6 Unknown Rules of B2B Marketing

1. There's nothing worse for an inferior product or service than great marketing.
Believe it or not, marketing must support and promote the product or service as it is and not as you wish is was. Positioning an inferior product or service as anything but will spell long-term disaster.

2. Selective employee involvement is a must.
Employees are not always the best marketers, but those who demonstrate that they are "business developers" and have insight into market opportunities should and must be consulted if marketing is to reach its full potential.

3. The name of the game is quantity AND quality.
The key to long-term business success is to respond to a large quantity of qualified customer requests. Pre-qualifying based on a "looser" criteria will limit strain on your resources and increase your hit percentage.

4. Outrageous often works.
Consider outrageous promotions both for their memory retention potential as well as mass media attention-getting power.

Learn all about outrageous promotions on our Innovative Marketing Tips page: "No One Can Resist a Monkey!"

5. Fall in love off stage.
Hard, cold calls and customer request responses will keep you busy and direct marketing will keep you top-of-mind, but falling in love with a profitable business partner happens off stage. Get in front of them; provide targeted value at each and every encounter and you’ll quickly have them seeing stars.

6. Have a little fun.
B2B marketing can get a little dry over time. Add personality and interest to your marketing materials and cut through the clutter of the other, dry materials in the space. It will prove as fun to develop as it proves an effective marketing activity.