Targeting an Under-Marketed Opportunity in B2B 
How do you find the true decision makers that are hidden by the institutional purchasing process?

The upside-down nature of decision-making at institutions makes life very difficult for marketers. The decision makers with whom marketers want relationships are hidden behind the formality of institutional finance departments and purchase orders. Tracking the origin of orders is very difficult. Where in a business environment it is often possible to identify a sole decision maker, in an institution one may have to reach out to many and still also rely on the fact that peer groups of professionals communicate a lot among themselves. Because decision maker names are often not available or not easily identified on purchase orders, many don't appear on response databases. Marketers who primarily rely on response databases are unintentionally doomed to underperform in the institutional market.

The more you understand the differences between business purchasing and institutional purchasing, the more you will be able to understand where and by whom purchasing decisions are made and how to take full advantage of this unique, big, and fast growing B2B market segment.

View Online     Download PDF

Beyond B2B - A New View of the Institutional Market
Institutions are one-third of the economy ($4.1 trillion) with 2.2 million locations and 28% of all employees. The purpose-driven economy of institutions has evolved from small slivers of the SIC world into much larger pieces of the pie and their growth will continue to outpace businesses for the foreseeable future. Institutions are recession resistant and they always pay their bills - they aren't impacted by big economic swings.

Investing the time and effort to learn more about the differences between businesses and institutions will help you improve response rates and profits.

View Online     Download PDF

Recession Resistant Marketing 
Congress and the Obama administration will push hundreds of billions of dollars in stimulus through government, education, and health institutions. Are you in a position to get the maximum benefit from institutional markets in 2009?

Over the past several months, we’ve all spent time discussing the election, the economy, and the general business climate. This document provides B2B marketers with an overview of the major effects of the economic crisis; the areas of the business market that are most likely to hold their own, or even thrive during the coming year; changes on the horizon; and actionable steps that can be taken to adapt in this fluid environment. 

View Online     Download PDF

How to Profit from the Vast Untapped Institutional Market
The business-to-institution (B2i) market is very large and is waiting for you! To get your "unfair" share of the market, you have to approach it differently than the traditional B2B market.

The white paper, by John Coe, President of The Sales & Marketing Institutite, features techniques you can implement immediately to achieve greater success in marketing to institutions. 

View Online     Download PDF     Listen to Webinar

The Local Government Marketplace for Direct Marketers
Local governments are a desirable market segment because they can have budgets equal to Fortune 1000 companies. They are big, growing, and recession-resistant. Marketers can improve the bottom line by gaining an understanding of the three key differences between government and private accounting and learning how to capitalize on budgeting and clean-up spending timeframes. The paper helps marketers learn how local governments operate, who makes the purchasing decisions, what criteria influence buying decisions, and how timing can play a critical role in the success of your marketing campaigns.

View Online     Download PDF

Politics, Profits, and Proactive Marketing
What if many of your "business" customers aren't really businesses? What if they have completely different motivations - completely different reasons that drive their buying decisions?

This paper will help you untangle the influences that drive institutional buying behavior. It highlights how purpose and politics affect decision makers at institutions and provides examples of events that caused significant upheaval for direct marketers. You will benefit from seven proactive steps that can be taken to achieve greater success in the institutional market.

View Online     Download PDF

How Data Quality Issues Impact B2B Marketers and Modelers
Institutions present both a challenge and a largely untapped opportunity for B2B marketers and modelers. The failure to recognize or account for key differences between businesses and institutions can severely affect the reliability of statistical analysis of the business-to-business market at the location level. This paper exposes the difficult areas and provides tips that will help marketers apply a different view of the institutional segment and generate significant financial gains.

View Online     Download PDF