| Welcome to P.O.V. |
 P.O.V. is our periodic e-pub that features tips and discussion about B2B and tech marketing. We hope you will find the information contained herein to be both interesting and useful.
When money is tight, many companies defer marketing initiatives, holding on to cash and resources. Other companies see an opportunity to reach buyers in an uncongested marketplace, and fill the breach with their own iniatives. Who do you think winds up in the better position when the markets open up a bit? That's right... the "opportunists." Read on to learn about some low cost (or no cost) ways in which you can create your own opportunities!
To learn more, Contact us or visit www.oydesign.com. |
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Marketing When You Really Can't Afford To
Sometimes "No Cost" can be as effective as "High Cost" |
Even when times are tough and money is tight, there are still ways in which you can get your message out in front of your target audience. A little creative thinking and some 21st-century elbow grease can help keep you in the minds of clients and prospects. Here are just a couple examples:
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Create a Customer Advisory Board. Invite representatives from both large and small customers, and host periodic meetings either in-person or via webcasts. Get real-time feedback on what you're doing both right and wrong, and you will build a tremendous amount of goodwill. Consider inviting outside participants (analysts, reporters, partners, thought-leaders) to demonstrate how seriously you take customer satisfaction, and you will win, big-time! Initiatives like this are also a great PR story. |
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Carving Out a Reputation |
| The Crucial Role of Branding and Positioning for Tech Companies |
Starting a B2B technology company is a tough business. Many companies try, but few succeed. But not all of the companies that fail do so because of bad technology. Some that fail even have superior technology... but they didn't have a good handle on the marketing process.
The B2B technology market is a demanding one, with buyers who are knowledgable, pressed for time, and, ultimately fickle. They have no interest in wading through products that are poorly positioned, with lousy collaterals, or confusing pricing models. Which is why a good working knowledge of Product Marketing is so vitally important!
There are typically two things that stand between a technology product and its intended market: The product itself; and a successful marketing plan. Products that don't adequately address market needs, or that perform poorly, already have 2 strikes against them. But even a killer product, without a sound, viable marketing plan, can quickly go down in flames.
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Writing for Your Website
Content is STILL King |
For better or for worse, the words that we use set a tone, and form, in others, a distinct impression of our personality.
Of course, when we communicate "in person," we augment our words with a continuous, real-time feedback loop in the form of facial expressions, body language, and gestures, all of which go a long way toward influencing how the listener responds to the messages we're trying to convey. |
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Case Studies
Sales Tools That Work as Hard as You Do |
 Marketing case studies — also referred to as customer success stories — are a valuable marketing tool. For marketers, a case study is typically an in-depth examination of a single client, describing one of their specific business challenges, and how use of a product or service (hopefully yours) enabled the client to solve that particular challenge. Done properly, case studies are extremely valuable in the sales process, because they |
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