12 New Rules of B2B Product Launch

www.b2bproductlaunch.com

You may post this to your corporate intranet, blogor forward to others. Advanced Industrial Marketing

Why new rules? Why now? First, the internet is changing everything. Most B2B transactions now occur when the customer finds the suppliernot the other way around. If someone deep inside a prospect company cant find you, your new product just lost to a competitors. Second, B2B marketers have been following the rules of B2C marketers for way too long. Compared to their consumers, our business customers are more insightful, rational, interested and fewer in number. Advantage B2B but only if we follow new rules. Our rules. Third, much more rigor is needed by most B2B suppliers. Products are released casually, budgets are spent inefficiently, and prospects respond "underwhelmingly." I worked inside large corporations for 29 years, mostly in marketing positions. It was great fun, but I believe the best is yet to come for B2B marketers. I hope youll find some new rules here that ignite your next product launch. Meet me at the end of this e-book for more ideas.
Dan Adams AIM, Inc.
12 New Rules of B2B Product Launch 2009-2012 Advanced Industrial Marketing, Inc. This e-bookin its entiretymay be posted to your corporate intranet or blog. www.b2bproductlaunch.com dan.adams@aimtolead.com

Table of Contents

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

Rule

Be easy to find when your prospect is ready Link early-stage to late-stage marketing Get inside their minds with positioning Help prospects advance along the buying cycle Use engagementnot interruptionmarketing Customize for industry concentration & position Use online articles to boost findability Use word of mouth to build buzz Use powerful new online marketing tools Integrate traditional media in your strategy Make your sales pros look like geniuses Pull it all together in a launch plan Appendix: Training & Software from AIM

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12 New Rules of B2B Product Launch

Advanced Industrial Marketing

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Rule

Be easy to find when your prospect is ready

B2B transactions today

Youre about to launch a great new product and your job is to hunt down prospects and close some sales, right? Well, partly but thats so 20th century. In 80% of B2B transactions today, the customer finds the suppliernot the other way around.1 What does this mean to you? For starters, you must answer new questions:
What will prompt a Google search by prospects, and what search terms will they use? How can you hold their interest? Its hard to avoid a sales rep, but good-bye now sounds like a mouse-click. Who are your real targets among the many job functions typically involved in B2B buying decisions? How do you meet prospects where they are?... Some just starting to explore others comparing specifications.

20% 80%

Supplier finds Customer Customer finds Supplier

The 12 new rules in this e-book will help you answer these questions and more. So happy hunting. And being hunted.

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-2For business decision makers. B2B Lead Generation Handbook, MarketingSherpa, 2008, p 99.

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Rule

Link early-stage to late-stage marketing

Deliver the Right Product to the Right Market using the Right Message through the Right Media :

When Im asked to explain marketing, I break it down into early-stage marketingwhen you find out what customers wantand late-stage marketing, when you promote your new product to them.

Early-Stage Marketing

Late-Stage Marketing

Design Product
Front-End Work

Develop Product
Heavy Spending

Deliver Product
Product Launch

The latter is more glamorous, but without solid work in the fuzzy front end, youre headed for a new product belly flop. You really must do both stages well to win big. In fact, you need to link your early-stage and late-stage marketing by intentionally gathering customer information in the front end for later use in your launch. To do this well, replace the 4 Ps you borrowed from consumer marketing (product, price, place, promotion) with a new B2B model:
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To get the Right Message, data-mine your front-end interviews to uncover customers hot-button language. For the Right Media and Right Market, add two questions to customer interviews and surveys: 1) 2) How does your company learn about new ideas? Who decides which ideas to pursue?

The first question tells you their preferred media use. The second helps you target key prospects in the company. Of course, theres more you can do, but these simple steps will do wonders for your next product launch.
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Rule

Get inside their minds with positioning

Principle #3
Your goal is to be the first to occupy mind-space for your category.

IBM WSJ McKinsey

Over 30 years ago, Ries and Trout brought us Positioning: The Battle for Your Mind.1 Much of their thinking still applies today. Consider these principles adapted for B2B:

If you plant your flag first in the customers mind, its easy turf to defend. Dont abandon your position by letting clever ad agencies stray from your core message.

Principle #1
Once a prospects mind is made up, it is very difficult to change it.

Hertz is #1

Avis is #1

Principle #4
If you cant be first, create a new category where you can be.

Your Brand

In B2C, advertising is too weak a force to overcome Principle #1. You can be more persuasive in B2B, but a direct frontal assault on a competitors position is costly.
Principle #2
However, prospects minds are usually open to new information.

If you dont already own a category, look for an unoccupied category you can claim. Webex, for example, claimed web-conference-based business collaboration.

