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Why are some companies prospering in a terrible economy?

Guest post by: Jeff Ogden

Article Overview: “Job Growth Falters, Clouding Hope for Recovery” This headline, on the front page of the New York Times on Saturday, July 9, 2011, talks about how bad times are and how few companies are hiring. It sounds bleak. But a few companies are growing fast and hiring quickly. Who are those companies and why are they doing so well, despite bad economic news?

Why are some companies prospering in a terrible economy?

Here are a few of the really fast growers:

1. Marketo
2. Salesforce.com
3. Hubspot
4. Eloqua
5. Kinaxis

There are other examples too, but those five give us something to discuss.

Other than the fact that all five are business to business software companies, what do they have in common? Here are a few things they all do:

• Each invested heavily in marketing – (For instance, Marketo spends 80 cents for every dollar spent in sales.)
• Each publishes great marketing content – especially content that is deeply relevant to buyers (based on buyer personas)
• Each uses a scientific approach to marketing – using carefully designed and measured processes, including social media.
• Each continually refines and updates their approach. Marketing is ongoing.

The lesson here for other business to business sellers is clear. If you want to prosper despite a bad economy, you need to do a few things very well.

1. Invest in marketing – particularly in strong marketing leadership (Do you have a Chief Marketing Officer?)
2. Focus on content – especially relevant content for buyers (Have you documented buyer personas and gained deep understanding?)
3. Look at the science of marketing, especially using marketing as a revenue engine. (Have you spent time learning from sites like Find New Customers, MarketingInteractions and MarketingProfs?)
4. Measure everything and continue to tune the approach

Seems clear to me. You can complain about the weather or you can buy an umbrella. By the same token, in this changed world of B2B marketing, you can complain about the economy or you can do something about it. Click on the image to review my review of the book, Launch by Michael Stelzner.

To learn about content marketing and a buyer-centric approach from a partner company of Find New Customers, click the link below.

A Different Approach to Content and Publishing

What do you think? We love comments and people who share. Just enter your comment below.

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Article Tags: b2b demand generation, b2b lead generation, btob demand generation, btob lead generation, find new customers, lead generation, lead generation companies



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Re: Service Or Product? - Service company always thrive in down economy. Let look at the advertising industies in any economy, you need to advertise your products or services even if you cannot afford any other things
Re: Plan Your Retirement NOW - Hi, Beat I must say the state of the economy has me worried these days. Not so much the state of it...but the knowledge that the politicians and people who are supposed to be in charge of the economy are so incompetent it's not even funny...
Re: What would you like to see be invented? - [quote="Stas Z":3icdzfj0]You know right about now I wouldn't mind having a weather machine that can change this terrible weather in Toronto. Wouldn't you just love going from -20C and snow, to +20C and all the sun you can have! And none of that flip-flop weather that changes every day.[/quote:3icdzfj0] However, I think that such a device would put many companies out of business (and therefore would never be allowed to make it into production). For instance, if the weather was always constant and "nice", then there would be no need for umbrellas, winter tires, clothes for freezing weather, foods to keep us warm, etc.
Re: Service Or Product? - All things being equal Evan, I completely agree with you. A service would be much more manageable and predictable in a down turned economy. However, it is also important to recognize that the cost of goods also plummits during these bad times, and to amass stock or inventory for future sales could be part of capitalizing on this bad economy. Good luck with CBC!
CanadaOne - Thanks Leo - CanadaOne has done a lot to clean up its website. It used to be terrible but now they actually have a few resources. I haven't seen any updates for a while - hope they are doing ok.


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