The Point

JULY 21, 2016

It’s well documented that, of the companies who invest in marketing automation, many fail to achieve maximum return from that investment, or even utilize marketing automation technology to its full capacity. In our agency’s work with marketing automation users , we’ve identified 10 of the most common mistakes to avoid: 1.

Marketing Automation Services 80

Marketing Automation Services Marketing Automation Sales Management Automation 80

The Point

JUNE 5, 2018

Earlier this year, Forrester Research conducted a detailed survey of more than 150 B2B marketing decision-makers with the intent of benchmarking the maturity of B2B marketing best practices, focused on revenue marketing and marketing automation. HJS: Marketers scored a mere 2.26 HJS: Thanks Lori!

Lead Ranking 194

Lead Ranking Forrester Lead Scoring Paid Search Agency 194

The Point

APRIL 26, 2018

Between DSPs, DMPs, site personalization engines, marketing automation systems and CRMs, marketers now have access to platforms that can take in massive amounts of data and then action off that data in an automated fashion. (HS) Marketing is still a numbers game, and the data plays itself out over time. (HS)

Intent Data 209

Intent Data Intent Bombora Account Based Marketing 209

The Point

SEPTEMBER 30, 2013

A prospective client asks: “We’re just getting our demand generation programs ramped up, and I’m not sure I’m ready for marketing automation. My answer: “It depends how you define “ lead nurturing ,” but technically: no, you don’t need marketing automation in order to nurture leads. And therein lies the difference.

Lead Nurturing 100

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

The Point

MAY 14, 2012

A new report from Forrester Consulting, commissioned by marketing automation provider Silverpop , offers little in the way of groundbreaking insights, but does provide plenty of data confirming what most already know: that many companies are failing to realize the true potential from their investments in marketing automation.

Marketing Automation Services 100

Marketing Automation Services Marketing Automation Marketing Report Automation 100

The Point

OCTOBER 29, 2021

(This is particularly applicable when you’re marketing to existing prospects and don’t need to capture a bunch of qualifying data.). Progressive profiling is a standard feature of best-in-class nurture programs, and leverages marketing automation technology and pre-filled forms to capture incremental information about existing prospects.

Account Based Marketing 350

Account Based Marketing B2B Marketing Automation Services Demand Generation Agencies 350

The Point

APRIL 29, 2021

If you’re using a shared IP address (through a marketing automation provider, for example), then your email reputation will always be subject to the behavior of other senders on that same IP, so any efforts to otherwise protect your domain will be for nought. * The post Should I Use a Separate Domain for Marketing Emails?

Domain 173

Domain Email Marketing CAN-SPAM Marketing Management 173

The Point

DECEMBER 5, 2023

(As that previous article made clear, emailing to anything but opt-in lists may be at odds with the license agreement of your marketing automation platform (MAP) or email service provider.) Hi Sally”) is a band-aid at best, and may even increase spam complaints by branding your message immediately as a marketing email.

Deliverability 162

Deliverability Rules Purchase Marketing Automation Services 162

The Point

MAY 6, 2010

A couple of weeks ago our firm prepared a detailed ROI analysis for a client helping them substantiate to their management the investment in a marketing automation platform. For other companies, the decision of whether or not to take the plunge into marketing automation is less of a slam-dunk.

Marketing Automation Services 100

Marketing Automation Services Marketing Automation Marketing Management Automation 100

The Point

JANUARY 21, 2020

As a matter of best practice, at our agency , we always recommend that clients host campaign landing pages on their marketing automation platform (MAP), but the advantages gained by going that route vary between systems, so the pros and cons differ also. Design Capability. Photo by Andras Vas on Unsplash.

Landing Pages 147

Landing Pages Industry CMS Marketing Automation Services Marketo 147

The Point

FEBRUARY 27, 2018

The Web is littered with articles, Webinars, and very extensive reports about the specific, detailed requirements of GDPR and how best to achieve compliance. Instead, here are 5 very basic steps that should be on every B2B marketer’s “to do” list before GDPR takes effect. This is not one of those articles.

Privacy Policies 231

Privacy Policies Marketing Automation Services B2B Marketing Marketing Management 231

The Point

NOVEMBER 15, 2022

A client asks: “What’s the best way to market to purchased lists like ZoomInfo ? We have a debate between our marketing and sales teams on whether the best approach is marketing emails, sales outreach, or something else. Curious as to your opinion?”. However, outbound shouldn’t translate into “spray and pray.”

