by Fronetics | Oct 11, 2017 | Blog, Content Marketing, Current Events, Marketing
As peer recommendation becomes increasingly important to B2B buying decisions, user review sites can make or break a business.
How often do you consider going to a much-hyped summer movie but change your mind when a friend shares the terrible Rotten Tomatoes reviews? According to Quartz Media, many a summer movie has proven more “bust” than “blockbuster” after negative feedback on the movie review site.
Just as Rotten Tomatoes can sink a would-be summer blockbuster, user-review websites can have a toxic effect on your business.
B2B buyers are increasingly relying on peer recommendations in the purchase process. In fact, 67% of those surveyed in Demand Gen’s 2017 B2B Buyers Survey reported that peer reviews are an important part of evaluating a list of solution providers.
Third-party user review sites as peer recommendations
Third-party user review sites function like peer reviews, particularly in the B2B space, where a buyer can’t always get a good vendor recommendation at a neighborhood dinner party. They need industry peers that have experience with these vendors to provide honest feedback.
So when someone leaves positive feedback about your business on one of these third-party sites, it’s a huge win for you. Potential buyers will see your customer’s kind words and form a positive association with your brand name. It can be the difference in winning a new customer’s business.
Dealing with negative user reviews
While your business will benefit greatly from positive reviews, it’s important to acknowledge that not all reviews will be favorable. You need a strategy for dealing with negative reviews. Here are a few tips:
1) Ignoring a bad review won’t make it go away.
Take the time to respond to criticism online, publicly if possible. Acknowledge the concerns of the reviewer, offer solutions, and invite them to contact you directly to resolve the issue. Negative reviews don’t have to be disaster — they can even be an opportunity for growth.
2) Learn from your mistakes.
This one may seem obvious, but you’d be surprised how often business don’t take negative reviews seriously, only to make the same damaging mistakes over and over again. If the reviewer has a valid concern about your product or service, take the time to address it internally.
3) Encourage more reviews.
Reviews are a way to empower your customers, and they represent vast opportunities for your business. Seek them out!
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by Fronetics | Oct 9, 2017 | Blog, Content Marketing, Marketing, Social Media, Talent
As peer influence becomes increasingly important in B2B buying decisions, empowering employee brand ambassadors will benefit your bottom line.
I recently attended a dinner party where I met a new acquaintance. We talked about our families, our hobbies and, of course, our jobs. She recently started working for a small business about which she was tangibly passionate. After listening to her talk, I went home, immediately started following the company on social media, and purchased some products.
Some companies are overlooking their greatest marketing tool: their employees. That woman made a big impression on me and actually influenced a sale. The experience reflects a trend that’s also growing in the B2B space: the impact of peer influence on buying decisions. In fact, 68% of B2B buyers say they give credence to peer reviews in the purchase process.
Imagine the number of people you could reach through each employee’s peer network. It’s a massive opportunity.
I’ve written lately about the rise of influencer marketing. It’s a strategy B2B businesses are starting to understand and use to their advantage. But you don’t need a Kardashian or even an important industry professional to get started. Employees are your most natural, ready-made influencers.
Here are 3 reasons to invest in making your employees brand ambassadors.
3 benefits of employee brand ambassadors
1. Increased social media reach
According to a study conducted by the MSL Group, employee advocates are connected to 10X as many people as their brand on social media, and can increase the reach of brand content by 561%. If your employees are posting about your company on social media, they’re reaching a much wider audience than your company page is.
While 57% of companies have a LinkedIn company page, 94% of B2B buyers use LinkedIn to distribute content. If your employees are posting company content to their personal LinkedIn accounts, imagine the potential range your brand has to reach new audiences. And these people aren’t hearing it from your corporate page. They’re hearing it from a peer connection. That’s definitely more powerful.
2. Increased brand engagement
When it comes to increasing brand engagement, there is no better place to start than with your own employees. Peer influence is a natural extension of employees who believe in your company and its mission.
While only 3% of employees share company-relevant content on social media, they actually drive a 32% increase in engagement. And their advocacy has a greater impact their peers’ buying decisions than you might imagine. Studies show that leads gathered as a result of employee advocacy convert 7X more often than other leads.
3. Elevated employee (and company) performance
While your employees are advocating for your company, they will also benefit from their new role as brand ambassadors. They will be more engaged and invested in their jobs. And the additional responsibility will foster a sense of pride and professional growth.
That pride translates to greater productivity. Companies with engaged employees outperform those without by up to 202%. But that’s not all! Companies with highly engaged employees saw a 20% increase in sales and a 10% in customer ratings.
Empowering your employees
Successfully reframing your employees as brand ambassadors requires creating a culture that empowers and incentivizes employee participation. Offer them the appropriate training or knowledge. Ask them to complete specific tasks (e.g., sharing company content), and give them room to be creative in their ambassadorship as well. Make sure you regularly engage them and thank them for their help.
