The Untapped Potential of SMB Segmentation in Energy Marketing
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- Created on 08 May 2018
- Written by Elisabeth McDonnell
Small to medium businesses (SMBs) deliver half of private-sector U.S. employment and consume about 20 percent of the energy in America. Because SMBs are a broad and diverse group, they often fall into what the Smart Energy Consumer Collaborative (SECC) calls “a forgotten middle ground between residential and larger commercial and industrial energy customers.” Despite being an immensely large part of our economy, the utility industry knows comparatively little about how to tailor interactions for SMB customers and they are often lumped into marketing programs with larger C&I customers.
Timing is Everything: Using Relevance to Your Advantage with Content Marketing
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- Created on 12 April 2018
- Written by Rachel Brannon
In McDonnell Group’s whitepaper, The Four R’s of Quality Content Marketing, we explored the four key traits that can help content marketers capture the potential of content marketing to achieve goals and demonstrate success. It’s clear more and more companies are using content marketing (in our Annual Energy B2B Marketing Benchmark Survey most respondents called it their “most exciting opportunity”), but are they following all the right steps to get the most out of it? The first step is making sure your content is relevant for readers or customers. You may know your product/service is relevant for customers, but how do you show them that?
Are you neglecting an essential step in the sales process?
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- Created on 23 March 2018
- Written by Katharine Riggs
Social media has become a vital tool to engaging customers early and often. Here’s how to get in the game.
If you work in sales, you know that closing just one deal can require a lot of “leg work.” Making a sale typically includes activities like meetings, phone calls and many follow-ups. The sales process can be long and tedious; however, it doesn’t have to be.
The Key to Content Marketing: Knowing Your Audience
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- Created on 14 September 2017
- Written by Josh Parrish
As I’ve gained more experience as a content marketer over the past few years, one thing has become exceedingly evident to me: We are all selfish people.
Content Marketing: The Buzzword Lighting Up the Energy Industry
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- Created on 24 August 2017
- Written by Katharine Riggs
We consumers are tired of traditional marketing tactics. We fast forward through commercials, skip ads on YouTube and block online ads – we do not want any fluff. However, we all want and need content that is informative, relevant and valuable.
For the utility industry, where the buying cycle is long and complex, content marketing can play a vital role in providing information to educate and put context around important decisions that can have long-term consequences.