The Point

DECEMBER 15, 2020

A client asks: How long should a lead be chronically non-responsive before they’re marked as “marketing suspended”? Over time, an accumulation of stale, non-responsive leads can bump you to a higher pricing tier for your CRM or marketing automation license. . What best practices should we put in place?

Lead Scoring 162

Lead Scoring Lead Ranking Leads Lead 162

The Point

JANUARY 23, 2018

Many are competing in early stage markets and need to get in front of their competitors quickly before consolidation and attrition take their toll. This requires a constant re-loading of the sales funnel with new, expensive leads. And you’ll generate more qualified leads, at a lower cost, if you adopt a longer-term approach.

Sales Management 253

Sales Management Sales Qualified Leads Demand Generation Agencies Lead Scoring 253

The Point

NOVEMBER 27, 2018

Social media may be a hot topic in B2B marketing circles, but most of that buzz focuses on the role of social media advertising. Are B2B marketers ignoring a huge opportunity? In addition, the platform integrates with leading marketing automation platforms, such as Eloqua, HubSpot, Marketo, and Pardot. Click To Tweet.

Top of Funnel 203

Top of Funnel Demand Generation Agencies Demand Generation Lead Scoring 203

The Point

SEPTEMBER 21, 2017

As a sales professional or as a marketer, if you engage with a qualified prospect and that prospect doesn’t convert immediately to an opportunity, there’s every reason to stay in touch with that individual over time. The post Why Lead Nurturing Success Means Not Asking for the Sale appeared first on The Point.

Lead Nurturing 224

Lead Nurturing Sales Qualified Leads Lead Scoring Lead Ranking 224

The Point

NOVEMBER 10, 2016

In 2015, JW Player piloted a small-scale, in-house SEM program on Google AdWords to gauge the potential efficacy of using search advertising to drive qualified leads for its enterprise video platform. JW Player contacted Spear Marketing Group , a leading B2B demand generation agency , for help.

SEM 222

SEM Cost Per Click Enterprise Management Paid Search Agency 222

The Point

MARCH 22, 2019

Lead scoring – as a fundamental part of a company’s lead management strategy – has officially fallen out of fashion. Two reasons I can think of: One is that lead scoring is routinely set up as part of an initial implementation of a marketing automation platform. So, is lead scoring a dying art?

Lead Ranking 113

Lead Ranking Lead Scoring Sales Qualified Leads Account Based Marketing 113

The Point

FEBRUARY 25, 2022

Just as too much time on Instagram fawning after the photoshopped lives of internet influencers can create an unhealthy self-image, marketers too can fall victim to unrealistic standards and FOMO created by the marketing blogosphere and the breathy propaganda of martech vendors. Marketing attribution is a good example.

Class 243

Class Marketing Attribution Advertising Agencies Paid Search Agency 243

The Point

NOVEMBER 15, 2022

A client asks: “What’s the best way to market to purchased lists like ZoomInfo ? We have a debate between our marketing and sales teams on whether the best approach is marketing emails, sales outreach, or something else. How Should I Market to Purchased Lists? Re-market to those who click on ads but don’t complete a form.

Purchase 162

Purchase Paid Search Agency Paid Social Agency Outreach 162

The Point

OCTOBER 20, 2014

Highlighted by the launch of Salesforce’s own analytics cloud , the current trend in marketing technology is clearly focused on helping marketers make smart decisions and build smarter campaigns. The simple act of generating leads – primarily through online means – has never been easier.

Demand Generation Agencies 100

Demand Generation Agencies Lead Gen Marketing Report Research 100

The Point

JUNE 25, 2019

[Thanks to Anne Angele, Spear’s esteemed Director of Marketing Technology, for this month’s guest post.]. Marketing attribution is a hot topic these days in B2B circles. Yet, for all the interest, precious few B2B companies achieve the holy grail of knowing exactly how – and where – their marketing investment impacts revenue.

Marketing Attribution 242

Marketing Attribution Work Management Marketing Management Marketing Automation Services 242

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.

Lead Nurturing 100

Lead Nurturing Top of Funnel Sales Qualified Leads Lead Scoring 100

The Point

JANUARY 27, 2016

Demand Gen Report just published “ Top B2B Marketers Measure Lead Nurturing Effectiveness to Boost Performance ,” a special report in which they address the whys, whats, and how tos of measuring lead nurturing’s true impact. That, ultimately, is what lead nurturing is designed to do – move leads towards opportunity and close.

Lead Nurturing 100

Lead Nurturing Lead Ranking Marketing Qualified Leads Sales Qualified Leads 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. Question: is this a smart choice for marketers? For the average B2B marketer, I’m not so sure this is a wise move.

