How to use B2B digital marketing to create real value

Most senior executives now realise that they need to make a radical change in the way they market their organisations. There are more local and global competitors vying for the attention of their customers, a proliferation of new technologies, introduction of legislation to protect consumers and changes in consumer buying behaviour.

Too much noise

There is way too much noise out there. Everywhere you look, or listen, there is someone ramming their products services and solutions down your throat. When you drive to work you are inundated with billboards, posters, street pole ads, people handing out leaflets at intersections and aeroplanes dragging posters behind them.

If you listen to the radio, adverts are broadcasted intermittently. If you watch TV, your favourite program is interrupted by adverts. If you read the newspaper, magazines, websites, blogs, smart phone apps, you are inundated with adverts and messages, all competing for your attention.

It is too much! Human beings have a built-in survival system that teaches them to ignore this proliferation of noise otherwise their brains would explode or they would go insane. People are just not listening anymore.

The consumer is in the driver’s seat

Henry Ford wrote in his autobiography, "Any customer can have a car painted any color that he wants so long as it is black". These were the days when the consumer had no choice. Nowadays there are motor vehicle manufacturers which provide customers with the choice to configure the motor vehicle they are purchasing.

The consumer is in control and is in the driving seat. The consumer is now deciding who they want to listen to and companies have to learn very quickly how to attract and retain the attention of potential customers. With the advent of the digital revolution, most progressive companies are now turning to digital channels to engage with existing and potential customers.

Here is a statistic which marketers need to take serious note of.

The number of smartphone users worldwide will surpass 2 billion in 2016, according to new figures from eMarketer, representing over a quarter of the global population. That number is expected to grow to more than 2.56 billion people, or a third of the world's population, in 2018 – by which time smartphones will finally have overtaken feature phones in the telecommunications world.

The Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) need to up their game

With all this going on, a recent IBM survey conducted amongst CMOs shows that very few CMOs have made progress in building a digital marketing capability and only 20% of CMOs have set up social networks to engage with customers.

In another report, Forbes predicts that things such as content marketing, predictive analytics, sales enablement, post-sales marketing and a host of other things will be hot for CMOS in 2015 so they have a lot on their plate seeing that most still have to up their game from an online perspective.

Companies HAVE to optimise their online presence and engagement with customers pronto

Connecting with the disconnected

We currently live in a disconnected, connected world. How many times have you noticed a group of people sitting in a restaurant and no-one is talking with one another? They are all on their devices using Snapchat, WeChat, WhatsApp, SMS, Facebook, Twitter and BBM.

You can even download an app now which enables you to text and see where you are walking at the same time. How do you attract and retain the attention of these disconnected, connected individuals?

Introducing Brad

At this point I will be introducing my fictional character Brad. Brad had a great product which he wanted to introduce to the market. It had a compelling value proposition and Brad was certain his product would do well. Brad knew that most of the people to whom he was hoping to sell his product had a phone, used the Internet and possibly social media.

Brad figured that if he had a website and started using social media, people would find his product. Brad went ahead and created a really nice website where he shared information relating to his product.

He also created a number of social media accounts where he posted updates about his product. Brad waited and waited and nothing happened. Brad decided to be more proactive and started phoning prospective companies and this worked to some degree. He landed some meeting however the rest thanked him and told him they would contact him when they were ready to meet.

Brad starts unsolicited communication

One day Brad received an email from someone selling a contact database. The person told Brad that they had an up-to-date list of senior decision-makers across all industries. All Brad had to do was select which industries and management categories he was interested in. Brad was very excited as he now had a large list of potential clients with whom he could share information relating to his product.

Armed with his list of emails, Brad started emailing details relating to his product. This approach was working well for Brad. A small percentage of the people he contacted wanted to meet with him which he was happy with as he had a large list of email addresses to work through.

He did receive a lot of negative responses from people who were not happy with the unsolicited communication however this did not worry him too much as he was getting meetings.

Brad is reported for spamming

One day Brad sent out some emails and they were all returned to him saying they did not reach the intended destination. Brad discovered that he had been reported to Spamcop. Brad did some investigating and discovered that if reported to Spamcop, your email account was shared with a large group of global Internet Service Providers and your account was blacklisted.

