Marketing 
A guest post by Andrea Ludwig, Andrea Ludwig PR, Dornstadt
Time and again, I meet clients and companies who are considering launching an email campaign. “We have a service here that would be great for companies in such-and-such an industry. We’ve already purchased email addresses and drafted a cover letter”…
Personal contacts are the be-all and end-all of sales success, especially in capital goods marketing. As you know, “Small gifts keep friendships alive.”
You need to be careful when dealing with European and, above all, American companies. A well-intentioned gesture can quickly fall under the umbrella of “compliance”—and you certainly don’t want to create more work for your contacts than the gift is worth.
The situation is different for small and medium-sized businesses, where you often meet with management in person. Here, too, you should steer clear of any attempt at bribery—that goes without saying. But if you know of a particular preference, feel free to bring a small token of appreciation.
The situation abroad is particularly “different.” In some countries, not bringing a gift is considered a serious faux pas. Think carefully about this, keeping the following criteria in mind:
Take a stand! Distinctive, unmistakable, and clear.
A guest column by Anne Ammann, Ammann Design.Konzepte, Ulm
Positioning means, among other things, being THE ONE in the eyes of customers—the one that stands out among the many others!
Markets are constantly changing, communication channels are evolving, and the world seems to be shrinking in some way. There are clearly too many competitors vying for attention right where you’re trying to make your mark.
When many people are vying for the same slice of the pie, there’s only one thing that helps: You have to make a lasting impression on your target groups.
When I ask young entrepreneurs who their product or service is actually aimed at, they regularly reply, “Everyone!”
Sure, when a business plan like this is being developed, the goal is to attract as many potential customers as possible. So the offering should be as uncontroversial as possible and make a lot of people happy. A clear strategy seems to only get in the way—or rather, people claim that this very breadth is actually the particularly smart strategy.
Really?
When I started working as a marketing manager at a large construction company over 20 years ago, many of the veterans there (and I, too) wondered, “Why do we actually need someone just to place ads?”
Back then, I enjoyed giving a short presentation on the wide-ranging responsibilities of marketing, which culminated in the statement: “EVERYTHING in a company is marketing. “
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