In fact, it also sums up the world of customer buying pretty well too. Certainly, customer buying has fundamentally changed: as they are increasingly engaging us as late as they possibly can. Our reaction in this more commoditized, price driven space, cannot simply be attempting to differentiate on price. In this world, we’ve seen Challengers and the Commercial Insight that they bring to sales conversation be the critical market differentiator; which is why so many of you have decided to go down the Challenger path or still look at the possibility of it. MORE >>

But it doesn't get to the core of why companies are buying and what problem they are looking to solve (don’t get me wrong, demographics are still an important factor in the segmentation process, but they shouldn't drive the first steps of segmentation). As markets are changing rapidly and segments are disappearing and new ones are forming, it becomes more important to look at WHY companies are buying, and segmenting markets along motivational attributes. Go to Market / Buying Preference What is your target markets' preference in procuring solutions, channel/direct preference? MORE >>

Here are a few we uncovered this year: Sell to reasons why your customers buy. One of the team’s favorites this year, for example, was Qwest’s (now CenturyLink) “Ultimate Problem Solver” campaign ,  an online game that challenged technology buyers to solve problems in ways that dovetailed with the company’s differentiators. And with price points as high as they are for many B2B products and services, buyers think long and hard about their purchases, and expect a level of customization and personal service that consumers can’t really ask for. MORE >>

Branded authorities are able to command premium prices because they offer a unique differentiation and compelling benefit(s). And if you fail to do this, consider this sobering thought: many of the leads you neglect will either buy from you or a competitor. Stop changing your message/positioning every five minutes. For example, when we develop a brand promise and positioning platform for a client, it is always with the thought that it will consist of messaging that has relevance two to three years from now as well as today. Create quality content. MORE >>

CAD can also be a powerful differentiator for precision machining shops and fabricators. They are in a much better position to offer value engineering and DFMA (Design for Manufacturing and Assembly) services to help become preferred manufacturing partners instead of being a supplier that is constantly competing on price. Download my 7 Content Marketing Tactics for Marketing Industrial Products white paper to learn more about using downloadable CAD files as one of the industrial content marketing tactics to move leads forward in their buying cycle. MORE >>