The Point

MAY 28, 2020

The current crisis reinforces why most B2B companies are best suited for a hybrid demand generation model that combines both ABM and more traditional, funnel-based tactics. ABM was born of a time when (in hindsight) we marketers had it good. An approach that orchestrates touch points from marketing, sales, and customer success.

Demand Generation Agencies 162

Demand Generation Agencies Demand Generation Ideal Customer Profiles Lead Ranking 162

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. for lead management to 3.35 for organization.

Lead Ranking 194

Lead Ranking Forrester Lead Scoring Paid Search Agency 194

The Point

AUGUST 27, 2019

LinkedIn’s big advantage over its key competitor – and the reason it’s now cannibalizing so many marketing budgets previously reserved exclusively for paid search (SEM). – Or opt for LinkedIn’s Lead Gen Forms, which generate a pre-populated contact form inside the app. Stale Creative. business) email address. Audience Size.

Paid Content 241

Paid Content Advertising Agencies Linkedin Advertisements 241

The Point

JANUARY 17, 2019

Some years ago, our firm conducted a lead management audit for a technology client who was struggling to convert raw, inbound inquiries into sales qualified leads. During the audit, it became quickly apparent that one of the major issues was at the very front end of the lead qualification process. Click To Tweet.

Sales Qualified Leads 168

Sales Qualified Leads Tips Lead Nurturing Multi-Channel 168

The Point

APRIL 19, 2023

There’s an old truism in marketing that says the three most important success factors are (in order of priority): List, Offer, and Creative. If you’re aiming at the wrong companies, not even the best content or creative will save you. If you’re aiming at the wrong companies, not even the best content or creative will save you.

Ideal Customer Profiles 130

Ideal Customer Profiles Marketing AI Marketing Analytics Tools B2B Marketing 130

The Point

OCTOBER 15, 2019

If your organization is generating plenty of leads but those initial inquiries aren’t converting to sales qualified leads, meetings, or pipeline, a myriad of things could be at fault: 1) sales follow-up may be sub-standard in either cadence, frequency, or message. 2) lead nurturing. 2) lead nurturing.

Sales Qualified Leads 138

Sales Qualified Leads Work Management Marketing Management Account Based Marketing 138

The Point

JANUARY 27, 2022

When companies look to get started in Account-Based Marketing (ABM) , the first step is very often a pilot campaign. ABM is best viewed as a strategic initiative, with a level of investment and planning appropriate for a fundamental shift in the way a company drives revenue. Here’s why: ABM is not a campaign.

Account Based Marketing 204

Account Based Marketing ABM Campaigns Demand Generation Agencies 204

The Point

MARCH 8, 2018

Technology marketers love analyst reports. Sure, they’re expensive to license, but they’re instant fodder for all sorts of content marketing, they bring credibility and name recognition to a campaign, and – bonus – they say nice things about your product. However, in my experience, most tech companies don’t know how to market them.

Marketing Report 216

Marketing Report Planning Gartner Demand Generation Agencies 216

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

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. So, is lead scoring a dying art?

Lead Ranking 113

Lead Ranking Lead Scoring Sales Qualified Leads Account Based Marketing 113

The Point

MAY 17, 2021

Whatever demand gen channels you use to generate marketing leads, there’s value in always promoting a mix of content and other offers that span the entire buying cycle: early-stage, mid-stage, and late-stage. Use of very short-term metrics will almost certainly devalue those leads and the perceived ROI from the program.

Marketing Management 207

Marketing Management Paid Search Agency Buying Cycle Demand Generation Agencies 207

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

NOVEMBER 10, 2016

In 2015, JW Player piloted a small-scale, in-house SEM program on Google AdWords to gauge the potential efficacy of using search advertising to drive qualified leads for its enterprise video platform. JW Player contacted Spear Marketing Group , a leading B2B demand generation agency , for help. Aggressive testing of ad copy.

SEM 222

SEM Cost Per Click Enterprise Management Paid Search Agency 222

The Point

SEPTEMBER 23, 2020

Given the business case on which most Account-Based Marketing (ABM) strategies are founded – namely, that ABM increases opportunities and revenue from high-value accounts – the temptation for marketers is to measure the success of those programs on similar, high-value criteria: namely, opportunities, revenue, and average deal size.

