The Point

FEBRUARY 27, 2018

Following on the heels of CAN-SPAM (US) and CASL (Canada), the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) is the latest in a series of government regulations that promises to have a major impact on the way B2B marketers conduct business. The penalties for non-compliance with GDPR can be severe. Click To Tweet. Protect Your Data.

Privacy Policies 231

Privacy Policies Marketing Automation Services B2B Marketing Marketing Management 231

The Point

JULY 27, 2021

Choosing the right target accounts is a blend of art and science: “Art” in the sense of sales goals, wish lists, or personal connections (the “rolodex factor”), “Science” in the sense of intent data, lookalike analysis, and proven engagement. Photo by Ricardo Arce on Unsplash.

Demand Generation 351

Demand Generation Ideal Customer Profiles Account Based Marketing ABM 351

The Point

JUNE 30, 2017

In the agency business, such as ours , this has led in turn to a notable uptick of interest in what are often called (by the client): “ABM Campaigns.” To be executed at scale, ABM typically requires other functionality, such as account-level scoring, advanced sales play orchestration, and Ad/Web personalization.

Account Based Marketing 235

Account Based Marketing ABM Demand Generation Agencies Demand Generation 235

The Point

DECEMBER 13, 2019

– Tom Meriam, Vice President, Business Development. Aligning these functions will allow the CMO and the marketing team to use a shared view of data and insights to provide a consistent experience – and drive revenue growth – across the entire customer journey, from new business to customer retention.”.

Demand 222

Demand Ideal Customer Profiles Demand Generation Agencies Account Based Marketing 222

The Point

JANUARY 19, 2021

B2B doesn’t have to be boring – more brands will adopt personalization and playfulness to connect with buyers.” – Sandi, Group Account Director. “I Tactically, this will mean deeper audience segmentation (and more data), improved creative, and personalized content that maps better to buyer and customer interests.”

Demand Generation Agencies 147

Demand Generation Agencies Demand Generation Demand Lead Ranking 147

The Point

NOVEMBER 15, 2022

For Tier 1 accounts, conduct targeted, personalized sales outreach, but (critically) support those efforts with marketing air cover to the same companies. For example, import the Tier 1 list into LinkedIn and Facebook, and run content-driven ads focused on awareness and generating initial engagement. Photo by Timon Studler on Unsplash.

Purchase 162

Purchase Paid Search Agency Paid Social Agency Outreach 162

The Point

MAY 16, 2019

Too often, B2B emails open with a long lecture about the state of business and industry trends (classic example: “As a busy marketer, you know …”) * The email offers clear, specific, and concrete learning benefits (the 4 bullet points) – what the reader will learn, gain, discover by attending the Webinar. Personally, I love this.

Webinar Metrics 100

Webinar Metrics Creativity Paid Search Agency B2B Sales 100

The Point

SEPTEMBER 19, 2018

You’ll learn how to get noticed, how to work as part of a team, and yes: how to deal with a wide range of personalities. And yet, in the Twitter era, good business writing is a skill both in high demand and short supply. Work for an agency. At some point early in your career, work for an agency. Learn to write, and write well.

Demand Generation Agencies 165

Demand Generation Agencies Paid Search Agency Advertising Agencies Work Management 165

The Point

MARCH 22, 2017

To be successful in driving engagement from business buyers, it’s not enough that marketing content simply be relevant to the individual reader. As a busy IT leader you know …”) that does nothing but try the reader’s patience. Don’t lecture me on a business trend or challenge or problem that you think I should care about.

Account Based Marketing 210

Account Based Marketing SIC ABM Demand Generation Agencies 210

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

JULY 17, 2017

IMPACT : Use ABM strategies to deliver personalized, relevant content to specific buying roles within large accounts. FINDING : 89% of respondents stated that winning vendors provided content that made it easier to show ROI and/or build a business case for the purchase. But that’s exactly the kind of information buyers want.

Paid Search Agency 241

Paid Search Agency Demand Marketing Automation Services Peer-to-peer 241

The Point

SEPTEMBER 21, 2017

That’s because I haven’t had any communication from him or his company in the last 6 months that wasn’t a direct solicitation to do business with the firm. Now, not only was I not ready, I barely remember what his company does. If you set that bar too high, i.e. if the threshold is “are you ready to talk to sales?”

Lead Nurturing 224

Lead Nurturing Sales Qualified Leads Lead Scoring Lead Ranking 224

The Point

JANUARY 21, 2020

This is beneficial for companies that might be handling sensitive personal data (e.g. However, one of the primary business cases for marketing automation is that it frees up marketers to run campaigns, and yes, build landing pages, without the competing priorities of a company’s Web team.