Brad contacted his service provider who explained that the only thing Brad could do was create a new email account with a different service provider. Unperturbed, Brad opened a new account and started sending unsolicited email again to his contact list.

Brad is reported for contravening POPI and EC&T legislation

One day Brad was contacted by the authorities who informed him that he had been reported. The person who reported him stated that they had not given Brad permission to retain their contact details or to communicate with them.

Brad had contravened the Protection of Personal Information and Electronic Communication and Transaction Act. Brad was investigated and as he could not prove that he received permission to retain contact details and send electronic communication, he was fined R5m. Brad was unable to pay the fine and had to spend 6 months in jail.

Brad starts learning the right way to market

Whilst languishing in his prison cell, Brad had loads of time to reflect on the events leading up to his imprisonment. Brad visited the prison library and accessed the Internet to learn more about the right way to market your organisation, products, services and solutions online.

Brad discovered some content produced by Paul Gillan and Eric Schwartzman where they advised organisations to conduct research on competitors, listen to what prospective customers are talking about online and to build thought leadership around your area of expertise.

This was a radically different approach to what Brad was doing before his confinement so he investigated further.

Dale Carnegie’s principles and B2B marketing

Brad looked around in the prison library for books which would assist him on how to approach his potential clients differently. He came across a book written by Dale Carnegie titled “How to win friends and influence people”. Brad figured that he would definitely pick up some pointers from this book.

Arouse an eager want

The first principle which attracted Brad’s attention was centred on “arousing in the other person an eager want”. This really made Brad think because it was telling him to turn his whole marketing strategy on its head. Instead of leading with a product pitch, he had to learn how to convince his target customer to NEED his product.

Brad realised from this that all people are buyers, however they do not want to be sold to. Brad had to devise an approach which would lead his customers to a “buying decision”.

Show genuine interest in people

The next principle which piqued Brad’s interest advised that you have to become genuinely interested in other people.

Brad figured that by leading with a product pitch you displayed that you were only interested in yourself. In other words, “Buy my product so I can make money” rather than “I genuinely empathise with your challenges and would like to present you with a solution to your problems”.

Brad learned the “less is more” approach. The LESS you talk about yourself, your company, your products, your solutions and your services and focus on the challenges facing the client’s industry, company and job role, the MORE impact you will have.

Brad thought about the “what’s in it for me?” question all people ask when people contact them and how he could answer that questions when engaging with them.

Learn to listen

Brad also realised that he had to learn to listen more. The more he asked questions and listened, the more he would learn about his clients and their problems and challenges. Brad also learned to keep communication personal and to use the person’s first name.

Understand the human psyche

Based on his discoveries from Dale Carnegie’s book, Brad started to realise that the most important thing when it comes to marketing is to gain an understanding of the human psyche and to figure out what makes his clients “tick”.

Inspire action

He conducted more research on the prison library’s computer and discovered a presentation by Simon Sinek on How Great Leaders Inspire Action.

In the presentation Simon introduced his “golden circle” and explained which part of the brain people use to make decisions.

Some of Brad’s learnings whilst in prison

Brad learned a lot while he was in prison. He discovered that the first thing you need to do is conduct research first.

He found out the hard way that you cannot contact people without their permission. They will decide the terms on how they would like to interact with you.

The other fundamental learning for Brad was that everyone are buyers and want to buy however they do not want to be sold to.

Most people have some issue, challenge or problem that needs resolving. They are constantly seeking information which will educate them and present them with solutions.

In order to meet this need, Brad learned that he had to establish himself as a thought leader (i.e. someone people want to listen to and learn from).

He remembered when he led with his product pitch how he was only able to contact people once and if he turned this around and had people follow him as a thought leader, he would be able to contact them on a regular basis.

The other discovery was if people were consuming his thought leadership on a regular basis, he would stay top-of-mind and be remembered.

Brad also learned that if you talk competently about specific subject matter on a regular basis, you are seen as a trusted adviser, and people buy from trusted advisers.

Remembering what he learned from Dale Carnegie, Brad understood that he will connect way better with his prospective clients if he personalised his communication and used their first name.

His research also concluded that if you are engaging regularly with your prospects, there is a higher propensity to be contacted should a need arise.

