Marcom|b2b|communications|Rick Short|business|blog

Exhibitions in the era of DO AND GLOOM

A low-cost exhibit offers simple elegance an dignity to customers and staffers.

I recently posted that, while the economy is still generally gloomy, it is time to DO something for ourselves. We've got to power our way through the current situation and set ourselves up nicely for the rebound.  So, how do we do this at exhibitions and trade shows?

Well, many of us remain on reduced budgets, including all aspects of our exhibit programs - even travel. That means we'll be participating in fewer exhibits, our exhibits will be reduced in size compared to the past, and that our staffing will also likely be curtailed. With those realities, what can we do?

FEWER SHOWS:

• choose exhibitions and shows very carefully. Do not rely on past trends and information. Things are so different today that you must do research to get an idea of what will happen in the future. Talk to customers, other suppliers, trade associations, and the exhibition management.
• drive as many people as you can to the events you do exhibit at. Create simple and low-cost flyers or post cards for your field staff to hand or mail to customers. Even if the customers don't attend, they pick up on the fact that your company is alive and doing well.
• strongly consider virtual exhibitions. They get better every month. Don't rely on what was true in 2008 (they were pretty good back then - read my post on that). That's looooong ago in this fast-paced world. Virtual exhibitions can be very good these days.
• make the most of your reduced investment by planning for very diligent follow-up on every lead and contact. Be sure to update customers who did NOT attend. You still have a chance at impressing them and getting some action by keeping them in the loop (act like you're a trusted and valued partner).

LESS COSTLY EXHIBITS:

• accept the fac that you are going to spend less per show. Do NOT resign yourself to looking cheesy. There IS a difference between less expensive and low class. Do a ton of research. Review all the cool and low-cost designs that exhibition houses have to offer. I just Googled "low cost elegant exhibit design" (not in quotes) and received 41,100 results (over 373,000 images). That will keep me busy learning for an afternoon.  Challenge yourself to come up with something novel.  And understand that it is OK to cut back. Everyone is doing it - and everyone understands.
• consider shifting the focus from the stately mansion that you used to erect ... to the actual product, service, and information that you purvey. THAT would be an improvement.
• design everything around the CUSTOMER's perspective: convenience, comfort, concerns, etc. Was it EVER "all about you?"

REDUCED STAFF:

• face it, an exhibition is hard work. So accept that you will work hard - harder than before. You are also asking your team mates to work harder. Know that.
• plan on longer shifts, being tied to the booth and having less free time to walk the show. Give your team a heads-up on this - set expectations early.
• set up some niceties for your staff so their time in the booth is fun, comfortable and less stressful. Consider: snacks (to be eaten off your property, no one likes to see booth staffers munching down a hot dog), shoe insoles, bottled water, phone chargers, comfortable chairs, bathroom breaks, etc.

As I am fond of saying, ALWAYS BEGIN AT THE END. Plan now for a wonderful, successful exhibit experience. Imagine it is a month AFTER the show (the end) - and that everyone is thrilled. Sales got great leads, customers learned what they came to learn (and walked away with a favorable impression of you), your staff had a positive experience, and the accountants report that you were under budget.  Then, write down exactly what you did to make that happen. The magic occurs in the planning phase.

Share your secrets with us - we'd love to hear how you're making the best of the situation.

HubSpot Interviews Rick Short On Blogging In B2B Marcom

HubSpot is a great company, and an excellent resource for helping get the most out of social media - especially blogging.

Recently they were gracious enough to ask me a few questions in an interview. My favorites:

• "Weren't you worried about a shortage of readers and topics to write about?"
• "How do you justify so much company time devoted to blogging?"
• "What are your favorite blogs?"

Let me know what you think of my answers.

More importantly, what are YOUR answers to the questions?

Social Media The Focus of today's BtoB NetMarketing Breakfast

The view of the approximately 100 people in attendance (from the stage).

I had the great fortune to be invited by Ellis Booker to participate in today's BtoB Magazine's (btobonline's) NetMarketing Breakfast in Manhattan. Sitting on the panel with me were three incredibly skilled, experienced, and successful business to business experts - each with a powerful story to share. Social media was the theme. I was taking notes like crazy! Sitting in the room were approximately 100 business to business practitioners from the greater New York City area.

BtoB covered the event excellently, so be sure to review their take here.  Now, for my highlights (I am intentionally avoiding topics covered in the BtoB article):

First up was Paul Dunay, Global Managing Director of Services and Social Marketing at Avaya. Paul mentioned that he utilizes many social media sites to further Avaya's goals, with Facebook as "the hub" and twitter as a "teaser" to float topics. Paul feels that "the future of media is contextual" and urged the audience to delve into that practice.

