The Point

OCTOBER 25, 2018

The analysts at Demand Gen Report just published their “ 2018 Lead Nurturing & Acceleration Survey Report ” and one conclusion is no surprise: many B2B companies are still really bad at lead nurturing. It’s not just that 44% of respondents said that their lead nurturing “needs improvement.” Think about that.

Lead Nurturing 178

Lead Nurturing Marketing Report Lead Scoring Lead Ranking 178

The Point

OCTOBER 29, 2021

And now that chat is becoming a staple of the B2B tech stack, creative marketers are finding ever more innovative ways for leveraging their investment to drive engagement throughout the lead lifecycle. A conversation tailored to highly-motivated, late-stage prospects (“Ready to set up a meeting with one of our experts now? Retargeting.

Account Based Marketing 350

Account Based Marketing B2B Marketing Automation Services Demand Generation Agencies 350

The Point

NOVEMBER 22, 2016

For a long time, “ lead nurturing ” was thought of as something you did with the leads that sales didn’t want. The theory was: leads come in, the sales team gets the hot ones, and the rest go to lead nurturing. Today, of course, a comprehensive lead nurturing strategy is much more than that. Do you agree?”.

Lead Nurturing 100

Lead Nurturing Top of Funnel Sales Qualified Leads Lead Scoring 100

The Point

MAY 23, 2017

There is a growing trend in the content syndication space, and among Cost Per Lead (CPL) programs in general, for media vendors to offer B2B clients the option of pre-qualified leads. However, over the long term, I’d argue that it’s almost always more cost-effective to qualify your own leads. Here’s why: First, some context.

Sales Qualified Leads 110

Sales Qualified Leads Cost per Lead High Quality Lead CPL 110

The Point

JUNE 8, 2016

Email may still be the workhorse in how B2B companies build relationships, maintain awareness, qualify leads and nudge prospects along the sales cycle, but these days, it pays to think about “lead nurturing” as more just an email campaign. The post 5 Ways to Expand Lead Nurturing Beyond the Inbox appeared first on The Point.

Lead Nurturing 100

Lead Nurturing Sales Qualified Leads Account Based Marketing Leads 100

The Point

MAY 17, 2021

Whatever demand gen channels you use to generate marketing leads, there’s value in always promoting a mix of content and other offers that span the entire buying cycle: early-stage, mid-stage, and late-stage. 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

OCTOBER 8, 2015

Bear with me as I relate a quick story about lead nurturing: A few months back I became a sales lead. A question: at this point, what kind of lead am I? By my own reckoning, I’m an MQL (Marketing Qualified Lead). Perhaps I was an SQL (Sales Qualified Lead) at one point in the conversation, but no longer.

Lead Ranking 100

Lead Ranking Marketing Qualified Leads Sales Qualified Leads Lead Scoring 100

The Point

JULY 14, 2015

In an era when “demand generation” and “content marketing” are virtually synonymous, most B2B sales leads are the result of a prospect downloading or requesting content. That latter group becomes fodder for ongoing nurturing, in the hope that further education and brand awareness will ultimately result in conversion to qualified leads.

Sales Qualified Leads 100

Sales Qualified Leads Marketing Qualified Leads Lead Ranking Top of Funnel 100

The Point

AUGUST 25, 2015

It’s important to recognize that content syndication leads are not like most sales leads. If you hand off content syndication leads to your sales force without setting these expectations, your program may be doomed to fail. invites the prospect to call or email with any questions. references the specific content asset.

Autoresponders 100

Autoresponders Leads Lead Marketing Qualified Leads 100

The Point

DECEMBER 15, 2016

What to do if a prospect comes to your landing page, starts to fill out the form, but doesn’t complete the task? Form abandonment and cart abandonment campaigns are standard practice for B2C and ecommerce marketers, less so for those of us B2B types who deal in leads vs. transactions. But otherwise, a job well done.

Leads 100

Leads Lead Marketing Qualified Leads Landing Pages 100

The Point

OCTOBER 30, 2013

A client asks: “I notice that you’re recommending we gate our offer content behind landing pages as part of the lead nurturing campaign. If you send the prospect directly to the content (say, a white paper) upon him or her clicking in the email, how confident can you be that the individual is expressing an active interest in your topic?

Lead Nurturing 100

Lead Nurturing Lead Scoring Lead Ranking Landing Pages 100

The Point

MARCH 3, 2010

In a recent article (member access only), Marketing Sherpa offers up some intriguing research into how prospective tech buyers view email offer content, and how those views can differ dramatically from common assumptions held by marketers. It’s the working assumption of B2B marketers that prospects don’t want to be sold to.

Lead Scoring 100

Lead Scoring Lead Ranking Lead Nurturing Webcast 100

The Point

SEPTEMBER 29, 2011

When sales teams need marketing to help them make their numbers, the natural response is to go fishing for hot leads. This requires a constant re-loading of the sales funnel with new, expensive leads. In contrast, for Marketo, the proportion of sales derived from slow leads is an astounding 50 percent.

