Chris Koch

AUGUST 16, 2011

Obviously, this is less of an issue in B2B than B2C. Cookies help us learn more about our website visitors, but you won’t learn nearly as much about the spending patterns of B2B executives through web cookies as you do with B2C buyers. Privacy is a concern in B2B, too. It may seem facile, but social media are the answer.

B2B 100

B2B Privacy Click Rate Internet Marketing 100

Chris Koch

JUNE 26, 2009

My job is to learn about how to become a better B2B marketer and to share what I learn with others. To get better, you should think of yourself as part of the emerging guild of B2B marketers in social media. I think of Paul Dunay as one of the model citizens of this online B2B guild. B2B Marketing POSTs by Laura Ramos.

Social Media 100

Social Media Social Marketing B2B Marketing Personalization 100

Chris Koch

DECEMBER 11, 2009

For B2B marketers, this means that video and interactivity are something we need to be thinking about and doing now. For example, a Forbes survey found that C-suite executives are more likely to make the time for a video than other executives. And nowhere is the visual more dramatic than on your personal mobile device.

Mobile Marketing 100

Mobile Marketing B2B Marketing B2B Storytelling 100

Chris Koch

APRIL 30, 2010

I’m going to be moderating a panel on this question (among others) at next week’s MarketingProfs’ B2B Forum in Boston. I’m sure that there will be opportunities and reasons for B2B to advertise on these things eventually, but that’s the easy part. I think that’s how we have to view mobile apps for B2B marketing. Timeliness.

Mobile Marketing 100

Mobile Marketing Mobile Advertising Paid Search Agency Wiki 100

Chris Koch

FEBRUARY 11, 2011

There’s lots of talk out there these days about the need for a technology guru within the B2B marketing department. Most companies do not yet have closed-loop lead management processes supported by systems, for example. I think B2B marketing groups need the same emphasis–and that need will never go away once the systems are installed.

Analytics 100

Analytics Paid Search Agency Marketing Management Loyalty 100

Chris Koch

OCTOBER 7, 2011

This week I was asked to speak on a panel about social media to a group of B2B marketers in financial services. Here are some examples: Most C-level executives are not in social media—they’re in search. Social doesn’t happen in B2B without a culture change. But you can’t tweet a 50%-off coupon in B2B.

Social Media 100

Social Media B2B Thought Leadership Media Peer-to-peer 100

Chris Koch

OCTOBER 7, 2011

This week I was asked to speak on a panel about social media to a group of B2B marketers in financial services. Here are some examples: Most C-level executives are not in social media—they’re in search. Social doesn’t happen in B2B without a culture change. But you can’t tweet a 50%-off coupon in B2B.

Social Media 100

Social Media B2B Thought Leadership Media Peer-to-peer 100

Chris Koch

SEPTEMBER 29, 2011

Lately, I’ve been talking to B2B marketers about the content delivered by these thought leaders and asking, What defines good thought leadership content? Being first to interpret the impact of a new regulatory requirement, for example, reduces the chances of being perceived as “me too” thinking. Here’s what I have so far.

Thought Leadership 100

Thought Leadership B2B Thought Leadership Best Practices Case Study 100

Chris Koch

SEPTEMBER 29, 2011

Lately, I’ve been talking to B2B marketers about the content delivered by these thought leaders and asking, What defines good thought leadership content? Being first to interpret the impact of a new regulatory requirement, for example, reduces the chances of being perceived as “me too” thinking. Here’s what I have so far.

Thought Leadership 100

Thought Leadership B2B Thought Leadership Best Practices Case Study 100

Chris Koch

AUGUST 7, 2009

For example, we’ve long thought that CIOs in smaller organizations are hamstrung by a lack of discretionary budget to work with, small staffs, and a lack of access to the CEO in the business. Others are successful CIOs who take on complementary business roles in addition to IT such as supply chain, for example.

Planning 100

Planning Segmentation Work Management Gartner 100

Chris Koch

JULY 10, 2009

Now that may be due in part to the fact that most B2B marketers have only recently begun using Web 2.0 Indeed, some B2B early adopters are seeing 10-15% of their lead totals generated through social media, according to this survey by DemandGenReport. Check out the B2B Marketing Zone. In our recent Web 2.0 What do you think?

Web 2.0 100

Web 2.0 B2B Thought Leadership Ideal Customer Profiles Thought Leadership 100

Chris Koch

SEPTEMBER 24, 2010

We all know how sales enablement got started in B2B. Knowledge management systems, for example, were difficult to use and difficult to keep up to date. I heard a great definition from my former ITSMA colleague Jeff Sands the other day: Sales enablement is helping salespeople be more credible with customers. If so, why? Tweet This Post.

