gal borenstein

MarTech Outlook Magazine Names Borenstein Group a Top 10 Brand Management Agency in 2021

July 26, 2021 by Will Synder Leave a Comment

The Borenstein Group, a top Washington DC Digital Marketing & Branding Agency for B2B and B2G markets, was named a Top 10 Brand Management Agency by MarTech Outlook Magazine in their recent 2021 edition. MarTech Outlook, is the go-to resource for senior-level Marketing leaders and decision-makers to learn and share their experiences with products/services, technologies, and Marketing technology trends. The international digital publication shines a spotlight on profound insights, innovative technology, and novel solutions for CMOs and other suites of C-level executives in an ever-changing industry.

Agency Candidates for this prestigious annual award are nominated by companies with whom they have collaborated and seen results. In the case of the Borenstein Group, the magazine highlighted the agency’s mission to make creativity a science, our ability to make products appealing and believable, and the paramount level of trust established with consumers.

The decision was based on how brand management agencies have reacted to recent radical shifts in the industry. They looked for the ability to balance classic brand integrity with the need to exude a modern feel; thus, maintaining the trust of existing clients without becoming outdated. They also emphasized the growing importance of social media in digital marketing strategy.

Read the full article here.

How to Take Your B2B Marketing to the Next Level with a KPI Strategy

June 26, 2021 by Will Synder Leave a Comment

The best way to take B2B marketing to the next level is to make your strategic and creative processes scientific by basing them in data. However, the never-ending sea of raw data you can measure and draw from can be overwhelming; and not all data is helpful. This is where Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) come in handy. Data is initially presented as metrics, anything and everything about your project that can be measured, but KPIs are filtered groups of metrics that are relevant to tangible goals. KPIs are tied to specific campaigns as objectives to gauge individual success.

Establishing KPIs for your project is never a one-size-fits-all process. Before using them, you must first:

Define concrete goals you think the project can achieve
Establish how success is best measured for these goals
Create a specific plan to achieve success
And scrutinize which metrics are actually relevant to analyzing progress

Working with your team to identify relevant KPIs, setting concrete goals for each of these, and measuring progress over time forces them to think through all of the minute details, making your plan more robust than ever. There are many groupings of KPIs that can be advantageous in the world of digital B2B marketing:

Lead Generation KPIs: They help you gauge how many potential new customers your campaign is attracting. Metrics like monthly new leads, primary lead sources (where leads came from), marketing qualified leads (those attracted specifically by your campaign tactics), and cost per lead (total cost/total leads) can help you track lead activity over time and identify where costs can be cut.
Website and Traffic KPIs: Your website is your most important tool in digital B2B marketing and metrics like monthly site traffic, returning vs. new users, click-through rate (how often users follow a specific link), and conversion rate (how many users complete the desired action out of total traffic) can illuminate what’s working and what’s not.
SEO KPIs: Traffic driven towards your website is directly influenced by your Search Engine Optimization tactics. Analyzing your organic search traffic, leads/conversions from organic searches, backlinks (which unique domains are linking to yours and their reputations), google page rank, and keyword analysis can give your SEO strategy purposeful direction.
Social Media KPIs: Many companies use their professional social media as they do their personal: sporadically and impulsively. Comparing different social media strategies with the change in traffic from social media, leads/conversions from social media, audience size growth rate, engagement rate, and return on social media investment allows you to bring order to your social media presence in a way that works.
Project KPIs: Key Performance Indicators aren’t just helpful to clients. Lead time per project (time between project initiation and delivery), estimated vs. actual project time/cost, and utilization rates (time employees spend on billable tasks out of total time spent) can help an agency internally to perfect its practices.

The final step is deciding when to report which KPIs. Daily reports are utilized by an agency to quickly identify problems and troubleshoot. Weekly reports may be shared with clients and show broader trends in what is happening with their campaign in real-time. Monthly reports give an all-encompassing perspective on long-term projects and show the impact of your marketing activities over time.

The Surest Ways to Build Digital Trust for Your Brand in 2021; Performance Delivered Podcast Features Gal Borenstein, Borenstein Group CEO, for Strategic Insights

May 12, 2021 by Will Synder Leave a Comment

Gal Borenstein, founder, and CEO of the Borenstein Group, a top Washington DC Digital Marketing & Branding Agency for B2B and B2G markets, was interviewed on Performance Delivered’s latest podcast. He shared his industry expertise and scientific approach to building digital trust for a brand. B2B clients have instant access to endless online competitors. This means that your brand narrative needs to engage users as efficiently as possible. In as little as five seconds, a site must be able to answer the question, “Why should I trust this company?”

