“Solution” is not the solution in B2B marketing communications

By Robert Celaschi

I won’t buy your product or service if you don’t tell me what it is.

Discuss The New Rules of Outsourcing B2B Marketing 2009 e-book and checklist

Today Cris Rominger and I published a free B2B marketing e-book (550KB PDF) called The New Rules of Outsourcing B2B Marketing: What Marketing Directors need in a B2B marketing consultant today.

In it we discuss how the shift to inbound marketing affects Marketing Directors; the 5 essential traits your B2B marketer needs and why each is important; 10 questions to ask a prospective B2B marketing consultant; how to cut ROI guesswork; what B2B buyers are looking for; and why B2B marketing differs from B2C.

We’re hoping to hear feedback. Please weigh in. (Tip: to comment, scroll down to the bottom of an article.)

B2B marketing’s future: the impact of social media

There were dynamite questions to Laura Ramos and me on today’s Forrester teleconference about  B2B Marketing Obsolete, Really? (Part III). Let’s continue the conversation!

Tipping point for business participation in social media

A recent post by Shandi on the Golden Capital Network blog alludes to the challenge of keeping up with the latest communications methods. He alludes to Twitter as an example of a new technology that’s reached a tipping point.

B2B technology marketing: solution-talk haters and feature-talk lovers

Do you think there are any feature-talk lovers?

B2B marketers agree that if you pound your audience with “we-we” messaging — meaning talk about your products and services and what they do and how they’re different — they’ll be turned off.

“Web Marketing in 2009″ – a SARTA seminar

 Cris Rominger and I will lead the Sacramento Area Regional Technology Alliance (SARTA) Leadership Series seminar titled “How to Succeed at Web Marketing in 2009″ on Wednesday, October 15, 2008.

Forrester: is B2B marketing going obsolete?

Some marketers I know sense, on a gut level, that the marketplace has experienced a significant shift in power. No longer are just vendors hunting prospects. Prospects, now, are experienced marksmen too.

5 reasons Sacramento will be a green tech hub

This morning was the “Future of Green Business in Sacramento” forum hosted by the Sacramento Business Journal. The event, moderated by Ron Trujillo, was sold out in advance. And a Monday article at Greentech Media, “Can Sacramento Become a Greentech Hub?“, cited four reasons to think Sacramento will be a green technology hub. Namely:

Sacramento technology industry health and feeding

I spoke last month with a reporter writing about the health and direction of the Sacramento region tech industry. There’s doom and gloom in much of the news, but all the software companies I work with are positioning for growth. Where is the disconnect happening?

Thumbs up on latest BtoBonline webcast

As the latest BtoB Magazine webcast,  “How to Leverage Online Communities for B2B Marketing,”got underway, I visited the launch page for a link to the webcast’s major sponsor, ITtoolbox .

The result? Nada.

Which B2B sales tools work?

Sales and marketing don’t mix well at many organizations. But they should and they can.

I’ve added an article, ”B2B Sales Tools That Work,” to B2B Central about how B2B marketers can help develop sales tools that improve life on the front lines.

Can prospects find you?

Are you positioned so that decision makers who need your services, can find you?

When over 4,000 B2B technology buyers/decision makers were asked how they chose a new vendor or technology, 80% said they found the vendor — not the other way around. (Source: MarketingSherpa Business Technology Marketing Benchmark Guide 2007-2008)

What does this mean for your 08-09 B2B technology marketing efforts — does it mean you should scale back marketing efforts because your prospects find you anyway?

See my thoughts on what it means in my B2B Central article called “Ensuring Prospects Find You.”