Keep in mind: Employees are much more likely to participate if what you’re asking them to do is seen as complementary, not supplementary, to their workload. Make sure you are appropriately compensating them for any activity outside of normal working hours to avoid resentment. And, most importantly, keep the dialogue open. You never know how impactful your employee brand ambassadors can be.
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by Fronetics | Oct 3, 2017 | Blog, Content Marketing, Marketing, Social Media, Strategy
Learn how a mobile advertising network and an inbound marketing agency tried Quora as a marketing tool.
Last month, I gave you some tips on how supply chain and logistics marketers can use Quora to build their brands. If you’ve forgotten why you should be incorporating Quora into your marketing strategy, here’s a quick recap:
- Research: Quora offers amazing insight into what thought leaders in the supply chain and logistics industries are focused on. Just by tuning into the conversation, you can gain extremely valuable knowledge.
- Connections: This social media platform gives you a perfect space to connect with peers in your industry and with potential buyers, as well.
- Reputation building: Quora is one of the best tools out there for reputation building. It allows you to participate in and contribute to conversations that can shape the future of your industry. Using this platform effectively gives you the opportunity to become a resource for others in your industry and for your target buyers — and there’s no better reputation builder than that.
Plenty of business are already using Quora extremely effectively, seeing ROI and more. But supply chain and logistics companies have yet to jump on this untapped opportunity. Let’s take a look at a few success stories.
2 B2B companies successfully using Quora
Kiip
This mobile advertising network has a unique business model that “redefines how brands connect with consumers.” Back in 2014, the marketing team did a series of experiments — one of which was answering questions on Quora — to figure out which growth strategies would be most beneficial for the business model. Read about Kiip’s Quora experiment here.
Kevin Fishner, Kiip’s director of growth, said that his goal in answering Quora questions was to “build our brand presence in the mobile advertising space while driving quality leads to our site.” He offers the important insight that there is a fine line between offering valuable answers and blatantly pitching your product.
“If the question directly pertained to Kiip,” Fishner says, “I’d drop a link at the bottom of my answer. If it was a more generic mobile advertising question, I’d use insights from our campaigns at Kiip and leave it at that.”
Fishner points out that answering questions thoughtfully takes a significant time investment. But in the end, this investment is worth it for your business in all kinds of ways.
As you join the Quora conversation, keep Fishner’s insights in mind. Promoting your brand isn’t always about pitching your product. Becoming a thought leader can be just beneficial, if not more so, for your brand and, ultimately, for your bottom line.
IMPACT
Impact is an inbound marketing agency based out of Connecticut. Earlier this year, IMPACT blogger Carolyn Edgecomb wrote about how the company used Quora marketing to build brand awareness. Like Fishner, she points to following core advice for using this platform: “Hustling or selling is exactly what you shouldn’t be doing on Quora. Instead, aim to spread knowledge.”
Based on IMPACT’s experience on the site, she suggest that “by regularly engaging with other members, you’re able to gain key insights from leading experts, target your audience, and even repurpose your content while answering and asking questions.”
For IMPACT, Quora was less about generating ROI and more about “increasing brand awareness and establishing thought leadership.”
Supply chain and logistics companies can take inspiration and insight from these two Quora marketing success stories. The field is largely open. Start looking for questions you can answer, become a part of the conversation, and aim to become a thought leader.
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by Fronetics | Jul 25, 2017 | Blog, Content Marketing, Marketing, Strategy
When you achieve sales and marketing alignment, your company will perform better. Here’s how to get there.
The State of Inbound 2017 reports that only 22% of respondents say their sales and marketing relationship is tightly aligned. That’s a big problem.
Sales and marketing teams that are tightly aligned perform better, and revenue increases as well. Clear and consistent expectations between the two teams results in positivity across the boardroom.
Here are 6 ways to embrace “smarketing,” the process of integrating sales and marketing.
6 steps to ensure sales and marketing alignment
1. Create an agreement.
Marketing strategies are three times more effective when a Service Level Agreement (SLA) aligning marketing goals with sales team practices is in place. The SLA clearly states how each side will help one another. Some 80% of respondents with an SLA in place who feel tightly aligned report that their marketing strategy is effective. Tightly aligned marketing and sales produces higher-value marketing leads.
2. Hear it from the top.
Demonstrate the value of aligned sales and marketing across all levels of the company. C-level executives know the importance of tight alignment, and when they communicate it to managers and individuals, it will boost key players’ confidence. Shout it from the rooftops so everyone gets the message.
3. Straddle both sectors.
Create a position or positions to supervise the alignment of both fields. That person can put a plan in place with measurable outcomes, as well as mechanisms for tracking client leads and feedback. First on the new position to-do list: devising an “Alignment 101” class to train each group on expectations and processes.
