If You Aren't Valuable, You Aren't Important

Through the many years I’ve been doing this there are several unavoidable truths that arise when discussing the topic of successful brands vs. unsuccessful brands. For those companies and manufacturers middling along in the water and wastewater market without much growth year over year and certainly without the right tools to expand their market share exponentially, this can be a tough discussion. These companies and their brands aren’t as strong or as differentiated as they should be but the problem goes much deeper than that. Many decision makers within these companies don’t think they actually can make impactful changes to their approach and those that do, don’t know how. Most are stuck in a comfort zone of “eh, we made it another year, we’re fine” and stick with the 1950’s style traditional product-centric marketing versus the needed evolution to a millennial date-stamped customer-centric communication. They haven’t changed, but their customers have.

Recently a number of content marketing professionals specializing in B2B customer development were asked to give recommendations to a B2B manufacturer, like many of you in the water and wastewater market, on how to expand market share by focusing on a modern and effective marketing approach. Here are the two biggest takeaways:

1. Make sure you are delivering VALUE and not a SALES PITCH

When I say “value” I mean “value as defined by your target audience.”  Content marketing is about your customers, potential customers and the market as a whole.  Without knowing what they want, you’ll be swimming upstream. 

Jillian Hillard, Director of Brand Marketing for Small Appliances with Electrolux, states “For brands, it’s no longer a question of how you can use content to enhance the consumer’s perception of the brand, it’s a necessity. Content is the gateway into a brand’s soul, and when done right, it provides insights into the customer’s wants. It’s a brand’s job to understand the emotional needs of their customers and provide solutions that enhance their lives — not just sell them products.”

And Barry Feldman of Feldman Creative writes, “First and foremost, you have to BE valuable. Create content that gets your prospects to think, ‘I can’t believe that was free.’ Secondly, you need the credibility that comes from people outside of your marketing department, most specifically, your customers. Your brand will be perceived as valuable when customers share their experiences. Word of mouth marketing has and always will be the big dinger.”

ADVERTISING is no longer “Look what I have!” It’s evolved into “here is how we as a brand can enhance your life, work, etc...”

2. Don’t forget about your CURRENT CUSTOMERS

Many times when speaking with marketing professionals in the water and wastewater markets, their given initiatives revolve around the development of NEW customers.   Don’t forget about those who know you best, trust you and offer additional untapped income potential for your company.  I’m talking about your existing customers.  In all the excitement, it’s easy to not invest as much time providing deep value to your best existing customers.  

Case histories, how-to guides, instructional videos, and potential upgrades to their existing set-up are all ideas for those buyers that have already made that initial investment of money and emotion in your brand.  Just like new customers, the buyers of your technology and brand need to reaffirm their reasoning for working with you in the first place constantly.  Give them reminders as to why you were and still are the best brand to work with and you will be rewarded with more business.