People making the purchasing decisions to buy a company's product are often not the ones who have to live with integrating that product into the business. However the ones that have a day-to-day experience with a product are often in a position to be passionate about it, and bring it to the forefront of a buyer's attention. Reaching out to these users seems like it would be advantageous for B2B marketing.
Sto - Your comment is right on topic. The actual users of a product are often the best audience segment to connect with even if they don't sign the PO or enage directly with your brand during the purchasing process. Knowing their needs and expectations and feeding that through sales to the people making the buying decisions can be powerful. Passionate advocates for a brand can help carry the day, even in the face of a business customer's entrenched buying behavior in favor of your competitors. End user advocates, if they're heard, can convert a "No" to a "Yes." Marketing certainly needs to be aware of and sensitive to all of those who can create "pull" for the brand.
I do just that kind of writing for a client. The pieces are set to be informative rather than pushing the sale. Some will even offer a number of choices or grades of the same equipment to clarify the differences between them and clarify which one would best suit the customer's needs.
Ariella - Yes. An edlucational, informative approach trumps promotional claims every time. Demonstrating how the products or services have helped people is a winning content strategy. Also explaining why to use a new kind of product instead of doing things the old way can drive interest and inquiries. Further, the information doesn't necessarily have to discuss a particular brand. It can reveal the generic benefits of a new product category, If the authoring company is in that category, then the percieved value accues to the content's sponsor. Yes, you may be helpong your competition to a degree but marketing benefits go to those who are communication most effectively with their audience by giving people what's needed to make more informed choices. I've seen instances where a brand even recommended its competitor for business that was not aligned with what was offered. This drives powerful audience credibility for a brand.
Contents are promotional write ups that promotes services and goods! It's either you put in online via the internet gateway or on paper form. It is the most effective Link Marketing tool to be known on popular search engines like yahoo and google.
EBN Dialogue enables and encourages you to participate in live chats with notable leaders and luminaries. Not only editors and journalists, but the entire EBN community is able to comment and ask questions. Listed below are upcoming and archived chats.
Archived Dialogues
Thailand Stages a Comeback Join EBN contributor Jennifer Baljko on Thursday August 23, 2012, at 11:00 a.m. EST for a live chat on how electronic manufacturers in Thailand have shored up their supply chain to reduce the impact of future natural disasters.
Euro-Crisis: What It Means for High-Tech Firms Join EBN Editor in Chief Bolaji Ojo and Contributing Editor Jennifer Baljko on Thursday, July 12, at 10:00 a.m. EDT for a Live Chat on high-tech and Europe's economic difficulties.
Microsoft Surface: Potential Winners & Losers What are the implications for the electronics industry supply chain of Microsoft Corp.'s decision to launch its own tablet PC? Join industry veteran and EE Times' systems and OEM expert Rick Merritt on Tuesday, July 3, at 12:00 pm EDT for a Live Chat on this subject.
Join EBN contributor Jennifer Baljko on Thursday August 23, 2012, at 11:00 a.m. EST for a live chat on how electronic manufacturers in Thailand have shored up their supply chain to reduce the impact of future natural disasters.
Peter Drucker famously said "Trying to predict the future is like trying to drive down a country road at night with no lights while looking out the back window." Yet in the razor's-edge world of electronics—with a lean supply chain and just-in-time demands—the need to know the future is vital.
While no one really can accurately predict the future, we can take guidance from another Drucker saying which is the best way to predict the future is to create it.
You've heard the saying "the No. 1 supply chain risk is your people." That hasn't always been the case. But today's complex global supply chain requires a new type of multitalented employee. It's one who understands, finance, marketing, economics, is savvy with technology, graceful with relationships and can think analytically.
Where are these people? Are universities properly preparing the next generation supply chain professionals? How do train your existing workforce for these new, demanding positions?
Brian Fuller, editor-in-chief of EBN, will lead a 60-minute Avnet Velocity panel discussion that will ask and answer these and other questions swirling around today's supply-chain talent challenges.
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