Unique Dynamics of B2B Marketing 1 comments

Business-to-business marketing may be one of the least understood disciplines in business.

It's ironic, because consumer-centric marketing has been widely popularized - just check out the marketing section at any bookstore or peruse the curriculum of most MBA marketing programs. But while a number of consumer marketing concepts have analogs in marketing to businesses, it's not a simple translation from targeting "Joe" to targeting "Joe's Discount Auto Parts" with 28 stores in five states.

That's certainly true in search marketing.

On March 22, at Day 2 of SES New York 2010, Patricia Hursh, Tony Wright, and myself will present at the session Advanced B2B Search Marketing. In our brief hour, we'll cover search marketing methods that are purely about reaching and converting businesses.

In particular, we'll focus on three dynamics that are unique to B2B marketing.

First, B2B buying is a group activity. For purchases of any significance, a number of people will weigh in on the decision, often from several departments. Internally, there can be a mix of collaboration and competition in this process - everyone wants the business to succeed, but everyone wants to look good in their particular job too.

Source: Unique Dynamics of B2B Marketing

7 Free Ways to Build a Massive Wholesale Buyers List 2 comments

By: Mike Jake

Fear holds back many would-be Beginner real estate investors. Often for those looking to create some fast cash wholesaling or flipping junkers are fearful of not being able to find a buyer to sell the house they put under contract.

I’ve heard it a hundred times if you find a good deal the money will follow. Sounds easy enough, but looking back myself, I was scared to death.

Let me strip away the fear before you even get started.

Here’s 7 ways you can put a massive wholesale buyers list together without having a house to sell.

This is an evergreen list of ways to build your wholesale buyer’s list from scratch without investing a dime of your own money.

Let’s get started:

1. Call Ads. Call the ads in the newspaper (look online - it’s free), penny-saver classifieds, and craigslist offering a “we buy houses” message. If they are advertising, they are looking for deals. Not all are serious investors. Some might be looking for a wholesale deal themselves so ask a few questions to determine how “real” they are. Different investors look for different types of deals, so build some rapport and really find out what they want and what they are willing to pay for it - and how fast they can close! Keep as much detail as you can about what each individual buyer likes or doesn’t like.

2. Call Phone Directory Ads. Phone directories (online and offline) aren’t cheap to advertise in, so you’re likely going to find a higher caliber buyer there. Again, look for the “we buy houses” ads.

3. Run your own Free ad in craigslist.com, backpage.com and any other free classified posting.

I started with “fixer upper, cheap, cash ###-####” but many have used that ad and it doesn’t work as well since many savvy investors know it’s likely a beginner just trying to build a buyers list.

Here’s an ad writing formula I use. Fixer Upper typically starts my ad. Fixer upper pulls better than Handyman Special and some other options I’ve tested, but try testing a few and see what pulls better, then I give the After Repaired Value of the house, say $150,000, I’ll say a repair amount - something typical of the junkers we will be wholesaling and then I’ll say the price. I will use odd numbers and I’ll vary the percentage discount to see what buyers want. Here’s a test ad:

Fixer Upper. $147,900 Fixed Up, Needs 22,755 in Repairs, Must Sell for $87,601 Please call ###-#### quick!

The more you lower the “Must Sell” price relative to the after repaired value should obviously generate more interest, but you want to test the upper limits. Many rehabbers use different formulas to determine what a good deal is. Play around with the numbers to see what pulls the best without giving up to much potential profit (on your hypothetical deal).

4. Call all the Bandit Signs, Billboards and other “We Buy Houses” signs around your town.

5. Network at your local real estate investing club.

6. Look for active rehabbers. Any agent can run a search on the MLS (multiple listing service) for specific keywords. Look for “rehabbed” or “renovated” keywords in the listings. Track down the owners from the tax rolls.

7. Attend the foreclosure auctions. These are real cash buyers. Think of the sale as your “power networking” session. In my county they last maybe 15-20 minutes. get there early, meet the buyers, get there “criteria” and their contact information.