Account Based Marketing 290

Account Based Marketing ABM Lead Ranking Sales Qualified Leads 290

The Point

JUNE 25, 2019

[Thanks to Anne Angele, Spear’s esteemed Director of Marketing Technology, for this month’s guest post.]. Marketing attribution is a hot topic these days in B2B circles. Yet, for all the interest, precious few B2B companies achieve the holy grail of knowing exactly how – and where – their marketing investment impacts revenue.

Marketing Attribution 242

Marketing Attribution Work Management Marketing Management Marketing Automation Services 242

The Point

MARCH 23, 2023

One way to increase marketing ROI in a “do more with less” economy is to integrate Conversion Rate Optimization (CRO) into demand gen strategy and planning. If adopted and executed consistently, it can also provide insights into audience behavior and preferences that can inform other marketing channels, campaigns, content, and strategies.

Demand 130

Demand Landing Pages Conversion Rate Paid Social Agency 130

The Point

FEBRUARY 18, 2020

Almost 5 years ago, our agency conducted a survey to determine whether B2B companies were getting maximum value from their investment in marketing automation. You’d assume, therefore, that marketing automation maturity – the level of sophistication at which companies employ the technology – has improved.

Marketing Automation Services 147

Marketing Automation Services Marketing Management Marketing Automation Automation 147

The Point

MARCH 7, 2019

Recently I was interviewed by the folks at Demand Gen Report as part of an article on current trends in email marketing , an article that you can read online here. With permission, a more complete version of the interview follows: (DGR) What trends are you currently seeing in B2B email marketing today? (HS) Direct mail? Chat bots?).

Deliverability 150

Deliverability Account Based Marketing ABM Demand Generation Agencies 150

The Point

APRIL 19, 2017

The best demand generation campaigns start with content that your prospects want. Even the best data, and sparkling creative, can’t save you or your campaign if your content and offer isn’t up to scratch. Sounds obvious, but the best content provides information of value, information that the reader doesn’t already have.

Top of Funnel 214

Top of Funnel Demand Generation Agencies Demand Generation Paper 214

The Point

JANUARY 27, 2016

Demand Gen Report just published “ Top B2B Marketers Measure Lead Nurturing Effectiveness to Boost Performance ,” a special report in which they address the whys, whats, and how tos of measuring lead nurturing’s true impact. That, ultimately, is what lead nurturing is designed to do – move leads towards opportunity and close.

Lead Nurturing 100

Lead Nurturing Lead Ranking Marketing Qualified Leads Sales Qualified Leads 100

The Point

APRIL 8, 2015

Spear Marketing Group has published an informative report detailing results of a survey designed to gauge the maturity of marketing automation deployments within the B2B community. Respondents were then assigned a grade based on how many of their responses aligned with those best practices.

Lead Scoring 100

Lead Scoring Lead Ranking Marketing Automation Services Marketing Automation 100

The Point

FEBRUARY 24, 2015

The lack of an appropriate and complete tracking system is one of the most common errors, or omissions, that B2B marketers make in setting up a paid search program. Are you trying to generate downloads, registrations, page views, sales leads, qualified leads, sales? It’s easy to see why. Your search campaign should measure: 1.

Paid Search Agency 100

Paid Search Agency Cost Per Click SEM Adwords 100

The Point

DECEMBER 11, 2018

I may not be a market analyst, but from what I see working with our agency’s B2B clients , it seems to me that, in the language of technology adoption lifecycles, Account-Based Marketing (ABM) stands at that pivotal junction – what Geoffrey Moore calls the “chasm” – between early adopters and early majority.

Account Based Marketing 157

Account Based Marketing ABM Ideal Customer Profiles Enterprise Management 157

The Point

NOVEMBER 12, 2019

If you could layer third-party intent data into every lead gen program you run, would you do it? In other words, would you only ever want marketing leads from prospects pre-determined to be actively researching your category, solution, use case, etc.? My argument: no, you wouldn’t. . Do You Want Intent Data with That?

Intent Data 149

Intent Data Demand Generation Agencies Intent Paid Social Agency 149

The Point

APRIL 16, 2019

Because costs per click in B2B search campaigns can often be extremely high when companies compete the for same keywords, Search Engine Marketing (SEM) for B2B advertisers offers its own very unique challenges. Failure to Nurture Leads Correctly. Thanks to Spear Digital Media Director Tim DiSabatino for authoring this week’s post.

