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The objective of marketing is to drive actions and changes in behavior. Ultimately, we want to create more awareness for our company…our products…our services…and our people…to capture market share and increase revenue!

As a result, we invest a lot of time and energy understanding the needs of the market and our customers and then telling them how we can improve their life. We gain this incredible insight often by just talking with our customers. This is the foundation of effective storytelling.

But markets change, and the needs of our customers change. And, we need to adjust our strategies and messages to align with these changes. Here’s how we helped a company in the healthcare industry rethink it’s marketing messages to help drive sales.

The healthcare environment has changed significantly in the last 10 years. With economic pressures mounting, technology that delivers only clinical value is often not enough… economic value is just as important. This company developed some innovative and leading technology and their marketing activities focused on selling clinical value. But the market has changed… and their messages need to evolve as well.

In order to learn more about the impact and importance of economics on the purchase of capital equipment, we conducted a series of interviews with healthcare executives, not just the physicians who used the technology. During these conversations, we wanted to:

– Learn more about the purchase process of capital equipment at a healthcare provider,
– Identify key owners and influencers and their roles in the purchase process,
– Understand the economic drivers behind a purchase process, and
– Create a campaign that delivers messages focused on economic value.

Here’s how we helped this company understand more about the economic drivers behind a purchase decision:

– We created a 45-minute discussion guide,
– We interviewed 15 C-level executives…representing each of the company’s customer segments,
– We identified the top 15 factors driving the purchase decision,
– We mapped the purchase process,
– We wrote three key messages (foundational pillars) and supporting points,
– We validated the messages,
– We identified proof points to validate our story, and
And, now we are creating materials to tell our story.

This process only took a few weeks, but provided valuable insight for the business and the marketing team about the buying process and the key drivers evaluated by their customers when making a million-dollar investment.

Markets evolve. When was the last time you really talked with your customers to learn what is important to them? And how they think about purchasing your products and services? Do you understand how your customers evaluate new investments? How are you telling your story?

Let us know if you want to learn more. Or, if we can help create a similar program for you.

Thomas Beckman

8,205 comments

9,442 comments

It seems with Twitter you either love it, and use it regularly; tried it, and gave up on it; or just don’t get it. Even Twitter readily admits users find it confusing. Enter Twitter Moments–the most significant new feature in the company’s history.

Moments is a news feed of “the best of what’s happening on Twitter in an instant.” The new product was designed to provide an easy way to track big events as they happen and the company is hoping it will help attract new users and give them an easier way to get started and engage on Twitter. Moments highlights top stories and leading tweets selected by a group of Twitter staff who review content from what is currently a small group of partners including Buzzfeed, Entertainment Weekly, Fox News, Getty Images, Mashable, New York Times, and the Washington Post.

How it Works

From the home page, when you click on the Moments lightning bolt icon, regardless of who you follow, you will be shown what Twitter deems the most “tweet worthy” stories at the time. Throughout the day, as new stories emerge, Moments indicates this with a small blue dot next to the icon that you click to refresh and see the latest stories. To find out more about a specific Moment, click on it and you will be taken to an overview with a title and short description of the topic. To see other tweets about this Moment, just swipe to the right and to see other Moments just swipe down.

The new feature gives tweets a more coherent life placing content where you can see it and access it again later. It also allows users to follow and engage with content in a more manageable way. If you’re interested in a Moment, you can follow it and tweets about the Moment will then be added to your timeline.  You can learn more about Moments at the Twitter Help Center.

General Impressions

It seems like a sound strategy—Twitter can certainly be overwhelming with hundreds of millions of Tweets generated every day (over 9,000 per second). Having played around with Moments in these last few weeks, I think Moments will certainly help new users more easily find big stories as well as people to follow. Even though I’ve been using Twitter for years now, I still regularly feel like I’m missing lots of tweets I’m sure I’d like to see. Now when I sign into Twitter, I first check Moments to see what’s happening.

