1)      B2B marketing is complex: At Canyon, we only do Business-to-Business integrated marketing communications programs. That means we deal with long sales cycles, multiple decision-makers, many touch points, lead scoring, trigger-based marketing communications tactics, etc. It’s always good to show how everything works together on one page.

2)      Nothing slips through the cracks: When you flowchart something, it’s easy to see where process breakdowns may happen and fill in those gaps.

3)      I’m a visual person: I need visual stimulation all the time and I like pretty pictures. Therefore, I think a lot of people respond to this type of presentation instead of words on a PowerPoint slide or a written proposal (Bor-ing!).

Take a look at my sample Loop flowchart above (click on it to enlarge). Do you think it conveys a B2B demand generation process flow effectively? Do you make flowcharts for your business? What’s the strangest thing you’ve ever flowcharted out?

The release of products like the Canon EOS 5D Mark II and the NewTek Tricaster allow video to be produced at a fraction of the price that it used to be. For example, the Tricaster provides you with the opportunity to go live with a web broadcast for your next customer experience or sales training event. Because the editing is done live you save the money and the time you would have otherwise spent in an edit bay. You still need to be prepared to do the work on the front end with preproduction, but by taking advantage of new technology in the marketplace you can now afford to deliver your message through video.

How have you used video in your B2B communications?

Did you know that by 2013 cell phones will outnumber PCs for surfing the web? Is your company’s Web site ready? I found this great blog post by Jeffrey Cohen on the impending social mobile experience and some initial steps your company can take to prepare:

1. Check out your site on several mobile devices to see what users currently experience.
2. Plan for the future mobile experience by creating a hardworking mobile site.
3. Don’t forget your blog. Make sure your content is easy to access, read and share.

Remember as with all communications you need to approach it from the customer’s point of view. Consider what motivates them to purchase your product or service and speak to that.

Image courtesy of Marketplace Mobile.

What are you doing to mobilize your Web site? Need help? Call us.

Check out these quick tips for ergonomic safety along with an entire checklist to ensure you’re working safely in front of your monitor:

• Top of the monitor at or just below eye level
• Head and neck balanced and in-line with torso
• Shoulders relaxed
• Elbows close to body and supported
• Lower back supported
• Wrists and hands in-line with forearms
• Adequate room for keyboard and mouse
• Feet flat on the floor

Did you have to adjust your posture or placement while reading through the list? I know I did.

Here at Canyon, we frequently use portmanteaus when developing new company names, product names, or even taglines to promote our clients’ businesses. In the B2B marketing space, where we are often charged with simplifying complex ideas, creating new words often helps avoid industry jargon and communicate multiple thoughts clearly to target audiences.

We even use this concept for our own business. Check out these portmanteaus that we’ve coined over the years based on the way we provide value to our clients:

1. Smartnerships (smart+partnerships): These are the relationships we have with our valued clients. Rather than a client/vendor arrangement, we forge intelligent, long-term partnerships with our clients.
2. Strategenomics (strategic+economics): This means, quite simply, developing marketing communications and branding strategies that result in tangible financial returns for clients.
3. Marketect (marketing+architect): This is the unofficial job title of all Canyonites, which speaks to their abilities to design and build integrated marketing communications programs that deliver measurable results.

Have you developed any new words to communicate complex B2B concepts? Can you wow me with a new Portmanteau word to describe your business? The best comment, as judged by me, wins a free ‘Buzzword Dictionary.’

Since my first day at Canyon, I have jumped right in on several projects to support public relations efforts for clients. One of the projects that I am working on is putting together a packet of information on why B2B companies should engage in social media and how it has changed them for the better.

I have done research and one of the success stories I’d like to mention is Expert Laser Services. Expert Laser Services launched its B2B social media campaign, “Destroy Your Printer Video Contest” to create brand awareness and generate traffic to the company’s website. The contest was promoted on the company’s blog and other social channels and it was definitely a success. It not only created buzz for the company, it increased traffic to its site, built inbound links and brought new business.

Now we have proof! Engaging in social media is changing B2B companies for the better because it provides better interaction with customers, and more customers means more business for your company.

How are you communicating directly to customers?

1) Partner: Clients who look at their agency as a partner value their agency and its employees. They work side by side to solve marketing communications challenges for the long-term, they are respectful, trusting, honest, treat their agency like an extension of their team and give credit to the agency for successes.

2) Vendor: Clients who view their agency as a vendor typically bid out projects to several agencies, choose based on price alone, they look at their agency as replaceable, they don’t share budget information with their agency, they don’t invite their agency to strategy meetings and they typically have unrealistic expectations.

Thankfully, we’re fortunate to have excellent clients who fall into the ‘partner’ category, and we’re always looking for more, so let me know if you’re interested in partnering up with a great B2B agency.

In case you weren’t able to make it to our annual meeting in Tucson last week, here’s what you missed:

1) I Scream Social: We heard from an esteemed panel of social media practitioners, including @alliemcbell, @SamBrace, @Tucson_Cowgirl, @TMentzerPR and Jimmy Fox. Bottom line: it’s not what you say, it’s how you say it.

2) Back to the Future: Bo Sacks waxed poetic about the future of publishing and the media. As an armchair futurist myself, I respectfully disagree about the evolution to e-ink. I think collapsible mobile devices with backlight illumination will rule.

3) Water we going to do?: Two experts discussed the implications of water issues for our industry.

4) Down to Business: The TOCA meeting was great. We elected new officers to the board, presented our annual TOCA scholarship, I personally delivered the Environmental Communicator of the Year award to Chris Gray (great guy), and we talked high level about our new strategic plan.

What did you think about the TOCA meeting this year? Any key takeaways you’d like to share? Are you going to be joining us next year?

Make sure to remember the following keys to meeting success:

• Create a clear agenda – this sets expectations and helps everyone stay on task
• Keep it short – time is money
• Ditch the smart phone/laptop – distractions promote lack of engagement
• Team up – involve the appropriate people
• Follow up and through – take away action items and take responsibility

At Canyon, we have our weekly production meeting standing up. What unique meeting techniques does your company implement?

What inspires me lately are new ways to manage social media and get more people involved. I came across the idea of assigning team ambassadors to each social media outlet and working together to ensure the brand experience is consistent and the messaging streamlined. By allowing more than one person to have their hand in social media, they’re given the freedom to learn and improve their skills, track results and be a lead on driving sales and awareness.

Try this for your next campaign:

• Assign a team ambassador to each social media channel.
• Meet initially to discuss the points of focus, topics, sites and messaging for consistency throughout the campaign. Work together to ensure posts are consistent.
• Set goals per social media channel and establish how each ambassador plans to manage and track them.
• At the end of the campaign, each ambassador will present their results and share feedback on how they increased traffic/usage. Compare results!

If you have the internal resources to support a team effort for your social media, this may be extremely beneficial for employee morale and productivity! What are some other ways you get your employees to work as a team?