In our last blog, "R.I.P. Reps", we talked about the changes the internet has brought upon B2B marketing, particularly in the industrial sector. To round out this discussion, you should be aware of the one website that clearly dominates online industrial B2B marketing: GlobalSpec.com. If you’ve never heard of GlobalSpec, it might interest you to know that more than 4,000 of your competitors (or friends) have already listed their businesses (free) under “Commercial Printing Services”. There are many other printing-related categories where you can list your company in GlobalSpec.
Before you run off to check out GlobalSpec, you should note that you have to register to use the site. Just do it. With more than 6,500,000 registered users and thousands of advertisers, they can’t afford to do anything creepy with your information.
Industrial/B2B marketing is clearly different than B2C (business-to-consumer) marketing. B2B marketing is much more focused on generating and maintaining relationships while B2C marketing works on emotion or impulse.
Using personalization with variable data printing can be a way to generate and maintain relationships. While direct mail and VDP probably aren’t viable choices for the very large, trans-national OEMs (Original Equipment Manufacturers), the fact is that there are many, many more small, local industrial businesses, distributors and resellers that service local or regional markets. You can find thousands of these smaller businesses in GlobalSpec.
If you offer any type of marketing solutions or websites to B2B companies, you should be familiar with GlobalSpec because your customers might know about it. If they don’t, then you can be a hero by telling them about it. Superficially, GlobalSpec may appear to be a gigantic industrial directory - it is, but it also much more. There are many very sophisticated marketing tools behind the curtain including broad syndication opportunities, online trade shows, on-demand events, highly subscribed e-newsletters, etc. If you wonder how companies with huge marketing budgets use the internet, just keep an eye out for new marketing tools appearing on GlobalSpec.
Lastly, GlobalSpec provides a great library of free marketing information, tools and tips. The focus is on the B2B segment, but much of it is readily relatable to B2C markets and businesses. Topics such as “Search Engine Marketing on a Small Budget” and “Top 10 Marketing Planning Mistakes” provide insight about the industrial and B2B marketing practices and trends as well as tips you can use in your own business. Look at the bottom of any page and click on “Advertise with us” to find this material.
Moving VDP and personalization to the industrial will certainly put you out front of the competition. We don’t guarantee instant results. We do guarantee, however, that if you never offer VDP to your B2B/industrial customers, they will never buy it from you.
Of course, VDP is always easiest when you use our EZ-VDP services.
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