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12 New Rules of B2B Product Launch
12 New Rules of B2B Product Launch www.b2bproductlaunch.com You may post this to your corporate intranet, © Advanced Industrial Marketingblog…or forward to others Why new rules? Why now? First, the internet is changing everything Most B2B transactions now occur when the customer finds the supplier—not the other way around If someone deep inside a prospect company can’t find you, your new product just lost to a competitor’s Second, B2B marketers have been following the rules of B2C marketers for way too long Compared to their consumers, our business customers are more insightful, rational, interested and fewer in number Advantage B2B… but only if we follow new rules Our rules Third, much more rigor is needed by most B2B suppliers Products are “released” casually, budgets are spent inefficiently, and prospects respond "underwhelmingly." I worked inside large corporations for 29 years, mostly in marketing positions It was great fun, but I believe the best is yet to come for B2B marketers I hope you’ll find some new rules here that ignite your next product launch Meet me at the end of this e-book for more ideas Dan Adams AIM, Inc 12 New Rules of B2B Product Launch © 2009-2012 Advanced Industrial Marketing, Inc This e-book—in its entirety—may be posted to your corporate intranet or blog www.b2bproductlaunch.com dan.adams@aimtolead.com 12 New Rules of B2B Product Launch © Advanced Industrial Marketing www.b2bproductlaunch.com Table of Contents Rule 10 11 12 Be easy to find… when your prospect is ready Link “early-stage” to “late-stage” marketing Get inside their minds with positioning Help prospects advance along the buying cycle Use engagement—not interruption—marketing Customize for industry concentration & position 11 Use online articles to boost “findability” 13 Use word of mouth to build buzz 15 Use powerful new online marketing tools 17 Integrate traditional media in your strategy 19 Make your sales pros look like geniuses 21 Pull it all together in a launch plan 23 Appendix: Training & Software from AIM 25 ◄ TOC Rule Be easy to find… when your prospect is ready B2B transactions today… You’re about to launch a great new product and your job is to hunt down prospects and close some sales, right? Well, partly… but that’s so 20th century 20% 80% In 80% of B2B transactions today, the customer finds the supplier—not the other way around.1 What does this mean to you? For starters, you must answer new questions: What will prompt a Google search by prospects, and what search terms will they use? Supplier finds Customer Customer finds Supplier How can you hold their interest? It’s hard to avoid a sales rep, but “good-bye” now sounds like a mouse-click Who are your real targets… among the many job functions typically involved in B2B buying decisions? How you meet prospects where they are? Some just starting to explore… others comparing specifications The 12 new rules in this e-book will help you answer these questions and more So happy hunting And being hunted -112 New Rules of B2B Product Launch © Advanced Industrial Marketing -2www.b2bproductlaunch.com For business decision makers B2B Lead Generation Handbook, MarketingSherpa, 2008, p 99 ◄ TOC Rule Link “early-stage” to “late-stage” marketing Deliver the Right Product to the Right Market using the Right Message through the Right Media : When I’m asked to explain marketing, I break it down into early-stage marketing—when you find out what customers want—and late-stage marketing, when you promote your new product to them Early-Stage Marketing Late-Stage Marketing Design Product Develop Product Deliver Product Front-End Work Heavy Spending Product Launch The latter is more glamorous, but without solid work in the “fuzzy front end,” you’re headed for a new product belly flop You really must both stages well to win big In fact, you need to link your early-stage and late-stage marketing… by intentionally gathering customer information in the front end for later use in your launch To this well, replace the Ps you borrowed from consumer marketing (product, price, place, promotion) with a new B2B model: -312 New Rules of B2B Product Launch © Advanced Industrial Marketing To get the Right Message, data-mine your front-end interviews to uncover customers’ hot-button language For the Right Media and Right Market, add two questions to customer interviews and surveys: 1) 2) How does your company learn