We think these are salient factors when considering the differences between small and large companies: Sales cycles for complex products and services are longer. Small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) are the engine of the current economic recovery in the U.S. As a segment they are growing faster than large enterprises, which means we are seeing commensurate growth in the number of computerized solutions for that segment. Despite that trend, most marketing solution vendors aspire to be purveyors to big (or relatively big) enterprises. Try one channel at a time. campaign management. MORE >>

Customer wins, product releases and awards are a few of the types of news tidbits that work very well for such a campaign. Public relations is perhaps the oldest form of marketing. As such, some digital marketers may view it as a world apart from their own and ignore it because it seems irrelevant. But in our view, nothing could be further from the truth. PR is a vital part of marketing automation. Here are some reasons.  . PR is an important source of written content. Marketing automation needs large amounts of well-written content, and PR can feed that machine. Does Sales. MORE >>

The nature of automation is such that there is a tradeoff between manual involvement and productivity for any given process. Skepticism from the sales organization about marketing’s ability to generate sales qualified leads (SQLs) probably dates back to the Bronze Age. Companies have been trying to fix this for generations with limited success. That’s one of the reasons we’re in the marketing automation business. Even though we created tools and processes (e.g., lead scoring) to bridge the divide and align those organizations, we recognize that a perfect solution is impossible. MORE >>

Take a deep breath, play a soothing melody in your head, and make the obvious rounds:  CEO, VP of Sales, the sales team, customer support, and product teams. You may need broad and out-of-box thinking to revamp those investments for improved productivity or reduced costs. This is the second of two posts about CMOs and the challenges they face. In first post, we reviewed our thoughts about how CMOs obtain their jobs; and we posed a question about how to approach that first day in the office. First – and most important – keep your finger off the “reboot” button. Don’t do that. MORE >>

reasons why your organization might need a Marketing Automation Solution In a world where every day hundreds of ideas, products. Obtaining sponsorship and resources to implement (or replace) a marketing automation solution is no easy task. Your biggest challenge will always be in the executive suite. Depending on the structure of your company, your peers may need convincing as well. troubled economic environment usually means a harder sell. Competition from other initiatives designed to reduce costs or increase revenue. Skepticism about the value of marketing automation. Happy selling! MORE >>