But being a good poker player requires many different skills; many of those skills are the same you need to be successful in the B2B marketplace. Confused? Let me explain, and let’s shuffle up and deal.

There are many skills you need to possess to become a successful poker player. It’s good to be outgoing, focused, use critical thinking, and be hands-on, with an amazingly quick ability to learn. In the poker world you must be able to read your competition, as well as make a plan of action to outwit your opponent.

Compare that to a successful marketer. In a crowded B2B marketing field, there are different ways to position yourself above the competition. Your position at a poker table can determine what call of action you play. In both poker and marketing, information is key – you must always be on the lookout for the next nugget.

I usually begin my time at a table with a checklist. There are certain questions I will ask myself at the table as I watch each player – noticeable habits, tics or other giveaways. You can never be sure what cards your opponent is holding, but if you pay close attention to other players’ behavior at the poker table, you can catch clues that can turn the game in your favor. The more you pay attention to the actions of your opponents, the more successful you will be.

In the marketing world, we’d call this a competitive analysis. What is the competition saying, and why? What claims are they making? And how do you differ from those claims? In essence, how does your hand compare? The strategic thinking involved in both games is essentially the same.

In both worlds, it serves you to be a sponge; soak up as much as you can and use it to your advantage. You need to use logic to help understand why your competitors are making the play based on the information that you have seen. That same logic applies when you’re plotting your next campaign. Logic, logic, logic is key to making good decisions, and the stored information you’ve accumulated will influence your decisions positively.

See you at the tables!

Author Susan Cain contends in her recent New York Times opinion piece, “The Rise of the New Groupthink,” that can be the way to go even as today’s culture overlooks “the quiet part of the creative process.” According to Cain, the New Groupthink – continually collaborating in teams to think, learn, work and socialize without time to be alone – is transforming business, education, religious institutions and other areas to the detriment of creativity and innovation.

I’m a newbie at Canyon Communications but have more than 20 years’ experience in PR and journalism.

Even in my short time, I’m already impressed by the work environment that my fellow Canyonites have created here. It’s an ideal mix of having the room to work autonomously and develop top-flight B2B marketing communications resources coupled with the ability to have fun, exchange ideas and collaborate effectively within a team environment.

What that means for our clients is that they’re receiving the best of both worlds: talented individuals thinking and working on their own piece of the puzzle and then putting their collective expertise and creativity together to devise marcom solutions that deliver results.

Interestingly, Cain claims that brainstorming sessions are one of the worst possible ways to stimulate creativity. What’s your experience?

As a consumer myself, I use an app that provides great value to me and leads me down the purchasing path every time, which can be dangerous! I have the passion for fashion, and I happened to find an app online that is geared specifically towards men. It’s from Valet, the modern men’s magazine, and best of all, it’s free to download on your Apple^® products.

Here are different ways Valet helps to promote and market fashion labels, vendors, etc., to consumers:

• Features the latest designers and previews of their clothing
• Features a daily morning report on a style of clothing, accessory, etc.
• Directs the consumer to website links where previewed clothing can be purchased
• Provides daily tips related to fashion, grooming and culture, and directs customers to the vendors being promoted
• Delivers concierge-like service for tailoring services, dry cleaners, etc., in nearly 100 cities

This app is at my fingertips and provides me with access to the latest and greatest in men’s fashion. Without it, I wouldn’t have a simple way to purchase unique clothing/services/accessories from these non-traditional designers, who don’t offer their lines at major retailers such as Nordstrom or Macy’s.

To access this free app, go to the Apple App Store, type ‘Valet’ in the search field, and then simply download. In addition to the iPad^® version, an iPhone^®/iPod touch^® version is also available for free.

The GIE+EXPO gave us the perfect opportunity to get in front of one of the audiences of the site – lawn care professionals – and create a buzz. Isn’t that what tradeshows are about?

Even though we tried to make a splash with our booth (green shoes, green iPads, green graphics, green green candy, carpet, etc.), we did have a goal for the show — to capture new users for the site and create a good first impression.

This rings true to all B2B marketers. There were two big things I learned from this show that I wanted to delve deeper into:

Engage at the booth and your brand image will gain.
Differentiation. We all struggle with it, but at a tradeshow, it’s crucial that you stand out even more. You don’t have to do this with just your booth activities, graphics or displays (although it helps); you can differentiate by taking your brand to the next level by engaging in conversation and personalization.

Regardless of the market you’re in, companies attending tradeshows are looking for information, and they want it from someone friendly and informative. Perfect opportunity! At the GetGreenTurf.com booth, I made it a point to give my spiel but also ask questions to engage my audience.

I wanted to hear more about them and their challenges. I turned it around on them in hopes of tying in our product to their needs.  I tried with all my little heart to make a good impression and make their experience at our booth well worth the visit. Your brand will shine even brighter if you’ve taken on the task of extending the company image personally.

Take your leads seriously and you’ll earn back what you spent.
When I think about all the planning and money that goes into a tradeshow booth, I get a little light-headed. B2B marketers more than ever need to start thinking about how they’re going recover those costs and more. Consider lead retrieval technology, website enrollment or paper forms to get their contact info down.

