and social media to streamline their purchasing processes, the line between marketing and sales as it relates to prospect interaction becomes blurred. As B2B buyers leverage Web 2.0 Marketing must take on the early-stage lead/prospect communication that was once the sole responsibility of sales, and frequently the two groups must work together to nurture a buyer from lead to prospect to customer. While challenging, it is possible to get marketing and sales on the same page.  Below I have outlined three steps that can move your organization towards marketing and sales alignment. MORE >>

Unhappy customers on social media can’t be ignored, they need to be engaged.  Social media is not the forum to work through specific customer issues.  Can Perhaps, but what is the cost of an unhappy customer raising hell on social media?  Tags: B2B Marketing Marketing Social Media B2B Marketing Tips Following the conversation on Twitter has become yet another critical “to-do” for us in b2b marketing.  B2B marketers need to be monitoring these conversations to understand several key factors: 1. What Were they concerned about it?  Extreme?  MORE >>

EM: What role does social media play in demand generation and how can you incorporate that into your strategy? CR: I have another soapbox rant here: Social media is an important part of demand generation, but do not let it distract you from basic blocking and tackling of demand generation. Let’s face it, marketers get distracted by the bright, shiny new objects, and social media is just that — bright and shiny. That being said, social media is an absolutely vital aspect of your lead generation strategy. Now, you MUST add social to the mix. MORE >>

In the last couple years, there's been such a buzz around social media. Every b2b marketing conference seems to offer at least half a dozen sessions on how to use social media effectively. In this candid evaluation, I'm going to  examine my own successes and failures with social media in a recent, multi-touch marketing campaign featuring The Quintessential Marketing Automation Guidebook. Attend this webinar to learn : Which social media tactics proved most effective – and which didn’t. Join us in this webinar to find out. Register Now. MORE >>

During the past 6 years Mike has developed a new brand of demand gen that leverages both technology, the human asset, and social media. In the Lead Nurturing Cookbook , we offer a recipe for managing and qualifying inbound leads using your marketing automation platform. To expand on some of the important concepts Mike discussed in the Cookbook, I asked him to answer 5 questions to help you understand the importance of leveraging personalized outreach along with marketing automation to improve your success. typical example that results from an inbound lead is missing titles. MORE >>