Why Internet Marketing kicks B2B’s butt – WIIFM!

I’ve spent some time ruminating about this question – why does it happen…

Scenario A) A company has a great product, a large marketing budget, hires salespeople or distributors, but come up woefully short on sales year to year.

Scenario B) Some upstart company (usually using a substandard website from a single home computer), has an average product, a few hundred dollars of marketing, no salespeople, and drives sales day in, day out.

What is the difference?

WIIFM!

For those of you who don’t know what that acronym stands for – Whats in it for me?

Internet marketing folks know –

They have a short window of opportunity to hit their target in the gut (one click and you’re history).
They know they need a robust database (capture data at every point in the conversation).
They offer something of value (usually at a deep discount to capture contact information).
They need to groom their prospects into customers (usually through systematic drip marketing).
They rarely talk about how great their company is (they let other people do it for them).
They don’t make a big deal about themselves (they know how to be seen without being obvious).
The talk to the customer about their needs and wants (because they know their customer better than they know themselves).
They put the customer behind the wheel (creating ownership and letting the customer solve their own problems, with their help, of course).
They sell the sizzle of the product  (not the steak)
They SOLVE a customer problem (often one they don’t know they have)…

Bottom line, they know their customer inside and out, and solve a problem as a partner, friend or trusted adviser.

There is a factor that B2B marketing managers overlook.  B2B marketing spends thousands of dollars convincing their prospects about how knowledgeable they are.  They “position” themselves as the best solution to the problem.  Rarely do they know what the problem is, just they are the right solution. They SELL, not tell.

Now take a look at your marketing message – how often do you refer to yourself, and how often do you refer to your customer?  Where does the customer see themselves in your marketing message?  Because if they don’t see themselves as a part of the dialog, the chances of you converting the sale is unlikely.

Let me know what you think – how are you marketing yourself?

Betting on Bigger Sales –
Your Marketing Maven,  Christine

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