Erica Hakonson, Principal and Founder, of the Microsoft Partner Marketing & SaaS Technology Agency, Maven Collective Marketing.At the helm of the team of “Mavens”, Hakonson is passionate about empowering more women in technology and has led Maven Collective Marketing to become a multi-award winning digital powerhouse.Hakonson is also recognized for her leadership and entrepreneurial achievements being published and featured by such publications as the Globe and Mail, BCBusiness, Canada’s Podcast, Insivia SaaS Founder Show, and CanadianSME Small Business Podcast. Beyond Maven Collective, Hakonson holds a Management of Technology MBA from Simon Fraser University and co-founded a new Vancouver-based SaaS company, Orchestry Software.. Outside of the office, Hakonson is an amateur banjo player and outdoor enthusiast spending time in the outdoor capital of Canada with her awesome tiny humans, her heroic husband, and her energetic bird dog.
Intended Audience: B2B Business Owners, Media Outlets
Clutch, the leading B2B rating site that recognizes marketing, IT, and software services providers, has included Maven Collective Marketing among the Top 500 B2B Providers for 2022. Maven Collective Marketing is honored to be ranked among the Top 500 Business to Business companies in Canada for the second year in a row.
Maven Collective Marketing Recognized as Top B2B Company in Canada
The Washington DC-based ratings and reviews platform recently released its list of top Canadian B2B companies across varying industries and locations. When it comes to choosing the best and the brightest, the selection process is based on verified customer reviews, digital presence, case studies, and brand recognition.
About the Clutch Annual Awards
Clutch is a leading ratings and reviews platform for IT, marketing, and business service providers. The annual Clutch Award ranks and awards the finest and highest-ranking firms across industries and locations. The Clutch Leader Awards recognize companies’ commitment to building their expertise, providing stellar customer service, and producing high-quality results for clients. To qualify as a Clutch Leader, companies must display excellent industry expertise, substantial ability to deliver, and a track record of high-quality and legitimate client reviews.
Take a Look Back at Our 2021
2021 was a busy year for the Mavens. We have been blessed to work with many amazing clients, delivering award-winning results with measurable ROI, while also giving back to the community. This honorable award could not have happened without the five-star reviews from our trusting clients. Let’s take a look at some of our noteworthy projects from the past year:
The Mavens collaborated with Getisoft Inc. to provide award-winning B2B storytelling & award submission services in support of the Microsoft Inspire/IMPACT Awards. The Mavens were able to create the award-wining application for Gestisoft, propelling them to a notable finalist position in Regional Cloud Solution Provider – Business Applications Impact Award 2021.
On top of that, we were recognized for our exceptional work with Orchestry Software by not one but four awards – the Web Excellence Awards, the AVA Digital Platinum Award for Best B2B Website, the AVA Digital Gold Award, and Summit Marketing Effectiveness Awards.
Plus a notable mention was our work to develop a tailored webinar marketing strategy for VisualSP resulting in a 200%+ increase in engagement and registration numbers.
That is not all that we did in 2021, the Maven Collective Marketing team was engaged in many other projects that helped all our clients maintain a healthy online presence throughout the year. For more details on our work and be sure to check out our Clutch profile.
Get in Touch with the Award-Winning Team Now!
Maven Collective Marketing is more than just an award-winning team. We are a group of result-oriented B2B marketing mavens that want to see you achieve your business goals with the best marketing tools and strategies. Talk to a Maven today and consult us on how we can help you stand out among your competition. Send us your marketing queries at maven@mavencollectivemarketing.com.
AVA Digital Best B2B Website Platinum Award Winner
Estimated Read Time: 3 minutes
Intended Audience: SaaS Business Owners, Microsoft Partners, Media Outlets
Orchestry Software, a SaaS start-up, is a complete adoption, change management, governance, provisioning, and lifecycle management platform, launched to make work simple in Microsoft Teams, SharePoint Online and across Microsoft 365.
Maven Collective Marketing engaged with Orchestry Software from day one to strategize and align the introduction of the new platform with the launch of the brand, website, and position in the software industry.
The honourable AVA Digital Best B2B website Platinum award
Maven Collective Marketing collaborated with Etude.Digital on the design and development of Orchestry’s website, seamlessly translated the mission of ‘WORK MADE SIMPLE’ from the SaaS platform onto the website and into the brand message, while building a full search engine optimized and engaging web experience that yielded immediate measurable return on investment for Orchestry.
Meet Orchestry's Award-Winning Website
Orchestry's Award Winning B2B Website
About the AVA Digital Awards
The AVA Digital Awards began in 1994 as the celebration of the audio-visual arts. To date, the Association of Marketing and Communications Professionals (AMCP) has judged more than 300,000 entries ranging from audio and video productions to websites and social media sites. 2022 judges panel are industry professionals who look for individuals and organizations that establish and exceed the competition’s high standards of industry excellence.
