tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23031507419577233822024-02-20T06:51:50.247-08:00Frank B2B BlogFrank Eatonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01337955871597774302noreply@blogger.comBlogger32125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2303150741957723382.post-87464024875310209162010-08-12T16:08:00.000-07:002010-08-12T16:12:55.734-07:00More Steps to Writing Successful Revenue Generating E-ZinesFolks,<br /><br />E-zines are electronic magazines delivered by email. They provide subscribers interesting information while allowing you to promote and sell your product(s).<br /><br />Publishing an e-zine strengthens your status as an expert in your marketplace and potentially converting readers into subscribers and customers.<br /><br />Here are four (4) more steps to writing successful <a href="http://www.frankb2b.net">revenue generating e-zines</a>:<br /><br />1. <span style="font-weight: bold;">Provide reviews</span>. Let the reader know about a new product; how it works, how it functions, the features, and the benefits it will provide them. Provide all the information on how to get this product. For example: “Go to the web site www.product101.com and click on the Try it Now! button”<br /><br />2. <span style="font-weight: bold;">Provide pictures</span>. If a picture of the product, product package, or system is available, include it in the article if space allows. This will give the reader a visual of the product and what he is getting if he decides to make a purchase.<br /><br />3. <span style="font-weight: bold;">Add a “special feature” article section</span>. This can be a “Ask the experts”, “A Message from the CEO”, “ What the Competitor's Are Saying about us and why?” column section. This is an added attraction that might create a following of subscribers to look for this first. Kind of like a magnet to the e-zine.<br /><br />4. <span style="font-weight: bold;">Send out special mailings to subscribers</span>. Announce a special promotion, a teleseminar, webinar, special event, or other promotional activity that may not be included in the e-zine. Be selective with subscribers, not all need to receive this. This will make the readers feel special and a part of the company's “top subscribers list”. Keep the special mailings to a minimum mailing cycle. Bombarding readers with emails will decrease effectiveness of the mailings and potentially increase unsubscribe requests.<br /><br />Try these steps and see what happens. Your e-zine will be a valued advantage to your readers and watch them turn into subscribers and buyers.<br /><br />If you've tried any of these steps, leave a comment and let me know how they worked for you. Thanks.Frank Eatonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01337955871597774302noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2303150741957723382.post-66280725028276439982010-07-24T10:26:00.000-07:002010-07-24T10:38:10.649-07:00Steps to Writing Successful Revenue Generating E-ZinesHey gang,<br /><br />E-zines are electronic magazines delivered by email. They provide subscribers interesting information while allowing the company to promote and sell their product(s).<br /><br />Copywriters are needed to write e-zines, in some cases on a continued basis. Making a company's e-zine successful will keep you working for a long time. Companies do not have the staff, and possible expertise, to keep an active e-zine published and distributed.<br /><br />Companies publishing an e-zine strengthens their status as experts in their market and potentially converting their readers to customers.<br /><br />E-zines are distributed frequently to a subscriber's email In-Box monthly, bi-monthly, or weekly depending on the circulation.<br /><br />E-zines are similar to magazines containing pictures, articles, graphics, how-to guides, and other interests the readers want and expect.<br /><br />Copywriters charge $750 - $1000 per page to write and create e-zines.<br /><br />Here are some steps to writing successful Revenue Generating E-zines:<br /><br /> 1. <span style="font-weight:bold;">Write articles</span>. Articles will help to connect with readers, share their knowledge, and promote businesses. E-zines should be filled with articles that interest the target audience and subscribers. Provide enough information to want the reader to go looking for more. Add a hot link to the web site that will give them that.<br /><br /><br /> 2. <span style="font-weight:bold;">Include testimonials</span> for products or services. Testimonials from satisfied customers and experts in the field will add confidence and credibility to a product or service. This will provide a “voice of the customer”, not the company to the readers.<br /><br /><br /> 3. <span style="font-weight:bold;">Offer “free” items as a bonus</span>. A new how-to book or other promotional item; logo coffee mug, tee-shirt, DVD,etc., to a new subscriber or existing reader will keep them accepting the e-zine, eventually converting them into buyers.<br /><br />There you go. Stay tuned for more steps on writing e-zines. Leave a comment and let me know if you think these will work in your business. I would like to hear from you. Thanks. FrankFrank Eatonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01337955871597774302noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2303150741957723382.post-77075325411050229032010-05-21T15:16:00.000-07:002010-05-21T15:47:37.420-07:00E- zines are one of the Best Viral Marketing ToolsE-zines are electronic magazines delivered by email. They provide subscribers interesting information while allowing the company to promote and sell their product(s). <br /><br /><a href="http://www.frankb2b.net/">Business to Business (B2B) marketing</a> campaigns generally have some type of e-zine on their list of offerings. These are replacing trade magazines in some respects. But trade mags still have their importance as well as a captive audiences.<br /><br />More marketing departments are using outside copywriters to write e-zines, in some cases on a continued basis. Making a company's e-zine successful will keep their clients, prospects, and potential buyers looking forward to getting the next issue. Companies do not have the staff, and possible expertise, to keep an active e-zine published and distributed.<br /><br />Companies publishing an e-zine strengthens their status as experts in their market and potentially converting their readers to customers.<br /><br />E-zines are distributed frequently to a subscriber's email In-Box monthly, bi-monthly, or weekly depending on the circulation.<br /><br />A Company's E-zine subscribers list is very valuable to them. It is another avenue for potential sales, information sharing, product awareness, announcements, etc.<br /><br />E-Zines are like newsletters with sections of content, graphics, and contact information including URL hot links to web sites for more information.<br /><br />E-Zines can be upwards to 2,000+ words along with many pages of articles, stories, and features. Some can cover an entire web page. <br /><br />E-zines are similar to magazines containing pictures, articles, graphics, how-to guides, and other interests the readers want and expect.<br /><br />Depending on the E-zine, a graphic artist may be required for the layout and design of pictures, charts, graphs, or images.<br /><br />E-zines can become as popular as blogs. To some companies they are a requirement and are better received than a blog from their clients and prospects.<br /><br />But what do you think? Is an e-zine better than a Blog? A Blog better than an e-zine? Or are they both as equally powerful in the viral marketing messaging delivery? Let us know. Your comments are welcomed.Frank Eatonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01337955871597774302noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2303150741957723382.post-33082556670515754702010-05-02T10:02:00.000-07:002010-05-02T10:44:44.122-07:00Time to go ViralIf your company, or even you, are not taking advantage of the social media and other methods of <a href="http://www.frankb2b.net">getting your sales messages</a> out in a viral type campaign, you may be losing ground.<br /><br />According to the Direct Marketing Association, eMarketing Association, B@B, and other market watchdogs, in 2010 companies are starting to budget and embrace the social media craze. Sites like <span style="font-weight: bold;">Facebook</span>, <span style="font-weight: bold;">Twitter</span>, <span style="font-weight: bold;">LinkedIn</span>, <span style="font-weight: bold;">Digg</span>, and others are now starting to see more products and sales messages on the links. <span style="font-weight: bold;">YouTube</span>, <span style="font-weight: bold;">My Space</span>, and others are seeing more product and sales video everyday being posted to these sites. This is an increase in this type of<a href="http://www.frankb2b.net"> marketing communications strategies</a> than the last few years. Why? It's cheaper and cost effective, especially in today's economy. Plus you can cover a lot more ground and territory.