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Link innovations to sales processes at an early stage

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2 Min.

Innovations are always in demand, innovations are absolutely necessary:
But if this is the case, why is it that over ninety percent of all new product developments cannot be successfully placed on the market?

One possible reason for this was provided by 2be’s Managing Director Matthias Brinkmann in his talk, which he gave to around a hundred invited guests at a meet-up at the Wiesbaden headquarters of Seibert/Media GmbH on September 16.

Brinkmann’s hypothesis: The absolute majority of innovative R&D projects are simply not integrated into a corresponding sales campaign early enough. In this way, valuable time is lost until the start of production to gather knowledge about possible target groups and their specific needs and requirements within the sales process and – if possible – to incorporate these into the development process.

Therefore, a wish to all development departments: Invite the sales department to a delicious cappuccino or espresso 1.5 years earlier.

Matthias Brinkmann cited the conception of a new type of silencer in the field of hunting equipment as an example of how effectively an early coupling of development and sales activities can work. This has already been aggressively promoted as a prototype at industry trade shows and via social media channels following patent registration. Thus, the product, which was still in the process of being developed, already had a name before it was even ready for series production and, with this reach, was able to benefit from a long-standing resonance in the market.

Curious now?

Our contact person will be pleased to help you:

Matthias Brinkmann
+49 (0)911 / 47 49 49 49
brinkmann@twobe.de

Small investment - big profit: Finding the right contact points in sales

Small investment – big gain: finding the right contact points

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2 Min.

“No risk, no fun” is one of the shorthand phrases that promise fun in life if you’re willing to take certain risks. The fact that this also applies to the rather routine-heavy sales department may come as a surprise at first glance. But especially in the search for the right contact points, a well-measured risk and money commitment can lead to success in the long run. But caution is advised even when you have found your way: Times, paths and points of contact can change quickly. Then the game is repeated and you have to deliver new bets!

So where do I find the channels that will best help me in terms of sales?
On platforms such as LinkedIn or YouTube that have already been tried and tested?
Or would I like to try newer “game tables” like WhatsApp Business, TikTok or brand new concepts like Affilate Marketing?

It is important in the “contact laboratory” that the test conditions are clear from the outset. After the What? and how? have been tied down, you need to determine the amount of play money you are willing to put in and, of course, the duration of the play period, usually at least 3 – 6 months. This is the only way to determine which field will ultimately bring the promised success.

Want to find your distribution channel?
Try it out – we’ll support you!

Curious now?

Our contact person will be pleased to help you:

Matthias Brinkmann
+49 (0)911 / 47 49 49 49
brinkmann@twobe.de

Sharing ideas - with the COiDEALISTS!

Sharing ideas – with the co-idealists!

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2 Min.

Idea generators, doers, funders: these are the three groups of people that are absolutely needed to implement true innovations – from the original idea to the final sales campaign. In order to create a common platform where members of these groups can meet regularly, exchange ideas and motivate each other, we founded the association Co-Idealisten e. V. in April 2022 together with 15 other members from the early days.

The basic idea behind founding an association: Too many genuinely innovative, promising ideas get stuck in the bud on the way to implementation. There are many reasons for this: despite good prospects of success, they may not fit in with a company’s strategy or product portfolio, or there may be a lack of comrades-in-arms who could pave the way for the idea; in most cases, there is simply a lack of money.

In the future, the Co-Idealists want to build a ramp on which sustainable ideas can be developed into real innovations. The highlight of the association’s activities should be three annual calls for proposals, in which particularly attractive project ideas can be presented. One main prize is to be awarded via the community’s selection, a second by the sponsors, and a further call for entries is then to determine its winner at random. Teamwork, idea generation, relaxed exchange rounds, highly interesting and burning issues shape everyday life here and we are all excited to see what great projects will develop here.

Would you like to be on board with the Co-Idealists?
Then simply contact Matthias Brinkmann, or stay up to date with the newsletter.

Curious now?

Our contact person will be pleased to help you:

Matthias Brinkmann
+49 (0)911 / 47 49 49 49
brinkmann@twobe.de

Candidate journey digital – which tools promise success?

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2 Min.

The Candidate Journey encompasses all the experiences that applicants gather at all points of contact with a potential employer. These experiences range from the job search to the application process and job interviews to onboarding, and are increasingly taking place digitally.

Finding the right candidates at the right time is more than an ordinary challenge for most companies. Where should a company show itself? In the daily newspaper, on job portals or trade fairs? Is it enough to put a few posts online, or do you need a dedicated social media manager in your HR department?

Against this backdrop, we, Matthias Brinkmann from 2be – Die Markenmacher and Daniel Alt from DAA Holding GmbH, met with other entrepreneurs from the metropolitan region to share experiences, understand challenges and learn from best practice examples.

