At Q2, we live all things tech marketing in the Washington D.C. region and beyond. Our people network with colleagues and peers. We give presentations to the industry. We talk with prospects, clients and partners. We contribute to the Technology Marketing Blog and other tech marketing blogs and print outlets. We’re regularly quoted in industry news outlets.

The point is, we have our finger on the proverbial pulse of what’s happening (and what’s not) in the wonderful world of tech marketing. And one of the things that’s not happening is a relatively straight-forward, fundamental program. That program is award opportunities.

As many of you probably know, awards exist for corporate governance, revenue growth, product innovation, social responsibility and more. Awards also exist for specific industries and solutions. What you probably also know is that many companies don’t take advantage of opportunities for which they are well qualified. You might even know that a little too well.

Executives understand the value of gaining credibility. Almost every one we talk with believes there would be a benefit in developing an ongoing award opportunity program. But still, when it comes to practice, many companies don’t pursue awards.  

The reason for this may be in the amount of lead time and planning required. While the level of effort in an award program isn’t daunting, it requires foresight. The opportunities should be amassed 12-months or more in advance, and continually monitored for changes and additional opportunities. Some are ongoing awards, and some change. An example is the Inc. 500, which has expanded to the Inc. 5000.

The second challenge may be lack of awareness of which organizations (media, industry associations, corporations, etc.) present awards. These can be found by paying close attention to industry news, media editorial calendars, and monitoring your competitors’ news coverage.

For more tips on how to develop an award program that increases your company’s exposure, contact info@q2marketing.com.   

[Tech Marketing Feature] It’s taking longer to close sales than it did this time last year, or even earlier this year. Many companies are making decisions more slowly. There’s a good chance your company is among the slower movers. When possible, companies are purchasing more incrementally, putting a toe in the water to purchase only what they believe they need. Buyers are decidedly risk averse. We know the economy is to blame, but it’s time to be proactive. What do we do about it?

The good news is that opportunities still exist. But while it’s taking longer to move prospects through the funnel, marketers need to put programs in place to impact these lengthening sales cycles—today. Here’s how:

1. Continue your direct marketing programs. Now more than ever, you need to communicate consistently with your buyers and prospective buyers. Resist the knee-jerk tendency to cut this aspect of your marketing budget. Your clients need to keep hearing from you. They need to know that you’re solving problems for companies like there’s. They need to be able to trust you with their money and time. And they need to know that you’re a source of stability, not risk. Well executed ongoing direct marketing programs can help you accomplish this. If you make the mistake of going silent, your buyers will go to a competitor that’s still making noise.  

2. Maintain and boost credibility. Help prospects and existing clients feel good about purchasing from your organization with a credibility, or public relations program. Credibility can appear in various manifestations from bylined articles and blogs to coverage in trade and news press. Awards for financial excellence or leadership can also be important. Make sure you leverage this credibility and your prospects and customers are aware of it. Ask yourself what mediums your organization and key players should be featured in to impact your buying base. Then map out a strategy to do it. Tie your credibility programs in with your direct marketing program for maximum synergy.

This is no small undertaking. If you are serious—and smart—about public relations, it can yield very big returns. PR takes time, strategy and talent. Expect PR budgets to be cut. This is a good thing for those of us who continue to diligently make an impact with credibility programs.

3. Lead with cost savings. There is no better time to lead with ROI and cost savings than when spending tightens among your buyers. If this benefit applies to your offerings, are you leading with it? If not, buyers will pick competing products or services with marketing messages that clearly offer a tangible return on investment. Of course, this won’t apply to all products and services, but to the extent you can save money and time, make that message clear.

4. Let your clients talk for you. Another way to overcome your audience’s potential fears of risk is to leverage your client base and let them do the talking for you. Peers can communicate your value proposition much more effectively and meaningfully than you can. Use testimonials from your biggest fans and make sure they are featured prominently in your marketing materials and mediums. Video testimonials are even better. There are many clever ways of making these testimonials work, from having them on your home page or blog, to linking from YouTube.  

