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ANALYZING BUSINESS MARKETS | CHAPTER 7 205

Health care cost-containment
service provider Chapman
Kelly finds its online marketing
efforts have provided bottom-line
rewards.

• Emerson Process Management makes automation systems for chemical plants, oil refineries,
and other types of factories. The company blog about factory automation is visited by thousand
of readers who like to hear and swap factory war stories. It attracts 35,000 to 40,000 regular
visitors each month, generating five to seven leads a week. Given that the systems sell for up to
millions, ROI on the blog investment is immense. 72
• Machinery manufacturer Makino builds relationships with end-user customers by hosting an
ongoing series of industry-specific Webinars, producing an average of three a month. The
company uses highly specialized content, such as how to get the most out of machine tools and
how metal-cutting processes work, to appeal to different industries and different styles of
manufacturing. Makino’s database created from Webinar participants has allowed the firm to
cut marketing costs and improve its effectiveness and efficiency. 73
• Acquired by IBM in January 2008, Cognos provides business intelligence and performance
management software and services to help companies manage their financial and operational
performance. To increase their visibility and improve customer relations, Cognos launched BI
radio, an RSS-enabled series of 30-minute podcasts released every six weeks addressing a range
of topics such as marketing,leadership,business management,and “killer apps.”Attracting 60,000
subscribers, the podcasts are thought to have directly or indirectly led to $7 million in deals. 74

Institutional and Government

Markets

Our discussion has concentrated largely on the buying behavior of profit-seeking companies. Much
of what we have said also applies to the buying practices of institutional and government organiza-
tions. However, we want to highlight certain special features of these markets.
The institutional market consists of schools, hospitals, nursing homes, prisons, and other insti-
tutions that must provide goods and services to people in their care. Many of these organizations