Peer-to-peer 100

Peer-to-peer Wiki Marketing Management Internet Marketing 100

Chris Koch

JANUARY 29, 2010

For example, there is no way that the typical Webinar is worth as much as an in-depth research report, yet we make buyers give us the same amount of information for both—we charge them the same price. For example, many assume that a higher level of buying intent will get them more goodies, so they say they are ready to buy when they aren’t.

Lead Ranking 100

Lead Ranking Lead Scoring B2B Thought Leadership Mobile Advertising 100

Chris Koch

JANUARY 29, 2010

For example, there is no way that the typical Webinar is worth as much as an in-depth research report, yet we make buyers give us the same amount of information for both—we charge them the same price. For example, many assume that a higher level of buying intent will get them more goodies, so they say they are ready to buy when they aren’t.

Lead Ranking 100

Lead Ranking Lead Scoring B2B Thought Leadership Mobile Advertising 100

Chris Koch

NOVEMBER 6, 2009

Like most marketers, I spend most of my time desperately seeking to understand my target audience (B2B marketers) and delivering content that they find relevant and engaging. We have five different categories for the awards that cover important areas of focus for B2B marketers. It’s a struggle. Tweet This Post.

B2B Thought Leadership 100

B2B Thought Leadership Thought Leadership Budget Programs Business 100

Chris Koch

JULY 22, 2011

All of which is a lead-in to this week’s entry, which is what we as B2B marketers can learn from health-care marketing. Here are some examples: Educate the customer—or don’t. Unfortunately, this one does often ring true in B2B, at least in my experience in consulting. In B2B we pride ourselves on knowing our audience.

Work Management 100

Work Management Marketing Management Social Media B2B Marketing 100

Chris Koch

MAY 20, 2011

on the Savvy B2B Marketing Blog entitled How to Gain Real Traction with Thought Leadership, I talk about how marketers need to create an idea network within their organizations to spur their subject matter experts to start thinking. Here are some examples of how this can work: Internal. Knowledge share sessions. Awards programs.

Social Media 100

Social Media B2B Thought Leadership Media Thought Leadership 100

Chris Koch

AUGUST 7, 2009

For example, we’ve long thought that CIOs in smaller organizations are hamstrung by a lack of discretionary budget to work with, small staffs, and a lack of access to the CEO in the business. Others are successful CIOs who take on complementary business roles in addition to IT such as supply chain, for example. Tweet This Post.

Planning 100

Planning Segmentation Work Management Gartner 100

Chris Koch

JULY 16, 2010

For example, in the three categories I’ve looked at so far (there are six categories altogether), we have one company using analytics to predict customer buying patterns (and this ain’t diapers or laundry detergent, ladies and gents—we’re talking six-figure jumbles of complex products and services here). One example stands out for me.

B2B Thought Leadership 100

B2B Thought Leadership Thought Leadership Peer-to-peer Wikipedia 100

Chris Koch

MAY 1, 2009

For example, the trend towards creating a closed-loop lead generation and nurturing process between marketing and sales is a positive step, but it seems like a bridge across the chasm rather than a true route to collaboration. In B2B, both marketers and salespeople know the value of learning about customers’ business issues and needs.

B2B Thought Leadership 100

B2B Thought Leadership Cross-Selling B2B Sales Thought Leadership 100

Chris Koch

JULY 28, 2010

And the brand or the issue that the brand wants to promote (say cloud computing, for example) remains the focal point of the blog rather than a particular personality. Tags: Blogging Brand, Reputation, and Positioning B2B marketing Blog Brand Brand Management marketing Social Media. What do you think? Tweet This Post.

Blogger 100

Blogger Wikipedia Work Management Social Media 100

Chris Koch

JUNE 5, 2009

For example, when certain models of Ford’s Explorer experienced tire blowouts, Ford delayed taking action with customers, blaming the tire supplier for the problems. We see B2B companies have three choices to make for their brands in the aftermath of a crisis: Retain the existing brand as is. Speed of response. Striking the right tone.

Paid Search Agency 100

Paid Search Agency Companies Work Management Ethics 100

Chris Koch

MARCH 26, 2010

One of the biggest challenges for B2B social media marketers isn’t creating content, it’s helping others create content. Journalists are trained to separate the compelling ideas from the chaff and develop them with supporting evidence and case examples. How to use social media for B2B (christopherakoch.com). Buddy them up.

B2B Thought Leadership 100

B2B Thought Leadership RSS Enterprise Management Thought Leadership 100

Chris Koch

NOVEMBER 12, 2010

Examples of how you do this are: Make them visible on social networks. You can’t do what one B2B company did: require that subject matter experts submit tweets to PR for approval two weeks in advance of posting. Make sure they have business profiles on the different networks (LinkedIn, Facebook, etc.). What do you think?

PR 100

PR Peer-to-peer Press Public Relations 100

Chris Koch

MARCH 25, 2011

For example, one company required that its council members hold at least one patent before they’d be invited. I’m hearing B2B companies tell me that they are starting to make idea development part of the yearly goals of their subject matter experts. Make ideas part of individual expectations.

