How-to articles often include creative marketing ideas and insights, but it’s the stories of real-life, successful integrated marketing strategies that offer the best tips.
The following B2B companies have leveraged digital marketing tools, combined them with clear, compelling messaging, and found a way to stand out.
Here are three top-level Kapost 50 marketers that are leading by example.
Intermedia
Intermedia is a one-stop shop for cloud IT that manages phone calls, email file sharing, and other office programs while also managing all of your company’s IT services from one control panel.
As a company focused on integration, Intermedia is well practiced in pulling resources together and making everything work in harmony.
Intermedia had two specific marketing goals in mind in 2015: to create unique and sharable content that underscores their position as an industry thought leader, and to leverage that content to achieve the goals of multiple marketing and sales disciplines.
Here’s how they pulled it off:
1. They connected with the right target market. Intermedia knows what customers need, what will make their lives easier, and how to relieve the worry of getting several different programs to talk to each other. They catered their digital marketing efforts to reach their target market.
2. They created a core marketing asset to leverage as a springboard for a finely tuned, digitally integrated marketing campaign. First, Intermedia developed the 2015 “Insider Risk Report,” which examines the data security habits of U.S. and UK office workers. Then, they asked for input from internal and external thought leaders, researched best practices for alleviating the problem, and created a one-stop document that also built thought-leader credibility.
The report served as the go-to source for all their customer-centric content, and they were able to build an integrated marketing strategy—orchestrated through PR, social media, product marketing, demand generation, vertical marketing, sales enablement, and channel marketing—for Intermedia’s U.S. and UK marketing teams.
3. They developed a clear and compelling marketing angle centered on a key insight from the report. Pre- and post-launch U.S. and UK media and marketing outreach centered on key data angles, with a heavy emphasis on the most shocking findings.
4. They “repurposed with purpose,” and distributed wisely. Each of Intermedia’s marketing assets focused on specific core findings and a single message that was leveraged across as many marketing and sales disciplines as possible to maximize content ROI. They hit targeted, region- and industry-specific vertical markets with press pitches, a live-action video, snackable infographics, email marketing, and more.
Intermedia generated new leads, nurtured existing leads, created social buzz with embedded video and links, and enabled salespeople and channel partners to create consultation and selling opportunities as one cohesive team.
By developing an integrated marketing strategy and slowly spreading the “seeds,” Intermedia generated new leads, nurtured existing leads, created social buzz with embedded video and links, and enabled salespeople and channel partners to create consultation and selling opportunities as one cohesive team. They also selected relevant hashtags and used social sharing buttons on everything to keep driving traffic to one main location: their website.
5. They created a story from their data to truly engage customers. When you can turn data into a story and work as a team to create a cohesive buyer’s journey, clients clearly understand the value of what you are offering and are inspired to engage.
Datavail
DatAvail focuses on database support for Oracle, Oracle Applications, SQL Server, DB2, MySQL, and MongoDB, offering managed project services, staff augmentation, and 24/7 operational support.
Here’s how Datavail remained a top contender in the B2B space in 2015:
1. They got creative and developed a new level of marketing engagement in their industry—using a playful tool. Datavail capitalized on the playful aspect of marketing and created Datavailopoly, a Monopoly-inspired board game, and the only board game made by DBAs, for DBAs. The marketing campaign started with a direct-mail piece that featured magnets designed to resemble Monopoly deed cards. The campaign slowly evolved into a Datavailopoly-themed email campaign, and then the branded Datavailopoly game was developed.
These marketing “seeds” played a part in developing the core campaign and were integrated into every event, most email campaigns, and social media. Now that’s an integrated marketing strategy!
2. They used a “game” to create long-term engagement with clients. Using the Datavailopoly as a springboard for pulling together marketing efforts, Datavail was able to find interesting, playful ways to increase social engagement, get higher email open rates, increase requests for meetings, schedule meetings during events, and get higher-quality SQLs. It also built brand recognition in a fun way, instead of feeling like hardcore marketing.
Using the Kapost platform and calling on the expertise of the Kapost team, Datavail was able to save time, money, and effort and also turn their internal team into revenue marketers by building mad skills.
3. They integrated digital marketing efforts. Using the Kapost platform and calling on the expertise of the Kapost team, Datavail was able to save time, money, and effort and also turn their internal team into revenue marketers by building mad skills. They learned the power of shared planning across all silos, how to use the platform to reduce content chaos through improved communication and reduced content chaos, and how to focus on a shared message. The team also collaborated on integrated marketing strategies to execute marketing through marketing and social media channels that made sense for each department.
Find the right tools and shift efforts according to the metrics you’re receiving. Social media gives you instant feedback about what’s happening and how your campaign is being received; you just have to be willing to shift your integrated marketing strategies to accommodate.
Rockwell Automation
Rockwell Automation uses smart, safe, sustainable manufacturing to transform manufacturing challenges into advantages and information solutions.
Here’s how Rockwell Automation used internal resources to discover their biggest (hidden) marketing value in 2015:
1. They provided employee education to strengthen internal advocacy and client education, for the win. Employees across departments and job roles didn’t have a clear, unified perspective of the “Connected Enterprise” that was important to Rockwell’s core business. By taking the time to explore the interconnectivity between industrial and information technologies, why it’s important, and how Rockwell’s family of products, services, and strategies support customers within this evolving environment, they turned their employees into educated advocates.
2. Their integrated marketing strategies were essential to their internal communication and marketing success. To amplify in-house education, Rockwell’s internal communication team built a robust, company-wide campaign to support consistency and alignment around what the Connected Enterprise is, what it offers customers, and what it means to Rockwell.
Through short, easy-to-consume videos on high-level topics, followed by five in-depth videos describing the specifics of the Connected Enterprise, employees started to get it. Videos were released weekly through internal community channels, along with an opportunity to subscribe or get more information through a news-style website for the campaign. Supporting infographics and articles accompanied the videos, and strategically targeted emails that were tailored to each internal audience included clear messaging that activated trigger-based campaigns to deliver related content.
3. They leveraged events for further internal education and a “pre-game” pump up. Leading up to Rockwell’s annual customer event, the Automation Fair, the internal communications team sent out a mobile-friendly email with an infographic and quick talking points on the Connected Enterprise. This was timed so employees attending the event received this final piece while en route, keeping content top-of-mind and providing clear, consistent keywords to use with customers and prospects.
Now it’s your turn to personalize these concepts and take your B2B organization to top-contender status!
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