"629,000 results. Wow. And all this time I thought that Googling yourself meant the other thing."

What do you do when you are puzzled by something? You google it, like everyone else, since Google is the dominant search engine. Today millions of business professionals are only willing to reach as far as their keyboard for the answers they need. The question is will they find you? Do yourself a favor, Google yourself and find out if you are on the first page. If you’re not, here are some things you can do to increase your visibility on Google:

1. Update your employees’ profiles (photos, bios, links to their online profiles)

Web analytics reveal that the most viewed pages are the About Us and Contact Us pages. Why is that? It is driven by genuine human curiosity. People want know who they are doing business with, their names and faces, and not only that, they want to contact them too!

2. Blog, Blog, Blog.

As highlighted in our previous blog articles, there are many benefits in blogging. You can write about the things your customers want to know, share your insights in the market, and anything else that may interest your clients.

3. Incorporate Social Media on your site.

Social Media creates much larger audience groups for businesses. The Internet is a public and social place and having social media incorporated within your website means you are connected to more people more topics and subjects, thus increasing the chances your website will be picked up by Google’s search engine.

What else do you need? Commitment, Commitment and Commitment! It is a full time job to maintain your website and do it right. Update your website, blog and social media frequently, as a less active site is not going to rank well on Google.

B2B companies are ahead of their B2C rivals when it comes to social media adoption

• 81% of B2B companies maintain company-related accounts or profiles on social media sites versus 67% of B2C
• 75% of B2Bers participate in microblogging (eg. Twitter) versus 49% of B2Cers

Source: Business.com – 2009 B2B Social Media Benchmarking Study (http://www.emarketer.com/Article.aspx?R=1007404)

And the FTSE 100 are just plain running scared of Twitter

• Just 16 of the FTSE 100 companies are using Twitter, despite the fact that 20% of Tweets contain a reference to a product or brand

Source: Virgin Media Business (http://ow.ly/1gDTf)

But CIOs could well be the biggest blocker to social media adoption

• 54% of CIOs prohibit use of social networking sites, such as Facebook, MySpace and Twitter, while at work

Source: Robert Half Technology (http://rht.mediaroom.com/index.php?s=131&item=790)

Use of social media by B2B companies is validated by B2B buyer perspectives

• 93% of business buyers believe all companies should have a presence in social media
• 85% believe companies should not just present information via social media, but use it to interact and become more engaged with them

Source: Cone Inc – Social Media in business (http://ow.ly/1dLqJ)

And that’s because the B2B buying process is fundamentally changing

• 9 out of 10 buyers say that when they’re ready to buy, they’ll find you

Source: DemandGen Report

• Over 70% of purchases are restricted to established vendors or are heavily dependent on Word of Mouth recommendations

Source: Buyersphere ebook, Enquiro (http://ow.ly/YbQm)

• More than 8 out of 10 IT decision-makers said word of mouth recommendations are the most important source when making buying decisions

Source: Forrester Research, How to take B2B relationships from Indifferent to Engaged: Jan 2009

• 59% of B2B buyers engaged with peers who addressed their challenge, 48% followed industry conversations on the topic and 37% posted questions on social networking sites looking for suggestions

Source: Genius (http://www.genius.com/marketinggeniusblog/2767/a-glimpse-inside-the-mind-of-the-new-b2b-buyer.html)

Yet there are differing opinions as to where search comes into play in the buy cycle

• 7 out of 10 buyers say that they start their buying process at vendor sites, not Google

Source: DemandGen Report (http://ow.ly/1d82N)

Versus

• 93% of B2B buyers use search to begin the buying process

Source: Marketo (http://bit.ly/9O6pix)

If you think C-level executives aren’t active online, you’re sorely mistaken

• The Internet is the C-Suites top information resource (74% of C-Level executives say it’s very valuable)
• 53% of C-level executives said they prefer to locate information themselves
• The C-suite first turns to mainstream search engines (63%) to locate information
• 6 out of 10 C-Suite executives conduct more than six searches a day
• Executives in IT are the most prevalent users of the Internet for information gathering

Source: Forbes Insight – The Rise of the Digital C-Suite (http://www.forbes.com/forbesinsights/digital_csuite/index.html)

Client marketers are warming to the idea of social media, but many are still to act

