One of the unintended consequences of the Web for many B2Bs has been a bit of encroachment by Marketing into functions traditionally done by Sales: for example, customer references (now case studies) and presentations (now webinars or videos).
That’s not all bad in itself; but when it reaches the point where the impersonal, canned pitch or story attempts to replace the personal, “your-unique-business-problem / our-tailored-solution” sales conversation, then it potentially becomes a serious problem.
Because the Web has made it so easy to provide information, there’s a tendency among some B2Bs to act as though drowning prospects with information will eventually make them buy …i.e., a tendency to act as if they were B2Cs. And the rise of blogs and social-media platforms may be aggravating the problem, by making it so easy to engage in many conversations that don’t necessarily get steered toward the one that really counts. The current recession has probably also contributed, by making us all feel the pressure to do something – anything – to help generate more revenue.
Over at B2B Conversations Now, Dale Underwood says it’s time to press “Reset”… and reminds us that the primary job of Marketing is to set up the sales conversation, not to sell the product or service. Here’s his prescription: “Take a look at your B2B website. Are you promoting the sales conversation, or your product? Are you providing ways for the end-user to alert you that they want to have a sales conversation, or are you flooding them with product information?”
Your friendly Web marketing consultants can help you with that diagnosis …and with the cure, if needed. Meanwhile, for much more in this vein, see Dale’s intriguingly titled maxi-post / mini-white paper “How B2B Marketing became responsible for everything (and how to fix it).”
