The Point

FEBRUARY 18, 2020

The conclusion: most B2B companies were failing to follow even the most basic lead management best practices, even in areas that one would assume were a primary business case for purchasing marketing automation in the first place. Up-sell/cross-sell revenue? Customer retention? Photo by John T on Unsplash.

Marketing Automation Services 147

Marketing Automation Services Marketing Management Marketing Automation Automation 147

The Point

MARCH 22, 2019

Lead scoring – as a fundamental part of a company’s lead management strategy – has officially fallen out of fashion. Two reasons I can think of: One is that lead scoring is routinely set up as part of an initial implementation of a marketing automation platform. I would argue: no.

Lead Ranking 113

Lead Ranking Lead Scoring Sales Qualified Leads Account Based Marketing 113

The Point

JUNE 29, 2015

Or are companies rushing to implement marketing automation without a full understanding or strategy for how to put that technology to best use? Is this a technology problem relating to ease of use? Is this a technology problem relating to ease of use? Click on the infographic below to view full size.

Marketing Automation Services 100

Marketing Automation Services Marketing Automation Automation Marketing Management 100

The Point

JULY 28, 2009

Tags: B2B Marketing Landing Pages Lead Management Lead Nurturing Marketing Automation Offer Strategy SEM b2b demand generation b2b lead generation marketing offers search engine marketing.

SEM 100

SEM Landing Pages Demand Generation Search Engine Marketing 100

The Point

AUGUST 22, 2014

Earlier this month, I was interviewed by James Obermayer of the Sales Lead Management Association (SLMA) as we discussed how companies can decide when marketing automation is a fit for their organization, and how best to take the plunge. That interview is now available as a free podcast. You can access the full podcast here.

Marketing Automation Services 100

Marketing Automation Services Paid Search Agency Marketing Automation Advertising Agencies 100

The Point

APRIL 8, 2015

The survey asked marketing operations managers and other B2B marketing executives to rank their current deployment of marketing automation software in 33 separate categories relating to either key software functionality or generally accepted best practice. The report is available as a free download from the Spear Website.

Lead Scoring 100

Lead Scoring Lead Ranking Marketing Automation Services Marketing Automation 100

The Point

OCTOBER 22, 2020

A client asks: “I know the answer is probably “it depends” but curious if you think there’s a best practice for how many follow-up nurture emails to send TOFU content syndication leads before you stop due to non-engagement?”. The post When Should I Stop Nurturing a Lead? Photo by Who’s Denilo ? on Unsplash.

Sales Qualified Leads 227

Sales Qualified Leads Lead Scoring Lead Ranking Leads 227

The Point

JULY 1, 2019

A highly tuned lead scoring program will help ensure that motivated buyers receive the appropriate attention and don’t fall through the proverbial cracks. How well does your current lead management process alert reps – be they BDRs or field reps – to high-intent behavior? Sales Alerts.

B2B Sales 124

B2B Sales Demand Generation Agencies Top of Funnel Lead Scoring 124

The Point

JANUARY 14, 2014

In my experience, most of the mental energy and strategic thinking around the practice of lead nurturing and lead management is usually applied to the goal of accelerating prospects through the sales process – from MQL to SQL, from SQL to Opportunity, and so on.

Lead Ranking 100

Lead Ranking Marketing Automation Services Marketing Qualified Leads Sales Leads 100

The Point

DECEMBER 11, 2018

How can ABM best coexist with a more traditional funnel-based demand generation model? In the giddy, early days when solutions like Marketo first arrived on the scene, the reigning view was that the technology was all a company needed to solve their lead management and email marketing woes. And therein lies the first mistake.

Account Based Marketing 157

Account Based Marketing ABM Ideal Customer Profiles Enterprise Management 157

The Point

JANUARY 27, 2016

According to Demand Gen Report’s own demand generation benchmark study , roughly 40 percent of B2B marketers aren’t sure how their lead nurturing programs are performing. It’s a useful reference for any marketer tasked with measuring the impact, and therefore the ROI, from lead nurturing and enabling technology like marketing automation.

Lead Nurturing 100

Lead Nurturing Lead Ranking Marketing Qualified Leads Sales Qualified Leads 100

The Point

DECEMBER 15, 2020

A client asks: How long should a lead be chronically non-responsive before they’re marked as “marketing suspended”? What best practices should we put in place? Over time, an accumulation of stale, non-responsive leads can bump you to a higher pricing tier for your CRM or marketing automation license.