Due to the very select group of contributors at initial launch, most business users will find it challenging to identify content to connect their business or brand with. This will likely change over time as the contributor list is expanded; a broader set of content will provide more relevant Moments for businesses outside of the sports, politics, and entertainment industries. Twitter eventually plans to allow its 300-million-plus users to create Moments so you can expect big changes in the near future.

Just this weekend, the first Promoted Moment went live. Brands are now able to sponsor Moments and over the next few months we can expect to see many more examples from brands in many different business industries. Twitter expects eventually to have one promoted Moment each day.

Even as it stands however, Moments is an easy way for Twitter users to find out what’s going on and see some great content they might not have otherwise seen. The Twitter timeline is not dead, but I believe Moments will become the primary way a majority of users will engage with Twitter.

Mary Zinn is the Founder and Owner of Circle M Marketing, a marketing consulting firm based in Madison, WI and a regular contributor to the CLIMB Blog.

8,649 comments

Mary Zinn is a business development consultant at CLIMB United. Recently, she tried using LinkedIn to share her creative ideas with a hopeful client. She succeeded in getting the attention of the company and a call with the VP of Sales and Marketing. Below is her LinkedIn post. 

WOULD YOU TRUST YOUR PICKLES TO ME?

I’m trying something different here; as I’m looking for new clients, I am hand-picking companies I think would be fun to work with. They don’t know me yet, and maybe I’ll never meet them, but today I’m learning about Van Holten’s (the pickle in a pouch people).

Why am I targeting them?

• Because they’ve got to be fun to work with and I love pickles! The photo above is from the company’s LinkedIn profile. Not every company can have such fun on LinkedIn. And the President has a photo of himself with a GIANT pickle on LinkedIn. Cute, right?
• They support The Boys and Girls Club and visible support for a local charity is important to me. They have committed $190k in the next five years. Maybe I can help them exceed that.
• They’re in what I consider to be a sweet spot of 50-200 employees. Not too small (no resources), not too big (too corporate). Surely, there is some way to make a “sour” joke here but I can’t think of it right now.
• They’re the leader in their space which means they’re smart. They’ve changed and continue to change their products over the years and seem to have a good handle on that. That speaks to me.
• I like the marketing they’re already doing. Their strategy is to position pickle in a pouch as an “alternative snack” and they do it with products called Big Papa, Hot Mama, Garlic Gus and Sour Sis. You can even print character coloring sheets from their website.

What am I hoping to pitch to them? Oh, I have lots of ideas brewing and can’t share that here, but suffice it to say, it will be very fitting with their brand, tons of fun and will probably include bacon somehow if I can help it; they already have a bacon related product (bacon cheddar popcorn).

Again, I may never meet the pickle folks in Waterloo, WI, but I can still have fun trying to figure out how I might help them strengthen their brand and sell more pickles. I’m an ideas person and the ideas I have here, will help another client somewhere down the road.

6,950 comments

We at CLIMB United are always trying to stay on top of industry trends, so we invited a sensory marketing expert in to share some cool stuff with us. Americhip spent more than an hour with us and we barely scratched the surface of all the attention-getting marketing pieces they offer. Honestly, it’s limitless.

Sensory branding is a type of marketing that appeals to all the senses in relation to the brand. Multi-sensory communications integrate audio, lights, materials, video and even taste and scent.

There are options at all budget levels so don’t assume it’s out of your price range; we can help you pick the best option for your business. Here are just a few examples:

Video Annual Report

This unique annual report had a face of a company executive on each page and a strategically placed cutout that had a video screen in it. As recipients flipped through the pages, they could press a button on the side and watch the mouth of one of the executives come to life and speak about the company’s recent achievements. And yes, if you really want to have some fun you can pick a video that doesn’t match the face (we did try this more than once).

Pop Up Brochure

3D Pop-Up Media Kit

A TV network that was launching a new mini-series created this piece to promote the show. The textured book was made of high-quality paper stock, and when opened, reveals a highly detailed “Red Tent” that literally pops up from the page. The piece engages both the sense of touch and sight with great three dimensional details.

