Chris Koch

JUNE 18, 2010

Clear, simple product that everyone understands, right? He sees it entirely as a service business. And he aims to give away (as in free) as many services to his customers as possible. When Zane started out, he faced competition from much larger bike shops, so he couldn’t afford to compete on price of the product.

Wikipedia 100

Wikipedia Marketing Management Training Conference 100

Chris Koch

SEPTEMBER 11, 2009

I’m hearing a lot from clients and researchers about how vast swaths of salespeople need to be eliminated as companies transition from selling products to services and solutions. But I think we start slicing the genetic material a little too thinly when we separate the product salespeople from the services salespeople.

Marketing Automation Services 100

Marketing Automation Services Consulting B2B Sales Paid Search Agency 100

Chris Koch

SEPTEMBER 11, 2009

I’m hearing a lot from clients and researchers about how vast swaths of salespeople need to be eliminated as companies transition from selling products to services and solutions. But I think we start slicing the genetic material a little too thinly when we separate the product salespeople from the services salespeople.

Marketing Automation Services 100

Marketing Automation Services B2B Sales Consulting Marketing Automation 100

Chris Koch

DECEMBER 29, 2009

Even if we believe deeply in the power of social media, we all have that gnawing feeling deep in our guts that says that there’s little reason for a busy, intelligent person to want to receive frequent updates about our brands when those brands produce complex services and products with two-year sales cycles. The research confirms it.

Enterprise Management 100

Enterprise Management B2B Marketing B2B Thought Leadership Marketing Management 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. But they call it “financial services” for a reason: They have all of the same struggles as technology services companies—with the added complication of tons of regulatory requirements.

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. But they call it “financial services” for a reason: They have all of the same struggles as technology services companies—with the added complication of tons of regulatory requirements.

Social Media 100

Social Media B2B Thought Leadership Media Peer-to-peer 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. I give us a B- overall—not bad for a product company. As a practitioner of idea marketing at SAP, that’s music to my ears. But hey, I’m a known crank.

Disintermediation 100

Disintermediation B2B Marketing Marketing Management Paid Search Agency 100

Chris Koch

SEPTEMBER 24, 2010

Marketers helped salespeople put words to the insanely complex products and services they were trying to sell. Sharing information in a way that doesn’t overly sap productivity (hard to do before social media came along) raises all boats. We all know how sales enablement got started in B2B.

Peer-to-peer 100

Peer-to-peer Wiki Marketing Management Internet Marketing 100

Chris Koch

FEBRUARY 26, 2010

This is the stage that occurs long before any discussion of products, services, or RFPs—indeed, it occurs before customers have even begun to think about a purchase. As social media expands our opportunity to reach people who have never heard of us or our services, we need to be prepared to engage them during the epiphany stage.

Social Media 100

Social Media Lead Generation B2B Thought Leadership Generation 100

Chris Koch

OCTOBER 30, 2009

Most of ITSMA’s clients are B2B marketers from big technology companies that sell big, complex products, services, and solutions. That means that the people buying those services—or at least playing a key role in the decision—tend to be high up on the corporate food chain—the C-suite or just below.

Social Media 100

Social Media Peer-to-peer Enterprise Management Media 100

Chris Koch

DECEMBER 2, 2011

But then I see something like HP Technology Services (HPTS)’ “Where’s the Humanity in Your Technology” campaign, or Hitachi Data Services ( HDS )’ Social Media Buzz campaign. Non-targets could win Hitachi consumer products and went to a separate database. You can read synopses of the programs here and here.)

Social Media 100

Social Media Campaigns B2B Thought Leadership Media 100

Chris Koch

DECEMBER 2, 2011

But then I see something like HP Technology Services (HPTS)’ “Where’s the Humanity in Your Technology” campaign, or Hitachi Data Services ( HDS )’ Social Media Buzz campaign. Non-targets could win Hitachi consumer products and went to a separate database. You can read synopses of the programs here and here.)

