B2B Connection

When the tables are turned and they’re the ones buying something, marketers turn to peers before making a decision. As a marketer, you’re savvy to all the strategies that go into transforming leads into customers, and the tools you choose for your business are an essential part of your craft. But your own expertise in attractive branding and slick messaging may give you pause when it comes to shopping for those tools. You know how to sell the benefits of your product or service effectively, which makes you hyper-aware of being sold to by other vendors. So how do you go about researching the best marketing tech for your business? What sources do you trust? Where might your skepticism come in handy? Read on to learn how other marketers like you navigate their technology purchasing decisions. In this recent post, we pointed out the key findings of our 2018 B2B Buying Disconnect Report and highlighted the gap between technology vendors tactics’ and their target customers’ preferences. In a nutshell, across the board people buying technology crave more transparency from vendors to win their business. The full report contains the feedback of 438 buyers and 200 vendors, but we thought you […]

Today, we awarded the 2018 TrustRadius Top Rated badges for Sales Intelligence Software. The TrustRadius Top Rated awards are unique in that they are an unbiased reflection of customer sentiment, based solely on user satisfaction scores. They are not influenced by analyst opinion, the vendor’s company size, popularity, site traffic, or status as a TrustRadius customer. Sales intelligence tools allow sales teams to stay on top of prospect and client data. These products aim to make salespeople more productive by updating/augmenting account and contact data and surfacing details that can help reps qualify leads or provide context for a conversation. They (typically) integrate with the user’s CRM, email inbox, social networks, and web browser. It’s important for sales intelligence tools to be convenient to access and easy to use, as well as provide accurate data. Reviews provide buyers with insight into these areas from sales reps, managers, and marketers who use sales intelligence tools to build a pipeline. Feedback from users who have experience with more than one sales intelligence tool is particularly valuable, since they’re able to compare products head to head and explain where products can be used in combination. Here are the winners: Overall Top Rated ZoomInfo […]

With the increased availability of intuitive development tools, online reference materials, and how-to videos, more people than ever are creating their own mobile apps. The result is that an individual or an organization with the right idea can find success on Apple and Google’s app stores. Even with all these advantages, however, the mobile application market is one of the most fiercely competitive marketplaces in modern business. Because of this, there are many factors that a developer should consider before writing even the first line of code. Market factors can change quickly in tech. Once-universal best practices can fall by the wayside in favor of new ones. Users can be can also be fickle. Failure to cater to their wants and needs can result in a product that could be dead on arrival. Therefore, your app’s success depends on much more than a clever name and a stylish pitch deck. As a member of the tech industry, I’ve seen firsthand how app creators conceptualize their ideas. They change and adjust them through iterative development, and pull all the elements of their app together for its launch. And while not every app hits its mark, I’ve noticed the products that succeed […]

Project portfolio management is the organization and management of all projects within an organization from a high-level perspective. Project portfolio management (PPM) can sometimes be confused with project management. However, they are very different. To point out the differences, we’ll briefly go over what project management is first. Then, we will continue with an in-depth explanation of project portfolio management. What is Project Management? The most important thing to note about project management is that a project manager is usually responsible for a specific project’s tasks. The project is meant to result in a specific product, service, feature, etc. A project manager (PM) could have multiple projects that they are responsible for managing. However, each project runs separately. A PM usually works with a project team, and that person is responsible for task management and team collaboration. A project manager may have tasks including: Making project objectives, milestones, and tasks clear Assigning people and deadlines to tasks Planning and keeping track of a project’s roadmap Ensuring that tasks are completed on time and milestones are hit Keeping track of the budget and other resources Understanding and preventing risks Managing the project team to achieve success A project manager may have […]

Content marketing is a pretty widely interpreted and applied marketing term. The Content Marketing Institute defines content marketing as a “strategic marketing approach focused on creating and distributing valuable, relevant, and consistent content to attract and retain a clearly defined audience – and, ultimately, to drive profitable customer action.” Due to the broad definition of content marketing, it’s not uncommon to see many campaigns fail. I’m here to tell you that understanding content marketing and the results that it can drive can be as simple as a ratio. Specifically, an 80:20 ratio. The Pareto Principle & How It’s Related to Content Marketing Back in 1896, an Italian Economist named Vilfredo Pareto first noted that 80% of Italy’s land was owned by 20% of Italy’s population. After several follow-up studies, he then found a similar ratio in other European countries. People have been finding this same ratio in places that Mr. Pareto would’ve never thought. This principle can be applied to computer science (20% of most-reported bugs cause 80% of crashes), sales and business (20% of your customers account for 80% of your profit), and even criminal investigation (20% of crimes are committed by 80% of criminals). Regardless of the action […]

