There's a big difference between the information that will engage your customers and that which will engage your prospects. If you're trying to "kill two birds with one stone," the result may be just that literal. Your customers already know you. They're using your solutions to gain business benefits that contribute to achieving their company's objectives. Just as you wouldn't walk up to someone you already know, extend your hand and say, "Hello, My name is Jane. It's nice to meet you," neither should the content you share with them. Share expertise. MORE >>

Why is it that B2B websites are so terrible at engaging the people they're designed to serve? The simple answer is because companies tend to design websites based on what they think is important, rather than what their prospects and customers value. This has been said again, and again.and again. In fact, one of my most highly read posts, even today, is B2B Websites Not Effective —a post I wrote June 5, 2006. The other issue is that websites are political hot potatoes. For some reason, there seem to be a lot of territorial turf wars. But, that's a conundrum for another post. Solutions. MORE >>

I was just reviewing some survey results from the Eccolo Media 2009 B2B Technology Collateral Survey and came across this highlight: "People prefer to consume collateral from their desktop: Only 1 in 4 surveyed even print out an online document." " There are lots of other useful findings, like white papers are the top influential informational source for technology buyers during a purchase decision. And that's what got me thinking. When's the last time that you downloaded a white paper designed to be read on your desktop? Up and down. Up and down. Up and down. MORE >>

In my book, eMarketing Strategies for the Complex Sale, I bestow relevance with the "King" moniker. did this because the old adage that "Content is King" is meaningless unless relevance is involved. Strangely, this point is often overlooked. Attracting attention and keeping it across the entirety of the buying cycle are both critical if B2B marketing efforts are truly focused on creating sales opportunities. And, once prospects become customers, we need to retain them over the long term. Which of course means we need to get to know exactly what they want and give it to them. MORE >>

Content marketing is being used in all types of formats. There's the big bang eBook launch, the white paper promotion, the 3 touch plus sales offer approach, the quarterly webinar and other "standalone" configurations based on a short-term time frame. Unfortunately, none of these is actually lead nurturing for a complex sale. These are campaigns. campaign is generally a short term focus with a defined goal like - Generate 100 new leads or add $X to the pipeline forecast. solid lead nurturing program extends at a minimum across your average buying cycle and even beyond. MORE >>