Lead Scoring 162

Lead Scoring Lead Ranking Leads Lead 162

The Point

AUGUST 25, 2020

Lead Management Definitions/Processes. How you define lead and/or account stages (e.g. What SLAs existing between sales and marketing when leads or accounts reach certain stages? Messaging/Value Narrative. – How prepared is your organization to communicate 1:1 messaging for high-value accounts?

Ideal Customer Profiles 147

Ideal Customer Profiles Account Based Marketing ABM Lead Ranking 147

The Point

AUGUST 8, 2013

A better solution, therefore, is add a certain number of points (in this example: 100 points) rather than bring the lead automatically to the sales-ready threshold.

Lead Scoring 100

Lead Scoring Lead Ranking Sales Qualified Leads Marketo 100

The Point

OCTOBER 30, 2013

B2B Marketing Campaign Strategy Content marketing email marketing Landing Pages Lead Management Lead Nurturing Marketing Automation b2b demand generation b2b lead generation lead nurturing best practices lead nurturing tips Marketo best practices Marketo partner marketo tips'

Lead Nurturing 100

Lead Nurturing Lead Scoring Lead Ranking Landing Pages 100

The Point

AUGUST 1, 2013

Demographic scores are best thought of as how interested you are in a prospect. If you only use one lead score value, there will be no easy way to distinguish between, for example, the CEO with little to no interest in your solution vs. the low-level end user with a high interest. Watch this space for Part 2, coming soon.

Lead Scoring 100

Lead Scoring Lead Ranking Sales Qualified Leads Leads 100

The Point

SEPTEMBER 30, 2013

B2B Marketing Demand Generation E-mail Lead Management Lead Nurturing Marketing Automation b2b demand generation email marketing lead nurturing best practices lead nurturing strategy lead nurturing tips Marketo agency Marketo consultant' What other differences did I miss? Comments welcome.

Lead Nurturing 100

Lead Nurturing Demand Generation Agencies Marketing Automation Services Sales Qualified Leads 100

The Point

FEBRUARY 24, 2011

Leads360 base their conclusions on studying more than 20 million leads. They claim that “contacting potential customers six times is the best way to maximize conversion rates without overtaxing staff resources.” emphasis mine).

Leads360 100

Leads360 Sales Leads Telemarketing Leads 100

The Point

NOVEMBER 22, 2016

If nurturing is instead relegated to a “clean up” role – i.e. making the most of those leads rejected by sales, its value will be a fraction of what’s possible. In a nutshell, the process is: lead comes in, SDR contacts leads, if no response, he/she moves that lead to the nurture program.

Lead Nurturing 100

Lead Nurturing Top of Funnel Sales Qualified Leads Lead Scoring 100

The Point

JUNE 11, 2010

Learn more in Spear’s newest white paper : “Top 10 Tips For Lead Nurturing Success: How to Get the Most From Your Lead Nurturing Program, and How to Plan for Success if You’re Just Getting Started.”. 10 Best Practices for Lead Generation & Pipeline Acceleration. Download your copy of the white paper here.

Lead Nurturing 100

Lead Nurturing Paper Marketing Automation Services Tips 100

The Point

APRIL 1, 2014

It’s also further evidence that, far from supplanting Inside Sales, or interfering with the sales process, lead nurturing increases sales efficiency and productivity in a way that can have a direct impact on a company’s bottom line.

Lead Nurturing 100

Lead Nurturing Sales Qualified Leads Lead Scoring Lead Ranking 100

The Point

MAY 14, 2012

“When we implemented (marketing automation) the first time, we jumped in without planning and found that it was not the best way to drive leads to sales.” ” – Manager of Email Marketing, Large Online Retailer. You can download a free copy of the Silverpop/Forrester report here.

Marketing Automation Services 100

Marketing Automation Services Marketing Automation Marketing Report Automation 100

The Point

SEPTEMBER 8, 2010

Two, acquisition is not what email does best. Priority Inbox simply serves to cement and accelerate the recent trends towards inbound marketing and lead management. As a result, ROI from rented lists has nose-dived, and email programs to those lists are now a dodgy proposition in all but the most ideal circumstances.

Lead Generation 100

Lead Generation Lead Scoring Lead Ranking Generation 100

The Point

SEPTEMBER 17, 2014

In response to the audit and in line with Spear’s recommendations, the firm was subsequently hired to: • Revamp existing email and landing page creative based on e-marketing best practices. Design, build and launch a “Welcome” email program designed to improve follow-up and response to new leads. Re-posted with permission.

