by Paul Simister
on March 26, 2019
Buying has changed a lot since the Internet became popular, both for consumers and for B2B buyers. I’m looking at consumers in a separate article so here I want to answer the question…
What Do B2B Buyers Value When Making Buying Decisions?
To answer it, I’m summarising an excellent article in the Harvard Business Review:
The B2B Elements of Value by Eric Almquist, Jamie Cleghorn and Lori Sherer from the March–April 2018 Issue (You can read the original here).
Bain, the strategy consultants have produced 40 elements of value which they fit into five major categories. They have also look at what consumers value when buying.
The Main Categories of B2B Values
[continue reading…]
by Paul Simister
on November 13, 2018
The full title of this book by Rebecca Geier is
Smart Marketing for Engineers: An Inbound Marketing Guide to Reaching Technical Audiences
In my review posted on Amazon.co.uk, I gave the book a rating of 4 Stars. It is good and well worth reading.
Well worth reading if you work in a large electronics company
There are few marketing books which look at B2B marketing issues and those that focus on selling technical products or services to engineers are rare and precious.
This one looks at the post Internet development of inbound marketing, sometimes called content marketing. It’s about establishing credibility so customers come to you when they want to buy. This contrasts with traditional marketing where businesses blast out marketing messages to anyone and everyone who might buy some time. [continue reading…]
by Paul Simister
on September 14, 2018
The full title of this book by Derek Little is
The B2B Marketer’s Journey: How to Generate More Leads with High-Performance B2B Copywriting
In my review posted on Amazon.co.uk, I gave the book 2 Stars.
Quickly skates over b2b marketing and copywriting issues
There aren’t many books about b2b copywriting because most copywriting books have a strong bias towards b2c where people can be persuaded to want a product or service based on underlying desires and emotions.
There is an opportunity to write a great b2b copywriting book. [continue reading…]
by Paul Simister
on September 10, 2018
In my review of the book,
Inside Story on B2B Copywriting by Tom McCauley
posted on Amazon.co.uk, I gave the book a rating of 4 Stars. This means I think it is good and well worth reading.
Here is my review.
A refreshing focus on marketing to business customers
Many of the great copywriting books focus on selling to consumers by generating emotional wants and ignore the more rational b2b markets where products and services have to be bought to satisfy needs.
In fact, there is very little on offer which focuses on b2b copywriting and marketing so this book fills an important gap. [continue reading…]
by Paul Simister
on December 4, 2015
The full title of the book by Jaynie Smith is
Creating Competitive Advantage: Give Customers a Reason to Choose You Over Your Competitors
In my review posted on Amazon.co.uk, I gave it 3 Stars.
Here is my review.
Competitive advantage or benefit statement?
Every now and again I read a book that plenty of other people rave about but I don’t get. This is such a book. Sometimes the writing style just doesn’t click with me. Sometimes it’s the message in a book that’s the problem and that’s what happens here. [continue reading…]
by Paul Simister
on May 3, 2013
Competing On Value by Mack Hanan and Peter Karp
Book Review – 5 Stars
“Competing on Value” by Mack Hanan and Peter Karp is a terrific book that was published in 1991.
Please don’t let its age put you off because the advice it gives is timeless. Some of the examples are dated but the message comes through very clearly.
Competing On Value is a sales book, pricing book and marketing book all rolled into one.
The concept of economic customer value is well established in the more specialised sectors of marketing and pricing. When “Competing On Value” was published, I believe that the concept of fixing your price on the value (or gain) your customer made from buying was very new. [continue reading…]
