11 Oct |
The Ongoing Debate Over Cost Per Lead – Louis Foong’s Perspective |
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In a recent brainstorm about lead generation services and processes, my team mates brought up a few questions about average cost per lead. This is an ongoing debate and a quick search on Google will show you that the range of opinions is fairly wide. The range of actual cost estimates is even bigger. The reason for this is mainly because individuals and organizations have diverse definitions of a lead. With the varying criteria that exist out there, it’s inevitable that the comparison is apples to oranges rather than apples to apples. [caption id="attachment_1041" align="alignleft"
Read more...03 Aug |
Vanilla Marketing Vs. Geo-targeting – What’s the “Scoop” |
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In a recent report, the CMO Council identifies the top 10 ways to create marketing ecosystem value. For sure, everything looks good on paper, but in my opinion, it doesn’t take into account local markets and ground realities. How can you replicate the same strategies for different marketplaces? In a typical scenario, the CMO yields the power of marketing policy. The pendulum has swung way too far on that end. I reiterate what I said before – about finding middle ground. I marvel sometimes at the timeless, ageless wisdom of ancient sayings. Many of them may sound clichéd but there’s
Read more...27 Apr |
When it comes to Effective Lead Generation…Less is More |
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Remember the maze puzzles we did as kids? Or why go so far back – most of us use a GPS to navigate these days. I find the experience somewhat similar to cracking a maze. You know your starting point and you have a destination in mind. But getting there can be as simple or as complicated as you choose. It’s the same with lead generation. In a lot of instances we add several project components to lead generation, often resulting in complicating things and slowing down the whole process. I have seen many instances of complexity being added over time. In my opinion, there are three major
Read more...13 Apr |
Account Mapping and Intelligence – A waste of time or worth the effort? |
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Do it right or pay the price. In one of my earlier blog posts, I mentioned that the best list for any B2B marketer to acquire is not one that is bought but one that is built and carefully nurtured over time. A good list for B2B lead generation must have a solid foundation for building organizational history. Sounds logical and easy, doesn’t it? The reality is that small and larger companies alike are having real issues staying on course. In the absence of a well-defined and disciplined process to build and maintain their internal list, several organizations are pouring money down the
Read more...05 Apr |
Can a small company think ‘big’ when it comes to B2B lead generation? |
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- Yes! Provided the right factors are at play In a difficult economy smaller companies are the first to feel the pinch. Lack of a demand generation strategy and process are the main reasons for lagging behind. Internet marketing has expanded product/service options, widened reach and shortened the buying process. Small enterprises need to re-invent their marketing strategies, get out there and pick up the pace to prevent being obliterated. How can they do this? Focused B2B lead generation – large companies know its value and smaller enterprises need to test its benefits first-hand.
Read more...01 Apr |
Evolution of Social Media for B2B Lead Generation |
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“Analytics is key” says Paul Dunay Social Media Expert “After 2 years of developing a strategy to deal with various types of social media conversations within Avaya we finally got the monitoring and routing of those conversations to be institutionalized within the firm. No small feat by any means but I just couldn’t imagine that the sum total of social media in B2B was just about monitoring and reacting to tweets all day. I felt there had to be much more we can do with the social data that we just can’t get out of monitoring. So I started looking at the social media analytics
Read more...15 Mar |
10 Reasons NOT TO Use Social Media |
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I can see some of you raise your eyebrows as you read the title of this blog post. When every individual and every business is deeply and passionately immersed in social media, what planet am I on? I’m coming from the opinion that unless your organization has mechanisms in place to generate ROI from your social media efforts, you would be wasting precious time and resources on it. Yes, there’s plenty of motivation (and inspiration) for engaging in social media. In recent posts I have been analyzing and commenting on the contributions that social media technologies and tools can make to
Read more...08 Mar |
Understanding the Umbrella of Social Media Technologies |
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Familiarize yourself with Social Media Glossary for B2B Get to know the language and terminology Were you one of those who pooh-poohed David Fincher’s “The Social Network”? Stayed away from watching “a movie about computer geeks” or “the Facebook movie”? Wonder if that will change now after the film won 3 out of the 8 Oscars it was nominated for. It’s funny how we scramble to get up to speed with the Red Carpet buzz. And yet, many of us are guilty of lagging behind on the knowledge about business tools and terminology that can actually help our business; i.e. Social
Read more...01 Mar |
A 10-Point Checklist for Achieving Marketing Leadership |
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As business owners and head honchos of organizations, no matter how big or small, we have the responsibility of demonstrating marketing leadership. A vital part of that is staying relevant and infusing into our organization ideas that are practical and realistic. Leveraging innovative marketing approaches like social media and integrating them into traditional, proven systems is the way to achieve marketing leadership. As good leaders then, we ultimately steer our companies to also become successful market leaders. But first, what’s a relevant leader? I think a relevant leader is one who
Read more...22 Feb |
Twitter and B2B Lead Generation |
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When it comes to social media marketing no business wants to be left behind. It’s mostly free, elicits immediate response and has tremendous reach. Employees and executives are encouraged to ‘tweet’ new products/services and events, keep in constant touch with the target market and manage customer relations when the waters get choppy. And Hollywood thrives on it. However, while Twitter, Facebook and YouTube, etc. were earlier being used for B2C communications, today social media is being touted as a cost-effective B2B lead generation machine. Let’s look at some recent examples of
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