How to work 10 days more each year

Travelling into London by train it is impossible not to be aware of the current fad for e-mailing via Blackberry mobile devices. There is definitely a category of Blackberry users just as there is a group of iPod addicts identifiable by the the white wires trailing from each ear. At least emailing and facebook communication are silent activities unlike the very loud and public phone calls that invariably start, "I am on the train ..." delivered just before the train plunges into Primrose Hill Tunnel. So it comes as no surprise that recent research from Nectar Business reveals that thanks to mobile communications technology the British are "working on average an extra 10 days a year."

Some of the main findings are:-

• a fifth of people keep work phones on over weekends;
• 79 per cent of workers haven't met half the people with whom they do business;
• one in 20 people get over 100 emails a day;
• twenty-four per cent of people feel stressed by this constant state of being on call;
• 42 per cent of people say they meet colleagues less regularly due to email dependence;
• 60 per cent  now say they prefer to communicate by email than face to face.

In my travels I have also observed how many people seem to be frequently consulting at least two different mobile devices. A lot of time is spent using different communication channels.

 Why mention this at all? Well communication channels are vital to distributing  marketing messages and the suggestion that people are accessible longer and using a range of communication channels and devices implies marketers must consider all options. If 20 years ago train travellers were engrossed in the morning newspaper then that was a prime communication channel. Today the indications are that people may be even greater consumers of content, but want it more personalised and available through channels and at times they chose. Developing great content has become even more important and is an area where we at Technical Marketing Ltd are adding value to our clients' marketing programmes.

Has the Internet changed the traditional sales process?

An article posted on a blog dedicated to demand generation, proposes that the internet has swept away the old way of selling - old being the way we "sold back in the 70's and 80's even 90's". Five 'assumptions' about the way companies sell are lined up to be shot down by 'realities'. The article suggests that "so many things we did in the past — that worked well — no longer work." One reality claim is "7 out of 10 buyers say they start their buying process at vendor sites, not Google." Another "Over 9 out of 10 buyers consumed content on their way to purchase — especially white papers, eBooks, webinars, podcasts, and more and more, video clips." Although not making such specific numeric claims our experience suggests there is truth in both these 'realities'.

Although a review of Google Analytics for various web sites we monitor shows Google as the number 1 source of visitor traffic, there is other evidence from keywords that Google is used as a tool to quickly locate the web site of a company the user already knows. The combination of brand name and product type in the top search terms helps support the notion that visitors arriving at the site already have an idea of the supplier and product they are looking for. What the article suggests is that 70% start at the vendor site rather than a generic search for a product category. In a previous blog we asked, 'do offline channels drive search?' so this could be evidence that old fashioned marketing methods such as display advertising , PR and direct marketing still work to raise brand awareness and associate that with products or services the buyer is seeking. Using Google, or other search engines, to find the company site is often easier than accurately typing in the URL.

That 9 out of 10 consume 'content' on the way to purchase is no surprise as this is what the web site is good at doing - providing essential background and detailed information so that vendors are more often dealing with informed buyers. As an aside, my doctor observed that thanks to the Internet many of his patients had thoroughly researched their symptoms before a consultation. What the Internet offers buyers is the same opportunity to evaluate a vendors product, to see who has bought and recommended that product, to judge how knowledgeable the company is, how they handle after sales service - all without the pressure of a salesman controlling the process. And when they are ready the customer will call up the vendor. In short much of the sales process will have taken place without the company directly engaged. That is why companies should spend more time ensuring their brand is associated in buyer's minds with the products they are seeking to buy and the content is informative and relevant to the buyer. If 7 out of 10 customers start the buying process with the vendors web site, it makes sense to put most effort into content that will drive the sale than technical issues and SEO that will only influence at most 30%. And creating the right content is where Technical Marketing Ltd can help b-2-b companies get it right.  

How should the marketing budget be apportioned?

Marketing budgets are under pressure, but what share should go on the various communications methods?

Most marketers would advocate a broad range of marketing tools both offline and online. Some experts suggest headline rules such as you must be doing at least 8 marketing activities to succeed. One guru draws a circle, divides it into 3 equal sectors then propose one third of the budget goes on the web site, another third on advertising and the remaining third on everything else. An agency I worked for  advocated two ways of establishing a budget. The first, 'to cost the need' was the idealistic method of dominating the media, the other to set a figure  based on a percentage of turnover then adjust the level of activity accordingly.

 Rarely do companies have a proper marketing budget when we become involved. A marketing plan, budget corporate identity and delegation of authority to marketing to implement the plan and invest the budget are all important things to have in place. Usually the budget is reverse engineered from actual expenditure and once established tends to act as a benchmark for future years. Often there are two big ticket items that stand out - advertising and exhibitions. The latter usually understated merely recording the actual costs of space and stand design. If the true costs were accounted for - product, time, travel, hotels, entertaining - then it might seem a lot more expensive than it appears. How many companies relate enquiries to attendee numbers to the total population of their market? The ratios are probably depressing. A small percentage of the total market population will attend, not all these will visit the stand and a small percentage will lodge a useful enquiry. So why do companies like exhibitions? Exhibition space must be some of the highest real estate square footage in the world, yet the cost is rarely queried or negotiated. Yes, it provides face to face meeting opportunities, but once the tyre kickers are eliminated that personal contact might have been less expensively achieved with a good lunch.

Traditional display advertising remains equally popular and sacrosanct although if an advertising agency is involved at least the space cost is negotiated. The fact is that advertising and exhibitions absorb typically more than half the budget. So everything else has to be funded from the residue. Perhaps rather than tweaking budgets year to year it is time for a radical overhaul.

Will your PDFs sell products?

In the previous blog we discussed the importance of offline marketing activity to drive traffic to the company  web site, where visitors can discover all the information they require. It raises an important question of how that information is presented, in what format and how convenient is that to the user. In the days when all information was printed and mailed out or distributed by company representatives, it was relatively straightforward. There was a hierarchy of literature from the glossy brochures introducing the company its products and services through data sheets to instruction and operating manuals and ranging from colour to black and white. For consultants these would be presented in impressive ring binders and regularly updated. Print runs were generally large, although a significant quantity of any print run could be found stacked on literature room shelves or in the back of rep's cars. The distribution from receipt of request to sending out literature was often leisurely until the users became more urgent in their request, demanding information be faxed immediately. Often the most convenient style of literature for faxing was the data sheet and this was most legible if designed in black and white rather than using subtle colours lost in the faxing process. Today I suspect that a great deal of literature designed for print does not progress beyond the PDF stage and where printed it is as a short digital print run. Certainly clients indicate a reduced demand for printed literature, once a major part of any marketing programme, in some cases it is now delegated to the margins. 

The emphasis has shifted to the user to now do the work of locating the right PDF, downloading and if required printing a copy for reference. With this development,  control over presentation has been surrendered too. An ink jet printed copy on standard printer paper lacks the impact of quality print but this may now have become how your offering is judged. It means the PDF has to do a lot of work to impress, the question now is, 'do your PDFs do your product justice?'