The Marketing Maven: Industrial Marketing Blog & B2B Marketing Tips

Why Consider Direct Mail In Uncertain Economic Times?

It’s evident that during uncertain economic times marketing is vulnerable to budget cuts and scaling down. While this is true, it can also mean an opportunity for companies who continue to market, to stand out even more – this certainly holds true in the case of using direct mail.

According to BtoB online’s article “Dealing with Recession: personalizing direct mail can rekindle delight of finding something special in the mailbox”, the simple fact that we are no longer being inundated with direct mail due to cost increases and budgets being cut, means your company has a chance to increase its visibility. Yours may well be the only piece in someone’s mailbox these days – imagine the interest your mail could garner being the sole focus of someone’s attention.

Become a Marketing Hero in 2009

Being the hero to your sales team means generating quality sales leads and using marketing media that produces results on a tight budget. In a sea of headlines about a challenging economy, we want to remind you of some marketing best practices that will help you succeed. Be on your way to marketing heroics, starting today.

Four Signs of Stalled Growth

Last week I attended the NY Capital Region American Marketing Association's lunch seminar.  Steve McKee of McKee Wallwork Cleaveland Advertising and author of a new book, When Growth Stalls, was the speaker. 

In his talk, Steve outlined four major signs that a company may be in a down turn.  Those four signs are:

• Lack of consensus among senior management
• Lack of focus in the market
• Loss of nerve
• Inconsistency in marketing

You can visit his Web site and take the self-diagnosis quiz to see if your company is healthy or has the potential signs of stalled growth.

In today's economy it is easy to blame growth issues on external factors but first you should look within to make sure it is not a result of internal problems. 

The Economy: There’s Opportunity Amidst the Doom and Gloom

It’s no fun reading about the state of the economy. The bad news seems to be everywhere: layoffs, cutbacks, closings. If you are feeling anxious or panicked, you’re not alone. But my intention isn’t to pile on the negative news; it is to provide you with the latest research that can help you create a solid plan to succeed in the current economy.

In January of this year, GlobalSpec conducted an economic outlook survey of its North American registered user base of engineering, technical, manufacturing and industrial professionals. Not surprisingly, survey results reinforced what we already know: the economy has had a measurable impact on the industrial sector, and companies.

On the brighter side, the research also revealed pockets of market opportunity for suppliers and manufacturers. Yes, some industries are hit harder than others but engineers and technical professionals are still specifying and purchasing products and services. There is still demand out there, and that’s positive news. But today’s reality is that you have to work smarter and harder to win your share of business.

GlobalSpec put together a white paper analyzing the survey results and offering specific recommendations for suppliers to succeed in this economy. You can download your copy here: 2009 Economic Outlook Survey—How Industrial Companies can Succeed in the Current Economy.

Social Media Map All on One Page

I read this post in Integrated Marcom Minute Blog which references this handy one page summary of all the sites you need to know when it comes to social media, networking and blogging.

If you are wondering how to get started with social media or how you can make it work for your company, I recommend checking out some of the sites. Experience them as a user and it will help orient you to how social media could work for promoting your brand.

E-mail Marketing: Five Do’s, Five Don’ts

By now, most suppliers and service providers in the industrial sector should be using e-mail for marketing purposes. E-mail remains an effective marketing tactic in the business-to-business world, your customers and prospects are receptive to e-mail, and it’s relatively inexpensive and easy to do.

If you follow proven advice you will get good results from e-mail marketing, but if you make mistakes you run the risk of angering your customers and prospects, harming your brand, or even getting blacklisted by ISPs.

Here are five do’s and five don’ts to make you a more effective e-mail marketer.

Change your Messaging for Success in 2009: 5 Tips

The concept of messaging within the role of marketing is paramount. It also may be so automatic that you haven't thought about how it should change and morph given the challenging economy.

1. Product messaging needs to be turned around to be benefit specific instead of product feature specific.
2. Messaging should be focused on cost savings and how you can help them do more with less.
3. Changing where you are messaging to your clients and prospects is also critical in 2009 - online marketing vehicles such as e-newsletters and email will help to stay in front of your target audience despite smaller budgets.
4. Ask yourself if your messaging is offering something your target audience will want to act on. It's important to stay current and action focused.
5. Be sure to include multiple offers. The more hooks in the water in 2009, the better. You never know what stage of the buying cycle your audience is in.

To read more about how to market in a challenging economy, go to: http://www.globalspec.com/advertising/wp/ChallengingTimes_WP.pdf