Marketing Profs

I'm not in the auto business, but I'm willing to bet that when engineers propose a new car model, they don't fail to include an engine in their designs.

Unfortunately, I can't say the same about many B2B marketers and their direct marketing strategies. I've seen too many creative briefs that had a great chassis—terrific messaging hooks, keen insight into audience desire—without the engine to drive it: an honest-to-goodness offer, a do-this-to-get-that promise. Instead, all that hard work invested in developing themes, brand distinctions and unique selling propositions sinks within this flaccid and all too common call to action: "For more information..."

You might just as well say, "For a tedious sales call...." Because "for more information" isn't an offer of value, it's a threat of wasted time. So, consider your direct marketing task—mail, email or even your Web site—stalled at the gate. What's the alternative?

In a B2B environment, where the products and services are expensive and the purchasing process complex, the classic B2C promises of discounts or free shipping are usually not appropriate. And if you're on the marketing end of your business, you may not have the ability to execute, or the authority to request, an offer of a free sample, a demo model, or an in-person demonstration.

In addition to being compelling to your audience, the right offer has to be doable—something marketing people can whip up, either on their own or with minimal internal cooperation.

When you're stuck without a traditional offer, here's how you can make mountains out of molehills and turn the information you have into material that's desired:

1. Tell a story

Few means of communication are as powerful as stories. In families, they're among the first ways we introduce children to the world; within societies, they're the dominant means of transmitting important information, ideas and values from one generation to the next. Even as our world becomes increasingly sophisticated, stories retain their primal power.

For business marketers, the story is your opportunity to bring passion to your pitch. The risk of failure—and the possibility of success—dangle before the reader; stories use drama to lure prospects emotionally, drawing them closer to your business and, hopefully, to the sale.

The classic storytelling vehicle for businesses is the case study, a brief narrative that explores what your business, product or service did for a customer. A good case study cuts through the fog of abstraction by demonstrating your effectiveness in the real world, among circumstances readers can recognize as their own. They're typically offered as papers prospects may request (via phone, fax, Web, etc.) or electronic documents they can either download or read on your Web site. While the format is flexible, all good case studies should include…

1. Background information that explains who the customer is and what challenge or problem that customer faced
   
   
2. A clear description of the stakes—what would be lost through failure and what could be achieved by successfully resolving the problem
   
   
3. How your business/product/service analyzed/strategized and ultimately resolved the problem
   
   
4. The happy consequences of success—money saved, profits earned, greater efficiency or what have you