16 Nov |
The expanding social landscape – integral to lead generation? |
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Is Social Technology Integral to B2B Lead Generation? The scope of social technologies and their potential to help maximize B2B lead generation efforts is real and valid. But marketers must look beyond the eye-candy. Having a bunch of social media medals (logos and icons on your website) won’t do much for your sales team that’s out in the field trying to close the sale on a hot lead. But being active socially will definitely help establish greater credibility and increase visibility; both important factors that positively influence prospects about to make a purchase decision. It looks
Read more...09 Nov |
Is There More to Social Media than Meets the Eye? |
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Social Media and B2B Lead Generation In the spring this year, I wrote in one of my blog posts, that “social media is new and evolving”. That was in late April 2010. Today, in the fall of the same year, I have to say that social media has indeed evolved with great speed! This actually makes me want to caution marketers that social media isn’t like magic beans that will sprout into a lead generation beanstalk overnight. You still need a very strong foundation on which to build your demand generation efforts. Incorporating social tools and technologies into tried and tested target
Read more...19 Jul |
The Best Mailing List for B2B Lead Generation |
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When it comes to success in B2B lead generation, everybody knows that the mailing list is the most important ingredient in any campaign. A poor list will always produce dismal results, no matter how brilliant the offer and creative. Conversely, good lists often produce acceptable results even with mediocre execution. Consequently, companies are always looking for the “silver bullet” of mailing lists for their next B2B lead generation campaign— that perfect source of fresh, highly targeted, super-hot prospects just waiting to be contacted. Sadly, this is an exercise in futility and
Read more...30 Jun |
Customer Referrals Act as CRM Catalysts across Social Media |
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Nurture existing customers in CRM with social media to get repeat and referral business One happy customer is worth a hundred (or more) in your CRM system. Sounds like a cliché? Well, maybe; but it’s one of those eternal truths which, if you believe in and remember, will take you a long way down the road of successful customer relationship management. It’s easy to pour enthusiasm, effort, ideas (and money!) into B2B lead generation because there is that gleaming pot of gold to aim for – revenue and profits. But the repeat and referral business you can get from existing customers is
Read more...24 Jun |
How Social Media Can Augment Your CRM Effectiveness |
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In my last post I introduced the subject about social media and CRM working together for B2B lead generation. Continuing in this series, here is today’s tip on how social media can be leveraged to augment your CRM effectiveness: Practice active listening with your social media conversations. Quite simply, lead nurturing is the process of informing, educating and encouraging potential customers about your product or service through healthy and positive relationship building. The keyword here is “relationship” – and just like any relationship, B2B relationships are also built and
Read more...21 Jun |
Social Media and CRM working together for better lead generation |
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At the recently concluded Internet Week in New York, the Advertising Research Foundation (ARF) hosted a panel discussion on social media and its impact on CRM. The resounding message from the expert panellists, all big names in the advertising and marketing industry, was that sales and online conversations (a.k.a. social media) are now inseparable and must go hand in hand. The essence of B2B lead generation has always been to help a brand find entry into the minds of customers. Planned or unplanned, orchestrated or inadvertently, brands are entering the customer mindset via social media
Read more...08 Jun |
Make Sales Leads a Privilege, Not a Right |
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Want to significantly increase your B2B lead conversion rates and get your salespeople to provide near 100 percent feedback on lead status? Then stop sending them sales leads— seriously! Instead, set up an online lead distribution system that requires them to request each and every lead. This simple change can have a profound effect on your conversion rates. Why? It starts with human nature: all of us value something more if we have to pay for it or request it. When something is given to us for free or without consideration, we tend to value it less. Similarly, sales leads that are
Read more...02 Jun |
Overcoming Lengthening B2B Sales Cycles |
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Recent research from a number of sources confirms what all of us in demand generation have suspected for some time now: (1) In spite of the proliferation of new marketing communications tools like social media, companies report that generating qualified sales leads continues to be their biggest challenge and (2) The sales cycle, especially for technology marketers, is getting longer. What significance do these findings have for B2B marketers? Companies (and especially their field sales forces, dealers, and resellers) have always wanted more qualified leads, not more leads, so this isn’t
Read more...25 May |
The Missing Link in Lead Qualification Systems: Sales |
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Demand generation marketers often spend countless hours designing and fine-tuning their lead handling systems. Complicated flow charts are created, lead questionnaire content is debated endlessly, forms are designed, and telemarketing and email scripts are reviewed ad nauseam. Yet, many of these sophisticated marketers overlook the single, most crucial element of a successful lead qualification system. What is it? Field buy-in is crucial For some reason, the sales force is often left “out of the loop” when it comes to lead planning. This only adds to the age-old distrust and outright
Read more...19 May |
Social Media Success Won’t Fix a Broken Sales Funnel |
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If you are a B2B marketer looking to use social media as a way to generate more sales leads, by all means test and experiment with it. However, first be sure that your CRM and lead handling systems are working properly. Otherwise, you will only make a bad situation worse. All leads should be qualified and nurtured A lot of social media gurus are telling us that, since social media is different, its success should be measured differently. This is complete nonsense. Whether you generate inquiries from social or “conventional” media, they should all be treated the same way and measured
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