The Point

OCTOBER 15, 2019

may not be doing enough to educate the prospect , “warm up” the lead, or drive additional engagement, or. may not be doing enough to educate the prospect , “warm up” the lead, or drive additional engagement, or. I’ve made the argument that part of the reason for the rise of ABM is that B2B marketers are really bad at lead nurturing.

Sales Qualified Leads 138

Sales Qualified Leads Work Management Marketing Management Account Based Marketing 138

The Point

JANUARY 7, 2020

The cold hard reality is that successful B2B demand generation. Yes, I realize the traditional lead funnel has officially been declared outdated, but calculating how many raw inquiries it’s going to require to generate the number of MQLs, pipeline, deals and revenue to hit your 2020 targets is still a useful exercise. takes time.

Account Based Marketing 130

Account Based Marketing Top of Funnel Demand Generation Agencies Paid Search Agency 130

The Point

JULY 30, 2019

Much has been made of the argument that Account-Based Marketing (ABM) gained traction so quickly in B2B marketing primarily because traditional, funnel-based demand generation has stopped working. A recent video making the rounds on LinkedIn asked: “ Is Demand Generation Losing its Effectiveness ?” (The answer provided was: yes.).

Demand Generation Agencies 140

Demand Generation Agencies Demand Generation Account Based Marketing ABM 140

The Point

JANUARY 23, 2018

Prospects may simply not be ready to engage with sales because either 1) they don’t know such a solution exists, or 2) they may not be aware they have the problem in the first place. Focusing on only the most qualified prospects leaves many potential (albeit, more long term) deals on the table. Look, I get it.

Sales Management 253

Sales Management Sales Qualified Leads Demand Generation Agencies Lead Ranking 253

The Point

OCTOBER 25, 2018

The analysts at Demand Gen Report just published their “ 2018 Lead Nurturing & Acceleration Survey Report ” and one conclusion is no surprise: many B2B companies are still really bad at lead nurturing. It’s not just that 44% of respondents said that their lead nurturing “needs improvement.”

Lead Nurturing 178

Lead Nurturing Marketing Report Lead Ranking Lead Scoring 178

The Point

APRIL 19, 2017

The best demand generation campaigns start with content that your prospects want. Does the topic help to qualify the prospect as someone suffering from a problem or pain point your product/service can solve? Content can work at every stage of the funnel – early, mid, late.

Top of Funnel 214

Top of Funnel Demand Generation Agencies Demand Generation Paper 214

The Point

JULY 14, 2015

In an era when “demand generation” and “content marketing” are virtually synonymous, most B2B sales leads are the result of a prospect downloading or requesting content. The best opportunity for converting raw inquiries to sales-ready status is at the very top of the funnel, immediately upon the prospect expressing interest.

Sales Qualified Leads 100

Sales Qualified Leads Marketing Qualified Leads Lead Ranking Top of Funnel 100

The Point

JANUARY 17, 2019

At this particular company, all leads flowed first to a team of Sales Development Reps (SDRs), and were required to be contacted and qualified by that team before proceeding further along the funnel. Spoken as someone that never answers his phone, ever.).

Sales Qualified Leads 168

Sales Qualified Leads Tips Lead Nurturing Multi-Channel 168

The Point

MAY 16, 2015

Amongst the usual parade of waterfalls, models, and frameworks (all SiriusDecisions’ stock in trade) were some consistent themes highlighting the direction that B2B demand generation – or demand creation, as our hosts would have it – is evolving in 2015: 1. Outbound is the New Inbound.

Demand Generation Agencies 100

Demand Generation Agencies DemandBase Top of Funnel Demand Generation 100

The Point

APRIL 22, 2020

MOFU and BOFU content like case studies and analyst reports will result in fewer downloads and a slower pace of leads, but typically from prospects that are further along the buying cycle. Remember, thought leadership content will typically drive more leads, but leads that convert more slowly. Place leads immediately into nurture.

Lead Ranking 162

Lead Ranking Lead Scoring Cost per Lead CPL 162

The Point

MARCH 29, 2017

Earlier this year, I talked to a CMO at a B2B tech company whose sales counterpart was lobbying strongly for the company to adopt Account-Based Marketing (ABM) as part of their demand generation strategy. The lead funnel is obsolete. Think about it: most companies have no problem generating leads at the top of the funnel.

Sales Qualified Leads 50

Sales Qualified Leads Top of Funnel High Quality Lead Lead Ranking 50

The Point

OCTOBER 25, 2016

And too often, we’re seeing those same companies – particularly in the B2B tech space where our firm works – investing in martech in advance of, or in place of, getting some very fundamental issues addressed. It generates leads from prospects feeling the pain that you can solve. Poor Messaging.

Buy 100

Buy Telemarketing Top of Funnel Demand Generation 100

The Point

APRIL 30, 2013

It’s a compelling case, but then Josh goes further: “A solid model for understanding Web advertising is the purchase intent funnel. At the wide top of the funnel is demand generation – raising awareness about a product and engendering the brand to a customer. Wait, what? Call it lead nurturing. Call it content marketing.

Demand Generation Agencies 100

Demand Generation Agencies Demand Generation Demand Top of Funnel 100

The Point

NOVEMBER 22, 2016

Yes, effective lead nurturing can educate, cultivate, and maintain brand awareness over time with a group of prospects that aren’t quite ready to talk with a rep. It’s when a prospect first expresses interest that nurturing can help highlight hot leads, filter out the junk, and increase the rate at leads engage with sales.

