“TREW’s marketing expertise and knowledge of the embedded space make them a trusted advisor to help us drive awareness and demand, as we continue to grow our business and market share,” said Jason Clarke, Vice President of Sales and Marketing for Crank Software. “They have a proven track record developing and executing strategic marketing plans that focus on results, and we’re extremely pleased with the results they helped us achieve on our launch of Storyboard Suite 3.0.”

Crank Software specializes in embedded user interface (UI) solutions that enable R&D teams to more quickly develop UIs for resource-constrained embedded devices like in-car graphical displays and animated GPS systems.

When Crank needed to launch the latest version of their flagship software, Storyboard™ Suite, they chose TREW Marketing for our experience in developing product launch plans that target embedded design engineers. Crank sought to increase awareness of Storyboard Suite 3.0, drive web visits and capture leads through software evaluation downloads.

Deliverables:

Marketing communication strategy for the Storyboard Suite 3.0 launch including:

• Media relations strategy and execution
• Search engine optimization and advertising
• Launch email and automated direct marketing
• Social media strategy and execution
• Partner co-marketing with QNX in the Consumer Electronics Show concept car

Results:

• 85% increase in evaluation downloads
• 56% increase in online leads following the launch
• 38% increase in total web traffic following the launch
• 237 news release postings to online sources
• 2 contributed articles in RTC and Embedded Computing Design
• +3-minutes time-on-site to launch landing page
• 2-hours time-on-site generated from Twitter links

Beyond the Storyboard Suite launch, TREW Marketing continues to serve as Crank Software’s marketing partner, providing ongoing strategy consulting, brand and product-level messaging and positioning, media relations, content marketing, partner co-marketing, search engine optimization, search advertising, social media and email marketing services.

Want to learn more about product launches?

So you’ve developed a new product for your technical industry – spent hundreds of hours and undergone multiple rounds of revisions and beta tests, figured out your pricing and distribution model – and now it’s time to bring it to market.

The initial step towards launching your product is to name it.  You’ve invested significant time creating it and it’s your baby — not just any name will do. It needs to be memorable, searchable (particularly on search engines), unique in your industry, and relevant to your target audience.

So where do you begin? First you need to collect ideas. Gather a cross-functional team from across your organization of at least 3, but no more than 10, to brainstorm name ideas. After the initial brainstorm, have a few decision makers come together and decide on the top 5-8 names. Then take those 5-8 names and create an online survey that you can distribute to your internal key decision makers.  From there, you can reduce the options down to the top 3, and vet each one out and make final recommendations.

The following 7 tips will help guide you through items to discuss when narrowing down the choices to a final product name.

1. Determine a naming strategy that you will follow for this and future product names. Two primary strategies exist in the realm of product naming: highly descriptive and suggestive. The former will roll under your company brand and will not be trademarked, the latter may be stand-alone brands or can be linked with your corporate brand and can be trademarked. An example of a descriptive naming strategy is Apple, with its iPod, iPhone, and iPad products. OXO is an example of a suggestive naming strategy with names like GoodGrips, Touchables, and SteeL. While less descriptive than Apple’s product names, the OXO product names still strongly suggest what distinguishes the different line.
2. Use short, descriptive names that are generally three or fewer syllables.
3. Make it easy to spell, pronounce, and remember. Italics and capitalization of different letters make it difficult for people unfamiliar with the product name to remember how to spell it correctly.
4. If the product will be launched and used globally, consider the implications of the product’s name in other countries.
5. Avoid naming a product by an acronym that has to be spelled out in order for the public to understand the mark.
6. Research potential product names by performing online searches for third-party use of an identical or similar name, mark, or description used in connection with similar products
7. If you plan to apply for a trademark, visit www.upto.gov to search the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office for third-party applications or registrations of a similar designation for a similar product. If the application or registration has been abandoned or listed as dead, know that the third party still may have rights, where you would want someone in the legal field to review.

Evaluate the potential names with specificity and objectivity. It’s not enough to say, “I like it” or “I don’t like it.” Use the following eight categories to understand why a name will or won’t work.

1. Appearance – Is it easy to spell? And how will the name look in a logo, ad, billboard, etc.

2. Distinctive – How different is the name from the relevant product competition?

3. Depth – Names with depth have layers of meaning and association, and keep surprising you with new ideas with each layer.