Sales Qualified Leads 100

Sales Qualified Leads Lead Scoring Lead Ranking Leads 100

The Point

APRIL 1, 2014

One of the reasons for this under-utilization, and the inability of some marketers to deploy, for example, automated lead nurturing at every stage of the selling process, is resistance from the sales organization, and in particular, Inside Sales. Marketo creates task in CRM to remind BDR to call lead 1 week later. Wait 2 weeks.

Lead Nurturing 100

Lead Nurturing Sales Qualified Leads Lead Scoring Lead Ranking 100

The Point

NOVEMBER 14, 2014

And here’s where I think that analysis goes astray: First, demand generation effectiveness is not best measured by which channel generates the highest number of “quality” leads. Second, let’s consider what the survey respondents most likely meant by “lead quality” in this context. Far from it.

Trade Show 100

Trade Show Demand Generation Agencies BtoB Lead Scoring 100

The Point

AUGUST 1, 2013

Lead scoring has quickly become an integral part of a demand generation marketer’s arsenal. A well-planned, well-designed, and optimized lead scoring schema can be a key contributor to sales productivity, sales engagement, and the rate at which inbound leads convert to Sales Qualified Leads, opportunities, and deals.

Lead Scoring 100

Lead Scoring Lead Ranking Sales Qualified Leads Leads 100

The Point

SEPTEMBER 30, 2013

A prospective client asks: “We’re just getting our demand generation programs ramped up, and I’m not sure I’m ready for marketing automation. Do I need it in order to do lead nurturing?”. My answer: “It depends how you define “ lead nurturing ,” but technically: no, you don’t need marketing automation in order to nurture leads.

Lead Nurturing 100

Lead Nurturing Demand Generation Agencies Marketing Automation Services Sales Qualified Leads 100

The Point

JULY 23, 2012

In an ideal world, all B2B sales leads would be pre-qualified and ready to buy. Of course, in the real world – a world of sales quotas, quarterly revenue goals, and impatient investors – not all stake-holders, especially salespeople, are interested in the notion that the most effective lead generation strategy is a long-term proposition.

Demand Generation Agencies 100

Demand Generation Agencies Sales Qualified Leads Leads Lead 100

The Point

SEPTEMBER 17, 2014

Sungard AS runs a highly successful demand generation program, an integrated mix of both online and offline campaigns, to generate a consistent flow of leads to the company’s sales force. Design, build and launch a “Welcome” email program designed to improve follow-up and response to new leads. Spear is a Marketo agency partner.)

Conversion Rate 100

Conversion Rate Marketing Qualified Leads Demand Generation Agencies Lead Ranking 100

The Point

AUGUST 8, 2013

When a client says “We set up lead scoring but sales doesn’t pay any attention,” it’s a sure sign that something is amiss – and more likely the problem doesn’t rest with sales. Here’s Part 2 of our discussion of the most common B2B lead scoring mistakes. For Part 1 of this post, click here.).

Lead Scoring 100

Lead Scoring Lead Ranking Sales Qualified Leads Marketo 100

The Point

JANUARY 24, 2013

Key to designing an effective lead nurturing program is taking stock of your current lead management process. Giving sales a voice in the process will help ensure that, as an organization, they feel they have a stake in the new lead management program and won’t feel it’s being foisted upon them by marketing.

Lead Management 100

Lead Management Process Work Management Sales Qualified Leads 100

The Point

SEPTEMBER 23, 2015

If you’re not generating leads – as in: a lot of leads – from your company’s blog, you’re missing out on what is perhaps not only your best opportunity to convert organic Web traffic into actionable, measurable sales inquiries, but also the best way to actually show real ROI from your social media investment.

Business Blogging 100

Business Blogging Lead Scoring Lead Ranking Generation 100

The Point

DECEMBER 18, 2012

Ask a group of B2B marketers whether their Websites’ lead generation content (white papers, archived Webinars, case studies, videos, etc.) At one end of the spectrum, there are those that believe gating Web content is the most efficient way to convert Web visitors to actionable sales leads. So the question is: To gate or not to gate?

Lead Ranking 100

Lead Ranking Lead Generation Sales Qualified Leads Marketing Websites 100

The Point

SEPTEMBER 16, 2011

How is it that a quality white paper on a hot topic can still generate bad leads? Even a well-written white paper, by a respected author, on a hot topic of vital interest to your target audience, can still generate leads your salespeople will consider “junk.” It’s got to be the media, right? It’s the offer.

Paper 100

Paper Sales Qualified Leads Lead Scoring Lead Ranking 100

The Point

AUGUST 15, 2012

You know that monthly newsletter you blast to your entire database under the guise of “lead nurturing”? And those Webinar invitations that you broadcast to every trade show lead you’ve generated since 2005? There was a time when lead nurturing was synonymous with simply staying in front of prospects.