This AVA Digital Awards recognizes creative professionals and their outstanding achievements in the concept, direction, design, and production that is part of the evolution of digital communications. Maven Collective Marketing is the platinum winner of the Business-to-Business Website Based Production category. Only entries receiving scores of 90 to 100, approximately 16 percent of the entries, are awarded the platinum award. This recognition by the Association of Marketing and Communications Professionals has set a benchmark for Maven Collective Marketing to continuously support B2B technology businesses with knowledgeable expertise that yield measurable outcomes.
Earn Credibility and Validation with Business to Business Awards
Audience: B2B Business Owners, Chief Marketing Officers, Business Strategists
2022 is upon us already! As the world of remote/hybrid digital workplaces expanded, the world of digital marketing / online marketing has also greatly evolved. This presents a unique opportunity for you to capitalize on this growth to apply to your business. Let us guide you to how proper preparation for B2B marketing in 2022 can put you light-years ahead of your competitors.
We all recognize the major changes organizations have made to adapt to the remote/hybrid work, and we aren’t seeing these digital transformations wane for the foreseeable future. We know the spending shift to a mobile-first strategy was among the most significant transformations in 2021, along with the switch in lead-generation channels. Looking ahead, we want to prepare you for 2022 so that there are no surprises for when you kick-start marketing efforts in the new year.
How B2B Marketing will Take Shape in 2022
Enhanced Short-Form Video Content
Among the most effective trends, one can leverage, short-form content like mini videos and clips are great at grabbing the attention of customers. Getting to the point with short videos can be highly beneficial for B2B marketers. Being able to explain or showcase use cases for your tech services/products, quickly is very effective as it aligns with the fast-paced attention spans of the online audience. In addition, short-form videos are significantly more popular on social media channels as they catch the attention of the audience and encourage them to take the next step.
Content is King but SEO Holds the Key to the Kingdom
The Google algorithm, Bing algorithm, and others continue to refine and evolve day after day. For best performance on search engines, SEO (Search Engine Optimization) is not something you want to cut back on in 2022. In fact, 61% of digital marketers believe that improving SEO is key to improving your online organic search results.
SEO impacts both short-term and long-term website traffic, which is what makes it such a critical tool for your website’s performance and lead generation. It’s time to go beyond answering basic search queries and start investing in multi-media optimization such as content, video, images, long-form articles, and more.
Improve Your Competitiveness with SEO Tips
Inbound B2B Marketing Continues to Trump Outbound B2B Marketing
As work environments have evolved from in-person to remote to hybrid, outbound marketing is becoming less effective. It is time to get creative with ways in which you can attract leads. Target your buyer personas and produce quality content that is most relevant to your audience. The new inbound marketing approach is transitioning from Funnel marketing to the Flywheel, which puts your audience at the center of it all. It is all about meeting your audience where they are at by creating personalized content.
Transform Employee Engagement to Employee Advocacy
Being able to associate a company and brand with its people is key to building a connection, and it’s bound to work for both customer engagement and partner channel marketing. 2022 is the year to humanize your brand by transforming basic employee engagement actions into activation and advocacy. Involving your team helps boost brand recognition and visibility while also increasing trustworthiness. Start your 2022, by putting together an employee advocacy program with social media guidelines that will help them participate easily without taking up too much of their time.
The Maven Team Activity
Artificial Intelligence Enabled B2B Marketing
The time has come to improve and expand your ability to respond to your prospects and consumers in real-time. AI (Artificial Intelligence) will help you make data-driven decisions with predictive analytics. Take 2022 by storm by utilizing AI insights to create content and run personalized ad campaigns. Not only will this allow you to have a deeper knowledge of your audience, but also give you a competitive edge in the sameness of B2B marketing. AI is nudging companies to embrace chatbots and virtual assistants to optimize support services and engage website visitors by giving them a one-on-one experience.
Personalized Engagement Marketing
Personalization has long been part of marketing strategies, but doing it intently and thoughtfully is what will drive marketing ROI in 2022. Although an always-on engagement strategy is critical to maintaining the connection with your audience, you must be mindful of your buyer market to make any headway. Adequate insight into your target market and being observant of their behavior will set you apart when it comes to fruitful engagement.
Measure Your Marketing Performance
Fractional Marketing Partnership
There has been much change in the workplace landscape over the last two years; employee upheaval has become a constant. A fractional marketing partnership is going to be the go-to method in 2022 for business to keep their brand standards and marketing performance from dropping. Involving a marketing agency as a part-time CMO and/or external marketing powerhouse to support your internal efforts, will allow you to maintain that grip target market without compromising on your high standards. Changes in the employee structure will no longer impact your B2B marketing strategy if you find the right fit for this fractional marketing partnership.
Maven Collective Marketing provides fractional CMO and full-service marketing to empower you with knowledgeable marketing strategists that take your B2B marketing to the next level. We have the ability to quickly step into the role, identify the missing pieces, and curate the strategy that will drive business success. One of the ways we support Microsoft Partners is by creating captivating B2B award entries, along with supplemental marketing services, such as virtual events & digital performance audits, that showcase their incredible work outside of award submissions. If you are rethinking your organizational strategy, then the Maven Collective Marketing team is here to help you achieve operational efficiency with our marketing expertise.