<br /><br />More campaigns and how-to's are being developed to educate the members on these sites to do more than just post a picture and a profile. B2B Marketing Communications items now feature website content, SEO, and social media campaigns as their list of offerings for the sales force.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">So how do you get started?</span><br />Start by signing up and building a presence on the social networking sites. Linked In is more business based, but do not rule out Facebook and Twitter. You can use your company name as your identity page and you can post your logo on your link.<br /><br />Invite listed members to link in with you, be a friend on Facebook, follow you on Twitter, and all the other sites' methods like Digg, et al.<br /><br />Build a video and post it to your company website using YouTube and MySpace, et al.<br /><br />Write a Blog. Comment on other people's Blogs. Read the industry leaders' blogs in your line of business and comment on those. Add your link to your blog in your comments if allowed.<br /><br />Write articles and post them to Article sites like Go Article. com. List these articles on your website and post them on other companies and clients' sites that may interest your line of business if there is a section for that.<br /><br />Create an email sales campaign. Use your existing customers and clients list and keep them updated on changes and enhancements to your product line, company, and executives. Don't have a list? You can buy them from list builders like Edith Roman, et al., in your line of business. Then use email distributors like Constant Contact and iContact to start your email campaign.<br /><br />In your own company marketing campaigns, get your products and company name out using webinars, teleseminars, and post the announcements and invites on the social media sites you are listed on. Use your email campaigns to do the same.<br /><br />Bottom line, the age of doing face to face seminars, knocking on doors to get your sales procedures started, and sending out direct mail brochures to build interest in your company and products has not gone away. It is just now adding the <a href="http://www.frankb2b.net">social media marketing</a> activities to the list.<br /><br />You can do a whole blog on each one of the social media and viral campaigns that are now starting to grow. Want to know more about these, let me know. Your comments are welcomed.Frank Eatonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01337955871597774302noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2303150741957723382.post-46407353319801236312010-03-27T09:23:00.000-07:002010-03-27T10:18:20.752-07:00#1 Sales Step for customer and revenue growthHey gang,<br /><br />I have been in the <a href="http://www.frankb2b.net/">business to business</a> industry market for a long time. I have seen companies try everything they can to generate revenue, gain more customers, and grow their business.<br /><br />But the best sales step around started many years ago. This step is not hard. It's not tough. You do not have to change your sales process. Add more processes, people, or territories. You do not have to replace what you are doing now. Just enhance it.<br /><br />How? It's simple. Give them what they want for less. I know you've heard all this before. But in today's economy, it works even better. Here is what I mean.<br /><br />I remember working for a company that finally decided to give in and open source their software technology and product. They were losing market share and dominance they once had and enjoyed. But they refused to give in and make their product somewhat for free. As the company continued to lose market positioning and revenue, they finally decided they wanted to make their product #1 again and joined the open source community. Now Java is being used by more developers and companies in their products and this has created market share increase and revenue for the founding company. Maybe a little too late but still, some is better than none.<br /><br />Remember the saying "a baker's dozen"? This all started when a baker added 1 more little cake, or donut, to the normal dozen he sold. This created more customers, and the one (1) he always gave away presented more people buying the 12 he sold. You can do the math. He dominated the neighborhood with his offerings. And whenever someone needed a dozen, they walked right passed the competitors to buy his. Why? Were they better? Who knows. The customer was able to get more for their money than was being offered by others. Resulting in more money to the baker.<br /><br />So if you have a product, NO you do not have to give it away. Or do a BOGO, buy one get one free. No. Just provide free shipping. Maybe free support for a month. Something for <span style="font-style: italic;">free</span> that will enhance your product sales and increase your customer base. Once you please one customer, word of mouth (marketing) steps in and you just got yourself more buyers without paying for marketing. See, it works both ways.<br /><br />If you do service and maintenance as your business, give a month for free to existing customers. This not only will please the customer, but will get your engineers to keep the customer's product in good working order, adding value to your product line, which is your service and support offerings. When maintenance contracts are due to be renewed, your competitors may not have had the opportunity to step into the customer's environment and take your business away.<br /><br />Make it easy to do business with you! If you sell products, make it easy for them to buy, install, implement, and learn how to use it. If that is a challenge, add 1 month worth of installation and training to the purchase for free. Not only do you take away the fear of the purchaser deciding to buy your product, your engineers get the opportunity to show off the workings and functions of the product because it is installed at top performance and it is "tweeked" to run like it is suppose to. Not really that possible if the buyer has to do all of the installation and tuning themselves, even if you do have the best installation training steps provided. I know myself, if I can buy something and it comes with free installation and tuning, that makes it more valuable to me to select that product over others.<br /><br />But it is up to you. If you care not to give away anything, look at your competitors and see why they may have beat you over a potential customer. Did they give something for free you did not? Did they provide something you didn't but could?<br /><br />Remember, when this economy begins to repair itself, and it will, more businesses will start spending money again, and they will remember the companies that helped them by providing a little something for nothing to what they were already purchasing. Guess who they will call on to reorder and may even throw in a little something extra on their part as a thank you gift? Who knows, it could be your company getting revenue you expected you would not get because you gave some of it away for free.<br /><br />Want more tips, go to my <a href="http://www.frankb2b.org/">websites</a> and grab my <a href="http://www.frankb2b.net/">products</a>. And shipping is free. Don't see something you need, let me know and I'll do my best to get it to you. May even discount it as a thank you.<br /><br />What do you think? Leave me a comment and let me know. Thanks. Happy marketing.Frank Eatonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01337955871597774302noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2303150741957723382.post-44265263046192686572010-02-14T11:52:00.000-08:002010-02-14T12:09:28.177-08:00Sales vs. Marketing<span style="font-weight: bold;">Sales</span> and sales teams make the deals. They bring in revenue, convert prospects into buyers, turn buyers into customers, and work to keep these customers buying more products and services being offered to meet their needs.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Marketing</span> and marketing departments create the programs, materials, tools, and events that bring in prospects, create sales leads, attract customers and business, and support the sales teams, sales cycle and marketplace. They also support the product line.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Sales and Marketing</span> are equally important to each other. A good sales team is as good as the marketing team to meet the drive and momentum of the market and line of business. A good marketing team is as good as the sales teams to meet the demand of the products.