Blow Out the Candle and…

The piece on the left was done by Americhip as a promotional piece to illustrate all the potential ways sensory marketing can be delivered. When you opened the brochure, the candle on the cupcake was lit and after you blow it out, you receive an applause! Think about celebrating your customers with something like this!

Pop up Brochure

Peel and Taste

And finally, to promote a new drama series, editions of Rolling Stone included a “peel and taste” that delivered a taste of this fictional mojito product from the show, Cane. 

If you’d like help creating a campaign using one of these great ideas, get in touch with us at bob@climbunited.com. We are filled with ideas for you!

21,034 comments

Product messaging—how you talk about your product in any particular situation—is important. And, getting it right is hard.

Product messaging should be easy. Easy to create…easy to understand…easy to repeat.

But, too often, it’s not. Messages get convoluted and confusing, and then no one has any clue why they should care about your product…sometimes including the very people selling it!

With this in mind, here is an astonishingly simple way to create better product messaging.
In fact, all it involves is answering three questions.

The catch? You can ONLY answer questions #1 and #2 in the most basic way with as few words as possible. Question #3? That can get more flowery, and, well….just wait, you’ll see.

This practice has helped me cut through the clutter to create product messages that resonate. It is simple, but not as easy as it sounds.

Most importantly, if you can master this, you will be crazy-far ahead of 98% of the world, and better messaging will become a by-product of your efforts. Trust me on this one.

Question #1: What is it?

The first thing to do is define what the product is.

That’s it. What is it?

This does NOT mean you put down what it does, explain its virtues, value, etc. Simply answer the question – what is it? Nothing more, nothing less.

When you do this for the first time, you will, no doubt, be challenged. Your answer will be too verbose; your focus will be all over the place.

It’s OK. Remove any words that are not precisely about what the product is at its core. Your answer may be as simple as mine would be for this article:

What is it? “A blog post about creating better messaging.“

Question #2: What does it do?

Now, record what the product does.

Do NOT explain what the product is, how it works, etc. And, use as few words as possible. What does it do? Period.

For example:

What does it do? “Helps readers more easily create product messages that resonate across audiences.”

Question #3: Why does it matter?

Here is where you can get into everything you wanted to put in questions #1 and #2. The key, however, is to make this section conversational.

Answer the question, why does it matter? Why should anyone care about this product, service, or offering? Since a product usually solves a problem, it’s a good idea to start this section with that problem. Give perspective. Explain the value.

The catch? Don’t get into features. Don’t get into specifics. Don’t get into ROI.

Think at the highest level about how your product impacts anyone who would consider it.

The best way to explain the “Why does it matter?” section is to show you. So, here is the entire exercise, completed with this article as the product:

What it is: A blog post about creating better messaging

What it does: Helps readers more easily create product messages that resonate across audiences.

Why it matters: Product messaging today largely stinks. It is too bogged down with complexity, too focused inward on the product or the company, and too reliant on buzzwords and jargon that add nothing other than confusion. But, what if there was a way to explain your product…your service…your features…your[insert pretty much anything you need to explain here] so quickly and easily that anyone could just get it? Anyone could just repeat it? If you can figure out a way to simply and eloquently describe not just what your product is and what it does, but why it matters to any audience, your communication efforts will be more successful, no matter the audience.

Now, if you had product information in this basic format for your offering…

Can you envision how a marketing pro could create clearer messages?

…how a sales pro would immediately understand and use those messages?

…how a prospect could better understand the product’s value?

If these recommendations seem basic, it’s because they are.

And, if you take the action and answer these questions, you’ll find this approach works.

As I have said before, as a product marketing guy who has worked at companies big and small, I see messaging issues everywhere I go. If you look, you’ll find them too.

Product messaging should be easy. Let’s make it so.

Zach Messler is a guest blogger for CLIMB United. He is a product marketing guy who helps sales and marketing pros succeed. You can reach him @zmessler and read more from him on LinkedIn.

