B2B Aware: This Week in B2B Marketing – Best Practices & Wise Options
WEEK OF DECEMBER 19-23, 2011
This week in B2B marketing we’re sharing interesting blog articles about best practices, and wiser options for promotions for B2B marketers’ 2012 plans.
Thank you to the content contributors who keep the B2B marketing community informed with your reports, thoughts and observations.
MS Office’s B2B campaign grows with triggered e-mail
Microsoft’s B2B campaign for Office 2010 made model use of triggered e-mail, according to Marketing Sherpa’s case study. The nurturing program involved a lengthy process of triggered e-mail to help new purchasers become immediately productive. Outstanding open an clickthrough results. MarketingSherpa
The Zero Moment of Truth applies to B2B buyers
B2B marketers can be vulnerable during a customer’s online research period — as all the human characteristics that can frustrate consumer-focused marketing still apply in the B2B space. Buyers now are using more sources of information before making a purchase as last year. B2C Marketing Insider
B2B response to social media is crucial
B2B companies using social sites such as LinkedIn for marketing should be willing to respond to their followers, as B2B customers have higher service expectations, says TagMan CEO Paul Cook. “In B2B, if there’s a conversation going on about you and you don’t engage in it constructively, then that’s going to be seen as a negative,” he says. eMarketer
Studying psychology and behavior aids marketers’ persuasive capabilities
Marketers should look into the sociological and psychological factors influencing buying behaviors. Rather than obsess over which key words to use for search, for example, try to gain insight into why a consumer is searching in the first place. Understanding consumers’ motivations will help marketers design persuasive campaigns. TopRankBlog.com
LinkedIn polls boost business buyers’ engagement
LinkedIn Groups has added a polling feature that could be useful to B2B marketers who want to step up engagement on the business social network and aggregate information. With only 17% of businesses truly integrating social-network reporting, the use of such tools likely is to increase in importance for social media marketers. Brafton.com
Vendors cross ethical boundaries with testimonial prizes
Vendors need to be careful not cross any ethical boundaries when offering prizes for testimonials, argues Ardath Albee. The FTC expects these practices to be disclosed, but they’re getting lost in Twitter-feed translation, as it blurs the line between paid ads and earned media, Albee notes. Marketing Interactions Blog
What happened in your B2B marketing week that you’d like to share?
