practical b2b marketing for acetech ontario

ACETECH ONTARIO

POWER SESSION

130 Spadina Ave, Suite 305 | Toronto, Ontario M5V 2L4 | 416.598.4684 | www.themezzaninegroup.com

April 20, 2012

PRACTICAL B2B MARKETING

1. Share experience on practical B2B marketing –

how to get it done in companies with limited

resources

2. Provide case studies and the opportunity for

discussion among members

3. Deliver 2 – 3 immediately useful tools and

actionable takeaways

OBJECTIVES

FOR TODAY

OBJECTIVES

130 Spadina Ave, Suite 305 | Toronto, Ontario M5V 2L4 | 416.598.4684 | www.themezzaninegroup.com 1

• 16 years in B2B

• Started The Mezzanine Group in 2001 • Consult and manage marketing for more than 200 companies

over last 12 years

• Fortune 500

• Small and mid-sized (pre-revenue to $150M)

• Data from over 5000 companies (Forrester, MarketingProfs, Aberdeen Group)

• Upcoming book on B2B marketing The Practical Guide to B2B Marketing. Everything you need to

know to make marketing actually work for your B2B company

MY BACKGROUND

AND THE INPUTS

TO TODAY’S

DISCUSSION

MY BACKGROUND


Which functions can impact success in next 12 months? What are your top 3 marketing goals for this year?

Who is responsible for marketing strategy and planning?

Avg. = 4.9

Employees: Avg.104, Range 1 – 1500 | Marketing budget: Avg. $282k, Range $10k - $2M n = 33


YOUR VIEWS

3

How much marketing relative to having no constraints?

30%

24%

21%

15%

9%

“We spent $250,000 on marketing

last year and I feel like what we

got from it was a bunch of pens

with our logo on them.”

~CEO of a $5M software company

THE MARKETING

CHALLENGE IN

SMALL AND

MID-SIZED B2B

COMPANIES

CHALLENGES


1. Strategy

2. Tactics

3. Implementation Resources and

Management

4. Measurement and Refinement

Main

Fo

cu

s T

od

ay

A BETTER WAY


4 STEPS TO

EFFECTIVE

MARKETING IN

B2B COMPANIES

5

Secondary

Focus

PRACTICAL B2B

MARKETING STRATEGY


4 Ps - Product, Price, Place, Promotion

(up in the air – good at 30,000 ft)

On solid ground: Target Market,

Value Proposition and Messages

1. Deep understanding of buyers:

• who they are – role, industry, company type

• their pains and priorities

• how they make decisions

• how they get information

2. How to do this:

• Sales, management and customer service

team as a starting point

• Customer research (blind if possible)

KNOWING YOUR

TARGET

MARKET AND

WHAT MATTERS

TO THEM

TARGET MARKET


Inn

ovati

on

M

an

ag

ers

• Actively looking for and

open to ideas

• Company culture

encourages innovation

• Have a network of

innovators they rely on

for information

Dir

ecto

r o

f E

ng

ineeri

ng

• Looking for opportunities

to improve energy

efficiency

• Solutions must not

impact systems

• Read trade journals and

are part of various

industry associations

Priorities:

• INNOVATION

• NEW TECHNOLOGY

Priorities:

• NO IMPACT ON

PROCESS

• ENERGY

OPTIMIZATION

KNOWING YOUR

TARGET

MARKET AND

WHAT MATTERS

TO THEM

DEFINE YOUR TARGET MARKET


WHY SHOULD I

DO BUSINESS

WITH YOU?

VALUE PROPOSITION


95% of CEOs define their value proposition through

these factors:

• Good Cust’r Service

• Quality

• Reputation

• Good results

• Our employees

• Knowledgeable staff

• Consistent management

• Responsiveness

• Innovativeness

• Trust

9

Jaynie Smith, Creating Competitive Advantage, 2006

WHY SHOULD I

DO BUSINESS

WITH YOU?

VALUE PROPOSITION


A better value proposition is specific, quantified

and objective:

• After switching to our process, customers report an

average 25% boost in productivity.

• Our clients often experience double-digit growth within

6-12 months of implementing our process.

• We stay on budget 95% of the time

• Developers’ sales ratios rose by 35% after using our

firm

• Our average client saves a minimum of 30% on total

occupancy and design costs

• Our employees have a minimum of 15 years’

experience, twice that of our nearest competitor.

10

Jaynie Smith, Creating Competitive Advantage, 2006

IN A SEA OF

OPTIONS, WHICH

MARKETING

TACTICS

SHOULD YOU

USE?

3 GUIDELINES

CHOOSING THE RIGHT

MARKETING TACTICS


Chart courtesy of Peter

Evans, speakerfile

Conceptual

Re

ve

nu

e

Focus:

Marketing Basics,

Sales Support and

Product Development

Focus:

Awareness and Lead

Generation

Focus:

Brand Building

P1 P2 P3

Growth Gap

between a B2B

Marketer and a

non-Marketer

Time

GUIDELINE ONE -

DIFFERENT

TACTICS ARE

EFFECTIVE AT

DIFFERENT

STAGES

WHAT STAGE ARE YOU


CUSTOMERS

PR

OD

UC

TS

/ S

ER

VIC

ES

New

Existing New

2

# 4 ROI

Exis

ting

#1 ROI

3

GUIDELINE

TWO –

Start with the

highest ROI and

work down the

list from there –

highest ROI is

not usually where

you think it is

WHERE IS THE ROI


GUIDELINE

THREE–

INTEGRATE

INTEGRATE TACTICS


No B2B marketing tactic is a silver bullet. Each

one is stronger when used with others.