Landing Pages 147

Landing Pages Industry CMS Marketing Automation Services Marketo 147

The Point

FEBRUARY 28, 2020

One of the most common mistakes marketers make, particularly in the tech space, is beginning an email with a long dissertation on the current market, trends, or business behavior that forms the basis or catalyst for the information on offer. Am I taking too long to “set up” the offer? Do I need all the copy?

B2B 243

B2B Landing Pages Webinar Metrics Paper 243

The Point

JULY 27, 2018

In the demand generation business, we often talk about “low bar” and “high bar” offers. The bar in either case is the level of time, effort, and commitment required of the prospect or person registering for said offer. a Webinar is a low bar offer (though not as low as a white paper because of the additional time commitment). *

Account Based Marketing 100

Account Based Marketing Campaigns Multi-Channel Demand Generation Agencies 100

The Point

JANUARY 23, 2018

Or that you need to fill the pipeline with qualified opportunities quickly, so that your sales team can close that business before year-end. Such a strategy requires: * Casting a wider net to include those prospects who meet your demographic criteria (right person at right company) but who may not be in active purchase mode.

Sales Management 253

Sales Management Sales Qualified Leads Demand Generation Agencies Lead Scoring 253

The Point

AUGUST 27, 2019

You’ll generate a higher conversion rate compared to third-party forms, but you’re also more likely to capture a personal (vs. business) email address. Or opt for LinkedIn’s Lead Gen Forms, which generate a pre-populated contact form inside the app. Audience Size.

Paid Content 241

Paid Content Advertising Agencies Linkedin Advertisements 241

The Point

JUNE 5, 2018

However, when you consider that, in our model, a 5 represents the most advanced state of practice from a business theory perspective, and a 1 represents basic control and management of a process, you recognize how difficult the transition from 1 to 5 really is. for lead management to 3.35 for organization. I was shocked, at first.

Lead Ranking 194

Lead Ranking Forrester Lead Scoring Paid Search Agency 194

The Point

JANUARY 17, 2019

But I would argue that both points are also a business case for the integration of automated lead nurturing and sales enablement campaigns into the SDR process. In the context of the report, the first point argues for SDRs to employ other channels beyond just phone and email. The second makes the case for fast response times.

Sales Qualified Leads 168

Sales Qualified Leads Tips Lead Nurturing Multi-Channel 168

The Point

NOVEMBER 29, 2017

After more than two decades in the agency business, I’ve seen dozens of clients and hundreds of campaigns succeed and fail. Today’s buyers demand relevancy – or even personalized content. And guess what, it’s no longer good enough to use the same white paper for every industry, buying persona, or even target account.

Demand Generation Agencies 182

Demand Generation Agencies Demand Generation Demand Generation 182

The Point

OCTOBER 22, 2013

Describe your offer in terms that imply a benefit to the prospect: an “in-person ROI analysis”, “network performance audit”, “benchmark survey”, etc. Include both personal and business motivators. One, because they think it can benefit their business. So don’t call it a meeting.

Demand Generation Agencies 100

Demand Generation Agencies Demand Generation Tips Copywriting 100

The Point

JUNE 20, 2018

Can a company make do with less than the careful planning, audience definition and profiling, sales enablement, executive buy-in, personalized content, and dedicated technology typically required of a successful ABM initiative and still make it work? Which, in turn, begs the question: are there shortcuts to ABM? Just don’t call it ABM.

Account Based Marketing 168

Account Based Marketing ABM Multi-Channel CPL 168

The Point

APRIL 16, 2019

Generating clicks is the easy part (relatively speaking); the challenge comes in presenting an offer that’s relevant and enticing enough to cause the prospect to hand over his or her personal data. A search offer can be anything: a how-to guide, a third-party research report, white paper, Webinar, video, demo or free trial.

Cost per Acquisition 235

Cost per Acquisition Paid Search Agency Campaigns Cost Per Click 235

The Point

JANUARY 7, 2020

You can write off the Q4 Revenue Scramble as just “the way business works,” or you can start the new year by putting in place the kind of planning and foundational demand gen programs that will minimize, or even eliminate, the mad dash for the finish line 9-10 months later. The lesson?

Account Based Marketing 130

Account Based Marketing Top of Funnel Demand Generation Agencies Paid Search Agency 130

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. It’s only halfway down the page that I’m finally offered a reason to respond. At best, this tells me something I already know.