The Candidate Journey at a glance

By optimizing their touchpoints, companies reach qualified candidates and avoid them abandoning the application while the process is still underway. A positive reputation is also important, as experiences – both bad and good – are quickly shared through social media platforms and employer portals like kununu and reach many people. These also have an impact on future applicants, as the number of job prospects decreases when there are many negative reviews.

Our workshops, tips and tricks, and Candidate Journey Index can help identify relevant touchpoints and compare competitors.

Best practice – chatbots for applicants

Chatbots can process both text-based and spoken language, enabling fully automated conversations with job applicants without direct human intervention. They can be integrated into the career site and offer inquirers a convenient and barrier-free point of contact for individual questions and concerns.

In the search for suitable candidates, chatbots offer two key advantages: First, interested applicants can find out about crucial questions much earlier. This reduces the workload of the HR department in particular: the total number of applications may even decrease, while the number of qualified applications, i.e. people who are genuinely interested, increases. On the other hand, companies learn directly which topics and factors are relevant for potential candidates. Whether it’s the menu in the canteen, the job bike, or simply the Christmas party: this information is not available to competitors and can be used directly for their own advertising campaigns.

 

Curious now?

Our contact person will be pleased to help you:

Matthias Brinkmann
+49 (0)911 / 47 49 49 49
brinkmann@twobe.de

Mentor App: Stay tuned!

Mentor App:
Stay tuned!

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Digital tools are also being used more and more frequently in HR and recruiting. Current example: our mentoring app. It strengthens the loyalty of new employees to their company (“Candidate Journey”) in an easy to act, yet very inspiring way and at the same time increases their performance in business and everyday life by conveying “Tips & Tricks”.

The new app relies on a close connection between companies, mentors and mentees. The mentees can use the app to choose between different mentors, both external and internal. These support them in finding their way around the company better, but also provide information on overarching topics such as sales work, completion of administrative tasks, software handling, etc. Communication with each other is possible in writing, by telephone or even via short video conferences.

The app is financed by licensing to the respective companies and (smaller) contributions from the employees themselves. It is programmed for Android, iOS, but also as a web tool.

https://www.mentoring-club.com/the-mentors/matthias-brinkmann

Curious now?

Our contact person will be pleased to help you:

Matthias Brinkmann
+49 (0)911 / 47 49 49 49
brinkmann@twobe.de

Evaluate offers - establish comparability!

Rate offers –
Establish comparability!

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Anyone who regularly buys agency services knows, of course, that the offers they obtain for the service packages they want are rarely comparable. There are many reasons for this, ranging from the varying quality of content components to the use of special tools and the number of rounds of voting that are priced in with the corresponding service. It becomes particularly problematic when the offers are so complex that the decision-makers can hardly make any real comparisons, because these – naturally – go beyond their expertise.

We are happy to step in here – not as a self-interested agency, but as a fair consultant with a comprehensive overview of the agency landscape and its service offerings. By breaking down the various offerings into their individual building blocks, we work with you to determine which service package is the most cost-effective and reliable for your company or organization in the long term. In this way we create the best possible basis for your best possible decision!

Curious now?

Our contact person will be pleased to help you:

Matthias Brinkmann
+49 (0)911 / 47 49 49 49
brinkmann@twobe.de

Text – Partnerships: The benefit for the customer

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2 Min.

Competent partners in the editorial or content area provide us with the basis to once again significantly expand or deepen our range of offers and services. The prerequisite for this is a high degree of consistency in terms of aesthetics in the design of online or offline content. Important for such partnerships is the permanent flow of communication between each other, but also a high degree of (economic) reliability and integrity in the mutual cooperation. For example, we have designed over seventy joint projects with our main content partner since 2011: We have taken on all the design and IT tasks internally, while our partner has handled all the content. Wherever there were overlaps between the two areas, we formed joint project teams – and always found inspiring solutions for our customers!

Such text collaboration bundles a number of benefits for our customers:

  • Mutual cooperation offers the full range of services and brings an uncomplicated process of text creation and editing.
  • The weak point of many full service agencies is known to be the text creation: Through close partnerships we offer our customers a consistently high quality of search engine optimized text content.
  • Together we form an interface with the customer. The project manager is usually provided by 2be. A direct conversation with the copywriter, the editor is always open to the customer.
  • A reliable, highly efficient coordination process enables the customer to participate individually in the content and the result.
  • Simplified administration: customer receives a quote, invoice, etc.


More on this topic at 2be:
Content is King!
Agile internal communication: How projects succeed

Curious now?

Our contact person will be pleased to help you:

Matthias Brinkmann
+49 (0)911 / 47 49 49 49
brinkmann@twobe.de

Use of digital tools for workshops and seminars

Digital whiteboard instead of flipchart and moderation cards in active workshops

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2 Min.

The Corona pandemic is bringing about tangible real changes in business life, especially in internal and external cooperation. For example, people are switching from analog to digital communication at a much faster rate than in previous years: This also applies, for example, to the organization of workshops or seminars. Whereas whiteboards with handwritten notes and flipcharts used to dominate as the “haptic control center” and participants wrote their contributions to the topics on moderation cards using pens, digital variants such as those provided by Miro as an app or browser version on the laptop dominate in day-to-day business.