about new ideas? Who decides which ideas to pursue? The first question tells you their preferred media use The second helps you target key prospects in the company Of course, there’s more you can do, but these simple steps will wonders for your next product launch -4- www.b2bproductlaunch.com ◄ TOC Rule Get inside their minds with positioning Principle #3 Your goal is to be the first to occupy mind-space for your category Over 30 years ago, Ries and Trout brought us Positioning: The Battle for Your Mind.1 Much of their thinking still applies today Consider these principles adapted for B2B: Principle #1 Once a prospect’s mind is made up, it is very difficult to change it Principle #4 However, prospects’ minds are usually open to new information A ? B C If you don’t already own a category, look for an unoccupied category you can claim Webex, for example, claimed web-conference-based business collaboration Principle #5 D In an over-communicated society, use an oversimplified message This makes “news” a great form of promotion Think news releases, presentations on new technology, webinars with new info, or (ahem) e-books with new rules © Advanced Industrial Marketing Simple Create a simple message and keep beating the same drum… in every medium you use Think FedEx speed, Cisco connectivity or DuPont miracles of science -512 New Rules of B2B Product Launch Your Brand If you can’t be first, create a new category where you can be In B2C, advertising is too weak a force to overcome Principle #1 You can be more persuasive in B2B, but a direct frontal assault on a competitor’s position is costly Principle #2 McKinsey If you “plant your flag” first in the customer’s mind, it’s easy turf to defend Don’t abandon your position by letting clever ad agencies stray from your core message Avis is #1 Hertz is #1 IBM WSJ -6www.b2bproductlaunch.com Al Ries and Jack Trout, Positioning: The Battle for Your Mind, (New York: McGraw-Hill, 1981) ◄ TOC Rule Help prospects advance along the buying cycle Buying Cycle Stages In the good old days—when suppliers found prospects instead of the other way around—you knew how to pitch your product There was a time to cultivate, a time to compare, a time to close You knew which time it was if you knew how to listen to your prospect Consideration But what if your prospect finds you on the internet, and you have no idea where her head is? She could be at any of these stages… Product Awareness Oblivious to the problem you’d like to solve Thinking about the above problem Aware of your product Considering buying your product Ready to negotiate for your product A one-size-fits-all marketing message won’t work, so what you do? Let the prospect decide when to move to the next stage Provide a stream of “offers” that prospects can accept when they are ready Here are some examples… Price Estimator Calculator Technical Paper In-Depth Brochure Webinar Technical Consultation Case Study White Paper Product Sample -7- 12 New Rules of B2B Product Launch © Advanced Industrial Marketing Prospect agrees to buy your solution Purchase Prospect wants your solution … under the right conditions Negotiation Prospect actively evaluates best way to address need Need Awareness Oblivious Prospect is aware of your solution to his problem Prospect recognizes a problem or opportunity worth addressing Prospect isn’t thinking about the problem you’d like to help solve Time Make it easy for prospects to move to the next stage by providing “offers”… such as white papers & webinars -8www.b2bproductlaunch.com ◄ TOC Rule Use engagement—not interruption—marketing Got an exciting product? Can’t wait to tell prospects how amazing it is? Steady now: If your prospect is at an early stage in the buying cycle, patiently employ engagement marketing Don’t rush in with interruption marketing Interruption marketing occurs when the supplier barges into the prospect’s world It’s an ad unrelated to the magazine article the prospect is reading… an e-mail during the prospect’s busy day ranting about a new product In engagement marketing, the supplier is invited into the prospect’s world More than anything else, engagement marketing is useful content from the prospect’s perspective Think how this works for you You don’t appreciate commercial hype But how about a free white paper or webinar concerning your problems, your interests, your industry? And if the sponsor drops a slide or page in at the end suggesting how they might “help you more,” you’re OK