Chris Koch

SEPTEMBER 24, 2010

These words, mostly in the form of brochures, specification sheets, and boilerplate PowerPoint slides, helped salespeople—especially those new to the company—get a conversation going with prospects. From what I can tell, the internet didn’t disrupt the basic model for the sales enablement process; it just moved much of it online.

Peer-to-peer 100

Peer-to-peer Wiki Marketing Management Internet Marketing 100

Chris Koch

MARCH 18, 2011

They want more strategic answers, such as whether marketing is increasing the velocity of contacts through the buying process and reducing the time and effort that salespeople need to expend in making a sale. A lead management process gives you the ability to get the right content to the right people at the time they need it.

Work Management 100

Work Management Thought Leadership Marketing Management Paper 100

Chris Koch

APRIL 10, 2009

Thought leadership marketing is based on the academic research publishing model, in which academics created journals built around a peer review process. Thus, thought leadership is applicable to any industry with interest in competitive information and process improvement. Why did companies start focusing on it?

Thought Leadership 100

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

Chris Koch

JULY 10, 2009

As social media becomes more prevalent in marketing, we’re going to have to rethink how we gather information from prospects. He argues that putting a data form in front of a prospect displays a lack of confidence in the quality of our work and at worst drives people into the arms of competitors. In our recent Web 2.0

Web 2.0 100

Web 2.0 B2B Thought Leadership Ideal Customer Profiles Thought Leadership 100

Chris Koch

FEBRUARY 11, 2011

Most companies do not yet have closed-loop lead management processes supported by systems, for example. We need to use analytics to quantify and manage how fast we move prospects through the buying process and to increase loyalty and trust after they’ve bought from us. We need to connect the analytical dots.

Analytics 100

Analytics Paid Search Agency Marketing Management Loyalty 100

Chris Koch

NOVEMBER 7, 2012

I’m especially fond of the effect it has on my colleagues in SAP marketing: they understand that they no longer need to pitch products to get the attention of customers and prospects. That’s because customers and prospects actually come to the Forbes site and read our stuff.

Disintermediation 100

Disintermediation B2B Marketing Marketing Management Paid Search Agency 100

Chris Koch

MARCH 25, 2011

In other words, unless we become idea organizations, we’re not going to have much to say to customers, prospects, and influencers in social media. This process is usually facilitated by marketing. What do I mean by an idea organization? The winning ideas are implemented. Make it competitive. Make it visible. What do you think?

Social Media 100

Social Media Organization Peer-to-peer SME 100

Chris Koch

JUNE 5, 2009

The company took a different approach with customers and prospects, saying, “We’re a new Oracle.”. In times of crisis, research with the following groups is especially important: Customers and prospects. Industry and financial analysts will likely have differing opinions about the current and future prospects of the company.

Paid Search Agency 100

Paid Search Agency Companies Work Management Ethics 100

Chris Koch

APRIL 30, 2010

Our customers and prospects—especially the younger ones—will be looking at smartphones as one of their primary computing platforms—if not the primary platform. Do you have situations where customers and prospects feel they might miss something by being disconnected from you even for a short while? Continuity.

Mobile Marketing 100

Mobile Marketing Mobile Advertising Paid Search Agency Wiki 100

Chris Koch

DECEMBER 18, 2009

Social media seems better suited to B2C, with its larger scale and simpler buying process. ITSMA research shows that B2B marketers are most successful when they use social media to drive prospects and customers to more “traditional” marketing channels such as the website and events. With good reason. What do you think? Tweet This Post.

Social Media 100

Social Media Peer-to-peer Social Marketing B2B Marketing 100

Chris Koch

NOVEMBER 13, 2009

For these marketers, the pool of customers and prospects is small and many of them do not want to engage publicly in social media or are simply ignoring it altogether. Though I will probably get some arguments about this, I think the participation strategy is a linear process—i.e.,

Social Media 100

Social Media Allocation Media Marketing & Strategy 100

Chris Koch

NOVEMBER 13, 2009

For these marketers, the pool of customers and prospects is small and many of them do not want to engage publicly in social media or are simply ignoring it altogether. Though I will probably get some arguments about this, I think the participation strategy is a linear process—i.e.,

Social Media 100

Social Media Allocation Media Marketing & Strategy 100

Chris Koch

MARCH 12, 2010

There has been no revolution—no breakthrough in process or practice to raise all boats. We know that in B2B, customers and prospects respond best to ideas, news, research, and how-to—not sales pitches. Social media is a channel for raising the level of intimacy that we have with customers and prospects with that content.

Social Media 100

Social Media Media Thought Leadership Work Management 100

Chris Koch

MAY 21, 2010

Especially as social media takes off, we’re finding that prospects and customers have less and less patience for giving us that information. It’s a gradual process—the currency of which is trust and exchange of value. For Facebook, it’s personal information that advertisers can use to target us. What do you think?

Privacy 100

Privacy B2B Marketing Lead Ranking B2B 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. Right now, it seems that the gap between sales and marketing is mostly papered over with technology.

B2B Thought Leadership 100

B2B Thought Leadership Cross-Selling B2B Sales Thought Leadership 100

Chris Koch

FEBRUARY 5, 2010

It is a process for developing and disseminating ideas through various channels that build a relationship with prospects and customers. Create a content development process. The key components of the program are: Develop a publishing process. Align content with the buying process. Create a calendar.

Thought Leadership 100

Thought Leadership B2B Thought Leadership Gartner Planning 100

Chris Koch

OCTOBER 1, 2010

It’s a warm-up for the great dialogues we’ll be having at MarketingProfs’ SocialTech conference later this month in San Jose, where I’ll be speaking about social media and the B2B buying process. Ideas that educate customers and prospects about important business and technology issues and help them solve those issues—without selling.

Thought Leadership 100

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

Chris Koch

NOVEMBER 20, 2009

We found that usage of social media among IT and business buyers of technology rose 50% over 2008 and finally pushed to majority status—55% said they use social media as part of the technology buying process in 2009 versus just 37% in 2008. Search is becoming increasingly dominant in the buying process. Marketing factors.

Social Media 100

Social Media Social Marketing B2B Marketing Work Management 100