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There's Good Content, And Then There's GREAT Content – Part II

So, how do you attain great content?
One effective discipline is for Marketing to prepare a Workplan for each strategy that results in a campaign or communication. The Workplan not only guides the execution, but it also comprises a benchmark to spotlight bad content: off-target concepts, ineffective copy, nebulous calls to action and so forth. 

The Workplan defines:

• The audience and the objective
• The creative approach or "big idea" – how you are going to attract attention to and awareness of your selling message
• The principal buyer benefit or Unique Selling Proposition
• The supporting features and benefits
• The basic sales pitch outline that the individual piece or series of communications will follow through the selling cycle
• The "net take-away" or call to action

So to whom do you commit the Workplan and execution to attain great content? Clearly, the process should be spearheaded by Marketing. But rare is a marketing department that has within it all the skills necessary for producing great content. Equally rare is a marketing organization that has the independence to rise above interdepartmental turf battles.

Third-party benefits
Here's where a third-party marketing services team spells the difference between good and great content. Such a team contributes a practiced understanding of technology, marketing, graphic design, technical illustration, multimedia, social media and the Internet. The resulting great content connects with your sales prospects across a broad spectrum of media, whether eBlasts, blog posts, white papers, Tweets, videos, exhibit graphics, ads, web sites, brochures or other examples of traditional and new media.

Great content builds relationships and accelerates the selling process. It's a goal too important to compromise!

There's Good Content, And Then There's GREAT Content – Part I

It's worth asking yourself...who within my organization exerts the most influence over content? Is it Engineering? Sales? Manufacturing? Why not Marketing?

• Marketing knows what your products can do
• Marketing knows what your markets need
• Marketing has a strategy to fill the sales pipeline

What makes the difference?
Content "by committee," or that is heavily influenced by non-marketing people, is good at best, but rarely great. Great content embodies a "big idea" that grows out of a faithful, accurate execution of marketing strategy. 

The big idea hits customers right between the eyes. It connects with the issues that keep customers up at night. The immediate support for the big idea uses customer words that reflect how you've designed your product to answer customer needs and one-up your competitors. The idea and supporting points flow through all related communications, accelerating the selling cycle to a closing pitch.

So, how do you attain great content?

The answer...next week, right here.

Anticipate A Rebound To Score From It

“Block out!” On the basketball court or in the industrial marketplace, positioning for the offensive rebound is part of good offense when the shot is in the air. You never know exactly when or where the market rebound is going to come down. So position yourself now in the industrial marketplace to score points. A few ways—

1. Work on getting your specifications accepted by OEMs and consulting engineers. Refine your specs in meaningful ways with input from field sales and product development.
2. Hold strategically crafted lunch and learn presentations (i.e., blocking out competitors) with dynamic sales aids that keep you preferred and remembered when budgets loosen up.
3. Offer suggestions and pertinent case history material to new contacts to build credibility and preference.
4. Develop contacts among likely customers on social sites like LinkedIn.
5. Set up a blog to offer suggestions and comment on developments to make new contacts and keep current customers looking to you for solutions.

Remember—even your most loyal customers are being bombarded with suggestions and pitches from competitors that may look very attractive. Blocking them out with good problem-solving content will position you to score big when the rebound bounces your way.

Social Media...The PRESENT and FUTURE force in Industrial Marketing

With so much buzz about social media's role in marketing today, many Industrial marketers still question its value on the job. Few doubt that social media has a role in business-to-consumer marketing, but question its potential impact in business-to-business marketing and sales. Many industrial suppliers maintain internal social media access or administrative restrictions for security or productivity reasons.

Well...the ground shook last month when the DOD announced it had launched a new social media initiative across all branches of service. So...if the DOD recognizes social media’s importance, lowers barriers and in fact promote its use...well the implications for DOD business partners are obvious.

Further, GlobalSpec announced this week that its advertisers will be able to link social media sites right along with their individual company profiles. This is a tremendous indication that today’s most savvy Industrial marketers "get it."

What’s behind the DOD and GlobalSpec policy changes? What do these factors imply for industrial marketers in general? Are we rapidly moving through the “early adopter” phase in B2B social media? What will it mean to be “behind the curve”? Are your employees “doing social media” anyway, even in the workplace on their own devices? Let’s talk about it.

URS Joins Shorey & Associates Client Roster

We are pleased to announce URS as our newest client. URS Corporation is one of the world's largest engineering, construction and technical services firms, providing services in government, power, infrastructure, industrial and commercial markets worldwide. The Aiken Office leads the corporation's Global Management and Operations Services with programs, sites and projects throughout the world.

S&A is currently assisting URS-Aiken with strategic, creative and technical expertise in marketing, advertising, collateral and trade show initiatives.

New Winter Intern

We recently welcomed Sarah Ensminger to the S&A family as part of the firm's 2010 Winter Intern program.

Sarah is a post-graduate student of Bob Jones University with a B.A. in Studio Art. She is currently completing her second undergraduate degree at the University and will graduate in May with a Bachelor of Science in Graphic Design.

As part of her internship, she will assist Creative Director Steve Cox in the development of social media strategies and content as well as the design and execution of client websites and print projects.

Born and raised in the Fiji Islands to missionary parents, Sarah is an accomplished artist and loves reading mysteries, Agatha Christie in particular. After graduation, she plans a trip home to Fiji before settling in the U.S. to pursue a career in graphic design.

It's a pleasure to host and mentor talented young people, like Sarah, during the early stages of their careers. They always add fresh, new ideas to our client's projects and are eager to understand the practical applications of their years of study.

We're delighted to have Sarah on the team.

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