108 comments

Zach Messler is a guest blogger for CLIMB United. He is a product marketing guy who helps sales and marketing pros succeed. You can reach him @zmessler and read more from him on LinkedIn.

98 comments

Some marketers believe B2B and B2C marketing are similar in that the ultimate goal is the same – to get the prospect to feel some sort of emotion and then be motivated to act. Others, believe B2B and B2C marketing are polar opposites – how consumers buy a pack of gum and how executives buy enterprise software are largely more different than it is the same. If both of these things are true, how do marketers manage this disconnect? The answer is in the execution.

In both cases we’re marketing to people and an emotional connection is essential. The fundamental principles apply either way. However, when you look a little deeper, there are also some undeniable differences that affect how we market differently to each:

• B2B typically involves selling to many; B2C is more often one to one.
• B2B buyers require in-depth information and a closer relationship than B2C buyers.
• The B2B purchasing process is more involved and the sales cycle is much longer than for B2C.
• A B2B relationship is typically longer term than a B2C relationship.

 The Bottom Line

So are B2B and B2C marketing more similar or more different? We think while the fundamentals are basically the same, there are major differences in execution and tactics. Both are about influencing people and their buying decisions, but because of the complexity of B2B buying cycle, B2B marketing requires a more intricate and process-driven approach. Here are some key areas of difference and while these are not always cut and dry, generally these differences hold true.

Conclusion

Although the methods of advertising, promotions, and publicity are the same, B2B and B2C use different marketing strategies and tactics. Knowing your target audience, developing an appropriate marketing message, and using the right channels for your message is important to both, but how you approach each of these is very different depending if you’re selling to a business or a consumer.

Have you worked in one of both of these marketing environments? Tell us what you think about the similarities and differences.

Mary Zinn is our Purveyor of Possibilities.
You can read more from her on LinkedIn.

98 comments

The objective of marketing is to drive actions and changes in behavior. Ultimately, we want to create more awareness for our company…our products…our services…and our people…to capture market share and increase revenue!

As a result, we invest a lot of time and energy understanding the needs of the market and our customers and then telling them how we can improve their life. We gain this incredible insight often by just talking with our customers. This is the foundation of effective storytelling.

But markets change, and the needs of our customers change. And, we need to adjust our strategies and messages to align with these changes. Here’s how we helped a company in the healthcare industry rethink it’s marketing messages to help drive sales.

The healthcare environment has changed significantly in the last 10 years. With economic pressures mounting, technology that delivers only clinical value is often not enough… economic value is just as important. This company developed some innovative and leading technology and their marketing activities focused on selling clinical value. But the market has changed… and their messages need to evolve as well.

In order to learn more about the impact and importance of economics on the purchase of capital equipment, we conducted a series of interviews with healthcare executives, not just the physicians who used the technology. During these conversations, we wanted to:

Learn more about the purchase process of capital equipment at a healthcare provider,
Identify key owners and influencers and their roles in the purchase process,
Understand the economic drivers behind a purchase process, and
Create a campaign that delivers messages focused on economic value.
Here’s how we helped this company understand more about the economic drivers behind a purchase decision:

• We created a 45-minute discussion guide,
• We interviewed 15 C-level executives…representing each of the company’s customer segments,
• We identified the top15 factors driving the purchase decision,
• We mapped the purchase process,
• We wrote three key messages (foundational pillars) and supporting points,
• We validated the messages,
• We identified proof points to validate our story, and
• And, now we are creating materials to tell our story.
• This process only took a few weeks, but provided valuable insight for the business and the marketing team about the buying process and the key drivers evaluated by their customers when making a million-dollar investment.

Markets evolve. When was the last time you really talked with your customers to learn what is important to them? And how they think about purchasing your products and services? Do you understand how your customers evaluate new investments? How are you telling your story?

Let us know if you want to learn more. Or, if we can help create a similar program for you.

124 comments