Social Media 100

Social Media Campaigns B2B Thought Leadership Media 100

Chris Koch

AUGUST 13, 2010

The trajectory of Slater’s postings look a lot like the things that customers say about our complex B2B products and services, which have a much longer arc of relationship than B2C. They may have come on board at a time when your products and services offered more than they do now or worked differently.

Social Media 100

Social Media Media B2B SME 100

Chris Koch

JULY 22, 2011

Any time anyone delivers a service to me now, I immediately start thinking about how the service is “being positioned,” and whether the “value proposition makes sense.” Sure, healthcare knows how to sell drugs, but in terms of preparing the customer for the experience of service delivery, fuggedaboudit. I’m a goner.

Work Management 100

Work Management Marketing Management Social Media B2B Marketing 100

Chris Koch

SEPTEMBER 17, 2010

Marketers, meanwhile, didn’t have a wall, so they filled their content with self-aggrandizing references to their own products and services that pissed off readers and sent them to other sources for advice. And all this deep thinking relates, by association, to the services that you offer. What’s the point?

Thought Leadership 100

Thought Leadership B2B Thought Leadership Advertising Agencies Paid Search Agency 100

Chris Koch

JULY 28, 2010

This is especially true for services companies, who don’t have concrete products that can do the branding for them.). Individuals can burn out—or just leave.

Blogger 100

Blogger Wikipedia Work Management Social Media 100

Chris Koch

APRIL 2, 2010

Let’s face it, even if it was possible to curl up in front of the fire with a glass of wine and our B2B products and services, no one would do it. This may be the ultimate question in B2B, especially as we struggle to integrate social media into the overall marketing mix. Most of the things we sell are about as emotive as army ants.

B2B Thought Leadership 100

B2B Thought Leadership B2B Marketing Marketing Budget Thought Leadership 100

Chris Koch

DECEMBER 11, 2009

But video case studies and interactive product demos—even for B2B services— are going to become more popular on mobile devices. For example, a Forbes survey found that C-suite executives are more likely to make the time for a video than other executives. Sure, there are technical issues.

Mobile Marketing 100

Mobile Marketing B2B Marketing B2B Storytelling 100

Chris Koch

JANUARY 8, 2010

Companies that made commodity products would tell me with straight faces that even their financial processes were unique—GAAP be damned—and that they needed to customize their software to fit “our ways of doing things.” Recommend products and services that you haven’t thoroughly researched and you will most likely be out of a job.

Social Media 100

Social Media B2B Thought Leadership Thought Leadership Media 100

Chris Koch

APRIL 16, 2010

In our survey, we asked, “In your company, is marketing the catalyst for social media being used by others in the company (product development, HR, etc.)?” Marketing as a percentage of revenue for technology services companies is at an all-time low—less than 1%. Marketing owns social media management. That’s right. It’s our job.

Social Media 100

Social Media Work Management Marketing Management Social Marketing 100

Chris Koch

MARCH 4, 2011

Publishers are left with a trickle of revenue and B2B companies discover just how uninterested a generic online audience is in their products and services. It’s a no win for everybody except the ad agencies. From the ashes of trade journalism, an opportunity for marketers.

B2B Thought Leadership 100

B2B Thought Leadership Advertising Agencies B2B Marketing 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. It forced me to think about all the components necessary to build and sustain a thought leadership strategy. Here are my thoughts on the big pieces.

Thought Leadership 100

Thought Leadership B2B Thought Leadership Network Marketing Paper 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. It forced me to think about all the components necessary to build and sustain a thought leadership strategy. Here are my thoughts on the big pieces.

Thought Leadership 100

Thought Leadership B2B Thought Leadership Network Marketing B2B Sales 100

Chris Koch

JANUARY 15, 2010

But a quick read of our magazine showed that we didn’t write about products. Tags: ITSMA Research Marketing Strategy Add new tag Advertising B2B marketing Customer relationship management ITSMA Marketing and Advertising Marketing Automation Marketing Processes Sales social media strategy Software as a service Thought Leadership.

Social Media 100

Social Media Work Management Marketing Management Marketing Automation Services 100

Chris Koch

MAY 14, 2010

We’re seeing companies use social media to bring customers into the product and service development processes to collaborate on new ideas and improvements. Our subject matter experts (SMEs) are talking to customers. We’re seeing HR departments using social media for recruiting.

