The Point

JANUARY 31, 2011

What does a software company do when their paid search program is working well but just not generating enough leads? Companies often dismiss the idea of bidding on their own company or product names because those terms already show up in organic listings. Added branded terms to the campaign.

Paid Search Agency 100

Paid Search Agency Demand Generation Agencies Sales Qualified Leads PPC 100

The Point

FEBRUARY 27, 2018

Of these, GDPR is the most far-reaching in that it not only impacts email communication (the focus of CAN-SPAM and CASL) but also the way companies gather, store, protect, share, and utilize personal data. GDPR requires that companies who collect and manage personal data protect that data from any potential misuse and exploitation.

Privacy Policies 231

Privacy Policies Marketing Automation Services B2B Marketing Marketing Management 231

The Point

MAY 17, 2021

Many B2B companies have a tendency to over-rely on late-stage offers (demos, in particular) in their search campaigns, on the assumption that search lead automatically wants to evaluate a product. Use of very short-term metrics will almost certainly devalue those leads and the perceived ROI from the program.

Marketing Management 207

Marketing Management Paid Search Agency Buying Cycle Demand Generation Agencies 207

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. Here’s why: One reason is that agencies aren’t structured to sell software. Raab predicts is in our future. It’s a win-win-win.

Marketing Automation Services 100

Marketing Automation Services Enterprise Management Paid Search Agency Advertising Agencies 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. You can access the complete report on the Software Advice blog – no registration required.). (You The conclusion that most caught my eye is the one that titles this blog post.

Trade Show 100

Trade Show Demand Generation Agencies BtoB Lead Scoring 100

The Point

MAY 16, 2019

One of the real-life campaigns I included in my presentation last week – A Crash Course in B2B Email Creative – at SiriusDecisions Summit in Austin, was this Webinar invitation from Marin Software. I’ve written often about the dismal state of B2B creative , so it’s good to see at least one B2B company get it right. .

Webinar Metrics 100

Webinar Metrics Creativity Paid Search Agency B2B Sales 100

The Point

JANUARY 21, 2020

At Spear, we design and build all MAP landing pages in professional design software, and then port the HTML to the intended platform, which frees us from any and all design limitations that might exist. This is beneficial for companies that might be handling sensitive personal data (e.g. Sensitive Data. Photo by Andras Vas on Unsplash.

Landing Pages 147

Landing Pages Industry CMS Marketing Automation Services Marketo 147

The Point

JULY 30, 2019

Yes, many companies are seeing lower returns from traditional demand gen. I would also allow that many of those same companies could benefit greatly from integrating ABM into their overall demand gen mix. The real answer to that question, I would argue, is more nuanced. More broadly, it’s not that demand generation has stopped working.

Demand Generation Agencies 140

Demand Generation Agencies Demand Generation Account Based Marketing ABM 140

The Point

SEPTEMBER 19, 2018

Work for a big company. You’ll almost certainly work harder, and earn less, than you would at a large company, but the nature of the agency business means you’ll get exposed to a much broader range of (client) companies, industries, and product categories. But you’ll get to take risks that you wouldn’t in a larger company.

Demand Generation Agencies 165

Demand Generation Agencies Paid Search Agency Advertising Agencies Work Management 165

The Point

APRIL 26, 2017

For a 25-year enterprise software veteran, he exhibited more energy and excitement than many of the twenty-somethings he was addressing. How many software CEOs can pull off the “Ninja Pose of Awesomeness”?) With Lucas at the helm, it’s hard not to feel confident – and enthusiastic – about the company’s immediate future.

Marketo 154

Marketo Account Based Marketing Advertising Agencies Paid Search Agency 154

The Point

JANUARY 14, 2014

Now comes a new study from the researchers at Software Advice that reinforces that point even further. Software Advice uses their study as a guide for how and when to staff an inside sales team, but I think the implications are just as important for when and how to deploy marketing automation.

