The Half-Life of B2B Marketing
Posted by Katherine Canipelli on Thu, Apr 16, 2009 @ 06:18 PM
There’s no question that these are challenging times.
Doing more with less—or simply doing less—is an economic necessity. You cut what you can, you keep what you must.
Across my network—across global industry—marketing and sales budgets have been slashed to the bone as business volume continues in freefall. The rationales vary. For some, this is a short-term tactic. Others restructure to drastically reduce above the line expenses to keep operating margins at target level—recognizing significant restructuring cost below the line, of course. And, then, there are the fortunate few in the right business at the right time who are capturing new business, yet still trim marketing spend because they [believe that they] can afford to. They’re all banking on the half-life of last year’s marketing effort to carry them through. And, when it comes to sustaining market awareness, it will.
As if that were all that good marketing does.
What’s really expendable?
That, I find, depends on business orientation. If your game is managing the channel (wholesale distributor), you’re a marketing business by definition; customer retention and transactional efficiency are top priority. If you’re in an operating business that make things (manufacturer) or makes things happen (complex services provider), production, supply chain, and customer service will take precedence. In any case, for many engineering-oriented, operation-focused, sales-driven organizations, marketing isn’t strategic, it’s simply sales support.
Thus, the cuts. Leaving the business exposed.
We're talking game-changing risk.
Attending to restructuring and capacity shifts are mission critical. But the big risk is that you focus too much on what’s happening inside your company—and neglect your market. No, this isn’t about promotion, this is about how you will compete in the most dynamic business environment our generation has experienced. Unless you’re strictly a commodity business, your company’s future rests on your ability to deliver more value, more consistently, to more buyers who are like your best customers.
Now is the time to invest in strategic marketing.
Mine that customer data in your CRM. Get your arms around distinct market segment needs, behaviors and trends. Probe the market to get research insight on what and where you need to tweak your offerings. Evaluate your portfolio, investigate expanding it via acquisitions or narrowing it via divestiture. Uncover new revenue streams and growth ideas. Forge new channel relationships and partnerships. In other words, invest in your company’s future.
Call it whatever you want. This is the marketing that industrial B2B needs now.
What's more, do it well and your business development team will cheer.
Over the next several posts, The Industrious Marketer will drill down to what you can do on a tight budget (we’re realists, after all) to get started.
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In the meantime, read my recent post about B2B market research and download our B2B Point of View white paper "Ten Tips for B2B Market Research".