Building a More Powerful MarTech Stack
2022 is the year for smarter and more streamlined marketing technology. Simplify your processes and enhance the experience for both the marketer and target audience by introducing flexible systems to your marketing stack. Make sure that you are equipped with tools that play nicely together and give your marketing strategy a boost. For example, an advanced CRM platform such as Salesforce or HubSpot on your side has the ability to support B2B lead generation with automation and personalization while tying in seamlessly with Pardot or Hubspot Marketing.
If you are wondering how to choose the right tools for your MarTech stack, start by defining your goals and marketing strategy. This will help you identify the capability gaps and choose technology based on that. If you are unsure of what technology to incorporate, check out our most recommended tools.
Your Marketing Technology Toolkit
How to Steer Clear From Common Marketing Mishaps in 2022
Now that you have a list of must-haves for the New Year, it’s time you familiarize yourself with what not to do so that your B2B marketing strategy is truly successful.
Email Marketing Spamming: You need to be mindful of how many emails you send out and the types of content you are sharing. If you find yourself emailing your audience every week, you are most likely overdoing it. B2B email marketing needs to be handled a lot more delicately and with a strategy that ensures well-planned approach to nurturing your curated audience.
Social Push Without Engagement: Just posting content constantly is not enough to get your audience engaged. You will only drive them away by overpopulating their timeline with an overwhelming amount of information. Ensure you post at intervals and take the time to interact with them to make them feel heard and garner real interest.
Self-Promotional Content: Always talking shop can be off-putting for customers. There is so much more to your B2B organization than just your services and products. Instead, transform your experience and expertise into educational content and teach your audience the need for your product with insightful details on how your offerings overcome their challenges. Make your marketing about them, not you!
Uninformed Website Redesigns: Revamping your website without any research or data can damage user experience. You need to take the time to study website visitors and how they interact with your webpages to get a clear understanding of what design elements will boost website leads. Utilizing tools like Microsoft Clarity will help you understand user behavior that you can then take to your website designer. Here are some critical factors to consider before taking on a redesign project.
Status Quo Microsoft Messaging/Positioning: pushing the same message and tagline as Microsoft keeps you a small fish in a vast ocean of sameness. Without defining your unique value and approach to customers and prospective clients, you are painted with the same brush as all the other Microsoft software resellers and service providers. You must truly understand your value to clients in order to break free from the sameness and stand as category of one.
Boring Virtual Events: Virtual events have become the new norm since 2020, but webinar-fatigue is also becoming increasingly common nowadays. Make your virtual events engaging and successful by reevaluating how you conduct your sessions. It is a necessity to make them highly engaging with information that keeps your audience hooked till the final minute. There are two key ingredients to a successful virtual event, a presentation that is visually appealing and a speaker that knows how to communicate effectively with large audiences. Take a look at how you can schedule and run a successful virtual event with our insights.
Tap into Marketing Success in 2022 with the Mavens
Let’s help you start the New Year on the right note, with the right kind of marketing support. Our penchant for measurable results is what drives us to deliver marketing success for your business. We will customize our services to best suit your needs and in a manner which resonates well with your audience. The Mavens come equipped with a variety of experiences and a myriad of marketing tactics, giving you a holistic B2B digital marketing strategy.
You do impactful work. It’s time you get recognized for it. You may think it’s a bit late in the year to be talking about award entries, but we are here to make sure you have ample time to get a head start on the B2B, technology, and partner awards for 2022. Creating an award submission that helps you stand out and showcase your talents takes time, and nobody wants to be thrown in the deep end as the clock ticks towards the deadline.
To craft a piece this significant, we are here to share with you the ingredients of a winning entry from the multi-award-winning Mavens at this Collective:
1. Carefully Read & Review the Guidelines
Award guidelines exist for a reason. Take the time to read and review them thoroughly to ensure you understand what is expected. Guidelines provide important insight on how to structure your entry and what details to include. They include details on the eligibility marking scheme, weightage of different components of the entry, judges’ expectations, as well as official deadlines and contact information for any queries. If you want to be an award-winning entrant you need to be very familiar with the requirements and scoring of each award entry.
2. Selecting the Appropriate Category
Developing an award submission proposal under the wrong category can cost you, both in time, money and endless frustration. Take the time to conduct research on the various categories to plan how your body of award-winning work fits into them. By selecting the correct category and knowing that your solution/service/product is eligible for entry, you are setting yourself on the path to success. This will take some planning and discussion on your part to determine the perfect fit, but rest assured it will be worth it!
Choosing the Right B2B Award Category Path
3. Stick to the Subject
It is easy to run astray when writing lengthy submissions. Stay conscious of the requirements and scoring criteria are for each B2B award. Speak directly to the requirements and criteria while providing a unique and entertaining storyline that animates the true problem, challenge, solution and outcome for each entry.
Be mindful of word limits! Most B2B, technology and partner awards demand a maximum word or character count limit. This is something you must plan for from the start. It can be very challenging to cut down on details once you have drafted the complete submission.
