Shorey Completes Integrated Product Launch For MassTracker™

We've been on a fast track recently, strategizing and developing content to launch a new brand for our client Spirax Sarco. The brand is MassTracker™ Flow Meters. The first product out of the gate is an insertion turbine multi-variable meter that measures the flow of difficult media, such as steam, gas or liquids, in wide-ranging line sizes.

We're targeting control instrumentation and utility engineers as well as utility superintendents responsible for process plants and commercial and institutional district HVAC applications.

To capture the attention of our audiences and provide the sales force with all the right tools to sell, sell, sell, our strategic plan called for:

• A strong branding initiative that positions MassTracker squarely within the Spirax Sarco family of products.
  
• A microsite with a search function spanning the client's two related websites.
  
• A "How It Works" animated video aimed at accelerating the sales cycle toward the close.
  
• Social media implementations, including e-blasts, a blog that is currently tracking beta installations, releases, etc. Application updates, beta user reports and direct communication help convert prospects into customers.
• Literature (print and digital), including an introductory flyer and product brochure, that set the stage for spec sheets and post-sale documents.

The launch occurred December 1. Check out some of the launch elements using the links above. With these tools in place, we're now providing support for ongoing social media efforts.

12 Ways To Reach Customers With Great Content

Moving customers along the sales cycle takes a wealth of planning and great content. And content targeted at today's industrial, technical and other B2B markets needs to deliver much more than simple mechanical drawings, a few graphs and a table of product numbers.

Great content should address your customer's concerns, solve their problems, differentiate your products from your competition and highlight unique product benefits. No matter the medium, presentation is important and requires a quality design aesthetic, dynamic illustrations, photography and more.

Fortunately today's digital options, along with traditional media, offer plenty of avenues to deliver this great customer-focused content:

Print & Digital Literature – Brochures, catalogs, application sheets and case studies all make great leave-behinds for your sales team, snail-mail responses to inquiries and hand-outs at events and shows. PDF or electronic versions provide even more options. Email them in response to inquiries; include on websites; optimize for searchability.

Newsletters – Use electronic or printed versions (or both) to share the latest product news, case studies, industry tips, trends and more on a regular basis to build and maintain customer loyalty.

White Papers – Prospects seek out white papers more than other content sources in their initial search efforts. Capture leads early-on when you use your industry expertise and thought leadership to address the questions and concerns of your customers.

eBooks – Expand a white paper or address a topic in-depth. Publish in eBook form. Makes a great premium to help move prospects forward who are already in the buying cycle.

Technical Illustrations – Photorealistic techniques bring clarity and excitement to otherwise mundane offerings. And dynamic illustrations offer an inside view of product features and advantages, providing clear, easy-to-understand communication.

Video & Animation – Whether you show an interview with an industry expert, comments from a customer advocate or an animated version of your product in action to reveal unseen features, video (real and animated) is a powerful way to share content dynamically on your website and through your own YouTube channel. Show to sell.

Websites/Microsites – Keep all sites updated with the current, pertinent information customers are seeking. Make content easy to find with simple navigation and searchability. Focus on specific products or services within dedicated microsites for even more impact.

Blogs – Share information your audience is seeking. Write for them, not yourself.

Forums/Comments – Actively seek out and comment on other industry blogs and forums with helpful information that points back to your original content.

SlideShare – Get extra mileage out of PowerPoint presentations by posting them on SlideShare and promoting that link through your website, blog and other venues.

Webinars – Whether you want to train existing customers on product maintenance, host a virtual conference or introduce a new product, webinars are an economical and efficient way to share content that captures new leads and strengthens customer relationships.

Podcasts/Transcripts – Create new material or multiply the use of existing content by sharing the audio portion of webinars, videos, animations and PPT presentations in podcasts or transcribe them to share in PDF formats.

Are you using every avenue to your advantage? While every medium is unique, be sure your content is integrated throughout to propel your customers to the final pitch.

You Can No Longer Ignore Social Media

To capture or maintain a page one or two ranking in organic searches, SEO (Search Engine Optimization) experts insist that a company's social media presence has a significant influence.

So if you've been putting off dealing with the whole Social Media realm (thinking it's just not important for your technical, business audience), put it off no longer. If for no other reason (and there are several other reasons), you need to be active in social media to stay in the battle for Search ranking.

The Secrets Behind Search
Search is the new yellow pages, industrial directory and Library of Congress on steroids. And the first couple of pages of results in your keyword categories is the battleground.

The search engine giants (Google, Bing, Yahoo) closely guard their exact ranking methods and change them often to help prevent abuse of the system. But even though there are no guarantees, SEO experts generally agree that the following tactics are essential for boosting your ranking:

• Optimize your website meta data
• Keep your website content keyword rich and current
• Maximize inbound links to your website*

Did you notice that little asterisk (*) on the last bullet? Yeah...that's where Social Media comes in. The more content, information and buzz about your company, products and services out there in Internet-land, the better your chances are of securing those prime first page spots in the battle for organic search ranks.