Next up was Rob DeRobertis, Director of Marketing for the GP DSP Division of Analog Devices.  Rob suggests that we map our customer's buying process, then understand the key influences at each step. He uses LinkedIn to target high-level individuals. Like most successful Marcom people I know, Rob is an artist (an accomplished photographer in his case). Check it out.

Gary Spangler (scroll to near-bottom), ebusiness Leader of DuPont Electronic & Communications Technologies shared some research indicating that 80% of engineers (remember, this was a BtoB Magazine event) prefer email or the web versus face-to-face when it comes to gathering information. Like any good engineer, he had tons of other stats in his presentation.

I shared my philosophy of "turning the company inside out". I recalled the old days, when all marketers relied on stock photos of incredibly-handsome people, pristine labs, and flawless facilities. We used these images to craft brochures that would be pressed upon our tecchie customers by slick sales people in 3-piece suits. We all chuckled when we thought of how wrong it feels, today, to expect extremely technical people (on a mission to find technical answers) to NOT be talking with the tech staff of our companies. In the old days, our tecchies were hidden behind a curtain because they were not "perfect" human beings (stock photo worthy - who is???). Today we all understand that transparency is the key, that our technical customers are most comfortable talking with equally-technical support staff, and that the people who design, build, and service our products clearly have a lot more to offer than "crafted" literature and talking suits. My single biggest contribution to my company (I've been here over 25 years), in my opinion, has been to turn it inside out - and put our tech staff face-to-face with the marketplace - especially in our blogging program. Don't get me wrong. Indium Corporation has had engineers on the phone, in the air, in customer facilities, and authoring/presenting tech papers for longer than I've been on board. Our founder was a Chem E. (back in 1934), and we've always been an engineering company (today our President is also a Chem E.). I want to be sure to give credit where credit is due (to our corporate DNA). I am only taking credit for taking the concept to the next level - when the tools availed themselves.

Anyway, Ellis did an excellent job of making us all feel comfortable (as if this seasoned group of B2B Marcom pros needed any help with that). We had a great time and learned a lot. I certainly plan on contacting my panel mates in the near future. They know a TON, and are responsible for some VERY impressive achievements.  You can listen to each of us in a 3+-minute video that Ellis captured just after the event wrapped up.

UPDATE: all four sets of PowerPoint presentations are now available.

Please comment and let us know what you think.

The Era of "Do And Gloom"

Motivational image from Media Bistro website (http://www.mediabistro.com/agencyspy/original/we_can_do_it.jpg).

21 Things You Can Do, Right Now, To Enhance Your B2B Marcom

Compliments of the 2009 Annual BMA Conference

For the past year we've been in, what many feel, was the era of "Doom and Gloom". We received nothing but bad news, and often, bad results from the global economy and our marcom endeavors. WIth our staffs shrinking, customers contracting, demand diminishing, and media morphing, marcom professionals faced trouble, with a capital "T".

Today, things are still gloomy in some ways (there remains a bit of an economic cloud hanging over our creative little heads), but the sense of doom is lifting. I declare that we are now in the era of "Do and Gloom". It's now time to really "do" what must be done to take us out of this situation. But, how do we know what to do? Well, the people who attended the BMA 09 (Business Marketers Association Annual Conference) in Chicago two weeks ago know.

I presented at BMA 09 (a member of a panel focused on B2B blogging), so I was in the thick of things. I attended every single session possible during the three days (some events were concurrent so a few choices had to be made) and learned a ton about what we all can "do". I gathered up as much as I could and am sharing it all with you. Here goes! (bold are my comments)

#1: "Nobody cares about your products (except you)."  "David Meerman Scott  So, focus on what the customer cares about.

#2: "Develop buyer personas."   David Meerman Scott  Truly seek to categorize and describe WHO buys from you. Accurately develop details on what each persona cares about (see #1).

#3: "Consider moving your message from "content" to "thoughtful insight".    Matt Preschern  Start with items 1 and 2.

#4: "Use tools to accomplish more with less."  Patrick Crane  Dive in, experiment, research, learn, grow, discern, & discard, and get more efficient.

#5: "Move from delivering 'information' to delivering 'insight'."  Patrick Crane  See items 1 & 2.

#6: "Move from 'marketing' to 'place making'."  Joe Pine  Seek to "own the space", to be the thought leader in your realm.

#7: " 'Authenticity' is the new customer sensibility."  Joe Pine  Let the customer see you, and be real.

#8: "Create an experience so great that your customers will pay you for the experience."  Joe Pine  Be compelling, be valuable.