<br /><br />Some executives view marketing as an overhead. A cost they can do without when budgets are tight, revenue is not coming in, and times are tough. So marketing budgets are cut and staff members are laid off. This is a bad business decision.<br /><br />The executives forget when times were good, money was coming in, and deals were being made and closed, was due to the two teams working as one. Marketing and Sales were meeting each others needs with producing the tools and events to make the products attractive for the business buyer, and closing the deals to meet revenue quotas.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Sales</span> teams should not create marketing and product materials to do their jobs. This creates a gap that the customers, prospects, and competition see instantly, even when the sales executives do not. Sales needs marketing, marketing needs sales. The product managers need both. The executives need all three and some.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Marketing</span> departments produce sales collateral materials used by sales representatives (reps) that call on other businesses. They know what the sales teams need to meet the demand of their prospects and customers in the most beneficial way that support the sales cycle, product, brand, and company.<br /><br />Items such as company and product profile sheets, product briefs, technology adoption papers, ROI case studies and calculations, white papers, success stories, and press releases are all <a href="http://www.frankb2b.net/">sales materials</a> created by marketing.<br /><br />These materials are distributed to customers and prospects at trade shows, sales events, and promotional activities where the business buyers are.<br /><br />Having the right<a href="http://www.frankb2b.net/"> sales materials</a> to promote a product or service can often make or break a sales deal.<br /><br />The right combination of sales materials support the sales cycle and efforts while providing product features and benefits to the buyer, special offers, and projecting a confidence in the company and product for their purchase decisions.<br /><br />Sales collateral also helps educate the marketplace or in-house sales teams. These materials help develop sales and marketing tools and promote competition.<br /><br />Marketing is needed to create the sales materials, provide the tools to support the sales reps and sales cycle, and produce the events to make the products, the company, and the brand attractive to the business buyers.<br /><br />Sales are needed to make the transactions, to close the deals, and to meet the buyer's expectations with the product being offered, and to keep these customers happy. They are the first line of attack but cannot fight the competition without good marketing supporting the battle.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Sales and Marketing</span> teams need each other. Business executives need to recognize this and realize that sales revenues will surpass quotas and allow the company to “beat the street” with profits and gains that meet and beat expectations when both teams work as one.<br /><br />If you only expect Sales to do all of this, it is like sitting on a 3 legged stool. Someone will eventually fall. Don't let it be your company.<br /><br />Disagree? Then let me know. Comments are welcomed.Frank Eatonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01337955871597774302noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2303150741957723382.post-83035234404998355892010-02-06T11:28:00.000-08:002010-02-06T11:50:44.591-08:00Creating Successful Sales CollateralsHey gang,<br /><br />Continuing on the topic of <a href="http://www.frankb2b.net/">Sales Collaterals</a>, the marketing materials used to generate sales and draw attention to your products and brand, here are some steps to be considered for successful sales collateral:<br /><ul><li><span style="font-weight: bold;">Presentation materials</span> <span style="font-weight: bold;">must be clear</span>. PowerPoint presentations, handouts, and notes should be precise and clear enough that the buyers can make sense of them even when they are not there; the sales meeting or presentation.</li></ul><ul><li><span style="font-weight: bold;">Features and Benefits</span>. If aimed towards buyers who use spec sheets or standard checklists, include them in the collateral showing advantages of the product while being honest about what it can do. Some buyers like features as much as benefits.</li></ul><ul><li><span style="font-weight: bold;">Technical Specs</span>. Technical products must have a data sheet of specifications in a clear, precise, and accurate representation that is easily understood by the buyer.</li></ul><ul><li><span style="font-weight: bold;">A Defined Ordering process</span>. Remove all obstacles to the buyer using the client's ordering process. If the buyer prefers to order everything online or over the phone, and not meet with a sales person, then provide that step in the collateral materials.</li></ul><br />Successful Sales Collateral materials can range from 5-10 pages.<br /><br />For tips on creating other sales collaterals such as brochures, case studies, podcasts, product spec sheets, sales presentations, teleseminars, and webinars go to <a href="http://www.frankb2b.com/">www.frankb2b.com</a> and <a href="http://www.frankb2b.net/">www.frankb2b.net</a><br /><br />There you go. Good luck on your sales efforts. Using these tips will help. Let us know how you do it. Comments are welcomed.Frank Eatonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01337955871597774302noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2303150741957723382.post-28990668835292240932010-01-30T12:54:00.000-08:002010-01-30T13:10:41.483-08:005 Varieties of Sales CollateralSales and Marketers,<br /><br /><a href="http://www.frankb2b.net/">Sales Collateral</a> materials will continue to be needed and required in the business to business (B2B) industry market even in today's economy.<br /><br />Here are <span style="font-weight: bold;">5 Varieties of Sales Collateral</span> materials, to name a few:<br /><br />1. <span style="font-weight: bold;">Brochures</span>. Should communicate the unique selling proposition and explain the benefits of the core product and solution offerings.<br /><br />2. <span style="font-weight: bold;">Data Sheets</span>. Along with brochures, can match company and products together to provide details on the core offerings.<br /><br />3. <span style="font-weight: bold;">Technology Buyers Guide</span>. This is a small magazine-like brochure to help educate the buyer on what they need to know to evaluate the system, product, or service offerings for a more influenced buying decision. Some of these are known as “Fudd Busters” designed to eliminate competitor's competition materials they have passed to the prospect about your client.<br /><br />4. <span style="font-weight: bold;">Sales kits</span>. PowerPoint presentations, Brochures, Handouts, “Fudd Busters”, Proposals, Contracts, Statement of Work documents, etc.<br /><br />5. <span style="font-weight: bold;">New Client Welcome kit</span>. Used after a sale to thank the buyer, provide additional information like service and support contacts, suppliers, offers to encourage referrals, fill out satisfaction surveys, etc.<br /><br />These are just a few. As the economy continues to improve and businesses begin their marketing and sales campaigns, more and more of these materials will be required and used. These are your <a href="http://www.frankb2b.net/">Sales collateral materials</a> that some if not most businesses cannot afford to be without. Especially in the <a href="http://www.frankb2b.org/">business to business (B2B) market</a>.<br /><br />What do you think? Let me know. Comments are welcomed.Frank Eatonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01337955871597774302noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2303150741957723382.post-60143258496845924592010-01-24T09:51:00.000-08:002010-01-24T10:09:01.328-08:00Sales Collaterals in B2BSales and Marketers,<br /><br />As you know, <a href="http://www.frankb2b.net/">Sales Collaterals</a> are required <a href="http://www.frankb2b.net/">in business to business</a> even in today's economy.<br /><br />Marketing departments need to create sales aids to get the product(s) name and information out to other businesses within the market segment the company sells into. These are sales collateral items such as company and product profile sheets, product briefs, technology adoption papers, ROI case studies and calculations, white papers, success stories, etc. These items are needed more and more as the topics vary frequently.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Sales collaterals</span> are materials used by sales representatives (reps) that call on other businesses. These materials are also used to pass out at trade shows and sales events.