Many of our clients have come to us with questions about inbound marketing. They’re either new to inbound marketing or need help improving the effectiveness of specific parts of their program.  To lend a hand, I decided to write a reference guide on the topic.  It’s an easy to read, interactive PDF full of useful facts, figures, links and specific instructions to start up – or tune up – your inbound marketing program.

A word of encouragement and a word of caution:  If you follow these steps you WILL get results.  But they aren’t magically easy, nor produce overnight results.  (I’m not one of those marketers that guarantees instant weight loss with no need to exercise or eat less.)

Inbound marketing isn’t an event, it’s a discipline.  And as many companies know, it is one of the most cost effective ways to find, attract, and engage prospects. In this interactive E-Guide you’ll learn the statistics that show that inbound marketing isn’t just for B2C. You’ll learn why it’s becoming the cornerstone of the most effective B2B marketing organizations. And you’ll learn the steps required to get your program in shape.

These 10 steps, when practiced with dedication, will change the marketing – and sales – lives of the companies that implement it.  Nothing that is life changing is easy. But these steps are do-able and when consistently applied, the results are guaranteed.  More inbound traffic.  More leads.  More engagement with your target market.  More sales.  Yes, more sales.

So if you want to learn how to jump-start or re-invigorate your inbound marketing program, click here to download your free copy.

Just imagine what it would be like if a conductor took the podium in front of a packed house at Carnegie Hall, handed out new music to all the instrumentalists and expected them to make beautiful symphonic sounds.  That’s what launching a marketing campaign without sales alignment would be like.  Playing from the same sheet of music does not mean literally passing it out with instructions, rather it requires a well orchestrated and coordinated plan with the common goal of making beautiful music and delighting the audience.

B2B Marketers beware – your most important lever to accelerating share and acquiring and retaining clients is your sales force.  Yes, you need to have the foundational elements in place from a solid web presence, multi-dimensional and integrated campaigns, and analyst and press support, but if sales isn’t on board, you’re wasting your time and your company’s budget.

To achieve that symbiotic relationship with sales and capitalize on productive campaigns, here are 5 essential elements:

1. Solicit input and take it to heart.  Get sales involved upfront in the process.  Cultivate a group of trusted sales advisors to provide their suggestions and then act on them.  Just like a good customer testimonial, there is nothing better than sales teams promoting the campaign.
2. Know Your Audience.  What motivates sales?   Compensation and competition.  Make sure to lay out the value of the campaign in terms of how it will retire quota and increase revenue.  Tout best practices amongst sales to invoke the competitive spirit in them.
3. Define (and automate) lead process.  Gain sales agreement on what constitutes a qualified lead and how it should be acted upon.  Automation through CRM tools gives sales full visibility on the disposition of their client or prospect and prepares them to act accordingly.
4. Target jointly developed KPIs. Agree on the goals of the campaign for both sales and marketing.  The KPIs need to tie back to the broader business plan.  Be transparent in reporting on the results and do so frequently.
5. Over Communicate.  Don’t expect the focus to remain top of mind unless you keep it there.  Leverage every medium possible from intranet, email, texting, podcasts, social media and more.  Promote the successes.  Every sales person will want his or her conquest publicly celebrated.

Executing a high impact marketing campaign is like conducting a symphony.  All musicians (marketing elements) working in harmony to create beautiful music (revenue).

Can multi-channel distribution channels take you over the rainbow?

In the market for a product?  For the consumer, items as simple as a set of golf clubs, a new television, or a washing machine can be purchased through a multitude of retail and on-line outlets.  For businesses, the choices are equally as pervasive for things from office supplies to network providers to software applications and more.

Is there a business that exists today that doesn’t have a multi-channel distribution strategy?  In order to maximize the market and revenue opportunities, companies must develop a broad ecosystem of partners. Whether to reach a new segment of the market, expand geographically or augment a proposition, partnership are essential.  There are a number of models to choose from and getting it right can mean exponential growth to your business.