Purchase 162

Purchase Paid Search Agency Paid Social Agency Outreach 162

The Point

FEBRUARY 28, 2023

Define up front the kind of system access needed to implement the program being funded: marketing automation, CRM, CMS, LinkedIn accounts, email templates, image libraries, etc. Don’t let last-minute security protocols prevent you from getting a campaign in market. * But “easy” doesn’t always equate to the best choice.

Demand Generation Agencies 147

Demand Generation Agencies Advertising Agencies CMS Development Work Management 147

The Point

DECEMBER 11, 2018

How can ABM best coexist with a more traditional funnel-based demand generation model? There was a time, not so long ago, when Marketing Automation went through a similar transition. For example, in the very early stages of an ABM campaign, success is best measured by Account-Based Awareness and Account Engagement.

Account Based Marketing 157

Account Based Marketing ABM Ideal Customer Profiles Enterprise Management 157

The Point

DECEMBER 13, 2019

The rate of change in B2B marketing and marketing technology continues to accelerate, and 2020 promises to be no different. I asked the best subject matter experts I know, my colleagues at Spear Marketing Group , what trends they think will highlight the next 12 months in B2B demand generation.

Demand 222

Demand Ideal Customer Profiles Demand Generation Agencies Account Based Marketing 222

The Point

JANUARY 13, 2012

There’s a lot to like about the email campaign I received (image below) recently from Infusionsoft , a maker of sales and marketing automation software for small businesses.

Email Campaigns 100

Email Campaigns Campaigns Practices Fulfillment 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

OCTOBER 22, 2019

While it’s expected that all major marketing automation platforms are working on fixes to address the issue, those solutions could be months away, at minimum. Ultimately, the issue of email bots will need to be solved at a product level by the marketing automation vendors. (We

Marketing Automation Services 127

Marketing Automation Services CAN-SPAM Click Rate Trigger Marketing 127

The Point

JUNE 25, 2019

Depending on the marketing automation platform (MAP) you use, this might be captured in different ways (for example: Pardot campaigns, Marketo acquisition programs). Are you using Salesforce Campaigns and corresponding statuses for all of your marketing efforts? What do your leads and accounts look like?

Marketing Attribution 242

Marketing Attribution Work Management Marketing Management Marketing Automation Services 242

The Point

JANUARY 19, 2021

2020 was a year of change for marketers worldwide, much of it not for the best of reasons. Will B2B marketing, and demand generation in particular, revert to “normal” once the pandemic subsides and economic recovery kicks in, or are recent trends destined to become staple tactics in the months and years to come?

Demand Generation Agencies 147

Demand Generation Agencies Demand Generation Demand Lead Ranking 147

The Point

MARCH 22, 2019

I say this based, anecdotally, on the number of B2B marketers I talk to who either 1) don’t use lead scoring at all, or 2) have a lead scoring system that clearly doesn’t work (or is completely ignored by the sales team) and have no apparent motivation to fix it. How did we get here?

Lead Ranking 113

Lead Ranking Lead Scoring Sales Qualified Leads Account Based Marketing 113

The Point

JULY 30, 2020

At a minimum, that means attributing content downloads and subscriptions to the blog via your marketing automation platform. The second method is to have links to gated content in the sidebar of each and every blog post as well as the home page. Make sure you can measure the blog’s contribution.

Demand 221

Demand Lead Scoring Lead Ranking Marketing Budget 221

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

JANUARY 14, 2014

Software Advice uses their study as a guide for how and when to staff an inside sales team, but I think the implications are just as important for when and how to deploy marketing automation. Relatively little attention is paid to the very front end of the lead lifecycle – namely, responding to a new lead in the first place.

Lead Ranking 100

Lead Ranking Marketing Automation Services Marketing Qualified Leads Sales Leads 100

The Point

JANUARY 27, 2016

This new report shares insights, ideas, best practices, and real-life examples of how to measure lead nurturing performance beyond basic email metrics like open and click rates. We audited their lead management process from end-to-end and recommended a few key changes: • revamping email creative to better adhere to best practice standards.

Lead Nurturing 100

Lead Nurturing Lead Ranking Marketing Qualified Leads Sales Qualified Leads 100

The Point

JUNE 30, 2017

Target account campaigns are possible leveraging only the most basic in marketing automation and ad technology (for example, programmatic display advertising.) Target account campaigns are marketing-driven and typically involve the sales team only peripherally (for example, after an appointment is set up with a qualified lead.)