Conversion Rate 100

Conversion Rate Marketing Qualified Leads Demand Generation Agencies Lead Ranking 100

The Point

MAY 6, 2010

Or even if the processes with which those leads are shepherded along the sales cycle are woefully inadequate, a company may not generate the volume of inquiries necessary in order for marketing automation to make a difference. And lastly, to be frank, it depends how bad you are. How do you know where marketing automation will help?

Marketing Automation Services 100

Marketing Automation Services Marketing Automation Marketing Management Automation 100

The Point

OCTOBER 15, 2019

That doesn’t mean that an inbound strategy should be abandoned entirely in favor of ABM at the first sign of leads that don’t convert.

Sales Qualified Leads 138

Sales Qualified Leads Work Management Marketing Management Account Based Marketing 138

The Point

AUGUST 17, 2010

Tags: B2B Marketing Database Marketing Demand Generation Dimensional Mail Direct Mail Installed Base Marketing Lead Management Lead Nurturing direct marketing b2b demand generation b2b lead generation direct marketing best practices.

Marketing Mix 100

Marketing Mix Planning Lead Nurturing Demand Generation 100

The Point

SEPTEMBER 6, 2011

All this presents real challenges for both demand generation and lead management. Next, iDirect sought out a partner to provide strategic counsel and advice on best practices. All-hands discovery session yields important insights, priorities.

Lead Nurturing 100

Lead Nurturing Lead Scoring Sales Qualified Leads Lead Ranking 100

The Point

MAY 13, 2009

A client writes: “What’s best practice in terms of how many times per month you hit each key contact in your database?” This is becoming a common question, driven in part by the trend in B2B towards more proactive lead nurturing and the rapid adoption of marketing automation systems. Suddenly, companies have the tools at [.].

Lead Nurturing 100

Lead Nurturing Marketing Automation Services Database Marketing Newsletter 100

The Point

APRIL 8, 2010

Tags: B2B Marketing E-mail Lead Management Lead Nurturing Marketing Automation email design email marketing b2b demand generation b2b lead generation Demand Generation direct marketing best practices e-mail marketing lead generation marketo.

Demand Generation Agencies 100

Demand Generation Agencies Demand Generation Marketo Lead Nurturing 100

The Point

FEBRUARY 5, 2010

In the B2B tech market where we do the majority of our work, most of the lead management programs we help design address relatively few, very common objectives, namely: * automating follow-up communication with leads too numerous to be promptly addressed exclusively through direct sales; and. I doubt it. But 40 emails?

Lead Nurturing 100

Lead Nurturing Rules Leads Lead 100

The Point

OCTOBER 8, 2009

Yes, some of my best friends are PR people. For those companies just dipping their toes in the social media waters, my advice is to look at blogs, Twitter , Facebook et al not just as PR tools, but as a key part of their overall demand generation and lead management strategy. But good grief.

Demand Generation Agencies 100

Demand Generation Agencies PR Social Media Paid Search Agency 100

The Point

OCTOBER 14, 2010

As a Marketo agency partner, I attended along with colleagues from Spear Marketing Group to greet clients, talk shop, and hear how other companies – including Marketo themselves – are putting technology to use in the service of improved lead management.

Marketo 100

Marketo Impressions Demand Generation Agencies Lead Nurturing 100

The Point

MAY 18, 2010

Not only will it increase the ROI when you do take the plunge into marketing automation; it will help also you choose the best solution because you’ll have a better idea of what your needs are.&#. Tags: B2B Marketing Lead Management Lead Nurturing Marketing Automation Uncategorized Focus marketo. What do you think?

Marketing Automation Services 100

Marketing Automation Services Work Management Marketing Management Lead Nurturing 100

The Point

JULY 21, 2016

A well-planned, well-designed lead scoring schema ensures that sales reps are spending time with the leads that most merit the investment. Unfortunately, when that basic schema fails to score leads appropriately, reps will very quickly lose confidence in the system, and start to ignore lead scores altogether.

Marketing Automation Services 80

Marketing Automation Services Marketing Automation Sales Management Automation 80

The Point

JULY 15, 2010

Salesforce.com is a dominant player in the CRM category and an integral part of many companies’ lead management, database marketing, and demand generation programs. For larger companies, there’s an old saying in the CRM world, “the best CRM systems are built, not bought.&# HS: Thanks David!

Salesforce.com 100

Salesforce.com Marketing Automation Services Budget Programs Work Management 100

The Point

AUGUST 8, 2011

A recent industry study on Lead Management Optimization, conducted by CSO Insights and conducted in partnership with SMEI and Marketo , sheds insight on the relative budget marketing organizations are investing in areas such as lead nurturing, social media, and lead generation.

Lead Generation 100

Lead Generation Social Media Allocation Marketing Qualified Leads 100