B2B Survey: Effective Online Marketing

Tampa, FL; October 29, 2009: "Banks still need help to be perceived positively among small and medium businesses," stated Stu Richards, CEO of the Cambridge, MA business-to-business marketing and sales consultants, Bredin Business Information.

"We asked business owners how favorably banks compared to other service providers, and found them squarely in the middle of the pack," adding, "well ahead of credit card companies, but behind technology and software companies, office supplies and overnight delivery services."

Richards made his comments as he presented the findings from the latest Bredin Business Survey, of principals of companies under 500 employees, to representatives from financial services. Richards' presentation was hosted by OnsiteConference, Inc. a privately held research marketing firm located in Tampa, Florida.

The Bredin survey considered how small and medium business people (SMBs) use and perceive various forms of online marketing tools, including e-newsletters, social media, and smart phone applications. Richards summarized the implications of the survey data by presenting a list of recommendations for optimizing online marketing.

According to the survey, a website that provides educational content can enhance brand perception and purchase consideration.  "We also found that SMBs will visit a vendor's site, including their bank, looking for information more frequently than that of a trade association, news media or government entity," observed Richards.  "For banks, the SMBs would be looking for information about accounting, finance, law and taxation," he added.

"The SMBs prefer, when they go online, to receive information in the form of articles and newsletters, first, followed by interactive tools and webinars." Richards explained that interactive tools may act as stand-ins for information that could come from a banker. Webcasts tend to be favored for the more complex topics.

"There is no question that social media will become a major acquisition channel.  Consider the explosive growth of Twitter, for example, in just the last six months," Richard observed.  "Most business people, however, are not yet comfortable getting involved. Perhaps that is because no one has figured out the ideal way to use Twitter.  It may be scary to consider, but social media is so new that you’ll get credit from customers and prospects for just trying to use it to engage them in a conversation."

In addition to the marketing potential, social media also offers a chance to build community, conduct product research, provide customer service and support your brand with transparency and authenticity. “Bank of America is using Twitter to identify unhappy customers to supplement what they can do through their call center. Their efforts at recovery using Twitter has been very well received," stated Richards. He added, "First Bank in Missouri has done a great job of using Twitter to build a sense of community. But OpenForum.com, the American Express site, is probably the best current example of content promotion through the use of Twitter."

Among the survey respondents, 56% have a smart phone. Of those, only 21.6% showed no interest in having a business related app. "This high rate of usage may signal an opportunity to connect with your audience by offering them a smart phone app," recommended Richards.

"Email may seem old-school, but our survey indicates that SMBs remain very positive towards the medium as an information source,” stated Richards.

"So just where do emailed newsletters stand as a valued source of information and advice?” asked Richards. "Ninety-seven percent of respondents indicated that email newsletters were ‘important’ or 'very important,'" observed Richards, adding, “Compared to 89% for print media and 88% for company websites."

The Bredin survey found that 40% of respondents subscribe to six or more newsletters. Of those received, almost 58% of respondents spent at least one minute looking at the content, with 75% indicating that they had clicked through to the sender’s website.

"We also considered, with the survey, what makes someone look at your newsletter," commented Richards. "We found that the key driver of ‘opens’ is brand.” Richards suggested that based upon the survey, guidelines for email newsletter marketing would include putting your name in the subject line and keeping the subject line under 35 characters. "The look and feel of the newsletter is the least important determinate of an 'open.'   We also found that the preferred frequency of receiving an email newsletter is weekly."

"When we asked the SMBs about their interest in receiving information from various industries, newsletters from banks were the most preferred. Two-thirds of respondents indicated a desire to receive a newsletter from a bank," stated Richards.

"The survey also asked whether receiving a newsletter changed the perception towards the sender,” Richards said. “Fifty-two percent responded that the newsletter had no influence on attitudes held about the sender. But I’m doubtful of this, as at the very least the newsletter helped to build awareness," Richards added.

To summarize the survey findings, Richards offered the following recommendations to optimize online marketing:

1. Consider first what you can deliver, and what your audience wants.

2. Be consistent in your branding message.

3. Educational content can enhance trust.

4. Since SMBs look to their vendors first for business-building advice, focus your content on the topics to which SMBs usually ask from you.

5. Social Media usage for information and advice is low, so it is not critical to have a robust program now. If you do consider the medium,
• Be willing to test and learn as you go.
• Be aware of how and where your customers are engaging.
• Be conscious of how you represent your brand.

6. Email newsletters are an especially powerful way to engage with SMBs. To succeed, you’ll need both email address and permission to send email and that can be a barrier for most banks. However, an advantage to email newsletters is that deliverability and response is measurable.

To learn more about this survey, contact Stu Richards, CEO, Bredin Business Information, at stu@bbionline.com or 617-868-6369 x202.

About BBI
BBI is dedicated to helping companies build a compelling presence in the complex SMB space through the intelligent application of research, strategy, outreach and sales support initiatives. BBI also provides design and content services for e-newsletters, social media applications and websites. www.bbionline.com. www.twitter.com/sbdf

About the survey
The BBI survey was conducted online in August through September, 2009 with 381 responses representing principals of companies with under 500 employees, diverse industries and geography.

Reported by Mark Rodrigues for BankMarketingNews.org.

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Posted by Mark Rodrigues at 11/4/2009 1:07 PM
Categories: Selling Strategies,Email,Online and Internet
Tags: Bredin
 

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