Sales Qualified Leads 110

Sales Qualified Leads Cost per Lead High Quality Lead CPL 110

The Point

APRIL 19, 2023

There’s an old truism in marketing that says the three most important success factors are (in order of priority): List, Offer, and Creative. Most marketers accept this axiom implicitly, and yet B2B companies routinely define their target audience with more attention to logos and aspiration than actual fit.

Ideal Customer Profiles 130

Ideal Customer Profiles Marketing AI Marketing Analytics Tools B2B Marketing 130

The Point

AUGUST 20, 2015

Results are in from a recent survey on B2B Lead Generation by the B2B Technology Marketing Community on LinkedIn ( free report download here ), and the numbers tell a disheartening story. Marketing automation has yet to solve the reporting issue. B2B marketers are focused on the short term, to their detriment.

Lead Generation 100

Lead Generation Demand Generation Agencies Lead Scoring Lead Ranking 100

The Point

DECEMBER 15, 2016

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. Here are 3 key lessons B2B marketers can learn from the campaign: 1. But otherwise, a job well done.

Leads 100

Leads Lead Marketing Qualified Leads Landing Pages 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

OCTOBER 8, 2020

An old boss once commented: “75% of marketing is just being in the right place at the right time.”. 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. Marketing Success & the Accident of Timing Click To Tweet.

Demand Generation Agencies 173

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

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. I sent an email to a marketing technology firm, one with whom I was vaguely familiar, about a client campaign for which I thought their technology might be useful. A question: at this point, what kind of lead am I?

Lead Ranking 100

Lead Ranking Marketing Qualified Leads Sales Qualified Leads Lead Scoring 100

The Point

MARCH 8, 2018

Technology marketers love analyst reports. Sure, they’re expensive to license, but they’re instant fodder for all sorts of content marketing, they bring credibility and name recognition to a campaign, and – bonus – they say nice things about your product. However, in my experience, most tech companies don’t know how to market them.

Marketing Report 216

Marketing Report Planning Gartner Demand Generation Agencies 216

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

JUNE 5, 2018

Earlier this year, Forrester Research conducted a detailed survey of more than 150 B2B marketing decision-makers with the intent of benchmarking the maturity of B2B marketing best practices, focused on revenue marketing and marketing automation. for lead management to 3.35 Marketers are just beginning that pivot.

Lead Ranking 194

Lead Ranking Forrester Lead Scoring Paid Search Agency 194

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. The post A Follow-Up Strategy for Content Syndication Leads appeared first on The Point.

Autoresponders 100

Autoresponders Leads Lead Marketing Qualified Leads 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. It’s why click-to-lead conversion rates are never 100%, no matter how good your landing page. Why is that necessary when we already know who these people are? Here’s why: 1. A click is not a response.

Lead Nurturing 100

Lead Nurturing Lead Scoring Lead Ranking Landing Pages 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. Based on responses from more than 200 BtoB marketing professionals, it provides useful insight on the types of demand gen programs and content that are trending in the marketplace.

Trade Show 100

Trade Show Demand Generation Agencies BtoB Lead Scoring 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

APRIL 1, 2014

Recent studies tell us while the adoption of marketing automation technology continues to gain momentum, fewer than 20 percent of marketing executives say that they are fully integrating the technology into their current sales and marketing initiatives. Once initiated, the steps are as follows: 1.

Lead Nurturing 100

Lead Nurturing Sales Qualified Leads Lead Scoring Lead Ranking 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

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.) “A

Conversion Rate 100

Conversion Rate Marketing Qualified Leads Demand Generation Agencies Lead Ranking 100

The Point

FEBRUARY 18, 2020

Almost 5 years ago, our agency conducted a survey to determine whether B2B companies were getting maximum value from their investment in marketing automation. You’d assume, therefore, that marketing automation maturity – the level of sophistication at which companies employ the technology – has improved.

Marketing Automation Services 147

Marketing Automation Services Marketing Management Marketing Automation Automation 147

The Point

OCTOBER 29, 2021

If you ask most B2B marketers how they use chat platforms like Drift , the immediate answer would most likely be: converting Web visitors. 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.

Account Based Marketing 350

Account Based Marketing B2B Marketing Automation Services Demand Generation Agencies 350

The Point

MARCH 1, 2011

Recently I was invited to participate in a discussion with Sridhar Ramanathan, a 20-year Silicon Valley veteran and General Partner at the Aventi Group , a leading consulting firm specializing in accelerating revenue for technology companies. How should tech firms be combining email marketing with outbound telesales or teleprospecting?

Open Rate 100

Open Rate Email Marketing Lead Ranking Tips 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 25, 2018

Over at the Modern Marketing Blog , Steve Earl offers his theory as to why enterprise marketers choose to switch to a different marketing platform. In the broader market, however, our agency’s experience tells a different story. In the broader market, however, our agency’s experience tells a different story.

Marketing Automation Services 179

Marketing Automation Services Enterprise Management Work Management Marketing Management 179

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

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