T Shape Solutions - Latest Comments

Re: Mistakes that Marketers Make With Content

staback — Sun, 03 Jul 2011 07:18:57 -0000

Nora, well stated. We get so wrapped up in our own value proposition that we forget about our reason of being a business: trying to solve a customer's problem or need. Just think if we could all follow that rule how much less clutter there would be to sift through everyday.

Re: Mistakes that Marketers Make With Content

Nora Hill — Wed, 29 Jun 2011 04:37:52 -0000

The problem as I see it is that most companies lack the marketing ability and/or understand how and what the basic marketing principles are. i.e.
* Sell the benefits not the features
* Who is your target audience/market
* How do you fulfil their needs
After that it is really simple. We often forget the customer and they after all are the most important component

Re: Mistakes that Marketers Make With Content

staback — Mon, 27 Jun 2011 10:38:09 -0000

Thanks Mary! I have had a lot of time to reflect on this very concept since leaving IBM. In some cases, especially with an industry leader, you lose focus on the people aspect and rely on the Brand to carry the weight. Admittedly it took me a while to snap out of that product/brand first state of mind. With owning my own business I don't have the luxury of a huge brand like IBM to get into the door. Now it's all about people and networking that is going to make me successful.

Re: Mistakes that Marketers Make With Content

Mary Conley Eggert — Mon, 27 Jun 2011 09:02:07 -0000

Agree with your external focus, Scott! People love to hear stories about industry successes and trials. While some might suggest that people won't remember your products/services, people buy from people, and relevant stories go much further in elevating thought leadership than sales talk.

Re: Mistakes that Marketers Make With Content

Paul Flanigan — Sat, 25 Jun 2011 14:46:48 -0000

Not easy, but I find the best business relationships I have are with people who have been on both sides of the table. They understand. And, not too surprisingly, that's where a lot of the business gets done. You can get past the riffraff of pitches and presentations and get down to business.

Not easy.

Re: Mistakes that Marketers Make With Content

Maggiea — Sat, 25 Jun 2011 12:59:55 -0000

Good stuff! Thank you for sharing...

Re: Mistakes that Marketers Make With Content

staback — Sat, 25 Jun 2011 11:25:12 -0000

Thanks for you response Paul and excellent point. I wonder how this same argument could apply to B2B sales and marketing?

Re: Mistakes that Marketers Make With Content

Paul Flanigan — Sat, 25 Jun 2011 10:13:27 -0000

Scott,

I have always maintained that the very best way to be a marketer is to never stop being a customer. Working for retail, professional sports, and now software, it's amazing how often I run into people who never really buy the products they are supposed to sell.

To me, that should be the first rule of marketing.

Re: Mistakes that Marketers Make With Content

staback — Fri, 24 Jun 2011 15:50:00 -0000

Good to hear Joe! You've got some great content on your site that really exemplifies these points.

Re: Mistakes that Marketers Make With Content

Joe LoPresto — Fri, 24 Jun 2011 11:51:51 -0000

Great blog post Scott. Will use this regularly with our content publishing process. Thanks!

Re: 5 Steps To Create Your Sales Funnel

staback — Thu, 23 Jun 2011 12:48:53 -0000

George, Thanks for the reply. I am in complete agreement with what you are saying about matching the sales process with the buying process. In fact I preach that exact sentiment where ever I go. Building a sales funnel from the "Customer Up" will undoubtedly speed up the sales cycle by providing your company quality leads. Thanks for your insight!

Re: 5 Steps To Create Your Sales Funnel

George Petri — Thu, 23 Jun 2011 12:30:08 -0000

I agree with the way you have approached the creation of the sales funnel, but I would go further and suggest that it is necessary to marry the sales cycle that a sales person is going through to the buying cycle of the prospect so that the two are in step as much as is possible throughout the sale sprocess. Therefore in building the sales funnel it is necessary to have a good understanding of how the propsect would buy.

Re: Business to Business Blogging

Phil Black — Tue, 15 Mar 2011 11:35:51 -0000

Thanks for sharing this, Scott. In the end of the day, a customer wants to know the company they are working with has a 'human presence', and what better way that to share personal interests and insights online? This is much like small talk at a business meeting - when we engage a client on a personal level... whether we ask about their kids or their interests - not only does it make the meeting more fun, it aids in understanding for key business aspects.

Re: Business to Business Blogging

staback — Mon, 14 Mar 2011 11:22:38 -0000

Spot on Parth....couldn't have said it better. Reading your blog, you certainly practice what you preach.

Re: Business to Business Blogging

Parth Srinivasa — Mon, 14 Mar 2011 00:47:49 -0000

Blogging is all about content and relevance. Content is like "stock the pond" or as I saw recently in a creative forum, "content is the new black". You simply write to show expertise and passion for your subject - as they say, helping is the new selling.

