The Magic Behind Business Development

by Sharon Corrigan

I am a firm believer that if you put your mind to anything you can do it – and this includes generating good quality leads by putting the business person you are talking to first – and not your objective of telling them your pitch and securing business. By putting yourself first you will not only annoy people but you are guaranteed that they will forget you – and fast!

There are many face-to-face methods to generate new business, from networking events, conferences, tradeshows and through association events. Recently I was privileged to be able to attend two significant industry tradeshows in Europe – the first was Anuga FoodTec in Cologne, Germany and the second was the JEC Composite Tradeshow in Paris, France. I use the word privileged as tradeshows present the opportunity to meet, en masse, interesting professionals – and you get to find out their story.

If you are interested in developing your business, then some of these tips will help you:

1. Preparation – like all good business meetings you would never enter a room unprepared before you speak to senior executives – so why do people do it at a tradeshow?  When you approach a booth you never know the level of seniority of the person who you will speak with, and therefore you need to be prepared.  Before going to a tradeshow, check out target businesses, develop your hook. You need to be able to answer the question – what value can you bring?
2. Listen – the majority of business executives are passionate about their businesses and love to talk.  So let them by      asking the right questions. By creating an informative business discussion about their industry, they will know that you are a person with knowledge and experience and mayl be intrigued about what you do.
3. Do not rehearse your speech – one of the biggest mistakes that individuals make is a rehearsed speech about their business. You first need to ascertain the needs and pain points of the business executive you are talking with. Only until you reach this point can you tailor your services to match.
4. If your business doesn’t fit their needs then don’t lose faith -  if you are selling IT infrastructure and the business executive you are talking with has already fulfilled this need then don’t lose heart. As long as you have made a good impression by listening to their needs, then potentially this is a business contact you could have for life. So treasure it by fulfilling the following tip.
5. Follow up – one of the biggest crimes following any business development meeting is that you meet some great people, tell them that you will email them and never do. Even if the person is not interested, then a polite short email to acknowledge you appreciate her taking the time to talk to you complete with your contact details (I would suggest a V card) could benefit you in the long-term. Business situations change all the time and so a few months later, if she needs your services, at least she has your contact details.

Overall, if you have passion for your business then this will shine through in every conversation you ever have and people will want to be a part of this – budgets and business objectives permitting. Good luck and have fun!

Sharon Corrigan is the Deputy Managing Director, EMEA at ABI marketing public relations.  You can reach her at +44 (0)20 7014 3500 and scorrigan@abipr.com.

Back to Basics

By Alexandra Harrod

A couple of recent projects have got me thinking about the process of creating marketing collateral. Often, when producing sales and marketing material, companies can get so caught up in the detail that they lose sight of the fundamental aim of their marketing, missing out on valuable sales leads as a result. So, I propose that we take some time to go back to basics.

For example, a highly conceptual piece of creative marketing is great, but if it contains no clear call to action for the reader, it is unlikely to obtain desired results. An eye-caching brochure with an exciting design is a guaranteed crowd pleaser, but it must also contain information about what you are offering, what the benefits of this offer are, and how to contact you for more information. It may seem obvious, but you would be surprised at how often these basics are forgotten! As long as the fundamentals are there, you are then free to be as original, creative and conceptual as you desire – but first and foremost, the material needs to communicate your offer, your key messages, and your brand as clearly as possible.

Whether overhauling a website, creating a new brochure or designing an advertising campaign, a company or brand needs a “checklist” that it can use against all of its sales tools to ensure that this material is helping to meet business objectives.

The prominent marketer, E. Jerome McCarthy, proposed a Four ‘P’s classification in 1960, which has since been widely used by marketers throughout the world. These are Product (the right product that meets the customer’s needs); Price (a price that attracts buyers but is also profitable); Place (distributed adequately to the target audience); and Promotion (ensuring your market knows the product is available.) These four P’s are useful to bear in mind when building your messaging and positioning platform, and creating collateral to support this platform.

However, I propose the addition of a fifth P – PACKAGING. Not in the traditional sense of the word, but rather HOW you communicate your offer to the customer, from the copy and tone of your website and brochure to the imagery used to re-enforce your key messages.  Your four P’s need to be wrapped up in a clear, coherent, simple and consistent package in order to create the strongest possible communication with your target audience.