He also learned that he needed to analyse what content his prospects were consuming and when in order to follow up with them to get a meeting.

Lastly, he realised that people will check your credentials (i.e. details relating to your product, solution, services, company, customers, success stories, case studies when it suits them, not when it suits you)

Brad conducts research

Once released from prison, Brad conducted thorough research on his target market where he identified the challenges relating to their industry, the companies within their particular industry and challenges facing specific job roles.

Brad then went on to identify who were his competitors and how they were engaging with his prospective clients.

Brad also did a deep dive analysis of his target market in terms of who they were, where they were, what devices they were using to consume content, when they were online and how they consumed content.

Brad gets help from a digital marketing specialist

Brad decided that even though he was armed with a lot of information, he needed assistance from a reputable digital marketing specialist. He conducted more research and identified a suitable resource who would help him develop and execute a digital marketing strategy.

He figured that the “practice what you preach” or “walk the talk” approach would be the best so he looked for a digital marketing specialist who had a prominent online presence, had established themselves as a thought leader and was suitably recommended.

Brad establishes an online presence

Working with the digital marketing specialist, Brad established a presence on the web and on social media.

His website contained information relating to his company, product, services, solutions, case studies and customer testimonials with prominent call to actions (and compelling reasons) to subscribe to his blog, email newsletter and social media channels.

Brad created social media accounts on LinkedIn, Twitter, YouTube, Slideshare and Google+

Brad creates thought leadership

Brad remembered what he learned about the importance of establishing yourself as a thought leader in order to build credibility and to attract followers, connections and subscribers.

He also recalled how this approach will ensure that he had an excuse to interact with prospective clients on a regular basis, and in so doing, remain top-of-mind.

Based on the research Brad had conducted where he identified industry, company and job-specific business challenges and pain points, Brad started writing articles which presented solutions to these business challenges. He published just enough to whet the appetite of his prospective clients in order to initiate meetings or conversation starters.

Brad created a content schedule for the next 12 months where he planned what he was going to write about. He then published articles on his blog and from his LinkedIn profile and duly shared the articles on his LinkedIn company page, LinkedIn groups, Twitter and Google+.

He also created a video and PowerPoint version of his article which he published on Youtube and Slideshare and shared on social media.

Brad did not ignore the non-digital channels and also reached out to conference companies and trade publications, introducing himself and the content he was publishing.

He realised that if he landed speaking slots at conferences, people would subscribe, follow and connect with him and they would also share what he was presenting with their respective networks. The trade publications also had online version where they would publish his content, if relevant.

Brad builds his online communities

In tandem with publishing content, Brad worked with his digital marketing specialist to build his respective communities.

The first thing they did was include prominent calls to actions across all platforms inviting people to connect, subscribe and follow.

They made a point of providing a compelling reason WHY the person should connect (e.g. keep up-to-date with solutions to business challenges).

For subscribers to the blog and email, they asked for the person’s first name, company name, industry, job title and email address in order to send targetted information.

Brad worked with his digital marketing specialist to develop and execute a strategy to grow subscribers to the blog, email newsletter, LinkedIn connections, LinkedIn followers, LinkedIn group members, Google+ circles, Twitter followers and Slideshare followers.

Brad engages with his networks

Brad also learned the importance of interacting with his networks and the importance of listening more than talking.

As his communities grew, Brad identified influencers and prospective clients and set up alerts which notified him when they posted and shared.

He also proactively reached out to them and engaged in conversations. He monitored his blog, LinkedIn profile (personal and company, LinkedIn groups, Google+, Twitter, email inbox for comments and requests and responded timeously.

He used the lead generation facility on Slideshare and monitored any leads that were generated.

Brad also made sure that a Twitter hashtag was created and promoted before a conference he was presenting at and that attendees were encouraged to share with their respective networks using the hashtag he provided.

Brad focussed on listening a lot and being genuine in all his interactions.

Brad focuses on needs and shows genuine empathy

Remembering the Dale Carnegie principles from the prison library, Brad made sure that he always focused on the needs of his prospective clients at all times.

He remembered not to talk about his company, his products, services and solutions and concentrated on his prospective client’s business challenges, presenting solutions to their problems.