#9: "Get your website WAP- and mobile-enabled. It is about to explode for industrial use."  Sam Sebastian    Clear enough.

#10: "Build customer engagement using these 5 techniques:

• put forth quality content

• moderate your website consistently (to develop the desired tone)

• be a member of the community

• let it get personal

• don't confuse the platform with the community"

                     Bruce Bergwall            Clear enough.

#11: "Answer this question: What would the story be ... what would the message be - if you were to prepare a 45-minute feature film about your ...?"  Al Saltiel     Wow! THAT is a very interesting suggestion/concept. I'll bet the process (as I am imagining it all) can be so revealing. I am absolutely going to brainstorm this with my team.

#12: "The new frontier of marketing is connecting, individually, with people."  Al Saltiel   This forces transparency. No more hiding behind slogans and brochures.

#13: "Use social media to:

• listen to and learn from customers

• target and engage with customers

• join the conversation and add value to the community

• experiment"

          Steve Patrizi  This forces many to redefine their use of their daily hours. You can't "sort of" do this.

#14: "If you are considering staging, or participating in, a customized virtual event, it should be an 'event'. " John Grosshandler     See #8.

 #15: Think beyond 'business to business', if it is appropriate, "think 'business to engineer'. "  Richard McDonnell    See #2 above, then get busy.

#16: "Overdeliver at your 'moments of truth'. "  Scott Davis    This forces us all to KNOW what our "moments of truth actually are". Have you ever had this conversation with your Sales staff? Second step is to know what the customer values (so you can overdeliver it). Then, you've got to actually have "it" to deliver. Wow!

#17: "Stop thinking of products. Start thinking about experiences."  Scott Davis  Clear enough.

#18: "Give people a reason to talk about your product."  Andy Sernovitz   Not as easy as it sounds.

#19: "Make it easy for the conversation to take place." Andy Sernovitz    Think about EVERY place you meet the market, and transform each of them into an exchange.

#20: "Find people who will talk (on your behalf)." Andy Sernovitz   The old "third party endorsement" or "case study" model. It is still just as powerful as ever.

 #21: "Build an army of fans who will advertise for you for free." Andy Sernovitz    "Fans"?  See all of the above.

So, there you have it. I've been working hard to collect these goodies for you. Please put them to good use as you "DO"!

Mad Avenue Blues

I thank my friend, John Favalo, for hooking me up with this gem.

Writing Skills In Marcom: A Fascinating Story

Image: http://www.duncanpollock.com/HomesForSaleAd.jpg

It's not B2B (it is B2C), but it IS Marcom - and it depicts a clearly successful individual. In other words, listen up and learn - maybe even become inspired. Then, apply it all to your B2B practice.

The background: a self-described "freelance marketing communications writer" (how blah sounding! But wait for it.) with tons of talent and empathy connects to the real estate sales market (how cliche and exaggerated!).

The results: passion, writing skills, and hard work seriously distinguish both the properties and the sales people - driving RESULTS and a ton of dedicated, loyal, return customers.

Marcom ladies and Marcom gentlemen, I present you Valerie Haboush and the very flattering New York Times article titled, "The Poet of Property" (cool!). Not so blah-sounding now!

After reading this you will certainly understand that all your teachers were right: words matter, grammar is critical, being able to write well is extremely valuable, persuasive writing is important, etc. Basically, Valerie has made a career out of paying heed to the advice of our collective 8th-grade English teachers' (with a ton of her own talent and diligence thrown in).

Congratulations, Valerie, on both the excellent article (I can't wait to learn what excitement and opportunities it creates) and the career.

Readers, after you review the article, stop back and share your thoughts.

Are Magazines Dead?

No B2B Marketer Left Behind: Let's all make the journey together.

The answer is, "no". Let's get that right out of the way up front. Magazines are NOT dead. Not across the board, anyway.

Are many traditional B2B print magazines dying? Yes!

Why???

Quoting from an article in PrintWeek:

Maurice Lèvy, chairman and chief executive at global advertising giant Publicis Groupe, described the financial crisis as "a cruel and brutal accelerator and amplifier of long-term trends". "Let’s face it, the traditional model is broken," he added.
 

So, let's rattle the traditional model. The question for advertisers, clients, and media to each ask themselves is, "Is what I'm purveying valuable enough to my target audience to get them to pay for it?" And the very same question (altered slightly) should be asked of our target audience. "What content are you willing to purchase?" After all, shouldn't the party that derives value do (some of) the paying???

I recently commented on a BtoBOnline article about this topic - it went something like this:

You seem to be writing from a perspective where the ONLY way for a magazine to be funded is from advertising dollars. You say, "Without advertising magazines cannot exist." Many people fall into the same trap - and it IS a trap.