8. (I know I only said, 7, but consider this a bonus) Don’t QUIT. Keep building your buyers list! Once you start doing deals you can reinvest into some systems to do this for you, but I’ll tell you, dealing with regular buyers is RELATIONSHIP. Time spent building relationships with regular buyers is time well spent. The better your relationship with your buyers, the easier and easier being a wholesaler will be for you. I have cultivated relationships with beginner investors and by showing them who to contact for hard money or showing them “how to” do the deal, they in turn, made some money and become eager to do another deal with me. A little extra effort goes a long way and the better relationship you have with your buyers, the easier your life gets.

Once you have your buyers list and you’ve spent the time to build the foundation of a relationship you should have learned exactly where to start looking for deals, what kind of deals to look for and what your buyers are willing to pay for them - and how fast they can close. This totally reverses the risk!

Now get after it! No whining, no complaining, just do it!

About the Author

Michael Jake, your “Local Mentor” and Colorado's leading single family house investing expert, has created an absolutely amazing free course called "How To Succeed in Today’s Colorado Real Estate Market." This FREE Mini-Course will reveal how you can make a boatload of cold hard cash in today's troubled Real Estate market.

Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/ - 7 Free Ways to Build a Massive Wholesale Buyers List

What’s The Best Formula For B2B Search Marketing Success? 1 comments

Today, B2B marketers have many choices when implementing a successful search marketing program. Should you be using SEO (Search Engine Optimization), SMO (Social Media Optimization), or PPC (Pay Per Click) advertising to generate traffic and new leads? Should one method be used without the others or should they always be combined in order to realize your greatest benefit online? The answer is… it depends.

A full-blown B2B Search Engine Marketing (SEM) program starts with a well thought out strategy and typically combines all of these approaches to create total online market domination.

Original Story on Search Engine Land: What’s The Best Formula For B2B Search Marketing Success?

5 Tips to Optimize B2B Marketplace Listing to derive Maximum Benefits 1 comments

By: B2B Marketing Consultant

An Online B2B Marketplace is a trade portal where wholesale buyers and sellers gather to promote their products and services. Such Online Marketplaces are effective source of leads as there are thousands of buyers searching for products through these portals. The Online Marketplaces operate by creating profile pages for businesses and their products which are highly optimized for search engines and rank higher for many search results.

But donot fall in to the trap of these companies saying it is a cake walk. In fact marketing through B2B marketplaces can be quite a tricky thing. The limitations of the space and the nature of buyer affect the marketing aspects. Hence it is imperative for the b2b marketers to know about the limitations and exploit the benefits to the maximum. Here are a few points a b2b marketer must consider to derive maximum benefit out of the B2B marketplace listings:

Optimized & Concise Content
There is a limitation on the space available for you to showcase your products. The amount of text you can write and the images you can upload is limited. So as a B2B marketer you have keep the content highly optimized with a good sales copy. Take care there are no spelling or formatting mistakes.

Price
More options for the buyers’ means that you have a limited time and space to make an impact. The price is definitely the factor that would affect the buyer's decision. Moreover some marketplaces also provide listings based on products prices. The secret of being successful when dealing with the B2B market is that you need to keep the prices down and trade fast. The clients are interested in the products that are latest and hot in lower price.

Latest products
Always bring in your latest and best products online. Take care which products you showcase on your company profile page. Evergreen products like “generators” do not need regular updating but seasonal goods like fashion products or consumer electronic products should be need seasonal updating. Don’t sell the surplus products online. If you want to do so, sell them in the auction websites.

Display Accreditation & Verifications
The easiest way to generate trust on your company or business is by getting accredited and verified by globally renowned Agencies. After verification, the “Verified by ----” label is provided which can be showcased on your company introduction page and product details page. This helps build trust and can fetch you better prices.

Language & Communication
Communication means the languages, skills, and response time. Fluency and expertise with English is must in International Trade. Many B2B marketplaces provide instant messaging facility, in such cases it is mandatory that you are able to talk in the language that the prospect can understand. Also the responses should be in good English.

