B2B Media Musings

Who Won? Frosted Flakes or Quaker Oats?

I imagine you are not having difficulty finding articles on the dramatic decline of advertising revenues in B2B media (or elsewhere...).   Just this last week saw Penton Media dramatically scale back to a 4 day work week to compensate for lower revenues.

So here is what I suggest your sales teams do, go out and sell the opportunity for B2B advertisers to be the market leader in their industry.  Sell the opportunity for marketers to dramatically shake up the world order, in their world.

Don't take my word for it, look to business history and case studies.  James Surowiecki has written a great article in the New Yorker on this.  I highly recommend reading it top to bottom.  Then go get your advertiser partners off the dime and into that leading market position!

(Frosted Flakes won, see the article).

Seth

Find a Community, Don't Build It

Two good posts from the SAMBA blog this morning that are very applicable to B2B publishing.

The Service vs Hospitality post re-enforces the idea that we must truly get to know and understand our audiences, and have the tools in place already to help.  It is not enough to know a title and general demos, you must understand behaviors and ever changing needs of an audience.

The second post regarding community has a similar get to know your audience theme.  Publishers must understand how their audience(s) aggregate around ideas, brands, job functions etc.   They should not build a community but should look for existing communities of interest, big difference!

Solving the Same Problem

A good post today from Seth Godin called "Solving a Different Problem"

http://sethgodin.typepad.com/seths_blog/2009/02/solving-a-different-problem.html

Here is my B2B Media twist: We are solving the same problem, aggregating audiences and providing high quality leads for advertisers in our target markets.  What companies need to do is solve that same problem differently than they have in past.  Stop solving the for old business models and start thinking of new business practices and process, new cost structures and relationships, new organization skill requirements, and new ways to package your audience.

Time for A Change

The respected blog by Paul Conley today adds to a rising clamor of calls for B2B publishers to change the fundamentals of their business models, cultures, and staff skills.

http://paulconley.blogspot.com/2008/12/doom-and-gloom-and-rebirth.html

Reducing Content Acquisition Costs for B2B Media

The New York Times has opened up their home page to content from 3rd party sources including links directly to competitive sites such as the Washington Post. 

B2B publishers need to find ways to continue to reduce content acquisition costs without giving up content quality and quantity.  Variable fee models like Demand Media or blog aggregation tools are examples of strategies that may help.  Publishers need to work with their editors to get them on board with the concept.  Rather than tapping into a handful of freelancers they could be tapping into hundreds+ of potential contributors and can pay them according to audience engagement.  Like the Times, B2B editors/freelance managers can "traffic" the content to determine what they want to highlight. 

“The days when content sites were afraid to link to other sites are over,” Marc Frons, New York Times Co.’s chief technology officer for digital operations, said in a statement.  More info can be found at the Times Extra marketing site.

Don't Be General Motors...

The "Big Three" auto company CEO's are in front of Congress again today.   It makes me think how some B2B media companies may be running the risk of becoming the GM's of the internet.   Both GM and some B2B media companies have strong brands that have previously conferred high margins and loyalty but.....

- those strong brands have temporarily, and dangerously, masked poor product execution and no business model innovation.
- both have had a one way conversation with their key stakeholders (dealers, advertisers, readers, drivers) and therefore have not produced the products their customers need and want
- both have relied on their experiential lens of bygone eras, market intuition, preferences, and biased market research vs. objectively watching customer behavior.
- both say they just need some time to turn things around with new innovative models and products.... and both have had plenty of time already.

Are You One of the 25%?

Today Chuck Richard of Outsell Research released a note forecasting every 1% of lost B2B print revenue will result in 435 lost jobs across the B2B Trade publishing market for 2009. What particularly caught my eye in Chuck’s note was the following statement:  “[Online revenue growth] will foster new online jobs or provide opportunities for print-only people who take on online roles. Unfortunately, the success rates of converting print ad salespeople to online ad sales, for example, have been low, with sources directly involved in this citing 25% conversions.”

 

It’s not just that only 25% of the salespeople will “convert” to being digitally aware, it’s that only 25% of marketing, editorial, managers, audience development, and production teams will “convert” as well. That leaves a lot of effort and energy in a media company focused on the wrong things until a thorough organizational dialysis occurs. Being digitally aware is NOT for the online only folks. Being digitally aware increases profitability and the relevance of print, event, and research products as well.

 

What are you doing to be one of the 25%? What are you reading? Where are you going to learn critical digital skills? Are you trying to hold onto 1996 business models and processes or are you willing to listen, learn, and engage in new ways to be a critical part of a new B2B media company?

Can A Magazine Become A Marketing Brochure?

Today’s Wall Street Journal had an opinion piece that caught my eye.  Written by Tom Hayes and Michael Malone, they discussed what they call Marketing 3.0.    The themes are not new but one example reminded me of the B2B media business.  They discussed how smart retailers like Best Buy are recognizing their stores complement, not compete with, their online sales.   In fact, the store front has become “the showroom for the virtual realm.”

Like Best Buy, B2B publishers may need to start thinking of some of their less profitable magazines differently, as "showrooms" for more profitable products online.  Instead of shuttering a magazine consider reorienting the focus to be a guide for content and tools on the brand's website; more of a catalog.   Re-organize your teams towards low cost content acquisition, ignore BPA, and have marketers drive the product, not sales leaders (publishers).   Seek to capture enough advertising to at least cover costs for this marketing “campaign”.   Everything over cost is a bonus.

For some magazines, maybe a new life and new path vs. closure.  Something to consider.