MCH President, John F. Hood, has authored a white paper that discusses one of the biggest challenges in marketing to institutions-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.

Click here to download a PDF of the white paper.

If you're a B2B marketer and you're not using a distinct strategy to reach institutions, it's more than likely that you're missing revenue opportunities. In today's economy, you can't afford to leave money on the table. During our most recent webinar, John Hood and Kirk Chritton provided B2B marketers with the foundation to build a profitable marketing strategy in 2009 by covering the following topics:

• Understanding the differences between institutions and businesses can mean the difference between a flat year and a growth year.
• Why timing, message, size of purchase, and identifying the correct decision maker are critically important when marketing to institutions.
• The buying practices at institutions require specialized marketing databases. Marketers will underperform if they rely solely on their customer or response files.
• Institutions represent a $4.3 trillion market that is stable, consistently funded, and creditworthy.

Here are just a few of the comments we received:

• "I liked the straight-forward, practical advice." 
• "Overall, it was a great webinar. I walked away with a lot of practical advice." 
• "Comprehensive. Professional. Well-delivered."

Attendees were reminded to utilize other MCH resources including white papers and the www.stimulusmarketing.com website.

Click here to listen to the webinar.
Click here to download a PDF of the presentation.

After the MCH Recession Resistant Marketing webinar in December, Jill Watson commented that the information we provided was a literal goldmine for the business she's in. We wanted details so we called Jill to talk about how she's applying B2i marketing strategies in her work as a Marketing Coordinator with EBSCO. Jill said that she had used information from MCH webinars and white papers to help her clients learn how to market more effectively to institutions. Jill said, "In the institutional segment, direct mail pieces are difficult to track and it's hard to identify the end user." Jill also said that she and a co-worker had discussed the differences between businesses and institutions and that a co-worker had changed her marketing message to be aligned with her target's mission. In closing, we discussed how the economy and ARRA stimulus funding have impacted businesses nationwide. Jill said, "In the current environment, flat is the new growth. We're actually doing pretty well this year."

We'd love to hear your stories about how B2i strategies have helped you improve your bottom line. Call 1-800-776-6373 ext 137 or email Jackie Finnegan at jackief@mailings.com today.

Effective May 11th, the single-piece First Class price will increase by 2 cents. The USPS proposed "summer sale" for Standard mailers has been approved by the Board of Governors. The seasonal pricing will run from July 1, 2009 through September 30, 2009. Mailers who mailed over 1 million Standard letters and/or flats from October 1, 2007 through March 31, 2008 are eligible to participate in the sale. Mailers will receive a rebate of 20-30% on any mail volume in that period which is over the past threshold. John Greco, DMA President and CEO said, "We are very pleased that USPS is taking advantage of the pricing flexibility that DMA worked so hard for in the passage of the Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act."

Click here to see full details.

MCH has created a Stimulus Marketing group on LinkedIn. Join in discussions with other B2B marketers regarding the opportunities presented by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. We'll all profit by sharing news and views regarding what's working and what's note. Take a few minutes today to share your news and views.  

Click here to visit the new Stimulus Marketing website.
Click here to join the LinkedIn group.

If you're an education marketer there is still time to reach key decision makers and educators while they're in the classroom this school year. Use MCH Channel_e™ Email Services to get your offers in front of educators in the prime "use it or lose it" spending period. You can use any of the detailed job functions and school attributes available on the phone-verified MCH school database. Our file is growing rapidly, so contact your MCH representative today for the most recent counts.

Children are given educational opportunities at an early age as educators, parents, and child care providers focus on learning. There are a wealth of youth programs provided by schools, churches, libraries, and communities. Summer camps, reading programs, field trips, and other hands-on learning events are all aimed at providing educational experiences.

Click here to review datacards that are suitable for marketers of youth education products then call your MCH sales representative to get a count on those "why didn't I think of that?" institutions you may have missed.

Click here to request a quote for any of MCH's institutional databases and services.