These factors help formulate a better marketing strategy for your b2b business. For more information you can visit one of the best B2B Marketplace: http://www.eurotradenet.com

About the Author

The author is an Online Media Consultant who has been consulting various businesses including Small and Medium B2B Businesses on how to use the power of internet to increase the ROI. This will be a series of articles targeted specifically for B2B businesses through our the world. To know more about b2b trade portal please visit http://www.eurotradenet.com. Visit http://b2b-ideas.blogspot.com/ for more marketing ideas for B2B Businesses

Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/ - 5 Tips to Optimize B2B Marketplace Listing to derive Maximum Benefits

Best Practices for B2B Wholesale Suplliers 0 comments

By: B2B Marketing Consultant

"Customer is the king". Yes it is true. It is because of “Customers”, why we are in business. In the B2B business, lead generation and sales management are keys to ensure your sales pipeline always full. But, many big and small companies are not giving heat to it. Not having or knowing how many leads you have in your sales pipeline and at what stage they are in the sales-cycle can have huge impact on your bottom line. So how do you find new customers? Where should you spend your marketing dollars? How do you measure your ROI?

So I am discussing herewith 5 things you can do to generate more and better quality leads.

1. Branding – Does it matter?

This is an ongoing argument. Some will say YES branding does matter and others will say NO it does not matter. So, the question arises, does it matter? Yes it does. Ask a group of your clients how they came to be your clients?
Maximum responses will say by "referrals", followed by: by reading about your company or learned about you through seminar, in other words your reputation or “brand" influenced their buying behavior and ultimately their buying decision.

2. Target Markets - Who are your prospects?

How well do you know your target markets? Jus answer these questions:
1. Do you know the profile of your target prospect? (Industry, No. of employees, revenue, etc.)
2. Do you know the title of the decision maker you should be targeting?
3. Do you know the names of the actual companies you should be targeting?
4. Do you know the actual names of the decisions makers in those companies?

If your score is 100%, it means you know your target prospects. 80% or less then there is scope for improvement. This is important because: to be successful in lead generation and sales, you need to know, who your best potential customers are. So, I can say knowing your prospects better and ROI on lead generation is directly proportional to each other.

3. Contacting Prospects -What works?

A refined prospect list is the starting point, but what is the most effective way to contact them? Recent Researches shows that two most effective ways to contact prospects is through:

1). Referrals:

Referrals can come from clients, partners or suppliers and represent your best way to contact your prospects. This is best method to contacting your prospect because the person making the referral already has a trusted relationship with the contact and has prequalified them to some level. You are granted the same level of trust as a result of the referral.

2). Telephone Prospecting.

Telephone Prospecting can be as effective as referrals if implemented correctly. The purpose of the telemarketing is what determines its effectiveness. What you should do is use the telemarketing as a way to introduce your company and learn more about the prospect, not sell them on the phone. It is very unlikely that you are going to call someone when they happen to be “sales ready”, but you need a starting point and this is it.

4. Nurturing – Is your bucket leaking?

Lead management is the key to long-term profitability. Sales teams are usually highly motivated to find “sales ready” leads. Industry researches show that only 10% of the total leads are in the “sales ready” bucket. The remaining 90% are not ready or able to make a purchase decision and require a nurturing plan…but do you have one?

Lead nurturing: It is about managing qualified leads throughout the sales-cycle. It’s not about weekly calls asking them to buy, but about demonstrating value, keeping top of mind and positioning your company as a resource so when the lead is sales ready, you are the one they contact. A nurturing plan requires strategy, tactics and systems. For strategy, your company will likely have some level of thought leadership where insight and innovation can be harvested. These are key starting points from which tactics will be developed. You will also need a highly automated system that can manage the lead nurturing process using various marketing tactics and then qualify leads as they become sales ready.

