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So you think you've got a great idea for a product or service that other businesses could use? You may, but you won't make money from your idea unless you can effectively sell it. The simple fact of the matter is that the best product or service in the world is only as successful as its marketing.

Here are four terrific business-to-business marketing ideas to help you generate revenue from your idea.

1. Advertise with an emphasis on cost reduction and efficiency

Most decision makers in business are looking for ways to reduce their cost burden. Many of these businesses, especially small ones, already operate on a shoestring budget. So they want to improve their margins with further cost reductions that don't sacrifice the quality of their services.

Likewise, many businesses search for better ways to build the proverbial mouse trap. Although things are running pretty smoothly for them, these companies would like to improve their operational efficiencies by streamlining certain processes. This would also have the net effect of reducing their cost of labor or enabling their employees to become more productive.

Your advertising should emphasize that your product or service will reduce the cost of conducting business and/or improve the efficiency of operations. This is especially the case if you're marketing an IT product. A study conducted in 2010 showed that 48% of CIOs were adopting a strategy to improve their own business processes with the use of technology.

2. Three-dimensional marketing

You could do what everybody else does and market your brand with a flyer or brochure that is mass distributed to key players at various companies. But then you'd just be another salesman knocking on the door instead of someone who stands out from the crowd. Instead, try 3-dimensional marketing.

What is 3-dimensional marketing? It's when you send your prospect a package rather than a simple piece of paper. Instead of a letter advertising your product or service, send a box containing something that has some practical value so it makes a much more substantial statement than simple advertising copy.

For example, a marketer at Sprint once sent 500 prospects an actual tackle box. It was cleverly called a “solution toolbox” with the caption: “Don't let this one get away.” The tackle box contained what you would expect to find inside: lures, sinkers, and floaters. It also contained a brochure promoting Sprint's service.

The marketing tactic was effective. Sprint saw a 5% response rate from that campaign.

3. Dramatic subject lines

If you're using mass email marketing to advertise your business, be sure to use catchy, attention-grabbing headlines. You can do this by adding drama to the headline. When crafting a headline, you usually want to be more tabloid than conventional.

You might be tempted to produce an advertisement with the headline: “Integrate your email and social media seamlessly” if that's what your service does. However, that headline is dry and offers no dramatic emphasis on the benefit to the business. Instead, use a headline like “Reduce marketing costs and save time immediately!” Then use the content of the message to show how your service accomplishes what the headline promises.

4. Have a great, optimized website

If you're planning on marketing to other businesses, then you should have a professionally designed website that is user-friendly. According to an Acquity Group study, 70% of B2B decision makers would spend more money if their suppliers' websites were easier to use.

Furthermore, numerous buyers, even in the business-to-business space, use search engines to find a particular product or service. Make sure you engage with an SEO company so your site is ranked highly when people conduct searches on keywords or phrases specific to your marketing objectives.

Also, utilize local SEO so you can connect with businesses in your immediate area.


Anna Johansson

Anna is a freelance writer and researcher from the Olympia, WA area who loves to obsess about weird topics and then write about them. When she isn't writing, she is outside on her bike and comtemplating her eventual trip to graduate school.

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Anna Johansson

Anna is a freelance writer and researcher from the Olympia, WA area who loves to obsess about weird topics and then write about them. When she isn't writing, she is outside on her bike and comtemplating her eventual trip to graduate school.

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