To make big B2B marketing strides in 2010 – go lateral.

Since September of 2008 every one of us in B2B marketing, or frankly, in every area of business, has been pressured to cut costs, do more with less, and generate and convert enough new customers to remain profitable and grow.

These days, however, companies are running out of ways to cut costs and have reached the bare bones of personnel. So what’s next? I suggest an exercise in lateral marketing.

Originally coined by Edward de Bono in his 1967 book “New Think: The Use of Lateral Thinking in the Generation of New Ideas,” lateral thinking takes planning and strategy beyond the realm of problem-solving and into new ways of looking at things.

What is lateral marketing? It’s simply applying lateral thinking to the marketing arena. It’s the exercise that has marketers looking at their business and seeing if they can discover a new product name, a new approach, a new positioning that will open up a fresh universe of prospects and buyers, or an innovative way to reach existing markets.

Most marketers think in a linear fashion. Ask a linear marketer to promote property management software for real estate agents, and that marketer will (hopefully) follow best practices. In most cases, that approach will be successful. It would include:

• Offering free valuable content to generate leads using email or direct mail.
• Running ads in publications read by realtors, and posting ads on sites visited by realtors.
• Researching keywords and enhancing site SEO so that realtors find the software site when searching for related solutions.
• Putting up a booth at a trade show or conference attended by realtors.
• Establishing the real estate software company as a real estate agent’s thought leader by starting a blog and actively sharing valuable ideas via social media.

Lateral marketers, on the other hand, look at challenges in less obvious ways. They try to see the product and market with fresh eyes. They brainstorm with the company’s staff and other associates. They bring in outsiders with no preconceived understanding of that particular product or market. They look at the marketing of products or services completely outside of the client’s industry and category to see what could be borrowed or adapted. In the case of the property management software, this might include the following:

• Thinking about all the other products and services that realtors use, such as appraisers, lenders, and CPAs, then asking those providers to become trading partners, i.e., “You mention my product to your customers and I’ll mention your services to mine.” If the real estate software company sells nationally and the providers sell locally, partnerships could be established in multiple cities.
• Creating an online contest that invites real estate agents to take a self-quiz to find out whether they could make more money by adding property management to the services they provide. All those who took the self-quiz would be entered into a drawing to receive a valuable prize. This self-quiz would generate a list of email addresses of real estate agents who have shown interest in property management and therefore should be considered prospective buyers.
• Spinning off the product with a new name that would appeal to real estate investors who might want to save money by managing their own properties. This move would open up a whole new market of prospects.

 B2B marketers should not abandon linear marketing, but to make big strides in 2010 and beyond, they should try going lateral.

Two copy-revision rules that save time and money.

I look back with a combination of pain and fondness on writing marketing copy for Ashton-Tate’s dBASE in the late 80s. Some may remember dBASE as the supreme leader in database software. Long release delays and bug-ridden upgrades eventually brought the original version of this giant down from its position of leadership. But my memories of those early days center on another issue altogether — copy revisions.

 

Here was the scenario:

 

• The level-1 marketing person responsible for working with the marketing agency would review the copy, find items that she thought needed revising, had the agency make the revisions, then passed the revised copy up to the next level for review.
• Level-2 did the same.
• Level-3 did the same.
• Level-4 did the same.

 

By the time the often-revised copy made it to the desk of the grand poobah of marketing, this VP took one look at it and declared it to be “%^)%&^.” Of course, by then, that’s exactly what the copy was. Each revision cost more money and reduced the effectiveness of the message. In the end, the copy had to have a major revision to be strong again.

 

You can and should avoid this approach, as it is costly and time-consuming. It’s easy to do. Just follow these two revision rules to prevent the Ashton-Tate copy syndrome:

1. Limit the number of people who must review the copy.
2. Read the copy through only once. If something reads awkwardly or is technically incorrect, have it revised. If not, leave it alone. Remember, your prospect will read the copy only once. So if there is a problem on the first read, fix it. Otherwise, leave it be.

Where will your company be when the economy recovers?

Most companies these days are cutting costs and it’s pretty tough to choose the right place to make those cuts. Depending on what’s necessary for your operation, your options may be very limited. So marketing is likely to be one of the areas you scrutinize.

Because of that, I feel obligated to share with you the one proven truth I tell my clients whenever we experience an economic slow down. It’s something you should keep in mind when making your decisions.

“Companies that continue to market during a down economy

recover faster — and come out of the downturn with

a larger market share — than those who don’t.”

Here’s an abstract for an iMedia Connection article by Mike Simon that appeared in the May 8, 2009 issue of MultiBrief from MultiView that supports my point nicely:

“On the most basic level, recessions are perfect times for marketing overall — particularly because they’re an ideal time for capturing market share. While your competition is slashing its marketing budget, you can take the opportunity to snap up the customers that your competition ignores. The strategy will be particularly rewarding once the economy bounces back, and your brand equity is suddenly head-and-shoulders above the competition’s.”