The Point

OCTOBER 11, 2022

Having a customer or user or prospect follow you or your company on LinkedIn, for example, and the ongoing communication and brand awareness that permits, can be just as effective as opt-in email. Buyers want information of value that isn’t just a list of reasons to buy your product. Photo by Brett Jordan on Unsplash.

Marketing Report 246

Marketing Report Email Marketing Co-Registration Privacy 246

The Point

JUNE 24, 2022

The sudden, wholesale transition to remote work and virtual teams has only accelerated trends that were evident pre-COVID, led by younger generations of digital consumers who brought their buying preferences to the office (even if that office is now their living room). Key Finding 3: Use of free trials is skyrocketing.

Top of Funnel 130

Top of Funnel Cold Calling B2B Demand Generation 130

The Point

OCTOBER 8, 2020

For more companies than not, marketing success is rarely about convincing a given individual, on a given day, to buy what it is you’re selling. Buying, after all, is a journey: awareness, consideration, selection, and so on. A few suggestions: * Reaching and engaging with prospective customers at every stage of the buying journey.

Demand Generation Agencies 173

Demand Generation Agencies Paid Search Agency Advertising Agencies Marketing Agencies 1 173

The Point

AUGUST 25, 2020

For some, it might be defining Ideal Customer Profile (ICP), buying personas and associated messages. Buying Center Definition. – Have you defined a typical buying center at the target accounts? Ideal Customer Profile (ICP). Not every Account-Based Marketing (ABM) strategy starts from the same place.

Ideal Customer Profiles 147

Ideal Customer Profiles Account Based Marketing ABM Lead Ranking 147

The Point

APRIL 26, 2018

The lure of intent data is learning which companies are going to buy from you and when. B2B is much different, for a number of reasons: One, the buying cycle is longer in B2B. Two, since the buying process involves many more people, you can’t just retarget the one person who was on a webpage. But is that real?

Intent Data 209

Intent Data Intent Bombora Account Based Marketing 209

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? Cross-sell/upsell to existing customers. Call it ABM-y Customer Marketing.

Account Based Marketing 168

Account Based Marketing ABM Multi-Channel CPL 168

The Point

DECEMBER 11, 2018

ABM is typically best-suited for companies selling complex solutions to buying committees at large enterprises. Implicit in that one-to-one principle is the need to personalize messaging, content and creative in order to maximize relevance for, and engagement from, a particular account, buying group, or individual decision-maker.

Account Based Marketing 157

Account Based Marketing ABM Ideal Customer Profiles Enterprise Management 157

The Point

SEPTEMBER 12, 2019

The OBM Framework (see graphic) provides a straightforward approach to ABM execution by helping companies 1) determine the appropriate channels and tactics for different stages in the buying cycle, and 2) demonstrate the value generated from an ABM investment. An Opportunity-Based Marketing Framework for #ABM Click To Tweet.

Account Based Marketing 170

Account Based Marketing ABM Planning Lead Ranking 170

The Point

SEPTEMBER 21, 2017

But don’t equate “staying in touch” – or lead nurturing success – with simply asking the prospect over and over whether he or she is ready to buy. Are you ready to buy yet? If you set that bar too high, i.e. if the threshold is “are you ready to talk to sales?”, Click To Tweet.

Lead Nurturing 224

Lead Nurturing Sales Qualified Leads Lead Scoring Lead Ranking 224

The Point

JUNE 30, 2021

In customer campaigns, awareness and engagement are already baked in, so to speak, as is a deeper familiarity with the target accounts, and so risks are mitigated. But, even then, those campaigns will benefit from being part of a broader approach.

Account Based Marketing 162

Account Based Marketing ABM Planning Demand Generation Agencies 162

The Point

JUNE 5, 2018

HJS: Your survey indicates that a clear majority of marketers are engaged across the lead lifecycle, including customer marketing. That immediately shifts the focus from “net new” customer acquisition to customer retention. The answer to sales and marketing alignment has been identified: it’s the customer, stupid!

Lead Ranking 194

Lead Ranking Forrester Lead Scoring Paid Search Agency 194

The Point

FEBRUARY 28, 2023

What is the value-add that makes you distinct from other partners in a way that customers would want to work with you? Don’t buy hundreds of leads if you don’t have the BDR team or a nurture program to maximize their value. What’s your unique selling proposition (USP) in the context of your partnership with this particular vendor?

