Do you nurture your leads and know when they are 'qualified, sales ready' contacts?
Some interesting sales statistics to keep at the forefront of your mind when planning how to convert your leads. They could also help build your business case for investment and resources to manage your lead nurturing program. It can work both ways, in that you can miss out on sales by not responding to your 'sales ready leads' or provide irrelevant information at the wrong time to prospective buyers, which pushes them towards another brand.
The key is covering all bases; defining your personas, sharing relevant personalised content, understanding how they search for information, knowing where they are in the sales funnel and efficient internal processes.
For example, stats in the infographic from Orchestrate show by ensuring you have customer service SLAS can increase sales - 35% to 50% of customers buy from those who respond first!
The…
Businesses must strike the right balance between inbound and outbound techniques to succeed at lead generation
An existing B2B lead generation process may work well with existing products / markets but what happens when a business tries to grow? In this article I present the four most common growth strategies and suggest some associated lead generation techniques.
A Cautionary Tale
To illustrate what can go wrong, an example may help. The company was a dominant force in components for high-reliability markets like oil and gas. Business was good but the company identified the limitations of its existing market and decided there was a need to diversify into commercial markets to grow.
Their approach was to take their most successful products and using different materials and manufacturing methods produce cheaper and simpler variants for the commercial market. They identified potential volume markets for the products, assessed price points and designed and manufactured products to fit.…
An example of using humour in social media for B2B to build business and strengthen customer relationships
When I train people to use social media, I often have delegates complaining that it's "all very well for B2C companies, but our product is so boring, it's never going to work on social".
I'd argue that so long as your content is timely, relevant and compelling (yes I know - all those things can be a big ask), it's going to be interesting for someone. And if you manage that and can inject a dollop of humour along the way then you are onto a winner.
As a result I'm always on the look out for new case studies of B2B companies doing social media well, and if that's managed in house and on a small budget then even better.
I'm therefore delighted to share with you this guest post that my friend @LisaRobb of accounting (yes potentially…
Increasing your reach by getting off your B2B blog and writing for others
The benefits of business blogging and personal blogging are well-known in terms of improving search visibility, delivering traffic and raising your profile but often it is hard to get audiences to come back to a blog on a business web site and engage.
A standard approach most business bloggers adopt is to seed blog content around the web - tapping into social media platforms, websites, groups, hubs and communities - with the goal of getting people to click the link and return to the website to take action.
Blogging, in this sense is, a very worthwhile activity. But it also a little bit spammy and has to be managed carefully to avoid coming across as being self-absorbed.
As most companies are blogging in order to improve visibility, stimulate greater website traffic and foster deeper engagement - a more inclusive blogging distribution strategy is…
New research shows B2B services marketing budget priorities
ITMSA's recent research reviewed B2B Marketing investment priorities from larger companies including Microsoft, SalesForce and BT.
The report shares findings on budget allocations, detailed allocation of marketing spend, staffing, priorities and challenges for this year.
It highlights shifts in focus - ' according to the research, in the past the focus was on 'reputation', today it's 'Revenue' and the future is 'relationships'.
The companies surveyed are focusing on revenue generation (ROI), Thought Leadership, Brand Differentiation and Reputations, as they continue to plan for online spend.
Where are marketing spending plans for this year?
The biggest spend is forecasted to be on marketing programs, campaigns and content development. Content Development accounts for 15% of spend.
The report shows some flexibility in budget investment with 8 in 10 of the companies able to…
Examples showing why B2B website visitors deserve a great experience too
Whichever business sector you are in, it is still crucial to consider your digital marketing as a holistic process created around your website. In a 2013 blog post here on Smart Insights I detailed a number of areas that all effective B2B websites should have. Many remain relevant even though the technology and customer expectation has moved on.
The objective of this blog post is to build on this theme of centrality and align it with the delivery of powerful and engaging user experience that draws visitors in and keeps them coming back again and again.
Only by creating a website rich in customer focused content and that is built to respond to the device it is being viewed on, has the chance of catching and maintaining attention. I'll also be covering this topic as part of 6 key tactics to Turbocharge your digital…
Which 'Demandgen' channels and content marketing techniques are most effective for B2B marketers?
Allocating budget and resources to the right channels is always a challenge, even after fully analysing your personas, past campaigns and competitor activity. Properly defining demand generation and then integrating into your strategy is key to developing a future-proof marketing plan.
The B2B Demand Generation Report from marketing technology SoftwareAdvice.com explores what companies are investing in to 'fuel their Demandgen'.
Which are the most effective channels for generating high quality leads?
This four quadrant presentation can help prioritise your focus according to your business goals. For generating high quantity and quality leads, Trade Shows, Referral Marketing and in-house email marketing were the best channels. Bear in mind, that this is from a sample of 200 B2B marketing organisations in the United States.
Which content…
31 Predictions on the Future of B2B Marketing
Each year, through the year, I’m reviewing the latest trends and predictions for digital marketing to update Smart Insights members and to include in new editions of my books I’m working on. Looking to the year ahead, I have just updated my ideas on trends in marketing for 2015 with a focus on the latest software tools to help digital marketers - please take a look and vote on the most important trend for your business!
My reviews tend to span across all of digital marketing, so I was interested to see this compilation of predictions compiled by Lee Odden of TopRank Online Marketing focusing on the future of B2B Digital Marketing.
It’s curated by Top Rank Digital in association with Marketing Profs for their upcoming B2B Forum, so I was interested to take a…
A review of 7 areas to help focus your LinkedIn strategy for B2B Marketing
If your business has been using LinkedIn for a while now, it useful to review how it's supporting your marketing strategy. Perhaps it has not really done anything for you and you're thinking 'this ship has sailed, it's time for me to consider other options?' Well think again, you might be like many of other LinkedIn users, who have held accounts for several years, who, only now, are discovering how to achieve real and measurable business benefits from this platform
When I first discuss LinkedIn with new clients, it quickly becomes apparent that many of them are missing the boat when it comes to really engaging with this site. I hear comments such as 'It's just a job seeking tool for recruiters isn't it?' or 'it's for networking with people I know,…
An update on 10 major changes in LinkedIn that B2B marketers and professional users need to be aware of
LinkedIn is one of the fastest growing social networks, it recently announced that in March 2014 it had over a quarter of a billion members of which 66% are outside the United States:
85M+ EMEA65M+ Europe50M+ Asia and the Pacific9M+ Southeast Asia4M+ DACH10M+ MENA
So, LinkedIn demands attention for professional use to advance your career and if you're involved in B2B marketing. If you’re looking to catch up on the changes in LinkedIn, here is a quick summary of the features that LinkedIn has added (as well as dropped) during the last 12 months
1. Status updates re-located: It is no longer possible to post status updates on your profile. Updates can only be posted on the home screen…
