At the recent Mark Potter presentation in Kansas City and Dallas, dozens of companies and their management/sales teams had the opportunity to listen to Mark Potter, a publisher and marketing specialist.  He commented that not only was the Industrial Age dead, but so was the Information Age, and we now have entered the Connection Age. 

Technology allows everyone to have information at the tip of their fingers, but what's becoming more and more important is who knows you and how we are connected.  The classic example is how individuals (especially the Millennials) utilize social media. The more "friends" I have the better, and the types of "friends" are very important.  Potter explained that this is one of the main reasons why the traditional sales model for our industry (and for many others) is no longer as effective.
 

Per various studies on sales and marketing in the B2B realm, 57% of the buying process is already complete prior to any human interaction with the potential supplier.  Buyers are researching a potential supplier on the web and social medial to see who you are - and who you know/do business with.  Thus, the model of having sales reps beating the street cold calling is not only ineffective, but extremely expensive.  Per Potter this calls for a new sales model in which establishing connections is very important (relationship selling), but one needs to understand that this only occurs once the buyer is ready to trust the potential seller. 
 

Consequently, the need for creating a marketing/sales team which focuses on communicating the company's "brand" becomes extremely important.  The team needs to look at all the potential channels available and develop a strategy that communicates the "why" someone should do business with the company.  It's no longer important to talk about equipment and technology but solutions and the types (who you know) of clients who have seen value from doing business with your company. Case studies become important, and more than ever, testimonials.  In many ways it's no different than the way many companies have sold for years - word of mouth, just using different mediums. 

The more things change, the more they remain the same!

The effectiveness of inbound marketing is important to a company's success - especially in light of the concept of the "Connection Age" as outlined by Mark Potter. A recent report from NetProspex and Ascend 2 indicates that only 27% of B2B leaders say their inbound marketing efforts are very successful in helping achieve important objectives. 

Some 66% of B2B leaders view their efforts as somewhat successful, and just 7% say inbound marketing has not helped their business at all. The report was based on data from a survey of 270 B2B businesspeople (40% C-suite leaders, 32% VPs/directors/managers, 28% other) from around the world (75% North America, 15% Europe, 10% other). [MarketingProfs]

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Here's a blog from Printing Industries of America directed to small businesses on 5 Tips to Create Quality Content ... from your experience share with customers what they're missing! This is the first in an upcoming series of posts focused on small business marketing tips.