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GAUDI is here...why is it so important for B2B marketers?

Google Audio Indexing (GAUDI) is a new technology Google Labs launched a few months ago. It basically uses voice-recognition to ‘understand’ the content of audio files and makes this content searchable. Whilst it is currently only used to search content on YouTube’s political channel ,it is only a matter of time till this technology hits the entire web.

According to Forrester (2009), videos are already 53% more likely than text pages to appear on the first page of search results and once Google launches GAUDI web-wide, this statistic is NOT likely to decrease. So what does that mean for B2B marketers? Well, if you are not yet using video in your promotional mix, you are missing a trick. It is not only a great way to showcase complex products and demonstrate your know-how, but also drives relevant traffic to your website. And once your competitors get wind of this, they will lead the way...

The times of having to roll-out an entire film crew to devise the perfect advertisement may still have its place, but with a bit of advice you can set up your own in-house studio that will allow you to produce good quality video and get it online quickly.

Web visitors value video content, Google ranks it and you may find it easier to convince your colleagues to share their valuable know-how in a quick video session. By the time they put pen to paper, the industry’s ‘hot topic’ may not be that ‘hot’ anymore...

If you are interested in using video to drive your website traffic, give us a call on 01663 766556 or email us at web@axongarside.com .

Posted: 22/12/2009 09:11:22 by Kim Walowsky | with 0 comments

Filed under: ContentStrategy, DemandGeneration, Digital, On-line, Video

axongarside’s new CMS boosts online B2B lead generation & cuts marketing costs

axongarside.cms has been developed to give our clients a platform that is uniquely tailored to the marketing and sales needs of B2B marketers working in markets characterized by complex buying cycles.

The new axongarside.cms delivers a unique package of design flexibility and rich functionality that:

Increases relevant site traffic

· Latest easy to use SEO tools built into the system

· Easy document upload

· Search engine readable pdfs and images

· News Feeds

· Blogs and forum tools

· Video/podcasts integration and streaming

Improves conversion of visitors to prospects

· Best practice site usability & User defined content

· Call to action methodology

· Bespoke landing page creation

· Download to email address function

· RSS feeds

And users can protect their content from the competition with a single tick box in the system which blocks content downloads by competitors.

B2B websites need to be designed with the unique needs of B2B web users in mind

Not rocket science but many other content managment systems just don't have the functionality required to meet the needs of B2B marketers.

B2B buyers are most often using the web to source information as part of multi-stage buying process. Easily accessible content addressing the information needs of buyers at every stage of the buying cycle is key to first attracting relevant site visitors, then converting them into Sales Prospects and finally through content nurture turning them into live Sales Opportunities.. In 2010 the focus will increasingly be on ‘getting found by customers’, a process that analysts like Laura Ramos at Forrester are calling Inbound Marketing.

Inbound marketing lead generation is 61% cheaper than outbound methods

The downturn puts pressure on everyone’s budget. Inbound Marketing flips more costly traditional outbound marketing (online and offline advertising for example) on the head and focuses on getting found by customers. Emphasis shifts to content, optimization, visitor interaction and social media functionality that helps sites to get found in organic search results, reduces lead generation costs and improves the ROI from online marketing budgets.

The way B2B buyers are using the web is changing fast too: Buyers now view the web as a single source of information leading them to hop rapidly from one website to another. Keeping experienced web users like B2B buyers on a site when they often only stay on an individual page for 30 seconds, demands sophisticated page linking and call to action strategies.User defined content which helps visitors find what they want as fast as possible provides real benefits for web visitors and hosts. Visitors to sites want to easily accessed content updates sent to a variety of devices so Blogs, Newsletters and RSS feeds are essential; Video is an increasingly popular way of delivering and receiving content.

The new axongarside.cms gives us the tool to build websites for clients who have all these needs and more. Contact me to find out more.

Posted: 19/11/2009 14:24:33 by Kim Walowsky | with 0 comments

Filed under: Communication, ContentStrategy, DemandGeneration, Design, Digital, Email, On-line, SocialMedia, Website

All of a Twitter

Business.com reports that three quarters of US B2B companies are already maintaining a corporate presence on Twitter and Facebook and two thirds of businesses are using social media to source business information.

Still pondering your Social Media strategy? Me too. Infact although my younger and smarter social media gurus re-assure me that it is as easy as setting aside 15-20 minutes a day to maintain my engagement, I’m not doing well.

Meanwhile research from the US tells us what is coming our way. Business.com reports that three quarters of US B2B companies are already maintaining a corporate presence on Twitter and Facebook and two thirds of businesses are using social media to source business information.

That said the definition of social media in this report is pretty wide. The biggest type of activity was attending webinars or listening to podcast. Online audio and video is a great way of gathering a lot of useful information quickly, as any one who has done it knows. Consequently we should all be paying as much attention as possible to making more use of these media in our marketing strategies. That’s why we have built the facility to host this kind of media into our new, about to be launched, website Content Management System (CMS). On the other hand, even in the US only 29% of those who use social media for business purposes admitted to participating in discussions on third party sites or use Twitter to source information. So, don’t worry if you’ve measured your Buzz and it is not looking too good; there’s still time before this becomes mainstream. On the other hand where was Twitter 18 months ago?

