Posts

Why B2B Companies Should Prioritize Case Studies

Why B2B Companies Should Prioritize Case Studies

/in /by

A recent report has cited case studies as the most effective content format. Findings from the Content Marketing Benchmarking Report published in B2BMarketing.net reveal that 66 percent of B2B marketers from a sample of 122 say producing case studies is the most effective means of attracting their target audiences.

While 32 percent say that case studies are “quite effective,” the number presents no significant counterweight to the majority of B2B marketers that say they are “very effective,” implying that these content forms are highly reliable.

And it’s easy to see why.

An article from AndersPink summarizes the intrinsic value of case studies to companies in their B2B lead generation.

Credibility

The first thing a case study does is to establish your credibility. It provides evidence of how your product or service has been selected and used by real clients. The fact client companies not only use you but are happy to be quoted as a case study reinforces this credibility. At Kineo, our case studies include Nikon, Warner Bros, and McDonald’s. These immediately help establish our credibility with potential new clients. This is further reinforced if you can include client quotes.

Evidence

Case studies provide evidence about the effectiveness of your product or solution. Ideally, they will provide data about the results you have achieved. They are your success stories. Potential clients will have to justify their decision to buy your product or service. By providing evidence through case studies you can help make their lives easy, make them feel secure and help them assemble the evidence they need.

Stories

Case studies provide a narrative structure with a beginning, a middle, and an end. They are a short story and stories are one of the best ways to engage people.

Guides and tips

Good case studies are not simply sales collateral, they are something from which lessons can be learned. People are always keen to learn from what others are doing and you can provide key takeaways or lessons that can be learned from your case studies.

Unique content

A case study is unique to you. It is the story of how you have worked with a client to deliver results. Thus a case study is one thing a competitor cannot easily copy.

Reusable content

Case studies can work equally well as an article, a video interview, top tips, or a Slideshare. Thus one case study can generate a range of useful content for your content marketing.

See how we make our own case studies. Feel free to click here and rummage through our collection of industry-specific literature.

How Marketing your Product Launches can Help your Brand Prosper in Singapore

How Marketing your Product Launches can Help your Brand Prosper in Singapore

/in /by

In Singapore, big consumer brands like Tiger Beer and B2B front liners like SAP are using every amount of leverage they have to propel their influence. Aside from applying lead generation strategies, these brands also introduce new product lines expecting to maintain loyal customers while attracting new ones.

However, a new product does not necessarily guarantee the intended effects. In his article, Failure to launch: Singapore brands could be wasting millions on new products, Ray Crook outlines that most new products fall into obscurity just as soon as they hit the shelves, mainly due to the unrealistic expectations brands have about how their clients view the supposed innovations.

Crook cites product extensions as the primary culprit, writing, “Too many brands fall into the trap of launching endless line extensions that simply steal customers from one item to another… These cannibalistic launches bite into the share of a company’s existing revenue. This means that customers might buy a different flavor, but don’t buy more of the product, while also conditioning previously loyal customers to explore other options.” These situations of course do not bode well for your brand’s reputation and budget. And then there are other reasons such as poor conceptualization.

But the most pressing of them all is that some products, no matter how advanced or “state-of-the-art” entrepreneurs want them to be perceived, fail miserably to appeal to the target market.

Brands have little to lose when they give their new products a proper kickstart through effective product launchings. Hence, Crook notes the “need to have the resources to support the launch, through credible marketing and advertising campaigns. A new product launch requires significant investment and the company needs to be prepared to meet these costs.”

Investing in credible events marketing looks like a very good idea at this point. Since your product needs all the worthy publicity it could get, you would need proficient hands to prospect for and qualify potential attendees, send out invitations, and confirm attendance via multiple audience engagement channels. Because when done right, events marketing can effectively raise interest in your product, giving your brand’s image a good boost and making it easier for attendees to transition into paying customers later on.

Hosting an event soon? Seize the ultimate key to triumph with our latest free ebook. Elevate your game, boost registrations, and skyrocket turnout effortlessly. Get your copy for free.

ebook for levent leads cta

Explore our Services: Event Marketing Solutions in Singapore and APAC

As you may know by then, maximizing the marketing aspect of your product launch creates lucrative opportunities. Not only would it deliver considerable returns in your marketing budget, but it also makes it easier for your market to absorb your product for what it is worth.

Choosing Constructive KPIs The Ultimate B2B Marketing Criteria

Choosing Constructive KPIs: The Ultimate B2B Marketing Criteria

/0 Comments/in /by

One of the many things modern business owners can be thankful of is accessibility to data. Countless analytics tools – both paid and free – are readily available for marketers who wish to determine the success of their businesses.

In the old days, managers and executives needed to scrimmage against piles of papers and charts to organize their business numbers. So we should be thankful we don’t need to do that anymore.

However, there is a disadvantage with this easy access to software tools. Sometimes, when we have too much data in front of us, we struggle to see which ones are really pivotal to business growth. When you look at the eye-scorching numbers on an Excel sheet, do you sometimes wonder what exactly all of these statistics do to help move your business forward?

