with the types of clients you are looking to attract. A survey is a great way to get your prospect to self-disclose the information you need to bring the sales process to a successful conclusion.
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October 25th, 2010 - Posted in Solution Provider Services, Strategy by Tim Freestone
IT solution provider sales teams are often frustrated by their pipelines. They may scramble for a month or two, trying to keep up with high demand … and then it all goes quiet. For months, there seems like little to do except work through old leads and make a few seemingly futile cold calls. Even if the numbers look good at the end of the year, the process that gets you there can be pretty frustrating.
It’s possible to smooth out the pipeline a bit – and generate more sales at the same time. All it takes is a bit of marketing planning.
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October 18th, 2010 - Posted in Social Media Marketing by Tom Johansmeyer
What are the IT marketing challenges that keep you up at night? Well, if you’re anything like other marketers in the broader B2B space, it’s generating high-quality leads – which has become more important year-over-year.
The latest survey results from MarketingSherpa reveal that 78 percent of respondents saw this as a challenge in 2010, up from 69 percent last year. A distant second was “generating a high volume of leads,” up from 35 percent last year to 44 percent this year. Concerns about marketing to a lengthening sales cycle increased slightly, from 39 percent of respondents to 41 percent of respondents.
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MarketingSherpa,
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October 15th, 2010 - Posted in Solution Provider Services by Tim Freestone
When you kick off your marketing efforts, you’re thinking strictly about the return on investment. You want to know that every dollar you spend on marketing will lead to several dollars in sales. Yet, when you’re meeting with prospects about their technology needs, too often, the conversation turns to ROI’s three-letter cousin: TCO.
With solutions such as virtualization, storage management and network security, it’s easy to build the cost containment case. And frankly, it’s a good one. Cutting expenses is something that resonates with most IT leaders (e.g., IT directors and CIOs). Yet, it leaves an opportunity on the table – not just for them to implement a better solution but to raise their profiles within their organizations.
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September 20th, 2010 - Posted in Social Media Marketing by Tom Johansmeyer
The next time you take a look at the analytics for your corporate blog, go deeper than the dashboard. Down in the weeds, you’ll find information directly applicable to your sales efforts. Mine this data, and communicate it to your sales team: they will have a powerful new tool for getting inside their targets’ heads.
There are many ways you can use your corporate blog’s analytics to drive revenue gains across your company. Here are my five favorites:
1. Watch who’s watching: Don’t (just) look at volume. Instead, take a peek at the company names. You can use this to find out who in your target market is interested in your company. Also, take a look at the posts they are reading. This will provide insight into the specific products or services they are exploring.
2. Check for repeat visits: Do some companies keep coming back? This speaks to level of interest and commitment to your brand, not to mention specific business issues or products or services. Frequency and regularity translate to higher potential for entry into the sales cycle and conversion.
3. Dig into keywords: When a visitor uses a search engine to come to your corporate blog, the keywords used can be telling. Keep an eye open for those that indicate a business pain point or particular product or service.
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