A ? B C

Principle #5
In an over-communicated society, use an oversimplified message.

Simple

This makes news a great form of promotion. Think news releases, presentations on new technology, webinars with new info, or (ahem) e-books with new rules.
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Create a simple message and keep beating the same drum in every medium you use. Think FedEx speed, Cisco connectivity or DuPont miracles of science.
-6Al Ries and Jack Trout, Positioning: The Battle for Your Mind, (New York: McGraw-Hill, 1981)

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Rule

Help prospects advance along the buying cycle

Buying Cycle Stages

Purchase Prospect agrees to buy your solution Prospect wants your solution under the right conditions Prospect actively evaluates best way to address need

In the good old dayswhen suppliers found prospects instead of the other way aroundyou knew how to pitch your product. There was a time to cultivate, a time to compare, a time to close. You knew which time it was if you knew how to listen to your prospect. But what if your prospect finds you on the internet, and you have no idea where her head is? She could be at any of these stages 1. Oblivious to the problem youd like to solve 2. Thinking about the above problem 3. Aware of your product 4. Considering buying your product 5. Ready to negotiate for your product A one-size-fits-all marketing message wont work, so what do you do? Let the prospect decide when to move to the next stage. Provide a stream of offers that prospects can accept when they are ready. Here are some examples
Price Estimator Calculator In-Depth Brochure Technical Consultation White Paper
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Negotiation

Consideration Product Awareness

Prospect is aware of your solution to his problem

Need Awareness Oblivious

Prospect recognizes a problem or opportunity worth addressing

Prospect isnt thinking about the problem youd like to help solve Time

Technical Paper Webinar Case Study Product Sample

3 2
Make it easy for prospects to move to the next stage by providing offers such as white papers & webinars.

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Rule

Use engagementnot interruptionmarketing

Content Prospects Find Most Interesting1

Case study on how a company used a product New research on some aspect of your industry How-to guide for using a product better Top-10 list of ways to improve business Interview with top analyst on state of industry Interview with top executive on state of industry

Got an exciting product? Cant wait to tell prospects how amazing it is? Steady now: If your prospect is at an early stage in the buying cycle, patiently employ engagement marketing. Dont rush in with interruption marketing. Interruption marketing occurs when the supplier barges into the prospects world. Its an ad unrelated to the magazine article the prospect is reading an e-mail during the prospects busy day ranting about a new product. In engagement marketing, the supplier is invited into the prospects world. More than anything else, engagement marketing is useful content from the prospects perspective. Think how this works for you. You dont appreciate commercial hype. But how about a free white paper or webinar concerning your problems, your interests, your industry? And if the sponsor drops a slide or page in at the end suggesting how they might help you more, youre OK with that, right? (Ever eager to be helpful, weve provided an example at the end of this e-book.) Thats engagement marketing. Youll have time later in the buying cycle to tell prospects about the wonders of your new product. For now, its all about them.

# Prospect Responses

Prospects are interested in their problems & industry not you

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- 10 Source: B2B Lead Generation Handbook, MarketingSherpa, 2008, p 315.

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Rule

Customize for industry concentration & position

So which media will you use? How will you spread your limited budget between 9 traditional and 9 online media?

Industry concentration considers the number of potential buyers. Your industry position is determined by whether you are currently a key supplier to this market or not. While this oversimplifies the matter, think of four quadrants:1

Four factors should influence your decision: 1) 2) 3) 4) Prospects media preferences Your resources Industry concentration Your industry position

Quad 1: Your sales force can easily reach prospects. Invest in sales training & tools; reinforce them with online media. Quad 2: To build credibility with a few prospects, use media such as customer seminars & helpful white papers. Quad 3: Too many to reach with direct sales. Use news releases & search marketing to drive them to your website. Quad 4: Use your databaseand othersto build a community of users via e-mail and other online methods.
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#1 can be easily determined in your front-end work. (See 2-Question Survey in Rule 2). #2 is about your budget and existing capabilities (e.g., sales force vs. distributors).
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We use 20 scenariosnot 4in our LaunchStar software (shown on last page of e-book).

