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)

Intent Data 209

Intent Data Intent Bombora Account Based Marketing 209

The Point

MAY 9, 2017

Earlier this year, he launched The B2B Content Agency to provide clients with buyer research, message strategy and insight-lead sales narratives. I talked to Steve recently about the rise of Account-Based Marketing (ABM) , ABM content, and how and where branding and messaging play a role in ABM success. (HS)

Account Based Marketing 206

Account Based Marketing ABM Marketing Automation Services Lead Scoring 206

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

OCTOBER 7, 2014

Google still dominates search advertising – at last count, it handles roughly two-thirds of all Web search queries , a market share that won’t be decreasing any time soon. Increasingly, however, B2B marketers have other options when it comes to investing pay-per-click dollars. Billion with Google in 2013.

Paid Content 100

Paid Content PPC Twitter Linkedin 100

The Point

FEBRUARY 27, 2018

Following on the heels of CAN-SPAM (US) and CASL (Canada), the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) is the latest in a series of government regulations that promises to have a major impact on the way B2B marketers conduct business. We recommend all marketers consult with legal counsel on how best to fully comply with GDPR.

Privacy Policies 231

Privacy Policies Marketing Automation Services B2B Marketing Marketing Management 231

The Point

MARCH 7, 2019

Recently I was interviewed by the folks at Demand Gen Report as part of an article on current trends in email marketing , an article that you can read online here. With permission, a more complete version of the interview follows: (DGR) What trends are you currently seeing in B2B email marketing today? (HS) Direct mail? Chat bots?).

Deliverability 150

Deliverability Account Based Marketing ABM Demand Generation Agencies 150

The Point

FEBRUARY 11, 2014

As co-founder and CEO of Captora , Paul is now channeling his expertise into a new generation of marketing technology that captures and converts new buyers across inbound marketing channels. I sat down with Paul recently to talk about his new company and where Captora fits into the ever-expanding landscape of marketing technology. [HS]

Paid Content 100

Paid Content Demand Generation Agencies Cost per Lead Lead Scoring 100

The Point

JULY 8, 2014

In early 2014, Sungard Availability Services (Sungard AS), a leading provider of managed IT, cloud, and recovery services, announced that it was splitting off as a separate company from SunGard Data Systems Inc. The overall layout was simple, and the call to action (Visit the Website) both straightforward and prominent.

Case Study 100

Case Study Case Studies Demand Generation Agencies Paid Search Agency 100

The Point

APRIL 8, 2015

Spear Marketing Group has published an informative report detailing results of a survey designed to gauge the maturity of marketing automation deployments within the B2B community. In some notable areas, the average marketing automation user appears to be achieving real business value.

Lead Ranking 100

Lead Ranking Lead Scoring Marketing Automation Services Marketing Automation 100

The Point

JUNE 29, 2015

Are most B2B companies getting maximum value from their investment in marketing automation? A recent industry survey by Spear Marketing Group suggests: no. Or are companies rushing to implement marketing automation without a full understanding or strategy for how to put that technology to best use?

Marketing Automation Services 100

Marketing Automation Services Marketing Automation Automation Marketing Management 100

The Point

SEPTEMBER 15, 2015

A recent survey by content automation company TechValidate and B2B agency Spear Marketing Group provides useful insight into the content, tactics, and technologies proving most valuable for today’s B2B marketers. Video was named the content type that marketers project will be most essential in the coming year. •

Demand Generation Agencies 100

Demand Generation Agencies Demand Generation Demand Tactics 100

The Point

JANUARY 14, 2014

In my experience, most of the mental energy and strategic thinking around the practice of lead nurturing and lead management is usually applied to the goal of accelerating prospects through the sales process – from MQL to SQL, from SQL to Opportunity, and so on. And that lack of focus can be a big mistake.

Lead Ranking 100

Lead Ranking Marketing Automation Services Marketing Qualified Leads Sales 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

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

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. The “All You Can Eat” Model.

Lead Ranking 100

Lead Ranking Lead Generation Sales Qualified Leads Marketing Websites 100

The Point

AUGUST 18, 2011

A client asks: “If we’re offering a white paper as part of an upcoming campaign, should we remove it from our Website for the duration, especially if it’s ungated?”. The registration won’t tally as a lead from the campaign, but it’s a lead nonetheless. My advice: don’t fight it.

Landing Pages 100

Landing Pages Marketing Websites Campaigns Demand Generation 100

The Point

JUNE 27, 2012

For today’s B2B marketer, content is the fuel that feeds the demand generation engine. But when lead generation, lead nurturing , customer marketing and social media programs all require a constant feeding of new, compelling content, what do you do when the pace of new programs outstrips your ability to generate that content?

Campaigns 100

Campaigns Peer-to-peer Lead Nurturing Paper 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

MAY 4, 2015

When planning a content syndication campaign, most B2B marketers tend to focus their energy primarily on 1) selecting the right media partner(s) and 2) selecting the right content to promote. In a crowded category, an effective abstract can increase lead pace and volume significantly. Remember: an abstract is, essentially, an ad.

Paper 100

Paper Content Advertising Agencies Conference 100

The Point

OCTOBER 14, 2010

Earlier this week, Marketo , the marketing automation company, held its second ever user conference in San Francisco. Based on first-hand impressions, however, it’s not how the vast majority of clients are employing (or even thinking of) marketing automation. I’m just not sure the rest of us are quite there yet.

Marketo 100

Marketo Impressions Demand Generation Agencies Lead Nurturing 100

The Point

MARCH 18, 2014

Over at marketing automation firm Marketo , CEO Phil Fernandez just wrote a full-throated rant against the evils of unsolicited email and purchased email lists used indiscriminately: “How does anyone think that these are sensible emails to send to the CEO of a fast-growing public company? Stop buying lists. Those days are long gone.