The majority of the time, more will disclose their information if they have a chance at winning something. You can capture some great lead data but how you flip those is what counts. Even more, you need to nourish those leads immediately, no later than the week right after the tradeshow.

Our team was quick to get an email follow up to the attendees of the show that stopped by our booth and we thanked them for stopping by, and empowered them with CTAs to take the next step for information.

Capturing, nuturing and converting those leads into customers will ultimately drive the sales that will recover your costs, which is the obvious point here.  The ROI game is possible if your marketing and sales teams work together to engage, follow up and deliver.

Tradeshows are only as successful as you make them. Set yourself up for greatness by having the right people in the booth to extend your brand image and the right lead gen strategy.

Consider calling a Canyonite to help you with your next tradeshow and we’ll help you build a pre- and post-show strategy.

With the recent record-setting release of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3, the game’s developer Activision, also released a web site/program that lets players login and track and analyze their in-game statistics—and users are flocking to it. That’s right; there is a high demand, for the viewing and tracking of analytics in the gaming world. Now as a big fan of both analytics and video games, I was impressed to see such a program developed.

Just as you would go into Google Analytics, or your Mailchimp campaign reports and view you total clicks, visits, bounce rates, etc., gamers can now track in-depth game statistics such as their total kills, deaths, assists, headshots, and any sort of statistic relating to the game you could think of (there is more statistics revolving around this game than you would think).

One of the main goals of this site is to allow players to track their progress and analyze potential weaknesses or strengths in their gameplay. This may sound silly, but many people (myself included) take it seriously, just like people take any other hobby seriously. For example (I will try and reduce the video game jargon here but bear with me), a player might realize that he gets killed by grenades, or claymore mines A LOT.

He may not have thought much about it before, but the numbers don’t lie, and he decides to start using a selectable ability that grants you a stronger resistance to such explosives. Voilà, an analytic exposed a weakness, and the user was able to alter his strategy to better counter it, just like they’re meant to do.

Now if you lost me and my video game talk, the analogy was simple: analytics are helpful. Not to mention, they are incredibly easy to use and understand if you spend some time figuring out the basics.

Having analytics for any web-based project is crucial. The information and focus you gain from it is unparalleled in helping to develop further strategy and improvements. So don’t be afraid to dive into some numbers and acronyms, after all, if it gets confusing, chances are there is a tutorial or explanation built in.

What are your favorite uses for analytics?

I know everyone seems to be writing about the Netflix “debacle” these days, but it has gone too far and I feel the need to speak my mind too. Unless you are anti-internet and anti-news (or you live under a rock), you have most likely seen Netflix making headlines; each message more negative than the previous.

Within 90 days, Netflix has taken customers on more twists and turns than a day at Cedar Point Amusement Park!

Here’s a quick recap of the roller coaster ride that has been Netflix’s news releases over the past few months:

First, the company announced on July 12, 2011 that it was separating DVDs by mail and unlimited streaming into separate plans, which could lead up to a 60% price increase for customers who wanted both. This resulted in the inevitable: a plummeting stock price and a loss of over 1 million customers.

Then, to rub salt in the wounds of millions, Reed Hastings, the co-founder and CEO of Netflix, personally announced that the DVD mail service was going to be renamed Qwikster and that customers would access a completely different website for DVDs than the existing Netflix streaming site.  Even worse, subscribers of both Netflix and Qwikster would be billed separately!

Hastings’ meandering message started by saying that he “messed up” and “owed everyone and explanation,” but essentially still failed to explain why it was necessary to introduce the new pricing strategy and left customers with more questions than they already had.

And now they’re at it again, announcing on October 10, 2011 that DVDs will be staying at Netflix.com and there will be no Qwikster.  They are basically saying that it was all just a bad dream and to ignore everything they said before (and more importantly, let’s never mention the whole Qwikster Twitter name fiasco again).

Look, I get it.

Netflix is growing company that needs to invest in their digital infrastructure in order to be able to offer better quality streaming and make more movies and shows available to customers. And in order to do that, the company needs to generate more revenue.  It’s simple business principles really.  But they have done a pretty crappy job communicating that to customers in my opinion.

This experience, however, has not been all negative. Netflix and other companies, B2B and B2C alike, can take some lessons from the Netflix debacle:

• Communication is key

Hastings introduced the price changes through press releases rather than addressing existing customers first. Customer loyalty has always been and will always be at the center of a good corporation, and it is as important as ever to provide existing customers with the service and respect they expect to receive.

• Planning and strategy is vital to successfully implementing change

Let’s face it, not many people embrace change; especially when there is a price increase attached to it. By planning in advance, establishing a more gradual timeline and implementing this change in a more strategic way that benefits both the company and the customers, this change could have been successfully implemented.

• Understand your customers

This point cannot be stressed enough. By doing some simple research before undergoing this initiative, Netflix could have seen that customers wouldn’t take to this plan and could have avoiding this debacle altogether. Always understand your customer and try to figure out exactly what they are looking for!

Let’s not forget that less than a year ago, Netflix was seen as an innovative company who was single-handedly changing the movie watching industry altogether, and was even branded as the “industry hulk” by the WallStreet Journal in December 2010.