with that, right? (Ever eager to be helpful, we’ve provided an example at the end of this e-book.) That’s engagement marketing You’ll have time later in the buying cycle to tell prospects about the wonders of your new product For now, it’s all about them Content Prospects Find Most Interesting1 Case study on how a company used a product New research on some aspect of your industry How-to guide for using a product better Top-10 list of ways to improve business Interview with top analyst on state of industry Interview with top executive on state of industry Prospects are interested in their problems & industry… not you -912 New Rules of B2B Product Launch © Advanced Industrial Marketing # Prospect Responses - 10 www.b2bproductlaunch.com Source: B2B Lead Generation Handbook, MarketingSherpa, 2008, p 315 ◄ TOC Rule Customize for industry concentration & position So which media will you use? How will you spread your limited budget between traditional and online media? Four factors should influence your decision: 1) 2) 3) 4) Prospects’ media preferences Your resources Industry concentration Your industry position Industry concentration considers the number of potential buyers Your industry position is determined by whether you are currently a key supplier to this market or not While this oversimplifies the matter, think of four quadrants:1 Quad 1: Your sales force can easily reach prospects Invest in sales training & tools; reinforce them with online media Quad 2: To build credibility with a few prospects, use media such as customer seminars & helpful white papers #1 can be easily determined in your front-end work (See 2-Question Survey in Rule 2) #2 is about your budget and existing capabilities (e.g., sales force vs distributors) Quad 3: Too many to reach with direct sales Use news releases & search marketing to drive them to your website Quad 4: Use your database—and others’—to build a “community of users” via e-mail and other online methods - 11 12 New Rules of B2B Product Launch © Advanced Industrial Marketing - 12 www.b2bproductlaunch.com We use 20 scenarios—not 4—in our LaunchStar® software (shown on last page of e-book) ◄ TOC Rule Use online articles to boost “findability” Many people think the reason to write a press release is so the press will write a story about them But that’s following the old rules The main reason today is to attract prospects to your website Here’s how it works… 1) You write a news release loaded with valuable content editors believe their online readers will love 2) Your article is published on the web… and includes your embedded keywords and links to your website 3) The prospect Googles using one of your keywords, and your article appears in his Google results page 4) The prospect reads your article, thinks you’re clever, and hits the embedded link to your website Ta-dah The key is to write content that online magazine and trade journal editors believe their readers will love That’s your real audience—not “the press.” So that’s how it works… Here’s when this “clicked” for me: I wanted to use the term “B2B Organic Growth” for my newsletter, and figured I’d better Google to see if someone else was using it Every single hit on the 1st Google results page belonged to me! Why? Most of the articles my publicist and I had written used this keyword phrase I called her and said, “OK… I think we can start using some other keywords now!” - 13 12 New Rules of B2B Product Launch © Advanced Industrial Marketing You issue news releases Prospect Googles using keyword and finds your article Articles are published …with your embedded keywords & links Keyword Article Link Link takes prospect to your website Keyword Article Link Keyword Article Link Bonus: Links from popular sites boost the everyday ranking of your website How to boost your internet “findability” - 14 - www.b2bproductlaunch.com ◄ TOC Rule Use word of mouth to build buzz Research by MarketingSherpa reveals that more business executives are impacted by word of mouth than anything else.1 Here are six tips for building buzz: 1) Identify and promote to industry thought leaders Use communications to VIP editors & bloggers 2) Promote to people already in groups—e.g., trade shows & conferences—so they can discuss your product 3) Seek opinions from industry experts: Commission lab tests… seek evaluations… create advisory panels 4) Gain testimonials from respected early adopters Get advance samples in the hands of willing customers 5) Use front-end