October 30th, 2008
by David Jones

Can a small consulting firm make the world a better place? At Projectline we think so, and here is one of the ways we are doing it…

We pride ourselves on having not just talented business people work for us, but great people. Our clients benefit from the skills and experience of our team, but may be unaware that behind the scenes, we are also making an impact on a global scale with every new project we undertake. A portion of the revenue from each of our projects is redirected to help entrepreneurs in developing countries build their business and lift themselves out of poverty. Through Kiva, Projectline lends money to entrepreneurs who are unable to draw startup capital from banks. This process helps small business owners build their businesses, which will, in turn, hopefully have a positive impact on their communities… You get the drift. I am proud to say we have been actively lending money to individuals in developing countries for over 22 months now and have made more than 60 loans. (more…)

tags: B2B, cause-related marketing, community partnership, kiva, socially conscious

August 15th, 2008
by Eric Larson

I am attending the New Media Expo in Las Vegas for 2 1/2 days of interesting presentations from a variety of speakers.  So far I’ve heard from Michael Geoghegan, who produces Disneyland’s podcast,  Gary Vaynerchuck, podcaster for Wine Library TV, and Scott Whitney, a professional podcaster.

One common theme through their presentations was to make sure that recordings are spontaneous, passionate, and emotional.  Vaynerchuck shoots his video for tv.winelibrary.com in 20 minutes in one take every day without editing.  Geoghegan admits that he doesn’t know much about Disneyland.  When he learns a new Disneyland fact in his podcast he’s genuinely excited and interested, and it shows up in the podcast.  Whitney coaches his clients not to read from a script when he interviews them, and will stop an interview to encourage interviewees to speak from the heart.

(more…)

tags: B2B, Best practices, blogging, new media, podcasts, social media, video, web 2.0

October 30th, 2007
by Erica Hansen

For you marketers out there, the notion of using customers to carry your marketing message is not new, but the evolution of social media (AKA social networking) has taken ‘word of mouth’ marketing to a whole new level. I think about this daily in my B2B marketing work and just the other day, I experienced it first hand in a B2C (a web site and blog) turned customer-to-customer (C2C) medium (a personal email with links). A friend of mine told me about a great new store, Nau. Not only did she tell me about it, but she also sent me a link to their website and a link to the blog that introduced her to Nau. Based on her experience with their products, she became a loyal customer and a staunch customer advocate. Plus, I became a new Nau customer without ever leaving my chair. Simple, yet important and repeatable.

Basically, I think our typical B2B content now must be blended with C2C contact methods and content. Interesting, but not difficult. As marketing pros, this opens up some incredible opportunities for us to reach our audience much faster. For traditional marketers, the switch and blending of C2C messages and mediums into B2C marketing campaigns can seem daunting, so here are a few ideas that I have noted seem to help: (more…)

tags: advertising, audience perception, B2B, marketing, new media, social media, word of mouth

October 29th, 2007
by Anika Lehde

 So I have been thinking today (not the first time) about my least favorite approach to customer evidence, (case studies, success stories, customer testimonials, whatever you want to call them). I think it is a problem that permeates the execution of so many sales and marketing activities: goal-agnostic metrics.

What do I mean? I mean when some poor marketing manager has been given the task of “creating XX number of success stories by XX date” as the goal of a customer evidence program. This is a fine target number, but not the goal of the program. The goals of an evidence program should be more like: to create stories that are instantly readable and genuinely connect with the audience, to create testimonials that are true and informative with a reasonable call to action, to produce stories that resonate and can be passed on to your customers’ industry peers, and most importantly to create materials that actually get in the hands of buyers and influencethem at all stages of the sales and marketing life cycle.

So my quick advice, if you are ever asked to “create XX number of success stories by XX date” is to consider these 4 questions:

• How will these materials get into the hands of potential customers, specifically? Events? Online? Sales calls? Proposals? Direct mail? Press releases? and how can I make sure that it actually happens?
• What formats will be most useful in these channels?
• What quantity of success stories is needed to be successful in these channels based on coverage across industry, geography, and segment?
• If I were someone in my audience, what would I really bother to read that would make a difference in my buying decisions? (See little chat on empathy in marketing or more ideas.

Once these questions are answered, then set the best target possible for your budget, and include a few more details such as what formats will be used in what channels (online, direct mail, advertising, sales calls, events, etc). That is sure to generate more success for your company in the long run, and you’ll still likely hit hit your targets. And if any one ever asks you, “why 20?,” you’ll have an answer.

tags: audience perception, B2B, case studies, customer evidence, customer reference, marketing, marketing goals

July 13th, 2007
by David Jones

Technology Adoption Programs (TAPs) are intended to serve one (or both) of the following purposes:

1. Product Validation—Customers provide technical feedback, feature validation, and bug identification for a pre-release product so that engineering can improve the product before release.

2. Early Adoption—Customers partner with product marketing to adopt the new technology and share their experiences publicly in support of the product launch.

Over the past five years I have noticed a trend whereby TAPs have continually gotten larger. To me this indicates how crucial TAPs are to the launch of a new technology, and how very successful they have been. So the natural inclination is to take something that is going well and pour more resources into it for a bigger return. However, TAPs are meant to be “high touch” and scaling them larger can jeopardize the ability to provide a certain level of engagement to participants.

For this posting I would like to focus on the second purpose mentioned above (Early Adoption). I am sure you’re on the edge of your seat wondering, but when is he going to share his thoughts on Product Validation programs? You will just have to check back at a later date. Always leave them wanting more. (more…)

tags: B2B, blogging, early adoption, marketing, product adoption

June 27th, 2007
by Anika Lehde

Like auto hobbyists with a new set of tools, marketers can’t stop chatting about how traditional marketing and social digital media will intersect over the coming years, so I won’t bore you with more opinions on this exact matter. Plus the somewhat ironical humor of discussing social media, new media, or community marketing via a blog just cracks me up. (more…)

tags: advertising, B2B, blogging, case studies, customer evidence, customer reference, marketing, new media, social media, web 2.0