What do vendors actually mean when they say their products are “AI-driven”, or “contain built-in machine learning capabilities?” (if they mean anything at all). Certainly, technology buyers have become pretty cynical about the use of these terms to sell a product. A recent Resulticks survey, reported in Adweek, found that: 47% of marketers consider AI to be overhyped 20% of marketers think vendors don’t know what they are talking about 40% of marketers surveyed say that the expression “artificial intelligence” makes them feel skeptical, and 12% feel exhausted   Let’s take a closer look at these technologies and what they can do. Artificial Intelligence (AI) is the broadest and vaguest term in this domain. AI has been around since the 1950s and is really a superset of machine learning and deep learning. The essence of AI is developing computer systems that can perform tasks that are normally thought to require human intelligence. Hal, the artificially intelligent machine from the movie 2001: A Space Odyssey is probably the first thing that springs to mind in the popular imagination when somebody brings up AI. While at a practical level we may be a long way from Hal, there have been significant advances […]

With the advent of platforms like Upwork, Elance, and Freelancer.com, the freelance economy has absolutely exploded. According to a 2017 study on Freelancing in America conducted by Edelman Intelligence, there are over 57 million freelancers working in the United States alone. That’s over 35% of the workforce! What’s perhaps even more telling, is that a strong majority of freelancers (63% to be exact) feel more financially secure with diversified income as opposed to just one employer. Freelancers in the study average 4.5 clients per month. Freelancers are also now investing in skill development on a regular basis. The study found 55% of freelancers reskilled within the last 6 months! That’s almost double the 30% of others who reskilled within the same time frame. So what does this revolution mean for small businesses? Expert human resources, that were formerly only available to small businesses as full-time hires, can now be afforded on an as-needed basis. It’s not dissimilar to the flexibility the SaaS model has provided to smaller businesses over the past decade. After all, the SaaS boom opened the door for budget-strapped organizations to leverage tools formerly reserved for enterprises and pay to use them monthly on a subscription basis, […]

Containers exist because they solve an important problem: how to make sure that software runs correctly when it is moved from one computing environment to another. In an agile, DevOps world, this has become more critical than ever. Agile methodologies are based on frequent and incremental changes in the code versions, such that frequent testing and deployment are required. The DevOps engineer has to manage the IT infrastructure as per the requirement of supported software code that is dedicated in a hybrid multi-tenant environment. There is a need to have the required resources for provisioning and getting the appropriate deployment model and also validating and monitoring the performance. DevOps engineers frequently move software from a test environment to a production environment and to ensure that the required resources for provisioning and getting the appropriate deployment model are in place, and also validating and monitoring the performance. For example, a different version of a required software library may be running. Or maybe the target machine uses a different compiler or loader. Incompatibilities of this kind can cause headaches for DevOps engineers. The Initial Solution: Virtualization One well-known solution to this problem is virtualization. Virtualization has been around for decades and is […]

When it comes to picking prospecting tools, sales and marketing teams are in a more powerful position than they’ve ever been. Regardless of the specifics of what a company does, the products it’s selling, or even its budget, there’s never been so much choice when it comes to choosing tools that will help supercharge their sales efforts.   That said, with so many tools to choose from, how can we know which ones will work best for us? Obviously, since every company and its needs are different, there’s no one “right” answer to this question. But what we can do is look at which tools are hot on the radar of others in the industry, and leverage perks such as free trials and demos to establish which tool (or tools) best fit our own unique needs. Here are 5 prospecting tools to consider, broken down by price, features, and ease-of-use. 1. Harness the Power of Video with BombBomb Did you know that 55% of us watch videos online every day? And that experts predict video will account for 80% of all online consumer traffic by 2019? That means one thing: if you’re not using video in your marketing already, you probably […]

This is old news. We’ve got new research for 2021. SEE THE NEW DATA Many B2B technology vendors claim to be buyer-focused and even “customer-obsessed” in their marketing, sales and product strategies. But in reality, most vendors fall short. Buyers don’t trust vendors to tell them the whole truth about their products, and it isn’t always easy for buyers to connect with customers who have relevant experience. Read on for tips and insights from the 2018 B2B Buying Disconnect Report on how your peers are navigating the buying process, including which resources they use to make confident purchase decisions, and why. Buyers Need the Whole Truth to Feel Confident Making a Purchase When you need to find a new tool at work, the stakes are high — both financially and in terms of your professional reputation. It’s a big investment, and you need to get it right. To explore how modern buyers approach this process, and how well vendors’ marketing and sales tactics align with buyers’ preferences, we conducted a survey of 438 buyers and 240 vendors. The most common cost for one technology product, purchased in the past year by buyers who participated in our survey, was $11,000-$50,000 annually. […]

