Two B2B Recession Marketing Powerhouses
You know you should be marketing your B2B nutrition business hard - now more than ever.
But the reality at your desk is a different story.
You've got more projects to manage.
More pressure to produce results and - in many cases - less people to get it done with.
The key is to market smart.
And there are no two better tools for cost-effectively marketing your business than a good website and a good white paper.
The website is a clear given.
In fact one recent MarketingSherpa study revealed that 60% of business executives reported going to a company's website to check them out before agreeing to meet with a sales rep or contract for services or products.
In a recent Nutrition Business Journal article I authored on ecommerce, one marketing consultant emphasized that for business-to-business marketing a website is key to the lead generation.
Where else can you provide the level of information up front necessary to jumpstart the complex sales process? Not to mention for such minimal cost? With effective search engine optimization and strategic ppc ads, you can get traffic to your website.
But traffic is just traffic.
The real question is: How well are you holding on to these interested prospects and turning them into leads for your sales force? Enter a good white paper.
A white paper (or free report, or guide) is an educational marketing piece about 6-10 pages long.
Its focus is on educating, not selling outright.
A good white paper provides good information that helps your prospects understand the value of your offer.
And while it doesn't explicitly sell your product or service, it has your company's stamp on it, positioning you as a solution to your prospects' problems.
The white paper serves as an excellent tool for trapping traffic coming to your website.
Unlike the information visitors read right on your website, a white paper is something they take with them when they leave.
You give it to them for free.
But you require one thing: That they leave their contact information behind.
They leave with some valuable information.
And this information, if presented well and of real value, may be passed on to several more people.
And as for you - you no longer have just traffic, but the contact information for a lead that you can continue to market to.
In the current economy, companies are reporting that sales cycles have lengthened.
It takes more information, more touches to convince your lead to convert to a sale.
What better way to start this cycle off right than a good website and white paper that they can take home with them.
But the reality at your desk is a different story.
You've got more projects to manage.
More pressure to produce results and - in many cases - less people to get it done with.
The key is to market smart.
And there are no two better tools for cost-effectively marketing your business than a good website and a good white paper.
The website is a clear given.
In fact one recent MarketingSherpa study revealed that 60% of business executives reported going to a company's website to check them out before agreeing to meet with a sales rep or contract for services or products.
In a recent Nutrition Business Journal article I authored on ecommerce, one marketing consultant emphasized that for business-to-business marketing a website is key to the lead generation.
Where else can you provide the level of information up front necessary to jumpstart the complex sales process? Not to mention for such minimal cost? With effective search engine optimization and strategic ppc ads, you can get traffic to your website.
But traffic is just traffic.
The real question is: How well are you holding on to these interested prospects and turning them into leads for your sales force? Enter a good white paper.
A white paper (or free report, or guide) is an educational marketing piece about 6-10 pages long.
Its focus is on educating, not selling outright.
A good white paper provides good information that helps your prospects understand the value of your offer.
And while it doesn't explicitly sell your product or service, it has your company's stamp on it, positioning you as a solution to your prospects' problems.
The white paper serves as an excellent tool for trapping traffic coming to your website.
Unlike the information visitors read right on your website, a white paper is something they take with them when they leave.
You give it to them for free.
But you require one thing: That they leave their contact information behind.
They leave with some valuable information.
And this information, if presented well and of real value, may be passed on to several more people.
And as for you - you no longer have just traffic, but the contact information for a lead that you can continue to market to.
In the current economy, companies are reporting that sales cycles have lengthened.
It takes more information, more touches to convince your lead to convert to a sale.
What better way to start this cycle off right than a good website and white paper that they can take home with them.
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