B2B Myth of the Week: Sales Collateral Is No Longer Important
by MGB2B
The Myth: Sales Collateral is No Longer Important
The Truth: High-Quality, Tangible B2B Sales Collateral Can Leave a Lasting Impression on Clients
With all the buzz around online content, it’s easy to think sales collateral is no longer important. But consider this: there’s tons of technical information to share with clients. We can’t expect them to remember it all. That’s where sales collateral comes in. It serves as a tangible reminder of the benefits or your products or services. And it simplifies the sales experience so you can close deals. If that’s not enough, here’s four more reasons why well-executed sales collateral is an important part of your marketing arsenal.
4 Reasons B2B Sales Collateral Is Still Important
- It Communicates Important Information Succinctly. It’s unlikely that your leads will remember everything you tell them in a meeting. Having information laid out in simple terms all in one place makes it easy to both digest and remember. And while having that information online is important, a brochure is something prospects can keep on their desk to remind themselves of your brand when making a purchase decision.
- It Can Showcase Your Credibility. Rather than wait for your leads to seek out your case studies, hand them over directly. Seeing your success displayed in a quality document offers proof, reinforces your reputation, and is easily shared with other decision-makers.
- It Adds to Your Brand Story. While it may be tempting to put all of your information online, your personality comes to life more so in a printed piece. The weight of the paper, the feel of it, the gloss or matte finish, all give your brand story more depth. In addition to creating consistency and credibility across your brand, it rounds out the personality you’ve created online and in your offices. From business cards to brochures to sell sheets, your collateral has the potential to strengthen your company’s image – so long as you create a high-quality experience.
- It Can Close the Deal. According to Forbes, buyers go 70% of the way through the decision-making process before engaging with a sales representative. So if a buyer is more than halfway there when you meet, imagine leaving them with a high-end, well-designed, well-produced, and authoritative booklet or sell sheet. Since many companies are funneling their money into digital efforts, it could be the point of differentiation that seals the deal.
It’s easy to overlook printed collateral in today’s digital-first world. But that’s even more reason to make your sales materials stand out. Need help with the execution? Give us a call.
Continue ReadingRepurposing and Repackaging B2B Content to Keep Your Audience Engaged
by MGB2B
Your brand has many needs: developing products that meet the needs of your clients, keeping your clients happy and satisfied with your offerings, maintaining a steady workflow between your marketing and sales teams, staying one step ahead of the competition… the list goes on and on. So when it comes time to develop content like white papers, blogs, bulletins, newsletters, and more, it’s no wonder that task can often fall by the wayside. Your brand’s own content can sometimes take a backseat to the hundreds of other priorities you and your team manage on a day-to-day basis.
You Should Know Two Things About Your Struggle with Content:
- It’s okay!
- There’s a way to create new content to distribute to your audience without actually creating new content.
You Might Be Thinking… “That Makes No Sense.” But Hear Us Out:
By taking existing long-form content you’ve created, like white papers, tech bulletins, or published studies and turning them into shorter, eye-catching, digestible content like blogs, infographics, and videos, you’re still creating new content without putting in as many man-hours that the former requires.
Writing something like a white paper takes a significant amount of time, research, and understanding of the subject. Your audience appreciates these types of content, but in an age where “content is king” and attention spans seem to shrink by the day, sometimes they don’t always reach the audience they should. By taking your extensive white paper and breaking it down section by section, you’re providing your audience with the same content, just in a form they haven’t seen yet. So you might capture the attention of someone who doesn’t have the time or patience to read a full white paper. As an added bonus, when you create these types of content and post them on your website and various social channels, you can link back to the longer-form content (and require an information capture to reveal it), so you’re accomplishing two goals with one post.
So How Do You Evaluate B2B Content for Repurposing?
Choosing the kind of content you want to turn into social-friendly posts is the biggest challenge you might face. When starting out, you’ll want to evaluate your library for two things. The first being, ease of digestion. What we mean when we say that is: how complicated is the message we’re trying to get across, and how difficult will it be to convey that in an infographic, video, or blog? The second thing to evaluate is time. How long will it take us to turn this white paper into something we can get out to the masses?
If you need to hold multiple brainstorming sessions, followed by multiple rounds of development, followed by multiple rounds of edits, it might be best to leave that content as-is. If you have something that you already know can be broken down easily (and quickly!), start there. As time goes on, you can hone your skills, and eventually tackle those harder-to-understand pieces. But for now, start slow, and be sure you’re crafting messages that will resonate with your audience.
Continue ReadingB2B Myth of the Week: B2B Companies Don’t Need a Brand Voice
by MGB2B
The Myth: B2B Companies Don’t Need a Brand Voice
The Truth: The Tone and Style of Your Brand Voice Differentiates You From Your Competition
It’s easy for B2B companies to overlook the importance of creating a brand voice. Many companies forget that they are selling to real humans who are emotionally engaged when making buying decisions – even in the B2B world. Because of this, content can often be full of jargon and technical terms. This type of content clouds your brand’s personality and leaves customers confused about what they can gain from using your product or service. This problem can be solved by developing a B2B brand voice just for your company.
A brand voice includes personality, tone, and attitude and allows you to differentiate your business from competitors. Developing a brand voice might seem like a daunting task, but it’s likely that one already exists within your company; it just needs to be uncovered.
Here Are 3 Reasons Why Your Company Needs to Develop a Cohesive Brand Voice:
- A Brand Voice Connects You with Your Audience. In order to ensure your voice resonates with your audience, you first have to understand who they are. This may require a bit of research into your current customers. Once you know exactly who your audience is and what they want from you, developing your voice will be easier. Is your brand more professional, or are you bold and witty? Tailoring your voice to your specific audience helps develop content that buyers relate to. B2B buyers are humans after all, and they want to purchase from brands who they believe are genuine and trustworthy.
- It Differentiates You from Competitors. Your voice should be unique and make your company stand out. A great place to start is by identifying values that are important to your company and using them to shape your brand voice. If you stay authentic to your brand, buyers will remember you over the competition. Look to companies such as MailChimp, who have successfully distinguished their voice and personality. To create a successful brand voice, your company needs to be aware of what your competition is doing. For example, if your competitors use a boring or dry voice, adding a little bit of humor or conversational tone can attract buyers to your product.
- It Encourages Consistency Throughout the Entire Company. Consistency is key when it comes to developing your brand voice. In an ideal world, your audience should be able to recognize your content before seeing your company name attached to it. Your voice should be clear across all platforms: blogs, social media, websites, emails, and more. If your voice lacks consistency, it can create confusion and disconnect between your brand and customers. Inconsistency can also lead to confusion among sales and marketing teams. One way to ensure your brand voice remains consistent is by creating a style guide that employees can reference.
Developing a brand voice is not a one-time thing. It’s important to maintain your voice over time and keep up with industry changes while remaining consistent and authentic. Help your brand remain relevant by keeping up with your audience and competitors. A well-developed brand voice will generate interest among buyers and, most importantly, keep you a step (or ten) ahead of the competition.
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