Wouldn’t it be great if successful marketing traits were second nature to all businesses?

Successful marketing relies on a positive experience for the consumer. Imagine if every time you picked up the phone or went online, you found the perfect solution to what you were looking for.

If a business can tap into that response, it will bury the competition. But, what are the marketing traits that deliver a positive experience?

The Tough Sell Consumer

Let’s look at one of the toughest consumers for a business marketer – another business owner.

As a business owner yourself, you know purchasing decisions are a big deal.

• You also understand marketing tactics
• Your business uses them every day to sell your own services or products
• That makes you a tough sell to a business-to-business (B2B) marketer

So, what characteristics make the best B2B marketer? The following are a few of my favorites.

• An instinctive knowledge of what sells
• Good marketing tactics that are second nature
• A mastering of persuasion without the cheap sales suit

A prior post explored 5 Lazy Marketing Tactics That Drive People Nuts. Let’s flip the switch to shine a positive light on businesses where good marketing traits are second nature.

3 Second-Nature Marketing Traits

Have you encountered a business that seems to have an intrinsic feel for marketing? You’ve always appreciated its style. Other businesses worked on perfecting their positive marketing traits until they became an automatic response.

However they got there, marketers with these traits make me smile. Do you agree?

#1 – Make it feel personal

Marketers don’t need to know you personally to make it feel like they do. How do they do that?

• By understanding your business
• Using that knowledge to help you
• And listening like they care

Managing a small business is hard. Besides providing the services or products you sell, you may be the IT department, operations, janitor, and everything in between. So, a marketer who lifts a hand to help is special.

If you are like me, the techie side of blog management can drive you nuts. The Do-It-Yourself solutions leave you feeling abandoned. You are one of the masses without resources.

Wordfence representatives never make me feel abandoned. The WordPress security plugin handles the complex world of online security. From the first day I set up the premium version, Wordfence representatives answered my techie-challenged needs.

• They walked me through settings
• Tech support identified problems with another plugin
• And gave me the specific questions to ask to get the problem fixed

Marketing does not stop with the first sales pitch. Every representative of a business who takes your hard-earned cash is a reflection of their company. Click To Tweet

Each representative has a huge influence on whether you remain loyal or leave. After all, B2B is personal. I have been with Wordfence since 2012, and I still appreciate their second-nature marketing and support.

#2 – Put your needs first

Has this happened to you? You respond to an ad and place an order. Several days go by and you don’t receive any form of acknowledgment. So you contact the business.

The representative advises you they will check on the order and get back to you.

• You wait a couple of days (or longer) and hear nothing
• After contacting the business again, you speak to a different representative
• You’re told orders are backed up and they’ll get to yours when they can

What silent message are they sending you? Their priorities are more important than yours? They don’t care about your business?

 

Vistaprint targets small businesses to help with marketing needs through an assortment of products and design services. I find their pricing reasonable for good products and even better service. I liked them so much I agreed to participate as a small business owner in an ongoing focus group.

Vistaprint makes me feel valued and appreciated. And that’s about as good a trait a business could have.

There have been hiccups along the way (a product that did not come out quite right). However, my experience is Vistaprint stands behind their tagline.

Absolutely guaranteed
Every time. Any reason. Or we’ll make it right.

They put your needs first.

#3 – Recognize what you value

Marketing 101 says highlight the benefits (instead of the features) of your product or service. So, why does it feel like some marketers are only interested in their own benefits?

Cost is important to you, but value is what makes the sale. You don’t always go with the cheapest version (do you?) However, you need a reason to upgrade or purchase the premium option.

You need to trust the business will deliver the added value.

Most of my sites have the Genesis theme. I redesigned this site with another Genesis child theme. The plugin, Design Palette Pro, is the reason I added the theme to more than one site.

I am an amateur (mildly skilled, but amateur) when it comes to coding for customizing my WordPress sites. Design Palette Pro makes customization simple.

When I first visited their site, I saw I had three options (similar to what’s shown below).

My tendency would be to go with the first one (the cheapest) as a trial run. I figure I can upgrade later if I like it. But, that Priority Email Support caught my eye.

When you hover over the Priority Email Support, you see the following commitment.

What business owner wouldn’t love that? I’ve tested that promise more than once. My experience is they often go beyond the promised service. Design Palette Pro made me happy I chose value over cost.

Doing What Comes Naturally

The B2B marketers who “get it” don’t have to think about the above three traits. They just do it.

1. Second-nature marketers keep it personal by understanding your business and celebrating your success.
2. They put your needs first by paying attention to the details and being flexible in their response.
3. Savvy B2B marketers know what you value may differ from others so they provide options.

What traits do you love in a B2B marketer? What examples do you have?

By the way, none of the above businesses are affiliates. I just like them.

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Helping you Keep it simple, clear & uniquely yours

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This is an update to a post that published on September 5, 2017. Sadly, I had to remove one of the featured businesses in my post. I’m not one to engage in public shame. As it turns out, this business does not share that same trait. Long story, but there was a service incident that had me severing the business relationship, even leaving money on the table because it got that bad.

As I said in the post ~

Marketing does not stop with the first sales pitch.

They marketed themselves right out of a previously loyal customer.