B2B marketers should be scared about doing the wrong things.

The neighborhood I live in does not have any young children in it. Although a few houses have put up a ghost or pumpkin here and there, I am not immersed in the celebration of Halloween, nor do I have a house full of candy (which is a good thing).

Unlike my colleague Casey Hibbard, of “Stories That Sell,” an expert on the creation and use of case studies, I didn’t think about writing a blog post related to this ancient holiday. Her article, “5 Ways Case Studies Can SCARE off Prospects” not only presents the major “no-nos” of case studies but her advice perfectly parallels what could scare off prospects in ANY lead generation message. Here are her points that I have translated into how a marketing approach can scare prospects off before they even get to the case study.

DO NOT:

1. Make it all about you.
   Prospects don’t care about the company offering the product until they are ready to evaluate it and make a buying decision. Until then what prospects want to know is “what’s in it for me.”
2. Be ugly.
   Ugly is in the eye of the beholder, but in marketing the message should be presented (online or offline) with a look that reflects the company’s quality and positioning. If the company’s unique selling proposition (USP) is low cost, then the design should be clean and basic. Copy should not say “low cost” and appear high-end.
3. Target the wrong audience.
   As my other blog entry — entitled “Content by any other name would smell as sweet” — explains, the accuracy of reaching the target market can affect marketing results by 200%. Targeting is everything. Marketers should actually focus the majority of their efforts on this critical element.
4. Ramble.
   This is true in all communication. If prospects can’t quickly and easily fly through the message, most of them won’t take the time to struggle through it.
5. Make it impossible to skim.
   One of the most important rules in presenting marketing messages is to assume that your prospect will not read one word of body copy. If the core of the message cannot be gleaned from reading the headlines and subheads, it will affect response no matter what the content says.

Marketers should read Casey’s article to see how these important points apply to case studies. Then put these rules to work in EVERYTHING they do.

When using comparison charts hurts sales.

Being in marketing, one would think that I’m an adversary of sales. There is, of course, a traditional conflict between marketing and sales. It’s a conflict that is often addressed in marketing conference sessions, and there are consulting firms that focus entirely on helping marketing and sales departments work as a team.

But I love salespeople. I spent six years in their shoes and know that their direct contact with prospects and customers gives them valuable insight into the prospects’ mindset. What are their pains? What are their objections? What product features get their attention? It’s all information that is vital in creating truly targeted marketing messages.

It’s sales, in fact, that often suggests to marketing that their company’s Web site or marketing messages should include a chart to compare its product with the competition. This suggestion typically comes from hearing prospects mention solutions they are considering during the research and evaluation process.

Just like there are best practices for other marketing issues, there are those for using comparison charts. So, in this case, sales shouldn’t always get their way. Here’s why:

Market Leaders
Companies that are industry leaders should avoid mentioning the competition by name. In the minds of prospects, mentioning the competition will raise those lowly competitors to their level and bring them to the attention of prospects.

The Little Guys
This is the category in which comparisons are the most effective and are a productive marketing tool. When a start-up compares its product or service to the big guys, it provides a clear frame of reference for the prospect and brings them up to the level of the leaders. That’s why it’s such a big boost for smaller firms when they are mentioned by Forrester, Gartner, etc. That single mention instantly puts a little guy in the same league with the market leaders.

Mid-Market Companies
Comparison charts can work for this market position but should follow the two rules above. It’s OK to compare products and services with the market leaders but not to mention the firms below mid-market.

When a company’s product or service compares well to competitors, it is tempting to show that comparison in marketing materials. However, market leaders or mid-market companies should consider their market position before doing so. Otherwise comparisons should be reserved for sales to show to an individual prospect if that prospect is looking at a specific competitor. Not before.

When being pretty does not help you stand out in a crowd.

I registered late for DMA09, the annual Direct Marketing Association conference that was here in San Diego this year. So when the approximately 380 exhibitors sent me an invite to visit their booth, I quickly drowned in a sea of postcards. One day alone I got 18 of them.

They were all clever and creative and colorful and personalized. They offered free gifts, the opportunity to enter drawings for very desirable prizes, introductory discounts — you name it. All the offers were good. But the packages and messages became a blur as they tried to compete with each other.

The few invitations I did read were not colorful, clever or creative. They were communications enclosed in businesslike envelopes, and I could count those on one hand.

As a small consulting and copywriting business I saw all of the mailers. But I wonder how many of them made it to the desk of registered attendees who work in large corporations. In those companies third-class mail is often discarded and not delivered to the addressee.

My lesson from this experience is that B2B marketers who want to promote their booth at a trade show or conference is this: no matter how spectacular the drawing or giveaway prize or discount, bag the postcard. Instead, send your booth invitation in an envelope or express-type mailer. That way you can be sure it will get delivered and stand out in a crowd.