So next time you are reviewing a piece of sales collateral, take a step back and ask yourself the following questions first:

• Who am I talking to – does this piece clearly communicate who the product is aimed at?
• What is the value I am offering my customers – and is it clearly stated?
• How am I different from the competitor – what are my Unique Selling Points and are they reinforced by this item?
• Are my messages clear and simple – and do they prompt the reader to contact me or find out more?

Alexandra Harrod is an Account Manager at ABI marketing public relations.  You can reach her at +44 (0)20 7014 3500 and aharrod@abipr.com.

Are you showing your true colors? Injecting the human factor in b-to-b online presence

By Susan Russo

If you take a look at the b-to-b social media space today, you’ll see a polarization of success.  There are a select group of business and staff pages with vibrant communities, full of engaged members that openly share their identity, background and opinions with one another.  On the other hand, you’ll find a sea of dead pages comprised of logos, faceless avatars and unanswered comments.  The key to social media success is clear.  Successful businesses and staff stay ahead of the curve by connecting with their audience through their personality (See packaging diva).

If you’re hesitant to show your personality online, remember: It’s not really about you- it’s about your target audience….and if they’re human, they’re going to be interested in connecting with   a real person (see automated customer service).

Fortunately, social media affords us the opportunity to connect with real people in unprecedented volumes.  Don’t be shy- take the opportunity. Here are five very manageable steps to get you started:

1. Take it beyond text : The most basic way to humanize your presence online is with photos.  Start out by swapping that infamous twitter egg with a picture of yourself.  Then, remember to keep it fresh.  Have you attended an industry event recently or met with an industry leader?  Show what you’ve been up to lately by posting a photo.  After a while, your audience will begin to feel connected to you.

2. Engage: Social media (even within the b-to-b space) can be compared to a cocktail party.  Avoid being a wallflower by actively making new contacts.  Increase your Twitter presence by proactively following others- you’ll likely get a “follow back”.  Once you’ve got an audience, keep their attention by talking about things they care about.  Re-tweet or link useful, industry- relevant articles to your audience.  An occasional post outside of business will add some personality too.

3. Don’t be afraid to share your opinion: If you’re sharing interesting content, be prepared to receive and respond to comments on your page.  Opinions and interaction drive successful businesses- don’t be afraid of them.  Honest dialogue will position you as a thought-leader and a resource to your audiences.

4. Organize or attend meet ups: After you’ve spent a bit of time online, you’ll come to ‘know’ the key industry players online.  Keep an eye out for meet-ups through tweets, blogs and sites like http://social-media.meetup.com.  If you don’t find an event covering a topic you are interested in, be a leader and create one.  (A post on ABI’s social media event is coming soon on Trendspeak.)

Susan Russo is an Account Executive at ABI marketing public relations. You can reach her at 212-529-2635 and srusso@abipr.com.

What’s in a Name?

By Jen Sprance

It’s been confirmed – a rose by any other name WOULD NOT smell as sweet! Sorry Shakespeare.

A recent study by a Harvard Business School professor validated what all of us marketers and public relations professionals have been preaching all along – a brand is a powerful thing. It can significantly influence the consumer’s perception of quality and value, whether consuming products, services or content.

The study focused specifically on how a publication brand can influence a reader’s perception of the quality of an article. It found that readers rated the quality of the same article more highly if it was presented as having run in The Economist than in the Huffington Post.

First, these findings can be logically applied to products and services. When a company is known for quality, high performance, innovation or other positive factors, that reputation is passed along to its products and services and can improve a consumer’s experience and satisfaction. Investing in supporting a corporate brand and strengthening industry expert positioning can go a long way in moving products up the value chain.

The study results also bolster the case for public relations.  Editors are gatekeepers and the stronger the publication brand, typically the harder us PR reps need to work to secure coverage. A strong editorial placement in the leading industry magazine adds weight to the message being stated.

Jen Sprance is Managing Director, EMEA at ABI marketing public relations. You can reach her at +44 (0)20 7014 3503 and jsprance@abipr.com.

