The Point

SEPTEMBER 28, 2009

If your blog post showed up in a Google listing, would someone click on it? Tags: B2B Marketing Blogs Social Media blog marketing lead generation b2b demand generation b2b lead generation Demand Generation. Does it immediately communicate, in specific, tangible terms, what the [.].

Demand Generation 100

Demand Generation Leads Lead Marketing Qualified Leads 100

The Point

MAY 27, 2014

Only AcmePro …” In marketing copy, there’s a fine line between assumptive and presumptuous, and this example crosses that line in leaps and bounds. Adapted from “The High Tech Direct Marketing Handbook”. AcmePro 1.0 is the one. Just don’t assume he or she already believes your product is the answer.

Copywriting 100

Copywriting B2B Demand Generation Agencies Demand Generation 100

The Point

MARCH 16, 2011

In part 3 of my podcast with Steve Farnsworth of Jolt Social Media, we discuss the role of blogs in the lead generation landscape, and the simple steps companies can take to convert their blogs from PR dumping grounds to a key part of their demand generation engine. Why one, all-encompassing corporate blog may not be enough. •

Generation 100

Generation Leads Lead Marketing Qualified Leads 100

The Point

JUNE 24, 2022

All this and more is documented and analyzed in an informative new report from TrustRadius: “ 2022 B2B Buying Disconnect: The Age of the Self-Serve Buyer ”, the latest version of an annual survey that reviews changes in business technology buying and selling. ( Visit the TrustRadius blog to read a detailed summary and to access a free download.).

Top of Funnel 130

Top of Funnel Cold Calling B2B Demand Generation 130

The Point

DECEMBER 5, 2023

House lists (customers, leads, and other opted-in contacts) are not immune. I wrote recently on this blog about a general, prescribed approach to the use of purchased lists that leans heavily on personalized sales outreach, paid social ads, display advertising, and content syndication , with bulk sends only as a last resort. (As

Deliverability 162

Deliverability Rules Purchase Marketing Automation Services 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. Read more about the survey results on Lori’s blog.).

Lead Ranking 194

Lead Ranking Forrester Lead Scoring Paid Search Agency 194

The Point

APRIL 19, 2017

No one question will help you create content that drives quality leads – leads that convert more readily to pipeline and revenue – more than this one. But it’s important to define, recognize, and plan for content that appeals to the right prospects depending on the type of campaign or your marketing objectives.

Top of Funnel 214

Top of Funnel Demand Generation Agencies Demand Generation Paper 214

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. In the broader market, however, our agency’s experience tells a different story. In the broader market, however, our agency’s experience tells a different story.

Marketing Automation Services 179

Marketing Automation Services Enterprise Management Work Management Marketing Management 179

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

JUNE 7, 2017

The first paragraph references a recent blog post I wrote. Howard, I was intrigued by your position on pre-qualified leads in a recent blog post. Anyhow – I’m reaching out because I’d like to explore partnering with Spear Marketing. The subject line references both my name and my company’s name.

Best Practices 145

Best Practices Lead Ranking Sales Qualified Leads Account Based Marketing 145

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.

Social Media 100

Social Media Demand Generation Agencies Media Leads 100

The Point

NOVEMBER 14, 2014

Research firm Software Advice have released their 2014 B2B Demand Generation Benchmark Report , a handy reference for anyone planning 2015 marketing spend. Based on responses from more than 200 BtoB marketing professionals, it provides useful insight on the types of demand gen programs and content that are trending in the marketplace.

Trade Show 100

Trade Show Demand Generation Agencies BtoB Lead Ranking 100

The Point

JUNE 27, 2012

For today’s B2B marketer, content is the fuel that feeds the demand generation engine. But when lead generation, lead nurturing , customer marketing and social media programs all require a constant feeding of new, compelling content, what do you do when the pace of new programs outstrips your ability to generate that content?

Campaigns 100

Campaigns Peer-to-peer Lead Nurturing Paper 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

MAY 9, 2017

Earlier this year, he launched The B2B Content Agency to provide clients with buyer research, message strategy and insight-lead sales narratives. I talked to Steve recently about the rise of Account-Based Marketing (ABM) , ABM content, and how and where branding and messaging play a role in ABM success. (HS)

Account Based Marketing 206

Account Based Marketing ABM Marketing Automation Services Lead Ranking 206

The Point

JANUARY 29, 2015

Recently I sat down with Amanda Nelson, Director of Marketing at RingLead , a leading provider of cloud-based data solutions that make it easy to analyze, remove, merge and prevent duplicates in Salesforce. This interview originally appeared in the RingLead blog , and is posted here with permission. 2015 is no exception.

Demand Generation Agencies 100

Demand Generation Agencies Demand Generation Demand Generation 100

The Point

JULY 13, 2012

Which leads to another question: do certain types of campaigns even need an offer in the first place? Take lead nurturing : is it strictly essential that every lead nurturing touch include a specific, gated, call to action? I have my concerns, however, about extending it to lead nurturing and the email medium.

Lead Nurturing 100

Lead Nurturing Lead Ranking Lead Scoring Campaigns 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. Want to guess how many of those leads arrive via our clients’ Websites? Fair enough.

Demand Generation Agencies 100

Demand Generation Agencies B2B Sales Sales Leads Microsite 100

The Point

JANUARY 21, 2014

I received an email recently from Kevin Payne, Senior Director of Field Marketing at customer service software provider [24]7. We’re getting ready for a second broadcast and after reading one of your recent blog posts, I can already think of at least one thing that we could do better. Thanks again for your advice!”.

