What Google’s Acquisition of Motorola Mobility Means for Marketers

Filed under Discussion, Uncategorized by Aaron Pearson on 17 August 2011 at 14:33 {2 comments}

Much has already been written about how Google’s acquisition of Motorola Mobility might shake up the mobile device market, reshape the Apple vs. Android battle or even redefine the patent landscape.

Courtesy Google

To me, it’s a signal to marketers, including B2B marketers, that it is most definitely time to have a mobile strategy.

Google is offering, what, $12.5 billion in CASH. If the folks in the Googleplex are willing to risk that much in liquid assets, it’s because they expect A LOT of people to do a lot more with mobile devices than they’re even doing already.

By coincidence, last Thursday, I got to hear Dan Grigsby, the founding partner of Drivetrain, and Anders Davidson, the CEO of MobileOn Services, speak to our local Business Marketing Association meeting about mobile marketing. Grigsby was a Minneapolis-St. Paul “40 Under 40,” was one of “MPLS/St. Paul Magazine’s 75 Best Brains,” and his firm just developed the (Minneapolis) Star Tribune’s new iPad app.

Grigsby compares where we’re at with mobile right now to the early days of the Web. The companies that were really leveraging the Web were inherently Internet-driven outfits like Netscape or Cisco or Yahoo.  But now, every single company needs to be on the Web in some capacity. We’re now just starting to enter that mass adoption phase for mobile.  And increasingly, that means tablets, not just phones. In fact, Grigsby claims that by the end of the year, there will be more iPads in the U.S. than iPhones.

Courtesy Apple

Davidson’s firm developed a platform called BuildAnApp that is designed to make it easy and affordable for small businesses and non-profits to develop their own mobile applications. He observes that nearly 50 percent of companies today have neither a mobile site nor a mobile app. His message? Your mobile device “may be a small computer, but it’s not a mini-PC.” As you start to think about just how you’ll participate in the mobile web, remember that people don’t use these devices the same way.

For example, people tend to be more task-oriented on their mobile devices. “Nobody cares about your ‘About Us’ section in the mobile app, or your company history,” he observes. They’re looking to get something done.

Another suggestion: Find the right tool for the right objectives. Davidson offered a B2C example: If you’re a pizza place targeting travelers near the airport, you’re going to want a mobile website. If you’re a pizza joint targeting neighborhood regulars, you just might consider an app.

Grigsby reminded the audience that your customers may already be assuming you have a mobile app, and that might well drive your prioritization. He said 1,000 people downloaded the new Star Tribune app from the iTunes App Store before they even announced it was available. Those 1,000 people simply assumed there was one.  Which means the day before that, 1,000 other people tried and failed to find one, and the week before that, 7,000 people tried and failed to find one. What do your customers expect from you?

Given the richer relationships B2B marketers are often seeking with customers than their more typically  high-volume B2C counterparts, I see lots of mobile app opportunities here and I also see a need for greater personalization. There’s certainly more to be done than simply outfitting the sales force with iPad-friendly presentation decks. More to come, I’m sure.

You’re Not Marketing to a “B”, so How Well Do You Know Your “P”?

Filed under Soap Box by Aaron Pearson on 3 October 2010 at 23:52 {no comments}

Do we do enough research into our target audiences?  What are they reading, who are they listening to, who do they trust, why do they buy, what do they care about? Consumer marketers do.  I don’t think we do enough.  Why isn’t it as culturally ingrained in B2B marketing communications programs to get the kind of research to really profile our audiences that way?  Maybe we think we’re selling to companies or institutions.

“The aim of marketing is to know and understand the customer so well the product or service fits him and sells itself.”
Peter F. Drucker

We’re not. We like to go on and on about how B2B is different than B2C, but the fact is, who’s the B?  It’s a person. Actually, it’s probably a team of people. And as such they’re all different and they relate with each other in complicated ways, with a mix of respect, trust, suspicion, envy, aspirations and worries. And every B you target presents a different mix of such people. As Jason Falls of Social Media Explorer has said, “B2B is more P2P – people to people.” We’ve got to get into their heads and sort these relationships, motivations and interests all out so we have some chance of getting all those Ps to give our products or services a chance.

Every day I preach how we need to explain in a clear and compelling way how that product should resonate with the ever-evolving critical business challenges of the industry being targeted. But that really isn’t enough. We need to resonate with regular people. Our P2P-focused social media tools only make this more apparent.

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Using Social Networking Sites in B2B Businesses?

Filed under Discussion by Kate Brodock on 8 June 2009 at 11:37 {3 comments}

In the B2B Online Marketing group on LinkedIn, Rob Schmelz, E-Commerce Manager for Central Restaurant Products, asked a simple question from people:

robb2b

The question got a few good responses that hit on several key issues involved in instituting social media into the B2B space.

Kathryn Korostoff, Founder and President of Research Rockstar, notes varied successes:

kathrynb2b

A lot of success to date with B2B and social media use has been in cultivating communication with your current constituents: customers, clients, and employees.  As Kathryn mentioned, they had a ton of success using the tools for their customer support.  Other such examples are internal communities for current employees, or platforms that increase the connection to tier one clients.  She also highlights where social media tactics have room to grow: new client or customer acquisitions, or new sales.  In summary, at least in Kathryn’s experience, social media has been much more useful in making existing relationships stronger and deepter.

Scott Hardigree, CEO of Indiemark, which recently launched the mformer portion of their services to target B2B companies,

scottb2b

There is still a place for quick, viral marketing to happen in the B2B space.  A lot of people think this and other forms of word of mouth marketing are reserved for the B2C space.

Maria Colacurcio, Co-Founder of SmartSheet,

mariab2b

As Kathryn also mentioned, social media is a great way to develop your standing as an expert in your field and, ideally, an industry leader.  One of the primary ways this is done in the B2B space is to have a company blog where you’re able to post valuable information that brings readers back for more, and thus creates more brand awareness for when it does come time to make a decision on a certain product or service.  It’s icing on the cake that also boosts your SEO.

Jann LaGoy Mirchandani, Owner of Mirchandani Consulting, a graphic & web design firm in New York, commented:

jannb2b

Some B2B industries may see more success than others when it comes to sales.  Part of that, as Jann points to, may be a result of having a company with a little bit more word of mouth capabilities.  Once you have happy customers, information on a jewelry design may have the capability to be more “talked about” outside your direct network or industry connections than, say, a supply management software application.

Do you have any thoughts on successes or failures in the B2B space?  What have been our experiences?

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