 Magazines need RESOURCES (primarily money). This money does not, necessarily, have to come from advertising dollars. There are many examples of magazines that exist quite nicely with NO advertising (typically funded by subscriber or member dollars).

I suggest that the antiquated Rube Goldberg contraption that we've all learned to live with (traditional advertising) needs to be simplified - and fast. Additionally, I suggest that the advertiser should NOT be the only party taking a risk in the process.

The Rube Goldberg Contraption:

An advertiser wants CONTACT information (a real customer with a real interest). To get to that point, the advertiser 1) develops content (information), 2) pays an ad designer, 3) pays a media buyer, 4) pays the media, 5) then hopes the right people see the ad, 6) then hopes those people respond to the ad.

The Risk:

The advertiser pays everyone in the contraption hard cash, or with content delivered. Each party gets exactly what they want right up front ... except the advertiser. They have to hope that every link in the chain (including their own perception of what content is important) is strong enough to ultimately deliver the desired goal.

The Answer:

CREATE TRUE, COMPELLING VALUE. VALUE THE ACCURATE, EFFECTIVE DELIVERY OF CONTENT.

CLIENTS: go to market with COMPELLING CONTENT (true value). Treat your target audience with respect, know they are smart, know they are building businesses and careers using innovative, new, empowering information. Create it, integrate it, own it, and purvey it. Then VALUE it.

Insipid press releases or articles train your target audience to NOT TRUST you. Puffed-up advertisements encourage your target audience to figure out how you might be tricking them. Stop crying "wolf".

AGENCIES: advise your clients to cease with the meaningless press releases, hollow articles, and filler stories. Teach them that these tactics devalue both their company and their value delivery mechanism.

Additionally, work with your clients AND your media contacts to develop the proper valuation of the overall process.

MEDIA: understand that you are not in the business of selling ads. You are in the business of earning the position of a meaningful and valued partner in the business cycle. Your specific role is EFFICIENT CONTENT DELIVERY. You deliver and present it for your clients and you deliver it to your target audience.

Once you are delivering valued content to your audience - teach that audience how valuable your service is, and seek compensation for the value you deliver. Once you are delivering valued content to your clients (qualified leads, for example) - teach them how valuable this service is, and seek compensation for the value you deliver.

Quoting Jonathan Newhouse, chairman of Condé Nast International: "Love your readers and your advertisers and they will love you back."

AUDIENCE: There is no such thing as a free lunch. If you truly value meaningful content that will rapidly advance your projects, your business, and your career, understand that you will have to pay for it.

It seems that too many parties in this equation are mis-valuing what they are delivering or receiving - some give a bargain, others get a bargain. And it seems that too many parties are willing to shuffle along using a broken business model that has come to look like a contraption, and not a streamlined machine.

GAMING THE SYSTEM: Here is what my media partners have told me (in essence) ... you can deliver valuable content to your target audience for free. Since we don't charge you for the placement of press releases or white papers, just create really compelling content and we will run it. Your message gets out to the right audience, and the audience can contact you when they want to know more. The same media partners have clearly been giving their content to the audience for free, effectively telling them to expect something for nothing. Almost everyone wins.

The problem with "gaming the system" is that a potentially valuable partner dies - interrupting (temporarily) the delivery chain. The media can not survive if everyone games the system. I add "temporarily" because alternative means of reaching target audiences are popping up like dandelions in the Spring. In Digital Darwinism, Christopher Vollmer writes, "... digital platforms and capabilities are transforming the ways in which consumers experience advertising. What’s more, they are dramatically reshaping the relationships among marketers, advertising agencies, and media companies."

Our audience simply has so many newly-evolving ways to get valuable content that they can afford to step over the gasping carcasses of the soon-to-be-extinct media players.

I hope:

•  a newly-evolved media mindset and practice arises. One that charges clients to place content; One that charges the audience to receive content; One that charges the client for qualified leads that arise from the content.

• that clients (advertisers) cease the generation of drivel - and put forth content that is truly worthy of respect (and worthy of a customer declaring their interest by providing contact information).

• that agencies intermediate this process, teaching both sides how to make progress on this journey, delivering insight unavailable to the media or the clients, and charge for this valuable service.

What are you hoping for? Please comment.

UNLearn: BMA Annual Conference

I just love EVERYTHING about this logo/image: old school analog dial & materials, not a simple icon, the anarchy of "UNLearn" ... cool!

First of all, I am participating on a discussion panel ... THAT is always fun and enlightening.

Secondly, any gathering of like-minded people has promise. THIS group of people is wildly powerful and thrilling.