<br /><br />Having the right sales materials to promote a product or service can often make or break a sales deal. Buyers want to get the information they need, but it has to catch their attention, influence their decision, and motivate them to make the purchase.<br /><br />The right combination of collateral materials is to support the sales cycle and efforts while providing product features and benefits to the buyer, special offers, and projecting a confidence in the company and product for their purchase decisions.<br /><br />Product handouts consisting of 2-10, <span style="font-weight: bold;">8 ½ x 11”</span>, pages are sales collaterals in high demand. These are handouts with company information, graphic images, and content description of the product or products. A graphics artist is required depending on the layout and images desired.<br /><br />Sales collateral can also help educate the marketplace or in-house sales teams. These materials help develop sales and marketing tools and promote competition. For example: “Fudd Busters”, documentation that provides competitive materials to show the company and product's superiority over their competitors, can drive sales quickly.<br /><br />Enterprise management solutions have become increasingly complex, not only in product design, but within a more competitive, converging IT marketplace. IT users have a wide choice of products and services that all claim to be the best solution.<br /><br />That is basically what Sales Collaterals are and why they are needed. Come back and check out my next blog where I'll list the <span style="font-weight: bold;">5 Varieties of sales collateral materials</span> familiar in the <a href="http://www.frankb2b.org/">Business to Business</a> industry market.<br /><br />Got a comment? Let us know.Frank Eatonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01337955871597774302noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2303150741957723382.post-31228134139139376772010-01-17T10:45:00.000-08:002010-01-17T11:10:33.700-08:00The use of Teleseminars in B2BIn my last Blog, I mentioned that <span style="font-weight: bold;">Teleseminars</span>, seminars done over the phone, are useful in <a href="http://www.frankb2b.net/">business-to-business (B2B)</a> even in today's economy.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Teleseminars</span> are faster, cheaper, and will reach many more audiences in just one session. It is a lot more effective than getting a group of people in a room, expect them to sit still, and listen to a speaker like at a seminar event in an office or business center.<br /><br />Plus you can record and use them over and over again. Here are some good uses that <span style="font-weight: bold;">Teleseminars </span>provide to your company's marketing activities.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Teleseminars are great for:</span><br /><br /><ul><li>Free introduction of a new product or service.</li><li>Interviewing an expert about a product or to create one.</li><li>Introducing a partner's product to the client's customers.</li><li>Introducing the client's product to their partners.</li><li>Doing internal training to the company engineers or sales force.</li><li>Providing a training session to prospects for a fee.</li><li>Providing a series of training sessions to prospects for a fee.<br /></li></ul>A good tip to a successful <span style="font-weight: bold;">teleseminar</span> is that<span style="font-weight: bold;"> </span>the script needs to be as long as the speaker is planning to talk and how many points and statements they plan to make. Some speakers speak around 100 words per minute, some are slower. If the speaker is planning to talk 30 minutes, prepare at least 10 pages of script, double spaced, with 3000 words. Then have the speaker practice and tune it as needed to meet the allowed time and message to be presented.<br /><br />So for the next marketing event that is listed above, try using teleseminars to make it happen. If you are not sure how to set one up, contact your phone and bridge line carrier. They offer these services and provide instructions and how-to's. <br /><br />Can you provide more tips on <span style="font-weight: bold;">Teleseminars</span>? Let us know. Your comments are welcomed.Frank Eatonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01337955871597774302noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2303150741957723382.post-45405271422681256042010-01-10T09:54:00.000-08:002010-01-10T10:40:41.719-08:00Teleseminars in B2BHey gang,<br /><br />Sales and marketing teams produce programs and promotions to get the sales messages out to prospected buyers. This is still a requirement even in today's economy.<br /><br />Face to face seminars and sales meetings in convention centers and hotels were the normal sales event that made this happen. Now companies are using the phone (teleseminars) and internet (webinars) to <a href="http://www.frankb2b.net/">get the sales messages out in the business-to-business (B2B) market</a>. This is not something new to the sales and marketing teams. But these programs have become more economical as these events can be recorded and used over and over again to the company's advantage.<br /><br />Teleseminars, or teleconferences, are events that are broadcast over voice bridge lines and accessed by a telephone. It is reached through the bridge line where many participants from all locations dial in and provide an access code in order to hear the conference or seminar live. It is generally recorded and available for dial-in access to hear the seminar at a later time for those participants not able to attend the live session.<br /><br />Teleseminars are often used to get the sales messages out to a larger audience versus in person; face to face to one group, or hosting a seminar event in one location. This makes it available for persons not in the location the seminar is being presented. This also provides flexibility to the presenter as they can produce the seminar from their desk and have the seminar recorded. These recordings can become saleable items or provided as giveaways at company sales events.<br /><br />They can last from 30 minutes to several hours long. The format can be question and answer type seminars with two or more speakers involved, or 1 speaker going through a session on a particular product or subject that interests the audience.<br /><br />They are educational and provide “how-to” sessions with small to large audiences local or worldwide.<br /><br />They're useful to organizations that seek to outgrow their competition through seminars but cannot afford to go to different locations each week conducting these.<br /><br />They're useful for professional training and skill building sessions that may take several days to weeks of classes. You can train many people located throughout the world with week long training sessions. This can be internal training events as well.<br /><br />Teleseminars are more faster, cheaper, and will reach many more audiences in just one session. It is a lot more effective than getting a group of people in a room, expect them to sit still, and listen to a speaker like at a seminar event in an office or business center.<br /><br />For your next sales event, think about using the phone and do a teleseminar. This is a marketing event that you can use over and over again, time after time.<br /><br />There you go. Tell us what you do in conducting your own teleseminars. Your comments are welcomed.Frank Eatonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01337955871597774302noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2303150741957723382.post-72141493171205870092010-01-03T09:24:00.000-08:002010-01-03T10:02:04.958-08:00Profits in Partnering in B2B<div class="item_text"> <p> Hey gang,</p><p>Lets talk about making more sales and generating revenue with partners.<br /></p><p>There are huge advantages to using partners in your business, especially in today's economy. The typical <a href="http://www.frankb2b.net/">business to business (B2B)</a> solution selling methods and techniques that were used in the past do not work as they once did. Budgets are tight, sales cycles are longer, and the business buyer is reluctant to bring in new products or services that are presented by a single vendor.</p><p>Your traditional decision maker has lost a lot of their purchasing power. This means you will have to change your sales and lead generation methods to make the deals. How do you do that? </p> <p>Build your partner base with more qualified sales generating activities and use these partners to help promote your products, services, and brands. The trend in this economy is referrals and referral based marketing that will get you in front of the business buyers who are in the position to purchase.