WebMarketCentral

OCTOBER 6, 2008

Yet new research indicates that, despite knowing what to do, technology vendor channel chiefs don't always act on this knowledge. Of executives "who said they focused on sales ‘effectiveness' strategic activities such as lead management and deal registration, 62% reported an increase in revenue.

Advertising Channels 20

Advertising Channels Enterprise Management Marketing Management Marketing & Strategy 20

WebMarketCentral

NOVEMBER 9, 2009

In the late 1990s, when big companies were taking huge write-offs and even declaring bankruptcy due to failed implementations of large ERP systems, ComputerWorld stood out with its honest reporting ; most other publications continued to push bubbles-and-sunshine pieces about these systems and vendors. How did they get their material?

Marketing Management 20

Marketing Management B2B Thought Leadership Microsite Planning 20

WebMarketCentral

SEPTEMBER 2, 2008

There are widgets (seemingly everywhere) and there are business intelligence tools , but web-based BI tools vendor LogiXML recently introduced the first BI widget, Widge nie. Legacy vendors have traditionally focused on creating printed reports; Widgenie makes BI much more portable, across the web, email, mobile devices, etc.

Salesforce.com 20

Salesforce.com Business Vendors Tagging 20

WebMarketCentral

JULY 16, 2007

hours) or vendor-produced content (websites, webcasts, white papers, etc. - When conducting research specifically to assist with a buying decision, vendor content is the most referenced source, followed by social media and trade editorial. Vendor content came in second, followed closely by trade media.

Social Media 20

Social Media Peer-to-peer Wiki Media 20

WebMarketCentral

JANUARY 7, 2008

For example, B2B buyers and vendors are unlikely to want to congregate on the same sites where tweenagers are babbling about Hannah Montana , and kids could care less about developments in database technology or network appliances. . ** technorati tags: Social media sites, Alexa rankings, Web 2.0

Social Networks 20

Social Networks Web 2.0 PageRank Digg 20

WebMarketCentral

SEPTEMBER 29, 2009

Those are the types of questions marketing automation / demand generation software vendors seek to address with their offerings. They get 95% of the information they need from the Internet—online publications, analyst reports, vendor websites, blogs and other social media—before they have any contact with sales.

Marketing Automation Services 20

Marketing Automation Services Work Management Marketing Management Marketing Automation 20

WebMarketCentral

FEBRUARY 14, 2007

Marketing Sherpa recently published an excellent and thorough review of webinar / web conferencing vendors. Webinars can be a powerful B2B lead generation tool, but vendors come with a wide variety of price points and feature sets. After February 18th, 2007, it'll cost you a few bucks, but it's worth it.)

Service 20

Service Webcast Vendors Lead Scoring 20

WebMarketCentral

AUGUST 27, 2008

Jon Miller at marketing automation vendor Marketo , just posted his interview with me, B2B Marketing Thought Leadership: Tom Pick. I'm a bit too modest to be totally comfortable with a title like that, but I appreciate the compliment nonetheless.

B2B Thought Leadership 20

B2B Thought Leadership SEM Marketing Automation Services Marketing Management 20

WebMarketCentral

DECEMBER 18, 2007

As noted here previously, from both the B2B vendor perspective and buyer perspective , social media is becoming an increasingly important channel for B2B communication. With that in mind, here are four ways B2B vendors can use social media to spread their messages. It's no longer just about teenagers discussing their favorite bands.

PR 20

PR Social Networks B2B Tagging 20

WebMarketCentral

MAY 18, 2007

As B2B buyers become increasingly immune to traditional marketing and more reliant on word-of-mouth vendor referrals, sellers need to become more sophisticated in building customer loyalty through relationship marketing , and converting this loyalty into referral business.

Enterprise Management 20

Enterprise Management Loyalty Marketing Management Web 2.0 20

WebMarketCentral

JULY 16, 2008

Marketing brochures they can get from the vendor. Blog coverage helps increase awareness, build credibility for your brand, and helps with SEO. Yet many PR people stumble badly when reaching out to bloggers, with blog outreach efforts a mix of good, bad and ugly. And it's bad for readers. So what do bloggers want?

Blogger 20

Blogger Digg PR Tagging 20

WebMarketCentral

DECEMBER 8, 2008

lead automation management vendors. These vendors are quick to point out that you've already paid for the traffic to your site through PPC, SEO, interactive PR , banner advertising or other activities; their services simply help you learn more about the 97% of visitors who don't immediately convert into a lead. Was that you?