4. Energy – Does the name have life to it? Can it carry an ad campaign on its shoulders?

5. Positioning – How relevant is the name to the positioning of the product?

6. Sound – This is two-fold – how does the name sound and how easily is it spoken to the customer? Word of mouth is a big part of marketing, but if people aren’t comfortable saying the name, the word won’t get out.

7. Trademark – This is easy, is it available? It’s either likely available, may be available, or not available.

8. Web Domain Name – Again, this is easy, is the URL available? If so acquire it before someone else does. If not, determine if the URL is available for your option 2 or option 3 name; or find out who owns the URL and see if you can acquire it from them.

After you have chosen a name for your product. It’s time to launch it. Smart Product Launches for Engineers provides a framework for how to plan, position, and implement a marketing activity plan that generates buzz and drives leads for your new product.

Related Blog Posts:

How to Use a Well-Time PR Launch to Spread Your Message

Practical Steps for Creating a Product Positioning Statement

Want to Marketing Against Your Competitors? Proceed Carefully

Today, TREW Marketing released a new e-book, written specifically for the business owner, product manager, and marketing leader preparing to launch a product targeted to technical audiences in the B2B space. Available for download on our site, Smart Product Launches for Engineers provides a framework for developing your product launch plan, discusses how to position your product in the marketplace, and includes practical tips for choosing, implementing, and measuring smart marketing activities and tools. It also includes case studies of three diverse, successful product launches.

In this guide:

1. Plan the Launch
   You spent a great deal of time and resources developing your product, now you need to launch it to market, but how? You need a plan. Walk through the process of creating a successful product launch plan that can have significant long-term success. Identify your target audience and determine your marketing goals and measurable objectives.

1. Brand Your Product
   With a plan in place, follow our three step process and learn how to define your product brand and position it in the marketplace. Also included are examples that help illustrate the process.

1. Determine the Marketing Mix
   Execute your product launch and achieve your objectives with a smart mix of integrated marketing activities. Review important considerations and explore various activities to determine which marketing channels will make the greatest impact at driving awareness and generating demand.

Looking for additional insight? Check out our TREW Talks- SEO Slideshow

Unlocking the secret to keyword ranking success

Looking for additional insight? Check out our guide: Smart Marketing for Engineers

Last month, we gave insight on how to hire a technical marketing manager who can propel your marketing efforts forward and add value to your organization. In Part 1, we focused on prioritizing candidates’ talent, culture fit, and experience, and in Part 2, we gave the practicals for actually hiring your technical marketing manager, based on proven experience.

If you’ve now hired your technical marketing manager, pass along this information to help them understand the breadth and depth of technical marketing. Or, if you’ve just been hired as a new technical marketing manager, congratulations! These 10 keys – which focus on brand, positioning and website plans, content marketing strategy, and awareness and loyalty campaigns – will strengthen the skills and knowledge you need to be a successful technical marketing manager:

Technical Positioning, Brand, and Website Development

1. Create a Successful Marketing Plan

Having an effective marketing plan and following it will be critical to your success as a technical marketing manager. Without a plan, how do you know what you need to do, in priority order, to get there? In busy times, the tendency is to rush and complete any marketing tactic that looks promising at the moment, without taking into consideration your marketing strategy and goals. So, take the time to truly define your marketing goals and measureable objectives.

• Related Post: How to Create a B2B Marketing Plan that Drives Results
• For more about how to create your plan, read about 5 Critical Steps to Developing a Marketing Plan.

A well-defined marketing plan will set the course for your company’s marketing efforts.

2. Position and Brand Your Company Creatively and Carefully

Your brand is of utmost importance to your company, as it conveys who your company is and your unique value proposition. Positioning your brand well will be critical to the long-term success of the business. In marketing terms, your brand is personified both visually – through your company logo and branding style guide – and contextually – through words, such as your mission, vision, and positioning statements; core company and product-level messaging; and company and campaign taglines.

• Related Post: Understand the Components of Brand Messaging
• For more about positioning competitively, read about What Goes into the Decision to Market Against Your Competitors

3. Holistically Evaluate Your Website to Maximize Your Future Time and Spend

Your website will be at the core of your marketing efforts, so before you make any major changes to it, audit your web site so that you can prioritize how to go about making changes and additions to it in the future.