</p> <p>Strategic alliances are quickly becoming a valuable feature of the corporate landscape. By creating partnerships, your company can quickly gain product development capabilities and marketing expertise without a tremendous amount of effort or cost.</p> <p>Partners who use and rely on your products and services to enhance and grow <span style="font-style: italic;">their own</span> business will become an extension to your sales and brand awareness. Make your partners happy and they will build and grow your business rapidly as they build their own sales and revenue streams.<br /></p><p>Successful use of partners will also help your company grow and generate revenue in places and territories you currently are not engaged or have a presence in.</p><p>Look into creating valued partners and watch them help grow your business as well as theirs. Click<a href="http://www.frankb2b.com/"> here</a> to get my e-book on the tips and steps to <span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">Profits in Partnering</span><span style="font-style: italic;"> </span><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">in</span><span style="font-style: italic;"> </span><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">B2B</span> .<br /></p><p>Let me know what you think. Your comments are welcomed.<br /></p></div>Frank Eatonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01337955871597774302noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2303150741957723382.post-1711216888692076662009-12-27T12:56:00.000-08:002009-12-27T13:12:45.685-08:00Steps to writing good White PapersHey gang,<br /><br />Here are <span style="font-weight: bold;">5 Steps</span> <span style="font-weight: bold;">to</span> <span style="font-weight: bold;">writing a good</span> <span style="font-weight: bold;">white paper</span> :<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">1</span>. <span style="font-weight: bold;">Focus on the target reader, not the company</span>. A white paper primarily presents the company's perspective on an issue or technology. Do not focus too much on the company, but the target audience who will read the paper. Present useful information that keeps the reader interested and meets their concerns. Does it solve a problem for the reader and how?<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">2</span>. <span style="font-weight: bold;">Make it clear, precise, and engaging</span>. Keep it simple. Convey in the paper why the reader should be interested. Overly long sentences, convoluted syntax, and complex words can make the paper seem incoherent and academic. Write direct and simple, and you'll create a white paper that is engaging and understandable.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">3</span>. <span style="font-weight: bold;">Do not load it up with technical jargon</span>. Some marketers feel the paper will not be effective without the latest trendy and technical words. Too much jargon can be confusing, can miss the meaning of the topic and key message of the paper, and make it appear like another sales pitch, turning readers away.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">4</span>. <span style="font-weight: bold;">Know your audience</span>. Do not try to make one paper be all things to all people. Business executives have different concerns about a product purchase than the IT staff or end user. Sometimes, a separate white paper is needed to meet these audience's objectives and better support the sales process. Within the paper, use of subheads and sidebars can isolate and address the different audience's concerns.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">5</span>. <span style="font-weight: bold;">Make it accurate and error free</span>. Errors of facts or omissions can cause legal problems. The information must be accurate and have proof to back it up. Forgetting a statement, a feature, or making claims of a benefit without proper proof can be a costly mistake. Have the engineers, sales, and marketing departments check over the white paper thoroughly before distribution.<br /><br />Try these steps and I bet your white papers will be good and well received.<br /><br />Don't think so? Then let me know. Comments are welcomed.<br /><br />Stop back by for more <a href="http://www.frankb2b.net/">B2B Marketing Communications</a> steps and tips. Thanks.Frank Eatonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01337955871597774302noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2303150741957723382.post-31040592319255538782009-12-19T12:27:00.002-08:002009-12-19T12:56:40.540-08:00White Papers in B2BHey Gang,<br /><br />Businesses are using <span style="font-weight: bold;">White Papers</span> now more than ever.<br /><br />White Papers are electronic books (e-books), technical reports, or large Subject Matter Expert (SME) articles that describe a product and service.<br /><br />The use of technical white papers as a <a href="http://www.frankb2b.net/">marketing too</a>l has grown tremendously in the last few years—not only for selling information technology (IT) and other High Tech industry offerings, but also to promote a wide range of products and services beyond computer hardware, software, and high tech devices.<br /><br />A company with a product in any high tech sector or business can take advantage of a white paper.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">White papers</span> are one of the <span style="font-weight: bold;">leading sources</span> <span style="font-weight: bold;">of</span> <span style="font-weight: bold;">sales lead generation</span>.<br /><br />White papers require all information related to the product's description, performance, and purpose. For example:<br /><ul><li>What are the product's features and benefits?<br /></li><li>How well did it perform under load?<br /></li><li>What were the performance and benchmark numbers achieved?<br /></li><li>What does the product do? What problems does it solve? What is its purpose in the industry market?, etc. </li></ul>Basically what is the product all about, how well it functions, what it solves, and why? makes up a white paper.<br /><br />Three categories of content that should be included in a white paper are:<br /><br />1. Content that directly enhances the effectiveness of the white paper in achieving the marketing objective.<br /><br />2. Useful tips or how-to information.<br /><br />3. Content that compares the various options for solving the problem and steers the reader towards the product.<br /><br />Do not add too much content to a white paper. If it is too large, the reader will put it aside. Leave out interesting but irrelevant information.<br /><br />Effective white papers contain between 3,000 to 4,000 words. If the paper is less than 2,000 words, it may be best suited as an article, not a white paper.<br /><br />White papers are generally written on non-glossy paper in a report type format and contain very few graphic images if any. They include the name of the product, the name of the company, its logo and contact information.<br /><br />Businesses use copywriters to work with their technical and engineering departments to gather information for these white papers. They also work with the marketing and sales departments for input and distribution.<br /><br />For more information including steps to writing effective White Papers, keep checking out my Blog or go to my websites.<br /><br />Let me know what you think. Your Comments are welcomed.Frank Eatonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01337955871597774302noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2303150741957723382.post-9386819400158334942009-12-13T11:37:00.000-08:002009-12-13T12:03:15.603-08:00SEO in Business to Business (B2B)<span style="font-weight: bold;">Search Engine Optimization (SEO) </span>in <a href="http://www.frankb2b.net/">Business to Business</a> is needed more and more as companies want their name, their products, and company web site to be found whenever an internet search is done using search engines such as Google or Yahoo.<br /><br />Keywords, phrases, and name recognition embedded in the company web site content, found by search engines, make up the building of SEO projects. This is quickly becoming an industry in and of itself and marketers as well as copywriters can make a career earning 6 figures or more for this niche specialty.<br /><br />Copywriters write web site content and embed keywords in the company web pages that show up in search engines. This allows the web site to be listed towards the top of the search list when the search engine is tasked to look for a particular word or phrase.<br /><br />A successful <span style="font-weight: bold;">search engine optimization</span> campaign will contain:<br /><br /><ul><li><span style="font-weight: bold;">Content</span>, which is what drives the users to the website.