The State of the Website

By Alan Isacson

With the availability of information about a company readily available on Facebook, LinkedIn, through its blog and by following its Twitter feed, the role of the corporate website is changing.  Previously viewed as the one-stop-shop, websites now serve more as a structural base of the company’s brand communication.

However, that doesn’t mean the corporate website is a lesser communications medium than its emerging counterparts. On the contrary, as the number of platforms and channels continues to grow, and the content distributed on them reaches farther and wider (and with dizzying frequency) the website’s new role in the communications ecosystem is to provide the big-picture.

The website is either where a visitor starts, before authenticating information elsewhere, or conversely, where a visitor verifies information gathered through social media, discussions in face-to-face meetings and articles in relevant industry journals. Either way, it should provide an overarching view of who you are, the unique business value that you bring, and how you help customers.

Here are a few tips to ensure that your website paints the big picture of your company’s value:

• Make sure your homepage content is short, and benefits oriented
• Provide customer examples, to illustrate the value of your work
• Include an RSS feed to your blog posts on the homepage, for quick access
• Imbed YouTube videos that illustrate your product or service
• Include your Twitter feed in the sidebar of your homepage, and subsequent pages

Alan Isacson is the Chief Executive Officer at ABI marketing public relations. You can reach him at +1 212-529-4755 and aisacson@abipr.com.

New Era Demands New Storytelling Tactics (Ladies and Gentlemen, pencils down…)

By Sharon Corrigan

Two more venerable B-to-B publications recently shuttered their doors, joining literally scores of other departed titles over the past 30 months. Add in consolidation and an increasingly fragmented media landscape and B-to-B communication professionals are facing an industry in flux.

Perhaps the writing was on the dead-tree page pre-Recession. As other B-to-B communicators can well attest, the news hole has been shrinking. As recently as five years ago the average feature article or case history length clocked in at 1200-1600 words. By today’s Tweet-driven standards, my first major written assignment, which ran with every comma intact, weighed in at an overweening 2450 words.

How best do we serve our clients in this uncertain environment? What can we extract from our PR arsenal to effectively communicate for them?

In a word: Video.

Publishers and editors inform us that they generate more web traffic – and longer visits – with the videos posted on their on-line portals. Their resultant desire for more well-produced, informative, and interesting video postings creates great opportunity for companies willing to invest and dedicate the time and resources to producing compelling content.

We’ve worked hand in hand with our clients the past 24 months to create myriad video content, scaling from single-camera “Just the facts, Ma’am” QAs up to highly produced, multi-cast, award-winning stories.

I’d like share with you some of our key findings:

• It’s about Story

One could argue that the decline of traditional print communications hastens us back to the pre-literate era, only now electronically captured, in which important facts and histories are passed down through the oral tradition.

Brand messaging, unique value proposition, and key value points need to be digested and then, and only then, be presented in an engaging storyline – complete with drama, villains, plot points, humor, and the other classic elements of a good story. People don’t remember a brand message — they remember a compelling story.

• Clients aren’t Actors

The rightful need for message control continues unabated regardless of format, particularly in a challenged economy. But we’ve learned that when clients, or their customers, are over-scripted and focused on memorizing their main points, the final result simply isn’t that good: stiff, robot-like, unconvincing.

 To paraphrase the great George Burns, if you can fake sincerity you’ve got it made.

 Prior to shooting we’ll have a full pre-interview with the participant, we’ll supply general questions and the direction of the inquiry, and then focus making them comfortable and relaxed during the taping. We stress that we’re merely having a conversation. As in real life, sometimes it rambles and digresses, sometimes they go slightly “off-message.” But it does not matter. It’s why we edit. We select the best bits, splice them together, and post the smooth and relaxed result.

• Endless Possibilities

Furnishing online media with credible content is the focus of this discussion, but the productive end-uses for video are practically limitless. Outside of website and YouTube posting, our clients have utilized video as part of sales presentations, internal sales training, investor presentations, trade-show exhibits, and new-business pitches.

The investment can be substantial. It’s important up front to identify all of the potential homes for professionally produced and highly persuasive video content that can add significant value both within and outside the company.

