Know-How Exchange : Strategy

Don't close this yet. I have to go to a meeting right now but wish to throw in my two cents as well!

I'll be back.

My reponses are very similar to those posted above so to all the experts above, I'm not trying to steal your "Thunder"...just putting it into my own words.

1. 100% of my B2B AND B2C clients had absolutely no idea what to do. They had a cool product, manufacturer, staff, capital, CXOs, and then....they get stumped. It is not only a lack of expertise, but a lack of time to invest learning and/or paying a full time marketer an exec salary with benefits.

One client's plan (before we came along), was to save up/raise a few million dollars for Superbowl commercials and they hadn't even penetrated the market yet!

Another had a "Marketing Director" who was actually one of the engineers of the product and he talked the CEO into giving the job and title since he helped with the design. He was absolutely lost and had no idea what I was talking about...even when presenting marketing techniques in layman's terms. Talk about a headache!

The rest are inventors/CEOs who simply do not know what to do. They come across this phenominal product/service, produce it, then either sit and struggle or dump thousands into "ads", which is one of the biggest misconceptions of marketing...most think we just make ads.

I have found that every marketing strategist had better be prepared to be a patient teacher as well since therein lies a huge learning curve for the execs. Most are easy to get through to, others try to argue from a position of "ignorance" (I use that term in the most positive way, meaning they simply don't know what they are talking about and are scared about things they don't understand); especially when it comes to money, the company's future, and ego about "who is running the show". Therefore, not every client is as easy to deal with as another.

Culture plays a huge role as well. Some of my aggressive "capitalist" stategies catch my international clients off-guard. So be sure to learn as much as you can about the culture you are dealing with so they don't think you are mad!

2. I tend to agree with what was stated above by the others. They are very similar in regards to their "problems", which are ultimately sales and distribution. Yet different in approach. Amanda hit it right on by describing the different channels and hurdles to consider when comparing the action plans of B2B vs. B2C strategic tactics.

3. Yes and no. In B2B proposals, providing a service is a much bigger commitment than providing a product. For example, if you are promoting some sort of network integration service for a telecom comuter network that will directly affect their customer services, there is more of a "marriage" and risk invovled than if you were simply proposing them to retail an accessory product.

The grey area comes into play when the service is in the form of a product. A premo example of such is software. Many software programs are marketed as "products" yet provide a valuable "service".

4. Interestingly enough, as a strategist, I really don't have and ingenious model to follow. It is rather simple. I look at the product/service, the history, current status etc. Then I attempt to determine what their needs are and how I can fulfill them. Next, I draft an "approach" and use the buzz words relative to their product I know will get their attention. Then once I get a response, I go into more detail about the services etc.

So I tend to take a more personalized approach for every potential client, rather than generalizing my services and blasting solicitations. It builds a stronger relationship in the long run.

I hope that helps!

-- Jett Enterprises

1: What I find in the prospects/customers (both B-to-B and B-to-C) in the markets I am currently pursuing is that they seek my services because they find value in them and have a:

* Lack of understanding on how to integrate online with offline marketing
* Lack of knowledge of what marketing really is. They often confuse it as being the same as advertising
* Lack of knowledge/resources to determine ROI’s, or to understand why this is important
* Lack of understanding who to market to based upon concepts such as Lifetime Value of a Customer
* Lack of knowledge/resources to effectively manage and/ or allocate the constraints of
a. Performance (outcome)
b. Time
c. Money (resources)

2. If I had to choose one answer I would pick………No.

Ultimately the core goal of them all is they want to sell more of their product and/or service at the highest possible price the marketplace will bear and do so with the least outlay of expenses.

3. Yes, there are different approaches in that the value of a service, at least in my world, can be harder for a customer to understand if they have never used a like service before, or if they have had unsatisfactory results.

You can typically more easily demonstrate products and their function is typically more constant from customer to customers than a service.

4. No, our general approach, the message we are delivering is that the value we will bring to their operation is that we will personalize a system/program that will increase the effectiveness of their overall marketing with the goal being that they will sell more product and service while at the same time spending less on marketing per dollar of revenue than they do now.

Result: More Revenue – Less Expenses = Greater Net Income or Profit.

Hope that helps.