</li></ul><ul><li><span style="font-weight: bold;">Simple Site Design</span>, which makes it easy for them to find the content.</li></ul><ul><li>Well written <span style="font-weight: bold;">Meta tags</span>, which written with compelling keyword phrases and content will make the users click to the site from the search engine results.</li></ul><br />Here are <span style="font-weight: bold;">5 Mistakes to avoid in Website Optimization</span>:<br /><br />1. Lack of targeted keywords. If a user goes to the search engine and types in a keyword or phrase, and these are not on the website copy, they will not find you.<br /><br />2. Poorly written content. Content badly written, never updated, or not relevant, makes the site not search engine or user friendly. Users will quit going to the site.<br /><br />3. Black Hat SEO techniques. Black Hat includes techniques that are unethical and frowned upon by search engine spiders, the text based computing process that travels the internet looking for a match to the search. Keyword stuffing, doorway pages, invisible text, etc. do raise the sites' search ranking, but search engine spiders recognize this as “Black Hat” and the search engine can ban the website.<br /><br />4. Meta Tags not used or used improperly. These include title, keywords, and description tags. Make sure to include these on every site page and tab.<br /><br />5. Poorly designed site. This includes lack of clear navigation, bad page frames, and large load-intensive graphics that will block search engine spiders from the site. If a user can't find what they want quickly on the site, they will move on.<br /><br />A website can always be improved to increase traffic to the site, provide better customer satisfaction, and produce a higher search engine ranking.<br /><br />There are many more items to discuss in this topic including the steps to creating a successful well optimized website using SEO. Check my blog soon for some of these steps.<br /><br />Let me know what you think. Your comments are welcomed.Frank Eatonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01337955871597774302noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2303150741957723382.post-52207833374687448542009-12-05T11:30:00.000-08:002009-12-05T11:41:40.323-08:007 Steps to Writing Effective Newsletters7 Steps to Writing an Effective Newsletter in <a href="http://www.frankb2b.net">Business to Business (B2B)</a>:<br /><br />1. <span style="font-weight:bold;">Publish regularly</span>. It is vital to keep the commitment to the readers. If the newsletter is distributed the first Tuesday of the month, then meet that date.<br /><br />2. <span style="font-weight:bold;">Provide catchy and descriptive headlines</span>. The newsletter may feature a very interesting and well written article, but readers will skip over it if it is boring and non-descriptive. “CEO Expects Company to Double in Size within 5 Years”. <br /><br />3. <span style="font-weight:bold;">Use different size Headlines</span>. If all the headlines were the same type size, none of them would stand out. Different size headlines help the readers prioritize the order in which they should read the articles, from most to least important. <br /><br />4. <span style="font-weight:bold;">Write strong lead sentences</span>. After the headline, the first sentence, or lead, is the most important part of the article. Write the article so the most important information to the reader is listed first. “Blue Moon CEO Roy Jones unveiled plans on increasing the company size in 5 years at the annual shareholders meeting in Miami.”<br /><br />5. <span style="font-weight:bold;">Keep consistent type styles and fonts</span>. Keep the newsletter uniformed. Use the same text style and fonts for all the articles. If the text is too long in an article, do not reduce the type size, cut some words out to make it fit the allowed space.<br /><br />6. <span style="font-weight:bold;">Lay out articles on the page one-column wide</span>. Layout all the articles on the page in a one-column width section. This may consist of 3 columns per page; left, middle, right. For example, top of the page article covers all 3 columns across the page and halfway down. Another article covers 2 column sections in the bottom left, with a 3rd article in a 1 column space on the right bottom of the page. This makes the newsletter visually interesting.<br /><br />7. <span style="font-weight:bold;">Use photos</span>. Photos are the best way to draw-in readers and make the newsletter visually exciting. If a computer system is involved in an article, show a picture of the system too.<br /><br />The layout and format of the newsletter is like a newspaper article. It could range from upwards to 2000+ words. Newsletters are generally 1-3 pages long. <br /><br />There you go. Try these steps and let me know how they worked for you. Your comments are welcomed. <br /><br />Frank Eaton is CEO of <a href="http://www.frankb2b.com">Frank B2B Communications</a>, a business to business marketing and consulting company <span style="font-weight:bold;">CG4HBD5A4AE7</span>Frank Eatonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01337955871597774302noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2303150741957723382.post-45517727894345235622009-11-29T11:51:00.001-08:002009-11-29T12:00:18.706-08:00More Successful B2B Viral Marketing StepsHey Gang,<br /><br />As promised, here are 4 more steps to doing successful <a href="http://www.frankb2b.net">Viral Marketing in business to business (B2B)</a><br /><br />1. <span style="font-weight:bold;">Make Sequels, but sparingly</span>. When the video gets people's attention, act and give them more immediately. Make sequels and make them more exciting; a behind the scenes look, a secretary using the product as precise as an expert, a blog about the process, etc. But do so sparingly. Do not make sequel after sequel. This may tire the audience and drive them away.<br /><br />2. <span style="font-weight:bold;">Allow sharing, downloading, and embedding</span>. Sharing is what viral marketing is about. Everything to make that easier is going to improve the campaign. Download the content in a usable format (MPG, JPG, etc.), let users embed the content in their sites, keep bandwidth at a minimum, provide a link to the content, publish it to YouTube and other social networks, and allow people to bookmark it.<br /><br />3. <span style="font-weight:bold;">Connect with the Audience</span>. Provide comment fields on the website for viewers to respond after seeing the video. They are excited and ready to talk. Let them. The best viral marketing campaign creates a strong emotion. Even in business.<br /><br />4. <span style="font-weight:bold;">Never restrict access</span>. Viral marketing is about the campaign getting a life of its own, spreading like a virus. In order to become “viral”, it needs to be free. Do not provide secured materials on the video that require viewers to login, register, become partners, require special software, enter codes to “unlock”, or go through many tabs to get to the right link, etc. It is never about exclusivity, it is getting it out there for everyone, every business to see.<br /><br />Put these four(4) steps together with the three(3) steps I provided in my previous Blog, and you have 7 Steps to a highly Effective and Successful <a href="http://www.frankb2b.net">Viral Marketing campaign in Business to Business (B2B)</a> as well as Business to Consumer (B2C).<br /><br />Let me know what you think. Comments are welcomed.Frank Eatonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01337955871597774302noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2303150741957723382.post-89760494327972179702009-11-21T11:18:00.000-08:002009-11-21T11:30:15.425-08:00Successful B2B Viral Marketing StepsHey Gang:<br /><br />Here are a few Steps to <a href="http://www.frankb2b.net">Successful Viral Marketing in Business to Business (B2B</a>):<br /><br />1. <span style="font-weight:bold;">Make the Viewers excited</span>. The video should create a strong emotion, draw an opinion, express an idea, and get their blood pumping with excitement.<br /><br />2. <span style="font-weight:bold;">Do something unexpected.</span> Forget about promoting the product as being great, everybody does that. If the campaign is to be noticed, then make it the most effective viral advertisement ever by being unique and different. For example: to promote BlueTooth, show a guy jumping out a plane and talking on his Bluetooth cell phone ear clip, as opposed to just standing on the street talking on his cell.<br /><br />3. <span style="font-weight:bold;">Make advertising that sizzles.