THE BIGGEST CHALLENGE TO EFFECTIVE MARKETING: COMMUNICATION!

By FH Cooper | Leave a Comment

While researching the biggest challenges in B2B and technology marketing, the same word kept appearing as one of the major problems- communication. Sales and marketing, for example, could be more effective if they would communicate and collaborate. Unfortunately, this is not always the case. Each group wants to be the hero. The sales staff are the ones who are in direct contact with the ultimate customer. They know the customer’s problems, where their pain is, and what more information and data they would like about a given product, service or technology. Relaying that information to the marketing department could help enhance their company’s communications program and in turn, that vendor’s visibility. Sharing the same data and the same visibility into the buyer’s journey is critical if not the most important piece of aligning sales and marketing.

Many references state that the marketing program should start long before a purchasing decision is made. Many purchasers will visit vendor web sites and garner much information before ever speaking with a salesperson. Placing marketing data in the appropriate media so that it reaches the purchaser when he is searching, is vital.

This is especially true since the majority of B2B buyers are millennials who have been brought up in the digital age, their approach to purchasing is decidedly different than normal.

In The Digital Marketing Handbook, Robert Bly describes content marketing as “a type of marketing that involves the creation and sharing of online material. It differs from other types of marketing in that it does not explicitly promote a brand but is intended instead to stimulate interest in a product or service by creating helpful, informative content.”

Another form of communication, content marketing can be targeted to a very specific audience.

In an era of super enhanced communications, i.e., cell phones, computers, tablets, texting, etc., it would seem this would not be such a challenge. People must learn how to communicate person-to-person.  Communication is an important tool in the value creation process. It helps a company’s target audiences form opinions about the company and how well they are doing.

 

Franklin Cooper © 2020