As the economy improves, increase sales by avoiding these seven marketing mistakes

By Alan B. Isacson, President, ABI Inc.

1. Avoid Promoting Technology

Of course it’s important to launch new technology; however, to succeed it’s critical to market the value of the innovation to potential users rather than the technology itself. In the late 1990’s many technology companies promoted “robust innovations” without explaining how users could benefit from applying these new products. The focus was primarily on how the new technology worked, rather than promoting how business could significantly reduce cost and increase output, which translate to tremendous savings.

2. Avoid Marketing to Just Technocrats

Technology and engineering oriented companies tend to direct their communications to information technology managers and engineering directors. While it may be important to keep these technocrats in the loop, the ultimate business decision maker for the purchase of many of these innovations rests with corporate executives who are not technology experts. These vice presidents of marketing, sales, operations, finance and human resources, as well as presidents and CEOs of companies, have big picture objectives and are interested in how new technologies will increase revenues and increase profitability. To reduce sales cycles, translate technology features into benefits that build business and reduce costs, so that top executives at prospect companies can clearly understand the value of your offering. Sales presentations that are too technical will only glaze the eyes of many c-level executives, which will result in short meetings and no sales.

3. Avoid Jargon

During the technology driven economy of the late 90’s, many press releases, advertisements, direct mail and other promotions were presented in high-tech jargon so that specialists had to translate and explain these messages to business leaders. However, the value of these innovations was often lost in the translation because the specialist was unable to clearly explain the benefits of the new technology without using a high-tech vocabulary. Use layman terms to communicate value and how business managers can apply the new technologies to grow business efficiently and profitability.

4. Avoid Obscure Branding

Link brand names to a major benefit that buyers will gain by using your innovation. Brands that associate with an important user benefit will help propel sales faster than obscurely named products. Don’t allow brands that consist of original or made-up words to stand on their own; position them with a single phrase tag line that clearly highlights a critical user benefit.

5. Avoid Creativity

The goal is to be clever in highlighting the value of your message to key decision makers so they clearly understand how your technology will improve their enterprise and grow profits. Too often technology and b2b marketers seek “creative” promotions to attract attention. Unfortunately, the impact value of these tactics relates very little to important benefits offered by featured products, and therefore confuses prospects. Without clear links to major user benefits, “creativity”, on its own, will not move sales.

6. Avoid Shotgun Advertising

Use your advertising budget strategically to fuel sales. Avoid using advertising to launch new products and systems. Introduce technologies using professionally written news releases and feature articles that effectively highlight user benefits. Target publicity so that it breaks news to important specifiers in key markets. Use published press releases and feature articles as credible direct mail and sales literature. Follow-up product launches with testimonial/ case history feature articles to demonstrate how customers, successfully applying your innovations, are achieving new levels of profitable growth.

Fuel momentum generated by publicity by initiating space advertising in magazines that effectively target key specifiers. Make sure the frequency of these ads runs a minimum of four months out of a calendar year to make an impact in reader perception and accelerate sales. Use “powerful quotes” from testimonials featured in publicity to add significant credence to your advertising.

7. Avoid Dichotomy in Marketing and Sales

A major flaw in business organizations is that marketing and sales operate on two parallel tracks. In this situation, marketing invests in strategies to grow revenues in select markets; meanwhile, sales follows its own agenda. Typically, marketing generates leads from targeted specifiers, on whom sales personnel never call, or as in many cases, sales people rarely visit with prospects beyond purchasing departments.

An effective b2b organization has both sales and marketing reporting to a marketing professional so revenues grow short and long term. Also, by selling to specifiers based on the value of technologies and products, you avoid commoditizing goods and services.

Many consumer products companies have realized that ideal business organizations have manufacturing, research and development, as well as sales reporting to marketing. It’s marketing’s responsibility to direct businesses to lucrative markets to build revenues and profits, in both short and long terms. To achieve this paradigm, b2b companies must have the right professionals in place, from the CEO and business unit presidents to vice presidents of marketing/sales. It also helps to have the right outside marketing resources to help plan focused programs and achieve success.

Most b2b companies would like to be better marketers but instead have an engineering or production paradigm. Engineering oriented companies look to technology to drive sales. The problem here is that without a marketing focus, new developments or enhancements of previous successes may miss their mark and fail to satisfy the shifting needs of key specifiers. Whereas mill-driven or production oriented companies often focus in keeping machines filled to capacity, rather than providing goods that meet changing user requirements.

Successful b2b companies need to be one step ahead of key specifers at customer locations and follow strategic plans that drive the entire enterprise in the right direction. Marketing communication efforts need to convince targeted specifiers that the featured b2b company is the preferred resource for specific applications.