And then there's the "UNLearn" theme. Perfect!

The 2009 BMA Annual Conference looks to be absolutely awesome - if you're a B2B Marcom afficionado.  You can buy the full conference, you can buy a la carte, you can learn about the hottest topics, and you can meet some real leading-edge thinkers and doers. Chicago in June is a real bonus, for sure (I can't wait to plug into some live blues guitar music, and maybe a guitar store or two).  According to the conference's website:

Thirteen keynote and 12 breakout sessions will focus on newer, better, smarter and faster ways to get the job done. Al and Laura Ries. Joe Pine. David Meerman Scott. Andy Sernovitz. Scott Davis. Top marketing leaders from Siemens, Navistar, IBM, LinkedIn, Google, SAP and GE.

I'll add Dr. Ralph Oliva to the list of luminaries. He is a true Marcom Star. I ALWAYS learn something powerful and implementable from Ralph. He's on the roster. And I am hoping to run into BtoB Magazine's Editor-in-Chief, Ellis Booker. We've chatted before - he is a wealth of information and insight.

I'll be on a panel with experts discussing:

Why B-to-B & Corporate Blogging Matters: Best Practices & Key Trends

When 500,000 people are going online every day for the first time in their lives, we are in a time of rapid change. Leaders are realizing that blogging and social media provide one of the most direct ways to build relationships and personalize their story. This expert panel, led by one of the most experienced corporate blogging professionals around, will examine how business marketers benefit when employees and executives blog, how to start and sustain blogging efforts, how to measure their value and lessons learned along the way.

Hope to see you in Chicago!

Superior B2B Marcom Performance: be careful with webinars and seminars

Extreme skiiers astonish us on the day of the show. To acquire the skills and abilities that get them there, they become comfortable with the ol' crash and burn during practices. You should, too.

I just received an email invitation to a webinar. It is promised that I will learn (quoted):

• How B2B marketers and marketing budgets specifically have been affected by the worldwide recession

• How much of marketing budgets are allocating their budget among digital media options

• How to re-examine your own spending based on what the rest of the B2B world is doing

It struck me kind of funny that this was it. It wasn't the intro of the webinar, it was THE webinar.

Now, I don't mind knowing these things. In fact, they could be parts of a valuable baseline of information. But, if you are to become a B2B Marcom leader, then you aren't being paid to be average. You aren't supposed to emulate typical B2B Marketers - you're supposed to blow them all away!

The SMART voice in my head tells me that, when such a seminar is given, EVERYONE learns the info ... and the average shifts. Most people move in a pack and remain average. I am not paid to be average. So, it continually comes down to:

• listen to this "average" information - to know where the baseline is. Then, vow to step far away from it.
• cultivate your own "above average" practice with your trusted network of B2B Marcom experts. Implement it and distinguish your organization.

How do you identify leading-edge Marcom gurus, experts, and creators, so you can assemble your B2B Marcom Dream Team? I look for people who are in the trenches, actually implementing ideas and seeing the results. These people also have to be extremely curious, open-minded, and energetic. They also seek information and education constantly. And they are not afraid to stumble. They are comfortable with tripping and falling from time to time - and they never consider these events to be "failures" (watch a trick skiier or skateboard rider practicing. It looks like they are a mess ... far from it.). In fact, these people might actually scare you from time to time. They have far out notions, and try very "interesting" things. Pay attention! Sometimes these people crash, other times they invent something amazing. When they do crash, they are "failing forward". You'd think that no one wants to fail, that everyone actually prefers the simpler and less painful, "forward". Not true. True leaders need to know where the boundaries and borders are. They NEED to define the limits - and that requires the occasional crash.

So, be careful with these seminars and training opportunities. They clearly have a value, but they can lull you into a sense of complacency if you start believing that you've learned the golden nugget or been to the mountain top. Bottom line, "forward" is critical - but standing above the average is mandatory. So, "get" what everyone else is doing, but go far beyond.

Identify the opportunities to acquire "baseline" info - and use them appropriately. More importantly, cultivate your cadre of Marcom gurus and, together, get all messed up creating the new leading edge.

Image: CNN.

B2B Marcom Podcast: Bernie Borges & Rick Short

Bernie Borges, author, interviews Rick Short in a podcast on social media marketing.

Bernie Borges, of Find and Convert, is about to release a book on social media marketing.

Since Indium Corporation's blogging is featured in the book, Bernie and I recorded a podcast, covering a little of Indium Corporation's philosophy and practice. If you are interested, give a listen to Bernie Borges' podcast of our conversation on social media marketing. It lasts 33 minutes.

When you're done, please leave a comment here.