The Point

OCTOBER 29, 2021

It might be counter-intuitive to place chatbots on the “contact us” page, where – in theory – a visitor is already highly motivated to engage with the company. Responding to those specific companies, by name (“Hey Google! Driving Blog & Newsletter Subscriptions. Contact Us Pages. Lead Nurturing.

Account Based Marketing 350

Account Based Marketing B2B Marketing Automation Services Demand Generation Agencies 350

The Point

MAY 27, 2014

I was reminded of this technique recently upon receiving an email from a software company that read as follows (names and other details changed to protect the misguided): “To get a complete picture of your company, you need an integrated business application. “Get a complete picture of your company in just seconds.

Copywriting 100

Copywriting B2B Demand Generation Agencies Demand Generation 100

The Point

DECEMBER 5, 2023

Yahoo has yet to define their rules in detail, but Google’s are published here and summarized as follows: The new Google rules affect companies sending 5,000+ emails per day to any Google users, including Gmail accounts but also (crucially) Google Workspace domains. That may be a challenge, however, for all but the smallest companies.

Deliverability 162

Deliverability Rules Purchase Marketing Automation Services 162

The Point

JUNE 24, 2022

( Visit the TrustRadius blog to read a detailed summary and to access a free download.). How should companies adapt their demand generation playbook to better serve the needs of the self-serve buyer?

Top of Funnel 130

Top of Funnel Cold Calling B2B Demand Generation 130

The Point

JUNE 7, 2017

The email below (I’ve purposely omitted both the company and the rep’s name) is one such example. The first paragraph references a recent blog post I wrote. Immediately I know that the writer has invested time in research, and knows what our company does. Most BDR emails that make it to my inbox (i.e. Best, [Name of Rep].

Best Practices 145

Best Practices Lead Ranking Sales Qualified Leads Account Based Marketing 145

The Point

AUGUST 29, 2017

What is the level of prior engagement (cold, warm, hot) and how aware is the audience of our brand, company, solution? Comment on a blog post the prospect wrote. Send company swag (e.g. What is the primary objective? For example: secure an appointment, gain an introduction …). What is the general nature of the program? (Ex:

Touchpoints 228

Touchpoints Account Based Marketing ABM Ideal Customer Profiles 228

The Point

SEPTEMBER 25, 2018

Over at the Modern Marketing Blog , Steve Earl offers his theory as to why enterprise marketers choose to switch to a different marketing platform. So, it may just be that Steve’s data is biased in favor of those companies who need a more full-featured solution. Not that it makes his experience any less legitimate or accurate.

Marketing Automation Services 179

Marketing Automation Services Enterprise Management Work Management Marketing Management 179

The Point

JANUARY 24, 2017

Direct Mail – sure, it’s more expensive, but guess what: relatively few B2B companies use mail, so there’s less competition. Blogging – Few companies want blog posts to be overtly promotional, but there are still ways to leverage blog content to drive show traffic.

Trade Show 100

Trade Show Traffic Demand Creativity 100

The Point

MAY 9, 2017

HS) Where do most B2B companies trip up when it comes to executing on ABM? (SP) The tidal wave of investor cash in martech companies over the past 10 years has created a hype cycle whereby the answer to every marketing challenge is to provision another tool. The power to convert leads lies in the message – not the software.

Account Based Marketing 206

Account Based Marketing ABM Marketing Automation Services Lead Ranking 206

The Point

NOVEMBER 16, 2011

In a recent post , the folks over at Silicon Angle applied their usual insightful analysis to the results of an industry survey by marketing automation company Pardot , a survey that reports fully 42 percent of respondents (all B2B Marketers) have failed to generate any leads from their social media campaigns. Here they are, in a nutshell: 1.

Social Media 100

Social Media Demand Generation Agencies Media Leads 100

The Point

MARCH 29, 2012

Want a simple way to have your corporate blog show measurable results? If you post blog content to your Facebook or LinkedIn or Google Plus page, add those also. As with driving subscriptions (#1, above), it takes more than a row of sharing icons (Like, Tweet, +1) on your blog to get people to spread the word. Share this blog!

RSS 100

RSS Paper Case Study Case Studies 100

The Point

APRIL 19, 2017

The reason that titles with numbers in them (this blog post, as one example) is that readers respond to specific, concrete benefits. In fact, to the extent your content doesn’t explicitly promote your company or solution, the higher the credibility and the greater the perceived value.

Top of Funnel 214

Top of Funnel Demand Generation Agencies Demand Generation Paper 214

The Point

JUNE 27, 2012

A survey has the added benefit of projecting your company as an industry thought leader on the survey topic. Games can be used effectively to collect or update basic profile data (name, company, email), uncover additional contacts within customer or prospect accounts, or build up an existing database. Drive subscriptions.