Demand Generation Agencies 147

Demand Generation Agencies Advertising Agencies CMS Development Work Management 147

The Point

MAY 28, 2020

A strategy based on generating engagement from buying groups (and the way large corporations make purchase decisions) vs. individual leads. 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 30, 2017

Successful ABM programs require the buy-in, sponsorship, and active involvement of multiple teams, notably sales, but possibly even customer service, at every stage of the process. I want to be careful here not to paint ABM as some gargantuan undertaking requiring huge investments in time, resources, people, and technology.

Account Based Marketing 235

Account Based Marketing ABM Demand Generation Agencies Demand Generation 235

The Point

MAY 16, 2018

There are many, legitimate reasons for why it may make sense to mount a concerted, integrated campaign to target a competitor’s customer base: A competitor gets acquired. But telling the customer that he/she bought the wrong product will almost always backfire. By doing so, you put the customer on the defensive. Big mistake.

Campaigns 191

Campaigns Tips Demand Generation Agencies Lead Scoring 191

The Point

JANUARY 23, 2018

A potential customer might have precisely the problem that a particular product or service solves and are anxious to solve that problem, yet may not feel as though they’re ready to buy and so fail to respond to the campaign. Inevitably, this short-term outlook trickles down to a company’s demand generation strategy.

Sales Management 253

Sales Management Sales Qualified Leads Demand Generation Agencies Lead Scoring 253

The Point

OCTOBER 25, 2017

Find the people ready to buy and go after them! Account-Based Marketing (ABM) , Predictive Analytics) that now allow us to 1) find prospective customers with a higher propensity to buy, and 2) target those prospects, at scale, in a tightly orchestrated fashion, it would be a mistake to rely exclusively on outbound tactics.

Account Based Marketing 127

Account Based Marketing Demand Generation Agencies ABM Paid Social Agency 127

The Point

JANUARY 13, 2017

In an era when the average business buyer only contacts a brand when he/she is 67 percent through the buying process , there’s every reason to make sure that you’re reaching prospective customers at every stage of their research, not just when they’re ready to buy. Actually, I know why it is.

SEM 100

SEM Paid Search Agency Marketing & Strategy Sales Qualified Leads 100

The Point

SEPTEMBER 11, 2017

The result is fewer unqualified leads from people who would never buy your product. The creative requirements for sponsored updates are simple – a few lines of text and a custom image.

Paid Search Agency 187

Paid Search Agency Linkedin Demand Generation Agencies Ads 187

The Point

SEPTEMBER 19, 2018

At bare minimum, you’ll be a better marketer for learning why customers buy. Take a sales training class if your company offers one. If they don’t, ask to spend a day in the field, or a day on the phone, with one of your sales colleagues. Learn to write, and write well. You shouldn’t have to say “learn to write” to a college graduate.

Demand Generation Agencies 165

Demand Generation Agencies Paid Search Agency Advertising Agencies Work Management 165

The Point

MARCH 7, 2019

These have particular application in lead nurturing and customer marketing. It was the rare client 2-3 years ago that had identified key buying personas and defined the messages for each. Retargeting (for example, to reach email recipients who click but don’t convert) is another effective approach. Now it’s a common practice.

Deliverability 150

Deliverability Account Based Marketing ABM Demand Generation Agencies 150

The Point

OCTOBER 10, 2013

Dave Brock wrote an excellent post recently (“ I’ve Never Ever Sold a Computer or Piece of Software ”) on what technology buyers really buy. His point (crudely distilled) is that while most of us believe that customers are buying our products and services, in fact what they’re really buying is more immediate and personal.

Demand Generation Agencies 100

Demand Generation Agencies Lead Scoring Lead Ranking Personalization 100

The Point

AUGUST 24, 2012

Each quarter, the analysts at UK-based Pearlfinders report on the buying intentions of more than 4,000 North American marketing executives. Customer acquisition moved squarely to the forefront of marketing objectives, with more than 90 percent of marketing execs reporting it as their primary goal, an increase from 70 percent a year earlier.

Planning 100

Planning Marketing Budget Creation Advertising Agencies Paid Search Agency 100

The Point

JULY 23, 2012

In an ideal world, all B2B sales leads would be pre-qualified and ready to buy. Some of the main reasons are these: • It’s difficult if not impossible to target a message exclusively to those prospects that are ready to buy. but “budgeted to buy (insert your product or service here)” – not so much.

Demand Generation Agencies 100

Demand Generation Agencies Sales Qualified Leads Leads Lead 100

The Point

MARCH 18, 2014

Stop buying lists. Use email only to contact your customers when you have something specific to say to them, and explicit permission to talk to them. In those select situations, list buys still have their place. I’m guessing the answer to these questions, in Phil’s case, is a big fat “no.” And that’s all how it should be.

