There are seven problems I find so rampant in B2B companies that I suspect they are infectious—passed along as marketing people switch companies or work with contagious agencies.
Here are the diseases, their symptoms, probable causes, and suggested treatments.
1. Glitzitis
Glitzitis refers to companies that produce gorgeous ads and collateral pieces that fall flat because they aren't based on solid analysis.
When we conduct focus groups for clients to test messages with their target buyers, we always test their competitors' key messages or positioning as well. I used to assume that companies spending millions of dollars on advertising and expensive collateral vet the relevance of their proposed messaging with their target audience. It was a shock to see how off the mark many of these messages are.
Mark Twain said it best: "It ain't what you don't know that will hurt you. It's what you know for sure that just ain't so."
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This really hit home, great article
Very well written and to the point. These problems are even more in pure services companies because of the intangibility and the dominant roles that sales and operations tend to garner in such organizations, making marketing a poor second cousin being pushed to deliver results without access to customers or a say in service delivery.
Shekar Prabhakar
http://marketingshiksha.blogspot.com
Very relevant and funny too- a great combination!
So true! Great points - helps us clarify
It's true that marketing professionals get side-tracked by tons of marketing activities they cover for an organization. This article is an eye opener and will help them to stick to their path.
Very interesting way of presenting the B2B Marketing 'Diseases'!.
Just sharing my notes on the article in a simpler form
1.Be certain about the message
2.Introspect/analyse the facts
3.Sharpen the message(trim down/remove unnecessary parts)
4.Capture contacts through a fulfillment/offer
5.Engage in conversation, build confidence over time. Don't go for kill too soon.
6. Don't expose too many 'brands' at the same time
7. Keep content free of meaningless jargon; if at all use ones that make sense intrinsically. More so in headlines.