Online Marketing Blog

B2B Marketing: Our Shared History (From the 2012 MarketingProfs B2B Forum)

For the record, B2B Marketing is not boring.  It is an industry ripe with opportunity for innovation and creativity.  This video from MarketingProfs takes you on a short journey though the history of B2B Marketing.  For more helpful tips be sure to check out the B2B Marketing Innovation eBook.

Coca-Cola Equips Vending Machines With Kinects, Lets You Dance For Free Cokes
In an effort to remain the number 1 global brand, Coca-Cola has come up with an innovative and interactive advertising campaign.  Coca-Cola has equipped a number of their vending machines with webcams and Microsoft Kinect sensons.  In order to win a free soda you must follow a series of dance moves shown the on the screen.  Via SingularityHUB.

Customer preferences for information discovery, consumption and engagement have evolved in a way that requires marketers to adapt. In particular, B2B marketers have had to find new and innovative ways to communicate with customers over long sales cycles filled with digital distractions from smartphones, tablets, computers and other connected devices.  Content types are equally diverse and can range from videos to white papers to infographics and even cartoons.

Tom Fishburne is the Founder and CEO of the wildly popular Marketoonist and in this interview, he’ll share a sneak peek into his B2B Marketing Forum presentation, the importance of storytelling, deciding on visual content and his prediction on the future of B2B Marketing and innovation.

We’re big fans of your work!  Please describe how you become a “Marketoonist”.  Did your journey really start with doodling on business cases at Harvard?

Determining why your company should engage in a social media plan is one of the first and most important steps.  Working towards the “what” without the “why” can result in wasted time, money and set a B2B marketing program off track.

Next up in our B2B marketing innovation interview series is Mack Collier, a well known and respected social media strategist and trainer specializing in helping companies better connect with their customers via social media. Mack is also the force behind #BlogChat, the largest organized chat on Twitter.

In this interview, Mack dives into four things brands can do to cultivate and connect with fans, as well as well as three basic questions every marketer should ask themselves before embarking on a social media marketing program. He also offers sage advice on B2B marketing innovation and tools.

Building a solid marketing team and ensuring the company is on the same page with prospect and customer communications is essential for B2B marketing success.

In the 3rd interview of this week’s series on B2B Marketing Innovation, Monetate’s Rob Yoegel takes a deep dive into working with a team to create compelling content for more effective B2B marketing.  From marketing on a shoestring budget to practical tips on being more innovative with B2B content, Rob gives a great overview on the importance of innovation for B2B marketing success.

Please tell us about your role at Monetate and the kind of B2B marketing work you’re most excited about there.

Finding a way to influence your prospects, customers, and company advocates is an essential part of doing business in today’s digital world.  Finding different methods of creating influence is essential with complex purchasing processes often present with B2B marketing.

Fortunately, we have the insight of savvy B2B marketers who are out in the field, developing, testing and implementing best practices that are willing to share with our readers here at Online Marketing Blog.

To that end, next up in our series of B2B Marketing expert interviews is PTC’s Alan Belniak.  As Director of Social Media Marketing, Alan focuses on product lifecycle management developing strategy and innovating the right mix of social media tactics to create influence and and value with their business customers.

As customers evolve and change the way that they find and consume information, marketers must innovate their approach to meet customers where they’re looking, especially in the social media world.

Business to Business marketing can involve many decision makers and sales cycles that take weeks or months.  Navigating the mix of social content types for different customer segments over time can be a challenge. Luckily, we’ve picked the brains of some of the digital marketing’s world’s brightest to share their practical and innovative B2B marketing tips.

To that end, we visited with Amber Naslund, who is a business strategist with a strong focus on social media communication and community initiatives in the B2B Marketing arena.  Amber is the co-author of The NOW Revolution, and her blog Brass Tack Thinking has been recognized for excellence in social media and community related content.

When most marketers think of innovation it usually refers to improving upon or coming up with a new way of accomplishing a particular goal.  Perhaps it’s updating a marketing process, or introducing new services or solutions to better meet customer needs.  Innovating within B2B marketing can be tough. Many may argue that “it’s all been done before”.  The reality is, there is always an opportunity to innovate.

In preparation for the upcoming MarketingProfs B2B Marketing Forum TopRank Online Marketing has partnered with MarketingProfs to put together a series of interviews from some of B2B marketing’s biggest stars.

Kicking off our interview series is Cisco’s Tim Washer.  Tim is a corporate storyteller that produces comedies, documentaries and someday, an informercial.  Tim’s work has appeared in Advertising Age and The New York Times, and his comedy credits include the Late Show with David Letterman and SNL.

“There’s a common belief that it’s tougher to come up with new marketing ideas for B2B than for consumer products. But most experienced marketers know that innovation exists within B2B as much or more as it does with B2C marketing – just in different ways.  Please share a tip on how companies can come up with new and innovative ideas for their B2B marketing efforts.”

That’s the question I posed to some of the top B2B marketing professionals for the MarketingProfs B2B Marketing Innovation eBook project that TopRank Online Marketing is working on. The B2B Forum is coming up fast in Boston Oct 3-5 and there’s more interest now than ever, in how to innovate.