Industrial Marketing Today

MARCH 1, 2011

Plenty has been written about the importance of lead nurturing in B2B and industrial marketing. If you need a quick primer, read my earlier post, “ B2B Lead Generation without Lead Nurturing is Doomed to Fail. ”. Most of the lead nurturing best practices guides and articles that I’ve read are from a marketing perspective.

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Lead Nurturing Cold Calling Leads Lead 60

Industrial Marketing Today

FEBRUARY 24, 2012

Every manufacturing or industrial company that I talk to wants more leads. However, there is a serious disconnect between sales and marketing when it comes to defining a qualified lead. Recently, a manufacturing client retained me to help them improve their industrial lead generation program. This is not a new problem.

Lead Generation 60

Lead Generation Sales Qualified Leads Lead Ranking Marketing Qualified Leads 60

Industrial Marketing Today

MARCH 16, 2012

Talking to manufacturers and industrial companies on a daily basis has convinced me that when they say they need help with their lead generation, they really want more RFQ (Request For Quote) opportunities. Generating new leads, qualifying and nurturing them until they turn into a RFQ is too much work for them.

Lead Management 60

Lead Management Lead Ranking Lead Scoring Sales Qualified Leads 60

Industrial Marketing Today

SEPTEMBER 20, 2010

Home Marketing Matters About Contact B2B Marketing Store Company Website B2B Lead Generation Using a Business Blog by Achinta Mitra on September 20, 2010 in B2B Lead Generation , Industrial Marketing Blog In B2B lead generation, quantity versus quality is probably the biggest challenge faced by industrial marketers.

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Lead Generation Business Blogging Lead Scoring Lead Ranking 60

Industrial Marketing Today

APRIL 21, 2010

How does one generate high quality, educated leads, not just site visitors on a marketing budget that is less than 1% of the projected revenue? Over the past six months, their website traffic is up 89%, their free download program is up over 200% and they’ve generated over 1,500 leads. All I can say is WOW!

Budget Programs 60

Budget Programs Education Marketing Budget Lead Scoring 60

Industrial Marketing Today

APRIL 15, 2011

For a while now, manufacturers have been using online searchable product catalogs to generate new leads and sales. Downloadable CAD files have played a major role in components and parts being designed in – a key and necessary step in the industrial buying process. Now that’s truly relevant and engaging content.

Lead Ranking 60

Lead Ranking Work Management Lead Scoring Marketing Management 60

Industrial Marketing Today

OCTOBER 7, 2010

Lead scoring has become very important in today’s B2B marketing. Marketing’s role in interacting with prospects has expanded and goes further into the buy cycle than before. Lead scoring, a key component of lead nurturing and management, is an effective tool for aligning sales and marketing.

Lead Ranking 60

Lead Ranking Lead Scoring Sales Qualified Leads Marketing Qualified Leads 60

Industrial Marketing Today

MAY 7, 2010

Organizations are spending considerable amounts of time and money on tracking and measuring lead generation metrics. Organizations are spending considerable amounts of time and money on tracking and measuring lead generation metrics. However, the role of B2B marketers is changing and evolving more into revenue generation.

Lead Generation 60

Lead Generation Sales Qualified Leads Web 2.0 B2B Marketing 60

Industrial Marketing Today

JULY 9, 2010

Let’s get one thing straight from the get go, if you are in a declining market with low demand for your products and services, no amount of automation will help you generate new leads. I’ve seen too many marketers crash and burn because they believed that by “automating” all of their lead gen problems would be over.

Marketing Automation Services 60

Marketing Automation Services Lead Ranking Marketing Qualified Leads Marketing Automation 60

Industrial Marketing Today

MAY 11, 2010

A vast majority of the survey respondents reported that outbound tactics outperformed inbound initiatives for generating qualified leads. I am wondering if it is a result of the age-old disagreement between sales and marketing on the definition of a qualified lead. This one caught me by surprise.

Sales Cycle 60

Sales Cycle Lead Ranking Marketing Qualified Leads B2B Sales 60

Industrial Marketing Today

SEPTEMBER 13, 2010

In Needs Awareness and Research phases, the first two stages of the industrial buy cycle (see my earlier post Deconstructing the Four Stages of the Industrial Buy Cycle ) your prospects and customers use a variety of online content to find solutions to their current problems and needs. Not every action needs to be scored.

Buying Cycle 60

Buying Cycle Marketing Automation Services Peer-to-peer Web 2.0 60

Industrial Marketing Today

JUNE 22, 2012

See Manufacturers Need Lead Management to Close the RFQ Gap ). I understand that it is not always easy to recognize exactly which marketing strategy generated an actual sales lead, especially in a long sales cycle involving many decision makers as is typical in industrial sales. Some people refer to this as the “last ad” syndrome.