Campaigns 100

Campaigns Peer-to-peer Lead Nurturing Paper 100

The Point

DECEMBER 6, 2010

Without further ado, here are the top 10 most popular blog posts from our blog, “ The Point ” in 2010 (as measured by page views). Blog Makeover Nets Sales Leads for Software Company. Comments after the fold. 26 Must-Have Negative Keywords for B2B PPC Campaigns. 7 Mistakes To Avoid In Your Next Webinar Invitation.

Lead Gen 100

Lead Gen Webinar Metrics Salesforce.com Eloqua 100

The Point

MAY 30, 2014

Over at the IDC Technology Marketing Blog , analyst Sam Melnick posted an article recently with the intriguing title: “Are Ad Agencies Keeping Pace with the Marketing’s (sic) Massive Digital Uptake? Specifically: • IDC reports that digital marketing spend by technology companies will surpass non-digital spend by the end of 2016.

Demand Generation Agencies 100

Demand Generation Agencies Paid Search Agency Advertising Agencies Ad Agencies 100

The Point

NOVEMBER 14, 2014

(You can access the complete report on the Software Advice blog – no registration required.). In this case, to their credit, Software Advice is candid about their sample population (mostly large companies) and where their results align with, or depart from, other recent industry research.

Trade Show 100

Trade Show Demand Generation Agencies BtoB Lead Ranking 100

The Point

AUGUST 16, 2016

Origami Logic is a marketing analytics company and a global leader in marketing performance measurement. The company’s technology helps large brands master their marketing performance by unifying and refining their vast array of marketing data, across every channel and platform, so they can see what’s working and what’s not.

Microsite 100

Microsite Campaigns Demand Generation Agencies Branding 100

The Point

SEPTEMBER 15, 2015

A recent survey by content automation company TechValidate and B2B agency Spear Marketing Group provides useful insight into the content, tactics, and technologies proving most valuable for today’s B2B marketers. Top issues for B2B marketers are 1) lack of budget, and 2) lack of resources or know-how.

Demand Generation Agencies 100

Demand Generation Agencies Demand Generation Demand Tactics 100

The Point

JANUARY 27, 2010

If this is your first visit to the blog, welcome. If you’re a regular reader of my old blog, you may be asking (literally): What’s The Point? Here’s the news: the blog has moved to a new location and re-launched with a new name because I’ve also moved, to a new agency: Spear Marketing Group. Regards, Howard.

Demand Generation Agencies 100

Demand Generation Agencies Advertising Agencies Demand Generation Work Management 100

The Point

SEPTEMBER 20, 2016

For the complete interview, see the TechnologyAdvice marketing blog. Fact is, there’s a lot we can contribute on a strategic level – what’s working for other companies, where to best spend your demand generation dollar – that has nothing to do with more tactical services like media and creative. (TA) Reposted with permission. (TA)

Paid Search Agency 0

Paid Search Agency Demand Generation Agencies Advertising Agencies B2B Marketing 0

The Point

OCTOBER 8, 2009

By viewing social media exclusively through the PR prism, and designing blogs (for example) as platforms for propagating the company’s news and views and little else, clients and their agencies are leaving opportunities on the table. is doing clients a disservice. Yes, you can have your social media cake and eat it too.

Demand Generation Agencies 100

Demand Generation Agencies PR Social Media Paid Search Agency 100

The Point

MARCH 3, 2015

If this happens, the reason will be that agencies provide the missing skills that have prevented so many companies from taking full advantage of marketing automation systems by themselves. Vendors have been knocking themselves out for the past five years trying to educate marketers to run their systems.

Marketing Automation Services 100

Marketing Automation Services Enterprise Management Paid Search Agency Advertising Agencies 100

The Point

SEPTEMBER 20, 2010

Sales teams need the push to meet year-end numbers, whilst at other companies, spending marketing dollars in Q4 is simply a matter of “use it or lose it.” Improve your blog. Does your corporate blog contribute to overall marketing ROI in a measurable way? A blog should be the centerpiece of your social media strategy.

Marketing Budget Creation 100

Marketing Budget Creation Marketing Budget Paid Content Budget Programs 100

The Point

JULY 13, 2012

Here’s an excerpt from the comment I posted to his blog: “I love the idea of the 411 Principle as applied to Twitter and Facebook and I’d suggest it could easily extend to blog posts also. I expect any marketing email to have a tangible offer of immediate value, not just a link that the company deems I might find of interest.

Lead Nurturing 100

Lead Nurturing Lead Ranking Lead Scoring Campaigns 100

The Point

DECEMBER 12, 2014

So, for example, in that earlier post I wrote: “Be cautious with customer logos, award icons, and gushing quotes of praise for your company or product. Testimonials of this type can detract from the primary offer and create the aura of a sales pitch for your company that runs counter to the information of value the reader is searching for.”.