Evaluating your site holistically will help you create a better web experience for all visitors to your website no matter where they are in the buying cycle – those researching your business, learning more about your products and services, preparing to buy, or returning for another purchase.

• Related Post: A 15-Point Checklist to Evaluate Your B2B Technical Website
• For more detail on web systems, read about What to Ask Yourself Before You Buy a Web Content Management System

Content Marketing Strategy

4. Show Your Products or Services in Practice with Compelling Case Studies

Customer case studies are a great marketing and sales tool. By reading about how customers have benefitted from using your products and services, prospective clients know they are not the first to choose your company, and can hear from real customers to supplement what they’ve learned from reading your marketing brochure or website. To succeed as a technical marketer, you’ll need to know how to prioritize the most important applications for case studies, tell your customer’s story clearly, ask for permissions from the customer’s company and streamline and leverage your work.

• Related Post: 5 Tips for Developing Customer Case Studies
• For more, read about 8 Quick Tips to Create Great Case Studies

Learn all of the elements that make up a compelling case study.

5. Offer the Technical Data Your Customers Are Searching For

Because your company is trying to generate leads, create opportunities that engage customers, and ultimately close sales, it’s imperative that you offer the data, insight, and information that your prospects need and want. Offering quality content will cause your customers to see your company as an expert in the industry or technology area in which you work, and direct them to your products and services as solutions to their challenges. In addition to case studies, targeted presentations and white papers that cover relevant topics will build credibility, show your company’s experience, and convey a memorable message.

• Related Post: 4 Best Practices for Creating Effective Presentations
• For more on white papers, read about 5 Steps to Writing Effective White Papers

6. Engage with Your Prospects by Making an Investment in Video

Here’s a statistic that will make your head spin: according to Pingdom, a website monitoring firm, more than 800 million web visitors watch online videos per month. And, YouTube is now the second most popular search engine on the planet, just behind Google. Web visitors are drawn to video, so you should be creating videos as a technical marketing manager to add a dimension to the web that text and imagery alone cannot achieve.

• Related Post: Why You Need Video in Your B2B Marketing Mix
• For more about creating videos yourself, see DIY Marketing Videos on a Budget

7. Optimize your Content Marketing with Content Re-Use and SEO

One piece of well-written, well-placed content can have multiple uses. You can blog about it, amplify it as a call-to-action on social media sites, and repackage it in the form of a video, webinar, or white paper with tags and meta data that search engines will see. Just think about how that one piece of content used in multiple ways and channels can drive your search marketing efforts. And, search engine optimization (SEO) is all about tweaking your website to make it more search-engine friendly and earning inbound links through stellar content that others want to reference. Driving inbound marketing will help you widen the funnel of awareness, gain more leads, and convert leads to sales.

• Related Post: Content and SEO Fuel Inbound Marketing Results
• For more about SEO, read about how Killer Keywords are the Secret to Search Engine Success

Loyalty and Awareness Campaigns

8. Increase Customer Engagement Regularly with E-Newsletters

Staying top-of-mind with prospects and customers is a challenge you’ll probably always face. E-newsletters are a great way to maintain a conversation with your target audience, promote valuable content, and help nurture your lead base to increase customer loyalty and move prospects closer to the sale. A corporate e-newsletter, done right, can be one of the most effective and strategic marketing activities a company undertakes. You need to understand all aspects of e-newsletters, from design to content to mailing lists, in order to create ones that build your brand and bring new leads to your company.

• Related Post: Nurture your Leads: Harness the Power of E-Newsletters, Part I
• For more about e-newsletters, read about Nurture Your Leads: Harness the Power of E-Newsletters, Part 2

Use E-newsletter campaigns to stay top-of-mind with customers.

9. Get more Blog Traffic and Grow Your Potential Customer Base

Blogging is a great way to bring more visitors to your website, so you’ll want to constantly be seeking to get more blog traffic (and in turn, get more prospective customers to your site). It takes consistent investment of time, creativity, and ideas to develop a successful blog and reach an increasing percentage of your target audience, but the payoff can be worth it in the long run. Maximize that investment by understanding the potential of your blog, getting discovered, converting readers into subscribers, and finding advocates for your blog.