4. Monitor the revenue cycle.
Develop a system to keep track of leads from inception to signing on the dotted line. Make sure both sides of the aisle can (and do) access and update lead information, allowing everyone to take ownership of business successes. Monitoring the revenue cycle keeps everyone accountable.
5. Hold meetings and calls.
No one wants more meetings added to their calendars, but a weekly or bi-weekly check in gets everyone on the same page, imperative for tight alignment. Consider listening in on sales calls and attending each other’s networking events. Have fun learning about each other’s fields and how they overlap. A fresh set of eyes on something can often lead to a positive brainstorming session.
6. Create content.
Generating content for the sales team is a helpful way to partner up. Email templates, white papers, social media content, and Q&As are all tools salespeople can use to attract the attention of potential customers. Ask your sales counterparts how you can better support them.
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by Fronetics | Jul 17, 2017 | Blog, Content Marketing, Marketing
Outsourcing doesn’t have to be an all-or-nothing thing. Considering parsing off these marketing tasks based on internal resources and expertise.
Everyone needs a little help sometimes. That’s particularly true when it comes to B2B marketing. In fact, 52% of B2B marketers attribute stagnancy in success to not having enough time devoted to their marketing programs, and 49% attribute stagnation to content creation challenges.
Outsourcing marketing allows you to focus on insourcing your core competencies while delegating specialized tasks to external experts. And it’s important to note that you don’t have to outsource ALL of your marketing. Choosing several areas beyond your staff’s expertise or that are particularly time-consuming can help you improve your marketing efforts and take stress off an overworked internal marketing team.
Here are seven areas where you might consider outsourcing.
7 marketing tasks to outsource
1) Website development and design
Sure, you could build a perfectly functional website from a template, or have your techy nephew Chris put something together while interning with your company over summer break from college. But this is one area we feel strongly is best left to the pros.
A sleek, modern website that’s easy to navigate makes a big statement about your company. The overwhelming majority of buyers will visit vendors’ websites while researching and making purchasing decisions. The experiences they have while browsing contribute to their overall perception of the companies. Imagine how poor site organization, outdated functionality, or technical problems reflects on your brand.
In addition to creating a well-functioning site, the right developer/designer brings niche specializations to the table as well, such as usability engineering, search engine optimization, and more. Capitalizing on a professional’s knowledge in these areas can make a big difference in web traffic, visitor engagement, and, ultimately, lead generation and sales.
2) Social media management
Social media management sounds easy and fun. But if this task has ever fallen on your plate, you know the exact opposite is true. It can be one of the most time-consuming, frustrating tasks your business faces — and that’s before you realize you have to keep up with all the latest trends and platforms to be effective.
Outsourcing social media management to a knowledgeable partner can free up hours of your day and improve your social engagement and reach. These firms know what works and what doesn’t because they’re active every day on multiple platforms managing accounts for multiple clients.
And it’s not just posting every now and then. A good social media partner will craft and publish original content, but they’ll also curate great content from relevant sources, like industry partners. Outsourcing these tasks to the pros helps build a strong following and brand awareness for your company.
3) Content creation
Blog posts, emails, case studies, white papers, ebooks, webinars, marketing collateral, newsletters — how much content is your staff responsible for creating on a weekly, even daily, basis? Is it the kind of informed, quality material you’re proud of?
Content creation is one of the easiest marketing tasks to outsource. It will immediately give your staff back hours into their days. And the right outsource partner will produce high-quality, SEO-optimized content that will drive traffic, build trust with leads, and persuade buyers.
4) Videography
Video is the hottest content platform right now. I’ve written extensively about the opportunity supply chain and B2B businesses have with video, even if it’s just point-and-shoot iPhone video interviews with subject-matter experts. But professionally produced videos open another level of potential.
There are many firms and individuals that specialize in videography, and you’d be surprised how affordable and quick they can be. Or, some content creation partners also do video or can find a third-party videographer and manage the process for you.
5) Graphic design
This is one area where you really can’t fake it. Professional designers are worth their weight in gold, particularly when you need a professional document or graphic in a crunch. They can turn your documents into beautiful, easy-to-read brochures, or make dry technical data into eye-catching infographics. You may be savvy with Word templates, but they’ve got nothing on the pro designers.
6) E-commerce
Any sort of back-end system will work more smoothly if you are able to outsource the project to an agency already familiar with implementing and running specialized platforms. A smooth and well-thought out e-commerce process without any hiccups leaves customers happy and more likely to return.
7) Strategy and execution
Did you know you can leave marketing strategy to the experts? The right partner will work closely with you to develop a strategy that closely aligns with your business and marketing goals. They can even execute the strategy for you, as well, and then provide you with regular updates on how it’s working. This kind of results-driven approach will ensure you’re stretching your marketing dollars to the fullest extent and getting the kind of results that will grow your bottom line.
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