Social Media 100

Social Media Organization Peer-to-peer SME 100

Chris Koch

SEPTEMBER 17, 2010

Partly that’s a quality issue, but it’s also an issue of B2B marketers taking the publishing analogy too literally. For many B2B companies, idea marketing is a check box on a marketing list. The best example of this that I can think of is IBM’s Smarter Planet. Idea marketing as checklist. Association in action: Smarter Planet.

Thought Leadership 100

Thought Leadership B2B Thought Leadership Advertising Agencies Paid Search Agency 100

Chris Koch

JUNE 16, 2009

And it’s in this sense that Twitter is a goldmine for B2B marketers. The two subject areas I’m most interested in in my role at ITSMA are B2B marketing in general and social media in particular. Every B2B marketer interested in learning more about their profession should have a Twitter account. .&#. Follow to learn.

Twitter 100

Twitter Web 2.0 Social Media Communities 100

Chris Koch

JANUARY 8, 2010

There is only one objective in social media and it is common across all companies—even across the infamous divide between B2B and B2C: Create learning networks. And learning is integral to buying—especially in B2B. I’m just saying that we shouldn’t assume, as we do by default, that ours are much different from anyone else’s.

Social Media 100

Social Media B2B Thought Leadership Thought Leadership Media 100

Chris Koch

APRIL 10, 2009

When the consulting industry began soon thereafter, McKinsey took the academic journal model and applied it to its marketing, which resulted in the McKinsey Quarterly.The Quarterly is the first real example of thought leadership marketing. Especially in B2B, products and services are becoming more complex and sales cycles are getting longer.

Thought Leadership 100

Thought Leadership B2B Thought Leadership Peer-to-peer Work Management 100

Chris Koch

MAY 14, 2010

Shameless plug here: My favorite B2B blogger Paul Dunay is going to talk about how Avaya uses social media for customer support at ITSMA’s Marketing Leadership Forum on May 25-26.) Telstra has a cool example of social media training that anyone can watch. We’re seeing companies use social media for customer support.

Organic Leads 100

Organic Leads Social Media Social Marketing Organization 100

Chris Koch

APRIL 9, 2010

If they are focused on developing new offerings, for example, this is a natural voice for them. Tags: Blogging B2B marketing Blog LinkedIn marketing Social Media social media management Subject matter expert. Some SMEs are always looking to see what happens next. Iconoclast. Let’s get a conversation going. Tweet This Post.

SME 100

SME Aggregators Blogger Social Media 100

Chris Koch

OCTOBER 16, 2009

Earlier this year I surveyed B2B marketers about their approaches to corporate blogging. For example, visitors may not feel that an executive from a computer networking company should be writing about tangential topics, even if he or she is qualified to do so. Their strategies take two basic approaches. Technology inflexibility.

B2B Thought Leadership 100

B2B Thought Leadership Blogger Thought Leadership Word of Mouth 100

Chris Koch

MAY 6, 2011

For example, many ITSMA members are companies that began by selling B2B products but are now trying to become known as full-service solution companies. This reference point is in the future and requires careful definition.

Social Media 100

Social Media Social Marketing Work Management Media 100

Chris Koch

OCTOBER 6, 2009

I’ve spent the last two days as a guest at Marketing Sherpa’s B2B conference in Boston and the many excellent speakers used publishing metaphors constantly. All good journalism comes from expert insight and real-world examples. Tags: Thought Leadership B2B marketing Marketing Automation Marketing Processes. What have I left out?

B2B Thought Leadership 100

B2B Thought Leadership Planning Thought Leadership Paid Search Agency 100

Chris Koch

AUGUST 21, 2009

Recently, I was asked by a former ITSMA client to help put together a plan for a thought leadership program for a B2B technology company that sells both products and services. Posted in Thought Leadership Tagged: B2B marketing, Marketing Processes, Thought Leadership. Here are my thoughts on the big pieces. What do you think?

Thought Leadership 100

Thought Leadership B2B Thought Leadership Network Marketing B2B Sales 100

Chris Koch

SEPTEMBER 25, 2009

I helped host an ITSMA round table this week and a near universal complaint from our B2B technology clients was how difficult it is to launch new services in a fast, efficient way. Posted in ITSMA Research, Service Development and Delivery Tagged: B2B marketing, Customer Research, ITSMA Research, Service Development and Delivery.

Research 100

Research Service Product Paid Search Agency 100

Chris Koch

MARCH 12, 2010

They are focused on lifetime customer value and are willing to incur short-term costs in order to build long-term loyalty and satisfaction—Nordstrom and Amex are a couple of B2C examples. FedEx is an example, having invented the guaranteed overnight shipping model. Apple is the most obvious example here ( Sony used to be).

Social Media 100

Social Media Media Thought Leadership Work Management 100