28 Jun |
Marketing Automation WILL NOT Help You Make More Sales |
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When was the last time everything that was meant to, or should have happened from a marketing perspective, actually happen? Marketing automation vendors would have you believe that their tool is the answer to all your needs – think again. These are the days of under-resourced and under-funded marketing departments. The funny thing is, in many instances, the finance departments are the ones enthusiastic about implementing this automation play as all they can envision is savings down the road. In reality, what ends up happening is that marketing turns their focus on feeding the automation
Read more...31 May |
Prospects, Leads and Customers – Nail all Three with the Right Strategy |
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B2B companies face different buying cycles based on whether or not their product and/or services are a commodity or of a more structural nature. It is critical that B2B companies have a clearly defined lead generation strategy to: Attract new prospects Track and manage already identified leads Ensure that the value of their existing customer base is maximized It is safe to assume that most B2B companies are fully aware of the above three pillars, but what sets them apart from each other is how they go about making all this happen. Some companies will rely heavily on lead generation
Read more...19 Apr |
Do People Provide False Contact Information Online? 69% of the time! |
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It’s true! Landing pages and web forms can bring inaccurate information into your database. Landing pages are increasingly gaining ground as a popular online marketing tactic. Organizations include a strategically designed landing page in their package of marketing tools because it offers them the opportunity to ask for visitor information. From downloading a whitepaper in exchange for an email address to requesting a free trial by providing more detailed contact information, individuals do respond to a compelling call-to-action in a landing page that catches their attention. I read an
Read more...03 Feb |
To Spike, or Not to Spike: that is the question |
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I’m feeling inspired by Shakespeare here but unlike Hamlet, it’s not a question I would ponder. Rather, it is a rhetorical question and my answer would always be “don’t spike”. I agree; a challenging economy and value-conscious customers are making it increasingly difficult for organizations to stay afloat, let alone meet sales targets. Added to that is the pressure of getting to customers before your competitors do. A “quick fix” might seem like the ideal solution. Enter a spike marketer who may be able to deliver the quick boost you’re looking for to improve your sales.
Read more...27 Jan |
The Ideal Demand Generation Personality Profile |
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The Ideal Demand Generation Personality Profile and How to Cultivate Having witnessed organizations burn up thousands upon thousands of precious dollars, I can’t help but analyze a lead generation failure when I see it. While the specifics vary in every case, there are certain common traits of a demand generation personality profile that create negative results. I talked about some of these in my last post on the types of demand generation personalities. Let’s look at some traits that you can consider imbibing to don the ideal demand generation personality profile…please feel free to
Read more...25 Jan |
What is Your Demand Generation Personality Type? |
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As a demand generation advisor and lead generation consultant, there are often times when I wish that I could change my customers’ marketing personalities. When that happens, I find myself digging deeper and analyzing what type of demand generation personality that organization has. I remind myself of the practical advice from Ted Roosevelt, “Do what you can, with what you have, where you are.” It makes it easier for me to help a client’s organization minimize the weaknesses and maximize the strengths of their demand generation personality. Have you thought about what is your demand
Read more...18 Jan |
My 2011 Lead Generation Wish List |
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I was asked recently by a media person to comment on the top lead generation trends in 2011. When I inquired what in her mind were these “top trends”, I didn’t hear anything new. I agree that in 2010, organizations were still struggling to recover from the recession and many companies did not fully explore lead generation. Many were challenged with customer retention and had no resources or time to focus on lead generation. So while some may argue that a fusion of inbound and outbound marketing, multi-touch lead generation, adopting new technologies for marketing and sales automation,
Read more...06 Jan |
New Year’s Resolutions for 2011 |
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Happy New Year to all of you! Hope everyone enjoyed a wonderful holiday season. It’s always hard coming back after the short but action-packed few days of festivity and joyous celebration. Maybe that’s the reason why many of us try to find our focus by making New Year resolutions. Of course, we know that these are the most commonly broken set of promises we make to ourselves! I was reading a comic strip in a local newspaper recently where a teenager asks his Dad if he had made a list of New Year’s resolutions for 2011. The man replies “Yes” and points to a dusty diary. The son
Read more...22 Dec |
Recipes from the World’s Best Chef – My Christmas Gift to You! |
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In case you’re wondering about the title of this blog post, let me tell you at the outset that I am neither a chef, nor am I the world’s best. BUT, I am very excited that my niece, Stacey Lee Chan is indeed the world’s best chef! Stacey won the gold at the prestigious “Chaines des Rotisseurs Jeunes Chef Rotisseurs” 2010 world final in Helsinki, an annual highly regarded competition in the culinary world. Go Stacey! Stuck for holiday meal ideas? Now you know about the world’s best chef — this is my special Christmas gift to you! Check out Stacey’s Blog for her favourite
Read more...23 Nov |
How to Avoid Becoming the Next Demand Generation Horror Show Star! |
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Having been in this industry for close to 2 decades, I have seen some real horror stories. Companies spending obscene amounts of money on lead generation — from inbound and outbound marketing to sales automation, leads database management, telemarketing, advertising, PR, direct marketing, and so on. Budgets blown away mindlessly and bank-breaking campaigns bringing little or no ROI. Sales reps suffering nervous breakdowns and senior executives coming under the axe for not meeting targets. Scary. If all of these are not horror stories, then I don’t know what else to call them. How
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