Tired B2B Marketing

Are you ready to go from tired to inspired marketing that actually gets you a big ROI? Statistics say that the cost of acquiring a new client has gone up by 50% (paid and organic included) in 5 years! (source: Profitwell.com) The main reason for that is that it’s even harder to get your prospects’ attention and tired old tactics aren’t going to work anymore. Here are some ideas on how I have flipped from tired to inspired tactics.

PR release to Online Review

The tired press release that a company has their marketing department put out is a thing of the past. Customers now have the power and the resources to find out about you from their peers in the industry. Online reviews and reputations are everything in the B2B world of purchasing today.

Brochures to Landing Pages

I once almost lost a friend who owned a printing company for writing a blog that said ‘print is dead’. However, my comment about brochures being tired isn’t strictly reserved for printed ones. Electronic ones at least should be formulated in the format of a web landing page. This page would give pertinent, relevant info that is specific to the targeted buyer and have a call-to-action that would allow him to exchange his info in return for a free irresistible offer (a white paper. a video or some other form of education about their pain). A brochure is just a throw away. A landing page funnel yields engagement and information.

Print Ads to Social Media Ads

Especially since the pandemic, your ad Dollars need to go towards finding your buyers online and hunting where they live. If your buyers aren’t on Linkedin, I’m certain they engage in their online industry events since in-person buying has almost become a thing of the past. So look for them in their online world and target them with your ads.

TV Appearances to Podcasts

As a Canadian who was force to stop my US travels and cancel my booked TV appearances at the start of the pandemic, I can honestly say that it hasn’t been a problem. I simply started 3 different podcasts and now achieve much more targeted visibility with my prospects.

Building Websites to Building Communities

When I could no longer travel to meet humans in person, I hired very expensive coaches to teach me how to meet prospects online. What I learned is that building online communities such as interest groups or social media groups and then nurturing and periodically selling to them is a wonder that keeps bearing fruits for many years to come.

Pretty Websites to Funnel Websites

Continuing with my bashing of the traditional website model, I think it’s tired to have just glossy pages of content as your website. Instead, what you need is to move to a strategically flowing, call-to-action-packed, prospect funnel that is working on your behalf 24-hrs a day.

Info to Solutions

If your messaging is still just about giving info, it’s tired. Now, prospects want to hear about solutions. Period. Talk about the pain you helped and how you solved the problem of a similar client in the same industry. Your presentations and emails will never be overlooked again.

Features and Benefits to Stories of Solved Problems

Similar to the above topic, if you’re still droning on about the features and benefits of your products and services, you’re putting your prospects to sleep. Invigorate them instead with stories. The stories of glory for you and your past clients. People don’t forget emotion but they do forget facts.

Panel Appearances to Calling Out a Funnel Link

I once thought of making a drinking game at a panel-filled conference I attended. I was going to drink a shot for every panelist that said “I agree”, “I concur” or “to add to that”. Instead, I teach my clients who have been asked to do a panel to throw out a funnel link to a solution that the audience is looking for. For example, when I was on a panel for women CEOs I threw out the link to a video that taught them how to do better pitches to corporations. This gave me their information while giving them value back.

Attending a Conference to Pre-inviting Prospect to Your Event at Conference

My clients and I often use conferences to call ahead to our targets to invite them to an Executive Roundtable, our booth, our breakout or our cocktail meet and greet party. The whole idea is to use the conference as an excuse to prospect. Showing up and throwing up unplanned to conferences with zero appointments set is very tired marketing.

Guessing at Prospect’s Pain to Actively and Systematically Interviewing Them

And the list of tired B2B tactics continues! It’s a long one folks..I had no idea I had so much to say about this topic. Back to the guessing thing. I’m completely against this. No big surprise then, that the first two to four weeks of our work together with new clients is to teach them how to talk to prospects to gain valuable pain insights that we can super-niche them into. Guessing it can cost you time and money and it’s definitely very yesterday.

Selling One-Offs to Selling Subscriptions

I love the idea of flipping my clients’ models of one-off sales to continuing programs that address bigger corporate issues. The best examples of how we’ve done this is with clients in the promotional products industry. Today, you can get everything from your meat to razor on subscription. Why not adopt this model to your business, yes-even if you sell services.

Long Articles/Hours Long Presentations to Snackable Paragraphs/5-7min Livestreams

Attention spans are done. They are gone. People are drowning in info and your message is being lost in the new ADD world of purchasers. They want quick info, they want it easy to understand and they want it to be relevant. So chunk it down and deliver it like a pill.

Handwritten Thank You Notes/Personalized Loom Videos as Follow Up

As someone who worked for a decade selling pens (BIC), I can tell you that the handwritten note is a dying (and therefore tired) art form. Instead, you can now quickly record that 2min video message that is accessible with a single click in the prospects’ email, Linkedin DM or text message. It’s the new black, I promise.

Phew, that’s all the tired to inspired marketing tactics my blond brain can come up with right now. I promise to keep building up this list for you so that you never have to invest in tired marketing tactics again.