B2B Marketing ROI

Over at DMNews this week, Mark Stebbin of MarketMotive wrote a piece on A/B Testing for online marketing campaigns. Though the example used is a B2C campaign,  B2B marketers can benefit from the same concepts.

Marketing automation tools can be used to create multiple campaigns - changing out key elements such as graphics, subject lines or special offers - and then compare ROI results. Viewing click-through and conversion rates for the campaigns  will help you understand what strategies appeal to your target audience and lead to increased success in your future campaigns.

Automation software can also offer multivariate testing for your landing pages to compare conversion rates from you PPC campaigns. Just as you can determine which emails are most attractive to your prospects, you can analyze conversion rates and choose the landing pages that yield the highest ROI.

Creating two versions of a campaign may require a little extra legwork, but think of it as an investment that will save you time and increase future profits with just a few clicks.

There’s been a lot of talk lately on how social networking websites have become a popular way for B2C companies to engage their consumers while gathering feedback on their products. As B2C companies start to jump on this bandwagon, marketers question the validity of social networking in the B2B context. Undeniably, word of mouth is a powerful marketing tactic: a recent study by market research firm Keller Faye Group concluded that it was the leading influencer of business purchase decisions. Which leads us to ask how social networking websites can be used to facilitate two-way dialog in such a way that replicates word of mouth on a grander scale.

An argument against the use of social networking in B2B is that this business model does not allow for the same kind of “buzz” around a brand as in the B2C model, which can leverage the power of viral campaigns. For these to work, the initiative must excite passion on a wide scale - a prerequisite that is not consistent with a B2B product. It is safe to say that YouTube videos, dancing elves and other character personalization games would not be a fit with the B2B model. However, to say that social networking would not benefit these companies would be neglecting the opportunities that exist when you facilitate a dialogue among your customers. Granted, the conversation will take place among fewer individuals, whose similarities will lie not in their personal passions but in their business tasks. It’s the same idea, though: through a web-based dialog customers are simultaneously interacting with your brand while providing a large-scale, low-cost online focus group.

The question becomes where and how to create a platform for this conversation. This post from Barry Hannigan’s blog gives examples of how larger technology companies have implemented social media into their corporate websites, facilitating knowledge exchange through an internal platform. By contrast, other B2B firms place content on websites geared towards social networking, such as ITtoolbox Community Hub, where IT professionals can discuss different vendors through blog posts, topic-based groups and online forums. Should you decide that an external approach would be more appropriate for your company, Rob Murray’s article on SearchEngineLand.com gives guidelines for participating in social networking sites.

Whether your company decides to facilitate a dialog internally through your own website or through an external social network - the key is to leverage the ability of this new technology to generate user feedback. Never before have such large scale consumer research opportunities been available at such a low cost, and B2B firms should latch onto this trend while it still represents a competitive advantage, rather than a necessity for their company’s survival. Even though social networking will never mean the same thing as it does for B2C companies and we’ll never hear of Cisco-Ize Me, there are still great opportunities to improve your company by learning what it is your customers are talking about.

Part of responsible email marketing is ensuring that you’re always in compliance with CAN-SPAM laws. Earlier this week, the FTC made some changes to the CAN-SPAM requirements.

The new rule provisions address four topics:

• An e-mail recipient cannot be required to pay a fee, provide information other than his or her e-mail address and opt-out preferences, or take any steps other than sending a reply e-mail message or visiting a single Internet Web page to opt out of receiving future e-mail from a sender
• The definition of “sender” was modified to make it easier to determine which of multiple parties advertising in a single e-mail message is responsible for complying with the Act’s opt-out requirements
• A “sender” of commercial e-mail can include an accurately-registered post office box or private mailbox established under United States Postal Service regulations to satisfy the Act’s requirement that a commercial e-mail display a “valid physical postal address”
• A definition of the term “person” was added to clarify that CAN-SPAM’s obligations are not limited to natural persons
  

Michael Goldberg posted a great summary of what these changes mean for marketers on the Outperformance Marketing blog.

Based on the new modificaitons, Goldberg explains:

In a multiple-advertiser email, a single advertiser can assume the role of sole “CAN-SPAM sender.” The Final Rule issued by the Federal Trade Commission establishes that, when there are multiple advertisers in single email, a single advertiser can assume the role of sole CAN-SPAM sender if (a) the advertiser meets the requirements of “sender,” as defined under the CAN-SPAM act of 2003, (b) is the only advertiser identified in the “from” line, and (c) complies with all of the other original sender requirements imposed by the Act, including the requirements surrounding a “valid physical postal address.”

Senders must provide recipients with an easy, unburdened way to unsubscribe from a commercial email. Specifically, the Federal Trade Commission requires advertisers to allow consumers to opt out of subsequent commercial email messages from that advertiser without requiring payment, information beyond the consumer’s email address, “or any other obligation as a condition for accepting or honoring a recipient’s opt-out request,” including requiring a consumer to visit more than a single Internet Web page.

“Person” will be defined, for purposes of CAN-SPAM, as an individual, group, unincorporated association, limited or general partnership, corporation, or other business entity.

A “valid physical postal address” has been defined as “the sender’s current street address, a Post Office box the sender has accurately registered with the United States Postal Service, or a private mailbox the sender has accurately registered with a commercial mail receiving agency that is established pursuant to United States Postal Service regulations.”

What didn’t change?

You still have only ten-business days to honor all opt-out requests.

Jeremy Saibil of Campaigner wrote an interesting piece on deliverablility for DMNews this week.

Saibil refers to the JupiterResearch E-mail Marketing Buyer’s Guide, 2008, which says 70% of respondents cited e-mail deliverability services as their top consideration when selecting an e-mail services provider. Obviously, this is a top priority for marketers. In Saibil’s mind, the problem arises when all the responsibility is placed on the email tool, when in fact, marketers themselves have a lot of influence over whether or not their emails make it to the inbox.

The article offers helpful tips on testing campaigns for optimum deliverability, including:

• Have your IT folks set up a pristine, never-before-used e-mail box. Take this new address and subscribe to all of your own marketing programs
• Audit your co-branded and affiliate marketing campaigns for relevance
• Evaluate the content with the images blocked and see if the campaign still makes sense
• Try replying, clicking and ultimately unsubscribing to see how user-friendly your campaigns are

By taking these steps, you will begin to see your campaigns through the eyes of the customer and ensure that your emails aren’t something that is going to be viewed as spam.

Saibil’s ultimate test:

The litmus test that you’re on the right track is when you’re brave enough to add your mother to your e-mail list and you’re confident that she won’t hit the “Report as spam” button.