Lead Nurturing 100

Lead Nurturing Top of Funnel Sales Qualified Leads Lead Ranking 100

The Point

FEBRUARY 11, 2014

[HS] Why do you think that so much attention and technology and investment been focused on the mid-funnel vs. the challenge of generating more and better leads in the first place? [PA] PA] If you think about how marketing has evolved, you need to get your back-office systems sorted out before you attack the top of funnel opportunity.

Paid Content 100

Paid Content Demand Generation Agencies Cost per Lead Lead Ranking 100

The Point

SEPTEMBER 17, 2014

As a company that rigorously tracks and measures the ROI from its various marketing efforts, Sungard AS knew that increasing the revenue contribution from demand generation meant either a) driving more leads into the top of the funnel, and/or b) increasing the rate at which those leads convert into sales. Re-posted with permission.

Conversion Rate 100

Conversion Rate Marketing Qualified Leads Demand Generation Agencies Lead Ranking 100

The Point

JULY 23, 2012

In an ideal world, all B2B sales leads would be pre-qualified and ready to buy. Some of the main reasons are these: • It’s difficult if not impossible to target a message exclusively to those prospects that are ready to buy. This requires a constant re-loading of the sales funnel with new, expensive leads.

Demand Generation Agencies 100

Demand Generation Agencies Sales Qualified Leads Leads Lead 100

The Point

JANUARY 13, 2015

Since email continues to be a dominant channel for most B2B marketers, let me suggest that a good candidate for #1 on your “to do” list for 2015 is to improve the way you measure email campaigns. Only a few years ago, measuring campaign ROI was a pipe dream for most B2B marketers. no improvement matters if you can’t measure it.

Lead Ranking 100

Lead Ranking Marketing Qualified Leads ROI Sales Qualified Leads 100

The Point

DECEMBER 14, 2012

The fact that B2B marketers are even asking this question shows how far demand generation thinking has progressed. Even the most sophisticated lead nurturing program, however, depends on a stream of new leads entering the top of the sales funnel.

Lead Nurturing 100

Lead Nurturing Demand Generation Budget Programs Demand 100

The Point

MAY 6, 2010

How efficiently do raw sales inquiries convert into qualified prospects? Do sales leads routinely enter the funnel only to die a lonely death in the CRM database? What percentage of sales time is spent pursuing, and engaging with, prospects that ultimately aren’t worth the time? From new leads?

Marketing Automation Services 100

Marketing Automation Services Marketing Automation Marketing Management Automation 100

The Point

JULY 21, 2016

I’ve written earlier in this space about the myth that is the B2B “customer journey” and how, in reality, it’s almost impossible to know, even with the most advanced marketing technology in place, exactly where an individual prospect is in the lead lifecycle. Trying to be too complex too quickly. Sending too many emails.

Marketing Automation Services 80

Marketing Automation Services Marketing Automation Sales Management Automation 80

The Point

SEPTEMBER 8, 2010

Acquisition will increasingly rely on inbound tools like search, content syndication, and social media, and email will be the tool by which marketers move those raw prospects through the sales funnel. Disclaimer: Google is a Spear Marketing Group client.

Lead Generation 100

Lead Generation Lead Ranking Lead Scoring Generation 100

The Point

AUGUST 8, 2011

If the top budget priority for 2011 is “increasing customer acquisition,” it seems contrary at best to suggest that lead generation (alternatively, demand generation or “feeding the funnel”) is dropping in precedence. Simply said: social media is not a budget category. It’s an approach.

Lead Generation 100

Lead Generation Social Media Allocation Marketing Qualified Leads 100

The Point

SEPTEMBER 29, 2011

Prospects may simply not be ready to buy a solution because either 1) they don’t know such a solution exists, or 2) they may not even be aware they have the relevant problem in the first place; • focusing on only the most qualified prospects leaves many potential (albeit, more long term) deals on the table.

Sales Qualified Leads 100

Sales Qualified Leads Lead Ranking Lead Scoring Leads 100

The Point

MAY 30, 2023

Do you email new posts every month to customers and prospects? Improve lead nurturing and funnel conversion. How do your funnel metrics compare to industry standards? Moving the needle on conversion rates – especially early in the funnel – can have an exponential effect on pipeline.

Marketing Budget Creation 147

Marketing Budget Creation Budget Programs Marketing Budget Paid Search Agency 147

The Point

AUGUST 7, 2020

Early stage or “top of funnel” content generally speaks to industry trends or best practices because early stage buyers may only just be launching their research, or perhaps not even aware they have an urgent problem to solve. Lead generation most often requires top-of-funnel (TOFU) content.

Top of Funnel 217

Top of Funnel Buying Cycle Buy Best Practices 217

The Point

FEBRUARY 28, 2017

Lead Funnels? Aaron Dun wrote a great article last month for CMSWire in which he detailed strategies that he believes B2B Marketers need to adopt to stay current in “a highly digital, connected world.” the better to attract a wider spectrum of prospects with different preferences for how they like to consume information.

Paper 100

Paper Demand Generation Agencies Lead Ranking Marketing Qualified Leads 100

The Point

OCTOBER 18, 2016

Whether you’re focused on generating net new inquiries, or nurturing existing leads through the funnel, it’s often best to utilize a mix of content types, the better to appeal to a range of prospects. Or start with one core piece of content – say, a white paper – and then repurpose it in multiple forms.

Demand Generation 100

Demand Generation Demand Generation Top of Funnel 100