Top of Funnel 60

Top of Funnel BtoB Buying Cycle Advertising Funnels 60

Industrial Marketing Today

JUNE 19, 2010

What marketing content you serve at each phase of the buying cycle also matters. Search This Site Browse Industrial Marketing Topics B2B E-Mail Marketing B2B Lead Generation B2B Marketing Collateral B2B Marketing Videos B2B Media Planning Content Marketing Industrial Marketing & Web 2.0

Relevance 60

Relevance B2B Marketing CMS Development Buying Cycle 60

Industrial Marketing Today

AUGUST 1, 2012

Business as usual is not working – referrals are trickling in, if at all and the pipeline of leads is running dry. In desperation, they start looking for a quick “Band-Aid” fix for their lead generation problems while spending as little as possible since budgets are tight or non-existent. Measure, refine and repeat.

Tactics 60

Tactics Planning Paid Search Agency High Quality Lead 60

Industrial Marketing Today

JUNE 5, 2012

After doing all the heavy lifting of SEO to drive traffic, site visitors reach a dead end because there has been no thought given to converting that traffic into leads. For conversion to happen, you have to match your content to the buyer’s journey, each stakeholder’s role and the current stage on their buy cycle.

Top of Funnel 60

Top of Funnel Content Marketing Planning Buying Cycle 60

Industrial Marketing Today

JULY 23, 2010

Rule #1: Natural or organic search engine optimization (SEO) In the research phase of the industrial buying cycle , engineers and industrial buyers tend to use broad keywords and phrases that describe their current problem. This will lead to your visitors bookmarking your site for future reference and becoming a valuable resource.

Rules 60

Rules Marketing Websites Marketing Automation Services Web 2.0 60

Industrial Marketing Today

MARCH 29, 2011

Lead generation from their Websites is the number one objective of most manufacturers and industrial companies that I talk to. Yet, their existing Websites have little to no lead generating capabilities. Here’s what’s wrong with that picture: A vast majority of your site visitors are not ready to buy on their first visit.

Marketing Websites 60

Marketing Websites Web 2.0 Sales Qualified Leads Lead Nurturing 60

Industrial Marketing Today

FEBRUARY 17, 2011

Use it to map out your own plays for generating more high-quality leads, increasing sales and growing revenues. Content includes: Understanding the industrial buy cycle. Lead nurturing for better lead generation. What inbound marketing with content will do for you. How to feed your sales funnel with a business blog.

Paid Search Agency 60

Paid Search Agency Top of Funnel Companies Buying Cycle 60

Industrial Marketing Today

OCTOBER 9, 2012

A Value Proposition plays an important role in differentiation, which in turn affects lead generation. However, my clients look to me for answers for overcoming their lead generation challenges using my knowledge and experience in industrial marketing. Webinars for middle to late stage lead nurturing content.

Top of Funnel 60

Top of Funnel Differentiation Lead Scoring Lead Ranking 60

Industrial Marketing Today

OCTOBER 21, 2010

If you believe everything you read (and lately there’s been a lot) about marketing automation, you’d think it is the killer app to solve all your lead generation problems. Then there are scores of B2B marketers who swear by inbound marketing as the path to lead generation nirvana. How manufacturers are marketing today. It scored 8.6

Marketing Automation Services 60

Marketing Automation Services Inbound Marketing Marketing Automation Top of Funnel 60

Industrial Marketing Today

JULY 6, 2010

Home Marketing Matters About Contact B2B Marketing Store Company Website Translate Features into Benefits if You Want Your Marketing Content to Engage and Sell by Achinta Mitra on July 6, 2010 in Content Marketing , Industrial Marketing Strategies , Sales Strategies Marketing 101 teaches you “Customers buy benefits and not product features.”

Features 60

Features Web 2.0 Planning Work Management 60

Industrial Marketing Today

JANUARY 25, 2012

Here are some marketing content ideas for helping your buyers move closer to the procurement stage of the industrial buy cycle. They are very good for engaging with prospects and leads that are at the top and the middle of the sales funnel. Online product configurators. How to Order” part number builder. Valve sizing programs.

Top of Funnel 60

Top of Funnel Buying Cycle Lead Ranking Digital Marketing Funnels 60

Industrial Marketing Today

JULY 2, 2012

Manufacturers usually want their industrial marketing to generate leads that result in RFQs as quickly as possible. Think of 3D CAD models and 2D CAD drawings as supercharged content assets for moving leads closer to the RFQ stage much quicker than any other type of content resource. Design wins lead to prototype and production orders.

Lead Ranking 60

Lead Ranking Top of Funnel Sales Qualified Leads Buying Cycle 60

Industrial Marketing Today

OCTOBER 25, 2011

B2B and industrial marketers are usually tasked with two main responsibilities: Fill the top of the sales funnel (ToFU) with high quality leads. Maximize the middle of the funnel (MoFU) for converting more leads into sales opportunities. This was followed by Lead Generation (ToFU) at 48% and Lead Nurturing (MoFU) at 40% (See chart).

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Top of Funnel Marketing Funnels Content Marketing High Quality Lead 60

Industrial Marketing Today

AUGUST 27, 2012

For the sake of simplicity, I’ll refer to it as digital marketing in this post and state that content is what drives this engine for generating qualified leads and creating sales opportunities. The industrial buy cycle has not changed. However, the way potential buyers look for information has.