The Importance of Editing and Proof-Reading Your Submission
4. Prove It
Evidence is everything when it comes to technology awards. If you can show measurable results for the work you have done, it will have a significant impact on your submission. Using metrics and testimonials is a powerful way to demonstrate your impact. Customer case studies are a great resource to capture your influence.
5. Add Visuals
Videos, screenshots, photos, and other media help the judges visualize your work. Even if they are not mandatory to the submission, do try and include visuals if possible in every entry package. The judges usually come from all walks of life and some may not be well-versed in your product or service. In such cases, visual representation delivers the most impact in the fewest characters, which we all know are mercilessly counted.
6. Take Your Time
This might not seem like a big deal, but trust us when we say that award entries are time-consuming and you do not want to rush it. Your B2B award submission is not a race, it’s a marathon. Therefore, you must take your time to plan your submission, map out what needs to be done and strategize an approach. This is the real secret, giving your award entry the time and attention it deserves to truly showcase your soon-to-be award-winning work.
7. Reuse and Repurpose
Reduce, reuse and recycle your B2B award entries throughout the year. This simple entry can be a very fruitful content piece for you to repurpose in a blog, in a case study, into another award entry, transformed into a presentation for a virtual event, edited into a guide of best practices, and much more. Don’t let these award-winning works sit stagnant after all the initial effort to get the award entry up to snuff. Reuse this excellence in the many mediums that showcase the outstanding work your business delivers in multiple means through many channels.
Upcoming Technology, Microsoft Partner & B2B Awards
Microsoft Inspire Awards – The largest partner event of the year, Microsoft Inspire awards recognize the outstanding success of Microsoft Partners from over 100 countries. In addition, Microsoft introduced a new category in 2021, the Social Impact Awards, to drive innovation through community response, inclusion, and sustainability. Award entrants must submit by April to be considered.
Microsoft Canada Impact Awards – This is hosted by Microsoft to recognize Partners that create solutions leveraging Microsoft products, services and technology, and drove exceptional customer excellence in Canada.Award entrants must make their submissions by April to be considered.
P.S. We have had the pleasure of taking our clients to the finalist circle last year!
Deloitte Awards – These awards recognize the unique strengths of Canadian innovation. Some noteworthy categories are: Technology Fast50 & North American Technology Fast500. Award entrants have deadlines ranging from April through summer.
Fast Company Innovation by Design Awards – Honors people and companies solving problems of today and tomorrow through innovation. Award entrants must submit by April to be considered.
SaaS Awards – The Software-as-a-Service awards celebrate software solutions that solve business challenges.by them, relevant to our North American audience: International Business Awards & American Business Awards.Award entrants must submit by May to be considered.
Stevie Awards – Acknowledge the positive contributions of organizations worldwide, Here are some awards hosted by them, relevant to our North American audience: International Business Awards & American Business Awards. Award entrants must submit by February to be considered.
P.S. We have had the pleasure of taking this award in years past!
The CANIE Awards – The Candian Innovation and Entrepreneurship Awards promote and encourage innovators and entrepreneurs in Canada to create unique solutions year after year.Award entrants must submit by April to be considered.
IT World Awards – Honoring achievements in every field of information technology, IT World awards provide industry-wide recognition. Regular deadlines are in January, but you have the option to submit late entries until April.
Future of Tech Awards – Celebrating the leading product and innovation in the US technology sector. Award entrants must submit by November to be considered.
That’s not all, there are several regional and global awards that take place throughout the year. Put your best foot forward as you step into 2022 by celebrating your hard work.
Stand Out in the Sea of Sameness
All of this can seem overwhelming, and that’s where we come in. Maven Collective Marketing is well-versed in the curation of exceptional award submissions. We are storytellers that capture all the essential components of your work and streamline the otherwise overwhelming process of submitting one or multiple B2B award entries. That is exactly why we are here today, to give you a gentle reminder that it is time to start thinking about how you can make the most of this opportunity with us.
We know how demanding and time-consuming B2B award proposals can be. Let’s not forget that if something is worth doing, it is worth doing well. Maven Collective Marketing can not only help you strategize your proposal, but also weave the complete entry to tell your riveting story. Leverage our expertise to create entries for any B2B, technology, or product innovation award, and check out our Business Awards Submission Service for more details on how we can assist you.
Maven Collective Marketing is dedicated to your success, and hence, we have decided to work with a limited number of award entries in the coming year. We limit entries to ensure we will be able to give every unique entry the time and resources they deserve to podium in 2022.
For 2022 award entries, if you would like us to work with you to craft that top-notch submission, then you must act fast! Reach out to us while there still are limited spaces to help you leap ahead.
The world has had a tough couple of years, and we have all seen how much we need to unite as a community to uplift spirits and not lose heart. When times get tough, the tough get doing. With the same spirit, Maven Collective Marketing is delighted to present its Pay It Forward initiative this holiday season.
Every year, the Mavens get together to support incredible organizations and charities to help them in their endeavor of supporting those in need. We are so proud to share the ten chosen organizations this year!
