Getting prospects to REALLY understand your complex B2B offering, and why your solutions are better than the competition, is one of the hardest things for a marketer to achieve. Many of us fail at successfully communicating our differentiation and inevitably loose business because the prospects ‘just don’t get it’. So why are marketers creating more product sell sheets (boring) or videos (impersonal) that clearly aren’t helping their companies distinguish themselves?

Being risk averse and doing more of the same won’t change how prospects perceive our business it will only produce similar (lackluster) results. Statistics have shown that product knowledge retention increases from 20% to 75% when prospects are able to ‘drive’ their own interactive sales engagement. Does this surprise you? It shouldn’t. Prospects want more control over their individual experiences, allowing them to influence or become more involved in the buying process.

Engagement Marketing
Engagement marketing allows customers and prospects to participate in the process of building a brand’s image, thanks to the customer’s ability to ‘interrupt’ a brand’s communications, to complement or modify its messages to fit his or her perception. This removes the feeling of a canned, one-size-fits-all pitch or advertisement which can distance or even alienate prospects by making them feel undervalued; as if they are just another mass marketing target. Whether it’s through interacting with a virtual 3D product model on an iPad^® or a conversation on Twitter, it is the individual involvement aspect of engagement marketing that captivates users and makes it far more likely that they will remember relevant information.

IMMERSION: Delving deeper into a product story via supplementary context and sensory experiences.

INTERACTIVITY: Allowing consumers to become part of the narrative, and influence the outcome.

INTEGRATION: Having a seamless content connection among all hardware platforms (tablets, laptop, website, smartphones, touch-screen appliances) and venues (trade show, sales meeting, briefing center).

IMPACT: Inspiring consumers to take action of some kind (schedule a meeting, purchase a product, share product content with a colleague).

The Moment of Truth
By incorporating sensory, emotional and intellectual components into telling your story, and making these engaging experiences universally available in every sales environment, you’re creating ‘aha’ moments where prospects can clearly visualize and understand how your solutions can solve their specific business challenges. All of these components, when incorporated together, lead to increased revenue growth through…

• Faster communication of unique value propositions
• Proven knowledge retention and emotional brand connection
• Increase global reach with universally cross-platform accessibility
• Non-linear narratives allow for greater up-sell and cross-sell potential

When prospects become engaged and ‘just get it’ you know you’ve been successful in differentiating your services and accelerating sales opportunities. It’s time to transform your marketing with a revenue-relevant customer engagement strategy today!