• Related Post: 4 Ways to Get More Blog Traffic
• For more, read about how you can Improve the ROI of Your Blog

Looking for additional insight? Check out our guide: Smart Marketing for Engineers

10. Grow Awareness and Traffic With Media Coverage

News coverage generates awareness about your company and its products and services, boosts organic search for your company, and drives traffic to your company web site. Quality news coverage starts with strong, longstanding relationships with journalists, so you’ll want to begin building those contacts. Overall, your interactions with the press should be productive if you’re willing to consistently contribute strong and relevant information that they can use to better inform their readers. They’ll come to appreciate your insight and value your relationship as an industry expert as much as you value their ability to widely publicize your company or product name.

• Related Post: 4 Steps to Building Meaningful Relationships with Journalists
• For about interacting with the media, read about Trade Show Media Relations Do’s and Don’ts

Want deeper insight?

Based on our decades of experience building hundreds of customized marketing programs targeted to engineers and scientists, we have written this guide to help you get started in your technical marketing career.

Download Smart Marketing for Engineers – an e-book that helps technical business leaders build and execute an efficient and effective marketing program where every dollar and every hour spent drives results.

TREW Co-Founder Wendy Covey recently sat down with Michael Aivaliotis from VI Shots for an interview titled “Why Engineers Should Love Marketing.”  Michael Aivaliotis, founder of VI Shots, records audio podcasts targeted to scientists and engineers who use LabVIEW. The podcasts include interviews, discussions, and ideas centered around LabVIEW development and growing a successful technical business.

In this interview, Wendy discusses how to approach B2B marketing to technical audiences and provides practical advice encompassing a range marketing topics, from planning and positioning to conferences and social media.

Highlights from the podcast include:

• Planning– what are your business goals?
• Messaging – how are you truly unique?
• Branding – it’s more than pretty colors and a creative logo
• Website and Content – your virtual storefront and the #1 marketing investment you should make
• Conferences – personify your brand, capture leads
• Thought leadership – it’s a marathon, not a sprint
• Social Media – start with a blog, listen first
• Email – stay top of mind

Listen to the podcast at VIShots.com.

Related blog posts:

New eBook: A 15-Point Checklist to Evaluate Your B2B Technical Website

Infographic: B2B Marketing in 2013

How to Create a B2B Marketing Plan that Drives Results

Today, TREW Marketing released a new evaluation guide for technical business leaders marketing their products and services online. Available for download on our site, the checklist addresses 15 ways to grow the impact of your website, including expert tips on:

• Clean design
• Intuitive navigational paths
• Informative graphics
• Clear company positioning
• Compelling, succinct, and fresh content year-round
• Landing pages that convert visitors to leads
• On-page SEO actions to get found by your audience
• Social media promotion
• Lead nurture with email automation

The checklist guides you through how to create a better web experience for all visitors to your website no matter where they are in the buying cycle – those researching your business, learning more about your products and services, preparing to buy, or returning for another purchase. Prepared by TREW Marketing’s web specialists on strategy, design, usability, search engine optimization, content creation, and content management systems, this checklist is a comprehensive guide to help you grow the impact of your technical website.

Be the first to know about new marketing resources, and subscribe to the Spotlight Blog.

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Each of us at TREW Marketing brings professional experience, specific areas of expertise, and plenty of character. As the newest member of the TREW Crew, I’d like to share a little bit about myself, my background, passions, and marketing knowledge. I’m proud to be part of the growing, collaborative, and talented group of marketing professionals here at TREW.

Patrick Wicker, Marketing Account Manager

Where are you from originally?

I’m a preacher’s kid and grew up in a number of small towns around Dallas, TX. Roanoke and Coppell had less than 1,500 people during the late 70s and early 80s and are almost unrecognizable today because of the growth of the Dallas/Fort Worth area.

What university did you go to?

I went to Southwestern University in Georgetown, TX, which was founded in 1840 and is the oldest university in Texas. Go Bucs!

What are your passions?

Professionally, I love the process of learning about the products and services of clients in industries that use esoteric terminology and can be difficult to understand. I love learning what they do, how they differentiate themselves from their competitors, and how their solutions meet the needs of their customers.