RFP 60

RFP Peer-to-peer High Quality Lead Lead Scoring 60

Industrial Marketing Today

MAY 1, 2012

The other half is all about converting that traffic into leads and customers. What they have is a website that is leaking potential leads like a sieve. What then is the solution for converting website traffic to leads? That’s a proven marketing strategy for converting site traffic into high quality leads.

Traffic 60

Traffic Marketing Analytics Tools Buying Cycle Lead Scoring 60

Industrial Marketing Today

MAY 5, 2010

said it best when she wrote, “Passive reading of your content is not going to help online marketing initiatives shorten buying cycles or increase customer acquisition and revenues.” Your online content needs to play a much more active role in moving site visitors along in his/her buy decision.

Sales Cycle 60

Sales Cycle Web 2.0 Buying Cycle Privacy Policies 60

Industrial Marketing Today

JUNE 29, 2010

Relevant marketing content – key to thought leadership Positioning your company as a thought leader is critical in complex technical sales that have long buying cycles with many decision makers involved. Analytics is the new marketing creative! Get the free “Step-by-Step Guide to Website (re)Design” now.

Relevance 60

Relevance B2B Marketing Web 2.0 Brand Identity 60

Industrial Marketing Today

AUGUST 17, 2010

Because B2B and industrial buyers tend to be more sophisticated in the use of online content in making their decision over the entire buying cycle. BtoB marketers need to create and deliver content that is relevant to those searching for their solution while mapping it to the prospect’s buying cycle.

Optimization 60

Optimization Web 2.0 Planning Buying Cycle 60

Industrial Marketing Today

OCTOBER 1, 2011

They agree it helps them get found in search engines early and often, drives hordes of traffic to their site and fills the top of their funnel with qualified leads at a lower cost per lead. I know how strange that might sound, but for most companies, leads mean more work and very little to show for it.

Top of Funnel 60

Top of Funnel Inbound Marketing Bulldog Solutions Lead Scoring 60

Industrial Marketing Today

JULY 29, 2010

Also see a very interesting post from Junta42, “Engage and Inspire Employees First, Customers Second.” ) Because of the longer cycles and the complexities of B2B and industrial sales, marketers find it very difficult to associate leads to specific marketing content. Unfortunately, the answer is a big NO.

B2B Marketing 60

B2B Marketing Top of Funnel BtoB Peer-to-peer 60

Industrial Marketing Today

SEPTEMBER 2, 2012

I’ve had people call me and start the conversation by saying, “We’ve spent a lot of money on a site redesign but it hasn’t produced any leads. What kind of content will educate your customers and help them make an informed buying decision (Move away from price). Let me explain by using my personal experience. What can you do for us?”.

Design 60

Design Wikipedia Content Sales Qualified Leads 60

Industrial Marketing Today

OCTOBER 14, 2011

I recommend starting with inbound or content marketing and then moving on to marketing automation to make the entire lead generation process smooth and efficient.”. It is not all about buying marketing software. See my earlier post, “Don’t Count on Marketing Automation to Solve All Your Lead Generation Problems.”.

Inbound Marketing 60

Inbound Marketing Top of Funnel Marketing Automation Services Allocation 60

Industrial Marketing Today

MAY 14, 2010

Here are seven content marketing strategies that you can use to engage your prospects and move them forward in their buying cycle. Customize them to suit your particular product line, which makes it much easier to specify and buy your valves. And then, nurture them from cold leads to hot prospects with multi-touch drip email campaigns.

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Webinar Metrics Marketing & Strategy Marketing Strategy Product 60

Industrial Marketing Today

DECEMBER 22, 2011

B2B Lead Generation without Lead Nurturing is Doomed to Fail. Deconstructing the Four Stages of the Industrial Buy Cycle. 7 Key Components of a Successful Lead Generation System. Relevant Content Converts More Industrial Site Visitors into Sales Leads and Customers. Innovative Uses of QR Codes by the AEC Industry.

Marketing Analytics Tools 60

Marketing Analytics Tools B2B Thought Leadership Buying Cycle Thought Leadership 60

Industrial Marketing Today

JULY 16, 2012

Upper management and key decision makers are skeptical about inbound marketing with content being able to generate qualified leads and set the table for sales. I am also convinced that these executives really want sales opportunities and not more of marketing qualified leads (MQLs). They are the specifiers of your product.

Lead Ranking 60

Lead Ranking Lead Scoring Marketing Management Paid Search Agency 60

Industrial Marketing Today

APRIL 22, 2010

You can buy the book from Amazon and visit his site at www.distributiontrap.com. Search This Site Browse Industrial Marketing Topics B2B E-Mail Marketing B2B Lead Generation B2B Marketing Collateral B2B Marketing Videos B2B Media Planning Content Marketing Industrial Marketing & Web 2.0 Thomas calls this “The Distribution Trap.”

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Distribution Web 2.0 Lead Ranking Privacy Policies 60