Whilst working with a financial services client, I took a look at their competitor’s brochure. My client wanted to know what I thought about the design and content. For the most part, the tone of the brochure was what I call 5-star hotel speech: “Here at the Prestige Park Plaza, we’re dedicated to making your…… Continue reading B2B consultants: stay classy and don’t mention the competition
B2B Marketing Insights
Health and safety services marketing – don’t just repeat your SLAs
I’ve been immersed in health and safety services marketing recently, researching landing pages in this sector. It’s for a client who wants to improve conversion rate optimization (CRO) on their landing page. As usual with B2B technical services, I found a great deal of competition, large and small. I also found a great deal of similarity…… Continue reading Health and safety services marketing – don’t just repeat your SLAs
Compliance and regulatory law services marketing – choose a bigger slice
These last couple of weeks, I’ve been working with two service providers within the regulatory law sector who operate in very different spaces. One focuses on legal compliance within EHS (Environmental Health & Safety) while the other deals with regulated financial services. One is UK, and one is Scandinavian. One is SaaS, and one is…… Continue reading Compliance and regulatory law services marketing – choose a bigger slice
Thinking of a digital marketing agency startup? You need help.
This week I had an interesting conversation with a music industry creative looking to create a digital marketing agency startup. I don’t judge. Their initial interest in my services was for creating the website content. I do read a lot of requests for proposals from nascent digital marketing agencies who are focused on a ‘compelling’…… Continue reading Thinking of a digital marketing agency startup? You need help.
When long form content might not work for services marketing.
Whether you’re promoting an accountancy firm, architectural practice, legal firm, web development firm or personal training agency, business owners often think that more content is better. It makes sense doesn’t it? More words on the page, means more opportunities to show my expertise. Well, the moniker TLDR (too long; didn’t read) neatly expresses why long…… Continue reading When long form content might not work for services marketing.
Data engineering services marketing shouldn’t sit on the fence.
I recently had the pleasure of delivering marketing consulting services to an up-and-coming South American data engineering firm with an eye on global growth. A large part of what we worked on was the differentiation of their firm in a crowded market. My market research into my client’s competitors gave me an idea of what…… Continue reading Data engineering services marketing shouldn’t sit on the fence.
Hedge fund marketing creates credibility when raising capital for a new fund.
Whilst hedge fund marketing isn’t known for crippling self-doubt, effectively communicating about a new product requires removal of vagueness, evasion or unreasonableness (as the opposite of logic) Last week I had an interesting discovery call conversation with an asset manager looking to raise an eight-figure amount in capital for a new fund. I’m no expert…… Continue reading Hedge fund marketing creates credibility when raising capital for a new fund.
Marketing a nearshoring service: acknowledge customer obstacles – but not too much
Owners of Latin American nearshoring service businesses would have welcomed last year’s article by Hiscox London on the continuing rise in popularity of nearshoring by US firms. TL;DR Importance of recognizing customer obstacles in marketing for nearshoring services: striking a balance between discussing challenges and maintaining a positive tone is crucial. exemplify your firm’s capacity…… Continue reading Marketing a nearshoring service: acknowledge customer obstacles – but not too much
Strategizing your nearshoring marketing: does local color help?
Being cheaper and in the same time zone does not distinguish you from your competition. SUMMARY: Being cost-effective may appear as considerable advantage, but it does not set you apart from the competition. Nearshoring isn’t a USP. Location-specific marketing vs location-generic marketing. Recently, I’ve been fortunate enough to work with B2B nearshore service clients in…… Continue reading Strategizing your nearshoring marketing: does local color help?
B2B marketing strategy: using unique selling propositions
The unique selling proposition or point (USP) has been around in marketing since the 1940s. The USP (especially the ‘selling’ part of the name is often placed within the 4 P’s of marketing (Product, Price, Place, Promotion) and as such may seem a bit too old-school/hard sell for some. Whilst the USP is still a…… Continue reading B2B marketing strategy: using unique selling propositions
Solopreneurs and Sunday night marketing
As a solopreneur, it can be challenging to prioritize marketing when running your business single-handedly.
Long-form technical content for B2B goes at the top of the funnel
Are you an industrial manufacturer, selling B2B? Long-form technical content can effectively target your customer at the beginning of their buying journey. Catch them early and impress them with relevant messages and content that demonstrate your uniqueness in the market. I recently had the pleasure of working with a global safety system manufacturer on a…… Continue reading Long-form technical content for B2B goes at the top of the funnel
B2B: Don’t Bet Your USP on ESG
If, B2B service business owner, you’re not going to fully commit to the Cause, I recommend not leaning into ESG as a differentiator between yourself and the next guy
Marketing proptech: avoid the trap of listing features and benefits
Software developers and SaaS companies should avoid sounding generic by focusing marketing on customer outcomes over features.
Select strong commercial photography to elevate your property management company website over the competition.
It is possible to project a distinct service to customers, distinguish yourself from the competition and avoid cliches all through the imagery used on your website.
Managing agents: is it worth flyering 100 addresses on one estate to catch the attention of its five directors?
I was asked this question recently by an Irish managing agent who manages estates and lettings and was looking to expand. She was focusing on a particular property that is local to her but did not have access to the OMC directors’ names or email addresses.
Aren’t you a bit small for Salesforce?
Choose the right CRM for your SME and you’ll benefit from it even more than your bigger rivals do. Recently, I was talking with a company director friend of mine and mentioned that I had been occupied with onboarding Salesforce into the firm where I work. He was surprised that I had brought in such a…… Continue reading Aren’t you a bit small for Salesforce?
Turning GDPR and PECR compliance into marketing strengths and not weaknesses.
The Information Commissioners Office is the body set up to, amongst other things, enforce GDPR rules. Is your business too small for the ICO come knocking on your door? Possibly. A quick look through their list of firms who have had an enforcement action against them (only 96) are some large organisations including the Cabinet…… Continue reading Turning GDPR and PECR compliance into marketing strengths and not weaknesses.
Your First Marketing Hire – Advice for the Small B2B Business
When it comes time to add the first dedicated marketing person to the staff, business owners should downplay the creative elements of the job and focus on sales support. Marketing is often thought of in terms of designing logos and websites, liaising with journalists or working a trade event. So, when an SME owner comes…… Continue reading Your First Marketing Hire – Advice for the Small B2B Business