Situation A:

• $15,000 Tradeshow investment

• Booth, staffed 3 days, take cards, sales follow ups

• 45 leads; 4 deals within 6 months @ $20k each

• $80k new sales (ROI 433%)

Situation B

• $15,000 Tradeshow investment – same as above

• $8,000 content / tool investment (case studies,

demo video, webinar)

• $4,000 coordination investment – • Pre-show email campaign, at-show scheduled

meetings, post-show lead nurturing campaign

• 65 leads, 9 deals within 6 months

• $180k new sales (ROI 567%)

Sales collateral

Industry presentations

IT’S ALL ABOUT CONTENT


Which content tools do you use?

n = 33

How many Acetechers use the following tactics?

WHICH TACTICS


The 3:1 Rule

Exert 3 times as much

effort promoting your

content as you do

creating your content. n = 33

Marketing Profs

2012 Study

29%

26%

20%

19%

13%

16%

13%

n = 1745

AceTech respondents indicating tactic is ‘Very Effective’

WHICH TACTICS WORK BEST


General Tips: • Vital for demonstrating track record in B2B

• More than 1 case study needed

• Aim for 3 – 8, choose based on:

• biggest / most impressive customers

• best business results – $, %, and #

• marketing goals – messages, industries

• Framework: Customer, Challenge, Solution, Results

• 1 – 2 pages, standard format for all

• Testimonials, customer logo, snappy title

• Getting them done:

• Ask permission of client

• Do interview (30 – 60 mins)

• Create draft and review with client

• Graphic design

• Pay sales rep $500 to get them done

• Above all else, use them:

• Sales support, website (not gated), industry presentations, webinars,

articles, email campaign or newsletter.

DEVELOPING

AND USING

CASE STUDIES

CASE STUDIES


Tips:

• It’s gShiftLabs’ secret weapon

• Integrate with other tactics (SEO, PPC, shows, speaking, etc)

• Set goals up front and make a plan

• Write a blog first and include backlinks to your main site

• Send blog to industry blog sites – get pick up

• Distribute blog to email subscribers

• Write a whitepaper / other content

• Promote it via paid

• 1 – 2 weeks later distribute optimized

press release through PRWeb and industry

database. Include backlinks to site.

• Use gShift to track metrics

• Results:

• 1405 downloads, 26,000 impressions for

press release, 2000+ leads

2000+ leads

GETTING AND

GROWING PR

PUBLIC RELATIONS


Export Market Access www.exportaccess.ca

• $30K grant (50% of expenses) for international trade shows. Can get

twice a year

• 5-500 employees, revenue over $500K, be incorporated for at least 2 years

• Must get acceptance before you spend any money

IRAP – ARP (talk to your ITA) • $50k grant (up to 75% of 3rd party expenses and 100% of internal labour)

• Market research, competitive intelligence, feasibility study, implementation

CME SMART Prosperity Now www.cme-smart.ca

• $75K grant (or 33% of expenses) for international marketing,

foreign market orientation

• Min 15 employees, incorporated at least 2 years, have manufacturing

operations in Ontario

Going Global Innovation www.tradecommissioner.gc.ca/eng/science/going_global.jsp

• $75K grant (75% of expenses) to explore int’l collaboration to bring a new

product to market

• Science, technology and innovation companies

• Sales less than $50M, less than 500 employees

Small Business Internship Program www.ic.gc.ca/eic/site/sbip-pspe.nsf/eng/home

• 12-week ($10K max) wage subsidy to hire intern to help with

online marketing

GOVERNMENT

FUNDING

FUNDING


http://www.exportaccess.ca/

http://www.cme-smart.ca/



http://www.tradecommissioner.gc.ca/eng/science/going_global.jsp



http://www.ic.gc.ca/eic/site/sbip-pspe.nsf/eng/home





<50 employees 50 – 499 employees 500+ employees

$263k $1.2M $15.6M

Average spent on Marketing:

• Companies with a direct sales model spend less than those with a mixed distributor / direct model

• Companies who have a pure B2B model spend less than those who have a B2B2C model

2012 B2B Marketing Benchmark Report (Marketo and MarketingProfs)

Marketing Budget as a percentage of

gross revenue, including personnel:


MARKETING BUDGETS

Budget Allocation

21

10 USEFUL TOOLS


GWABBIT

Grabs contacts from

email address blocks and

converts them to Outlook

contacts. $20 download.

99DESIGNS

Hosts contests to get high

quality graphic design

(logos, websites, templates)

at great prices.

Starting $295.

www.gwabbit.com www.99designs.com


TOOLS

GSHIFTLABS

Web presence optimization

software – SEO,

competitive insights,

keyword strategies,

analytics & more. Starting

$99/mo.

HUBSPOT

Blog, landing pages, lead

nurturing, SEO, analytics.

Starting $750/mo.

Grade effectiveness based on 50 var’s. Free.

www.gshiftlabs.com www.hubspot.com


TOOLS

HOOTSUITE

Manage your social media

accounts through one

platform. Free | $6/mo.

COMPETITRACK

Advertising and

spend tracking.

Per ad pricing.

www.hootsuite.com www.competitrack.com


TOOLS

MENTORWORKS

Information and support

for government funding

programs.

VIRTUAL TRADE

COMMISSIONER

www.mentorworks.ca http://www.tradecommissioner.gc.ca/eng/

virtual-trade-commissioner.jsp

Research and sales

support for export

markets.


TOOLS

SCHEDULICITY INTERVALS

www.schedulicity.com www.myintervals.com

Online appt

scheduling.

$19/mo.

SAAS time-tracking,

useful reports. $20/mo.

For 15 projects.


TOOLS

Lisa Shepherd, The Mezzanine Group

(416) 937-8376

[email protected]

http://www.profitguide.com/blog/lisashepherd

THANK YOU


MezzLisa

MezzLisa

mailto:[email protected]



practical b2b marketing for acetech ontario

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