</span> Clients think that viral marketing is advertisements that people share. Wrong. They do not need a celebrity showing off the product and how good it is. That helps. But viral marketing is all about a good story. When an auto maker produced a viral video on their cars, they put out a story of excitement and how good the driver felt driving. Any car model they made fit that story. <br /><br />There you go. Come on back and get more of these steps to successful Viral Marketing in my next blog.<br /><br />Let me know what you think about these. Comments are welcomed.Frank Eatonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01337955871597774302noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2303150741957723382.post-13937485857901063872009-11-14T11:51:00.000-08:002009-11-14T12:06:45.785-08:00Using Newsletters in B2BHey gang!<br /><br />Newsletters are used in <a href="http://www.frankb2b.net">business to business (B2B)</a> to provide to the subscriber and recipients information sharing on the company, their products, their offerings, their promotions, and other information that sparks interest in the readers to anticipate the next issue. <br /><br />Newsletters are distributed in print form through the mail or electronically via email in a monthly, bi-monthly, or weekly format. <br /><br />With today's economy, copywriters are needed for these newsletters, mainly because the company does not have the workforce or time to create and distribute them on a scheduled basis. It is more easy for them to pass this responsibility over to a dedicated copywriter.<br /><br />Using a newsletter as a marketing vehicle is a great tool for many businesses. However, an effective newsletter design is not just a big ad for the business. It should include information of interest and value to the recipient, whether or not they buy the company's products or services.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Tip #1:</span> A good newsletter has the content that meets the needs and expectations of the reader. <br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Tip #2:</span> A good newsletter <span style="font-style:italic;">design</span> creates interest and maintains readability through consistency, conservation, and contrast. <br /><br />Have a consistent look and design to the newsletter. Be conservative by using boxes, clip art, and photos sparingly per page. Build contrast using bold typeface fonts, white space to counteract dense text, and enlarge a single piece of clip art to make a statement.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Tip #3:</span> Make sure the newsletter contains the company contact information, the logo, who to call to find out more, and when the next newsletter is scheduled to be distributed.<br /><br />There you go. This is what a newsletter is. Come on back and I will provide some steps on writing effective B2B newsletters. Stay tuned.<br /><br />Leave me a comment and let me know what you think.Frank Eatonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01337955871597774302noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2303150741957723382.post-14380008856282180922009-10-31T08:26:00.000-07:002009-10-31T08:37:20.783-07:00Viral Marketing<span style="font-weight:bold;">Viral Marketing</span> and <span style="font-weight:bold;">viral advertising</span> refers to marketing techniques that use social networks to produce company products and brand awareness, product sales activities, and other marketing methods though viral replicating processes. It is “word of mouth” advertising via the internet; email, websites, YouTube, etc. It facilitates and encourages people to pass along a marketing message voluntarily.<br /><br />Viral promotions may take the form of video clips, flash games, ebooks, brandable software, images, and even text messaging and other forms of getting the message out.<br /><br />Video, audio, written, and email marketing are the most common forms of <span style="font-weight:bold;">viral marketing</span>. If a client can create something of real value and spread the word within the industry, there is a very good chance the rest of the marketing will be done for them.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.frankb2b.net">Viral Marketing</a> is often chosen as a way to promote a company, product, or web site because it is easy compared to direct mail or search engine marketing. It also cost less than direct marketing or pay per click marketing.<br /><br />Instead of spending large amounts of money on newspaper ads, TV commercials, or banner ads, clients could spend next to nothing creating a viral marketing campaign, and let the business world do the work and advertising for them.<br /><br />Some <span style="font-weight:bold;">Viral Marketing</span> web sites and services reach over 40,000,000 people in key markets and over 2,000,000,000 unique viewers per day. [Source:The 7thChamber.com]Frank Eatonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01337955871597774302noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2303150741957723382.post-13175351071660582642009-10-26T10:24:00.000-07:002009-10-26T10:44:32.147-07:00Case Studies in B2B<span style="font-weight:bold;">Case Study</span> is a product success story of what one company did for another company in a sales or problem solving activity. For example: “ABC Company just solved a major on-line access problem by installing XYZAccess application from Data Traffic Monitor, Inc. The net results was 90% improvement in on-line productions.”<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Case Studies</span> are among the most powerful sales tools because they are the most credible. Rather than presenting marketing hype, they demonstrate how actual customers have succeeded using the company's product(s).<br /><br />Marketers and copywriters write these like short story articles announcing the success of what the product did for a certain business or company to solve an industry problem they were faced with. <br /><br />The story includes the companies logo, contact information, and precise numbers and proof of this interaction between the two companies. Often they include endorsements from both companies. <br /><br />Case Studies generally are written in 8 ½ x 11 handout paper form and may be included on the company's web sites. <br /><br />Marketing departments of both companies involved should write the Case Study together. Request other groups involved in the study that can contribute to the story. This includes senior management that may provide a quote to use in the story.<br /><br />Both companies that make up the Case Study will now have separate write ups. However keep the content the same. This will allow "spreading the wealth" around to each company's clients and prospects and provide instant references to backup the story.<br /><br />Case Studies become sales brochure like collateral for the sales reps to pass on to their clients and prospects. They contain between 1000-3000 words.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.frankb2b.net">Business to Business Marketing</a> and the many items used to produce sales and revenue generation is growing everyday. Let me know what you want to see or need information on about this huge industry market. Comments are welcomed.Frank Eatonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01337955871597774302noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2303150741957723382.post-43583204665571529192009-10-16T15:20:00.000-07:002009-10-16T15:37:49.545-07:00Business to Business Social NetworkingSocial Networking in <a href="http://frankb2b.net">Business to Business (B2B)</a> is becoming common more and more as websites become available. Companies are using this internet <a href="http://frankb2b.net">medium</a> to promote sales activities, new products or services, promote the company, and other “<span style="font-style:italic;">word of mouth</span>” marketing activites in a viral environment through the use of social networking sites like <span style="font-weight:bold;">YouTube</span>, <span style="font-weight:bold;">FaceBook</span>, and <span style="font-weight:bold;">My Space</span> for example. <span style="font-weight:bold;">LinkedIn</span> and <span style="font-weight:bold;">Plaxo</span> even have recruiting efforts involved. <br /><br />B2B companies are producing content on these sites to attract more qualified members to them. This is both written and video displays, depending on the desire and social networking site.<br /><br />On the internet, much of the social networking has been done. Social networking, book marking sites, video, and image sharing websites provide the ideal framework for a successful viral marketing campaign. For example, having an article published on sites like <span style="font-weight:bold;">Flickr</span> can generate hundreds to thousands of visitors to the client's website in a very short time. Having a video listed on the most popular page of a video sharing website can produce a tremendous amount of traffic to the client's site.