interviews to find decision influencers at prospect companies Build relations with key contacts 6) Make it easy for these decision influencers to tell their colleagues about your product, with… • Leave-behind presentations & sales aids • E-mails with links to interesting videos, etc • Newsletters and literature rich in content Let your prospects work for you: • Be easy to recommend (Rule 8) • Be easy to find (Rule 7) - 15 12 New Rules of B2B Product Launch © Advanced Industrial Marketing - 16 www.b2bproductlaunch.com B2B Lead Generation Handbook, MarketingSherpa, 2008, p 73 ◄ TOC Rule Use powerful new online marketing tools Social Media: Interactive dialogues using web-based and mobile technologies Linked-In is especially good for B2B Webinar: Good for connecting with hard-to-reach prospects, e.g executives and marketing Efficient way to relay info Online marketing has exploded in the last 15 years… in both B2C and B2B (especially IT, e.g web-conferencing & data backup) Online marketing offers strong benefits: Web Microsite: A part of your corporate website focused on the needs of one audience, e.g., your target market Search Marketing: Everything you to rank high in Google searches (aka Search Engine Optimization) Benefits of Online Marketing Lower cost per lead generated Easier to measure effectiveness Helps prospects find supplier We can’t them proper justice here, but let’s take a quick tour of these online media… Online Media Online Advertising News Release White Paper Email Marketing Online Advertising: You pay per click, with search engine ads or contextual ads (displayed next to related articles) Online Presentation News Release: Used to be called a press release Great for leading prospects to your website (see Rule 7) Social Media White Paper: Rich in non-commercial, useful content Often used to develop leads early in the buying cycle E-mail Marketing: 21st century version of direct mail There’s a science to this: Seek professional help Online Presentation: Slideshow & video embedded in a website for online consumption Very persuasive - 17 12 New Rules of B2B Product Launch © Advanced Industrial Marketing Webinar Web Microsite Search Marketing - 18 - www.b2bproductlaunch.com ◄ TOC Rule 10 Integrate traditional media in your strategy Trade Show: Powerful… but complex and costly Make sure your staff is trained & your lead follow-up is strong Road Show: A multi-city tour with your technical staff Great for nurturing leads in fragmented markets Online marketing is powerful, but if you drop traditional media, you’ll lose dynamics: 1) Traditional branding breeds familiarity 2) Face-to-face word of mouth is highly influential 3) Prior relationships boost buying decisions Benefits of Traditional Marketing Familiarity from branding Face-to-face word of mouth Prior relationships built Consider traditional media (and integrate them with online): Print Advertising: Helpful for keeping your brand familiar…and to popularize keywords for online searches Press Kit: Pre-packaged promotional materials sent to members of the media to announce news Print Article: Articles and technical papers in journals now end up online as well… so use keywords & web-links Direct Mail: Can still be effective Many internet users have a printed publication in their hands while searching Trade Speech: A well-delivered presentation conveys lots of complex info well… and to an undistracted audience - 19 12 New Rules of B2B Product Launch © Advanced Industrial Marketing Customer Seminar: Like a road show… but your staff visits one key customer at a time, using multiple presentations Sales Visit: Usually the most effective—and expensive— approach Use disciplined lead nurturing & great sales tools Traditional Media Print Advertising Press Kit Print Article Direct Mail Trade Speech Trade Show Road Show Customer Seminar Sales Visit - 20 - www.b2bproductlaunch.com ◄ TOC Rule 11 Make your sales pros look like geniuses If you want a sales force full of new-product selling virtuosos, work hard on 1) sales tools, 2) sales training, and 3) a lead qualification system Sales tools: 24 Popular sales tools are shown to the right When planning which to use, make sure you engage representatives of the sales force Sales training: Break your training into categories: 1) Launch strategy… include messaging, positioning, product overview, pricing, offers & media strategy 2) Measuring success… describe sales goals, reward & recognition, tracking system and lead scoring 