Filed under: Next large thing, Oracle Corp (ORCL), Small business
For a corporate buyer, life can be tough. There are usually many options. And, if there’s a bad purchasing decision, it could be a career killer.
So what do these folks do? Of course, they engage in lots of research — which often means relying on influencers.
Funny enough, it’s a good bet that vendors don’t know who these vendors are (or, at least haven’t conducted a decent amount of research on it).
Well, according to Duncan Brown and Nick Hayes, this can be a large mistake. In fact, they think that “influencer marketing” is going to be critical for B2B selling (keep in mind that, according to a 2007 Brandchannel survey, four out of the five top global brands did not engage in any advertising).
To help things out, Brown and Hayes have written a book: Influencer Marketing: Who Really Influences Your Customers?
Do they suggest focusing on journalists and analysts? Not necessarily. Rather, influencers may lurk in unexpected areas, such as resellers, bloggers, book writers, vendors, consultants, trade association executives and so on.
Something else to consider: marketing to influencers is really a waste of time. After all, they’re not the ultimate purchasers of your product. So, don’t pitch them with your typical PowerPoints, sales brochures or branded memory sticks.
Instead, you need to provide useful content to influencers. This may be a study. Or, it could be an invitation to an exclusive event, where there are other important influencers.
In some cases, it might even make sense to hire an influencer. This is was the case with Howard Dresner, who was a top analyst for business intelligence (BI) at Gartner. Hyperion, a major player in the space, hired him. No doubt, it brought more credibility to the firm and likely helped snag some customers. Oracle Corporation (Nasdaq: ORCL) eventually bought Hyperion.
All in all, Brown and Hayes have put together a good book. Often, marketing books speak about the same things — especially on the topics of social media. But, in Influencer Marketing, you get some very special insights, which can move-the-needle for your firm. More importantly, Brown and Hayes are consultants and as a result, have provided real-world case studies.
So, if you’re trying to get the attention of huge customers — and attempting to rise above the noise — Influencer Marketing should prove very helpful.
Tom Taulli is the author of various books, including The Complete M&A Handbook
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