Marketing and sales alignment, with an open dialog and defined lead agreements. Besides the crucial alignment initiative with sales, marketing can support sales by putting together a comprehensive content plan that includes market research, value proposition, social media, and tactics that improve lead quality.  By knowing customers, and matching content to those customers, organizations will increase lead quality and sales opportunities. By collaborating on goals and acquisition tactics, marketing will generate better, more qualified leads. Qualified opportunities. MORE >>

Over at TechCrunch, writer Josh Constine recently penned an intriguing article about the potential for social media platforms eating into Google’s near monopoly on search advertising. Josh’s argument is that search engines are no longer the only channels to offer keyword advertising, and that Twitter and Facebook in particular are now enabling advertisers to reach buyers in the act of expressing interest in a particular topic, trend or product. Call it lead nurturing. B2B Marketing Branding Demand Generation direct marketing Lead Nurturing b2b demand generation MORE >>

2) Relationships, Education, and Nurturing: The trend in data becoming free (prediction 1) will work in parallel with a trend in information, of relevance to buyers, being expected to be free. Buying relationships will be more and more built on a foundation of buyer education, and the B2B organizations who can educate and nurture prospective buyers over time, without annoying them will win. The gaps here will lead to a much broader discussion of what “brand” means to a B2B organization, that goes beyond logos, taglines, and colors. 3) A Degree in Marketing Engineering?: MORE >>

Your company needs to be everywhere online – not just a website, but an active, frequently updated blog (the heartbeat of the business), Facebook, Linkedin, Digg, delicious, Twitter, and even Google Plus. Jeff Ogden is President of the B2B Lead Generation Company Find New Customers. Marketing content marketing lead-generation lead-nurturing marketing-campaigns Think Like A PublisherWe can talk about integrated marketing, social media and content marketing till the cows come home. It doesn’t mean a hill of beans. That’s right – it’s all about trust. MORE >>

One of the most important topics for the demand gen and marketing ops functions is Lead Nurturing – the process of cultivating leads that are not (yet) ready to buy. Lead Nurturing, particularly when paired with Lead Scoring , is one of the most effective ways to drive sales and marketing alignment, increase marketing efficiency, and ultimately grow revenues. In other words, Lead Nurturing is a topic that’s central to who we are, what we do, and what we know.  So, here it is:  Eloqua’s Grande Guide to Lead Nurturing. Twitter. MORE >>