3) Using sales tools… cover each of the planned sales tools; conduct role-playing to boost effectiveness Lead Qualification: Don’t squander your most valuable resource—the sales force—on the wrong prospects Instead, create a matrix based on firmographic scoring (how important is this prospect?) and behavioral scoring (how ready is this prospect?) Then agree whether marketing or sales “owns” each cell in the matrix Finally, decide specifically how prospects will be advanced to the next stage of the buying cycle… closer to “sales-ready.” - 21 12 New Rules of B2B Product Launch © Advanced Industrial Marketing Sales Tools Company Presentation Company Profile Product Background Sheet Product Data Sheet Product Specifications Product Safety Data Sheet Product Brochure Product Reviewer’s Guide Product Presentation Presentation to Distributors Leave-Behind Presentation Technical Report/Study White Paper Competitive Comparison News Release Reprint Customer Testimonials Case Study Frequently Asked Questions Product Video Customer Evaluation Guide Web-Based Education Selling Guide Qualifier Form Proposal Template - 22 www.b2bproductlaunch.com ◄ TOC Rule 12 Pull it all together in a launch plan Great launch planning—generally started 10-12 months before your launch date—will things for you: Collect: Keep track of all your data in one place… action plan, media contacts, budget, lead scoring, etc Plan : Provide all the tools and aids for your team to plan a great launch… without reinventing the wheel Communicate : Inform key stakeholders of your plans—management, sales force, ad agencies, etc Measure : Provide metrics and a dashboard to measure progress… and to build corporate learning AIM’s LaunchStar® software provides a 2-page Executive Summary that ties the whole plan together and communicates the Strategy, Team, Activities and Results Strategy: Market (who to tell), message (what to tell) and media (how to tell) Team: Members of the core team, supporting team, and external agencies Activities: Summary of a detailed Gantt chart showing timing and responsibilities for tasks… plus budget Results: Post-launch performance against the sales plan and other metrics - 23 12 New Rules of B2B Product Launch © Advanced Industrial Marketing - 24 www.b2bproductlaunch.com ◄ TOC Appendix Early-Stage Marketing Training and Software from AIM All we at AIM (Advanced Industrial Marketing) is provide training in B2B new product development That’s not as boring as it sounds Our focus on just B2B has led us to some exciting, new-to-the-world practices… and a strong competitive edge for our clients Design Product Develop Product Deliver Product Front-End Work Heavy Spending Product Launch We haven’t talked about early-stage marketing so far… we’ve just assumed you’ve done a great job in the “fuzzy front end.” Turns out this is usually a very bad assumption Everything you’ve read in this e-book is part of a 1-day workshop and an online training program But training that is hard to apply or easy to forget is rather useless So we include LaunchStar® software, which lets you… For years, New Product Blueprinting has been used to improve B2B front-end work all around the world With our training and Excel-based Blueprinter® software, your team will… Create a 2-page Executive Summary (Strategy-Team-Activities-Results) Develop a Prospect Profile Deploy the 2-Question Launch Survey Optimize a strong value proposition Develop your Message Brief Answer key positioning questions Plan and justify pricing Plan using the Media Strategy Matrix Learn over 140 tips for 18 media Choose from 25 sales tools Plan comprehensive sales training Organize team tasks with a Gantt chart Utilize the Agency Screening Tool Develop & analyze launch budget Create a lead scoring & nurturing plan Move prospects along the buying cycle Monitor sales results & other key metrics How to Learn More: 12 New Rules of B2B Product Launch Learn fundamentals of B2B interviewing (avoiding the pitfalls of traditional VOC) Conduct qualitative Discovery interviews Use customer-centric probing methods Improve listening skills (PEAR method) Conduct effective customer tours Perform post-interview debriefing Conduct quantitative Preference interviews Get customer input on test procedures Set up competitive side-by-side testing Use visual tools to plan the new product Calculate Market Satisfaction Gaps Identify over- and under-served markets Conduct remote, digital brainstorming Perform secondary market research Screen market segments for attractiveness Use KAI to build team effectiveness Build a 4-page, 12-point business case How to Learn More: • visit www.b2bproductlaunch.com • E-mail dan.adams@aimtolead.com • Call 330-715-8709 © Advanced Industrial Marketing www.b2bproductlaunch.com Late-Stage Marketing • www.newproductblueprinting.com • Download free chapters (at above) • Same e-mail & phone as at left Excel is a registered trademark of the Microsoft Corporation [...]