Tech Marketing Blog

For many years, tech buyers have responded to countless surveys informing us that they are actively involved in exploring information that will help them solve a problem in the early stages of their purchasing cycle. They use this discovery phase of their purchase cycle to identify new solutions, providers and ensure the content of what they find is credible. This discovery takes place across the various web outlets, trade magazines and even document sharing among peers.

In the old days, before the growing influence of web content, trade publications played a major role in proving industry relevant information. With ad spends down, many trade pubs are struggling and some have even closed down. This leaves a potential void in relevant information the tech buyers still seek to scope their upcoming solutions. This is a marketing opportunity for all technology providers. Filling the current and future void by creating the content to ensure your organization remains relevant, credible and has an authoritative voice within your technology space. I am not suggesting that all trade pubs will be out of business, but as a marketer, you have a great opportunity here to connect with various levels of tech buyers if you develop your marketing strategy like a publisher.

Chris Koch, the Director of Research and Thought leadership for ITSMA, recently outlined the publisher process that technology marketers can adopt and utilize to fulfill the demand for relevant content among tech buyers. As he points out having process that simulates a publisher can ensure your content development remains relevant to the buying audience.

• Identify the target reader. Publications fail if they don’t grasp exactly whom they are trying to reach and why. Marketers need to do a similar kind of segmentation.
• Create an editorial calendar. As Chris points out every good publication has an editorial calendar. Identifying the reader’s needs, forecasting discussion trends and uncovering the gaps of content you will need to develop are great benefits of putting a calendar together. This calender can initiate numerous content ideas as well as drive some tactical recommendations. Probably the most important piece of the process!
• Research the reader. Most magazines do annual reader surveys to ask subscribers what they think of the magazine and what could be improved. Through these surveys, they construct archetypes of the typical reader. Marketers can replace offers with survey questions once in a while to help build an understanding of timely issues to drive future content.
• Interview the players and the experts. Journalists aren’t experts in the fields they cover, but they’re experts at finding those that are. Marketers need to talk to subject matter experts inside the company, influencers outside the company (analysts, academics, bloggers, journalists), and customers. All you need to do is ask questions and the content will flow out of these people.
• Audit content. When surveying readers, magazines also ask whether readers like specific articles and subject areas covered in the magazine. Marketers need the same feedback from customers and from salespeople. If you don’t have the money to do research, consider adding a review button or comment feature to content.
• Diversify content. Most magazines are a mixture of long and short, graphic and text-heavy stories. Marketing content needs to be similarly diverse.
• Cycle through top reader interests. Magazines develop a short list of topic areas that matter most to their readers and hit those topics regularly as part of the issue planning process. Marketers need to develop a similar list as they plan their content calendars.
• Be timely. Editors always try to leave room in the planning process for the timely, exclusive scoop—the story that identifies an important trend before others do. For marketers, being timely means having content that matches every stage of the buying cycle, so that you have a chance for an “exclusive” at each stage.

As I read various Blogs and articles to prepare my own post, i am consistently surprised by reading thoughts such as “Integrated Marketing Initiatives are becoming more attractive…” I am not going to name the source, but this thinking causes me to scratch my head and wonder when Integrated Marketing Communications was not attractive. I have been marketing for over twenty-five years and have been practicing IMC throughout my career. The only way i know how to do it is to integrate all marketing messages, campaigns and channels into one compelling voice that is relevant with target customers.

Okay, enough with the soap box…what does this mean to the Tech Marketer that may be having trouble maintaining a consistent message, organizing its various product teams, sales and marketing department around planning and implementing an integrated campaign? Here are a few thoughts specifically about the message development phase of IMC. I am leaving out all of the upfront research and planning, because, I see the messaging issue fragmented more times than not.

A big stumbling block for integrated marketing efforts is usually a lack of communication between product teams, marketing communications and sales. With each department thinking and speaking with different voices, value propositions and messaging becomes inconsistent and fragmented. For marketing communications efforts to increase their potential for success, there must be alignment with your strategy, products and internal subject matter experts (i.e. Product Management and Product Marketing). Try organizing each department to play a role in the big picture:

Content Providers –

• Relevant marketing messages are very dependent on input from product management and product marketing since most value propositions begin with addressing the target buyer problem or need with a solution that solves the marketplace issue.
• Product Management should be the content provider defining the fundamental problem, “why” it’s critical to solve, and how your tech solution represent the answer.
• Product Marketing takes this core value proposition and creates messaging that is relevant to key trends and business drivers influencing market segments.
• Marketing Communication should act as the delivery engine, ensuring all value messages support the corporate brand identity and delivers those messages via the mediums most likely to connect with buyers.

Customer Voice –

• Product managers should be aware of their target customer’s current needs and accurately anticipate the evolving requirements of their target buyers.
• Sales teams can round out the thinking by providing valuable insight gained by their conversations with buyers and actual users regarding what they need, want and are willing to buy.

Education –

• Product Management and Product Marketing should act as conduits between markets, customers and internal teams such as engineering/product development and sales. Both should be able to articulate market dynamics and their relationship to real customer business needs before solutions are designed and built. Before, during and after the business needs are met with new tech solutions, these two roles should be educating all internal teams on the market and business drivers behind new and existing offerings.
• When these functions are relegated to specific tasks  towards the development of messaging, your integrating marketing messages should result in a clear value proposition delivered in a relevant voice of your target customers through marketing vehicles consumed by your target.