Cost per Acquisition 235

Cost per Acquisition Paid Search Agency Campaigns Cost Per Click 235

The Point

JANUARY 13, 2017

This is especially true for technology marketers, and doubly true for those in nascent or emerging categories, when much of the marketing challenge may consist of convincing buyers that they have a problem to solve in the first place. There’s also a smart way to do it. Most likely they’re simply looking to solve a problem.

SEM 100

SEM Paid Search Agency Marketing & Strategy Sales Qualified Leads 100

The Point

APRIL 26, 2018

In a world where demand generation , and marketing in general, is more data-driven than ever, one of the hottest topics in B2B circles is intent data. How should the average B2B marketer be looking to leverage intent data in their demand generation mix? But is that real? HS) How do you define Intent Data to a layman? (CC)

Intent Data 209

Intent Data Intent Bombora Account Based Marketing 209

The Point

JULY 27, 2018

High bar offers, in particular, are likely to be wholly inappropriate, and ineffective, for anything but the most qualified leads possessing a high degree of familiarity with your brand. Instead, high bar offers like meetings are best utilized: * As “secondary” offers on thank you pages or follow-up emails (e.g. “If

Account Based Marketing 100

Account Based Marketing Campaigns Multi-Channel Demand Generation Agencies 100

The Point

JUNE 29, 2015

Are most B2B companies getting maximum value from their investment in marketing automation? A recent industry survey by Spear Marketing Group suggests: no. Or are companies rushing to implement marketing automation without a full understanding or strategy for how to put that technology to best use?

Marketing Automation Services 100

Marketing Automation Services Marketing Automation Automation Marketing Management 100

The Point

AUGUST 22, 2014

For those of us who work in and around the technology every day, it can seem like marketing automation is already pervasive. Analyst David Raab reports that for companies under $5 Million in revenue, marketing automation penetration is a miserly 5 percent. Which begs the question: is marketing automation right for every company?

Marketing Automation Services 100

Marketing Automation Services Paid Search Agency Marketing Automation Advertising Agencies 100

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. And that lack of focus can be a big mistake.

Lead Ranking 100

Lead Ranking Marketing Automation Services Marketing Qualified Leads Sales Leads 100

The Point

AUGUST 1, 2013

Lead scoring has quickly become an integral part of a demand generation marketer’s arsenal. A well-planned, well-designed, and optimized lead scoring schema can be a key contributor to sales productivity, sales engagement, and the rate at which inbound leads convert to Sales Qualified Leads, opportunities, and deals.

Lead Scoring 100

Lead Scoring Lead Ranking Sales Qualified Leads Leads 100

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. That latter group becomes fodder for ongoing nurturing, in the hope that further education and brand awareness will ultimately result in conversion to qualified leads.

Sales Qualified Leads 100

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

The Point

JANUARY 24, 2017

Even in this digital age, trade shows are still a core part of many B2B marketers’ 2017 demand generation plans. In a previous post, I discussed key strategies for following up with trade show leads. Here are 7 ideas for increasing booth traffic and lead volume at the show: 1.

Trade Show 100

Trade Show Traffic Demand Creativity 100

The Point

OCTOBER 30, 2013

A client asks: “I notice that you’re recommending we gate our offer content behind landing pages as part of the lead nurturing campaign. It’s why click-to-lead conversion rates are never 100%, no matter how good your landing page. Why is that necessary when we already know who these people are? Here’s why: 1. A click is not a response.

Lead Nurturing 100

Lead Nurturing Lead Scoring Lead Ranking Landing Pages 100

The Point

JULY 25, 2014

From a lead generation perspective, however, the campaign is a hot mess. I wrote in a recent post about how B2B marketers are seeing diminished returns from content marketing initiatives because they insist on pumping out content that is essentially product collateral in sheep’s clothing. And indeed, it is all those things.

Email Campaigns 100

Email Campaigns Design Campaigns Demand Generation 100

The Point

NOVEMBER 10, 2014

The opening paragraph (“If your business is like most Small and Midsized Businesses …”) falls victim to one of email marketing’s worst copywriting clichés – the “If You’re This, Then You’re That” method. At best, this tells me something I already know. Let me count the ways in which this campaign went off the rails: 1.

Email Campaigns 100

Email Campaigns Demand Generation Agencies Campaigns Copywriting 100