Fabric RFID Wristbands in Ireland for Events and Festivals
60 savvy b2_b_marketing_inspirations
1. 60 Savvy B2B Marketing
Inspirations
From the Six Savvy Sisters at www.SavvyB2BMarketing.com
2. Bite-sized Inspirations for Busy
Marketers
Looking for inspirational ideas and practical insights to take
your marketing to the next level? The Six Savvy Sisters have
boiled down three years' worth of their award-winning blog
posts into 60 bite-sized morsels for your quick consumption.
So take a quick trip through the surprisingly sexy and
creative world of B2B marketing. We hope you’ll find
something to sweeten up your next inspired initiative!
Brought to you by the 6 Savvy Sisters at www.SavvyB2BMarketing.com
3. Life is not meant to be that hard, and neither is
marketing. Every once in a while, a swift kick in
the pants is just what the doctor ordered to
remind us not to take ourselves quite so
goddamn seriously.
- JAMIE WALLACE from WTF, B2B, Lighten up already! 7
The |G|TM Examples of Humorous B2B.
5. The soul of the brand needs to be the same in all
mediums. You must be authentic with your audience
where ever they encounter your brand.
- HEATHER RUBESCH from What Barbie and Pong can teach us about Consumer Experience marketing
6. It might be naive to think that modern businesses are above this sort of touchy-feely behavior
but as I sat across from this guy, who was incredibly happy with the fact that people showed up
to his restaurant to play board games on Thursday nights, I couldn't help but think, maybe there
really is a place in our world for a business where “everyone knows your name.”
– WENDY E. N. THOMAS from The Place Where Everyone Knows Your Name
Photo credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/peanuttt/
7. While variety may be the spice of life, inconsistency is
the doom of brands…Ultimately, branding is about
setting expectations -- and meeting them.
– STEPHANIE TILTON from Making a Case for Consistency in B2B Case Studies
Photo credit: omphale44 on flickr
8. Your brand isn’t defined by what you say, it’s defined by what
your customers say. It is a “living” asset that evolves or devolves
based on the quality of the relationship between you and your
customers.
– JAMIE WALLACE from How to Create Strong Branding That Kicks Your Fear to the
Curb So You Can Soar
Photo Credit: horrrigans
10. If you can reach your target market with a message that
really speaks to their problems, you will automatically
stand out from the crowd of milquetoast, gray, bland
marketing messages that your prospective clients are
busy ignoring.
- KATE WADDELL from Who the Heck Do You Think You ARE?
11. I can design the best learning series or write the best manual but if
my audience is incapable of relating to it or doesn’t have the
capacity to understand it, I might as well throw my money to the
wind.
– WENDY E. N. THOMAS from What My Greyhound Taught Me about Nailing Audience Needs
Photo credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/marktee/
12. Lest we forget (and it's easy
to do), everything we do is
being "consumed" by a real
person, not an organization,
a department or a nebulous
title. The more personal,
targeted and relevant we can
be, the greater the chance
that they'll be delighted -
and we'll be remembered.
- MICHELE LINN from Be Unexpected: What B2B
Marketers Can Learn from a Resale Shop
13. In B2B the sales cycle is long
and often requires
educating customers on the
ROI and value at many
levels and in various
departments. Being an
excellent teacher who is
willing to adapt to different
learning styles is practically
a requirement to weave the
maze of customer
engagement that is required
to close most deals.
- HEATHER RUBESCH from Want to be Essential
and Memorable? Teach Your Prospects!
14. If I had a nickel for
every time
someone said they
wanted to target
“C-level
executives” I’d
have a whole lot of
nickels.
- KATE WADDELL from What Savvy
Marketers Can Learn from a Guy Who
Spent $6 on Google AdWords
15. Being specific with your words might just mean the difference between connecting
with your audience and getting something accomplished or ultimately getting
bopped on the head by someone who didn't truly understand what you were saying.
– WENDY E. N. THOMAS from Little Bunny Foo Foo and the Art of Being Specific
Photo credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/dcjohn/
16. Like any parent can attest, you never know how your child will respond to something you are
trying. Sometimes you think you are doing the right things, but then your child doesn’t respond.
Or, on those great days, you accidentally stumble on something that works wonders. The same
is true with content marketing: you never know what is going to work until you try it.
- MICHELE LINN from A 7-Step Plan for Getting Started with Content Marketing
17. Unfortunately, when it comes to their customers, many companies display the
same cavalier behavior as a typical playboy. Instead of cultivating meaningful,
long-term relationships, these conquest-based companies put notches in the
headboard and then - hardly pausing to say "thank you" - head back out to
revel in the thrill of the chase.