Relevance is when someone finds you via search engines, the message resonates with them. It's not about eyeballs. Remember at this point you are connecting with someone one on one who is vested in what they are looking for.

Sure, there are added benefits of saving on marketing spend etc., and there's the question of ROI. That becomes more valuable as you spend on blogging itself, or reallocating resources. But at it's core, this is a deeply personal message that you better start getting it out there.

Re: Business to Business Blogging

Don Scheibenreif — Sat, 12 Mar 2011 16:43:07 -0000

Great examples Scott - B2B companies need to realize they can build relationships through helpful stories, much like the B2C companies do. B2B customers look for value and insights from their suppliers and a blog, done correctly, can be a great touchpoint.

Re: Business to Business Blogging

Imran_kareem — Fri, 11 Mar 2011 19:44:37 -0000

Great article Scott. As one of the other comments mentioned, it seems blogging is a great way for leadership of an organization to develop relationships internally and externally at minimal costs. At a macro level and for anyone in an organization, it's a great way to "soft sell", promote the value of an organization, and develop an on-going relationship with a community. Best of all, it's fun!

Re: Public Relations in today’s interconnected world: Content

Joe LoPresto — Thu, 10 Mar 2011 18:28:04 -0000

Some great tips Scott. Thanks for sharing. We are ready to move into podcasting and video and will use your guidance on these media types. Not sure we're following the 1/3 rule, but I like it and we'll adjust things toward that goal. As always, your advise is spot on and to the point. Just what we need.

Re: Top 5 Tools for Online Marketing

Joe LoPresto — Thu, 10 Mar 2011 18:21:02 -0000

These are great Scott. I'm going to start using them. Thanks for sharing.

I've used the metrics and reports inside of Constant Contact (my company newsletter service) to better understand which newsletters are effective and what content inside each edition is getting the most viewer interest and clicks. It has really helped to do that over time and I've changed our content and approach based on these data points.

Re: Business to Business Blogging

Joe LoPresto — Thu, 10 Mar 2011 18:13:05 -0000

Great article Scott. Thanks for the excellent examples that highlight a number of ways that we can improve our company blog. www.experiencetriathlon.com

We have been blogging stories about our athletes (clients) for the last five years and it continues to be one of the best ways to share the value of our services with prospects. I often hear from new clients that they were touched and inspired by what our athletes had blogged on our site. We believe so much in the value of corporate blogging, that we now feature our most recent blog stories at the very top of our home page!

Re: Business to Business Blogging

staback — Wed, 09 Mar 2011 18:27:45 -0000

Jim,
Great response! I'll try to answer your ROI question as I'm assuming its related to simply blogging. Yes blogging is free but some would argue that it takes a lot of time and time is money. But beyond monetary benefits blogs give B2B companies a voice...a non-threatening voice to communicate directly to their customers. As I say in this post, blogs aren't meant to promote the heck out of your products or services or pound your chest about how great your company is...but it's a way to be authentic with your prospective and current customers. People buy based on trust. A fringe benefit and a mighty powerful one is the fact that blogs also allow a company to get found on the web. What I mean by that is search engines look for dynamic content based on keywords. What's more dynamic then a blog, especially if you blog everyday. There are statistics out there that say those companies that blog gain 55% more traffic then those who do not. The stats are even broken down by frequency. The more you blog the more likely you will connect with someone searching for your solution...PERIOD!

Re: Business to Business Blogging

Jim Bentz — Wed, 09 Mar 2011 16:05:08 -0000

As one of my engineering friends says to me every time I'm speaking to him about a new idea, "What problem is this trying to solve?" I think the problem they solve is the problem of geographically dispersed clients speaking with silo'ed stakeholders within a corporation. How to bring them together? I'm curious how the blog is similar to a Facebook conversation? Yammer, Saleforce Chatter and others are addressing the need for "enterprise social media." B2B Blogging is a part of this new ecosystem. It's great to see you out front on this, Scott. I'm curious how ROI might be derived for customers seeking to justify investment in this space?

Re: Business to Business Blogging

staback — Wed, 09 Mar 2011 14:54:35 -0000

Bil,
So true Bil. Leaders need to lead by example and if a busy CEO has time to communicate with his audience and customers so should others in the organization. Thanks for your words of wisdom.

Re: Business to Business Blogging

staback — Wed, 09 Mar 2011 14:51:49 -0000

Yes it is true blogging is the single most important thing you can do for your business to promote it online. Not only do you get to vet out your ideas and opinions with your audience and prospective customers to make a connection they are also free! I can't think of any other medium out there that has that kind of ROI!

Re: Business to Business Blogging

staback — Wed, 09 Mar 2011 14:48:40 -0000

Jon,
As always you bring a wealth of wisdom to the table. You are exactly correct. Like anything in marketing or life for that matter takes patience and persistence. Thanks for reminding me of that!