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Rule

Use online articles to boost findability

Many people think the reason to write a press release is so the press will write a story about them. But thats following the old rules. The main reason today is to attract prospects to your website. Heres how it works 1) You write a news release loaded with valuable content editors believe their online readers will love. 2) Your article is published on the web and includes your embedded keywords and links to your website. 3) The prospect Googles using one of your keywords, and your article appears in his Google results page. 4) The prospect reads your article, thinks youre clever, and hits the embedded link to your website. Ta-dah. The key is to write content that online magazine and trade journal editors believe their readers will love. Thats your real audiencenot the press.
So thats how it works
Heres when this clicked for me: I wanted to use the term B2B Organic Growth for my newsletter, and figured Id better Google to see if someone else was using it. Every single hit on the 1st Google results page belonged to me! Why? Most of the articles my publicist and I had written used this keyword phrase. I called her and said, OK I think we can start using some other keywords now! - 13 12 New Rules of B2B Product Launch Advanced Industrial Marketing www.b2bproductlaunch.com

2 1 You issue news releases

Prospect Googles using keyword and finds your article

Articles are published with your embedded keywords & links

Keyword

Article
Link

Keyword

Article
Link

Link takes 4 prospect to your website

Keyword

Article
Link

Bonus: Links from popular sites boost the everyday ranking of your website

How to boost your internet findability

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Rule

Use word of mouth to build buzz

Research by MarketingSherpa reveals that more business executives are impacted by word of mouth than anything else.1 Here are six tips for building buzz: 1) Identify and promote to industry thought leaders. Use communications to VIP editors & bloggers. 2) Promote to people already in groupse.g., trade shows & conferencesso they can discuss your product. 3) Seek opinions from industry experts: Commission lab tests seek evaluations create advisory panels. 4) Gain testimonials from respected early adopters. Get advance samples in the hands of willing customers. 5) Use front-end interviews to find decision influencers at prospect companies. Build relations with key contacts. 6) Make it easy for these decision influencers to tell their colleagues about your product, with Leave-behind presentations & sales aids E-mails with links to interesting videos, etc. Newsletters and literature rich in content

Let your prospects work for you: Be easy to recommend (Rule 8) Be easy to find (Rule 7)

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- 16 B2B Lead Generation Handbook, MarketingSherpa, 2008, p 73.

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Rule

Use powerful new online marketing tools

Social Media: Interactive dialogues using web-based and mobile technologies. Linked-In is especially good for B2B. Webinar: Good for connecting with hard-to-reach prospects, e.g. executives and marketing. Efficient way to relay info. Web Microsite: A part of your corporate website focused on the needs of one audience, e.g., your target market. Search Marketing: Everything you do to rank high in Google searches (aka Search Engine Optimization).

Online marketing has exploded in the last 15 years in both B2C and B2B (especially IT, e.g. web-conferencing & data backup). Online marketing offers strong benefits:
Benefits of Online Marketing

Lower cost per lead generated

Easier to measure effectiveness

Helps prospects find supplier

9 Online Media
Online Advertising News Release White Paper Email Marketing Online Presentation Social Media Webinar Web Microsite Search Marketing
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We cant do them proper justice here, but lets take a quick tour of these 9 online media
Online Advertising: You pay per click, with search engine ads or contextual ads (displayed next to related articles). News Release: Used to be called a press release. Great for leading prospects to your website (see Rule 7). White Paper: Rich in non-commercial, useful content. Often used to develop leads early in the buying cycle. E-mail Marketing: 21st century version of direct mail. Theres a science to this: Seek professional help. Online Presentation: Slideshow & video embedded in a website for online consumption. Very persuasive.

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10

Rule

Integrate traditional media in your strategy

Trade Show: Powerful but complex and costly. Make sure your staff is trained & your lead follow-up is strong. Road Show: A multi-city tour with your technical staff. Great for nurturing leads in fragmented markets. Customer Seminar: Like a road show but your staff visits one key customer at a time, using multiple presentations. Sales Visit: Usually the most effectiveand expensive approach. Use disciplined lead nurturing & great sales tools.

Online marketing is powerful, but if you drop traditional media, youll lose 3 dynamics: 1) Traditional branding breeds familiarity. 2) Face-to-face word of mouth is highly influential. 3) Prior relationships boost buying decisions.
Benefits of Traditional Marketing

Familiarity from branding

Face-to-face word of mouth

Prior relationships built

9 Traditional Media
Print Advertising Press Kit Print Article Direct Mail Trade Speech Trade Show Road Show Customer Seminar Sales Visit
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Consider 9 traditional media (and integrate them with online):

Print Advertising: Helpful for keeping your brand familiarand to popularize keywords for online searches. Press Kit: Pre-packaged promotional materials sent to members of the media to announce news. Print Article: Articles and technical papers in journals now end up online as well so use keywords & web-links. Direct Mail: Can still be effective. Many internet users have a printed publication in their hands while searching. Trade Speech: A well-delivered presentation conveys lots of complex info well and to an undistracted audience.