Now, more than ever, people are clamoring for a humanized workplace — one where employees feel safe and respected, motivated to innovate, and inspired to get work done efficiently. Historically speaking, business strategies have always revolved around production and outcomes. And for the longest time, human capital was deemed a mere instrument to achieving those goals.   While some businesses may have managed to stay afloat by following such principles, the ones that can truly endure the tests of time are the organizations that provide the best conditions for employees to thrive and to innovate. Today, the workforce has been empowered to set their own terms. Financial compensation alone is not enough to motivate people to work hard, as professionals are seeking humanized work environments — where their voices can be heard, and where collaboration, inclusivity, and transparency are upheld. Below are the top 5 ways HR leaders can humanize an organization. 1. Promote Equality and Diversity A humanized organization is one that supports diversity and equality in the workplace. Since the New York Times published that expose on the now-disgraced film mogul Harvey Weinstein’s sexual impropriety, Hollywood and various other industries have made great strides to overcome workplace inequality. Through […]

Are you dialed in to what people are saying about your company, brand, or industry? Perhaps you’ve conducted some focus groups and you try to stay up-to-date on industry journals, but the best way to find out what consumers really think about your industry — what they love, where their pain points are — is by engaging in social listening. Social listening is monitoring and responding to conversations that are naturally occurring about your brand. For instance, recently the actress, Kristen Bell, wrote a letter to the pasta company, Banza, to express how much she liked their pasta. Banza responded by sending her a box of their pasta, custom packaged for Bell, espousing her charm, humor, range and many other fun compliments where they would normally list ingredients. Bell was thrilled and shared an Instagram story about the exchange that has since been viewed by hundreds of thousands of her followers. Another great example is from one of Europe’s oldest vacuum cleaner companies, Zelmer. Zelmer noticed an Instagram user’s #zelmer on a post about how her 4-year old son is so enamored with their vacuum that she actually made his birthday cake to resemble one. Zelmer followed up by inviting the […]

With remote teams and long-distance clients becoming increasingly common, the challenges associated with project collaboration are on the rise. Thankfully, there is also an increasing amount of project collaboration software available to teams. Most projects these days cannot be completed by a single person. From proposals to consultancy to development, it is nearly always beneficial to have a team of individuals working on a project. Different team members will typically take on different aspects of the project in order to speed up workflow, provide feedback to the project manager, and avoid bottlenecks. This is where project collaboration tools come in. In today’s business environment, software can address many of the challenges that come up with collaborating on a project. More than that, project collaboration tools can actually make the project much more efficient and successful if used effectively. Key Areas Where Software Can Help Project Collaborations Typically, project collaboration tools address one or more of these three key areas: Communication: This allows free interaction between team members and addresses the headache of long email chains or lengthy meetings. It might be achieved via chat/IM, commenting, tagging, VoIP calls, video calls, etc. Project & Task Management: This is the core functionality […]

It’s every independent contractor’s least-favorite time of the year: tax season. No one likes doing their taxes, but when yours involve complicated deductions or payments from a variety of sources, your annual filing becomes a complicated labyrinth of assets, deductions and expenses. Luckily, the same digital tools that make it possible to run your business remotely also allow you to track your expenses and invoices with ease. In particular, there is a variety of accounting tools and professional tax software that can help you wade through last year’s expenses and deposits and identify deductions you might have otherwise missed. Below, we’ll introduce you to the bookkeeping, invoicing and professional tax software TrustRadius users love—and offer a few tips for making it through the 2018 tax season unscathed. The Accounting Software You Need to Survive The right piece of accounting software takes the headache out of small business administration. Many of these tools have invoicing features, allowing you to easily create professional-looking documents without formatting problems and other issues. Most will link directly to your bank account to track your earnings and outstanding invoices, while also allowing you to easily categorize expenses and spending. Some applications even give you the ability […]

When you need to share data with people outside of your company or organization, a Virtual Data Room (VDR) can provide you with a secure, online environment. A VDR is a series of extranet to which outside users are given access. Customers or partners log in with a username and password that determines their identity and which portions of the extranet they can access. Frequently used by attorneys, accountants, M&A principals and other professionals, VDR’s create a space for all relevant parties to review sensitive documents while decreasing the need for physical in-person meetings (and the costs associated), as well as hard copies of documents. When you start exploring VDRs, you may think, why would I use a VDR when I could use a cloud-based storage system like Dropbox for free? While Dropbox may be great for sharing files that are too large to email, its security levels do not ensure complete privacy for documents uploaded. If you’re navigating an important merger or acquisition, for instance, and need to share highly-sensitive financial documents, it could be catastrophic if those documents were viewed by the wrong person. For this reason, some major companies like IBM have restricted employees from using Dropbox, […]