Content by any other name would smell as sweet.

A new LinkedIn group I joined, “DemandGen Specialists,” featured an article by Jon Miller that appeared on Marketo talking about the value of using content to position a company as a thought leader. “Why Thought Leadership Is Your Most Valuable Asset” covers how providing content is the key to achieving thought leadership and provides excellent tips for how to make sure content delivers real value. Then a BtoB online post by Christopher Hosford reports that, when providing collateral, “White papers remain most influential for tech buyers.”

The conclusion from both of these posts is that getting the edge in B2B marketing today is all about content.

As a direct response marketer, I’m pleased to see that the rest of the world has finally discovered what the direct response marketing community has known for about 100 years. That is that giving someone something of value to their business in exchange for making contact with you is the most effective way to generate qualified leads – or, as it is now called, “generate demand.”

In direct response, what is now called “content” was once called an “offer.” Although the percentages will differ, depending on who is presenting them, here are the influencers that determine the potential success of any direct marketing program — and as you can see the quality of the offer is right up there:

The accuracy of reaching the target market can affect response by 200%.
The success of a direct marketing program can increase by as much as 200% by accurately targeting the email or mailing list chosen, the Web site on which the banner appears, the ad words used in SEM, the trade show attended, the print advertising placed and much more.

 The strength of the offer (content) can affect response by 100%.
The offer, or the content, is the second most important element in successful lead generation, whether it is a free white paper, Webinar, checklist, case study, demo or all the other options that are so nicely outlined by Michele Linn of Savvy B2B Marketing in “Need Content? 20 Formats to Consider.”

The quality of the messaging can affect response by 50%.
My specialty is writing content offers and the messaging (regardless of channel) used to get prospects to request the content. However, I am constantly humbled to know that unless the market is well targeted and the offer has value, the marketing messaging will not have the impact it could have.

 The design of the marketing communication can affect response by 50%.
Just like the marketing copy, effective, eye-catching design has no impact unless the channel targets the right market and the offer has value to that market.

So whether you call it content, or an offer or collateral material, after 100 years, it’s still the sweetest tool for successful demand generation marketing.

Two ideas in 20 seconds.

The days of “all I know is what I read in the paper” are long gone. I still read the newspaper, but it’s so small these days that it provides just a fragment of what’s going on in the world. Since much of my world is about B2B marketing, the newspaper is virtually worthless.

So to keep up with what’s being said and done in B2B and direct marketing practices, I take a quick daily visit to LinkedIn, then review the blogs that I’ve marked as having frequently valuable insight and information. Reviewing these favorites yesterday, I said, “This must be sweeps week — everyone seems to be putting out their best.” It was so good, in fact, that I thought I’d share two of them today:

Casey Hibbard of Stories that Sell announces the new SocialMediaExaminer.com online pub started by Michael Stelzner and colleagues. It’s the perfect resource for folks like me who need to get up to speed on the best use of today’s social media tools. Thanks for bringing this to our attention, Casey.

Ardath Albee on her Marketing Interactions blog talks about an often-overlooked option for creating lead nurturing content in “Articles are Food for Lead Nurturing Programs.” I’ve always liked using articles because they are quick and easy to create. She provides many other reasons why and how businesses can leverage articles as effective marketing content.

So I am a bit wiser today thanks to the bloggers in the word — hope you are, too.

Twitter and your B2B marketing budget.

Thanks to Josh Chasin and his insightful post “The Evolution Will Be Tweeted” on Media Post’s Online Metrics Insider.

 In his excellent commentary on Twitter and Web 2.0 (that puts Twitter and social media into logical perspective) he provides a link to the Sysomos study “An In-Depth Look Inside the Twitter World.” This usage study shows just what you’d expect — Twitter usage is going up. But the statistic that may surprise you is that 5% of Twitter users account for 75% of all activity. It’s sort of like 5% of all taxpayers paying 53.25% of all the taxes.

 So when we read articles and attend Webinars that tout all the business contacts and resulting business deals that come out of Twitter usage, business owners may worry that they are not putting enough time, effort and money into that channel (for that’s what Twitter is — a channel).

 In the B2B world, if 100% of a company’s specific prospects are reachable only on Twitter, then I say “go for it.” But I’m going to suggest that my clients review all of the Sysomo study results, then put their Twitter efforts into proper perspective with the rest of their marketing efforts. Actually dedicating 5% of the marketing budget to Twitter activities sounds like a fair amount for now.

6 tips for B2B landing pages that land business.

In the history of the human race, information has never been so readily available. There’s hardly a subject in the world that isn’t discussed and accessible online — from the genealogy of Goofy to what Brad Pitt orders when he goes out to dinner.