Partner models and the corresponding go to market approach need to be integral to the business strategy.  They must compliment the overarching business objectives and be managed equally as rigorously as the direct sales channel.  Determining the model – sell to, thru or with is based on the strategic objectives for the business.  Regardless of the relationship model, there are four critical elements that must be addressed in order to have a mutually beneficial relationship:

1. Rules of engagement: Governance and specificity is critical.  The ultimate goal is to extend each company’s revenue and market opportunity so mitigating channel conflict for sales and ensuring clients don’t get in the center of debates are cornerstone.
2. Support tools and resources: From extranets to CRM tools to marketing collateral, and proposal materials – each needs to be easily accessible and kept up to date.
3. Brand Guidelines: From use and positioning of the name, logo and product, to pricing and market messaging.  Collaborating on joint propositions and collateral will yield the greatest benefits.
4. Shared Marketing Plans: Transparency and collaboration is the only way to go.  Extending the reach of your message and optimizing marketing funds is a winning solution.

Oh the places you’ll go by having well managed and governed channel partners.

New markets will open up and revenue will rise.  Look at Starbucks who 10 years ago only sold their coffee within the confines of their comfortable stores.  Today, their distribution partners make up nearly 20% of their overall revenue. Pick any B2B technology company and you’ll be hard pressed to find one that doesn’t leverage partners to extend its reach and value – from Cisco to HP to IBM to SAP and more.

Conversely if not properly cared for, distribution partners can either tap already stretched corporate resources, harm your brand image or deter customer relationships.  Just as in a lasting marriage, partnering companies need to quickly move from the honeymoon phase and work on the relationship every day.

Multi-channel distribution models are table stakes in elevating shareholder value by delivering solutions that address the clients’ needs. Doing it right can take your business to new heights.  Leverage best practices from those who have managed successful partner programs and oh the places you’ll go.

Tell us about your Channel best practices…or help us all learn from your mistakes…we’d like to hear your battle stories.

By Becky Carr

If a pig can learn to swim, anything is possible

They finally did it!  My “seventy-something” in-laws succumbed to the advice and went out a got a MacBook Pro.  Their nine year old PC was laid to rest and despite the trepidation and fear, they wanted to believe that life would be so much easier with a Mac.  (Perhaps the threat of not offering any support if they took the easy way out and bought a PC helped too.)  It’s been one month since that glorious day and they couldn’t be happier or more productive.

The only constant in life and business is change. Business in particular has evolved at warp speed over the last decade, spurred on not only by the macro economic environment but the digital revolution.  Gone are the days when employees punched a clock, sales was more about taking orders and governance took place on Lotus spreadsheets. As Benjamin Franklin said “When you’re finished changing, you’re finished.”

To remain competitive, businesses must constantly re-invent themselves whether it’s innovating the next product, taking customer intimacy to new heights or driving operational efficiencies.  In every situation, the front line sales organization needs to embrace the brand tenants and deliver on the strategic imperatives.  Sales professionals are the face to the customer or prospect.  They are the brand ambassadors who can create immense shareholder value and advocacy.

Transforming a sales organization takes more than just a few training classes and new marketing materials.  It starts with having clearly articulated objectives that align with the business plan; a compensation plan and incentives that reward the targeted behavior; and the tools and resources available in a variety of mediums that allow salespeople to maximize their time in front of customers.

Six tips to transforming a sales organization:

1. Patience.  Rome wasn’t built in a day.
2. Reporting: New objectives mean new analytics.  Provide transparency and publish frequently.
3. “Just in Time” Tools.  Succinct, focused and powerful resources that sales can digest whenever and wherever they need it.
4. Best Practice Sharing.  Sparks the competitive juices and promotes confidence.
5. Compensation & Incentives tied to transformation initiatives.
6. Brand “air cover”.   The market has to know and believe in the company’s ability to deliver on their brand promise.

If a “seventy-something” couple can step out of their comfort zone and tackle what they previously thought unattainable, then surely anyone can. If a pig can learn how to swim, then anything is possible.  A successful sales transformation will open new markets, increase customer and employee loyalty and deliver profitable business results.

