We recently discussed the importance of content marketing (in case you missed the post you can find it here). This week we are building off our recent conversation and discussing how content types and channels influence your communication. We discuss how the medium is the message, the changing landscape of marketing techniques, and the most popular B2B marketing channels.
The Medium is the Message
The ways in which we are able to communicate in today’s technology driven world are endless. While many people take the time to consider how they are going to craft their message, very few understand that the medium in which they choose to deliver that message is equally, if not more important, than the actual message itself. It’s important to take into consideration your message, your audience, and the impact a specific medium has when choosing what channel to communicate through.
Marshall McLuhan, Canadian philosopher of communication theory, hit the nail on the head back in 1964 when he said the “medium is the message”. McLuhan argued, “this is merely to say that the personal and social consequences of any medium—that is, of any extension of our-selves—result from the new scale that is introduced into our affairs by each extension of ourselves, or by any new technology” (Source: McLuhan, M., 1964). The medium you choose to communicate through isn’t just a channel of communication, it becomes and extension of your brand. Your message and the medium are not two separate components, but rather audiences consume your message and the medium you use as a whole.
Choosing the right medium is extremely important to recognize, especially in today’s digital world, as the medium can greatly impact the way audiences understand your message. McLuhan states, “for the message of any medium or technology is the change of scale or pace or pattern that it introduced into human affairs” (Source: M. McLuhan, 1964).
Content Management can be an extremely beneficial tool for sales reps. we analyze recent comments made by Donald Trump and evaluate how he could have managed himself differently in our recent post, “A Lesson in Content Management and Communications from Donald Trump”.
How is the Medium Changing the Marketing Landscape?
One of the biggest challenges that B2B businesses face is understanding where to use their content (Source: Dun & Bradstreet, 2015). Today’s marketing landscape is drastically changed from as little as 10 years ago. Moving away from traditional mediums (print, broadcast, and direct mail), B2B businesses now have the option of communicating through a wide variety of channels. From social media, websites, email, direct mail, and sales calls, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed when determining how to best reach your audience.
TV Grew out of Radio
Popular channels have historically evolved over time into new channels. An example of a classic marketing technique that has evolved is television. It was essentially just radio proramming which was filmed (Source: Dun & Bradstreet, 2015). Today, television has evolved a step further with the introduction of streaming subscription services such as Netflix.
Email Grew out of Regular Mail
Another popular transition marketers have seen is the evolution from direct mail to email. While these channels might have stemmed from a more traditional medium, the changes impact the meaning behind your message for buyers. It’s important for B2B businesses to learn how to balance the effectiveness of new and existing marketing channels and to experiment with the best ways to deliver content during their customer’s decision journey (Source: Dun & Bradstreet, 2015).
In B2B, the sales cycle is often long, involving many people in order to make a single decisions (Source: Manifesto, 2014). This means that the scope of the channels and frequency of communications will be different than in a B2C environment (Source: Manifesto, 2014). Understanding the ways your customers use content and where they look for it can help to shorten the sales cycle. For example, 80% of business decision-makers prefer to get company information in a series of articles, instead of from advertisements (Source: Marketing Institute, 2015). Creating content in a B2B environment today means giving decision makers the information they want to make informed decisions without having to ask for it.
Effective B2B communications should not only consist of customer communications, but also internal, community, and trade communications (Source: Manifesto, 2014). Understanding the various mediums that benefit each of these departments is critical in a B2B environment. Many B2B companies today tend to throw out all marketing efforts when they don’t achieve expected results through a channel (Source: Dun & Bradstreet, 2015). Understanding how the medium affects the message you are trying to deliver will ensure better results.
(Image Source: Business2Community, 2014)
[RELATED CONTENT] Appropriately leveraging channels is one of four MUST HAVE strategies we outline in our 'Sales Enablement Success' series. Click the link below to learn more about trends, challenges, and tips for 2016 in sales and marketing.
Popular B2B Marketing Channels
Today there are 4 types of marketing channels that are most commonly used:
- Traditional marketing;
- Digital marketing;
- Social media marketing; and
- Mobile marketing.
Each of these efforts allow marketing teams to interact with customers in a different way. Understanding how these channels work will help you optimize communications for each medium at each stage of a buyer’s decision journey.
Traditional Marketing
While traditional marketing channels are not used as often today, they were once the only way to do business (Source: Forbes, 2014). Current traditional marketing activities can be best described as marketing efforts that are done offline. This includes tactics such as display ads, direct mail, billboards, TV, radio, etc. (Source: Forbes, 2014). While these mediums are not as popular as they once were, they are still effective.
Outcomes with Traditional Marketing
When asked which offline distribution channels proved to be most effective for accomplishing B2B marketing goals in 2014 respondents reported:
- 84% Events (Trade shows, conferences etc.)
- 24% Telemarketing
- 22% Direct mail
- 13% Print media
- 6% Outdoor advertisements
- 4% Television
- 4% Radio
(Source: Marketing Profs, 2015)
B2B marketing teams have moved away from traditional marketing for a number of reasons, including price, time, and difficulty conveying complex information effectively. Traditional marketing also tends to be more expensive than other forms of marketing as advertising space (whether that be in a magazine, on television, or the radio) can be quite costly in comparison to other marketing tools (Source: Chron, 2015).