<br /><br />Successful B2B social networking is different than business to consumer (B2C) website activities. The consumer market attracts all audiences to well known names and products; GAP, Ralph Lauren, Coca Cola, Oprah, Apple. But what about the B2B market of products; EDS, Unisys, Oracle, SAP, Microsoft? These audiences are more fragmented with internal employees, external partners, third party vendors, channels, and their customers and prospects. <br /><br />B2B marketing in social networking is structured and directed at a more targeted audience. They know who their audience is, what they care about, and how to market to them? The social networking function is similar to the consumer market of <span style="font-style:italic;">word of mouth</span> advertising and sharing, just more internal industry and business market bound.<br /><br />Social media is a different process for the B2B crowd. It's about being a more informed buyer and seller. Success in B2B social networking depends on providing enough content on the site that leads to interaction, sharing, and engaging the customer's and prospect's interest for potential sales engagements. <br /><br />B2B marketers first need to assess the relevance of social networking within their own industries and target audiences. Not every customer or salesperson cares about blogs or podcasts. Social networking needs to become part of the integrated marketing plan that ties into and compliments these other channels.<br /><br />There are many reasons social media can be a productive marketing channel or platform. The purpose should dictate strategy and tactics used for reaching desired business goals.<br /><br />There you go. Many companies are now starting to take advantage and use social networking for their marketing and sales channels. Let me know what you think.Frank Eatonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01337955871597774302noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2303150741957723382.post-42215300662311601412009-10-10T11:24:00.000-07:002009-10-10T11:39:55.130-07:00Business to Business (B2B) MarketHey gang,<br /><br />Did you know the <a href="http://www.frankb2b.net">Business-to-Business market</a> is huge and growing everyday? <br /><br />Business-to-business, or “B2B”, is businesses selling to other businesses. Industrial and High Tech business markets are common place for B2B.<br /><br />An example of a B2B transaction is a computer manufacturing company selling its product to an electronics and computer store, which is another company. <br /><br />B2B companies generally have sales and marketing organizations that create and manage the sales processes and transactions. <br /><br />A company selling photocopiers is likely a B2B sales organization because their sales representatives (reps) call on businesses, not consumers.<br /><br />Often more than one decision-maker is involved in a B2B sale on the buyer's side. For example, a company making a software product purchase could require the decision of the technical department for the support of the product, the department designated to receive and use the software (the end-user), and the purchasing department to ensure the budget can support it and make the actual purchase and issue the purchase order (P.O.).<br /><br />B2B marketing communications, or marcom, is how businesses promote their products and services to other businesses using tactics other than direct sales. The purpose of B2B marketing communications is to support the company's sales effort and improve the company profitability. <br /><br />Conventional B2B marcom has two functions: (1) to generate leads for salespeople and (2) provide salespeople with sales aids they need to do their jobs. Less common is the mail order B2B company, which sells directly to businesses without involvement from a live salesperson.<br /><br />B2B marcom tactics include advertising, public relations, direct mail, trade show support, sales collateral, branding, and interactive services such as website design and search engine optimization.<br /><br />The <a href="http://www.frankb2b.net">Business to Business market</a> is growing every day. It has a lot to do with the economy. So we need to get more businesses selling their wares to other businesses and create a need, which will create jobs.<br /><br />Your comments are welcomed.Frank Eatonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01337955871597774302noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2303150741957723382.post-64671853091903666392009-10-04T10:10:00.000-07:002009-10-04T10:21:57.183-07:00more Advertising in the B2B MarketHey gang,<br /><br />If you are doing <a href="http://www.frankb2b.net">advertising in the business to business (B2B) market</a>, here is a quick tip that will help your ads sizzle:<br /><br />Before writing any product ad, do the “<span style="font-weight:bold;">PAP</span>” test. This is Product, Audience, and Purpose. <br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Product</span>. What is the topic of the ad? What product or service is it selling? Is it a single product or full line of products? You must have a clear understanding of what you are really selling to the reader.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Audience</span>. Who will read the ad? What type of person is it targeted at? What are their needs, problems, fears, desires, interests, and concerns? Sample issues of the publications the ad will be published in can help provide an idea who reads the ad.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Purpose</span>. What is the purpose of the ad? Is it to generate sales leads or bring in orders? Is it building an image or establishing credibility for the company? Is it to gain awareness of the product, its features, and benefits? What is the ad to do?<br /><br />If you do the "PAP" test each time you set out to write any advertisements, whether it is for the <a href="http://www.frankb2b.net">business to business (B2B) market </a>or business to consumer (B2C) market this will help make your ads draw attention and get your audience interested in buying.<br /><br />Let me know what you think. Your comments are welcomed.Frank Eatonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01337955871597774302noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2303150741957723382.post-81636692561063773852009-09-25T14:00:00.000-07:002009-09-25T14:11:04.791-07:00Advertising in the B2B MarketAny advertising that sells products or services to businesses, industries, or professionals, not to consumers, is <a href="http://www.frankb2b.net">business-to-business advertising</a>. Products and services featured in these ads are bought by business people for their professional, not personal, use.<br /><br />People buy high-tech products for solutions to specific problems.<br /><br />Very few high-tech ads are designed to sell the product directly. Their purpose is to build a comfort level for the buyer to feel good about the product and the company.<br /><br />Good advertising copy should focus on the client <span style="font-style:italic;">1st</span>, the product <span style="font-style:italic;">2nd</span>, and the company <span style="font-style:italic;">3rd</span>.<br /><br />Advertising promotions vary from a single page ad to several pages targeted to certain audiences that need the company products. <br /><br /><a href="http://www.frankb2b.net">Business-to-business advertising</a> copy typically addresses these audiences:<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Users</span>, like secretaries or mechanical operators who want to try out a product.<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Choosers</span>, like purchasing managers who have the power to place an order.<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Proprietors</span>, like directors who have the authority to issue the purchase orders.<br /><br />These advertisements need to <span style="font-style:italic;">quickly</span> list the <span style="font-style:italic;">unique</span> features and benefits of the products and company in an organized 1 to 2 page copy that keeps the reader interested and wanting to find out more. The ad must give more information about the product, not the company, and the reader should learn something from it. <br /><br />For example: an advertisement of a new computer and the company that makes it should include pictures of the product, all the features, what advance technology is included (i.e.,faster speed processor), how the user can benefit from this new machine (less processing time), and that the company will be around to support it and stand by what they sell. Also include the company logo, web site, and contact information.<br /><br />This will keep your business to business audience looking forward to your next advertisements.Frank Eatonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01337955871597774302noreply@blogger.com0