OpenTracker 20

OpenTracker LeadGenesys LEADSExplorer ReadyContacts 20

WebMarketCentral

JULY 21, 2009

In short, being a good b2b Twitterer largely means simply using the social skills applicable to offline settings. Be interesting, funny, topical, conversational, and don't only talk about yourself. Click here to follow XYZ Company on Twitter: [link] Thanks Ugh!

Twitter 20

Twitter Web 2.0 RSS B2B 20

WebMarketCentral

JUNE 18, 2008

It's Critical to get SEO and SEM Right As the chart below shows, buyers are far more likely to find vendors when they are ready to buy than to respond to vendor outreach that may or may not hit them at the right time.

Lead Generation 20

Lead Generation Lead Ranking Lead Scoring B2B Thought Leadership 20

WebMarketCentral

MAY 12, 2009

They found that “respondents across all phases indicated that the website of the vendor” was the top influence on buying decisions. Enquiro surveyed 1,000 B2B buyers to learn what the top influencers are in the purchase decision. The upshot: if you’re a B2B company, get it right when it comes to your online presence.

B2B 20

B2B Tagging Comparison Case Study 20

WebMarketCentral

AUGUST 27, 2007

Buyers rate IT publications and vendor websites as the least trustworthy, with just 30% expressing confidence in these sites. As the white paper states it, "the buyer wants to be in control of the vendor/prospect conversation."

Paper 20

Paper Lead Generation Privacy Policies B2B Thought Leadership 20

WebMarketCentral

OCTOBER 24, 2008

This is all good—vendors can get valuable feedback from the right sample groups based on accurate LinkedIn profiles, LinkedIn gets another revenue stream, and participants get token rewards. But it seems to me there may be an opportunity missed here.

Linkedin 20

Linkedin Customer Surveys Sample Blogger 20

WebMarketCentral

AUGUST 29, 2007

social media tagging: Customer stories from telephony migration, voicemail list management and unified messaging software vendor Unimax. I cited three specific examples of promoting client thought-leadership content through Web 2.0 The glossary of business service management terms from ITIL service catalog software provider Kinetic Data.

Web 2.0 20

Web 2.0 Marketing Management B2B Thought Leadership Bandwidth 20

WebMarketCentral

AUGUST 11, 2008

Many large enterprise vendors ( Microsoft , IBM , Oracle ) are beginning to add "social" features to their existing product suites but they are merely feature add-ons and not the core of a product.

Enterprise Management 20

Enterprise Management Ning Wiki Work Management 20

WebMarketCentral

AUGUST 4, 2009

As the report notes, "The most important brand attributes for a B2B vendor are often credibility and trust – and unless you are a well known company like IBM, the best way to build credibility and trust is by sharing useful information. If you can help frame the discussion, your company will be seen as a trusted advisor and thought leader.

Lead Nurturing 20

Lead Nurturing Lead Ranking Lead Scoring Sales Qualified Leads 20

WebMarketCentral

NOVEMBER 19, 2008

Prospective buyers are more willing to open a piece of mail, take a phone call, or click on a search ad if they are familiar with a vendor. Most importantly, branding supports direct response. By enhancing name recognition and credibility, brand advertising makes your direct marketing programs more effective. Don't neglect branding.

Paid Search Agency 20

Paid Search Agency Advertorials Telemarketing Lead Gen 20

WebMarketCentral

JULY 14, 2008

The first vendor to respond to an inquiry—particularly if that response is fast, within the first 30 minutes or so after contact—has an inordinate chance of winning the business. But the CEO may very well be asked to sign off on a final purchase, and is likely to question a purchase from a vendor he or she has never heard of.

Enterprise Management 20

Enterprise Management Work Management Marketing Management B2B Marketing 20

WebMarketCentral

SEPTEMBER 26, 2007

com , a hosting service for thought leadership rich media B2B webcasts, podcasts, videos and demos from leading B2B vendors. ON24 provides a hosted platform to help B2B marketers and other business professionals produce webcasts, podcasts and rich media presentations for prospects, customers, employees, analysts and investors.

Webcast 20

Webcast B2B Thought Leadership Lead Ranking Thought Leadership 20

WebMarketCentral

MARCH 6, 2009

Though targeted at small businesses, the best practices outline in this post apply to websites of virtually any size.

Design 20

Design Marketing Websites Best Practices Microsite 20

WebMarketCentral

JANUARY 5, 2010

Your best bet is take advantage of the free trials offered by most vendors to find out which product works best for you. PowerPoint Video Converter ($46), Lecturn ity ($215), and iSpring PRESENTER. Other options include PresentationPro's PowerCONVERTER ($149) and PowerFlashPoint ($199).