One reason this is true lies in the fluid and prolific nature of social media. The ever-changing flow of content as it is shared in the social realm has the potential for driving up quality inbound link scores to your website. But another reason is that Google and Bing just changed the rules a bit. Recent agreements with Twitter and Facebook mean that these real-time social media venues will be included in organic searches, thereby impacting the overall ranking mix.

Here's a couple of links to recent announcements:

Bing is bringing Twitter and Facebook search to you
Google announces Twitter search

Now what?
If you haven't set aside marketing dollars for social media in 2010, do it now! If you need help figuring all this out, contact us. Social media does have a place, an important one, in B2B marketing plans. It isn't as hard as it looks, and the dividends could surprise you.

Seven Key New Year Marketing Strategies

Whether 2010 brings an emergence from the economic downturn or more of the same, NOW is the time to take a close look at your strategic marketing initiatives for the year ahead. Marketers who hit the ground running in 2010 will have a decisive edge on their competition.

Step Up Messages To ALL Audiences. We know you'll want to focus on the markets ready to buy, but so is everyone else. A stronger plan is to step up contact with ALL your audiences so that you are there first, to gain market share, as the recovery begins.

Expand Your Prospect Database. Maintain and use this valuable resource for research and targeted, segmented messages.

Get Specific. Invest communication dollars in more product-specific feature/benefit messages instead of broad, awareness campaigns. Now is the time to create or update those sales tools your field reps really need.

Online...Online...Online. Reach your prospects where they are looking for you.

• Deploy a targeted array of integrated online programs tied to your customers and overall marketing objectives.
• Refocus your corporate website with product and market specifics.
• Develop vertical audience microsites for refined targeting.

Capitalize on The Power of Video. Don't just tell them when you can show them. Video (live action or animation) is a powerful and affordable way to demonstrate product features and benefits, applications, even train customers or sales teams. It has become a communication standard. In the last year alone, 49% of technology purchasers (versus 28% a year ago) cited online video as an influential element for making a purchasing decision. (Source: Eccolo Media 2009 B2B Technology Collateral Survey Report)

Go Social. Establish or build your social connections by participating in industry-specific social networks. Build your own or join existing groups through LinkedIn, Twitter, YouTube, SlideShare, etc. Begin a corporate blog or customer or industry forums. Social media increases brand loyalty, engages customers, generates quality leads, facilitates the sales cycle and mobilizes advocates.

Keep a Lid on Trade Shows. Unless you have a major new product to introduce, attend only the crucial ones. Get a better return on your investment by sponsoring or participating in webinars and virtual shows; launch a customer-direct traveling exhibit; or host regional or local meetings, events or Lunch & Learns.

Get the most out of every MarComm dollar next year with a focused, strategically-built plan. Tell us...what are your top strategies for 2010?

What's Your Marketing Plan For 2010?

Fall is officially here. And chances are your business has been through a lot in the past 12 months. Even with recent positive economic indicators, no one we've talked to is expecting extra long lines of customers in the near future.

That makes planning and targeting an even more vital strategy for the months ahead.

With 2010 just around the corner, now is the time to review this year's marketing and sales efforts in order to map out a successful strategy for the year ahead.

Gather your team and take a few minutes to review:

• Your sales and marketing goals for 2009
• What strategies did you use to accomplish them?
• What were your key challenges?
• Did you succeed?

Now...based on where your market and customers are today, consider what your marketing needs to accomplish in 2010. How will you reach your new goals? Need some help?

One of our goals during these tenuous times has been to share marketing tips, strategies and new media trends to help you address current challenges.

So that we may serve you better, tell us what topics we can address here, in this blog, that will help you plan and execute your marketing efforts successfully in the year to come.

We'd love to hear from you. Email your thoughts or questions to mindshift@shoreyandassociates.com. We’ll make every effort to tackle your questions and challenges in future posts.

Please, tell us what you think.

The Positive Side of Outsourcing

Twenty-first century marketing is evolving into complicated communications including fragmented media to reach segmented audiences, vertical market concentrations, social media strategies, dwindling budgets and demands for greater ROI. But connecting your company’s future to a focused partner who is expert in navigating these turbulent waters could be the difference in securing market share, sustaining growth or even surviving.

The right team of technical integrated marketing experts can bring a host of benefits to your corporate table whether they are working alone or augmenting your in-house marketing department.

6 Benefits of Outsourced Marketing

• Improve focus. The main thing becomes the main thing again. You concentrate on your products, services and business; your outsourced marketing specialists concentrate on delivering marketing results.
• External perspective. A fresh, external perspective on your business and marketing efforts can inject new life, purpose and direction based on in-depth experience with today’s focused industrial markets.
• Access experts. Tap in to the broader resources and experience of a focused team.
• Accelerate performance. A high-performance team has the infrastructure in place to turn projects quickly.
• Integrated & unbiased. A single marketing entity can integrate all materials/programs to heighten impact with a cohesive message delivered from a strategic, unbiased approach.
• Heighten quality, lower costs. Focusing on their main thing, your outsourced marketing firm can deliver consistent, higher quality deliverables at potentially lower costs than can be achieved by fully-staffed in-house departments.

