The MarCom Strategist: A Free B2B Marketing E-Newsletter

June, 2007
Published by Dianna Huff
Volume 7, Number 6

Welcome!

I started my business in 1998 -- when the Internet was still a new and very static medium, blogging, podcasts, and Facebook didn't exist, and an "integrated marketing campaign" meant adding a URL to a print ad.

Boy, those days have changed! To acknowledge these industry changes -- and changes to my business as well -- I made the bold (and very scary) decision to change the name of this newsletter.

Changing the name from The MarCom Writer to The MarCom Strategist also helps better communicate what this newsletter is about: how to develop effective B2B marketing strategy and then implement that strategy using the multiple tactics available today -- from blogging and podcasting to SEO and Web content and everything in-between.

I'd also like to give a very public thank-you to fellow B2B marcom copywriter and consultant, Steve Slaunwhite, who suggested the name to me.

And, this month, I take a break from typical topics in order to talk about one of my favorite things -- the U.S. space program.

Dianna Huff

Why Alan Shepard Had the Right Stuff

I've always enjoyed watching the travails and successes of the U.S. space program in movies and TV programs such as The Right Stuff, Apollo 13, and From The Earth to The Moon.

So imagine my delight when my family and I took the three-hour Kennedy Space Center tour during our vacation. The tour highlight? Visiting the launch pad where Mercury 7 astronaut Alan Shepard made history as the first American launched into space May 5, 1961.

If you've seen The Right Stuff, you know Shepard was strapped into a tin can of a capsule ("sp*m in a can"), which sat atop a Redstone rocket, for hours before the actual launch.

What you don't see in the movie, however, is the technology behind this history-making event. As the tour guide told the story, the marketer / tech geek inside of me was held spellbound.

The engineers and experts on the ground who controlled Shepard's launch worked in a squat building of reinforced cement, 15 inch thick windows, and steel doors. Called a "blockhouse," this building was designed to withstand the intense heat of the rocket blasts and protect the ground crew from possible explosions -- because the launch pad was a mere 400 feet away!

Why so close given the danger involved? I had to laugh when the tour guide told us the reason.

Using the technology of the time, NASA engineers literally strung copper wires along the ground from the computers in the blockhouse to the rocket itself. But, they could only go a distance of 400 feet because the signals sent along the copper wire deteriorated shortly thereafter.

The original computers used for the launch remained intact in the blockhouse. Built by Burroughs Corporation, the hulking gray machines, full of buttons and toggle switches, took up most of the interior space. (In fact, according to NASA, all of that technology now fits into a wristwatch.)

What cracked me up? The ashtrays built into each computer station.

I could only imagine writing the marketing copy to sell this technology -- would the ashtrays have been a feature or a benefit?

While I've always held our astronauts and our space program in high esteem, I came away from the tour with an even greater respect for what the U.S. accomplished during those early years. Imagine sitting on top of a rocket, about to be blasted into space, and the only thing between you and sudden death is a missed signal somewhere along 400 feet of copper wire. Amazing. Yes, Alan Shepard really did have the right stuff.

Have you toured the Kennedy Space Center? Do you follow the space program? Do you know of any good books on the topic? Send your comments to me.

Fun Links:

• Notes on Alan Shepard's historic flight
• Wikipedia's entry on the Burroughs Corporation
• Computer History Museum's collection of marketing brochures
• NASA Website

Podcast: Marketing's Relationship to Sales

When I started my marcom career about 15 years ago, I really had no clue about sales and how B2B marketing fit into the sales process. In fact, it wasn't until I met Mac McIntosh, the business-to-business sales lead expert, about seven years ago, that I really began to understand how marketing and sales work together.

In this third installment of the MarCom Strategist podcast, Mac and I talk about the difference between inquiries and sales leads and why marketing needs to understand the sales process and work to ensure we're getting real results.

Other questions Mac and I cover include:

• How marketing can help sales generate leads.
• Determining which marketing tactic to use.
• Why marketing should be involved in the sales lead process.
• Why marketing needs to toot its horn.

What can Dianna Huff do for you?

My goal is to make your job easier -- and to help you succeed with your marketing projects and campaigns.

• Want your site to rank well in Google through search engine optimization (SEO) copywriting?
• Responsible for a B2B e-newsletter and need help getting it out the door?
• Need a complete Website overhaul and don't know where to begin?

If you answered yes, then give me a call at 603-382-8093 or send e-mail to info@dhcommunications.com. I can help you.

Keep up with the latest MarCom news at The MarCom Writer Blog.