A lot has changed since then, but its reputation is not beyond repair. The real question now is whether Netflix can regain some of its lost customers and continue to create loyalty to the Netflix brand. If not, there will be plenty of competitors looking to swoop in.

Do you think Netflix has gotten all the bad news releases out of its system? Are you a Netflix customer? If so, are you sticking with Netflix, even after they continue to throw you curve balls?

I came across a great article in B@B Magazine that explains Groupon’s first encounter into the world of B2B sales. A Chicago-based consulting firm, Ajilitee, used Groupon to offer $25,000 worth of consulting services for only $12,500. Turns out, the three week deadline passed with no takers and the firm realized they were too early to the game.

Groupon works on point-of-sale decisions (fertile ground for consumer marketing) while business (and B2B) decisions tend to take awhile longer. Right now, B2B companies are more focused in longer CRM-type sales. However, marketing tools such as Groupon are becoming a growing area of interest across the board, and dozens of similar sites have popped up crowding the marketplace.

So, what does this mean for the B2B market? How could businesses potentially use Groupon to build a qualified customer base?

B2B companies would need a longer duration of the Groupon offer and a long time to execute the purchase. Offering this this would give prospective clients/current customers time to evaluate the offer and time to budget for the offer in the long run, but this kind of marketing will take time for B2B companies to adapt to and execute since most businesses aren’t used to buying “on the spot.”

Do you think Groupon could potentially be a great marketing tool for B2B companies? What was the last thing you bought with Groupon?

Industry experts continue to encourage businesses to adopt social media best practices. And it looks like they are starting to listen. According to a White Horse survey, 86% of B2B companies are investing in some form of social media. If you want to compete in your industry, it’s time to get social.

Let’s use LinkedIn as an example. How do you know if LinkedIn is right for your business? Ask yourself these three quick questions:

1. Do you offer a product or a service?
2. Do you have a sales force responsible for engaging new prospects?
3. Does your customer base have a presence on LinkedIn?

If you answered ‘yes’ to any of these questions, there is a place for your business on LinkedIn.  In a recent HubSpot article, they described LinkedIn as being similar a tradeshow. Imagine LinkedIn as a place where you can share new products, a recent whitepaper, get involved in industry discussions and get introduced to new prospects.  And it’s hard to get noticed if you don’t have a presence – being aware of and involved in the conversation can sometimes be the most important – and effective – first step.

Are you ready to take that first social step? What social media tool performs best for your business?

At Canyon, we have started a professional development track whereby each Canyon employee will be going through a course of some sort where he/she will grow a specific new skill set or gain insight into a new marketing technology, or further develop management skills.

I was chosen to pilot this new initiative, so I joined Toastmasters.

Toastmasters is an organization that teaches public speaking and leadership skills. If you’d like to join me, we meet every Thursday at 7:00pm here, or at plenty of other locations around the Valley.

I joined Toastmasters at the beginning of August and so far this month I have been selected to give an impromptu speech, be the ‘Joke Master’ of the day where I am responsible for telling a joke that makes everyone laugh, and I have given an introductory five minute ‘Ice Breaker’ speech.

Image copyright Toastmasters International.

I have learned how to more effectively communicate, learn how body language affects your leadership abilities, how to develop an idea on command and clearly present your ideas to a group of people, and of course how to capture the audiences’ attention.

It might sound easy, but let me tell you, it has been a good challenge for me! I see great value in joining this organization and what I will learn at Toastmasters will have a direct influence on my ability to communicate internally and externally to clients.

Is professional development important to you? What things would you like to work on?

Spotify is a music player/program that allows you to both listen to cloud-based music and upload your own local files into the player so that it is all inclusive. Though free on its basic level, Spotify has a $5 and $10 pricing tier that unlocks other various features that make it even neater (no ads, mobile device usage, etc.).

In addition, it is one of the first players to integrate a social aspect, allowing friends to view and listen to your playlists and so on. Spotify, to me at least, is a progressive feeling hybrid of everything that has come before it; be it Pandora, Grooveshark, or iTunes.

Amidst all of this, the backbone of Spotify is that it allows its users to create their own extremely personalized and expressive experience.

Spotify offers a little bit of something for everyone. It has a huge library of instantly available cloud music, a radio feature (like Pandora), a clean and simple interface, the ability to add your own local music files, and of course the social aspect of being able to create and share playlists.

By having all of this, Spotify captures many different user types and offers them something they want, making it a very broad, but personalized experience.

In the B2B world, this same concept can be applied through persona development of your projects. A critical part of project development (especially in the digital space) is knowing who your target end-users are. Knowing these personas – their likes, their dislikes, the way they want to be communicated to, allows you to develop a strategy and experience with the quantity and quality of touch points needed to be successful. Knowing your target allows you to reach them more effectively!

So the next time you are in the planning phase, think about your users! Personalizing touch points for a variety of personas can ultimately make the user experience better and more focused, leading to greater adoption and success across the board.

Are you putting enough research into your persona development? What is it you look for in a user-experience these days? What web sites speak to you?