5. Don’t be a loser. Everywhere I go I talk with executives who have had to lay off employees, talented professionals who’ve gotten the axe, and sales and marketing experts who are feeling the pinch. But generally, there are two responses. There’s pity and foreboding in one corner. Then there’s optimism, will and drive in the other. As a marketer for your business, keep those stark contrasts in mind and always remember that people want to surround themselves with winners, trust winners and give their business to winners. In all of your marketing activities, create programs worthy of a winning company, and harness the attitude of a winner.

6. Get with the strategy. What do you want to communicate about your company, products, etc? Is it your ubiquitous market penetration, dominance in an industry, product innovation, new line of business? If you’re going to be true to your goal of moving prospects through the pipeline, you need to be strategic in what you’re telling your audiences and why. Make all the programs you’re putting in place hit hard on that theme, and do it consistently, creatively and in a way they will remember.

Keep this strategy in mind and lead with messages that matter, consistently, and in meaningful ways. And watch those slow movers pick up the pace and decide to give you their business. Just remember to track the programs you put in place and the status of that pipeline so you’ll be able to demonstrate that those cycles shortened because of your marketing insight.

One more note from today’s Washington Technology newsletter. The same slowing trend is occurring with mergers and acquisitions. Read more here: http://www.washingtontechnology.com/print/23_16/33816-1.html.

PR News Online has just released their Best/Worst PR Advice Guidebook. This 79-page ebook is filled with common and uncommon sense wisdom from PR pros from corner offices to the trenches. Q2 Marketing’s PR pros are among the expert sources sited throughout the guidebook. Topics include:

• Best advice in PR
• Best advice for those new to PR
• Worst career advice
• Most important lessons

Find more details here: http://www.prnewsonline.com/store/17.html

The strongest weapon in your marketing arsenal is PR. It has the ability to draw the most attention to your organization, advertise your product and introduce your company to unknown audiences. The main issue of PR is the wait. Once you start a PR program, you have a few months of ramp up time. This is the killer of most programs. People don’t like to wait for results. They want instant gratification. However, PR does not lend itself to instantaneous results. There needs to be time to ramp up the program, develop pitches, uncover stories of interest and more. 

A few people start PR programs in order to “get their name out.” They have seen their competitors mentioned online and/or in publications. Now, they want in the game. The PR program starts with a lot of excitement and anticipation. The first month passes and slowly [or quickly] anxiety starts to build. The questions start coming: “What are we paying for? I don’t see us mentioned in any pubs? Where are the interviews? There was an article this week on our market, why weren’t we mentioned?” The PR person [whether in-house or agency] reviews the process. Publications, depending on schedules, run three months to a month ahead of the calendar. Everyone shakes their head that they understand. But the anxiety doesn’t go away and some will stop the entire PR program before any traction can be made.

The problem is that if they would have just waited a bit longer, the results could have been amazing. Here is a story from my past life: The company, a mid-tier ERP/CRM company focusing on the mid-market, was floundering in an over-saturated market and not hitting revenue goals. Budget was tight so we decided to put the money into a PR campaign. At first, we focused on industry publications within the space. We did a press and analyst tour—touting the new developments in the software and the company. We worked on building relationships with the editors of the publications. Slowly we began to see traction. We were being quoted in stories, contributing bylined articles and appearing in features. Then we turned our focus to business pubs. Same strategy, same results. Our name started appearing; our executives started being quoted in stories. We had editors on deadline seeking us out for quotes because they knew us and knew we could deliver. The inbound leads began to rise and we were closing a lot more deals. A few months later, we were at an industry trade show. I was walking the floor and was approached by several competitors. They said that they had been seeing us everywhere—and wondered if we had been bought by a major player. We were the talk of the show. The program continued and we began to hit revenue numbers.  Like everyone else, the beginning was slow but we didn’t quit. We kept running with the program and soon it began to deliver amazing results.

You can have a similar story. You just need to stay focused and realize that PR takes time. But, it is certainly worth the wait.