5. ROI – How do I get there?

You are investing in Branding, creating refined Prospect Lists, Contacting Prospects, Lead Management Systems and Nurturing Strategies all in the name of creating sales and profit. But how are you going to measure your return on that investment? The only way to do this with accuracy is by having a well defined closed-loop marketing system. This is where you can manage and measure throughout the entire sales-cycle process from initial contact to completed sale. You need to be able to manage and measure your

• Branding Activities
• Target Lists
• Contacting
• Nurturing

Having a closed-loop marketing system that you can control and adjust to fit your specific business needs will allow you to clearly define your costs for lead generation. Managing and measuring the lead generation and sales-cycle processes will also allow you to keep track what sales actually closed. Once you are able to match up the lead generation processes and costs with the specific sales that closed, your ROI becomes a whole lot easier to determine.

About the Author

The author is an Online Media Consultant who has been consulting various businesses including Small and Medium B2B Businesses on how to use the power of internet to increase the ROI. This will be a series of articles targeted specifically for B2B businesses through the world. To know more about B2B Wholesale Suppliers and Buyers Marketplace please visit: http://www.eurotradenet.com

Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/ - Best Practices for B2B Wholesale Suplliers

The Next Generation of B2B Social Networking 0 comments

Over the past year, social networking applications have proliferated across many departments in the corporation. Sales departments especially are groups where "who you know" can mean the difference between success and failure. Let's take that thought to the next logical level - it's not just who you know, but who you and your colleagues know that will enable your pipeline to grow. It's the first piece of what we now call "social selling"- being aware of every person to whom we're connected and having the information that tells us when they may be ready to buy (a trigger). This article covers how to find that elusive connection through social networking.

Designed to help salespeople quickly identify the best path to connect with prospects, social networking tools leverage the contacts of employees across the company, revealing connections to important decision makers. Unlike consumer alternatives, B2B social networking combines the base power of "who you know" with the breadth of business contacts listed in public databases and contacts in an organization's in-house email and CRM systems - who "your colleagues know".

Original Story on destination CRM: The Next Generation of B2B Social Networking

How To Find Buyers And Sellers For Your Wholesale Products? 0 comments

By: B2B Marketing Consultant

Wholesale buyers & wholesale sellers form an important part of wholesaling business. This concept comes when we need to import/export the things as we cannot grow or make everything in our home country or if we want to expand our business throughout the world.

In era of competition, finding the cost effective alternatives has become the first objective of each company. Having quality wholesale buyers/sellers fulfills the first objective to a great extent. Many business to business marketers face the problem of finding quality partners from other parts of world.

For the wholesale sellers there are the various ways to attract the wholesale buyers. This can be hiring an agent to promote business for you. Sales representative can also be hired to sell on a commission basis for you. In addition, you can set up your own website If you have little knowledge on building a website, you can outsource it. In this way, you can spare more time to do more important tasks. But all in all the most popular and easy way is to get list on online directories.

Online directories like wholesale sellers / manufacturer directories are designed in such a way as to provide effective and efficient alternative to find the best products and suppliers across the world.

Online directories not only help the buyers to go through the product details, specification and special features like photos of products but also helps in checking the wholesale sellers / manufacturer / suppliers profile. This collectively can make a buyer to take a thoughtful decision.

Wholesale buyers can also check the past record of manufactures/suppliers as rating is given to them by these directories. Infact, these online directories are provided with many features like access to review of products and companies, contact no of suppliers through the "easy contact" option provided on these directories facilitating ease of contact and anonymity. The businesses listed on these directories present the best prices to rise above the competition from other buyers listed along with them. Some directories like Eurotradenet.com provide all of these services as free as a part of their promotional campaign.

Thus we can say that an online presence has become important because it immediately establishes your credibility. Moreover, it not only helps the wholesale buyers to get quality suppliers but vice- versa. As sellers can also identify through the directories a source of generating sales lead.

About the Author

The author is an Online Media Consultant who has been consulting various businesses including Small and Medium B2B Businesses on how to use the power of internet to increase the ROI. This will be a series of articles targeted specifically for B2B businesses throughout the world. To know more about the B2B Wholesale Suppliers Directory visit one of the top European B2B Wholesale Buyers Directory: http://eurotradenet.com

Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/ - How To Find Buyers And Sellers For Your Wholesale Products?