From a simple pencil to armoured vehicles, from translation services to those of a Buddhist priest, and even construction, there is no end to the diversity of the products and services. Basically, it’s almost impossible for the federal government, provincial government, municipalities or school boards not to be interested in what you have to offer.

Source: www.freedigitalphotos.net

Unfortunately, several (if not the majority) of companies turn a blind eye to tenders as a selling option. Why?

Is it because we’re under the impression that governments know who we are? The fact is that companies that want to do business with governments should first be registered in their supplier database. Each level of government and its various components have their own base. So it’s important that you register so they can get to know you. You’re the one that’s contacting them, not the opposite!

Or is it because only big companies get any profit from public tenders? Not so, as many SMEs perform quite well. So why are you waiting to get started and get those contracts?

Too complicated? There’s help.

OSME

The Office of Small and Medium Enterprises (OSME) and its six regional offices are there to assist you with the various procedures in order to facilitate your entry into this world of opportunities.

Info Opportunités

According to the experts, there are more than 35 sites in Canada that cover all public and parapublic contracts in the country. Overwhelmed? Since 1997, Info-Opportunités has been supporting Canadian companies in their wish to acquire new contracts by public and parapublic tenders. They’re available to support you in finding contract opportunities, registering in the supplier database and even bidding on tenders.

Starting June 1st, MERX will be replaced

MERX is known in the sector as being one of the largest tender publication sources. It’s important to note that starting on June 1, 2013, many tenders will be available on a new system directly operated by Public Works and Government Services Canada (PWGSC) and called BuyAndSell.gc.ca.

BuyAndSell.gc.ca is now the Canadian government’s official source for the procurement process subject to trade agreements or government policies whose value is inferior to the limits of the trade agreements. Details on their website.

Other important sites

Tenders from the Quebec government

Are you familiar with the SEAO? This is an acronym for “Système électronique d’appel d’offres” (Electronic Tendering System). This is a primary source of tenders from the Quebec government.

Municipalities and school boards

At the municipal level, consult the website of the city in question. The school boards also have their own system.

Start now

Public and parapublic procurement deserves your attention. Take some time to get informed and follow training programs on the topic. Until then and during this pre-summer period, prepare for your autumn by registering your company in various supplier databases. The process requires investment, but the return on investment could be very high. After completing the qualification process, you will certainly be glad to be accepted as a supplier and the opportunities that come with it: to bid on, and win, tenders. And there are tenders all year long. Be on the lookout!

Of course, a content marketing strategy (inbound marketing) and a good customer relationship management system (CRM) are essential for properly following the evolution of your sales and marketing endeavors.  Social networks should also be considered as a part of your inbound strategy.

If you’re concentrating on Europe, let me draw your attention to social networks in B2B that often go unnoticed by North Americans but are quite popular on the Old Continent.

From a North American point of view, LinkedIn is the natural number one choice among social networks for establishing one’s presence, credibility and making connections. In January 2013, LinkedIn mentioned that it had surpassed 200 million users all over the world. This is the most used professional social network in the West. But in Europe, there’s also Viadeo and Xing.

When in Rome, do as the Romans do.

If you’re looking to network in France or other Francophone regions across the Atlantic, Viadeo.com is the preferred network, with over 50 million professionals. Its features and member management are very similar to that of LinkedIn.

Or if you’re aiming for Germany, Xing.com should be seriously considered. Xing counts more than 13 million subscribers and is known for being very “German-speaker friendly.”

If you’re on LinkedIn, it’s quite possible that your prospects are as well. See if they’re active on LinkedIn as much as on other networks and for what reasons. It will help you make a more informed decision about whether or not to invest in Viadeo or Xing, in addition to LinkedIn.

Don’t forget to adapt your method of communication as the language level and ways to approach people may be different than here. Being part of social media involves merging culturally into them. For a representative, it’s important. After all, these are “social” networks.

Lastly, even if you haven’t signed up on any social networks, reserve your spot, open a free account and take your place before someone else does it before you!

This strategy is often used by companies looking to communicate with consumers. For example, the bottles of Diet Coke signed by the fashion designer Karl Lagerfeld, the Starbucks coffee capsules for Tassimo coffee machines, or the Smart car designed conjointly by Swatch and Mercedes.

Co-branding also exists in the strategic arsenal of B2B companies, but the applications and advantages are much more subtle.

VAR (value-added reseller)

According to Business Dictionary, a VAR is a “retailer who assembles, augments, modifies, and repackages a good and/or service to suit the individual buyers’ needs.”

As opposed to the B2C market where consumers have standard needs, in B2B each consumer has specific needs and expectations. The ways to respond to these needs should be different: products of mass consumption generally suit B2C consumers, while personalized turnkey solutions should be suggested to B2C consumers. This is precisely where the VAR comes in, literally by serving as a bridge between the standardized solution of a manufacturer and expectations of a B2B client.