... how prospects will be advanced to the next stage of the buying cycle… closer to “sales-ready.” - 21 12 New Rules of B2B Product Launch © Advanced Industrial Marketing Sales Tools Company Presentation Company Profile Product Background Sheet Product Data Sheet Product Specifications Product Safety Data Sheet Product Brochure Product Reviewer’s Guide Product Presentation Presentation to Distributors... Members of the core team, supporting team, and external agencies Activities: Summary of a detailed Gantt chart showing timing and responsibilities for tasks… plus budget Results: Post -launch performance against the sales plan and other metrics - 23 12 New Rules of B2B Product Launch © Advanced Industrial Marketing - 24 www.b2bproductlaunch.com ◄ TOC Appendix Early-Stage Marketing Training and Software... content Often used to develop leads early in the buying cycle E-mail Marketing: 21st century version of direct mail There’s a science to this: Seek professional help Online Presentation: Slideshow & video embedded in a website for online consumption Very persuasive - 17 12 New Rules of B2B Product Launch © Advanced Industrial Marketing Webinar Web Microsite Search Marketing - 18 - www.b2bproductlaunch.com... Comparison News Release Reprint Customer Testimonials Case Study Frequently Asked Questions Product Video Customer Evaluation Guide Web-Based Education Selling Guide Qualifier Form Proposal Template - 22 www.b2bproductlaunch.com ◄ TOC Rule 12 Pull it all together in a launch plan Great launch planning—generally started 10 -12 months before your launch date—will do 4 things for you: 1 Collect: Keep track of. .. with a Gantt chart Utilize the Agency Screening Tool Develop & analyze launch budget Create a lead scoring & nurturing plan Move prospects along the buying cycle Monitor sales results & other key metrics How to Learn More: 12 New Rules of B2B Product Launch Learn fundamentals of B2B interviewing (avoiding the pitfalls of traditional VOC) Conduct qualitative Discovery interviews Use customer-centric... do at AIM (Advanced Industrial Marketing) is provide training in B2B new product development That’s not as boring as it sounds Our focus on just B2B has led us to some exciting, new- to-the-world practices… and a strong competitive edge for our clients Design Product Develop Product Deliver Product Front-End Work Heavy Spending Product Launch We haven’t talked about early-stage marketing so far… we’ve... members of the media to announce news Print Article: Articles and technical papers in journals now end up online as well… so use keywords & web-links Direct Mail: Can still be effective Many internet users have a printed publication in their hands while searching Trade Speech: A well-delivered presentation conveys lots of complex info well… and to an undistracted audience - 19 12 New Rules of B2B Product. .. Everything you’ve read in this e-book is part of a 1-day workshop and an online training program But training that is hard to apply or easy to forget is rather useless So we include LaunchStar® software, which lets you… For years, New Product Blueprinting has been used to improve B2B front-end work all around the world With our training and Excel-based Blueprinter® software, your team will… Create a 2-page... Seminar Sales Visit - 20 - www.b2bproductlaunch.com ◄ TOC Rule 11 Make your sales pros look like geniuses If you want a sales force full of new- product selling virtuosos, work hard on 1) sales tools, 2) sales training, and 3) a lead qualification system Sales tools: 24 Popular sales tools are shown to the right When planning which to use, make sure you engage representatives of the sales force Sales training:... www.b2bproductlaunch.com • E-mail dan.adams@aimtolead.com • Call 330-715-8709 © Advanced Industrial Marketing www.b2bproductlaunch.com Late-Stage Marketing 1 • www.newproductblueprinting.com • Download free chapters (at above) • Same e-mail & phone as at left Excel is a registered trademark of the Microsoft Corporation