Email Campaigns 100

Email Campaigns Demand Generation Agencies Campaigns Copywriting 100

The Point

OCTOBER 25, 2017

Because, guess what: the buyer is still in control, and he or she will respond, and engage, and buy, when he/she decides the time is right, and when he/she perceives that the relevant business pain or opportunity merits action. Even the best, most creative, most tightly orchestrated outbound campaign succeeds on an accident of timing.

Account Based Marketing 127

Account Based Marketing Demand Generation Agencies ABM Paid Social Agency 127

The Point

OCTOBER 3, 2012

According to business information provider ZoomInfo (see graphic below, further data here ), more than 70 percent of business cards have one or more changes during a 12-month period. One of the surest ways to maintain good database hygiene is to provide contacts an incentive to update their own personal information.

InsideView 100

InsideView Zoominfo Content Landing Pages 100

The Point

AUGUST 11, 2015

Look, I’m all for the general notion of our marketing being more targeted, personalized, and relevant. Now, to be fair, we certainly have a better understanding of the B2B customer journey today, and it’s certainly true that there are valid, credible insights that can be drawn about the way in which business buyers behave in the aggregate.

Sales Cycle 100

Sales Cycle Demand Generation Lead Nurturing Aggregators 100

The Point

OCTOBER 8, 2015

If there’s one thing that good, effective lead nurturing does well, at scale, it’s keeping your brand top of mind with prospects who meet the grade demographically (right person, right company) but aren’t yet sales-ready. Plus, if you choose to, lead nurturing emails can be personalized as coming “from” the assigned rep. Do me a favor.

Lead Ranking 100

Lead Ranking Marketing Qualified Leads Sales Qualified Leads Lead Scoring 100

The Point

MARCH 18, 2014

And marketing automation – the technology that empowers more personal, timely, relevant emails – just may be the best thing to happen to marketing since the Sears Catalog. Full disclaimer: my firm, Spear Marketing Group , is a leading Marketo partner.). And that’s all how it should be.

Demand Generation Agencies 100

Demand Generation Agencies Advertising Agencies Marketo Demand Generation 100

The Point

AUGUST 23, 2016

Call it Webinar overload, or perhaps the surge of interest in more personalized, high-touch, account-based marketing. Whatever the reason, in-person events are starting to be more of a fixture on demand gen calendars. Key to selling the value of an in-person event is the environment in which that event takes place. Be personal.

Peer-to-peer 60

Peer-to-peer Tips Webinar Metrics Account Based Marketing 60

The Point

DECEMBER 16, 2011

You decide that you want to email those prospects with an offer to download a white paper about the business problem your product solves. Most rented lists are “opt-in,” at least in the sense that the persons on that list have given their permission to the list owner to receive information from third party advertisers (that’s you.)

De-duping 100

De-duping Buy InsideView Broadcasting 100

The Point

APRIL 23, 2013

Even when the writer attempts to communicate why the content would be of value, it’s communicated in first person terms (“we will show how your business …”) versus a more effective second person (“you’ll learn how …”). If I were being picky, I’d change only a couple of things about the ExactTarget campaign.

Email Campaigns 100

Email Campaigns Campaigns Copywriting Demand Generation 100

The Point

APRIL 26, 2017

Yes, business buyers are tiring of automated campaigns and endless streams of emails, especially now that the power to launch automated campaigns is being placed in the hands of salespeople. The solution being preached at the conference was for personal, relevant, authentic messages. BDR spam, anyone?).

Marketo 154

Marketo Account Based Marketing Advertising Agencies Paid Search Agency 154

The Point

MARCH 25, 2016

Let’s face it: most business inboxes get flooded every day with Webinar invitations. Try sending last-minute reminders in the form of “forwarded” emails from the assigned sales representative, including the contact’s first name and a personal note (e.g. Most business professionals live and die by their online calendars.

Webinar Metrics 100

Webinar Metrics SEM Marketo Marketing Automation Services 100

The Point

FEBRUARY 6, 2015

I love the brash personalities, the high-stakes negotiation, and seeing entrepreneurs achieve their life’s dream. And most entrepreneurs grossly inflate the value of their business because they know they’re going to be low-balled. Maybe in your business, any sale is better than no sale. Always counter. And most buyers can too.

Tips 100

Tips Telemarketing Class Training 100

The Point

MAY 18, 2011

of the best-seller, “ Create the Business Breakthrough You Want.&#. (HS) HS) In the agency business, we see first-hand the struggles that clients are facing to create a steady stream of compelling content. He is coauthor with Brian Tracy, Mark Victor Hansen, et al.,

Demand Generation Agencies 100

Demand Generation Agencies Conversion Paid Search Agency Deliverability 100