Pairing the emotional message with one tailored for the four profiles of B2B buyers yields functional and emotional differentiation, and consistently using the symbols of the original ad allows marketers to re-invoke the emotional cue whenever they’d like. B2B marketers typically don’t get to participate in the Super Bowl hoopla – at least, not in the same way that their B2C colleagues do. But if you’ve got the budget for it, there’s a smart way that Super Bowl ads can fit into B2B marketing plans. In the B2B space, those needs tend to be more practical. MORE >>

Links to differentiators. Hand in hand with commercial teaching/insight marketing approaches – something we at MLC understand to be the most effective method to break buyer assumptions and make complex sales – comes something else: namely, having smart things to teach customers in the first place. This is, unsurprisingly, a lot easier said than done. The core of the commercial teaching approach is the notion that, in order to change customer assumptions, reps have to teach the customer something they don’t know or don’t realize about their own business. MORE >>

We can help you differentiate your benefits in two ways – first, by conducting an onsite meeting ( contact your account manager ), and second, by administering our proprietary Customer Experience Diagnostic , which will help you market-test your unique benefits. B2B readers of our blog will know that, for the last year or so, we’ve been harping on one central, unavoidable fact about today’s sales and marketing landscape: the fact that nearly 60% of a typical customer’s purchase decision is complete by the time they contact your Sales department. MORE >>

Much as we like to account for everything from individual demographics, industry characteristics, macroeconomic trends all the way to business models and geographies, 80% of the controls will turn out to be non-differentiators. Thanksgiving is just around the corner. And if you’re the chef, you know not to overstuff your turkey unless you want to risk a bird explosion in the oven. Ask Rachael Ray or Martha Stewart if you don’t believe me. know, it’s tempting to put in just a little bit more deliciousness. If we have it, why not use it?  Add to that a lot of proving and disproving. MORE >>

A key challenge is getting channel partners to sell your products and services the way you want them to and to adopt your messaging and compellingly articulate your value proposition and differentiated value to end customers.  As if working with our own direct sales forces isn’t hard enough (just kidding, Sales, we love you!), a huge segment of B2B suppliers also sell through indirect channels – brokers, agents, distributors, etc.  Reward quality, not just quantity.  Incentive structures are a commonly cited challenge in managing channel partners.  Make it easy.  Know their customers.  MORE >>