Almost all companies have untapped value in what they know, in

their expertise, and in what they do. Our business is about helping

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their expertise, and in what they do. Our business is about helping

B2B clients use that value to create new customers. In the next 12

slides we will walk you through how to do it.

Who are we. We are a start-up with lots of experience. You can

check us out here http://www.brainrider.com/about-us

Three great questions to think about before we get start are

•Who is your customer?

•What are the stages they go through when deciding to buy from you?

•What do they want to know at each stage of the decision process?

If you are interested we have a blog post about best practice in

answering these questions here

http://blog.brainrider.com/2010/03/b2b-marketing-understanding-

decision-stages/

Let’s start with some research about today’s market and today’s

buyer.

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buyer.

At most companies the message is the same, selling is getting harder

because prospects are simultaneously more connected and

harder to reach!

1. The internet and more specifically Google have changed

customer expectations and behavior

2. More than 85% of all B2B purchase decisions, globally, start

with research on the web not with a sales call

3. The truth is that many buyers no longer think they need a

sales conversation until it is time to negotiate a lowest cost

deal

Across all industries, sales performance is becoming more difficult

with 5%-8% declines in key sales metrics because

• Buying cycles have become disconnected from the selling

cycle

• Buyers have more access to information, not just from

sellers but from other buyers and third parties

• Single decision makers are being replaced with committees,

multiple layers of approval and more purchasing scrutiny

One of the major reasons the context for your marketing and One of the major reasons the context for your marketing and

selling is changing is that new technology is enabling a world of

connections.

Many of these connections are trivial, lots of them are just social,

often they are very geeky, but the overall adoption rate, impact,

and penetration growth are incredible. And it is world-wide,

according to Nielsen 2/3’s of the world’s internet users connected

through some type of social media in 2008.

Research study after research study is showing that these changes

are affecting the B2B sales cycle and how your customers are

running their businesses, looking for information, and buying.

But overwhelmingly for B2B markets this world of digital

connections still relies on buyers dealing with sellers over a

handshake. The solution is an approach that leverages technology

to get you to more handshakes.

There has been an incredible amount of innovation in the past 10 years in

the strategy & tools to work and sell smarter.

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the strategy & tools to work and sell smarter.

Today’s opportunity is about all the ways you can connect with your

customer. And how to track their digital footprint to create sales

intelligence and customer relationships.

It is about the email from your sales representatives, it’s your digital

tradeshow collateral, it is your business card, it is about what they are

searching for, its your follow-up and thank you notes.

Most importantly it is about working smart by using the value of what

you know to create customers. The next slide shows an example of great

knowledge marketing.

Let’s look at an example of how one of the world's largest oil field

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Let’s look at an example of how one of the world's largest oil field

services companies uses Knowledge Marketing to get and retain more

customers.

15 years ago they used what is still a typical B2B approach. About us

credentials, product and service descriptions, contact us, etc. You can

see this on their website in the 1996 example on the left.

10 years ago they moved to dynamic content by adding 3rd party news

headlines giving industry updates by web or email, local weather

updates, and even a cartoon of the day.

But the most interesting content they shared was market data called

the rig count. It is proprietary data, produced by a Schlumberger

subsidiary, and a real customer hook. Something worth connecting

with Schlumberger about.

But with that learning Schlumberger started to work smarter not just

harder.

This is Schlumberger in 2010.

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This is Schlumberger in 2010.

They still offer tablestakes content including their credentials,

products, and contact us information on their website.

And their content has expanded over time into an incredible

library with a broad range of content types.

But check out the red circles on the left. RSS feeds and Premium

Content opt-in. This is how Schlumberger is working smarter not

just harder.

They actively connect with their customers with multiple levels of

opt-in from RSS, to desktop tools, to email newsletters, to

“premium content” And behind the scenes they are tracking all

these digital footprints with a tool called demandbase.

After 15 years of trial, error and learning Schlumberger has

combined their credentials, content and connections to build a

valuable business pipeline.

Our business is helping clients make this happen using a practical 3

stage strategy, an agile approach, and the right combination of

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stage strategy, an agile approach, and the right combination of

technology and execution.

The truth is that you don’t need us to this. In fact check out our blog

and resource library for tips on how to make it happen.

But we have the experience to help you do it faster and smarter. And

to help you get to work getting more customers today.

But enough about us, we want to share how to do it.

The most important question you can ask in your business today is

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The most important question you can ask in your business today is

“WHAT DOES MY CUSTOMER WANT TO KNOW?”

So we recommend you start by understanding what your

customer wants to know, what they are searching for, what they

are sharing with their colleagues.

•And how and when they are asking for it.

•And how they want to approach the answer.

•And how to segment different customer types and understand what

they want to know at different stages in your pipeline.

Then we suggest you audit your existing communications with the

chart on the left to see how many types of questions you really

answer.

And we think you should use your digital data to track prospect

behaviour in order to understand what they are interested in. And

of course you should use that intelligence to attract and nurture

them through your pipeline while giving your sales team more

intelligence about who they are selling to.

If you are like most successful B2B brands you have already put a lot

of investment into your knowledge, marketing, and sales assets.

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of investment into your knowledge, marketing, and sales assets.

You might even be experimenting with sharing these valuable

resources in various channels and formats like blogging, PR,

tradeshows, webinars and events.

But the most important step is to actively use these assets to connect

with more customers.

•Asking them to opt in for more information

•Being ranked in search results relevant to your expertise

•Offering content in emerging social media like blogs, LinkedIn,

and email.

•Generating more effective tradeshow content

•Building smart collateral

And tracking what is working and where it is connecting with your

customers. Above is a client example of how to turn what you know

into more powerful marketing and sales assets.

In order to better connect with your customers you need a flexible In order to better connect with your customers you need a flexible

and smart platform that does the job of capturing digital

footprints and using that data to track your customers and deliver

real time sales intelligence. This slide shares a real example from

BrainRider’s marketing program. If you have seen some of our

content then we have started tracking you too! Ask if you want to

see a live demo.

The good news is that while there are lots of powerful tools out

there, we have experience working with many of them. And we

are happy working with any tools you prefer.

But in case you do not already use any marketing automation tools

we have also inked a preferred partner deal with a great tool

called Pardot Prospect Insight to get you started quickly and easily

and without a long-term commitment.

Check them out here http://www.pardot.com/

If you want to see a short demo video (still DRAFT), go to If you want to see a short demo video (still DRAFT), go to

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DCbmvKt8c8w

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Here are three basic options of what we can deliver for you.Here are three basic options of what we can deliver for you.

But we will work with you to customize a solution to your needs.

The place to start is understanding your business objectives and:

•Who is your customer? How do you segment their needs?

•What are the decision stages they go through when buying

from you?

•What do they want to know at each stage of the decision

process?

After that your knowledge marketing program can be up and

running in less than 4 weeks.

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That’s it. You have made it through 12 quick slides (we cheated That’s it. You have made it through 12 quick slides (we cheated

with 1 extra video slide) on How to Use Knowledge Marketing To

Create Customers.

Thanks again for taking the time.

Visit our website for more knowledge marketing resources and to

learn more about who we are and what we do.

http://www.brainrider.com

Or contact our General Manager Scott Armstrong at 416 900 3310

or scott.armstrong@brainrider.com for more information on how

we can help your business get more customers.