To accomplish this, Gal Borenstein reverse engineers the trust-building process:

Ask what makes your product the best. Then, prove it. What metrics and data can you highlight to base your product’s superiority in science?
Interview clients. Ask them the same questions you asked internally. What do they want? What is the value they see in your product? Where are the discrepancies between your evaluation and theirs?
Do your homework on the brand messaging in the space. Knowing what your competition is saying allows you to test their narratives against each other to see what is successfully converting non-believers.
Implement your new strategies and let the analytics tell you what’s working and what isn’t.

About Performance Delivered: Listen to Steffen Horst’s full conversation with Gal Borenstein, where he expands on these core ideas and offers insider advice at the link here. For agency owners and executives, the digital marketing landscape is always changing. With interviews with thought leaders and those “in the trenches” of the industry, the Performance Delivered digital marketing podcast will keep you up-to-date with current industry best practices… and also give you a glimpse into what innovations the future holds. Hosts Steffen Horst and Dave Antil are big agency “refugees” who know that the industry is going through drastic changes right now. And they offer insights you can use to stay on top. Learn more about the Performance Delivered podcast and listen to more on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or on their website.

Top 5 Tagline Tips: How to Create the Brand Experience in 5 Words or Less

August 8, 2017 by Gal Borenstein Leave a Comment

“Just do it.” “I’m Lovin’ it.” “Rethink Possible.” “The Ultimate Driving Machine.” Do these phrases sound instantly familiar? So familiar, in fact, that you immediately envision the product, you imagine the sensation, you taste the sweat and smell the Big Mac, you grip the wheel with your dream hands and stamp down on the accelerator. You experience the brand – all thanks to a few simple words. That’s the power of a great tagline.

Many people may assume that since typical taglines use just a few short, crisp words, a great tagline should be fairly easy to create. Fewer words, less trouble, right? For those of us who make a living one letter at a time, nothing could be further from the truth. Crafting an impactful tagline involves many steps, from researching the product to identifying strengths and weaknesses of the competition to learning the likes and dislikes of the target audience. Plus, tagline creation requires a comprehensive command of the subtleties of language, an ear for poetry, and an eye for design. Here are a few great tips to use when creating a tagline for a company, product or brand:

Make it Memorable: It sounds easy, but the most important factor to consider is that in addition to the brand name, the tagline captures the minimum information that consumers need to know about a product or company. The only information a consumer has access to when they are not face-to-face with the product, is what they have stored about it in their heads. Short, concise phrases that capitalize on existing idioms or conventions of speech are always great places to start.
Keep it Modern: Just like fashion or interior design, language has cycles in which certain words, grammatical conventions and patterns of speech become more popular and more commonly used. Today, with the prevalence of social media, there is a trend toward casual and conversational tones in nearly all writing outside of academia. You can see it overtly in blogs and tweets, but it’s even present in journalism and editorial work. A tagline of today should capitalize on this informal tone – the brand and the consumer can speak on the same terms.
Add Aural Appeal: Taglines love great rhymes. With clear rhythm, meter and time, good lines stay stuck in the mind. Alliteration packs a powerful punch. Plus, repetition is a really, really, really relevant tool. Lame language games aside, infusing aural appeal – or highlighting the sound, not just the meaning of the word – can be a very effective tactic in tagline creation.
Ignite the Imagination: The tagline is a conceptual piece. A tagline that relies on nebulous or conceptual language is much more likely to inspire new ideas and stimulate the imagination than one that uses declarative language to describe precise details of the brand. A good tagline should take risks, should be open to interpretation and should entice the mind, without shifting focus away from the brand, or mixing up the message. Don’t be afraid to break the rules.
Trademark It: During the ideation process, it’s important to check each tagline concept thoroughly on Google and USPTO.gov. It can be quite a disappointment (and legally tenuous) if you’ve developed fantastic messaging around a tagline someone else owns. If there’s no record of the tagline in existing patent files, the word or phrase can be trademarked – then it’s yours.

Finally, keep in mind that taglines are temporary. Each tagline should reflect the current moods and market trends. If you continue to strive to develop new tagline ideas based on these easy principles, your brand will stay relevant, captivating and profitable.

For more information on branding strategies in the B2B and B2G arenas, please give us a call at 703-385-8178, or visit our Contact Us page.

Do you have any tagline tips you’ve used in the past? How does the tagline play into your current digital marketing efforts?

Six Ways to Boost the Value of Your Case Studies for Higher Marketing Impact

June 22, 2017 by Gal Borenstein Leave a Comment

Your most innovative applications and far-reaching solutions with the biggest ROI can be used aggressively to help your company reach its sales objectives.