There’s mounting pressure on companies to build a thriving workplace and culture in order to stay competitive, and the people you recruit are at the heart of this. Finding the right talent for your company can be an overwhelming task with an endless number of platforms and job boards at your fingertips. Understanding who to target in the pool of passive and active candidates is tricky, and figuring out how to successfully reach them can be even trickier. A five-star candidate sourcing program requires developing a cohesive strategy. It can be tempting to dive into sourcing right away, but it’s important to first communicate with management and determine what skills align with your company goals. Make sure you’re also synced up on the timeline and resources available for the project. All of these factors will play a big role in not only who you target, but where you look and what tools you use. You will also need to clearly develop a hiring pipeline and onboarding process with your team prior to sourcing candidates. Onboarding the best candidates takes strategic thought and implementation, beyond leaving it up to software alone to do the job for you. With the right balance […]

One of the main reasons B2B technology buyers like you come to TrustRadius is to find unfiltered and unbiased product feedback from real users. Our research shows that while buyers rely on vendors for information during the purchase process, they also know vendors aren’t always forthcoming about a product’s limitations. That is a primary reason why buyers use peer review sites like TrustRadius to get the full picture and ensure they are making the right decision. When it comes to B2B technology decisions, often thousands if not millions of dollars — and someone’s career — are on the line. We know it is extremely important for the reviews and ratings on TrustRadius to be authentic and unbiased. That is why we screen all reviews before publishing to ensure that the individuals contributing ratings or reviews are recent users of the product, with no conflict of interest, who are able to provide useful and detailed insights. We are the only B2B review site that has had these standards in place since launching our site in 2012. But soon after launching, we noticed a different but equally impactful bias seeping into our data: selection bias. When Vendors Drive Reviews All reviewers on […]

We understand that lean and nimble small business owners invest their heart, soul, and most important of all, their time into delivering the best overall experience for their customers. Of course, small businesses have needs too, with time tracking, bookkeeping and cash flow management often near the top of that list. There are an overwhelming amount of tools and apps out there for business owners that assist with financial management, invoicing, and overall bookkeeping organization. That’s why TrustRadius provides reviews that compare and contrast the leading providers of small business accounting and invoice services, so you can spend less time shopping around. Below we’ve listed, in alphabetical order, some of the leading small business finance products that are also loved by Fundbox users. What is Fundbox exactly? It’s a financial resource that simplifies how small businesses can gain access to credit. Fundbox seamlessly connects with the products mentioned below to examine your business performance and determine how much credit you may qualify for. Once approved, you’re ready to put the funds to action and use it for any project your business needs: hiring, marketing, new inventory, etc. Today, thousands of small business owners are taking advantage of these tools to […]

Customer experience is the very lifeblood of a business. From what customers find on your website or in your physical location, to the salespeople they work with and the customer service and support they receive, their likelihood to remain loyal and recommend you depends on more than just the quality of your product. Whether your customers are consumers or businesses, their experience with your brand carries a big influence with their peers. This often extends even beyond their personal networks.   Presently, we are in the age of review sites. On the B2C side, you have sites like Yelp and TripAdvisor. Alternatively, you have TrustRadius and others on the B2B side. All in all, it’s more important than ever to learn how to not only meet but exceed your customers’ expectations. A great customer experience can set you apart from your competitors. This is especially true in highly saturated markets where customers have many options to choose from.  Thankfully, there are plenty of experts in the field who blog about customer experience management (CXM or CEM for short), turning their own successes, failures, and observations into helpful advice, tips, and tricks for you. Curious about who knows their stuff and […]

The rising trend of using office happy hours and free snacks as a way to keep employees engaged has continuously proven to be less successful than being a proactive employer. Although outside factors may ultimately drive employee satisfaction, the actions of employers—particularly within the first weeks of employment—have a statistically high correlation to team members’ lifetime success in the workplace. Despite those numbers, many companies still forgo thorough onboarding in favor of a meager orientation session or lightning-speed training—after all, when you needed a role filled yesterday, it’s hard to contemplate sacrificing precious time for drawn-out employee onboarding. However, investing in comprehensive onboarding ultimately means investing in your employees. Research shows that employees tend to form fast opinions about the job during their first few days of work, which means that those early days are a tenuous time for employee retention. Indeed, statistics further show that most turnover occurs within the first weeks of employment. Ultimately, the more time that you’re willing to spend on initial training and orientation, the longer team members tend to stick around. In order to improve retention levels and build a more positive onboarding experience all around, there are a few recommended best practices that […]