Many b-to-b organizations have an abundance of technical and practical resources that can help them connect with their customer base. Unfortunately, much of this content is often buried within technical sales presentations and internal documents that only reach customers in one-on-one meetings and trade-event presentations. This exposure is valuable, but the impact evaporates quickly, the information is difficult to share and the reach is limited.

The Shift to Sharing

A fundamental change has occurred in buyer behavior — most now conduct the majority of their product research online. This shift has forever altered b-to-b marketing leadership practices. You can achieve marketing leadership by becoming a trusted resource for strong, practical information.

Large or Small — This Opportunity Also Represents a Threat

If your company is large, with a deep pool of technical resources, you can have a significant advantage. The move from yesterday’s model, however, requires an investment of both manpower and capital. Making resource sharing a priority requires buy-in from the C-suite; they must agree to share more information, endorse the assignment of new accountabilities and approve related spending decisions. So, with the exception of companies with marketing-savvy executives, large companies are proving to be slow to react — creating opportunity for smaller companies to improve their position.

If your company is a smaller, niche player, this type of resource sharing can be equally advantageous. Specialized product and service providers often have a very compelling competitive advantage when speaking to the right prospects. Sharing content in the right way enables customers and prospects to find you more easily. If you don’t claim your space however, you will miss out on buyers searching for your products or services.

Stop Guarding Your “Secrets”

The only people you are hiding your best content from are your customers. Chances are, your competitors already have most of the information you’re afraid to share. Today, you need to leverage your valuable content—through every channel you have at your disposal. This becomes very dynamic, as you link content to and from landing pages, ads, email, websites, blogs, social sites and others. You need a staffing and marketing mechanism in place to provide constant support for information dispersal and management across the web.

PR, DR and Branding — The Walls are Melting

The big difference today, compared to years past,

is that your control is gone—until prospects experience your brand first hand, they build their perceptions based on the results of their online research—from trade magazines, peer reviews, forums, websites and any number of sources. This is why having a strategy for quality content is vital; it is also why PR, advertising, email marketing, social media, paid search and SEO are now so completely intertwined.

Some of the boldest business successes of late come from unveiling what many would regard as a competitive advantage that should be protected. In this way, companies such as Google, Apple, Lynux, WordPress, Amazon and many others have changed the game. People want to do business with approachable, transparent and resource-rich companies—and this often requires a change in the way organizations approach marketing and business. In the age of information, sharing yours is the ideal way to build trust, credibility and brand equity.

Scott LoSasso is President of LoSasso Advertising Inc., a Chicago based interactive agency specializing in content marketing strategies and customer acquisition for leading B2B and consumer brands. (See more posts by Scott)

Another windy morning in Chicago last Thursday ushered in an intrepid LoSasso quartet to The Drake Hotel. Awaiting LoSasso President, Scott LoSasso and Vice President, Mark Hollingsworth were professors from colleges and universities around the Midwest, plumbing the depths of LoSasso’s interactive marketing expertise at the 2011 Spring Marketing Management Association Conference. The talk was organized by Don Jones and resulted in great dialogue between area professors and our LoSasso team.

The presentation addressed changes in the marketing industry and what businesses are looking for in new hires, especially those undergraduates hot off the presses. Particular attention was paid to content driven interaction: the driving force behind creating a space for consumers to interact with one another and with businesses. Industry forums and social media (Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, FourSquare) have become the new quilting circle or local watering hole where information is readily exchanged, available and digested at a rapid pace.

The message was clear: the toolbox has changed but the fundamental principles of marketing have stayed the same. Developing a relationship with a client is still at the core of those principles; it is the way in which we enhance that relationship that has grown to include social media, SEO (search engine optimization) and the need to build a presence both physically and virtually for every client.

Frequent and consistent messaging continues to be of utmost importance but a close second is the need for silos within businesses to break down. More than ever, direct marketing and public relations are completely meshed together: communications and marketing departments have to interface constantly to maintain that consistent messaging for optimal success in their campaigns.

The discussion was also centered around best practices for hiring and what makes a new hire successful. Scott LoSasso initiated the conversation by outlining optimal job candidates that contribute to a team work environment. Incoming new hires are strong writers, positive team players, involved in an array of social media platforms, creative thinkers and detail-oriented. For more information about skill sets businesses look for in new hires, visit iMedia Connection.

Thank you to the Marketing Management Association, Don Jones, The Drake Hotel and all in attendance for a great open discussion about our evolving industry!

Domino’s Pizza puts negative customer commentary front and center in its new “Pizza Turnaround” marketing campaign. The TV commercials feature clips of focus group participant commentary on the pizza’s quality: “bland,” “boring,” “bad,” “the worst imitation of wheat crust,” and the list goes on. The CEO of Domino’s and a variety of Domino’s “employees” address the harsh feedback, turning the product’s negative perception into a challenge, and The Pizza Turnaround campaign is born. It’s an honest and bold marketing approach that may just help the 50-year-old brand defend its status as leading pizza delivery company in the U.S.

Pizza Turnaround promises customers an improved dining and delivery experience, with a reinvented sauce recipe, better dough quality, and fresher ingredients. It also promise a full refund if you’re not satisfied. Add that to the $5.99 promotional price for 2 medium, 2-topping pizzas, and Domino’s makes it easier to give the product a second chance. The TV commercial spot contains some hokey lines like, “We’ve put 40% more herbs and seasoning in our sauce,” but overall, Pizza Turnaround was an intrepid step.

The campaign is fully integrated into the brand’s Facebook page and Twitter account, and the Pizza Turnaround landing page features the full-length campaign documentary. Video links to Stephen Colbert Report’s “rip” on the campaign and #newpizza Twitter trending topic (he named Domino’s his Alpha Dog of the Week) and to the CBS Morning Show “Pizza for Breakfast” review.

Domino’s encourages customers to engage in the conversation, and the feedback ranges from cheers: “Tried the new Domino’s Pizza yesterday…Remarkable Improvement” to jeers: “We tried the new pizza last night. Grade: C-.” The company plays an active role in the social media campaign by engaging in the negative and positive commentary. Whether or not the product is truly improved is a matter of personal preference, but Pizza Turnaround succeeded in placing the company into the social media stratosphere.

If you haven’t already, it’s time to switch gears with your approach to PR. Due to the rapid growth of social media and multiple new outlets, PR is changing lanes. It’s time to shift from a traditional approach (think develop-for-print-placement) to a more centralized web-based compilation of information.

It may seem challenging at first, so the best way to get started is by pulling together all past presentations, articles, case studies, thought perspectives, etc. Once this is compiled, you’ll notice a reoccurrence of certain key topics.

Make these the foundation of your Content Engine, and start developing each topic in different formats. A tech article that was once written, for example, can be demonstrated in a short video, taught in a webinar, delivered in a presentation, etc. Executing the message through multiple channels will strengthen your credibility and expertise on the subject matter.

Thanks to the evolution of the web, it’s easier than ever to share and exchange information. Repackage the high-value content that you’ve already developed to rev up PR exposure via the Content Engine.