Why We Do What We Do
“We feel extremely fortunate to be able to support these outstanding organizations each year that enable and empower others in our community, in our country, and in our world. This initiative fuels us year-round, but when we truly get down to the opportunity to Pay It Forward each year our hearts swell and it lifts our spirits to work harder to give more year over year,” exclaims Erica Hakonson, Principal at Maven Collective Marketing.
Erica Hakonson Principal and B2B Marketing Maven
Pay It Forward 2021: Selected Charities
Unicef – Give A Vax Program
Unicef has been tasked to procure and deliver over 2 billion vaccines to health workers and people in lower-income countries. By donating to the ‘Give a Vaccine Program’ we’ve helped with the distribution and accessibility of the COVID-19 vaccine for people around the world.
Cathy FitzGerald B2B Senior Digital Strategist
“Give a Vax UNICEF is a great initiative as it provides COVID vaccines to people in developing countries that may not otherwise receive a vaccine. It’s important that developed countries help their neighbors around the world by sharing the limited supply of vaccines more fairly,” shares Cathy FitzGerald, Senior B2B Digital Marketing Maven at Maven Collective Marketing.
Fistula Foundation
Fistula Foundation is an international organization that supports women with cost-effective surgery to help them overcome an injury that occurs during childbirth. This year with the Pay It Forward Initiative, we were able to fund a complete restorative surgery for a woman in need.
Women for Afghan Women (WAFW)
The WAFW organization aims to protect and provide essential services to women suffering from afflictions and rights violations through the unstable situation in Afghanistan.
Indian Residential School Survivor Society (IRSSS)
The IRSSS is a provincial organization with a 20-year of history of providing essential services to Indian residential school survivors and their families through health and cultural support.
“With the recovery of hundreds of children’s bodies buried in unmarked mass graves on the sites of former residential schools across Canada this year, we’ve all been made even more acutely aware of the horrific abuse that indigenous children underwent in those facilities. The lasting damage of the residential schools’ program on future generations of indigenous families can’t be overstated. The IRSSS is an important resource for those families, supporting survivors with counseling, health, and cultural services,”tells Arianna Ardenne, Digital Marketing Maven at Maven Collective Marketing.
Arianna Ardenne B2B Marketing Strategist
World Central Kitchen
Nourishing and supporting communities through healthy, hot meals is the mission of the World Central Kitchen. The critical work the World Central Kitchen provides is emergency food relief to those that need a helping hand in the face of disaster around the world.
Crisis Centre of Canada
A national network of existing distress, crisis, and suicide prevention line services, Crisis Centre of Canada addresses the gaps in mental health services by supporting individuals across the country.
Melissa Battista B2B Marketing Strategist
“I am a huge fan of the Crisis Centre of Canada and the work that they do to help those in need. Over the last year, mental health has become more important than ever with so many people affected by the global pandemic. I am grateful for the Crisis Centre of Canada being there for people during these extremely difficult times. Our support helps the Crisis Centre of Canada continue to help those that need it most,” states Melissa Battista, B2B Digital Marketing Maven at Maven Collective Marketing.
Squamish Helping Hands
Squamish Helping Hands has created a supportive community that provides food, housing, sustainable funding and encourages individuals with professional support and community connection right in the community that Maven Collective Marketing is headquartered.
Nature Conservation of Canada
A non-profit conservation organization, Nature Conservation of Canada, has helped protect 35 million acres across the country. By protecting the most precious natural places, the organization protects the beauty and integrity of the great white North.
BC Children’s Hospital Foundation
BC Children’s Hospital Foundation strives to provide the best healthcare imaginable for children through its acute care center, research institute, mental health facility, and rehabilitation center.
Ronald McDonald House BC
The Ronald McDonald House BC delivers housing to over 2,000 families per year that are far from home when receiving care for children’s illnesses and major medical procedures. The house is a place of healing and provides comfort to families in tough times with the chance to be present with their loved ones.
“A lot of lives have been turned upside down over the last year andwe just wanted to make a difference, even one family, if possible. We wanted to ease the struggle for families which are already going through so much, and contributing to BC Children’s and the Ronald McDonald House would be a small step towards this,” details Samridhi Sharma, B2B Digital Marketing Maven at Maven Collective Marketing.
Samridhi Sharma B2B Digital Marketing Specialist
Learn More to Pay It Forward
We are grateful to have the ability to help these organizations and support their heroic missions. We are always looking for new opportunities to support outstanding organizations that deliver services to make the world a better place and radically change lives for the better. If you would like to learn more about our contributions or provide a tip about an organization we should donate to, please feel free to reach out to us at mavens@mavencollectivemarketing.com.
Rebranding is exactly what the word suggests, giving your brand a new identity. Developing a new identity can be a challenge for established organizations that have grown attached to their existing brand. However, your brand is more than just symbols and a name, it is the sum of your vision, culture, mission, products/services, customers, and even prospective customers.
But, why? After all, building any brand’s persona takes time and is done after careful consideration, so why would you change all this. You have a point, but we at Maven Collective Marketing want to give you another perspective on what rebranding can mean for a B2B technology company.
Why is Rebranding Important?
