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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

MAY 28, 2019

Like so many other trends that first take root in the consumer realm, B2B companies are starting to take note, to the point where chatbots – programs designed to simulate (and stimulate) conversation with online users – are being heralded as the “next big thing” in B2B marketing. Inserting chat into a lead nurturing. in particular.

Demand Generation Agencies 127

Demand Generation Agencies Demand Generation Demand Top of Funnel 127

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?

Top of Funnel 130

Top of Funnel Cold Calling B2B Demand Generation 130

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

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 Ranking Lead Scoring 178

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.

Lead Ranking 162

Lead Ranking Lead Scoring Cost per Lead CPL 162

The Point

OCTOBER 15, 2019

If your organization is generating plenty of leads but those initial inquiries aren’t converting to sales qualified leads, meetings, or pipeline, a myriad of things could be at fault: 1) sales follow-up may be sub-standard in either cadence, frequency, or message. 2) lead nurturing. 2) lead nurturing.

Sales Qualified Leads 138

Sales Qualified Leads Work Management Marketing Management Account Based Marketing 138

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.

Paper 193

Paper Demand Generation Agencies Lead Ranking Lead Scoring 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. . Do You Want Intent Data with That?

Intent Data 149

Intent Data Demand Generation Agencies Intent Paid Social Agency 149

The Point

JUNE 30, 2017

In the headlong rush to Account-Based Marketing , many B2B companies are, quite naturally, looking to implement ABM in a manner that allows them to dip their toes in the proverbial water. ABM is a strategy, and a wholly different way of looking at how leads, opportunities and revenue are generated. So, by all means, give ABM a try.

Account Based Marketing 235

Account Based Marketing ABM Demand Generation Agencies Demand Generation 235

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 Ranking Lead Scoring 224

The Point

JUNE 7, 2017

Howard, I was intrigued by your position on pre-qualified leads in a recent blog post. Anyhow – I’m reaching out because I’d like to explore partnering with Spear Marketing. My company provides data science consulting to sales/marketing/demand gen organizations.

Best Practices 145

Best Practices Lead Ranking Sales Qualified Leads Account Based Marketing 145

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 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 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

JANUARY 13, 2017

This is especially true for technology marketers, and doubly true for those in nascent or emerging categories, when much of the marketing challenge may consist of convincing buyers that they have a problem to solve in the first place. There’s also a smart way to do it.

SEM 100

SEM Paid Search Agency Marketing & Strategy Sales Qualified Leads 100

The Point

MARCH 29, 2017

Earlier this year, I talked to a CMO at a B2B tech company whose sales counterpart was lobbying strongly for the company to adopt Account-Based Marketing (ABM) as part of their demand generation strategy. The lead funnel is obsolete. Inbound marketing doesn’t work, or at best is grossly inefficient. The reason? Far from it.

Sales Qualified Leads 50

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

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.

B2B Sales 124

B2B Sales Demand Generation Agencies Top of Funnel Lead Ranking 124

The Point

APRIL 19, 2017

Does the topic help to qualify the prospect as someone suffering from a problem or pain point your product/service can solve? 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.

Top of Funnel 214

Top of Funnel Demand Generation Agencies Demand Generation Paper 214

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

NOVEMBER 22, 2017

As a sneak preview, here are some of the key takeaways from our discussion: Marketing content is devalued. Content personalization maximizes the relevancy, and therefore the effectiveness, of marketing content by making an ad, an email, a Web page or a content asset personally relevant to the target individual. Click To Tweet.

Personalization 133

Personalization Lead Ranking Lead Scoring B2B 133

The Point

FEBRUARY 24, 2015

The lack of an appropriate and complete tracking system is one of the most common errors, or omissions, that B2B marketers make in setting up a paid search program. Are you trying to generate downloads, registrations, page views, sales leads, qualified leads, sales? It’s easy to see why. For a free copy, click here.

Paid Search Agency 100

Paid Search Agency Cost Per Click SEM Adwords 100

The Point

DECEMBER 11, 2018

I may not be a market analyst, but from what I see working with our agency’s B2B clients , it seems to me that, in the language of technology adoption lifecycles, Account-Based Marketing (ABM) stands at that pivotal junction – what Geoffrey Moore calls the “chasm” – between early adopters and early majority.

Account Based Marketing 157

Account Based Marketing ABM Ideal Customer Profiles Enterprise Management 157

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

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 Ranking 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 4, 2012

Over at Marketing Experiments , Daniel Burstein posted recently on how what he calls “friction” on landing pages can reduce or increase conversion rates by making it easier or more difficult for prospects to complete a form. Secondly, shorter forms don’t necessarily generate lower-quality leads. Except that is not always a bad thing.”.

Landing Pages 100

Landing Pages Conversion Rate Lead Qualification Peer-to-peer 100

The Point

JULY 27, 2018

High bar offers, in particular, are likely to be wholly inappropriate, and ineffective, for anything but the most qualified leads possessing a high degree of familiarity with your brand. I wrote about how to get prospects to say “yes” to a meeting in this earlier post. Photo by Drew Beamer on Unsplash.

Account Based Marketing 100

Account Based Marketing Campaigns Multi-Channel Demand Generation Agencies 100

The Point

JANUARY 13, 2015

No matter what your marketing resolutions this year – more content, better creative, etc. – Since email continues to be a dominant channel for most B2B marketers, let me suggest that a good candidate for #1 on your “to do” list for 2015 is to improve the way you measure email campaigns. no improvement matters if you can’t measure it.

Lead Ranking 100

Lead Ranking Marketing Qualified Leads ROI Sales Qualified Leads 100