Final Takeaway

Video is an important and growing communication tactic in today’s altered B-to-B media landscape. Properly planned, strategically implemented, and professionally produced video will net excellent placement opportunities in addition to multiple productive uses. The centrality of excellent storytelling will ensure that your message is remembered, repeated, and profitably deployed. Lights, camera, action!

Sharon Corrigan is a Deputy Managing Director EMEA at ABI marketing public relations. You can reach her at +44 207-014-3502 and scorrigan@abipr.com.

Social media tools align with b-to-b sector

By Amy Epstein

Word of mouth, it is said, is the most effective marketing out there. And in the highly knowledgeable, often technical world of b-to-b, this is even more so the case. Word-of-mouth is far easier to build when everyone is speaking the same language.

Given that b-to-b decision-making is heavily reliant on peer-based input, why has the sector been slow to embrace social media? In theory, it would be particularly successful in this space because b-to-b is a closed system.

Sometimes it’s due to lack of understanding of the value of social media, which results in fewer allocated resources. Higher-ups in b-to-b organizations don’t immediately recognize the value of new media to support sales efforts, and so they don’t want to fund it.

Other times its lack of recognition that the audience is accessible through social media. Even though successful b-to-b communications programs are executed every day, proving that the target audience is on the other end is still a challenge.

While there may be challenges associated with effectively using social media, it is an ideal b-to-b communications tool that can significantly expand a company’s reach. Here are some reasons why social media can’t be ignored:

It’s peer-based. B-to-b prospects seek information from a very controlled number of credible sources. They depend on blogs, discussion groups, and other ways to gather input from others.

It’s about people. The authenticity and interpersonal dynamic inherent in social media jibes well with the highly relationship-dependent nature of b-to-b sales.

It’s fast. While in the “old” days (think 2005!), PR professionals were looking at lead times of two to three months to pitch articles and case histories to industry publications. Now credible content reaches prospects almost immediately through peer-based media vehicles.

Contributing to industry discussion boards is a good way to establish credibility among prospects seeking information. Likewise, answering questions posted on LinkedIn can help demonstrate industry expertise. A third technique is to pay attention to – and quickly comment on – relevant blog posts. These three approaches can help you make good use of common social media platforms.

Have no fear, b-to-b companies, social media well-deployed is playing to the traditional strengths of your sector. Well-informed prospects are out there, searching for the information and news they know they need to succeed in the marketplace.

Amy Epstein is Managing Director, Americas at ABI marketing public relations. You can reach her at +1 212-529-4757 and aepstein@abipr.com

This post appeared in PR Week’s insider blog. You can view the post here: http://www.prweekus.com/social-media-tools-align-with-b-to-b-sector/printarticle/180313/

Encouraging Men to Exercise Their Buying Power

By Charlotte Fougeres

Women contribute to 80 – 85% of all consumer purchases.  Being a self-admitted shopaholic, I concede that I most likely contribute a great deal of this percentage. So, yes, we women love shopping, and the figures prove it.  I enjoy all kinds of shopping: clothes shopping, home shopping, even window shopping, but, my favorite is undoubtedly food shopping.

Again, I am not alone.  93% of women make food purchases for their households.  Needless to say, the female population hits the supermarket pretty often in their lifetimes.   This has not gone unnoticed by brand owners, and they are completely in tune with what consumers, and specifically female consumers, desire.  They know our favorite shapes, colors and designs.  For typical worries, such as our health, we look for low calorie products.  Presto! Coca Cola gives us Diet Coke in a slim can.  Not only is this the healthier option, but also a much more feminine design to entice female shoppers.

In the world of consumerism though, brand owners can not and will not focus only on women.  Brands are starting to target different types of consumers, from men to teenagers to children.  That very same Diet Coke, when placed in a darker color bottle or can, with a slightly sportier design, suddenly starts to look more masculine.

Recent statistics, like the 2010 U.S. Census, confirm that men are waiting longer before getting married, meaning they have to start making household purchases like groceries. This is a prime opportunity for brand owners to encourage males to exercise their buying power.