Businesses grow and evolve over time, and it becomes essential to ensure that your brand is keeping pace. Especially in the rapidly evolving technology industry, staying current determines your relevance in the marketplace. Rebranding allows you to make meaningful changes that infuse your business with new energy.
You should investigate rebranding if it feels like your business is outgrowing its original vision and mission, and/or if your niche market has become increasingly more saturated with competition. There are also times when organizations should consider a brand overhaul to overcome a poor reputation.
Out with the old, In with the New?
Rebranding is a journey you should only embark on with a purpose. It is not a filler project you take on just because you are bored of how your brand looks. Keep that in mind and start by understanding your business values and how they may have changed over time. You have probably added/expanded new service offerings over the years or are trying to capture a new audience segment with your new and shiny SaaS product. A rebrand is an effective way to expand your reach in such cases.
Once you have carefully examined your current position in the market only then you should make informed decisions about overhauling your brand image.
Redesign Your Branding Strategy
A brand refresh brings about several benefits for a B2B technology company, take a look:
Reconnect with Your Audience & Build New Ties
When you refresh the brand, it gives you a new chance to reconnect with your target audience and customer base. By presenting them with a new vision and fresh perspective you are able to show how you have grown over the years. This is also a good opportunity to go after a new market segment with your refreshed look. Sometimes, repositioning oneself in the industry is a creative way to create a buzz in the market and garner more interest from prospective customers.
Modernize and Stay Current
Design trends change over time and so will the direction you choose for your brand identity as the years go by. Businesses often underplay the role of design, but it impacts how you and your work are perceived. Therefore, by maintaining a contemporary look you ensure that your audience knows that you are aware of current trends.
Create a New Vision
Giving yourself a new look is only a part of the package. You can also alter your vision and mission statement, alongside your brand messaging, to better serve your customers. If you are redefining your target audience, a brand refresh enables a smooth transition towards a new vision. You can take this leap to shift the focus of your services and solutions towards those more relevant to your segment.
Update Your Website for a New Look
Differentiate Your Brand
Competition is high wherever you go and the B2B technology industry is already a saturated market. So, after years of serving customers, rebranding is an effective way to ensure people know of your presence and impact. Revamping the look and feel of your business with a more appealing personality will help you establish yourself as the industry leader.
Raise that Bottom Line
After investing time and resources into curating a successful brand refresh strategy your business could see a boost in the overall performance and profitability if done strategically and correctly. As you showcase your expertise in a new light, stand out in the sea of competitors and expand the reach of your offerings, positive results will roll in!
What’s in a Rebrand?
Rebranding has several moving parts. Some of the major changes that take place include logo update, possibly a name change, website redesign, and updating all visual assets for the organization. To be honest, we all know it is not an overnight transformation but one that is gradually molded over time.
Refresh Your Brand Persona with the Mavens
If you are willing to explore this new path for your organization but can’t find the time to get started, leave it to the Mavens! We have extensive experience in giving established B2B tech companies the marketing overhaul that sets them apart from their competition. They have relied on us for giving their work a new look and feel, and we have delivered measurable results. Reach out to us for a free consultation today!
Award ceremonies are more than just a red carpet, a trophy, and a speech, especially in the B2B and technology industry. B2B Awards and competitions for companies are a powerful way to get recognition in your field of expertise.
This recognition is often underestimated by businesses as they are skeptical of the resource investment that goes into preparing a nomination submission. Let us change that for you and show you why it is worth the effort. Since, both the B2B and technology industry is highly competitive; opportunities like business awards become even more essential to help stand out in the market.
Let’s briefly glance over the types of awards and then dive straight into the advantages of entering business awards.
Ranging from local, national to international, awards of all kinds are available, they can be industry-based or narrowed down to a particular criterion. So, no matter the size of your business or the impact of your service, there is something for everyone. If you are a B2B company, you should definitely be exploring awards relevant to your business to achieve that edge over your competitors.
What is the Significance of B2B Awards?
There are many benefits to submitting your B2B company for an award:
Earn Credibility
Think of awards as a stamp of approval for your business. What is it that your audience is recognizing when you enter or win an award? Your expertise, knowledge, expertise and know-how! Just by entering for an award, you are able to showcase that your product or service is worth knowing and talking about. It is a great way to get larger audiences to learn more about what you do and gain credibility for your work in your industry.
Level the Playing Field
No matter the scale of your business, there is an award out there for you. In fact, many awards allow businesses of varying sizes to compete against each other. In this case, a small startup could be pitched against a larger enterprise. What matters here is your unique solution, process/approach and business model.
Motivate Employees
All that hard work that organizations channel towards their services deserves attention. Awards are a great way to boost the morale of your team and keep them motivated to deliver quality results time and again. These wins are very important for teams and you should not hold back in celebrating together.
Attract Customers
Business Awards can bring in new customers and open new avenues for your business. A lot of award organizers provide media coverage to winners, which can help your company get more attention, so enter the arena and increase your market share.
Boost Your Marketing Strategy
Of course, we know that companies enter with the aim to win, but you can repurpose your award submissions for other marketing opportunities too. Once you have won the award you can utilize its PR toolkit of award badges, certification, and other components to update your own marketing material.
