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B2B Marketing
Christopher [email protected]
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)[email protected]
719-357-6280