What have been your toughest challenges in a sales force transformation?  What did you learn that you can share?

From Good to Best - Tips for Improving Your Webinar

Assuming you’ve done the right things to get people to register and attend (that’s a topic for another day), here are 5 quick and vital tips (+ a bonus tip) for planning your next webinar:

1. It’s a radio show with visual aids more so than a live presentation.  In a live presentation your audience is sitting in front of you and while they may daydream or work on their Blackberries, the number of distractions is limited. Not so a webinar where your audience has far more opportunities to abandon you. That means your voice inflection and your visual aids are your hooks for keeping participants engaged instead of doing email.
2. Visuals: More images, less words.  Probably THE most important element of a meaningful webinar experience. What’s on the screen is your chance to grab their attention and focus that attention to what you are saying.  It’s a proven fact that people cannot read and listen effectively at the same time.  And, if you put words on the screen, they’ll read – rather than listen. And when they’re finished reading, they still won’t be listening. They won’t be engaged with you.  So use your screen to visually “suggest” your points, but don’t write them out.  It’s hard work to create visual props, but it’s worth it.
3. Tell stories. We are wired to learn by example.  We’re interested in things that happen to others and we automatically apply their experiences to ourselves.  By using stories, you can educate without pontificating.  As you’re planning your webinar, pick a short number of key messages and some examples to bring each point to life.  Simply.  Adding more facts or talking faster to “get it all in”, is a surefire way to loose your participants.
4. Intersperse interactivity: Ask survey questions. Have a contest to give away a goodie to whomever answers a question (about prior material) the fastest.  About every 6 minutes or so switch from focusing on your presentation material to attendee engagement.  People are naturally competitive.  Use that and it’ll pay off in both participation and retention of your key message points.  Did you know that GoToWebinar has a feature that tells you when participants move off your webinar’s browser window…a perfect indication that attention has wandered.  Use tools like that to guage when it’s time to stop talking and start interacting.
5. Don’t take your self so seriously! Adding some humor helps to lift your tone and can bring back the attention wanderers. Not a natural comedian?  Don’t force it. Find a funny picture to help make a point or a way to nicely poke fun at yourself.  However you do it, a bit of levity or self deprecation can win listeners and drive home your messages.

Those are my top 5 quick tips.

Now the bonus tip – not so quick – but definitely worth the extra effort:

Read this article:  The Seven Deadly Sins of Storytelling – based on the book The Dragonfly Effect by Jennifer Aaker and Andy Smith.

Avoid these deadly sins and keep your webinars off of life support.

And for those interested in harnessing social media for more impactful marketing, go one step further and read the book. You’ll learn invaluable lessons that go well beyond webinars, showing you how to use social media to create social change and to better engage with clients, prospects and colleagues.

So what are your tips and tricks for effective webinars? Share your experiences and while I can’t send each of you a special prize – we’ll all be winners from our combined experience.

My friend Erin loves hats. She wears them often and she looks absolutely fabulous in them.

Recently, another friend and I were meeting Erin for brunch at a little French bakery/restaurant. Neither of us had been there, but as it happened, Erin had arrived at the restaurant before we did. As we got close we saw a woman sitting on the restaurant’s porch wearing a floppy-brimmed hat. Even before we were close enough to see the name of the restaurant or her face, we knew we’d found it – and Erin. The hat did it.

What does this have to do with your business? Actually, quite a bit.

A strong branding strategy well-executed can do for your business what floppy-brimmed hats do for Erin: make you instantly recognizable, express your personal style and set you apart from the crowd.

Step back for a minute and take a look at how you present your business to your prospects and customers. Do all of your communications mediums – building signage, ads, Web presence, e-mails, newsletters, product sheets, letterhead, promotional items, trade show booth, truck signage or whatever you use to let people know about your business — look like they came from the same company? Are they all different? Or do they fall somewhere in between?

It’s tempting to try to make everything you do new and different from what you did last week or last year. However, that can work against you when it comes to building a strong brand.

