1. What should we do more of, less of, or not at all?
2. What marketing tactics work best for customers — and best for prospects?

This ITAC Marketing Roundtable was hosted at Avnet Technology Solutions in Mississauga, Ontario by Janice Hoskins, Marketing Manager, Canada, IBM Solutions, Avnet Technology Solutions.  The discussion was moderated by Bob Becker, Principal, SMA.

Attendees

• Allan Wilson, President, Allan Wilson and Associates
• Janice Hoskins, Marketing Manager, Canada, IBM Solutions, Avnet Technology Solutions
• Julie Reynolds, Solutions Path Program Manager, Avnet Technology Solutions
• Christine Johnston-Irwin, Manager, Marketing & Strategic Initiatives, Canada, Avnet Technology Solutions
• John Breakey, President, Fivel Systems Corporation
• Caterina Didio-Duggan, Canadian Marketing Manager, Information Builders (Canada) Inc.
• Jess McCrossan, Marketing Coordinator Specialist, Canada & East US, McAfee, Inc.
• Tony Semas, Senior Sales Representative, Mid-Range
• Chub Letenyei, Marketing Program Manager BPM /Marketing Americas, OpenText Corporation
• Arun Malhotra, President, RISST Ltd.

What We Learned

• We need to work closer with Sales; they know their customers best
• All Marketing and Sales requests and activities need to lead to a lead
• Have an internal pipeline acceleration conversation – what more can be done to move prospects and clients along?
• Have your organization build an online social media community of interest – such as a “pulse network”
• Use social media to see what people are saying about your organization, including products, customer service and competitors
• Everyone is suffering with social media – it creates change but fundamental sales and marketing principles remain the same
• Social media continues to be all over the map.  How do you tell your top guy they got it wrong?
• Tracking marketing initiatives continues to be complex and remains challenging
• Quarterly reviews are not as effective as looking back at results from two years back

How has your marketing mix changed in the last few years? What are you doing?  What is your present marketing mix, traditional versus digital?

• Email marketing to download content, promote webinar, boost face-to-face event; always include action item for lead-meeting perspective
• A lot of direct mail continues with telemarketing follow-up; however will direct mail still continue to be effective even without consent?
• Traditional outbound calls continue
• Face-to-face event planning, including seminars, lunch ’n’ learns – with a well-known industry guest speaker – to support business partner, including give-aways; however struggles continue with dollars spent versus lead generation
• Calling into IT continues to be challenging – new focus is CFO but problem with CFO is that they don’t speak the language
• Superior marketing creativity required more than ever; tease your target market, don’t give it all away

reference:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boiling_frog 

What would you say is the most effective marketing activity in identifying prospective accounts?  What have you stopped doing in marketing?  What will you stop doing?

• De-emphasizing cold calling and product webinars
• Face- to-face events, including lunch and learn and charitable events, are decreasing due to lack of conversion; if it doesn’t deliver content, it will not happen
• Focus on your customer; for example your white paper is about your organization’s success, not your customer
• Follow your market; if they do Twitter, go there
• Build an online community of interest; contribute content and ideas; with social media be part of the conversation
• SEO marketing is increasing; e.g. build a microsite via business partner supporter
• Unqualified email blast is stopping.  Quality lists are needed, specifically by industry and size 

Does the mix differ when targeting existing clients versus prospective accounts?