Demand Generation Agencies 100

Demand Generation Agencies Advertising Agencies Campaigns Marketo 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

AUGUST 11, 2015

These days it seems to me that you can’t read a marketing blog, attend a marketing conference, listen to a marketing podcast, without hearing someone drone on about the customer journey. Lead nurturing , for example, must now coddle the buyer through every step of his/her journey to customer nirvana.

Sales Cycle 100

Sales Cycle Demand Generation Lead Nurturing Aggregators 100

The Point

OCTOBER 8, 2009

Except awareness and thought leadership represent only a fraction of the potential return from social media, and in fact (I would argue) place well behind the windfall that social media makes possible in the areas of lead generation and lead nurturing. expand company’s leads database and community of followers.

Demand Generation Agencies 100

Demand Generation Agencies PR Social Media Paid Search Agency 100

The Point

SEPTEMBER 20, 2010

In B2B circles, Q4 is historically a time of year when marketing spend picks up. 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. 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

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

The Point

DECEMBER 14, 2012

It’s that time of year again, and marketers’ thoughts turn to budgeting for the next 12 months. One of the most frequent questions we’re hearing from clients during this planning season pertains to the balance between pure lead generation on the one hand, and lead nurturing on the other. In short: no.

Lead Nurturing 100

Lead Nurturing Demand Generation Budget Programs Demand 100

The Point

SEPTEMBER 9, 2014

On a recent conference call with a prospective client, the Vice President of Sales chimed in with a question: “How many touches do you think it takes before someone becomes a lead?”. What’s more surprising is that this outdated philosophy continues to merit serious discussion amongst B2B marketers and opinion-makers.

Demand Generation Agencies 100

Demand Generation Agencies Validation Demand Generation Rules 100

The Point

MARCH 3, 2010

In a recent article (member access only), Marketing Sherpa offers up some intriguing research into how prospective tech buyers view email offer content, and how those views can differ dramatically from common assumptions held by marketers. It’s the working assumption of B2B marketers that prospects don’t want to be sold to.

Lead Ranking 100

Lead Ranking Lead Scoring Lead Nurturing Webcast 100

The Point

SEPTEMBER 6, 2011

When marketers embark on a formal lead nurturing strategy, opportunities for process improvement can arise in unexpected ways. That was the experience for iDirect , a leading provider of satellite IP communications based in Herndon, Virginia. All this presents real challenges for both demand generation and lead management.

Lead Nurturing 100

Lead Nurturing Lead Scoring Sales Qualified Leads Lead Ranking 100

The Point

NOVEMBER 28, 2011

The demise of email newsletters as an effective B2B marketing tactic has been, to paraphrase Mr. Twain, grossly exaggerated. In fact, email newsletters can be a critical part of an ongoing lead nurturing strategy. Host the newsletter as a blog. 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

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. Video was named the content type that marketers project will be most essential in the coming year. •

Demand Generation Agencies 100

Demand Generation Agencies Demand Generation Demand Tactics 100

The Point

OCTOBER 14, 2010

Earlier this week, Marketo , the marketing automation company, held its second ever user conference in San Francisco. Based on first-hand impressions, however, it’s not how the vast majority of clients are employing (or even thinking of) marketing automation. I’m just not sure the rest of us are quite there yet.

Marketo 100

Marketo Impressions Demand Generation Agencies Lead Nurturing 100

The Point

MAY 13, 2009

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

Fast-forward to today’s highly mobile workforce, where people change jobs like the proverbial underwear, throw in a volatile economy, and more than one-third of the email addresses in your marketing database could change each and every year*. The result: more hard bounces and unsubscribes. Has anyone seen more recent statistics?

Demand Generation Agencies 100

Demand Generation Agencies Demand Generation Marketo Lead Nurturing 100

The Point

MARCH 25, 2016

Take full advantage of marketing automation. Integrate your marketing automation system (e.g. Use SEM to generate incremental leads outside of your target list. Consider a 4-week paid search (SEM) campaign leading up to the date of the Webinar. Marketo, Pardot) with your Webinar platform (e.g. Citrix, Webex.)

Webinar Metrics 100

Webinar Metrics SEM Marketo Marketing Automation Services 100

The Point

DECEMBER 12, 2014

Similarly, my earlier blog post also suggested that external links (to the advertiser’s home page, for example) may lower conversion rates by providing an “escape route” that is contrary to the desired action, namely having the visitor complete a registration form.

Landing Pages 100

Landing Pages Lead Ranking Lead Scoring PPC 100

The Point

MARCH 3, 2015

It’s always been obvious that agencies were a sensible channel for marketing automation vendors to pursue, but I’m beginning to wonder whether agencies might turn out to be the primary channel for such systems, excepting only direct sales to large enterprises. Perhaps having agencies run them is the real solution instead.”.

Marketing Automation Services 100

Marketing Automation Services Enterprise Management Paid Search Agency Advertising Agencies 100

The Point

MARCH 29, 2012

Want a simple way to have your corporate blog show measurable results? Capturing new subscribers is one of the most efficient ways to convert random visitors into loyal readers that you can nurture over time and eventually turn into actionable sales leads. Share this blog! share this blog with. Offer downloadable content.

RSS 100

RSS Paper Case Study Case Studies 100