Consistency is at the heart of brand recognition. Remember, while you see your brand day after day, the people you are trying to reach don’t. In fact, it takes seeing it several times for a brand and image to begin to register with a prospect. When it comes to establishing and maintaining the integrity of your brand, some things simply need to stay the same: Your logo, its placement on a printed document, your spec sheet template, the banner on your website, your “boilerplate” on press materials, among others.

Think about the brands you recognize on sight: Coca Cola, McDonald’s, The Travelers Insurance, Apple, Nike come to my mind. What do they have in common? Every one of these brands has a logo that they use everywhere – and whatever else they do, that logo stays the same.

So, where’s your hat? And how does it look on you?

Every business needs a “hat” of its own…an identity unique and recognizable. And just as doing what your company does takes specialized knowledge, so, too, does establishing and maintaining your brand. This is an area where hiring experts like Marsden & Associates to review your branding and help develop consistency where it counts can pay dividends. Give us a call or drop us a line. We’d love to help you find the perfect hat.

We are thrilled to have new clients, new fun projects, and new additions to Marsden’s Associates. I’d like to introduce you to Ann Strople, our newest member of the team – though no newbie to marketing. Ann brings a strong background in building brands, crafting communications and developing on-line marketing presence for companies both large and small. For Marsden & Associates, Ann is focused on helping our clients hone their message and ensure it is hitting the mark in both on-line and traditional channels.

We’re already excited about Ann’s contributions to our clients’ marketing initiatives. Now we’re also looking forward to what she has to contribute to our blog. Please give her a warm welcome – and don’t hesitate to sing out if her message strikes a chord. (Yeah, I know that got a bit cheesy, but musicals always do that to me….)

• 80% of most results come from 20% of the input.

• 80% of most companies’ revenues come from 20% of the clients.

• 80% of the sales are made by 20% of the sales force.

• and 80% of marketing results come from the 20% of effort focused on the “how”.

Yet failure to recognize and apply this truth seems to afflict 80% of all companies -  regardless of size or industry. From small technology start-ups to Fortune 50 industry leaders, the amount of effort spent on choosing the right strategy, the right logo, the right communication channels, the right ad mix, and the right lead generation programs dwarf the amount of thoughtful effort spent on executing each element well.

This is not to say that Strategy isn’t important – of course it is.  But it seems that particularly for Marketers, after we think the big thoughts and come up with all the cool creative ideas,  we rush through the implementation with not nearly the same attention to detail.

So if you are trying to UP your performance, here are 3 key “HOW” questions to focus on:

1. “How” do you engage your prospects? It’s not so much that you have a website, or that you conduct webinars, or that you have a Facebook page. It’s how you make your value proposition compelling and different through each of the channels you have.
2. “How” do you make your prospects and customers feel?  Purchase decisions are 80% emotional and 20% intellectual. So is loyalty.  Weaving the stories around your products that engender feelings of security, of confidence and of success are far more effective and definitely more sticky than the technical spec’s you may be so proud of.  Technologies rise and fall but love affairs go on and on and on – just ask any Mac computer or English sports car owner.
3. “How” do you listen to your customers? Are all your communications channels on Broadcast?  Are you all  Output?  The top performers actively create ways to get real input from their clients.  Top companies listen to what’s coming in on the support  and help desk lines.  Top companies create forums to learn about user problems and they take advantage of the creativity of engaged customers to find solutions.  Top companies use their social media connections not just to hype but to learn.  Top companies integrate the feedback from all these sources rather than allowing them to be buried in departmental silos where managers instinctively try to hide negative feedback.  And in so doing , top companies not only stay ahead in product development, they make their customers feel engaged, appreciated, and heard. Ah ha!

And included with each of these key “how”s, top performing companies always include this one:

• “How” do you measure the impact and success of each program, each initiative?    Almost anything can be measured, and we sometimes feel like numbers justify our existence.  But numbers aren’t necessarily understanding and measuring the last inch of a rubber band doesn’t help much.  So top performers spend as much time on the “How” of measuring each campaign as they do reviewing reports and dashboards.

So what’s your 80/20?