Demand Generation Agencies 100

Demand Generation Agencies Advertising Agencies Marketo Demand Generation 100

The Point

JULY 18, 2014

In particular, she notes that “… 80% of the companies were primarily focused on themselves, with information on products and features but little in regard to the issues their customers might be facing.”. Today’s B2B buyer doesn’t want to be told which product to buy. He or she simply wants information on how to solve a problem.

Forrester 100

Forrester Work Management Content Marketing Demand Generation Agencies 100

The Point

MAY 18, 2011

Now that most marketing departments are tasked with also being content publishers, is it too much to ask that marketing content also persuade customers to buy? MC) I think a better framework is to think about how both represent different categories of customer messaging. What defines great marketing content?

Demand Generation Agencies 100

Demand Generation Agencies Conversion Paid Search Agency Deliverability 100

The Point

MARCH 17, 2015

You could make the case, as I will, that of all the new technologies to enter the marketing technology landscape of late, the two with the potential to have the biggest short-term impact for B2B marketers are Predictive Analytics and Programmatic Ad Buying. What do people mean by “programmatic ad buying”? (AF) contextual targeting.

Paid Search Agency 100

Paid Search Agency Buy Demand Generation Agencies Advertising Agencies 100

The Point

APRIL 30, 2013

At the wide top of the funnel is demand generation – raising awareness about a product and engendering the brand to a customer. He continues: “At the narrow bottom of the funnel is demand fulfillment – convincing someone ready to make a purchase of what specifically they should buy.”. Wait, what? Call it lead nurturing.

Demand Generation Agencies 100

Demand Generation Agencies Demand Generation Demand Top of Funnel 100

The Point

MAY 30, 2014

clients increasingly work directly with publishers and ad networks directly, aided by developments in technology that allow for programmatic ad buying. • . • marketing automation and related technologies make it easier than ever for clients to produce campaigns and generate demand using in-house resources.

Demand Generation Agencies 100

Demand Generation Agencies Paid Search Agency Advertising Agencies Ad Agencies 100

The Point

DECEMBER 17, 2010

She has a lot to say about how B2B companies need to adapt better to the reality of how their customers buy products and services. (HS) They engage with sales people later in the buying process. You don’t need a sales person at all to buy some consumer products – music, stocks, and airline tickets, for example.

Marketing Automation Services 100

Marketing Automation Services Work Management Marketing Management B2B 100

The Point

OCTOBER 29, 2014

Who is most likely to buy? What else can I sell to my current customers? Which of my customers are likely to churn? Citrix and RingCentral are two good customer examples. Plus we’re trusted by more than 100 customers and 50,000 users worldwide. (HS) For example: Which of my prospects should I call first?

Lead Ranking 100

Lead Ranking Analytics Lead Scoring Conversion 100

The Point

SEPTEMBER 29, 2011

Prospects may simply not be ready to buy a solution because either 1) they don’t know such a solution exists, or 2) they may not even be aware they have the relevant problem in the first place; • focusing on only the most qualified prospects leaves many potential (albeit, more long term) deals on the table.

Sales Qualified Leads 100

Sales Qualified Leads Lead Scoring Lead Ranking Leads 100

The Point

NOVEMBER 9, 2009

And sorry, but “provide customer or employee training” is not a benefit. Yet the last line of the email is “Sign up now to start saving” which sounds to my ear like an invitation to buy the product. If you want me to buy the product, tell me why I should buy the product. I can do that today. Why do I need GoToMeeting?

Email Campaigns 100

Email Campaigns Demand Generation Agencies Campaigns Demand Generation 100

The Point

OCTOBER 14, 2009

He/she could be anywhere on the buying spectrum – from initial research and education, to final, I-want-to-buy-one-of-these-today evaluation. The reader who clicks on an email, by comparison, has received far more information and is therefore going to be much more inclined (and ready) to complete the registration process.

Landing Pages 100

Landing Pages PPC Paid Search Agency Webcast 100

The Point

JANUARY 8, 2013

Unless your offer and product are one and the same and the call to action is “buy now,” no-one cares about your product. Take, for example, the email below from Lavi Industries , a company whose product, Qtrac IQ, allows brick-and-mortar retailers to report on and analyze customers waiting in line at stores.

Product 100

Product Email Marketing Cross-Selling Paper 100

The Point

SEPTEMBER 19, 2012

Another option is to send a brief survey as the final communication asking why he/she didn’t buy. Adapted from the white paper: “ Closing the Deal: 7 Tips for Converting More Free Trials to Paying Customers ”. Speaking of which, should you integrate telemarketing into your free trial nurturing strategy?

Telemarketing 100

Telemarketing Marketing Automation Services Lead Nurturing Work Management 100