Budget Programs 20

Budget Programs Video Marketing Screencast Youtube 20

WebMarketCentral

NOVEMBER 13, 2007

While developing relevant content for your corporate website is still important for PR and SEO purposes, writing and promoting a blog establishes credibility in a way that articles viewed as "vendor content" can't. social tagging, thought leadership content, SEO, social media tagging, blogs, industry blog del.icio.us

Tagging 20

Tagging Web 2.0 Traffic B2B Thought Leadership 20

WebMarketCentral

DECEMBER 6, 2006

Your organization may choose to manage the returns process internally using software from a vendor such as Manhattan Associates , ClearOrbit or Sterling Commerce , or outsource the function to a reverse logisitics specialist.

Enterprise Management 20

Enterprise Management Marketing Management Merchandising Touchpoints 20

WebMarketCentral

JULY 20, 2009

Of course it isn't only big businesses that make mistakes, so to be fair Sonia details in another excellent post dumb things small businesses do , advising entrepreneurs to avoid the number "one," as in over-reliance on one customer, one vendor or one partner.

Marketing & Strategy 20

Marketing & Strategy Branding Brand Identity Best Practices 20

WebMarketCentral

JUNE 13, 2005

Think about all of the vendor relationships you have. Then think about your favorite vendors – what sets them apart from the others? There was the vendor account rep who has likewise stayed in touch, providing me with contacts, ideas, and encouragement (not to mention the occasional smoked salmon).

Advertising Agencies 20

Advertising Agencies Marketing Management Paid Search Agency Vendors 20

WebMarketCentral

AUGUST 24, 2006

So why don't CRM vendors simply bake in this functionality themselves? Both sales and marketing benefit from an interactive feedback loop that shows what works, and what doesn't, in the real world. Is this an effective solution? The company has customers who say it is. It takes creativity, technical skill, and a focus on customer success.

einsof 20

einsof CRM RSS Sales Qualified Leads 20

WebMarketCentral

NOVEMBER 19, 2007

The consolidation of vendors will also simplify B2B media buying to some degree. However, there are still enough competitors in this space to provide buyers with some leverage; there is as of yet no player that dominates online B2B lead generation in the way that Google dominates search engine advertising.

Lead Generation 20

Lead Generation B2B Thought Leadership Thought Leadership Generation 20

WebMarketCentral

OCTOBER 26, 2006

Negative comments posted about your company, product, or service, may sometimes be the disingenuous rantings of a competitor, former employee, or scorned vendor, rather than honest and thoughful customer appraisals. But as the famous New Yorker cartoon points out, "On the Internet, no one knows you're a dog."

Social Networks 20

Social Networks iProspect Network Marketing Search Engine Marketing 20

WebMarketCentral

JULY 11, 2007

Some B2B marketing efforts are highly inventive, such as the Superhero campaign executed for outsourced supply chain services vendor Zomax by KC Associates. But B2B IT marketing is generally a very practical and highly budget-conscious business. B2C marketing is simply a different world.

Campaigns 20

Campaigns Advertising Agencies Work Management Paid Search Agency 20

WebMarketCentral

NOVEMBER 15, 2007

Respectable SEO practices are pretty well-known; if a potential SEO vendor starts talking about their secret sauce or doesn't want to share the "how" of what they do, don't walk—run away. A reputable firm will outline their process and indicate what automated tools they use to check the quality of their work. Have realistic expectations.

SEO 20

SEO RFP Advertising Agencies Adwords 20

WebMarketCentral

NOVEMBER 24, 2006

Base Camp, first recommended to me by John Sundberg, president of Kinetic Data , is great for coordinating the efforts of inside people and outside vendors (graphic artists, writers, agencies, web developers, etc.),

Work Management 20

Work Management Marketing Management Consulting Paid Search Agency 20

WebMarketCentral

JUNE 4, 2006

Here are several more examples of software vendors who don't offer (Heaven forbid!) Cerner , a medical software provider, doesn't claim to produce software either, but does display screen shots of its "solutions."

Enterprise Management 20

Enterprise Management Salesforce.com Marketing Management Software 20

WebMarketCentral

FEBRUARY 5, 2007

Of particular interest is item #87, which details a highly successful and award-winning direct mail campaign done for a supply chain management outsourcing vendor (okay, I may have had something to do with this).

Work Management 20

Work Management Marketing Management Paid Search Agency Planning 20