It is well worth reading this report. There is no need to panic if you don’t yet have a social media strategy.There is much work yet to do before anyone can claim with authority to fully understand how best to achieve a return on investment in social media but in the not too distant future we will all need to have thought through the implications of a trend which is gaining momentum all the time.

Posted: 18/11/2009 14:22:44 by axongarside | with 0 comments

Filed under: Digital, On-line, SocialMedia, Website

axongarside forms new technology marketing alliance

We have joined with three other specialists in high-tech strategic marketing and communication to create the M460 Alliance. Our aim is to boost the marketability of technology companies and to help them compete more effectively for business.

Recent KPMG research among the North West’s companies showed regional confidence at an 18 month high, with many seeing the emergence of green shoots that need to be turned into real opportunities to sell, through effective marketing and communication.

Having worked with successful technology companies through several recessions since the 1980s, including Epicor, HP, Hyperion, K3 and Siemens, the M460 companies – axongarside, Chameleon PR, Goldsbrough Consulting and No Nonsense Marketing – have recognised that an integrated approach across the full sweep of marketing activity – from strategic marketing to communication services – has a direct and positive impact on a company’s ability to sell more than its competitors.

Altrincham based ITIS Holdings has already benefited from integrated marketing delivered by three M460 members. axongarside, Goldsbrough Consulting and No Nonsense Marketing helped the travel and traffic information software company generate more business outside its domestic UK market. Coordinated analysis of ITIS’ market opportunity and development of a structured proposition, followed by integrated marketing programs has steadily increased high quality leads and accelerated the company’s progress in the global market.

In forming M460 with three other companies we are aiming to give high-tech companies the edge they need to succeed through development of clearly defined business propositions and differentiation for optimum sales, marketing and brand impact. By bringing together our complementary skills in this integrated alliance, we can reduce the cost and complexity of marketing, while increasing its impact. M460 is ready to help high-tech companies face the challenge in 2010 of redefining their market propositions for stability and growth.

Working with its partners axongarside can now provide clients with:

Strategic marketing direction
Marketing campaign management
Outsourced marketing execution
Effective written word
Digital and offline design
Public relations, social media and social networking

Putting together M460 builds on individual working relationships going back fifteen years. The M460 companies believe their value proposition will appeal particularly to fast growth technology companies requiring rapid market definition and conversely, established businesses that need to rethink their position to be more competitive in the current market.

Posted: 09/11/2009 11:21:51 by Kim Walowsky | with 0 comments

Filed under: Brand, Communication, DemandGeneration, Design, Digital, Marketing, On-line, SocialMedia, Strategy, Website

Turning visitors into leads - let your website do the work for you

Nearly 50% of technology decision makers are seeking purchase related information online , whereby company websites and search engines are used most. Whilst Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) has been a hot topic and an important first step in ensuring your website attracts the right visitors, what do we do with them once they have found us?

As most visitors only spend 45 seconds on a web page, we only have little time to:

1. convince them they have landed in the right place

2. draw them further into the site

3. engage with them based on their interests

As with SEO, website content is key and can help us capture some of the 80% of leads that slip through the net and subsequently buy within 24 months. So how do we keep these prospects interested in us? We simply provide them with information that will help them make their decision.

Try and think about your own decision making process when it comes to those more complex purchases. Initially a substantial amount of time is spent gathering information and whilst a lot of offers are perceived comparable when it comes to their features and benefits, who influences our thinking and ultimately our shortlist? Is it the one who:

A. shouts loudest about their fabulous, unique products & services and their 30 years of experience; or

B. has proven themselves helpful in unravelling a mind-field of information...(whilst possibly having influenced our thinking and accelerated our journey along the decision making path)?

As we can’t dedicate our resources to every web visitor who demonstrates a glimmer of interest, but also don’t want those 80% of leads to slip through the net, we should look at our website to do some of the work for us, before alerting us to the requirement of a more personal approach.

So once we have devised our helpful, engaging, informative content, which does not only highlight our products and services, but addresses questions technology buyers may have at various stages of the decision making process, we can start profiling and nurturing our leads online.

Whilst email software and analytics tools are essential in this process by recording visitor behaviour and responsiveness to certain types of information, we have to do the initial thinking ourselves. If it was as easy as implementing a bit of software, we wouldn’t be blogging about it as an opportunity to create a real competitive advantage...

Some of the questions we need to ask ourselves are before we can start devising our communications matrix and associated content is; What information requirements do our prospects have at every stage of the decision making process? Can we make assumptions on what stage of the process they are at by assessing their online behaviour? What supplementary information would they be susceptible to? How do they prefer to be communicated with? When are they ready to be handed to the sales team?

Finally, as with most things in life, the 80/20 rule applies; 80% of your success lies in planning and implementing your automated lead nurturing programme and 20% lies in evaluating and refining it.

Posted: 03/11/2009 22:45:53 by Kim Walowsky | with 0 comments

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