The Big Levers of B2B Marketing
Andrew Sanderson
B2B Marketing Consultant ? Creating better Processes to "get B2B Marketing done" ? Shares Tools & Methods, automates Processes
Standard wisdom says not to change a running system. But sometimes you don't have any choice.
In the machinery manufacturing sector, for example, the economic background squeezes margins, putting fixed financial elements like the marketing budget under pressure. At the same time, the evolution of technology puts business into a fast-track innovation cycle, which means Marketing must deliver highly resource intensive activities to support both Product Marketing and for Sales.
These two trends are inherently in conflict. In this issue of the newsletter, we're looking for better ways to get maximum impact from modest resources.
Andrew Sanderson
Contents
EXTERNAL ARTICLE ... "Digital transformation in European machinery manufacturing" by DigitalEurope.
ANSACO INSIGHT ... "The Big Levers of B2B Marketing"
EXTERNAL ARTICLE ... "European machinery companies: Achieving balance through innovation" by Samuel Bayerlein, Dorothee Herring and Thorsten Schleyer.
ANSACO INSIGHT ... "Marketing: do not t ... Ouch!"
BOOKS ... "Mastering the Complex Sale" by Jeff Thull.
CONSULTING ... Marketing means: "Setting up the Sale"
EXTERNAL ARTICLE
Digital transformation in European machinery manufacturing
This White Paper by DigitalEurope was a big, bold vision when it was published in February 2019. Five years on, it still serves as a useful big picture. Which parts have worked (adoption of new technology by private enterprise is uneven, but no surprises there); and which parts still need to be completed - like harmonisation of the regulatory framework (no huge surprises there, either). The comparison with today's reality also highlights where ThinkTanks can get blind-sided (the impacts of geo-political tensions).
The webpage includes a pdf download link.
ANSACO INSIGHT
The Big Levers of Marketing
To achieve big objectives in B2B you need to pull the Big Levers of Marketing. The ones that deliver maximum impact from modest resources. Here are three foundation-level ideas that have shaped my thinking. I come back to these ideas time after time. They each deliver usable insights in their own right. But they can also be combined in pairs. Or mixed in a mash-up of custom proportions to suit the job at hand. Enjoy.
Read the article here
EXTERNAL ARTICLE
领英推荐
European machinery companies: Achieving balance through innovation
As a contrast to the DigitalEurope white paper, this article shows the actual status in Europe at September 2023 and a comparison against the USA. How can the European machinery manufacturing sector make headway against a backdrop of skilled labour shortages, inflation and rising costs? asks McKinsey. The authors suggest investing in new technology, talent, and products; programmatic M&A; and decarbonization.
Read the article here
ANSACO INSIGHT
Marketing: do not t ... Ouch!
The first article of this issue looked at ways to improve B2B Marketing productivity. If you think of these ideas as tools, then the obvious next step is to ask: “now we’ve got them, what are we going to do with them?” So, in this article, we’ll dive into the forces – both positive and negative – that are driving machinery manufacturing in mid 2024 and offer some ideas about how Marketing can help colleagues.
Click to read
BOOKS
Mastering the Complex Sale
A step-by-step guide to describing value from the prospective buyer's perspective. Deeply informative and based on years of experience, this is as valuable for Marketers as it is to Sales professionals. Strongly recommended.
Find the 2nd Edition on Amazon here
CONSULTING
Marketing means: "Setting up the Sale"
If you're producing hi-tech B2B investment goods with long decision cycles, and promoting them in international markets, to strategic Buying Committees who face complex business issues, I'd like to hear from you.
My focus is to support and facilitate the collaboration between Marketing and other internal Teams (Product Management, Sales, Senior Management, IT, legal, etc.). Hands-on help within a strategic context, is how we making Change work, and get stuff implemented, so that your team gets the credit it deserves.
Let's talk
If you're serious about going beyond optimisation within current parameters, and you want to reach the next level of Marketing effectiveness, feel free to contact me via LinkedIn.