B2B Marketing Recommendations

Laura Ramos, a B2B marketing analyst at Forrester, has had a three-part blog series over the last several weeks that provides sound recommendations for improving B2B marketing:

Will B2B Marketing Become Obsolete? (Part I)
Will B2B Marketing Become Obsolete? (Part II)
Will B2B Marketing Become Obsolete? (Part III)

After reading the posts above, I came away with five key takeaways from her series:

1) Anybody in B2B marketing today who isn’t empowering their efforts with the technologies mostly associated with new media is on a sinking ship. As Ramos said,"technology will be a key element (but not if applied indiscriminately) to help marketing and sales shift from obnoxious bullhorn to respectful partner.”
2) Marketers have to switch from a telling mode (cranking ads out the door left and right) to a listening mode (marketing enabled by feedback from the social groundswell). Only by listening to that social groundswell and analyzing customer or prospect interaction data will marketers be able to construct marketing methods that work.
3) Websites have become more important than ever. If a website is developed properly, it will deliver a helpful and interesting brand experience in a reputable and non-pushy way. People want information presented as credibly as possible to begin their decision-making process. They want that information without a pushy salesperson providing it. A company’s website provides a wonderful method for customers to find exactly what they are looking for and compare products, features, benefits, specifications and brands.
4) Integration between offline and online media is critical to success. The difference between the present situation and just a few years ago is that new web-centric marketing media is now most often the majority strategy (or should be). Offline efforts no longer lead the way for many B2B marketers, and instead new online strategies and tactics become the focal point for all marketing integration.
5) B2B marketers need to work with partners that can provide fast analysis of marketing efforts. Marketing cycles have contracted from quarters and years to days and weeks. If you can’t get a quick handle on the effectiveness of your marketing efforts, it will be difficult to compete in a marketing world that seems to move at light speed.

Ramos asked the question, “Is B2B Marketing Obsolete?” From her writings, what clearly emerges is that the only thing that is now obsolete is old marketing thinking.