Demand Generation Agencies 100

Demand Generation Agencies Advertising Agencies Marketo Demand Generation 100

The Point

SEPTEMBER 20, 2010

In B2B circles, Q4 is historically a time of year when marketing spend picks up. Sales teams need the push to meet year-end numbers, whilst at other companies, spending marketing dollars in Q4 is simply a matter of “use it or lose it.” Does your corporate blog contribute to overall marketing ROI in a measurable way?

Marketing Budget Creation 100

Marketing Budget Creation Marketing Budget Paid Content Budget Programs 100

The Point

APRIL 18, 2011

And integrating video content into a campaign microsite or lead nurturing program is an effective way to add spark and visual interest and drive response. Most savvy marketers would say no. That might be fine for my friend’s rehearsal dinner, but not for my high-tech Website.” So why don’t more B2B companies use video?

Cost 100

Cost Video Marketing Effectiveness Microsite 100

The Point

AUGUST 8, 2011

A recent industry study on Lead Management Optimization, conducted by CSO Insights and conducted in partnership with SMEI and Marketo , sheds insight on the relative budget marketing organizations are investing in areas such as lead nurturing, social media, and lead generation.

Lead Generation 100

Lead Generation Social Media Allocation Marketing Qualified Leads 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

NOVEMBER 16, 2011

In a recent post , the folks over at Silicon Angle applied their usual insightful analysis to the results of an industry survey by marketing automation company Pardot , a survey that reports fully 42 percent of respondents (all B2B Marketers) have failed to generate any leads from their social media campaigns.

Social Media 100

Social Media Demand Generation Agencies Media Leads 100

The Point

FEBRUARY 11, 2013

Bonnie Crater is a five-time Vice President of Marketing, a former colleague of this blogger from our days at Oracle in the late 80s, and in 2000 was named one of the “Top 20 Female Executives in Silicon Valley” by San Jose Magazine. HS: How are you different from marketing automation vendors like Eloqua or Marketo at addressing this issue?

Marketing Automation Services 100

Marketing Automation Services Salesforce.com Campaigns Budget Programs 100

The Point

JULY 12, 2013

Here are 7 mistakes you’ll want to avoid, as illustrated by an email received recently from email marketing provider Silverpop : 1. By my count, the name “Silverpop” appears 9 times in this email, if you include the subject line (“Silverpop Webinar: 10 Email Marketing Ideas You Can’t Ignore”). Sell the content, not the company.

Webinar Metrics 100

Webinar Metrics Demand Generation Design Email Marketing 100

The Point

JUNE 26, 2009

Conversion rates for organic traffic to a corporate Website may be as high as 10 percent or more. Tags: B2B Marketing Demand Generation Landing Pages Lead Management Lead Nurturing Marketing Automation direct marketing lead generation b2b demand generation demandbase marketo.

DemandBase 100

DemandBase Landing Pages Leads Lead 100

The Point

JANUARY 27, 2010

Here’s the news: the blog has moved to a new location and re-launched with a new name because I’ve also moved, to a new agency: Spear Marketing Group. Check out the Spear Website for more detail, including samples of our work. If you already follow me on Twitter , you’ll see new posts from this blog as they happen. Regards, Howard.

Demand Generation Agencies 100

Demand Generation Agencies Advertising Agencies Demand Generation Work Management 100

The Point

MAY 28, 2009

The new design is in sync with a similar upgrade (coming soon) of the CDI Website, as well as the monthly bulletin that [.]. Tags: B2B Marketing Blogs E-mail Installed Base Marketing Lead Management Lead Nurturing Marketing Automation RSS Social Media blog promotion email marketing enewsletters.

Traffic 100

Traffic RSS Leads Lead 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

JULY 19, 2010

However, in my view, relying too heavily on Webinars as a lead generation tool is simply setting the proverbial bar too high, and doing so can eliminate a large subset of prospects who may have a genuine interest in your product or service but just don’t have the time or the inclination to attend an event. Simply put: not selling the event.

Webinar Metrics 100

Webinar Metrics Demand Generation Agencies BtoB Demand Generation 100

The Point

APRIL 4, 2024

The lead generation experts at NetLine just released their “ 2024 State of B2B Content Consumption & Demand Report ,” a meaty 38-page guide based on data from more than 6 million content registrations. This trend also highlights the need for marketers to tailor content to both buyers and influencers: IT, Finance, Operations, and so on.

Trends 299

Trends B2B Thought Leadership B2B Content 299

The Point

MAY 6, 2010

A couple of weeks ago our firm prepared a detailed ROI analysis for a client helping them substantiate to their management the investment in a marketing automation platform. For other companies, the decision of whether or not to take the plunge into marketing automation is less of a slam-dunk. How diligently are leads followed up with?

Marketing Automation Services 100

Marketing Automation Services Marketing Automation Marketing Management Automation 100

The Point

JANUARY 25, 2012

Though it’s typical for marketers to invest more time and legwork in the mechanics of search (keywords, bid strategy, campaign structure), I’d argue that the majority of PPC campaigns are won or lost at the close: the landing page. The rewards from making even slight improvements to your PPC landing pages can be dramatic. Not “learn more.”

Landing Pages 100

Landing Pages PPC Paid Search Agency Tips 100

The Point

JUNE 18, 2013

DC) Today’s buyers are more educated on markets, products, and competitors than ever. KnowledgeTree answers that challenge by helping sales teams discover the right marketing content at the right time. HS) Content has become the fuel for so much of marketing these days. HS) What problem does KnowledgeTree solve? (DC)

Salesforce.com 100

Salesforce.com Work Management Marketing Management Content 100