B2G and B2B Case studies can have a measurable impact on your company’s sales pipeline. Are you leveraging them for maximum ROI? They have the potential to touch prospects in various stages. At The Borenstein Group, we come across many companies that have great past performances that never see the light of day in the form of a well-written case study, thus, failing to share with the decision makers the ‘how’ behind their success.Just like fine art, if no one sees it- your best and most valuable stories may go unappreciated, sitting at your capture manager’s share drive, unless brought to life.

Here are some ways you can make use of these powerful tools, including some new ideas for even the most seasoned marketing pros.

1. Begin with the bottom line in mind. The best case studies are the ones with the most compelling ROI. The most sophisticated technologies and innovative solutions only matter if they can impact someone’s bottom line. For commercial clients, that often means costs saved and profits increased. For government clients, the ROI may be based on strategic outcomes, better positioning for funding, compliance achievements or other objectives. Think strategically about the products or services you want to aggressively promote and ensure that the outcome is clear and compelling.

2. In general, be specific. Good case studies enable prospects to place themselves in the position of the client whose success you’ve profiled. To do this, they must be able to relate. The problem being solved should be both specific enough to tell a story, yet broad enough to appeal to a greater audience. A government buyer is going to be far more interested in how you helped a peer agency succeed than they are in how you helped a hospital. One way to accomplish this is to target your case studies to industries or market segments. But the rule of thumb is to make it easy for the prospect to put themselves in the shoes of the client. It’s basic sales. Give the buyer a reason to qualify themselves out of your solution and they’ll take it.

3. Make marketing the champion. Case studies work best when they have a marketing focus. They lose their luster when prepared by proposal departments and technical professionals. They are ultimately sales tools and must be framed in that manner. Technical professionals may provide good content, but sometimes the “so what?” question is missed. Marketing people do the best job of asking the right questions.

For example, we interviewed the customer of a client on how their flagship product helped the business. We asked the same question a few different ways before getting to the “aha!” The product was instrumental in helping the small business increase five-fold in 1½ years. This story usually won’t tell itself. It requires tact and skill in extracting it from executives and technical staff.

4. Determine the impact on the sales process. So you have dynamic studies of how you’ve dramatically improved the lives of the people who buy from you. How will you use these studies to ensure these amazing examples reach the people who haven’t bought for you, but should?

Here’s the take-a-step-back-and-look-at-the-big-picture question. What should case studies do for your company? If the prospect is unfamiliar or less familiar with your firm, should case studies be early on in their experience? Then consider adding them prominently to your homepage. Make them part of lead generation activities. Include them in materials at conferences and post-conference follow-up communications.

Case studies should certainly be part of your sales materials. But consider the presentation. Many companies use them as one-page slicks. Others use a broader brochure approach that can make a greater impact to a wider audience. This is a single piece that conveys the impression that you are immersed in a particular industry, federal agency or line of business.

5. Expand your base. These stories can also be re-purposed into press pitches by targeting specific industries or pubs that accept by-lined articles. Your greatest story with the most solid ROI and tales of innovation can be converted into abstracts for speaking proposals. Both of these are fantastic examples of reaching outside of your prospect and customer databases.

6. Let your customers speak for you. One of the smartest ways we’ve seen to extend your case studies is to utilize them as video testimonials. Get a few of your best customers and let them speak about what you did for them—on camera. Granted, this will take some out of their comfort zones, but you can make it worth their while. More and more companies are using this tool very effectively. Customers can speak more powerfully than even our best sales reps. Think about how much value you could get out of these—on your web sites, at trade shows and conferences, during sales meetings, at road shows and so many other marketing opportunities.

Not every project or sale can be converted into a show-stopping case study. But your most innovative applications and far-reaching solutions with the biggest ROI can be used aggressively to help your company reach its sales objectives. Best of luck as you tell your client success stories to the world.

If you need help extracting more value from your case studies, or need to build a new arsenal of effective past performances, Borenstein Group can help. Reach out via the web, or by phone at 703-385-8178.

Six Ways to Increase Quality Referrals in Business-to-Business Marketing

June 9, 2017 by Gal Borenstein Leave a Comment

The end of the year is a good time to take inventory of your customer, partner and colleague referrals. It gives you a chance to look back at the referrals you’ve received and put plans in place to receive even more in FY 2017. Are you getting as many referrals as you would like? A better question is: are you getting as many qualified referrals as you would like. It’s always surprising to us how many firms are disappointed in the quality of referral business they receive.