I look forward to the day when I go to the supermarket and see Coke cans, along with all different types of products, designed for women as well as men. And if brand owners maximize the opportunity, those heavily women-dominated statistics will soon change!

Charlotte Fougeres is an Account Manager in the London office of ABI marketing public relations. You can reach her at +44 (0) 207 014 3507 and cfougeres@abipr.com.

Monday Mornings at ABI

By Elliot Schimel

One of the constant challenges faced at many companies is internal communication. When a company’s divisions aren’t talking, it can often lead to slowed innovation or handicap a team from doing its best work.

What’s the best way to kick-start company-wide communication to ensure that all divisions are efficiently sharing information? For us, it’s Monday mornings.

Every Monday morning, energized ABIers grab their cups of coffee and head to the conference room.  In the span of half an hour, everyone in the office is given the opportunity to share recent successes, challenges and current projects with the rest of the team. Oftentimes, someone will bring a brief presentation outlining lessons learned in a new project. Whatever the focus, these meetings ensure that everyone in the office is collectively learning by sharing experiences.

Our Monday morning staff meetings are molded after Rudy Giuliani’s morning meetings. During his tenure as Mayor of New York City, Giuliani held meetings that were open to all department heads in his administration, ensuring that everyone on staff had access to him on a regular basis. Additionally, the meetings served as information sharing sessions within the administration and were invaluable in building coalitions when introducing new ideas or legislation.

At ABI, these meetings have become an essential tool for information sharing. It is important for everyone to have the opportunity to share their successes and new endeavors. It has also become an invaluable platform in sharing challenges. Sometimes an account team will discuss a challenge they are currently stuck on, and another member of the agency will perk up and explain how they dealt with a similar situation. In the long run, the time spent meeting regularly has already saved time for the agency, thanks to the ongoing sharing of lessons and shortcuts.

Elliot Schimel is a Senior Account Manager at ABI marketing public relations. You can reach him at +1 212-529-2583 and eschimel@abipr.com.

Unplugged

By Paula Pou

I recently adopted a Hermes 3000—the 1970s typewriter, not a futuristic Parisian silk scarf. I’m not sure why I brought it home, but I’m pretty sure my sneaky subconscience (let’s call her Fifi) was behind it. See, Fifi is convinced that she needs to interact with something that doesn’t need a battery charge. She’s behind the book purchases I make even though I have a Kindle and an iPad and she’s had a hand in the magazine subscriptions that pile up on my coffee table; she’s practically a Luddite.

Then, last week,  I ran across a piece on the NYT about how typewriters are the new hipster trend—and let’s be honest: by the time a trend piece makes it into the Times Style section, it’s probably been a trend for years—and I realized Fifi is not alone. Now, the observation that we’re too plugged in and dumbing and numbing ourselves down as a society is not new (there’s a reason we still read Walden), but we are arguably living in the most hyperconnected era of history (so far).

Have you ever tried typing on a typewriter? You have to stop and actually think. You can’t navigate away from a blank page—not without physically walking away from it, admitting defeat. It’s a humbling experience. Ideas have to be a heck of a lot stronger.

There’s a lesson in all this for marketers. We’re deeply plugged in and, frankly, have to be in order to understand the media landscape in which we operate. But—get this little irony—because the whole world is just one never-ending information network these days, our ideas have to be a heck of a lot stronger if they’re to have any permanence. It’s easy to wax nostalgic about the days of Mad Men, but it’s more productive to spend that time finding the middle ground between classic idea development (ingredients: pen, paper pile, willingness to discover just how disturbing your train of thought can get) and hyperconnected idea development (ingredients: gadget with Internet access).

Let’s say you use Facebook to conduct an informal poll about a target group. Stop when you have what you need. Take it with you and look at it until it means something beyond one of 10 screens you have open on your computer. You’d be surprised at how much it changes while in your hands, getting your full attention.

Typewriters are nostalgic because they offer a sense of permanence that we’re losing at a pretty fast pace—Fifi and I can agree on that much. But if we slow down just a bit, we have a shot to have ideas with permanence—and that’s a skill that will never become obsolete.

Paula Pou is an Account Manager at ABI marketing public relations. You can reach her at +1 212-529-2543 and ppou@abipr.com.