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

MAY 19, 2020

It wasn’t that long ago, when marketing automation first burst on the scene, that the height of lead nurture sophistication was the simple, automated sending of multiple, sequential emails. Today, advances in marketing technology make such “automation” seem laughably basic. How does your current lead nurturing.

Lead Nurturing 299

Lead Nurturing Class Budget Programs Lead Scoring 299

The Point

FEBRUARY 28, 2023

In uncertain economic times, Market Development Funds (MDF) can be a precious resource for channel partners (resellers, distributors, ISVs) looking for budget to fund sales and marketing activity. By some measures, that may add up to $15 billion of unspent marketing budget every year in the US alone.

Demand Generation Agencies 147

Demand Generation Agencies Advertising Agencies CMS Development Work Management 147

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

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

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

MARCH 18, 2020

Most B2B marketers we talk to are continuing to plan, develop and execute campaigns and other initatives, for the time being at least. Inbound marketing increases the chances of reaching the companies who, despite everything, are actively looking for answers to business challenges. If nothing else, lead nurturing.

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Demand Demand Generation Agencies Top of Funnel Account Based Marketing 243

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

APRIL 22, 2020

I posted recently on LinkedIn that, in the current climate, leads from content syndication and other CPL programs may be an ideal replacement for lost trade shows and other events, and indeed can be an effective way to stay engaged in the marketplace at a time when many buyers are laying low. Quality content = quality leads.

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Lead Scoring Lead Ranking CPL Cost per Lead 162

The Point

JUNE 24, 2022

The TrustRadius report focuses primarily on how technology vendors should adapt their selling process to these new buying habits, but it’s also worth considering some of the key findings and their implication for the demand marketer. How should companies adapt their demand generation playbook to better serve the needs of the self-serve buyer?

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Top of Funnel Cold Calling B2B Demand Generation 130

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

DECEMBER 6, 2022

Budgeting season is here again, and demand marketers are not immune. Define the percentage of that revenue (or pipeline) for which marketing is responsible. The trend is towards the higher end of that range, as marketing assumes responsibility for more and more of the funnel. We prefer to base budgets on MQLs vs. raw inquiries.

Budget Programs 162

Budget Programs Lead Ranking Demand Marketing Qualified Leads 162

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

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.

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Class Marketing Attribution Advertising Agencies Paid Search Agency 243

The Point

MAY 28, 2020

ABM was born of a time when (in hindsight) we marketers had it good. I’ve written elsewhere in this space that one of the reasons ABM became so popular is because companies are just really bad at lead nurturing.). An approach that orchestrates touch points from marketing, sales, and customer success. However, times have changed.

Demand Generation Agencies 162

Demand Generation Agencies Demand Generation Ideal Customer Profiles Lead Ranking 162

The Point

JANUARY 17, 2019

Some years ago, our firm conducted a lead management audit for a technology client who was struggling to convert raw, inbound inquiries into sales qualified leads. During the audit, it became quickly apparent that one of the major issues was at the very front end of the lead qualification process. Click To Tweet.

Sales Qualified Leads 168

Sales Qualified Leads Tips Lead Nurturing Multi-Channel 168

The Point

AUGUST 27, 2019

LinkedIn’s big advantage over its key competitor – and the reason it’s now cannibalizing so many marketing budgets previously reserved exclusively for paid search (SEM). – Or opt for LinkedIn’s Lead Gen Forms, which generate a pre-populated contact form inside the app. Stale Creative. business) email address. Audience Size.

Paid Content 241

Paid Content Advertising Agencies Linkedin Advertisements 241

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. Here are 4 steps you can take starting NOW to eliminate headaches later in the year: Define how many leads you need to hit your numbers. takes time. But, yet, it happens.

Account Based Marketing 130

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

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

APRIL 26, 2018

In a world where demand generation , and marketing in general, is more data-driven than ever, one of the hottest topics in B2B circles is intent data. How should the average B2B marketer be looking to leverage intent data in their demand generation mix? But is that real? HS) How do you define Intent Data to a layman? (CC)

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Intent Data Intent Bombora Account Based Marketing 209

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. . Do You Want Intent Data with That?

