why timing is a critical factor in b2b marketing success

1

B2B Marketing

Christopher Ryaninfo@fusionmarketingpartners.com

Why Timing is a

Critical Factor in

B2B Marketing

Success

Top Factors in Startup Success

Earlier this year, Bill Gross, founder of Idealab,

spoke at TED on the topic of top factors in startup

success.

Timing is Everything

After studying 200 startup companies (both

successful and not) it was determined that, of the

five most important factors, timing was the most

critical to the eventual success of the venture

42%

Funding Follows

Interestingly, with so many entrepreneurs

obsessed with funding issues, or with starting with

right team or business model, it turns out to be the

least important of the five factors.

14%

The Overarching Issue

Just as with startup success, timing is a critical

factor in marketing, and sometimes the

overarching issue.

Marketing Rescue

As an example, we occasionally get asked to

rescue a company whose market share and

revenues are dropping. While we are happy to

work in this scenario,

unless the product is

sold online and the sales

cycle is short, marketing

alone is

not an effective

short-term fix.

Stabilization First

The situation may need to be stabilized through

aggressive sales techniques or cost-cutting

measures starting now – with marketing used as

the key factor in ensuring medium and long-term

success.

Marketplace Receptivity

Timing is also a factor when it comes to

marketplace receptivity.

During my earlier career in the enterprise software

industry, I was in situations where marketing and

selling were relatively easy because we had

technology that filled a current hot need among our

target audience.

Marketplace Receptivity

At one company, a senior rep exclaimed,

“Selling our software in this market is as easy as

shooting fish in a barrel”

In this case, market timing made our marketing

department look like superstars. We were good,

but not that good!

Marketplace Receptivity

Conversely, I was in a couple of situations where

the timing was not good, either because the

marketplace had passed us by or because a

competitor had achieved a significant price or

technology advantage.

Marketplace Receptivity

In those circumstances, good B2B marketing can

help – but just as a great quarterback can’t help a

mediocre team win the Super Bowl – great

marketing alone will not overcome lousy market

timing.

Despite our best efforts, we

were fighting an uphill battle

and struggling for revenue

and relevance.

Impact Market Timing

Fortunately, timing is not set in stone and can often

change to your benefit. And you can certainly

impact market timing by…

Adjusting your positioning

Changing your business model

Creating a new offer

Fixing whatever it is that is not working for you

Preparation

Sometimes, it is simply a matter of keeping up with

your target audience, optimizing your business for

greater efficiency, and preparing to catch the next

big wave in your industry.

I’ll Leave You With Some Quotes

“The essential ingredient of politics is timing”

perhaps this is equally true if you substitute the

word “marketing” in place of politics.

- Pierre Trudeau

I’ll Leave You With Some Quotes

“If the timing’s right and the gods are with you,

something special happens.”

I hope something special happens for you!

- Rick Springfield

Learn More

Visit our website for more

insight about B2B

marketing and sales and a

look at my new eBook

The Essential Guide to

Building Your Lead-to-

Revenue (L2R) Machine

About Fusion Marketing Partners

Christopher Ryan, CEO

We Do This: Brand building/messaging

Website optimization

Content creation

Lead generation

You Get This:Much greater levels of awareness

Higher quantities of qualified leads

Ability to generate faster revenue

Lots more information at:

http://FusionMarketingPartners.com/

http://Greatb2BMarketing.com (blog)info@fusionmarketingpartners.com

719-357-6280