Dr. Flint McGlaughlin, Managing Director and CEO of MECLABS, opened the B2B Summit yesterday with an hour and a half of rapid fire marketing “truths.” Here are the top five:

1. Brand is the aggregated experience of the value proposition

2. The value proposition must have these components:

1. Appeal – I want it
2. Exclusivity – I can’t get the exact product or service elsewhere (the “only”  factor)
3. Clarity – I understand it/you (clarity trumps persuasion)
4. Credibility – I believe in it/you (specific, quantifiable, verifiable).

3. Landing pages have a 7-second, 4 inch rule. The visitor needs to understand (any confusion results in the visitor backing out):

1. Where am I?
2. What can I do here?
3. Why should I do it?

4. A headline is a pick-up line (Flint’s example: relationships start with a conversation—you don’t walk up to a woman you have never met and offer her a ring and a kiss on the lips – that is what marketers do with their communication every day)

5. Great value propositions replace claims with conclusions—and substantially reduce selling time

The sun is shining and I am off to another packed day—Day Two of MarketingSherpa’s 2012 B2B Summit summary tomorrow!

By Dan McDade