Intent Data 149

Intent Data Demand Generation Agencies Intent Paid Social Agency 149

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

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

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

JULY 1, 2019

It’s why, for example, we marketers have assumed control for more and more of the lead funnel. There was once a time when we would generate a lead and our job would be done. Now that lead has to be nurtured, educated, scored, enriched, appended and qualified before we would dare hand it off to sales. Sales Alerts.

B2B Sales 124

B2B Sales Demand Generation Agencies Top of Funnel Lead Scoring 124

The Point

FEBRUARY 14, 2018

New marketing technologies like Uberflip make it increasingly easy to track content consumption beyond just clicks and downloads. But what if the insight gained from these technologies is unwelcome news, namely that people are downloading, but not actually consuming, marketing content? My answer: no, it doesn’t. It doesn’t.

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Paper Demand Generation Agencies Lead Scoring Lead Ranking 193

The Point

APRIL 19, 2017

No one question will help you create content that drives quality leads – leads that convert more readily to pipeline and revenue – more than this one. But it’s important to define, recognize, and plan for content that appeals to the right prospects depending on the type of campaign or your marketing objectives.

Top of Funnel 214

Top of Funnel Demand Generation Agencies Demand Generation Paper 214

The Point

JANUARY 27, 2022

When companies look to get started in Account-Based Marketing (ABM) , the first step is very often a pilot campaign. Pilot campaigns are modest in scope, and they cause companies to dabble in ABM without the lead time, personalized content, technology, research, data, and other key investments that a more thought-out strategy merits.

Account Based Marketing 204

Account Based Marketing ABM Campaigns Demand Generation Agencies 204

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

JULY 30, 2019

Much has been made of the argument that Account-Based Marketing (ABM) gained traction so quickly in B2B marketing primarily because traditional, funnel-based demand generation has stopped working. Whether it’s intent data or BANT-qualified cost per lead (CPL) programs, demand gen has become a race to the next short cut.

Demand Generation Agencies 140

Demand Generation Agencies Demand Generation Account Based Marketing ABM 140

The Point

JULY 17, 2017

Demand Gen Report has published the results of this year’s “B2B Buyer’s Survey,” and the trends identified merit close attention for those marketers involved in B2B demand generation and content development. IMPACT : Use ABM strategies to deliver personalized, relevant content to specific buying roles within large accounts. Click To Tweet.

Paid Search Agency 241

Paid Search Agency Demand Marketing Automation Services Peer-to-peer 241

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

DECEMBER 13, 2019

The rate of change in B2B marketing and marketing technology continues to accelerate, and 2020 promises to be no different. I asked the best subject matter experts I know, my colleagues at Spear Marketing Group , what trends they think will highlight the next 12 months in B2B demand generation.

Demand 222

Demand Ideal Customer Profiles Demand Generation Agencies Account Based Marketing 222

The Point

JULY 30, 2020

Even as demand generation activity begins to pick up, most marketing budgets right now remain tight, and so B2B companies are looking for creative, low-cost ways to drive demand. Blogs are historically the province of the PR team, and so they’re not often looked at as a vehicle for driving leads, sales engagement, and revenue.

Demand 221

Demand Lead Scoring Lead Ranking Marketing Budget 221

The Point

SEPTEMBER 23, 2020

Given the business case on which most Account-Based Marketing (ABM) strategies are founded – namely, that ABM increases opportunities and revenue from high-value accounts – the temptation for marketers is to measure the success of those programs on similar, high-value criteria: namely, opportunities, revenue, and average deal size.

Account Based Marketing 290

Account Based Marketing ABM Lead Ranking Sales Qualified Leads 290

The Point

JANUARY 19, 2021

2020 was a year of change for marketers worldwide, much of it not for the best of reasons. Will B2B marketing, and demand generation in particular, revert to “normal” once the pandemic subsides and economic recovery kicks in, or are recent trends destined to become staple tactics in the months and years to come?

Demand Generation Agencies 147

Demand Generation Agencies Demand Generation Demand Lead Ranking 147

The Point

DECEMBER 5, 2023

House lists (customers, leads, and other opted-in contacts) are not immune. As that previous article made clear, emailing to anything but opt-in lists may be at odds with the license agreement of your marketing automation platform (MAP) or email service provider.) Yahoo’s rules are expected to be similar.

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Deliverability Rules Purchase Marketing Automation Services 162