Organic Leads 100

Organic Leads Social Media Social Marketing Organization 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).

B2B Thought Leadership 100

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

Chris Koch

NOVEMBER 13, 2009

Most of the marketers I talk to are trying to reach a few top executives in big organizations who make buying decisions about big, complex products and services. Despite all the breathless hype about social media these days, what I hear most from B2B marketers is frustration.

Social Media 100

Social Media Allocation Media Marketing & Strategy 100

Chris Koch

NOVEMBER 13, 2009

Most of the marketers I talk to are trying to reach a few top executives in big organizations who make buying decisions about big, complex products and services. Despite all the breathless hype about social media these days, what I hear most from B2B marketers is frustration.

Social Media 100

Social Media Allocation Media Marketing & Strategy 100

Chris Koch

NOVEMBER 5, 2010

They didn’t coach CIOs to talk only about how they used the products and services of the company. They understood my publication, my audience, and my needs. They would work hard to get CIOs and subject matter experts to agree to talk to me in an open way.

PR 100

PR Press Paid Search Agency Lead Ranking 100

Chris Koch

JANUARY 22, 2010

This is the number of articles or blog posts that mention the product or service measured against the trend in sales. We track the marketing mix (including PR) over time against trends in sales. Lots of variables there. Return on media impact. Again, tough to isolate PR’s role. Value of earned media.

Social Media 100

Social Media ROI Lead Ranking RSS 100

Chris Koch

MARCH 12, 2012

This is cross-posted on the SAP Services blog]: Mobile applications are a little like vacation snapshots: They are informative, sometimes fun—beautiful, even—but they don’t tell a full story on their own. My destination? New Jersey. Turns out they’re doing some good thinking about mobility down there. Far from it.

Enterprise Management 100

Enterprise Management Lock-In Marketing Management Paper 100

Chris Koch

FEBRUARY 7, 2014

But research by my colleague Stephanie Overby has found that the real workhorse driving increased customization of manufactured goods on the production line is the Computer Numerical Control (CNC) Machine. CNC machines make it easier for companies to customize products; alterations are just a matter of reprogramming the software.

Startups 100

Startups High Quality Lead Cost Order 100

Chris Koch

DECEMBER 28, 2010

From Facebook to email to putting telephones on employees’ desks (remember, the telephone started as a “consumer” communication technology, too), companies think that every new wave is going to lead to gajillions in lost productivity. Creating compelling offers and descriptions of products and services is an art, it really is.

Planning 100

Planning Work Management Paid Search Agency B2B Thought Leadership 100

Chris Koch

FEBRUARY 5, 2010

It may look better and read better than a brochure, but it’s still a brochure because it emphasizes our products and services over the needs of the people we are trying to reach. It presupposes that we have something to talk about besides our products and services. What a mouthful. I even developed an acronym: IM.

Thought Leadership 100

Thought Leadership B2B Thought Leadership Gartner Planning 100

Chris Koch

DECEMBER 16, 2010

Move beyond simple reuse. Sure, regular readers of my blog will recognize some sections of the social media report from some of my posts here, but in nearly every case I had to add more to weave these pieces into the larger picture.

Thought Leadership 100

Thought Leadership Social Media B2B Thought Leadership Media 100

Chris Koch

MAY 5, 2014

The Costs of Production Approach Zero for Everything. There are three other areas where the costs of production will soon reach zero, according to a fascinating academic article (in this rare case that’s not an oxymoron) by Mark A. But publishing and entertainment aren’t anomalies. Patents will not disappear anytime soon, Lemley says.

Copyright 100

Copyright Distribution Youtube Internet Marketing 100

Chris Koch

NOVEMBER 20, 2009

The need to maximize web hits means that trade journalists are being pushed to create more shorter stories that appeal to the largest possible audience—not a fertile ground for in-depth analyses of complex B2B products and services. Marketing factors. Social media requires fewer hard dollars.

Social Media 100

Social Media Social Marketing B2B Marketing Work Management 100