This is often the case in the IT industry where the Dells, IBMs and Salesforces of this world have partnerships with retailers that recondition one of several solutions to respond to unique expectations of B2B clients.

Strategic partnership

Sometimes it’s more efficient to do things as a group rather than to go solo. This is represented in B2B markets where investments in terms of research and development, operational costs, human capital and know-how are valuable. This is why it’s common to see two companies unite to realize one project (and sometimes they’ll compete for another!).

For example, this is the case of Bombardier, which will co-sign the Primove technology with a bus manufacturer. Later, this strategic partnership will allow Primove technology (which allows for wireless batteries to be recharged) to benefit from the credibility, expertise and brand image of the two associates, which is essential when promoting the brand!

What about you? Do you know of other winning forms of B2B co-branding?

But where to start? Actually, I wanted to begin by talking about the Exo team and of my vision of this dynamic, multifunctional ecosystem, before I get too blue and green (Exo style), of what caught my attention or interested me at the beginning.

First and foremost, an audit

Those who know me know that I’m results-oriented and that I question the need to create this or that marketing tool. At Exo, the word “integrated” comes fully into play. A client arrives and wants us to redesign his website, but does it really need it? And why would he do it, what are his objectives? Well here, no tools are developed if an audit hasn’t been done first. That’s just the way it is! It’s a crucial step that gives an exact portrayal of the client’s marketing situation and helps us guide him in his project. And if the website does indeed need to be redesigned, then we’ll integrate into our strategy the tactics that gravitate around the website and that are essential to its success, such as SEO, PPC and social media. And even traditional tactics. Everything is integrated into sales.

Social media in B2B: is it important?

I was able to meet Mr. Josepf Haslam during a conference held on Friday, April 12th in Montreal by the APCM, entitled “Social media: A structured perspective for B2B.” Presented by Exo Marketing, who has a strategic alliance with the New York-based firm DragonSearch, Mr. Haslam presented his methodology for optimizing marketing processes adapted to social media, and specifically to B2B.

Are you familiar with the game of chutes and Dragon ladders?

To develop Mr. Haslam’s presentation, we distributed a poster-size diagram. Oddly, it makes me think of the game that I loved to play as a child, chutes and ladders. But, as you’ll see here, the game is pretty complex and the objective is to attract new clients by adopting an integrated strategy.

This diagram synthesizes the synergy between a website, SEO, PPC and social media, and which was originally designed in English by Dragon. Exo translated it to French, in collaboration with Ric Dragon, CEO and cofounder of DragonSearch, and it’s available free of charge on our website in high resolution. Just click here.

So if you’re looking to attract new clients, I highly recommend you consult it, study it and try to excel at it, like me.

1. Define your methodology and objective

The methodology is actually the outline of the project. It will help you stay on track, because yes, you’ll soon see that you will want to know as much as you can on the subject! And your respondent will rarely grant you more than 10 minutes.

You can make a shopping list or a small diagram like the one below, which is what I often do (it’s not perfect, but at least it can give you an idea):

2. Write your questions related to the elements of your methodology with an enormous amount of detail

This is the most difficult part of the project. And yet, when you read a survey, dios mio! It seems so simple! Here’s some advice:

• Pay attention to detail: This is what distinguishes a fair survey from an excellent survey: comma in the right place, look for synonyms, avoid influencing the respondent in his or her answers, etc.
• Make it easy to read: Make sure that a maximum number of people can answer your survey. It should be dummy-proof, with words that aren’t too complicated or sophisticated. Use short sentences.
• Follow the funnel technique: Simpler questions first, more complicated ones after. All socio-demographic questions (age, sex, salary, company size, etc.) should be at the end of the survey.
• Choose the right scale: Try to use simple scales:

• Write at least one (1) open question: They aren’t easy to process, especially when there’s a large number of respondents, but it’s an excellent way to obtain information that may not be easily obtained though multiple choice or scale questions. (For example, if you have any comments, please write them in the space below.)

3. Pretest your survey!

Use your colleagues and your circle of contacts. You may realise that certain questions, that you thought were clear, weren’t clear at all.

4. Analyze it!

Before analyzing anything, take a look at your data. Be sure there aren’t too many surveys that are incomplete, incorrectly answered, incomprehensible, etc. To create an excellent database, the norm is to place one respondent per line and one question per column.

Excel will become your best friend. You can do many simple calculations (sum, average, standard deviation, etc.) as well as more advanced ones (pivot tables).

How to conduct a survey?

By phone, paper or internet. Given the popularity and the user-friendliness of the web, I recommend this technique (although not always appropriate). There are several online platforms that can help you conduct your surveys, such as Survey Monkey or FluidSurveys.

Market research can become complex. Get advice from one of the experts at Exo if you are looking for more professionalism.