Of course, our customers, partners and we long for the good times of direct personal exchange – nothing beats direct contact. Nevertheless, we are certain that these new digital means of communication will also be used more frequently beyond this. Your advantages over the analog variant? They actually involve all participants equally, including those who are usually less communicative or more introverted in meetings. Whether it is due to a spelling weakness, handwriting that is not perfect, or not loving oral collaboration.

The many additional contributions from this side greatly increase the sense of community and the quality of the overall output. Accordingly, the results of such workshops or seminars are usually much more extensive and varied.

Conclusion: In the future, we will rely on “personal plus digital”, i.e. hybrid communication!

More useful tools and tips to support your digital routine:
Together on a sales journey with LinkedIn!
Complete projects at last: Use us as a flexible operations team!

Curious now?

Our contact person will be pleased to help you:

Matthias Brinkmann
+49 (0)911 / 47 49 49 49
brinkmann@twobe.de

go-digital – the 50% funding program continues

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2 Min.

And we are there!

Following a successful test phase in the model regions of Saxony and the Ruhr region, the go-digital funding program was extended by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy to cover the whole of Germany in 2019 – and with great success. The prerequisites for participating companies were employee numbers of no less than eight and no more than one hundred, as well as annual sales of no more than twenty million euros. Those who fit into this grid could look forward to grants of up to 16,500 euros for digital projects.

Now the funding program has been extended firstly and secondly even expanded in terms of its content-modular orientation. In addition to the existing modules: digital market development, IT security as well as digital business processes, companies can now also apply for the expansion of further subject areas, namely the areas of digital strategy and data competence. Not to be forgotten: Companies can submit new applications every year, even if they have already received funding.

And of course you already know! As an agency, we are not only go-digital-infected, but even -certified and thus authorized to offer our customers services in the relevant subject areas.

Take the chance!

More on this topic at 2be:
Go-Digital: Digital market development and business model – subsidy from the state!
Benefit from the federal government’s go-digital funding with 2be!

Curious now?

Our contact person will be pleased to help you:

Matthias Brinkmann
+49 (0)911 / 47 49 49 49
brinkmann@twobe.de

Students wanted – and found!

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3 Min.

How do I ensure a consistently high student load at private or public universities, across all semesters? How do I design study programs that are as practical as possible with a high degree of recruitment security that also meet the needs of companies? How do I go to the market with the most contemporary, “cool” degree programs possible (bachelor’s and master’s, but also short-term programs) and position myself in the (inter)national competition for the best minds?

Accurate answers to these questions are critical to the economically successful operation of universities that are adequately utilized both broadly and at the top. Together with Denis Robens from Umsatzwerk, we, 2be die_markenmacher will offer sales campaigns to ensure the recruitment of students for universities or technical colleges for the entire course of a degree program: This applies in particular to new and therefore little-known offers. The campaigns include targeted strategy development as well as the design of the corresponding web content, and the creation of compelling social media content (especially Instagram, Facebook and LinkedIn). Social media content in particular can be used to promote the participation of German-speaking students for training and continuing education opportunities.

Our method:
There is a solution for every challenge. Our path to the goal follows a 4-thesis principle:
Thesis 1: Preliminary analysis: What advantage do you offer to potential prospects – what is your offer in a very competitive environment? Initial starting points will be defined in the workshop.

Thesis 2: In-depth analysis: Our next focus is on your study programs. Do these address current/practice needs and follow the latest findings from society, business and academia?

Thesis 3: Development program I: We define a unique brand image together with you (within the framework of workshops and steering committee support), sort the study offers and show these advantages to the community of students within the framework of an overarching sales campaign via relevant media and networks.

Thesis 4: Development program II: Since we have maintained a good and sustained dialog with various universities and institutes for decades, we can literally draw from a full range. In this process, we learn what the target group wants and what works particularly effectively. You can also benefit, if you take us on board for your project

Our expertise:
We have already proven our clout and creative power in this field on several occasions. Our customers include the FAU Friedrich-Alexander University Erlangen-Nuremberg, the Technical University Georg-Simon-Ohm Nuremberg, BF/M Bayreuth, Bildungswerk der Bayerischen Wirtschaft Munich, WERKER 6 University + Academy, Gründermagnet – umbrella organization of student start-up initiatives, Ohm Professional School Nuremberg, Berufliche Fortbildungszentren der Bayerischen Wirtschaft (bfz) Nuremberg and the Berufsbildungswerk der Versicherungswirtschaft Nordbayern-Thüringen (BWV). Nuremberg.

Curious now?

Our contact person will be pleased to help you:

Matthias Brinkmann
+49 (0)911 / 47 49 49 49
brinkmann@twobe.de