The Ideal Marketing Partner
Seek out a highly experienced integrated marketing team with a wealth of technical expertise within a relatively flat organization that offers full service capabilities—from research to technical writing, creative to technical animations. Give priority to firms with a Technical Coordinator on staff who will guard the technical contents of your message. You can then expect a level of technical marketing support comparable to your in-house resources. Efficiency and results should be the hallmarks of every project. Remember, you’re seeking a partner to share in value-centered growth, not a contractor.

Win-Win
Standing alone as the marketing arm of your company or augmenting the capable talents within your in-house department, outsourced marketing with the right technically-savvy, experienced firm will help streamline operations, cut costs and maximize those limited marketing budgets.

9 SEO Best Practices For Technical B2B Marketers

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is heralded by many as the silver bullet that can push your websites (flagship or micro) to new heights in search engine results. While it may not be a silver bullet, it certainly needs attention. SEO offers no guarantees of number one rankings in your keyword search results, but it can help attract to your sites motivated prospects who are looking for your products and services. Here are nine key tactics that can help maximize your SEO efforts.

1. Identify the keywords most relevant to your company/products—the words and phrases prospects use in their search for you. Keep your list to around 300 characters within the keyword section of your HTML code.
2. Integrate keywords into web page copy. Focus each page on only one or two keywords. Use them in headlines, the first paragraph and as they naturally flow in copy.
3. Create unique title tags for each page. Include keywords and use no more than 60 characters to describe the content of each page. Embed these metatag titles in your HTML code.
4. Entice visitors with metatag descriptions. Used by many search engines as the site text on search results pages, use this limited real-estate (<145>
5. Eliminate navigation barriers by providing clear pathways to all pages. This helps users find information easily and search engine spiders index your site faster.
6. Create an XML sitemap...and keep it updated. They are becoming the standard for crawl submissions, helping users navigate easily and guiding spiders through your site.
7. Add internal page links using keywords. Even with a clear navigation system, adding internal page links in text using your keywords helps spiders through your site while offering navigation options to users.
8. Seek incoming links to your site. Quality is better than quantity here. Get incoming links by submitting articles and press releases to industry trade media; ask industry partners, distributors and trade associations to link to your site; get active in social media, comment on industry blogs.
9. Keep content relevant, updated. Content is king on websites too. Search engines and other websites are looking for quality, relevant, updated content to index and link to. Write and publish articles and white papers, post press releases or start a blog. Keep visitors coming back for the latest new thing.

Footnote:
Resources: The Marketing Maven, “SEO Tips for Industrial Marketers,” 6/18/09; BtoB Magazine, “Key tactics to maximize your SEO efforts,” 2/9/09

New Vertical Brand Strategy Positions Patterson Pumps for Stronger Growth

Shorey & Associates recently launched a new multi-level vertical market branding program for Patterson Pump Company of Toccoa, GA. Patterson’s heavy-duty pumps and pumping systems serve four distinct vertical markets, including fire suppression, HVAC, plumbing and municipal clean and wastewater applications.

“A multi-level brand approach can be very effective within a vertical strategy,” said Day Shorey, agency president. “Particularly within an environment shaped by mergers and acquisitions, this approach gives you the flexibility to apply the one brand best recognized by a specific market segment. Having helped Patterson develop a strong corporate brand identity, we believed that equally strong branding initiatives applied to these four key vertical markets would bring a laser focus to all marketing efforts.”  

Shorey strategists completed vertical market assessments and drafted integrated brand strategies for each of the four targeted markets. Agency creatives then defined brand personalities and developed names and identities, including logo design, for each one. 

The agency developed print and digital ads with links and drivers to four new vertical market microsites. Each microsite provides easy access to more in-depth product information for each market. Collateral material and new market-specific booth graphics reinforce each of the new brand identities. Trade press releases introduced each new market brand on a measured roll-out over several months.

With a goal of protecting share in established markets while gaining share in newer markets, the highly focused, vertical branded products enjoy a growing position of strength—building momentum that will carry each one through the peaks and valleys of present and future business cycles. 

Shorey & Associates Welcomes Spring Intern

Shorey & Associates has selected Bob Jones University senior Anthony “Tony” Beninate to participate in the agency’s spring 2009 internship program.

“It’s always great to see a fresh new talent join our team,” said Day Shorey, agency president. “Our intern program exposes graduating seniors to the unique challenges of considered purchase, B2B marketing. Under the direction of our experienced staff, they learn how to apply their academic skills to creative selling messages aimed at the complex industrial and technical markets. By actively participating in multiple phases of client projects, they walk away with a rich and rewarding experience.”

As part of his internship experience, Beninate will assist Creative Directors Steven Cox and Melinda Witty in creating and producing layouts and artwork for both web and print delivery.

Beninate will graduate from the university in May 2009 with a BS in graphic design and a minor in photography. A native of Burlington, NJ, Beninate is an avid ice hockey enthusiast and enjoys writing and recording his own music.