Adding value with marketing in your tech business
Exploring specific ways that marketing can deliver ROI in a growing B2B software or technology business
For owners of small software or technology businesses, marketing can sometimes feel like something you should be doing but it’s not entirely clear where the value-add comes.
As a chartered marketer for over 25 years and now fellow of the Chartered Institute of Marketing, I have given a lot of thought to marketing as a source of value to a growing business. So, in this article you can see the areas where I think that marketing can deliver the most direct return on investment in this fast-paced, competitive sector:
Top level business needs, underpinned by marketing
Marketing is most closely aligned with business goals related to sales, growth and profitability. Therefore, before we get into marketing specifics, let’s look at the marketing-related business priorities which clients have most often highlighted to me:
- You want to grow the business:
a. By attracting new customers,
b. By selling more to existing customers and,
c. By moving into new sectors or markets. - You want to get more of the right type of customers:
a. Well-aligned to your strategic direction and
b. Profitable for the long-term. - You want to launch a new product:
a. Raising awareness and interest,
b. Generating sales leads. - You want to prepare the business for sale:
a. Boost your presence in the market and
b. Project a highly professional image.
Marketing and sales needs
In support of these four main areas, the following marketing and sales challenges are what I have seen most often – and helped with most often – in B2B technology firms:
- You need to provide ‘social proof’ to substantiate your sales messages:
a. Customer case studies,
b. Testimonials and reviews. - You need more sales leads:
a. Identifying the best target markets and quantifying prospects,
b. Reaching out through LinkedIn and other channels,
c. Targeting advertising and/or content on social media and other places. - You need to close more opportunities and faster:
a. By engaging and nurturing your contacts,
b. Keeping your brand and messages in front of prospects. - You need better tools and materials to drive sales
a. Demos which focus on the need and the sale, not just the product,
b. Datasheets, papers and presentations which are focused and compelling,
c. Proposal templates and texts that are professional and on-message. - You need a website that does justice to your products and services:
a. Creating a strong first impression,
b. Up to date, on-message and compelling information,
c. Guiding visitors to outcomes that fulfil your business/sales objectives. - You need to reach a wider, international audience:
a. With multilingual website and sales tools,
b. With effectively targeted campaigns – direct or for distributors. - You need complete marketing/sales materials for a new product/service:
a. For every step of the customer journey from website to sale,
b. Based on strong, persuasive sales propositions,
c. Positioned appropriately against the rest of your offerings/previous product. - You need to motivate and enable distributors:
a. A full set of sales collateral, adapted for different markets, languages, etc.,
b. Web content for partners, including logins and resources,
c. Regular email campaigns and updates to partners. - You need the marketing that you to do work better:
a. Stop wasting resources on activities that are ineffective and not joined up,
b. Have a more strategic, coordinated basis for all your marketing. - You know that their marketing is too much about you:
a. Want to make it all about your customers’ needs and priorities,
b. Want to focus in on what matters to you best customers segments.
My business, Achaleon, is focused on helping small technology companies to achieve value from their marketing in these areas. Some we do ourselves and others we work with trusted partners. If you would like to discuss your business and marketing priorities, please get in touch or call me on 01905 317 318.
Next steps
If you’d like to discuss how we could help with your marketing, please get in touch.
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