ThinkSpring Marketing & Communications

Seen+Heard: Build your best budget

Diane Fiderlein — Fri, 18 May 2012 12:07:07 +0000

If you’ve ever struggled to find the right numbers, gain consensus from team members or make your marketing budget process more like a discipline and less like a guessing game, then this week’s “Best of the web” is for you.

The Harvard Business Review shares three quick tips for creating a realistic budget.

Check it out.>>

Every Friday, Seen+Heard presents a link to some of the best B2B marketing thinking on the web. Have a great B2B article to share or a topic you’d like to see? Tweet me @ThinkSpringMktg or contact me.

B2B marketing tip #56: Signing off

Diane Fiderlein — Mon, 14 May 2012 12:36:17 +0000

Consistency breeds professionalism and confidence in your brand. Extend it across the organization with standard email and voicemail signatures.

Develop a brand-compliant format and distribute it across the company. Ask HR and IT to incorporate these elements into the new employee welcome process.

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B2B marketing tip #55: Reward loyalty—and retain customers

Diane Fiderlein — Mon, 07 May 2012 12:33:26 +0000

I hate it when the cable company offers new customers a deep discount—and ignores me as a long-time subscriber. When it costs five to ten times more to get a new customer than to keep a current one, the ROI equation for marketing is clear.

Think carefully about extending offers to prospects without demonstrating corresponding value to your established customer base. Consider developing a formal program to maximize customer retention.

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B2B marketing tip #54: A better way to choose

Diane Fiderlein — Mon, 30 Apr 2012 12:31:02 +0000

It’s a safe bet the marketing wish list includes more items than available resources can complete. Next time you need to prioritize activities or collect group input for a decision, remove the subjectivity and come to agreement with speed.

List the choices in one column, then ask stakeholders to mark each item Required, Desired, or Nice. If needed, prompt for a rationale on all “required” items—the reason that justifies higher priority for those projects.

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B2B marketing tip #53: Stay on the case

Diane Fiderlein — Mon, 23 Apr 2012 12:18:39 +0000

Overcome the skeptics and boost your public relations efforts by developing a library of first-person customer success stories. A strong case study presents a before-and-after story that’s loaded with specifics, tangible benefits and a first-person account in the customer’s own words.

Do your homework before requesting a customer interview: meet with sales reps or account managers to outline the story, then draft potential questions so customers can respond thoughtfully.

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B2B marketing tip #52: Recruit your farm team

Diane Fiderlein — Mon, 16 Apr 2012 12:14:43 +0000

As baseball season kicks off, take a page from the major leagues and start drafting your reserves—the freelance talent and agency resources you may need to quickly step in on a future project.

Identify copywriters, designers, photographers, printers, project managers and programmers, ask for samples and references and keep a list of potential candidates. Ask your network for referrals and recommendations.

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B2B marketing tip #51: Prune your programs

Diane Fiderlein — Mon, 09 Apr 2012 13:09:56 +0000

Gardeners know that periodic trimming promotes lush and fruitful growth. The same techniques apply to marketing. At least once a year, review your activities. Sunset or reconfigure those that require the most effort but produce the fewest returns. Freeing up resources leaves room to improve efficiency, expand effective programs or test new techniques.

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B2B marketing tip #50: Ready, set, action

Diane Fiderlein — Mon, 02 Apr 2012 11:38:28 +0000

Build a better website by focusing on action first and content second.

Think and plan with your prospect’s behavior in mind. What does your ideal web visitor want to accomplish on your site? What actions do you want this visitor to take?

Develop interactive content and navigation that lets visitors achieve these tasks with the fewest clicks possible.

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B2B marketing tip #49: Dictionary, please

Diane Fiderlein — Mon, 26 Mar 2012 11:35:50 +0000

Improve the relationship between marketing and sales by documenting the definition of a qualified lead.

Use objective criteria, such as demographic information about the business or yes/no questions a prospect can easily answer.

Be clear on which answers indicate a qualified buyer ready to be passed on to sales, and which prospects it remains marketing’s responsibility to nurture.

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B2B marketing tip #48: Print smart

Diane Fiderlein — Mon, 19 Mar 2012 11:32:53 +0000

Is your marketing budget tied up in a dustry storeroom stuffed with boxes of brochures? Investigate print-on-demand options that facilitate high-quality, short-run output. Use this method to reduce costs, improve accuracy and even customize materials by sales rep or territory.

Follow the B2B Marketing “Tip of the Week” every Monday for a short, practical recommendation to improve your marketing effectiveness. Looking for suggestions in a specific area? Tweet me your request @ThinkSpringMktg or contact me.