Demand Creation Specialists

As publishers of DemandGen Report and Retail TouchPoints, we are constantly talking with BtoB marketers looking for ways to take advantage of the latest and greatest marketing & demand generation tools.  For executives looking for a roadmap on how to navigate the transformation from old school marketing to “next generation” marketing, we regularly steer colleagues to David Meerman Scott’s book “The New Rules of & Marketing & PR.”

To succeed in the conversation economy, where buyers now want to be engage in a conversation as opposed to have marketers speaking at them, David’s book servers as a great foundation of how marketers can utilize Web 2.0 tools and manage the process.  Part of the reason for this post is the fact that David has released an updated version of “New Rules,” which incorporates updated examples and also includes new information about social media.  Although the New Rules were written only two years ago, the rapid rate of change is underscored by the fact that Twitter was only in its infancy when the book was first released. Since these avenues now play such an integral part of the B2B buying process, David has gone back and added whole new sections to give help marketers optimize these new channels.  If you haven’t already read David’s book and would be interested in obtaining a copy, please email me at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it and I’d be glad to provide you with one of the copies we’ve purchased to share with our partners.

Here at Demand Creation Specialists we’re doing our part to help marketers navigate these now tools as well- we’ve developed a new offering called the Social Media Starter Kit.  Included in the kit is the development of a Twitter page, an overview on building your initial list of followers, and showcasing some of the free tools available for to help you manage and track your tweets.  We’re also helping clients create LinkedIn page, join or establish targeted groups that are central to their business.  If you have any questions on how you can apply the New Rules for your business, please feel free to drop me a note- This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or @slosauro and we can set up some time to connect.

Last month, I traveled from Pittsburgh to San Francisco courtesy of Southwest Airlines.  As I was getting settled in for the long, cross country journey I thumbed through the latest edition of SkyMall.  For those of you who haven’t been on a plane in a while SkyMall catalogs are found in the seat pockets of 90% of US flights, reaching about 650 million passengers annually.

As I flipped the pages I could not help but think about how the SkyMall model was relevant to the world of custom content.  SkyMall catalogs are typically over 200 pages and carry about 2,000 products that are relevant to young and old, professional business travelers and folks going on vacation.

The catalogs are chock-full of colorful photos showing folks enjoying the products, with messaging centered on calls to action on how these “will make your life better.”  There is something for everyone – knee wraps, golf clubs, pet accessories, toys, outdoor furniture and that full size video game you played at the arcade that everyone wishes they had.

The common ingredient among all the products was that they the addressed a common pain or perceived need consumers had back at the home front. SkyMall has the advantage of a captive audience, but the products and sales messaging speak directly to their audience.

I’d encourage marketers during their business trip to consider how the blurb for why someone needs a better garden tool could be applied to a new software application or a new business service. If nothing else, it will make your keep you busy at 40,000 feet.

Ed Cleary
Demand Creation Specialists

A few weeks ago we hosted a webinar titled “Utilizing Content To Drive Demand.” featuring Joe Pulizzi, founder of Junta42 and author of the book “Get Content Get Customers.” For those of you that didn’t have a chance to attend the event, The webinar presentation is still available on-demand (provide link).

Attendance for this webinar was outstanding and the feedback from attendees was extremely positive. “Demand Creation Specialists practices what they preach,” said MaryEllen Daniels, Global Business Development Manager for Compuspar. “I found the webinar very informative and the 5 Free Content ideas for 2010 they provided were very useful. I have recommended other peers to review the webinar content and consider the services DCS offers.

What struck me about the webinar was the wide range of companies that attended the event, cutting across industries such as retail, manufacturing, financial, healthcare, high tech, and telcom just to name a few. Companies are quickly learning the value that custom content delivers, not only in attracting new customers, but as a way to keep existing customers informed and engaged.

The cross-reference of attendees seemed to mirror the case studies presented in Joe Pulizzi’s book. During his presentation and in the Get Customers book, Joe uses several real-world case studies including stories on manufacturing, hotel, furniture, and healthcare to demonstrate how custom content can help create conversations with new customers. Joe’s book clearly demonstrates companies of all sizes and all verticals can benefit from custom content, and I highly recommend viewing the on demand webinar and getting your hands on a copy of Joe’s book.

We are planning to host webinars like this on a monthly basis in 2010 and encourage you to keep an eye out for this valuable content.