So not cool.
- JAMIE WALLACE from Is Your Business the Marrying Kind, or a One-Night Stand?
18. Assuming the sale is one thing…taking your
customers for granted is another.
- KATE WADDELL from Election Reflections; What Martha Coakley Can Teach You about Your Next
Marketing Initiative
19. Shock and awe, it’s not just a military tactic. When used in writing and presentations,
it’s also a tremendously effective way to get one’s attention.
– WENDY E. N. THOMAS from Shock and Awe Guidelines for Use in Writing and Presentations: Tread
Gently While Going for Blood
Photo credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/somethingness
20. B2B buyers expect their interactions with your company to be seamless every
step of the way. If there’s any discontinuity between the information marketers
present and the conversations sales reps spark up, the prospect is likely to bail.
– STEPHANIE TILTON from B2B Marketers: Are You Delivering a B2C-Worthy Buying Experience?
Photo credit: svenwerk on flickr
21. Though we humans like to think we
make choices based on a logical
thought process, the truth is we
usually make decisions based on gut
reactions. We “like” a person or a
product or a brand “just because.”
Though a side-by-side comparison of
two similar products might tell us that
product A is the logical choice, if
product B has found a way to connect
with our human, emotional side, it
will have the edge.
- JAMIE WALLACE from Be Human. Your Customers Will
Thank You.
Image Credit: WebWizzard
22. People are more
inspired by reaching
for something great
than merely avoiding
something unpleasant.
- KATE WADDELL from Are You Scaring Your Customers
with Too Much Doom and Gloom? Reframe Your
Messaging Formula for Even Bigger Impact.
23. Audience rapport is critical to conversion. An audience is just a bunch
of onlookers until you make them part of the experience. Create an
interaction that is genuine, personal, and relevant. Don’t be afraid to
let people participate. Build trust by listening closely and adapting
based on what you hear.
- JAMIE WALLACE from Build Your Audience Like Your Life Depended On It on {grow}
Image Credit :The Red Trouser Show
24. Think of your web copy as
trying to get a date with
an attractive stranger you
meet at a cocktail party.
- KATE WADDELL from People Aren’t Reading Your Web
Copy? It’s Not Them, It’s You
25. One way to provide value to prospects and customers
is to help them easily find information of interest..
– STEPHANIE TILTON from
How to Create Remarkable B2B Content
Photo credit: kugel on flickr
26. Put together scarcity and
exclusivity and you’ve got a
powerful motivational force
that will knock buyers out of
complacency and send them
clamoring to your door.
- KATE WADDELL from What Marketers Can Learn from a Rogue Underground Barely-
Legal Restaurant
28. Social media
can be a
lifeline or a
noose. The
question is:
where do you
fall on the
spectrum and
how can you
get the most
out of your
social media
time?
-JAMIE WALLACE from
Social media balance: a
rant, a lament, and 5 tips
Image Credit: stiatska
29. If you are going to foray into social media you need to
be prepared to follow-up, follow-through and check
your account religiously. Anything else is just a fail.
-KATE WADDELL from Social Marketing fail – How NOT to Use Twitter
30. The businesses who succeed in social media are the ones that think
of their audience less like "targets" and more like "allies.” They pay
attention to the social cues and create a respectful dialog that
allows them to learn valuable insights. They give their audience
credit for being at least as smart as they are.
- JAMIE WALLACE from Important Social Lessons from Avatar
Image Credit: Bluedharma
31. The folks who are already
buyers/subscribers/fans are
your most valuable asset. You
already know they like you. If
you engage them in a real way…
… they will love you.
Even better, they will share your
stuff with their social network
friends. It’s a circle of good
social karma – you reach out,
they respond, you keep up the
dialog, they share, new folks
discover you, you respond to
them … and so on and on and
on…
- JAMIE WALACE from Building Your Social Network
from Scratch
33. Readers don't really want a laundry-list of resources, but rather
they want to be easily educated.
- MICHELE LINN from Is Less Content Better? 5 Steps to Simplify B2B Marketing Content
34. By pulling like items together, turning the focus outward in an effort to acknowledge
clients, and by being a bit more bold about who you are and why you are clearly the
better choice, you will be well on your way to getting your message out, loud and
clear, for all to find.
– WENDY E. N. THOMAS from 6 Tips to Strengthen Your Business Internet Message
Photo credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/eusebius/
35. You don’t have to create content from scratch to deliver value.
Curating and pointing folks to content of interest, inviting others to
contribute content, and putting a new spin on existing content are all
ways to generate a fresh stream of content that keeps your audience
coming back for more.