But there’s good news here. And as is often the case, it’s made possible by marketing.
If you received fewer referrals than you projected, or you would like to improve your organization’s referral program, read on.

Referrals come from three sources: current and past customers, business partners and other colleagues. Employees, too, are a lead source that should never be taken for granted. But like sales, referrals don’t just fall out of the sky. As marketers, you have to help make them happen. Referrals take solid strategy and well-executed tactics.

Here’s the formula for receiving quality referrals:

Provide excellent services and/or products + Stay at the top of prospects’ minds + Enjoy good relationships + Provide Motivation = Receive High Value, Sustainable Referrals

How to Earn More Referrals

You should be getting lots of referrals. If you don’t have a program in place that’s working for you, now’s the time to begin implementing. Follow the tips below, and by the end of FY 2012, you will be reaping measurable returns:

1. Institute a Formal Referral Program
Measurable results start here. There is absolutely no substitute for having a structured program with incentives in place to encourage your customers to refer you. You must stay top of mind. For a good example of this, think about your real estate agent. He or she knows that referrals are a major part of their business. They are always incentivizing by giving away restaurant and movie certificates and other gifts. They know we have plenty of options and understand the value of being at the fore of our thinking.

Define what the program “payout” will be based on the sale that’s closed. The amount of money you spend on a referral program should be consistent with the dollar value of what you’re selling. If you’re a low margin reseller, the referral gift will be very different than if you’re making product sales of $50,000 and up. You must pick a referral gift that is to scale.

As for the payout, it’s recommended to only give these referrals gifts upon close of the sale.

2. Look Outside Your Customer Base
The program should apply to more than your current customers. You should also open it to past customers, as well as business partners and other colleagues. Anyone who has interaction with prospects you’d like to add to your roster is a candidate for the program. If you have a board of directors, they should be bringing you leads. If they’re not, find out why.

3. Promote the Program
Without promotion, your referral program is like a tree falling in the woods. Your customers and partners won’t always be thinking of you. They certainly won’t go out of their way to identify opportunities to bring you business. But if they respect your organization, know you appreciate referrals and have incentives for bringing you good ones, then you’re on the right track.

It’s essential to continually remind clients and partners of your services and value proposition. Tell them you value their referrals. You can promote the program through newsletters, invoice mailers, special direct mailers, or when sales representatives or project managers meet with your customers. Special events to thank customers for their business are a powerful way to build good will and encourage them to provide you with qualified leads.

4. Give Them Something of Value
It’s always recommended to give your customers standard referral gifts, particularly if the product or service you’re selling is a standard item. People talk. If one customer finds out that they got a $20 gift certificate, and another got a gift of 10 times the value for the same type of referral, you could burn bridges, all in the name of trying to build relationships.

If your organization has clients on maintenance contracts, think about giving “gift certificates” that can be applied to service contracts, additional services or sponsored company events, such as customer conferences. This is a gift that benefits both the customer and your company. We have seen this company gift certificate approach work well time and again. It’s well received by the client base, costs the company soft dollars, and improves your relationship with your client. There aren’t any losers with this type of program.

5. Arm Sales to Gather Referrals
Your sales people understand the value of referrals. Make sure they are part of the program. If sales is integrated into this program, they can use it as a tool to touch base with your customer base, warm up leads that have cooled, or resume contact with a customer who hasn’t purchased from you recently. In this way, your referral program is an integral part of your sales and marketing strategy, not a bolted on after-thought. Integration is essential!

6. Measure the Success
The only way to know if your program is successful is to measure its results. Results of this program should be relatively straight forward and easy to measure. Since your client or partner will be receiving a gift for referring you, they will help ensure that the lead is traceable back to them. Otherwise, how do they get their gift? If you are promoting the program and your customers are talking to other qualified leads, you should notice an increase in the numbers of referrals you’re getting and the number of sales closed. The only way to be sure of this impact is to measure it.

Referrals can be a valuable part of the growth strategy for your business. If you need more motivation, think of the opportunities you’re missing by not putting a program in place.

For more information on creating a successful B2B Marketing Referral program, contact us at The Borenstein Group at 703-385-8178 or via our web site’s contact us page.

MarTech Outlook Magazine Names Borenstein Group a Top 10 Brand Management Agency in 2021

How to Take Your B2B Marketing to the Next Level with a KPI Strategy

The Surest Ways to Build Digital Trust for Your Brand in 2021; Performance Delivered Podcast Features Gal Borenstein, Borenstein Group CEO, for Strategic Insights

Six Ways to Increase Quality Referrals in Business-to-Business Marketing

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