Engagement and Brand Awareness – Having an award logo on your website, company-client documentation, and social media channels helps with brand awareness regarding your achievements and drive engagement for your product.
Link Building – Winning an award can get you featured on reputable websites with high traffic, in turn, impacting your website’s organic search performance.
Content Marketing – You shouldn’t think that all your efforts towards writing that perfect submission come to an end with the award. You can make use of your submission and create various kinds of content around it like a case study, multiple B2B blogs, short video clips, or even conduct a live webinar session that talks about how you attained your project goals.
When is the Best Time to Enter a B2B Award?
If you think you have missed out, don’t worry, award season isn’t limited to a single month of the year. Since there are so many different types of business and technology awards, they are all open for nominations at different times of the year.
Consider your B2B award nominations it an ongoing effort, honing the nomination pitch after pitch. This is not as time-consuming as it sounds, you could subscribe to business press or just do a simple sweep at the beginning of each quarter to keep yourself abreast on forthcoming business awards.
Once you know the deadlines and requirements for the award you are aiming for, it is important to make sure you have enough time and resources to prepare for the submission. We understand that with so many ongoing projects and customers to serve, it can be hard to make the time for this as well. That’s where the Mavens come in.
Captivating Business Awards Submissions with Maven Collective
The Maven Collective team is fully equipped to draft a compelling submission for you. Not only are we an award-winning marketing team ourselves, but we have also helped many clients successfully enter several B2B and technology awards and win!
Each year the Mavens work with clients to create captivating submissions for prestigious awards like the Microsoft Inspire/Impact Awards, Nielsen Norman Group Intranet Design Awards, FastCompany Innovation by Design Awards, Ragan and PR Daily Awards, StepTwo Intranet & Digital Workplace Awards, BC Tech Technology Impact Awards, Les Prix Canie Awards, and the Web Excellence Awards to name a few.
With the Neilson Norman Group Intranet Design Awards submission deadline fast approaching, we are actively curating some riveting applications for our clients.
From our experience, we have learned how demanding award nomination proposals can be, but we also understand what it takes to create a notable, award-winning entry. Starting right from strategizing your approach to weaving storytelling and testimonials into your submission. We extract the right information from you teams and your clients that allows you to shine in a way your organization hasn’t before. Let us be your storyteller and build your captivating award nomination you and your team will be proud of.
We are pleased to announce that Orchestry is the Web Excellence Award winner for Best Website in the category of IT.
Orchestry is a comprehensive adoption, governance, provisioning, and lifecycle management platform that makes work simple in Microsoft 365, Microsoft Teams, and SharePoint Online.
Maven Collective Marketing led the website project with design/development by Etude.Digital (formerly Creative Engine Brand Strategy) to create something unique and reflective of Orchestry’s mission of Work Made Simple. The main goal of the website was to educate prospective clients about the common challenges around Microsoft 365 delivered through dozens of educational blogs and frequent virtual events, practical guides, and useful templates, featuring thought leadership from Microsoft MVPs.
“We are thrilled to see our work deliver such fruitful results for our clients. To be recognized by such a prestigious award is a testament to the work that has been put in and it reflects in the exquisite outcome. We are extremely grateful to have our work recognized at this level,” exclaims Erica Hakonson, Principal of Maven Collective Marketing.
The coveted Web Excellence Awards encourage and promote web excellence and establish higher standards year after year by honoring distinguished websites, web marketing projects, videos, mobile sites/apps, social media campaigns created by digital and creative agencies, designers, creators, freelancers, and entrepreneurs worldwide.
This year, the international award recorded over 800 entries from around the world including the United States, Australia, Denmark, Italy, UK, Germany, Spain, Switzerland, and Portugal. The presiding panel of judges ranged from global industry professionals to academic experts from areas of marketing, web science, and design.
With Orchestry’s win, we have been able to utilize this recognition to set a new benchmark in supporting a successful business and website launch, that drives consistent lead generation, and in turn net revenue.
You too can leverage our B2B digital marketing services that deliver the expertise you can measure today! If you are looking to launch a website, web marketing projects, or need assistance with a brand strategy that helps you stand out among your competitors, get in touch with us at maven@mavencollectivemarketing.com.
LinkedIn is a sought-after platform by professionals from all industries and has over 500 million active members. Isn’t that a great place not only to build a strong professional profile, but also to build your network with other professionals and create meaningful leads for your business? But simply creating a profile and posting every now and then is not the most efficient way to leverage the power of LinkedIn. In this blog, we will walk you through some of the ways you can leverage your personal profile for LinkedIn lead generation and be that thought-leader you want to be!
Why Invest Your Time in LinkedIn
LinkedIn is a vast platform full of people that are looking for or providing different kinds of solutions and services. It is very likely that on a platform as extensive as this you will cross wires with like-minded professionals. Study shows, LinkedIn is 277% more successful in lead generation than Facebook and Twitter.