• While 92% of client marketers agree that it would be unwise to ignore social media, 63% do not have a social media strategy

Source: The B2B Barometer (http://www.b2bbarometer.co.uk)

The relationship between Marketing and Sales in B2B organisations still remains fractious

• Sales generate 53% of their own leads and marketing contributes just 24%

Source: 2009 CSO Report (http://bit.ly/7EbaHS)

• 90% of marketing deliverables are not used by sales

Source: The New Rules of Sales Enablement (http://tiny.cc/jXRxX)

• 49% of B2B marketers confess to not measuring ROI

Source: The B2B Barometer (http://www.b2bbarometer.co.uk)

And if you still don’t get the whole social media thing, it’s worth bearing in mind…

• 89% of journalists make use of blogs while conducting their online research and 96% turn to corporate websites
• 56% said social media was important or somewhat important for reporting and producing stories

* Note: We have used and abused the above information, as the author insisted. A special thanks for the folks at Earnest Agency.

John Quelch, Harvard Business School Professor, says, “It is well documented that brands that increase advertising during a recession, when competitors are cutting back, can improve market share and return on investment at lower cost than during good economic times.”

Knowing your market is critical. And, no other marketing firm in Canada knows the transportation sector better than Palmer Marketing (PM), a boutique-style agency located in Mississauga, Ontario. After specializing in the Canadian transportation industry for 22 years, they have the experience and insight to develop creative web, print and promotions to convey a meaningful and measureable message to assist their customers’ sales efforts.

It all starts with the PM Drill Down Deep process, where they discover what sets one company apart from the next. In a recession, you want to remain top-of-mind with your customers. Formalizing your key strengths and vision in your communications strategy will naturally present great opportunities for growth.

Sho-moves.com is a great example of PM’s recent work and Jason Faubert, President of Sho-Moves states, “Palmer Marketing took our branding to new levels with a fresh logo, tagline and web presence. In addition, they helped me reach out to customers in a new way. In the first week after the launch, I secured two significant contracts as a direct result of their marketing efforts. I would highly recommend them.”

Lee Palmer, President and Creative Director at PM states, “The greatest value we provide is our ability to take the ball and run with it…saving time and frustration for our clients. We keep the message simple, have it resonate with potential buyers and support it. At the end of the day, utilizing our services brings clarity and solidifies the actions necessary to move forward quickly.”

So, is it time to ramp up sales efforts and renew advertising support? Palmer Marketing says yes and suggests if you have the resources to promote yourself now, it will definitely come back to you. To Quote DJ Francis, “Now, ‘same’ is synonymous with ‘lame.’ The market demands change. This includes a change in the marketing you produce.”

Since adopting their Drill Down Deep™ process, PM has earned over 40 design awards across a variety of media. They’ve also implemented the principles of ‘Good to Great’ and have experienced many benefits from getting the right people on the right seat on the bus, going in the right direction. Palmer adds, “We do our utmost to make every project our best project. It’s definitely a challenge, but we’re passionate about what we do and our creative team can hold their own against anyone.”

The artists at PM are conversant in both web and print media and have individual strengths which define their key role within the graphics department. Collectively, they create a full spectrum of artistry, from detailed illustrations to sophisticated flash based animations.

Today, PM is poised for growth. While some larger customers are cutting back, the company has flourished through a robust increase in their web development and branding services for small to mid-size firms. They take an integrated communications approach, creating a consistent look and message across all media. PM sees the web playing an increasingly prominent role in the transportation sector, from online shipment visibility and driver recruitment, to cost effective and adaptable brand building.

PM’s web development manager, Jerry Popowicz, comments, “On the technical side, we implement secure logins, interactive forms, reporting analytics and, more recently, Intranet services for our clients. Our web business has doubled at PM compared to the first six months of last year.”

In June, Doug Culp added his 15 years of sales and marketing experience to PM. “I’m excited about where we can take this company in the future. We have everything in place to serve our customers to the fullest and realize the synergies of more defined processes that endear ourselves even more with our transportation clientele. As VP of business development, my job is to spread the word about how our firm can discover, design and deliver memorable marketing solutions for our clients,” Culp said.

Find out more about Palmer Marketing by visiting our Web site at www.trypm.com