– STEPHANIE TILTON from 21 Things Content Marketing Experts Wish They Had
Known When They Got Started
Photo credit: tomswift46 on flickr
36. How many kids do you know start stories off with the history first? No, they
want your attention and they are very good at getting it. Having someone
come up to you and say “Guess What?” forces you to focus and stop what
you are doing to reply “What?”
– WENDY E. N. THOMAS from Everything I Needed to Know About Writing I Learned from My Kids
Photo credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/praveenpn4u/
37. … less is more, but sometimes you have to put in more
effort to get to the shorter version. Do the legwork to
get your message tight and focused.
- JAMIE WALLACE from Marketing Copy Secrets: How to Make “Less” More
Image Credit: Stephie189
38. You must constantly ask yourself – Does my product live up to the
marketing? If the answer is no then something has to give. Either you
pull back and reflect some of the features as “in development” or you
put in the hard work to develop them as part of the base product.
- HEATHER RUBESCH from Marketing is Not Magic
39. …you can’t consistently deliver relevant content if you segment only by those characteristics
[prospect’s title and role]. After all, how much do you know about a potential buyer based
solely on what’s listed on his or her business card?
– STEPHANIE TILTON from How to Join the Ranks of Best-in-Class Content Marketers
Photo credit: Curtis Gregory Perry on flickr
40. While there is value in
promoting recent content, I
all-too-often see companies
focusing primarily on
recent content instead of
the most relevant content,
especially if they have a
blog.
- MICHELE LINN from 3 Ideas on How to Feature the Most
Relevant Content on Your Website
41. Business innovations should be communicated in a show-
don't-tell way. If I have to tell you it's innovative, it's
probably just more of the same old crap packaged up in a
new way.
- JAMIE WALLACE from The Truth About Innovation
Image Credit: Steve-h
42. …start considering your content as the core value you’re providing
to prospects. Of course the ultimate goal is to help your
organization generate revenues. But the first step is to produce
content that is irresistible and relevant to prospective buyers.
– STEPHANIE TILTON from The 7 Keys to Transforming from Marketer to Publisher
Photo credit: spettacolopuro on flickr
43. The best B2B marketers I
know have a knack for
explaining things in very easy-
to-understand terms. I admire
these people greatly because
it is much more difficult to
explain things simply than it is
to use big, academic words.
- MICHELE LINN from Eight Things Your Prospects
Wish You Knew
44. In this age of the
empowered buyer,
successful organizations
are the ones that shift
from being product and
company focused to
organizing around
prospect and buyer
concerns and perspectives.
– STEPHANIE TILTON from CMOs: Wield
Powers of Influence to Gain a Seat at the
Executive Table
Photo credit: TheG-Forcers on flick
45. More content is not what
our prospects want, is it?
What they want is to
understand. This may
seem obvious, but in the
fervor to create content, I
think it is easy to lose
sight of this.
- MICHELE LINN from Get Back to Basics: 4 Key
Questions for B2B Content Marketing
46. What’s especially appealing about content marketing is that
when companies deliver content prospects find relevant and
valuable, they're seen as a trusted advisor. And that’s an
enviable position for any organization.
– STEPHANIE TILTON from Analyzing the Competition Where it Counts
Photo credit: image munky on flickr
48. …embrace your new place in
B2B marketing and step outside
of your comfort zone. It’s a
mind-set that can ignite your
engine, providing the fuel
needed to drive your daily
passion.
– STEPHANIE TILTON from
B2B Marketers: Are Your Glasses Half
Empty or Half Full?
Photo credit: mattsabo17 on flickr
49. So, what makes a good call to action? It’s specific,
logical and easy.
- MICHELE LINN from 3 Keys to a Winning Call to Action for B2B Content
50. If you want people to read your content and not just scan
use smaller type. Text has better recall for facts and data
but graphics are better for new or unfamiliar concepts.
- HEATHER RUBESCH from The Eyes Have It
51. Not everyone is adept at humor, if you are by now you know it. If you have a strong
and tested sense of humor, you need to trust it and jump in with both feet taking a
chance in your writing. Intelligent humor, well delivered may sometimes miss the
mark but it will always make a splash
– WENDY E. N. THOMAS from Mark Twain: What a Dead American Humorist Can Teach us About B2B Writing
Photo credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/kierenpitts/
53. As B2B marketers we do our clients little good to make them sound
better than they actually are. We aren’t writing infomercial copy. We
need to focus on proven results and documentable case studies as the
sharpest tools in our bag.