Brad also made a point of showing empathy for his prospects and their issues.

Brad asks permission and keep things personal and authentic

When acquiring personal details, Brad asked for permission to retain their details and to communicate with them to comply with POPI and ECT legislation.

Brad also used the person’s first name whenever he could.

Importantly, Brad remained genuine and authentic with all his interaction. There was never a hidden agenda in anything he did.

B2B marketing best practice

There were a number of B2B best practice online marketing principles and techniques which Brad used to good effect.

He always provided a compelling reason to connect and attempted whenever possible to use any interaction to ask the person to do something.

A prominent call to action was presented on all platforms which was very clearly identified by the prospective client.

Once he understood where his prospects were online, he made a point of being omnipresent on those platforms.

He personalised interaction whenever he could and was always genuine and authentic.

He was advised by his digital marketing specialist to invest in some paid media and this was done very selectively. He used search engine marketing and promoted posts on some of the social networks he was using.

Brad also invested in the services of a reputable email service provider to manage his email subscribers, email campaigns and post campaign analytics.

He made a point of identifying the important things to measure and did this regularly.

Brad also realised the importance of following up with his prospects and not leaving them hanging. The longer he waited to respond, the greater the chance the prospect would forget.

How did Brad benefit

So how did Brad benefit with his new approach to digital marketing?

Instead of pestering and annoying people with unsolicited communication, bragging about his company, his products, services and solutions, people were coming to him and he was being recommended to others by his current subscribers, followers and connections.

Brad also had much better visibility of his sales pipeline. Because he was publishing value-adding, interesting, compelling and educational thought leadership on a regular basis, he was able to nurture his communities, allowing them to make a buying decision when it suited them.

Regular publishing of content established Brad as a thought leader in his respective field and he was invited to present at conferences.

The new approach also afforded Brad more time to focus on closing business and as a results, he had more customers, established himself in new territories and generated more sales revenue.

Things to remember

Your customers are making the buying decisions and do not want to be sold to. They decide who they want to engage with, when they would like to engage and how they would like to engage.

New legislation out there protects consumers. I advise companies to use this to their advantage. The quicker you are connected with your prospects on social media and have receive permission to retain their personal details and communicate with them, the quicker you will have the upper hand on your competitors.

There is a proliferation of digital devices and communities and chances are, most of your prospects have access to a PC, laptop, smart phone or tablet and are participating on one of the popular social networks.

Always remember that everyone is connected in some form or other. You may email information to one person who will share it with another on Twitter who will share it with someone else on Facebook.

Besides the decision makers with whom you want to connect and interact, do not ignore others who may be influencers, recommenders, technical evaluators, gatekeepers and budget holders.

Everyone are buyers and want to buy. Decision makers at companies are given budgets which they need to spend. The important thing is that people hate being sold to. A good salesperson leads a person to a buying decision.

The Internet was originally created so people would share value-adding educational content. This has never changed. Any organisation that hopes to succeed in the digital age has to publish content that enriches the lives of others.

Consumers are hungry for content that is interesting, compelling, value-adding, entertaining, solves problems, helps them do their job better, educational and sharable.

For those who sell to senior decision-makers in organisations the ultimate is to present content which the recipient is willing to take into a board meeting to share.

The way people make decisions from a psychological level has never changed.

Conduct your marketing activities always being cognisant of the human psyche.

Interestingly, people attempt to sell themselves and their products in the exact way they themselves do not like. Always put yourself in the place of your prospective customer and ask the question “What's in it for me?”

Consumer loyalty wanes when they feel they are not being treated properly. Marketers who show real empathy and treat their customers as they themselves would expect to be treated, retain customers who will remain loyal and who will recommend your services to their friends, family and colleagues.

Some questions to consider

What is the perception of the digital marketing function? Does it add value?

Is your marketing strategy aligned with your corporate strategy?

Is your digital strategy aligned with your marketing strategy?

Are your marketing and sales departments aligned?

I would go on to suggest that you use the services of a reputable organisation to conduct a digital audit (internal and external) with the likes of your chief financial officer, your chief human resources officer, your chief marketing officer, your chief information officer, your chief risk officer and head of internal audit.