LinkedIn is a great place to gain visibility and credibility among your peers and industry experts. Additionally, your presence on LinkedIn helps build a brand image not only for yourself, but also for the company you work for. The platform hosts nearly 740 million users, providing great network expansion opportunities to all members.
Establish Your Presence on LinkedIn
Creating a Linkedin profile is easy, but making it visible and of substantial value is what takes work. It is all about how you curate your profile for other members to enjoy, showcasing your experience, strengths, skills, and winning personality.
Optimize! Optimize! Optimize!
We can’t say this enough about the importance of optimizing your personal LinkedIn profile and posts. It is crucial how others discover your profile, aspects like LinkedIn bio, interest, work, and academic experience, all play a role in your visibility. Adding keyword-heavy details in the ‘About’ area, describing responsibilities under each work/study experience, or including links to projects you have worked on can go a long way in improving your visibility.
Optimize your Personal Profile on LinkedIn
Prove Credibility, Authority, and Expertise on LinkedIn
Skills, endorsements, and recommendations can help your profile stand out among other members that don’t make adequate use of these features.
Utilize Skills and Badges to Show Expertise and Support LinkedIn Lead Generation
They are a good way to get that thought leadership status and how people view and perceive your opinions. Skills and endorsements showcase your strengths and the support you have garnered from others, in turn indicating the trust, authority, and expertise you have in the industry.
Endorsements and Recommendations on a LinkedIn Profile
Engage and Interact with LinkedIn Members
Add people of similar interests as connections and follow your interests, other thought leaders, industry experts, and companies whose work resonates with you. Go ahead and join LinkedIn Groups to widen your network and connect with more people. It is always good to have a healthy mix of connections that ranges from people working in and around your industry and at different hierarchical levels. As you grow your connections, you will have the opportunity to analyze their content and learn from their insights as well. Once you are a group member, make sure to participate actively with relevant and meaningful content. You can even create and manage your own group on LinkedIn, this can be a very significant step to get your business the visibility that it needs.
B2B Linked Lead Generation with Group Membership and Participation
Publish Your LinkedIn Content
Creating and sharing content is crucial to your profile’s success. Identify the gaps in topics in your industry and write about what is most relevant to your audience and connections. Sharing original content in the form of insights or from your blog post is vital to exhibit your knowledge. At the same time, don’t be afraid to reshare content related to your brand or industry. Stay on top of trends and make sure what you post is what the audience seeks.
LinkedIn Activity and Content Promotion
Once again, it is time to stress optimization, but this time of your posts. Use keywords, links, and hashtags to make sure your work is reaching the right people. Tagging related company accounts or personal profiles also increase impressions of your post. Find the right balance of how often you post on LinkedIn, do not bombard your followers with too much information, but pace it out at regular intervals.
Spotlight Your Work in the Featured Section
Use the Featured section of your personal profile to showcase your work samples. This section helps boost your profile with valid examples and proof of work. You can include any form of external media, documents, and links that you would like to be spotlighted when someone views your profile. It is a great way to establish your professional identity!
List your Work Samples and Spotlight Responsibilities
Tapping into In-built Organic Feature for LinkedIn Lead Generation
Begin business development with your closest circle of connections and move outwards. This means 1st, 2nd and 3rd connection emails are your starting point. Reaching out to people in these tiers should get you a measurable response as they are most likely to be familiar with your content, hence, they are more likely to engage with you.
Did you know that the LinkedIn platform is the best place for account-based marketing? Narrow down on the industry, size, and interests of your current customers and find others like them on LinkedIn. Use professional demographics to determine who your potential customers are, it is all about persona building and finding those that fit into it in a professional capacity.
Utilize LinkedIn Events as a way to get more information to your audience. Depending upon your target you can organize meetups, workshops, seminars or several other types of events. This is an engaging way of driving interest in your work or solution and building a professional community that further facilitates LinkedIn Lead Generation. You don’t have to organize events for all LinkedIn page followers and can target specific segments and host verticalized events or product demos for specific functions. With events, you can also capture information about your attendees and view their experiences before, during, and after the event. All that information can be really helpful for future marketing initiatives as well.
Creating an Event on LinkedIn for Meaningful Lead Generation
If you are the administrator of a group on LinkedIn, you can send out announcements in the form of emails to your group members. This can include anything from a whitepaper to a product update, webinar, or free trial. It is a simple way to reach out to a large number of people and capture information about those that show interest.
Go Premium on LinkedIn
The LinkedIn Premium account has many added features that you can utilize to harness more leads from the platform. In the premium account, you get regular analytics like search terms and trends to improve your professional presence. Furthermore, it is uncommon to find contact details of other industry professionals on LinkedIn, but with Premium, you get to unlock more InMail credits that you can use to reach out to industry leaders and build connections with larger networks.
We might have given you a lot to consider about LinkedIn and its features. A good place to start would be with your own profile and taking small steps towards optimization. In our next blog, we will uncover more aspects of LinkedIn that help build your company’s presence and how to drive traffic from your Company Page, Showcase Page, and using Sales Navigator and several other Paid LinkedIn Features.
If you have any questions about LinkedIn Marketing and conquering social media platforms for your business, please reach out to us!