“This is where Key Performance Indicators (KPI) come in,” says Andrew Rogers, President and COO at Business.com.

“Data, and its proper use, is the single biggest arbiter between business success and failure. If you aren’t managing your business based upon facts and figures, you’re not only sub-optimized, you’re likely headed for ruin,” he adds.

Below is a mini-guideline, proposed by Rogers, in considering which KPIs to be used in your business.

From Business.com:

1)  What qualifies for KPI status?

  • It must be quantifiable: Often, companies will establish KPIs that they cannot accurately measure. If you can’t report on a KPI with absolute confidence, remove it until you’ve solved your data reporting challenge.
  • It should illuminate performance that is actionable: If a KPI doesn’t allow you to dig further and/or take corrective action, it isn’t worth including.
  • It needs to tie to initiatives that are core to your success: An easy question to ask when selecting KPIs is this: “If this indicator moved significantly in either direction, would it have a meaningful impact on the business?”. If the answer is “no”, move on.
  • It should have an established goal:  Simply identifying a numerical increase or decrease isn’t enough… it’s the magnitude that truly matters.  More importantly, the goal should also map to the overall company budget.

2)  How many KPIs are appropriate?

  • The fewer the better. Period. Most companies allow for KPI creep, whereby their KPI dashboard becomes a series of spreadsheets that create a “deep in the weeds” discussion, rather than a high level exercise of identifying areas of focus and action.

Read the full post at Business.com

A hand holding a phone with Disney movies on the screen

7 Profound Disney Film Quotes for your Daily Marketing Consumption

/0 Comments/in /by

It’s been losing its magic in more recent years, but the classic ones – they just never die. All the same, we all have our favorite Disney movies, the ones we saw when we were too young to understand, or the ones we saw when we were already old enough but needed to be young again.

It’s the life lessons that stick (although sometimes the cheesy romance gets in the way) and some of the great quotes have been our guide in making sure the child within us will always triumph over our selfish, adulterated desires.

This walk down the memory lane may just be what you need to give you “a whole new world” in marketing:

  • Sometimes the right path is not the easiest one. (Grandmother Willow in Pocahontas, 1995)

Hard-earned success is sweeter. No one ever said everything’s going to be easy, but as long as you’re doing what you think is right, it will be worth the working hours.

  • Always let your conscience be your guide. (Pinocchio in Pinocchio, 1940)

Marketing is an industry of human behavior, emotions, and everything in between. Whatever your individual or business goals may be, there should always be a binding willingness for nobility. People may not see it when your nose grows longer, but ethics and moral principles alone should make you think twice.

  • The seaweed is always greener in somebody else’s lake. (Sebastian in The Little Mermaid, 1989)

This quote has always been regarded as intriguing because it could mean several things. In a nutshell, though, it pertains to contentment and self-satisfaction. Just because others possess something you don’t have doesn’t mean they’re better than you are. Believe in your own qualities and focus on what you can do instead.

  • A single grain of rice can tip the scale. (The Emperor of China in Mulan, 1998)

Marketing may be about influencing a large group of people, but it’s still basically a matter of inter-personal persuasion. It’s always the small, overlooked details that affect the overall impact and make the difference in a campaign.

  • Even miracles take a little time. (Fairy Godmother in Cinderella, 1950)

There are companies who triumph overnight by sheer dumb luck, but most of us have to go the longer route. It’s better, in a way; if you invest time in something you’ve worked hard for, chances are, its success will also be long-lived.

  • All it takes is faith and trust. (Peter Pan in Peter Pan, 1953)

It’s always commendable to put all your efforts into your work, but doing your best isn’t enough – you, and everyone around you, also need to believe in what you do, otherwise there’s no point in trying.

  • Hakuna Matata. (Timon and Pumbaa in The Lion King, 1994)

It means “no worries”. Who doesn’t want a problem-free philosophy?

A graphic illustration of a resume

Why Grades Do Not Matter In Marketing And Business

/0 Comments/in /by

One of the qualities of a successful marketing campaign pretty much depends on the ability of the marketer to do the work required. And here is the fun part, how do you choose your marketers, then? For companies hiring new ones, what qualifications are you looking for in a lead generation representative? Will an interview bring out the truth, or would their grades be your indicator of their capacity? Will whatever evaluation method you use during the hiring process tell you who are the most qualified in generating sales leads?

Actually, if the interview with Laszlo Bock, Google VP for people operations, was any indication, then grades, interviews, tests and what-not’s actually do not contribute anything. And that is coming from a company that has collected a ton of data about hiring processes and employee performance. All their research reveals that there is no correlation between school grades and work performance at all. The only thing they learned is that some people are hardwired to succeed in school while there are others that are more attuned to corporate and appointment setting work, not school.

One thing for sure: the way you do your work after a few years will greatly differ with your work back in school. Being able to adapt to these changes will be the real measure of your employees’ ability to generate B2B leads.

Of course, there is also the communication medium to be considered. Will it be social media, email, or telemarketing? These will influence the kind of people assigned to the task.

Pages

multichannel marketing in Singapore

Multi-Touch Multi-Channel Marketing

/in /by