Outside of work, my wife and I spend a great deal of time with our extremely cute and increasingly rambunctious three year old daughter. I am also heavily involved with my church and serve in a variety of roles, from retreat planning to A/V. I’ve also done some preaching, and have enjoyed the preparation process that’s involved with this as much as the delivery. I feel my creative brain is fully engaged when I am taking complex ideas and organizing them so they can be communicated in public effectively.

What is your proudest accomplishment thus far?

Winning the heart of my wife – though she denies it, I believe that it was a battle of wills and I won! I am also proud of finishing my Master of Divinity degree at Regent College in Vancouver.

What strengths do you bring to TREW Marketing?

My years working in search marketing gave me a passion for doing good research to understand what potential customers are searching for and how they search. I also have over eight years of sales experience at Dell in the U.S. and the UK, which helps me to view marketing strategy from a sales perspective. My four years in the UK also bestowed me with the ability to wield ironic humor, which is surprisingly difficult for many Americans.

In your opinion, what was the most successful marketing campaign you have worked on and why?

Community TechKnowledge is a software company for nonprofits, and I worked with them to refresh their website and build a search marketing strategy to attract more online leads. Since nonprofit software is very broad and encompasses financial and fundraising software, we created search-optimized pages around what they do (database, case management…) and who they serve (human services, social services…). Within a few months after the website and AdWords campaign refresh, they were receiving three times the number of online leads per month.

What advice do you have for future marketers?

As this Forbes article points out, Steve Jobs was brilliant and had an unparalleled creative team working with him, so he could afford to ignore market research and assume that customers don’t know what they want. While trusting your instincts and empirical knowledge is key, it is vitally important to do your research and not rely solely on your own assumptions about your market and potential customers. A balanced approach of instinct and due diligence is ideal.

Describe yourself in three words…

Learner, Focused… What was the question?

If your target audience is in engineering or technology, they will often be very specific when conducting searches in Google. Unless your site content includes specific keyword phrases that your audience uses, you may be “invisible” to them.

You don’t have to guess when selecting keywords. The Google AdWords Keyword Tool will show you how people search for your products and services, and how much monthly search there is for each keyword. Here are some basic steps to follow when using the tool:

• Deselect “Broad” and select “Phrase” at the left of the page
• Tick the “Only show ideas closely related to my search terms” box.
• Include 10-20 keywords in the “Word or phrase” box and press “Search”
• The Global Monthly Searches column shows the approximate number of Google searches on that exact phrase, either by itself or within a longer keyword

Let’s say your company offers storage tank testing services for the petroleum industry. Here are some of the different ways that searchers can look for these products and services:

What You Are

How do your target customers describe what your products are, or the nature of your services? “Tank Testing” has plenty of search, but it is too broad because it includes fish tanks, air tanks, scuba tanks, etc. It is much more effective to optimize your site on specific terms such as “Oil Tank Testing,” “Gas Tank Testing” and “Underground Storage Tank Testing.” Note that searchers also use common acronyms like “UST Testing.”

What You Do

How do your target customers describe what your products do, or what services you provide? Your company may provide leak detection services, but you need to be specific and optimize for terms like “UST Leak Detection” since you don’t need to attract search for roof or swimming pool leaks.

Who You Serve

How do your target customers describe themselves and their needs? Many searchers want to know that your company has experience serving their industry, and it is important to know how they self-identify. “Gas Station Inspection” is likely a relevant term, encompassing services like tank testing and leak detection.

Pain Points

How do your target customers describe the problems they are trying to solve? If searchers are dealing with tanks experiencing “Pressure Decay,” it is important that the site includes content describing solutions for this problem.

Purchase Intent

How do your target customers give clues that they intend to purchase? Searchers looking for “Underground Tank Testing” could be looking for a Wikipedia entry, but those searching for “UST Testing Companies” are much more likely to be future paying customers. For the services you provide, look for terms ending with service(s), solution(s), consultant(s), and consulting. If you are selling a product like software, look for terms ending in software, management, reporting, analysis, analytics, and metrics.

The Importance of an SEO Strategy

If you have a short list of keywords that you think are appropriate for your business, and the AdWords Keyword Tool shows that there is search volume for these terms, conduct some Google searches to see if your website shows up on the first page of Google. If not, waiting and hoping for the best won’t produce the results you desire. You need an SEO strategy to attract these terms, and TREW Marketing is here to help.

Read more about our SEO services.

Contact us to get started.