60 Savvy B2B Marketing

Inspirations

From the Six Savvy Sisters at www.SavvyB2BMarketing.com

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

Bite-sized Inspirations for Busy Marketers

Image Credit: The |G|TM

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 Examples of Humorous B2B.

Your Brand Voice

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

Photo credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/peanuttt/

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: omphale44 on flickr

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: horrrigans

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

Connecting with Your Audience

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?

Photo credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/marktee/

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

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

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!

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

Photo credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/dcjohn/

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

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

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?

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

Photo credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/somethingness

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

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

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

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.

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

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

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

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

Mastering Social Media

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

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

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

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

Crafting Content

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

Photo credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/eusebius/

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

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

Photo credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/praveenpn4u/

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

… 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

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

…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

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

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

…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

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

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 flickr

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

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

The Science Behind the Magic

…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

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

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

Photo credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/kierenpitts/

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

Pay peanuts, get monkeys. - KATE WADDELL from Pay Peanuts, Get Monkeys

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

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?

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?

Photo credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/kierenpitts/

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

There is nothing that will sink you faster than a boring headline. - KATE WADDELL from Win Free Sex! – Taking a Tip from the Tabloids

…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

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?

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

Photo credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/hellokayla/

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

Stop “writing” for the search engines. -KATE WADDELL from 4 Simple Steps to Turn You into an SEO Web Copywriting Pro

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

Photo credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/seatbelt67/

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?

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

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

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!

The Sisters Behind the Savvy Kate Headen Waddell kate@smartb2bmarcom.com www.smartb2bmarcomcom @kateheaden

Michele Linn michele@linncommunications.com www.linncommunications.com @michelelinn

Heather Rubesch heather@idea2paper.com

913.549.3672 @idea2paper

Wendy E N Thomas wethomas@gmail.com

www.simplethrift.wordpress.com @WendyENThomas

Stephanie Tilton stilton@tentonmarketing.com www.tentonmarketing.com @stephanietilton

Jamie Wallace jamie@suddenlymarketing.com www.suddenlymarketing.com @suddenlyjamie