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Rule

Make your sales pros look like geniuses

If you want a sales force full of new-product selling virtuosos, work hard on 1) sales tools, 2) sales training, and 3) a lead qualification system. right. When planning which to use, make sure you engage representatives of the sales force.
Sales training: Break your training into 3 categories: Sales tools: 24 Popular sales tools are shown to the

Sales Tools
Company Presentation Product Background Sheet Product Specifications Product Brochure Product Presentation Leave-Behind Presentation White Paper News Release Reprint Case Study Product Video Web-Based Education Qualifier Form Company Profile Product Data Sheet Product Safety Data Sheet Product Reviewers Guide Presentation to Distributors Technical Report/Study Competitive Comparison Customer Testimonials Frequently Asked Questions Customer Evaluation Guide Selling Guide Proposal Template

1) Launch strategy include messaging, positioning, product overview, pricing, offers & media strategy. 2) Measuring success describe sales goals, reward & recognition, tracking system and lead scoring. 3) Using sales tools cover each of the planned sales tools; conduct role-playing to boost effectiveness.
Lead Qualification: Dont squander your most

valuable resourcethe sales forceon the wrong prospects. Instead, create a matrix based on firmographic scoring (how important is this prospect?) and behavioral scoring (how ready is this prospect?). Then agree whether marketing or sales owns each cell in the matrix. Finally, decide specifically how prospects will be advanced to the next stage of the buying cycle closer to sales-ready.

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12

Rule

Pull it all together in a launch plan

Great launch planninggenerally started 10-12 months before your launch datewill do 4 things for you:

1. Collect: Keep track of all your data in one place

action plan, media contacts, budget, lead scoring, etc. plan a great launch without reinventing the wheel. plansmanagement, sales force, ad agencies, etc.

2. Plan : Provide all the tools and aids for your team to 3. Communicate : Inform key stakeholders of your 4. Measure : Provide metrics and a dashboard to

measure progress and to build corporate learning.

AIMs LaunchStar software provides a 2-page Executive Summary that ties the whole plan together and communicates the Strategy, Team, Activities and Results.

Strategy: Market (who to tell), message (what to tell) and

media (how to tell). Team: Members of the core team, supporting team, and external agencies. Activities: Summary of a detailed Gantt chart showing timing and responsibilities for tasks plus budget. Results: Post-launch performance against the sales plan and other metrics.
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Appendix

Training and Software from AIM

Early-Stage Marketing

Late-Stage Marketing

Design Product
Front-End Work

Develop Product
Heavy Spending

Deliver Product
Product Launch

All we do at AIM (Advanced Industrial Marketing) is provide training in B2B new product development. Thats not as boring as it sounds. Our focus on just B2B has led us to some exciting, new-to-the-world practices and a strong competitive edge for our clients. Everything youve read in this e-book is part of a 1-day workshop and an online training program. But training that is hard to apply or easy to forget is rather useless. So we include LaunchStar software, which lets you
Create a 2-page Executive Summary (Strategy-Team-Activities-Results) Develop a Prospect Profile Deploy the 2-Question Launch Survey Optimize a strong value proposition Develop your Message Brief Answer key positioning questions Plan and justify pricing Plan using the Media Strategy Matrix Learn over 140 tips for 18 media Choose from 25 sales tools Plan comprehensive sales training Organize team tasks with a Gantt chart Utilize the Agency Screening Tool Develop & analyze launch budget Create a lead scoring & nurturing plan Move prospects along the buying cycle Monitor sales results & other key metrics

We havent talked about early-stage marketing so far weve just assumed youve done a great job in the fuzzy front end. Turns out this is usually a very bad assumption. For years, New Product Blueprinting has been used to improve B2B front-end work all around the world. With our training and Excel-based Blueprinter software, your team will
Learn fundamentals of B2B interviewing (avoiding the pitfalls of traditional VOC) Conduct qualitative Discovery interviews Use customer-centric probing methods Improve listening skills (PEAR method) Conduct effective customer tours Perform post-interview debriefing Conduct quantitative Preference interviews Get customer input on test procedures Set up competitive side-by-side testing Use 6 visual tools to plan the new product Calculate Market Satisfaction Gaps Identify over- and under-served markets Conduct remote, digital brainstorming Perform secondary market research Screen market segments for attractiveness Use KAI to build team effectiveness Build a 4-page, 12-point business case

How to Learn More:

12 New Rules of B2B Product Launch

visit www.b2bproductlaunch.com E-mail dan.adams@aimtolead.com Call 330-715-8709

Advanced Industrial Marketing www.b2bproductlaunch.com
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How to Learn More:

www.newproductblueprinting.com Download free chapters (at above) Same e-mail & phone as at left

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