Traditional marketing is also much slower than all other forms of marketing. These marketing campaigns take much more time to prepare, and do not allow you to respond to changes in the market places as quickly as newer forms of communication. (Source: Chron, 2015) Buyers making big purchase decisions might not necessarily benefit from a 30 second radio commercial to get all the information they need to make a decision.
Digital Marketing
Digital marketing is a lot like traditional marketing. One of the biggest benefits it provides is the ability to engage with customers and respond to their concerns. (Source: Forbes, 2014) Digital marketing is especially important as the average buyer guides themself through 60% to 90% of the traditional sales funnel before even contacting your sales reps (Source: Marketo, 2015). Using content that is found online, customers are able to educate themselves. Ensuring that you are providing quality content online means there is a better chance that customers will come to you for information instead of third parties or your competitors.
Outcomes with Digital Marketing
When asked which digital distribution channels proved to be effective for the accomplishment of their marketing goals in 2014, B2B respondents reported (source: Marketing Profs, 2015):
- 81% Website
- 71% Email
- 54% SEO (organic search)
- 39% Blogs
- 36% online events (workshops, seminars etc.)
- 35% PPC (paid search)
- 26% Online display ads
Though the numbers are positive there are challenges to using digital marketing including the website domain and maintenance costs, and labour associated with operating the site and continually creating valuable content.
Best-in-class performers recognize that having outdated content or not updating content on a consistent basis is a recipe for disaster as it portrays a company which is behind the times.
If you’re interested in learning more about digital content, consider reading this post about “How to Tailor Digital Content to Purchase Decision Stages”. To learn more, click here.
Social Media Marketing
Many marketers have reported to increasing their social media spending, and as a result, this is one of the most popular channels for B2B companies (Source: Forbes, 2014).
Outcomes with Social Media Marketing
Reportedly, 54% of B2B marketers said that they planned on increasing their social media spending in 2015 (Source: Marketing Profs, 2015). Not only is social media a great way for companies to engage with consumers, it is also a great tool for generating leads and gathering data and analytics on your prospects and customers. According to reports, 44% of B2B marketers surveyed say social posts are effective for achieving their goals (Source: Marketing Profs, 2015).
While social media marketing lets you get to know customers on a more personal level it also has a number of disadvantages that you should consider when creating a social media campaign. Updating content takes more time and effort than most people think. Customers expect a fast response time and should be frequently monitored (Source: Chron, 2015). Bad reviews can easily go viral and cause great harm (Source: Chron, 2015). Competitors may also monitor your online activity, and even interact with your company on social media.
Interested in learning more about social media content? Learn the do’s and don’ts of social media in our post, “Content Management & Digital Sales Success through Social Media”, found here.
Mobile Marketing
Mobile marketing is promotions and other communications that are delivered to cellphones, smartphones, and other mobile device (Source: Search Mobile Computing, 2015). Mobile marketing is becoming a necessity as customers are constantly connected to their devices; mobile marketing allows you to reach audiences anytime and anywhere.
Outcomes with Mobile Marketing
When asked which distribution channels proved to be most effective for accomplishing B2B marketing goals in 2014 respondents reported (Source: Marketing Profs, 2015):
- 10% Mobile Web
- 10% Mobile Applications
- 4% Mobile messaging (text messaging)
While mobile marketing is a hot trend, it too isn’t a perfect marketing strategy. Mobile marketing can be very expensive, especially if your campaign requires the creation of mobile applications (Source: Kaizenify, 2012). Mobile marketing becomes quite complicated due to the variation of mobile devices that are out on the market (Source: Kaizenify, 2012).
Lastly, mobile marketing strategies often lack continuous engagement and should be considered as a short-term strategy, as people often get bored easily (Source: Kaizenify, 2012).
Getting More Out of Mobile
Mobile strategies are excellent for sales reps because it allows them to be more adaptive and responsive. A majority of sales reps use some kind of mobile device, including tablets, throughout the sales process.
Mitigating the challenges of device compatibility and continuous engagement is difficult without the assistance of technology like Sales enablement tools.
Sales reps have access to several types of content which may or may not be compatible with all devices. This reduces the effectiveness of any digital sales aids you may possess. Sales enablement software ensures that your sales reps are able to maximize the potential of any mobile communications strategy.
Interested in learning more about how mobile sales enablement can enhance your marketing efforts? May I suggest reading our previous post, “Mobile Sales Enablement: How will Tablets Enhance Your Marketing?”, found here.
Understanding the medium in which you choose to push your communication through is important to your message as a whole. If you found this topic to be of interest, stay tuned until Thursday where we examine how to choose the right channel for your message.
Until then feel free to download our free whitepaper on the topic of multichannel effectiveness.
If you want to see more specific details about how sales enablement influences mobile marketing success, feel free to request a demo and let us take you on a tour.
