Mihell & Lycos - B2B Marketing
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ALL ADVERTISING AND COMMUNICATIONS HAS THE SAME ULTIMATE GOAL

To help sell a product or service.

But it can do this in a number of ways. By making the sales process more cost effective, for instance. Or by supporting the sales efforts by individuals. Or by making existing clients more loyal. Or by opening up more market segments.

And this is where business communications can help.

The means used can range from prestigious TV commercials to fact-filled product sheets.

YOU’LL SELL YOUR PRODUCTS MORE EFFECTIVELY WITH STRATEGIC AND HIGHLY CREATIVE BUSINESS COMMUNICATIONS

A supplier must tell likely buyers about his product. What could be more obvious?

He has to decide who his potential customers are – the target group for his message. And he must ensure that he’ll be heard over the noise generated by his competitors who are pitching their wares at the same target group.

Having succeeded in getting the target group to listen, he must reason so convincingly about his product that his listeners accept his arguments and let them influence their actions.

Success depends upon how creatively and strategically he presents the message and how the communication activities are then carried out.
KNOWLEDGE GIVES STRENGTH TO CREATIVITY

Not even the most creatively presented message will have the intended effect unless it is aimed at the right recipient, has the right content, and is followed up in the right way.

Strategic thinking demands knowledge – not only of marketing and communication, but also of the supplier, their product or service, how it is sold, and – above all – of the buyer.

WHAT ARE BUSINESS-TO-BUSINESS MARKETING COMMUNICATIONS @ MIHELL & LYCOS?

At Mihell & Lycos, we engage in advertising goods and services that are bought by companies. And nothing else.

We have concentrated all our resources in this area. And because of this we can recruit staff with the necessary expertise, a proven track record and a desire to work in Business Communications.

We offer creative personnel of the same quality as you would expect to find in the highest rated consumer agencies. Our account directors have profound knowledge of national and international marketing in industrial and service companies. They are highly experienced in coordinating complex integrated marketing communication programs.

We have a broad, common base of knowledge derived from tackling technical, financial and business problems that arise in marketing complex products and services to companies.


BUSINESS COMMUNICATIONS NEVER SELL A PRODUCT. THE SALES TEAM DOES.

The fundamental difference between advertising consumer goods and advertising capital goods and services is the number of steps between the potential buyer’s initial interest and the closure of the deal.

In all selling of capital goods and services, personal selling is crucial. Hardly a deal is closed without a number of personal contracts between representatives of the selling and the buying companies.

THE ROLE OF B2B COMMUNICATIONS

The purpose of Business-to-Business Communications is to make the selling process as cost effective as possible.

The cost of skilled sales staff has been rising for years at a higher rate than either the consumer price index or the cost of advertising and media.

The average cost of a sales call for an industrial product in Australia is $860. And it takes an average of six sales calls to close a deal.

The role of B2B Communications is to ensure the optimum use of this costly human resource.
HOW TO FIND “HOT PROSPECTS”

Let the prospects who are most likely to buy announce themselves. This allows the sales team to focus efforts on those prospects and avoid wasting sales calls on prospects who are neither interested nor ready to buy.


The role of B2B Communications is more than simply to lead sales people to prospects. It extends from arousing the first interest of a potential buyer to keeping the customer happy after the deal. The only steps where B2B Communications can’t actively contribute are in quoting a price and closing the deal.

COMMUNICATION ON MANY LEVELS

Corporate profile activities position the company and help open doors previously closed to salesmen. They also prepare the ground for further sales.

Product-selling activities help create contact and dialogue between the seller and buyer.

Sales-support material plays the major role in the buying process.

Internal activities make an important contribution to motivating the sales force.

TOTAL COMMUNICATIONS

A thoroughly prepared B2B campaign must be based on a well-balanced combination of advertisements – print or audio-visual, direct mail, sales promotion material, PR and participation in trade fairs and exhibitions as necessary.

The difference between a mediocre campaign and an excellent one that can persuade prospective clients to revel themselves, lies in how ambitious the media mix is, how professionally the communications strategy has been pieced together, and how excellent the quality of the creative work is.
IN B2B, THE SIMILARITIES OUTWEIGH THE DIFFERENCES

The target groups for B2B communications are homogeneous from country to country. A purchasing manager in an industrial company in Germany has the same duties and the same training as his colleagues in Japan or the US.

The buying processes are also similar. Drill steel is assessed by the same criteria in Canada and Italy. The same types of people influence purchasing decisions, from company management to end-users.

There are cultural differences, but they are less significant than the similarities. And there are always local sales people on the ground to compensate for any cultural differences.

This makes it worthwhile to draw up central strategies and campaigns.
INITIATE CENTRALLY, APPLY LOCALLY

In the global marketing climate, where markets resemble one another more and more, and the demands for local participation are increasing, delegation of authority and responsibility extends further than ever before.

At the same time, the demand is growing for consistency in marketing communications.

This makes it important to use a communication method that both the parent company and the subsidiaries will accept; initiated centrally, applied locally.

The advantages are many; the company is able to coordinate its marketing, all the way from overall corporate profile considerations and worldwide product introductions to internal campaigns and dealer activity.




WORDS LIKE ELECTROACOUSTIC TRANSDUCER AND DEMURRAGE AREN’T GREEK TO US

A basic condition for us to help our customers efficiently is to understand their operation, products and services. Otherwise, we are not able to analyse a prospective buyer’s decision process, to identify crucial product arguments or re-interpret these as communicable customer benefits.

It makes no difference whether the product is welding equipment, a hydroelectric power station, a digital switching system or the foreign services of a commercial bank.

Our account directors, copywriters and art directors have solid experience of getting to the bottom of complicated technical, financial and business subjects.
“THE MIHELL & LYCOS WAY”

We are never satisfied with the status quo, but are constantly looking for a better way. We believe that anything is possible and that we can achieve real change.

We focus on the results we want to happen, rather than fear what might not happen. And as we know that in an industry of hyperbole, even we eventually, cannot escape the fact that we are what we do, not what we say.

The “single-minded proposition” is the characteristic of Mihell & Lycos’ approach to advertising and communication development.

Our main task as advertising professionals is to make sure that our clients’ messages communicate clearly and effectively. Our advertising has only one linking factor: it tries to make a single-minded proposition “come alive” in a compelling way.
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