Account Based Marketing 235

Account Based Marketing ABM Demand Generation Agencies Demand Generation 235

The Point

AUGUST 1, 2013

In my experience, companies new to marketing automation often launch scoring schemas too quickly as part of an overall rush to value, and by the time the schema gets corrected, sales needs to be re-sold and re-trained on what they now regard as inaccurate and irrelevant data. No separate scores for behavioral and demographic values.

Lead Scoring 100

Lead Scoring Lead Ranking Sales Qualified Leads Leads 100

The Point

MARCH 18, 2014

Over at marketing automation firm Marketo , CEO Phil Fernandez just wrote a full-throated rant against the evils of unsolicited email and purchased email lists used indiscriminately: “How does anyone think that these are sensible emails to send to the CEO of a fast-growing public company?

Demand Generation Agencies 100

Demand Generation Agencies Advertising Agencies Marketo Demand Generation 100

The Point

APRIL 1, 2014

Recent studies tell us while the adoption of marketing automation technology continues to gain momentum, fewer than 20 percent of marketing executives say that they are fully integrating the technology into their current sales and marketing initiatives.

Lead Nurturing 100

Lead Nurturing Sales Qualified Leads Lead Scoring Lead Ranking 100

The Point

OCTOBER 30, 2013

If you utilize a marketing automation platform, the registration form on your landing page will be pre-populated with the prospect’s contact information, so conceivably all he/she has to do is click on the “submit” button. You’re not really asking for much. You’ll lose the opportunity to learn more about the prospect.

Lead Nurturing 100

Lead Nurturing Lead Scoring Lead Ranking Landing Pages 100

The Point

OCTOBER 20, 2014

Yes, marketing technologies – and marketing automation in particular – make it easier than ever for companies to generate campaigns and leads. Ascend2’s research also reported that marketers view email as the least difficult lead gen tactic to execute.)

Demand Generation Agencies 100

Demand Generation Agencies Lead Gen Marketing Report Research 100

The Point

OCTOBER 29, 2014

For the most part, companies rely on instinct and, perhaps, lead scoring via marketing automation. Do you replace, or complement, the lead scoring that a marketer might already be getting from their marketing automation platform? Modern marketers don’t have to guess which of their leads are best.

Lead Ranking 100

Lead Ranking Analytics Lead Scoring Conversion 100

The Point

SEPTEMBER 19, 2018

A few weeks ago I gave an informational interview to a local university student looking for advice on the best way to jump start his marketing career. Think social media management, content management, marketing automation, reporting and analytics. If marketing software is a merit badge, be an eagle scout.

Demand Generation Agencies 165

Demand Generation Agencies Paid Search Agency Advertising Agencies Work Management 165

The Point

MAY 30, 2014

marketing automation and related technologies make it easier than ever for clients to produce campaigns and generate demand using in-house resources. Here’s where I think today’s B2B marketing agency can best compete: • Helping clients get the most out of marketing technology.

Demand Generation Agencies 100

Demand Generation Agencies Paid Search Agency Advertising Agencies Ad Agencies 100

The Point

AUGUST 25, 2020

Which of the following do you have in place: CRM, Marketing Automation, Programmatic, ABM (Demandbase, Engagio, 6Sense, Terminus), Sales Enablement (SalesLoft, Outreach), Data Enrichment/CDP (ZoomInfo, DiscoverOrg, Leadspace), Conversational Marketing (Drift), Content Experience (Uberflip), Website Personalization, Attribution.

Ideal Customer Profiles 147

Ideal Customer Profiles Account Based Marketing ABM Lead Ranking 147

The Point

FEBRUARY 11, 2014

How to ignite your company’s growth so marketing is filling your sales pipeline with more new buyers than needed to beat your future revenue goals…AND without increasing your cost per visit and cost per lead. Content marketing is here to stay – how do you leverage your past content investments to ignite faster growth?

Paid Content 100

Paid Content Demand Generation Agencies Cost per Lead Lead Scoring 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. All campaigns were built and launched in Marketo, a leading marketing automation platform. Spear is a Marketo agency partner.) “A

Conversion Rate 100

Conversion Rate Marketing Qualified Leads Demand Generation Agencies Lead Ranking 100