If one is looking for a business solution — software, consulting services, ink cartridges, training materials or thousands of other products and services — it is easy to find, right from the desktop. Then there’s a ton of advice for those businesses selling those products and services — to which I am very happy to contribute.

With this plethora of advice and ease of getting it, I am baffled when I see emails, landing pages, websites and other marketing tools that do not follow best practices.

A landing page has the attention of a prospect for so little time, it’s important that everything works. So what set of tips should be followed? Those that have come out of multivariate A/B split testing in the real marketplace. For those not familiar with multivariate testing, the subject is nicely covered by Mona Elesseily in “Getting Multivariate Landing Page Testing Straight!” on Search Engine Land.

Companies should do their own testing with their own message to their own market. But lacking the time, budget or willingness to test, the next best thing is to implement the findings of those who have tested.

Here’s what the marketers who have tested landing pages have found:

1. Message Presentation: Assume the prospect will not read the copy but give the page a once-over. So the core of the message must be communicated through headlines and subheads.
2. Visuals: Include a photo or two if possible. Photos of people make a company seem personal and approachable. Use captions with pictures. Captions are a great way to emphasize an important point, and they actually get read.
3. Focus: Focus the message and the call to action on responding to the offer being made. Any navigation options that take prospects away from getting them to accept the offer on the page will diminish response. If you want to provide more info, such as testimonials or product details, turn the landing page into a microsite and put that information on secondary tabbed or pop-up pages. But don’t send prospects away from the offer.
4. Flow: Look at your page and make sure the headline and message flow easily from one point to another. Companies like eyetracking.com actually measure how the eye moves through a message. If a message does not follow the natural flow, that too will diminish response.
5. Offer Placement: Make sure the offer and call to action are the first things seen when the email is opened. Then they can be repeated several more places on the page.
6. Response Form: Put the response form and fields on the landing page. Every additional time prospects are asked to click-thru to another page will reduce response.

For those who test landing pages, the marketplace has spoken. There’s no reason not to maximize click-thrus by following the practices they have found to work best.

Is anything missing from your online B2B brand?

Last week I sat in on a great Webinar entitled “The Art of Findability” with Glenn Raines of Social Media Moves.

Hosted by the Marketing Executives Networking Group (MENG), this informative session covered how to build a personal and business brand online using such tools as Twitter, LinkedIn, Google Profiles and other tools.

Glenn knows his stuff and, thanks to him, I’m just a little more savvy about the world of social media. But it got me thinking. In the B2B marketing world, if one is successful, all these connections and all this communication ultimately includes a visit to the company Web site.

Even if there’s been a connection with prospects via social media, those prospects will still check out your company’s Web site. What will they find there? It’s surprising how many companies selling excellent B2B products or services through a sales force have a Web site that doesn’t hold up its end of the integrated marketing objective.

Sometimes just a few critical fixes can help. Here are a few of the more critical dos and don’ts that will help you better support your marketing and sales process:

DO
* Provide one or more pieces of content (white papers, newsletters, Webcasts, demos, etc.) that have value to your market. Turn some of them into lead generators by requiring visitors to register to get them. These provide the opportunity to extend the relationship that may have started on social media.

* Put a strong call-to-action on every page. Tell visitors what you want them to do next from EVERY page. Make sure most pages encourage visitors to contact you. At the same time, give them an incentive to do so – such as a free assessment, personal demo, etc.

* Clearly present your product benefits in headlines, bullets — everywhere you can. Don’t assume that because your product does its job faster, that buyers will know what that means to them. Be sure to say “save time.”

* Put your contact information prominently on every page. Especially your phone number.

DON’T
* Use the word “we.” Buyers don’t care about what you think of yourself. They care about what you can do for them. Let case studies and testimonials tell how wonderful you are.

* Ask for prospects to fill out too many fields when signing up for newsletters, to access white papers or see demos. The fewer the better.

* Assume that because you’ve maintained your “visual” brand on your Web site that the site effectively supports your brand. Messaging that is too complex, too long or too self-serving ruins a great-looking site.

Social media is a powerful tool for making business connections. The company Web site is a part of the online brand. Make sure it does its job, too.

ADDED THOUGHTS

Yesterday I came across a post that covers this same subject of technology and other B2B companies having weak Web sites that do not play a productive role in the marketing and sales process. I thought I would share links to these two articles, as they provide insight into why this is so and how to avoid it. First is Tom Jacobs on TechMarketingBlog in his post “Technology Company Websites should not be driven by technology.” The second are comments by Bill Gadless on B2B Web Strategy in a post by the same name. My thanks to Tom and Bill for this insight. The conclusion, of course, is to let marketing control the creation and updates to the company Web site. That way you can make sure the site does its job.