Lead Ranking 100

Lead Ranking Marketing Automation Services Marketing Qualified Leads Sales Leads 100

The Point

JANUARY 7, 2020

Q4 is over, and with it, the inevitable rush to execute and scale marketing programs designed to somehow, magically, help a company makes its Q4 and year-end numbers. Indeed, for most companies, and as a complement to more traditional, funnel-based programs , ABM can generate larger opportunities that are more likely to close.

Account Based Marketing 130

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

The Point

OCTOBER 25, 2016

And so when martech companies come along promising instant answers to all our marketing challenges, we’re all ears. But no company that I know of paved their way to marketing success solely by buying software. Issues that, alas, take more work than writing a purchase order for new software. Wish it were that easy.

Buy 100

Buy Telemarketing Top of Funnel Demand Generation 100

The Point

MARCH 22, 2017

For a particularly egregious example, see the email below from Azalead , a software platform for Account-Based Marketing (ABM). Of course there’s also a further irony to Azalead’s message, namely that their pitch begins with “Your buyers now expect hyper-personalized content tailored for companies just like theirs.”

Account Based Marketing 210

Account Based Marketing SIC ABM Demand Generation Agencies 210

The Point

SEPTEMBER 19, 2012

When our agency works with open source, freemium, and cloud software companies we normally recommend those clients extend their lead nurturing programs to include at least one or two emails after the expiration date – say, a week later and then two weeks after that.

Telemarketing 100

Telemarketing Marketing Automation Services Lead Nurturing Work Management 100

The Point

MAY 9, 2017

HS) Where do most B2B companies trip up when it comes to executing on ABM? (SP) The power to convert leads lies in the message – not the software. 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.

Account Based Marketing 206

Account Based Marketing ABM Marketing Automation Services Lead Scoring 206

The Point

DECEMBER 16, 2015

Research company TrustRadius just published their new edition of the “Buyer’s Guide to Marketing Automation Software,” and it’s a doozy. plus what TrustRadius calls TrustMaps™ – showing the top-rated marketing automation tools for small, mid-sized, and enterprise companies.

Marketing Automation Services 100

Marketing Automation Services Marketing Automation Automation Planning 100

The Point

APRIL 8, 2015

The survey asked marketing operations managers and other B2B marketing executives to rank their current deployment of marketing automation software in 33 separate categories relating to either key software functionality or generally accepted best practice. The report is available as a free download from the Spear Website.

Lead Scoring 100

Lead Scoring Lead Ranking Marketing Automation Services Marketing Automation 100

The Point

APRIL 19, 2012

On that score, there’s a lot to like about the email campaign below from CallidusCloud , a leading provider of cloud-based business software solutions. Most notably, it’s to the writer’s credit that not once in the email is there any mention of the CallidusCloud solution, or even what the company does. Here’s what else I like: 1.

Lead Scoring 100

Lead Scoring Lead Ranking Paper Verticals 100

The Point

FEBRUARY 8, 2012

In a phone call this week I was swapping war stories with a well-known sales and marketing consultant, who, like us, works with B2B companies to improve their return on marketing automation. The bad news here is that marketing automation isn’t the magic wand that some companies apparently thought it was.

Marketing Automation Services 100

Marketing Automation Services Marketing Automation Automation Process 100

The Point

MAY 3, 2016

In Salesforce’s defense, there’s little practical way to define high-performing marketing teams short of every company in the survey being able to report on the same metrics, preferably ROI. No surprise here – the leading sales and marketing technology company says that investing in sales and marketing technology is a good thing.

Marketing Report 100

Marketing Report Planning PPC Lead Ranking 100

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. Most companies market Webinars in terms of how the information can impact the prospect’s business: “Hear how Customer X used Software Y to increase revenue …”.

Demand Generation Agencies 100

Demand Generation Agencies Lead Scoring Lead Ranking Personalization 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 Brand Identity 100

The Point

FEBRUARY 11, 2013

In 2011, she became President and CEO of Full Circle CRM , a company dedicated to helping VPs of Marketing use Salesforce.com to get accurate and useful performance data about marketing campaigns. I sat down with her recently to find out more about her company and what makes their solution different. HS: Thanks Bonnie!