- HEATHER RUBESCH from Marketing is Not Magic
Photo Credit to Livia Labate
54. The very act of
having a schedule
and sticking to it
helps get the juices
flowing.
- MICHELE LINN from How Remarkable
Does Your B2B Content Need to Be?
55. A great ice breaker for any business cold contact is to
provide a link to information or data the prospect can
use. I recommend clients use third party data, a news story
or analyst report .
- HEATHER RUBESCH from So you have a prospect list….now what?
56. The bottom line is this. I’m just as busy as you are. If you make my life easier as a
writer, chances are, I will make your life easier by picking up and writing about your
press release.
– WENDY E. N. THOMAS from Write a Great Press Release: 6 Tips from a Journalist Who Has
Seen it All
Photo credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/kierenpitts/
57. There is nothing that will sink you
faster than a boring headline.
- KATE WADDELL from Win Free Sex! – Taking a Tip from the Tabloids
58. …registration can
create friction in the
lead generation and
nurturing process…
by making it easy for
prospects and
customers to access
the information they
need, you will deliver
an experience that
stands out…
– STEPHANIE TILTON from
Are Your Content
Registration Forms an
Entry Point or a Barrier?
Photo credit: Patrick Hoesly on flickr
59. As marketers, it can
be tempting to jam
every bit of detail into
a white paper or a
webcast because we
want our prospects to
know everything we
think is important.
However, most
prospects are like me:
they can only absorb
so much information,
so if you share too
many details, they'll
tune out.
- MICHELE LINN from Are You Giving
Your B2B Prospects Too Much
Information?
60. The first rule of ethical competitive
intelligence is honesty. Be honest
about who you are and why you
want the information you are
seeking.
-HEATHER RUBESCH from
Do you know your enemy? A competitive intelligence primer
61. First person testimonials are among one of the most effective tools you can use in
marketing writing. Boy, if you can find someone to speak highly of your product or to
publically endorse your company that will go a long way in creating credibility and
authority with your readers. We want to trust others, we really do.
– WENDY E. N. THOMAS from Mark Twain: What a Dead American Humorist Can Teach us About B2B Writing
Photo credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/hellokayla/
62. Stop “writing” for the
search engines.
-KATE WADDELL from 4 Simple Steps to Turn You into an SEO Web Copywriting Pro
63. Be a good steward of corporate
success and take some time
immediately after the launch to hold a
stakeholder meeting and capture what
worked and what didn’t. The power
of perception changes over time so it
is important to assess shortly after the
launch.
- HEATHER RUBESCH from Pacing Your Product Marketing Launch for
Success
Photo Credit photographyblogger.net
64. When asking a question designed to get comments, you have to create emotion, use
friendly (if not downright buddy-like) language, and you need to allow your readers
to use imagination, to tell us what they think and feel. Your readers need to be put in
a position of thinking, hmm, well I would....
– WENDY E. N. THOMAS from Using Questions to Get Comments: What is the Absolute Best
Method?
Photo credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/seatbelt67/
65. Quit revising and start over! A rewrite in the proper frame
of mind will take less time and energy. I have been doing
this long enough to remember electric
typewriters. Remember the thrill of feeding in that clean
white sheet of paper and tabbing over for the title? Go to
that point and begin.
- HEATHER RUBESCH from I Know You Hear Me but are You HEARING ME? – 3 Steps to Fixing Your Tone
Photo Credit photosbyceline.com
66. Oftentimes, it's difficult to know what makes you unique or to say it in a
way that makes you stand out. Getting an outside perspective can really
help give you a new perspective.
- MICHELE LINN from 7 Ideas on How to Help You Differentiate Yourself on Your Website
67. Read a minimum of 10 posts on the blog you are asking to guest post for. Make sure
you fit the tone and topicality of that blog. If not move on. Don’t try to fit a square
peg in a round hole!
- HEATHER RUBESCH from Want to Be a Rock Star Guest Poster? Read This!
68. The Sisters Behind the Savvy
Kate Headen Waddell Michele Linn
kate@smartb2bmarcom.com michele@linncommunications.com
www.smartb2bmarcomcom www.linncommunications.com
@kateheaden @michelelinn
Heather Rubesch Wendy E N Thomas
heather@idea2paper.com wethomas@gmail.com
913.549.3672 www.simplethrift.wordpress.com
@idea2paper @WendyENThomas
Stephanie Tilton Jamie Wallace
stilton@tentonmarketing.com jamie@suddenlymarketing.com
www.tentonmarketing.com www.suddenlymarketing.com
@stephanietilton @suddenlyjamie