Lead Nurturing 100

Lead Nurturing Sales Qualified Leads Lead Scoring Lead Ranking 100

The Point

FEBRUARY 28, 2023

What actions do you want your prospects to take? Certain lead generation programs – notably content syndication – tend to be popular uses of MDF funds because they’re perceived as easier to launch and manage and because they guarantee a tangible result to the sponsor. Be realistic. Consider your options carefully. *

Demand Generation Agencies 147

Demand Generation Agencies Advertising Agencies CMS Development Work Management 147

The Point

JULY 18, 2011

Prospects are usually more likely to download or otherwise register for a white paper vs. a Webinar, free trial, etc. Based on papers that have proven highly successful for our clients, here’s a typical outline for an effective, lead generation-oriented white paper: 1. How to choose a solution/vendor.

Paper 100

Paper Lead Generation Sample Lead Ranking 100

The Point

APRIL 16, 2019

The key to determining at what point an expensive click becomes TOO expensive is understanding a few key data points: * Maximum Allowable Cost Per Lead (MACPL) * Customer Lifetime Value (LTV) * Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC). Not Doing Everything Possible to Pre-Qualify Prospects. Failure to Nurture Leads Correctly.

Cost per Acquisition 235

Cost per Acquisition Paid Search Agency Campaigns Cost Per Click 235

The Point

SEPTEMBER 6, 2011

When marketers embark on a formal lead nurturing strategy, opportunities for process improvement can arise in unexpected ways. That was the experience for iDirect , a leading provider of satellite IP communications based in Herndon, Virginia. All this presents real challenges for both demand generation and lead management.

Lead Nurturing 100

Lead Nurturing Lead Scoring Sales Qualified Leads Lead Ranking 100

The Point

MARCH 29, 2017

Though the marketing team was doing a great job generating raw inquiries at the top of the funnel, the sales reps weren’t receiving the number of “sales ready” leads they needed to hit their pipeline targets. The lead funnel is obsolete. Think about it: most companies have no problem generating leads at the top of the funnel.

Sales Qualified Leads 50

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

The Point

FEBRUARY 14, 2018

This functionality not only generates additional insights for marketers as to just how much of their content prospects are actually reading, but also enables more sophisticated lead qualification methods, for example: granting higher lead scores when an individual prospect reads more than say, 80 percent of a white paper.

Paper 193

Paper Demand Generation Agencies Lead Scoring Lead Ranking 193

The Point

NOVEMBER 12, 2019

If you could layer third-party intent data into every lead gen program you run, would you do it? In other words, would you only ever want marketing leads from prospects pre-determined to be actively researching your category, solution, use case, etc.? My argument: no, you wouldn’t. . Effective demand generation.

Intent Data 149

Intent Data Demand Generation Agencies Intent Paid Social Agency 149

The Point

JUNE 24, 2022

As in the consumer space, B2B buyers use a variety of content to research prospective purchases: social media, Google search, review sites. The days when a marketer’s primary responsibility was simply generating raw leads to throw at sales are behind us. Key Finding 1: Buyers have all but replaced vendor-provided content.

Top of Funnel 130

Top of Funnel Cold Calling B2B Demand Generation 130

The Point

JULY 13, 2012

Which leads to another question: do certain types of campaigns even need an offer in the first place? Take lead nurturing : is it strictly essential that every lead nurturing touch include a specific, gated, call to action? I have my concerns, however, about extending it to lead nurturing and the email medium.

Lead Nurturing 100

Lead Nurturing Lead Scoring Lead Ranking Campaigns 100

The Point

NOVEMBER 15, 2010

Relevancy is one of the key factors in generating a consistent response from your lead nurturing emails: the more relevant your message to the reader’s job function, industry, interests, and stage in the selling cycle, the more likely he/she will be to respond. Lead source. Don’t dump all inbound leads into the same bucket.

Lead Nurturing 100

Lead Nurturing Segmentation Sales Qualified Leads Campaigns 100

The Point

FEBRUARY 27, 2012

In the early stages of a recent client engagement, it became apparent that the schema already in place to determine and assign lead scores was, well: broken. The basic lead scoring recipe is typically a variation on the following: * assign positive scores for desired behavior or demographics (e.g. Thanks Dan!

Lead Scoring 100

Lead Scoring Lead Ranking Sales Qualified Leads Leads 100

The Point

APRIL 19, 2017

The best demand generation campaigns start with content that your prospects want. Does the topic help to qualify the prospect as someone suffering from a problem or pain point your product/service can solve? Personally, I’ve seen some white papers continue to generate leads year after year with only minor updates.

Top of Funnel 214

Top of Funnel Demand Generation Agencies Demand Generation Paper 214