Marketing Automation Services 100

Marketing Automation Services Salesforce.com Campaigns Budget Programs 100

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

OCTOBER 20, 2014

Just look at the sudden influx of companies boasting so-called “predictive analytics” solutions – software that allows marketers to better score leads, acquire new names, target market sectors, and even refine message and content, based on highly sophisticated algorithms. .

Demand Generation Agencies 100

Demand Generation Agencies Lead Gen Marketing Report Research 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 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

FEBRUARY 13, 2013

Marketing is increasingly ROI-driven, and marketing automation can be not only the platform to provide that measurement, but the engine that drives company revenue. Technology that was only recently regarded as “email software” is now becoming a vital component of a company’s sales and marketing infrastructure.

Marketing Automation Services 100

Marketing Automation Services Marketing Automation Marketing Management Automation 100

The Point

MAY 6, 2010

Using even the most conservative assumptions, we were able to project a return – in the form of increased revenue – that far outweighed the price of the software under consideration, even allowing for related services and staff time. Where in the current sales and marketing process will the software make a difference? From new leads?

Marketing Automation Services 100

Marketing Automation Services Marketing Automation Marketing Management Automation 100

The Point

JANUARY 13, 2015

As a B2B agency , our firm creates and executes dozens of email campaigns every month, and that experience tells me that a large percentage of B2B marketers, even at companies that otherwise do a very sophisticated job at demand generation , fail to measure or compare email campaign performance using any metrics other than opens and clicks.

Lead Ranking 100

Lead Ranking Marketing Qualified Leads ROI Sales Qualified Leads 100

The Point

JULY 15, 2010

Salesforce.com is a dominant player in the CRM category and an integral part of many companies’ lead management, database marketing, and demand generation programs. HS: What would you say is the biggest misconception about Salesforce and the way it’s used in most companies? DT: Let me give two answers here.

Salesforce.com 100

Salesforce.com Marketing Automation Services Budget Programs Work Management 100

The Point

APRIL 23, 2013

One, a white paper offer from sales tax automation company Avalara , is a plodding recitation of facts that does little to grab the reader. The other, from email marketing software provider ExactTarget , drives action by communicating the value of the content in concise, compelling language.

Email Campaigns 100

Email Campaigns Campaigns Copywriting Demand Generation 100

The Point

SEPTEMBER 11, 2012

Take the email below from LogMeIn , a company that markets live chat software as well as remote connectivity, collaboration, and support solutions.

Email Campaigns 100

Email Campaigns Campaigns Demand Generation Broadcasting 100

The Point

MAY 20, 2014

The Webinar invitation below from Janrain , a software company in Portland, Oregon, illustrates some of the perils inherent in those choices. I wrote recently in this space about the decisions that today’s B2B email marketers are facing as they strive to ensure that their campaigns are optimized for an increasingly mobile audience.

Demand Generation Agencies 100

Demand Generation Agencies Webinar Metrics Design Paid Search Agency 100

The Point

MARCH 29, 2017

Earlier this year, I talked to a CMO at a B2B tech company whose sales counterpart was lobbying strongly for the company to adopt Account-Based Marketing (ABM) as part of their demand generation strategy. Maybe companies are just really bad at it. The reason? The lead funnel is obsolete. Maybe demand generation isn’t broken.

Sales Qualified Leads 50

Sales Qualified Leads Top of Funnel High Quality Lead Marketing Qualified Leads 50

The Point

DECEMBER 6, 2010

Blog Makeover Nets Sales Leads for Software Company. Eloqua’s “Juan Eloqua” Campaign: Email Creative at Its Best. 21 Tips & Other Impressions from the Marketo User Summit. Help Our Client Choose a Logo (Poll). Getting the Most from Salesforce.com: A Conversation with David Taber.

Lead Gen 100

Lead Gen Webinar Metrics Salesforce.com Eloqua 100