Landing Pages 100

Landing Pages Lead Ranking Lead Scoring PPC 100

The Point

AUGUST 8, 2011

. • “Optimizing Social Media Strategy” is cited by only 18% of companies as a top priority. In my view, saying that lead generation is losing out to social media, true or not, presents a false choice, in the sense that it suggests companies have to decide between one or the other.

Lead Generation 100

Lead Generation Social Media Allocation Marketing Qualified Leads 100

The Point

DECEMBER 16, 2013

The point being made by the article’s author, Jill Stanek, was that Marketo’s acquisition enables that company to extend dynamic, personalized marketing conversations from their current domain (email campaigns) all the way to the Website. Fair enough. What doesn’t sound right to me, however, is that 71% figure.

Demand Generation Agencies 100

Demand Generation Agencies B2B Sales Sales Leads Microsite 100

The Point

NOVEMBER 28, 2011

Host the newsletter as a blog. There are countless reasons to host your newsletter on a blog platform like WordPress. It also creates a consistent flagship for your brand, serving to maintain awareness for your company and your solution. Use Google Alerts, social media, and your PR agency to help spot potential topics.

Newsletter 100

Newsletter Tips Paid Search Agency Ad Frequency 100

The Point

JANUARY 29, 2015

This interview originally appeared in the RingLead blog , and is posted here with permission. (AN) A content map is a very useful exercise and one that every B2B company should initiate and then maintain over time. We discussed what’s new, what’s working, and what’s on the horizon in B2B Demand Generation. AN) Hello, Howard.

Demand Generation Agencies 100

Demand Generation Agencies Demand Generation Demand Generation 100

The Point

DECEMBER 14, 2012

No longer does demand generation rely in total on the acquisition of net new prospects; companies now realize that the most efficient way to acquire warm leads, leads that can ultimately become opportunities and then deals, is to cultivate the cold leads that already exist in their database. Her response to a Google ad.).

Lead Nurturing 100

Lead Nurturing Demand Generation Budget Programs Demand 100

The Point

SEPTEMBER 6, 2011

Using satellite technology for internet connectivity has particular appeal for companies with operations in remote, hard-to-reach locations, so it’s no surprise that iDirect’s market is heavily segmented, focused on key sectors such as oil & gas, maritime, and federal/military.

Lead Nurturing 100

Lead Nurturing Lead Scoring Sales Qualified Leads Lead Ranking 100

The Point

DECEMBER 21, 2011

Like any company this time of year, when we send out holiday cards to customers, friends, and partners we hope to show our appreciation to the people that make our work possible and also spread a little cheer along the way. Says Matt Heinz of Heinz Marketing on his blog : “Brilliant effort from Howard Sewell and the team at Spear Marketing.

Best Practices 100

Best Practices B2B Buzz Advertising Agencies 100

The Point

MAY 13, 2009

Suddenly, companies have the tools at [.]. Tags: Blogs Database Marketing E-mail Installed Base Marketing Lead Management Lead Nurturing Marketing Automation e-newsletters. 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.

Lead Nurturing 100

Lead Nurturing Marketing Automation Services Database Marketing Newsletter 100

The Point

MARCH 3, 2010

But prospects in a nurturing program are different, clearly, because they’ve already engaged with your company and expressed some level of interest, if not in your product specifically, then at minimum in solving the issue or problem that your product or service addresses.

Lead Ranking 100

Lead Ranking Lead Scoring Lead Nurturing Webcast 100

The Point

SEPTEMBER 9, 2014

A quick Web search yields dozens of blog posts and articles on the topic, many quoting the same source, a Doctor Jeffrey Lant and his “Rule of Seven,” a rule that states: “You must contact your buyers a minimum of seven times in an 18-month period for them to remember you.”. Plus, B2B buyers have become expert buyers.

Demand Generation Agencies 100

Demand Generation Agencies Validation Demand Generation Rules 100

The Point

APRIL 8, 2010

That’s individuals moving, not companies. I was reminded of this lately when I changed companies (and email address) late last year. When I went to my favorite e-newsletters, blogs, and online periodicals to change my email address, I discovered in most cases that I had no such option.

Demand Generation Agencies 100

Demand Generation Agencies Demand Generation Marketo Lead Nurturing 100

The Point

JUNE 14, 2011

A client confessed recently that one of the reasons his company had selected Marketo as a marketing automation provider was because he was so impressed by their marketing. Tangentially, I’d argue that more companies should select marketing agencies by the same criteria.). All in all, a job well done.

Marketo 100

Marketo Email Campaigns Campaigns Advertising Agencies 100