lead generation

Social media and inbound marketing techniques have been a boon for marketers. Not only do leads generated through social and content marketing cost half as much as traditional outbound-generated leads, they also close at higher rate. And social media isn’t just about lead generation of course...[read more]

If there's a universal truth in sales, it's that the start of a new year means everything starts over. Whether you had a terrific 2011 or not, whether you create your own goals or they're handed down, we're all in the same boat. We're facing new revenue goals for 2012, and I'll bet yours are higher than last year's.[read more]

As most of you likely know, I'm a research fiend. I find it really interesting to learn what marketers think about their work, challenges and achievements. I've read a lot of research in the last few weeks - must be a fall thing - but Marketing Sherpa's Chart of the Week displaying the most challenging marketing-sales funnel processes got me thinking.[read more]

This post is by Cornell Green, Your Open Source CIO,  guest blogger for KikScore. Visit him at http://opensourcecio.blogspot.com In a down economy, Small Businesses need to exploit every possible advantage available to them. An often overlook and underutilized Small Business asset is the good ol’ ...[read more]

As the latest research, surveys and reports about content marketing begin surfacing, I'm wondering if  B2B marketers are really embracing change or if they're stuck in the past? Time and again, I see lead generation as a top priority goal while lead nurturing comes in at the bottom of the heap - behind web traffic and brand...[read more]

Everything in social media will lead us to our ultimate goal – good, solid leads. Lead management allows you track how you are generating interest and how you are going to track those leads into and through your sales funnel.  To put it simply – it's your business process. It tells you how your customers are getting interested in...[read more]

Over the past months I wrote about how to find your customers in order to improve your customer segmentation and gain better understanding of your niche market. Everything goes back to connecting with your audience so you can craft campaigns utilizing tactics such as email marketing, SEO and social media. Then as more...[read more]

In reviewing the results from the B2B Marketing Skills Survey conducted by Genius.com and BtoB Magazine, I saw a few disconnects that should be flags for concern. Let's talk about two of them. Contradiction 1: Driving qualified leads is seen as the most important mission of the marketing department. Lead nurturing is seen as the least...[read more]

I recently presented a workshop at the New England Business Brokers Association meeting about how to integrate online and social media marketing for lead generation. As professional service business owners, we build our credibility by demonstrating our expertise and knowledge of our discipline and the use of social media makes building...[read more]

I love inbound marketing. I really do. Heck, I practice it, promote it and preach about it. But not as a singular effort for lead generation. One of the things that inbound marketing does is grow traffic. In fact, Twitter is one of the top referral sources for this blog. But just generating traffic does not make for leads. In a B2B...[read more]

It always amazes me when I click to download a white paper or register for a webinar and am confronted by a 20-field lead generation form. Unless it's something I want very badly, I tend to click the back button and move on to something more appealing. Then again, I'm a marketer, so sometimes I fill out the form to see what the company...[read more]

This week at Marketing Prof’s Digital virtual marketing conference, I presented a case study of Techrigy’s use of Twitter for lead generation. Many question the value of spending time on Twitter, but it has proven to be invaluable for the growth of our startup! Here’s our story. I started with the numbers first. Twitter: a Case for Lead...[read more]

Not many sellers like cold calling. They may be forced into it but they go kicking and screaming, avoiding it with any excuse. Unfortunately, they think it's the only approach to prospecting, but it doesn't have to be that way. John was a managed services provider looking to grow his company. He created a cold calling plan to reach...[read more]

This content from: Duct Tape Marketing The other day I was conducting an educational workshop for folks interested in becoming Duct Tape Marketing Coaches. At one point I talked about presenting workshops as the primary way that coaches acquired customers and that it was an essential success factor for prospective coaches to consider....[read more]

Resources for starting a new business, ideas for naming that business, mistakes to avoid, lead generation strategies to embrace, how to apply some of Warren Buffet's wisdom to online marketing efforts... find all of that and more here in this final collection of the best posts on strategy and branding from the past year.What's in A Name...[read more]

Content marketing is growing in leaps and bounds. The formats and types of content that engage your prospects are multiplying. The majority of B2B buyers turn to the Internet first to begin their research. In fact, research by Interwoven shows that 22% of global marketing spend (read $1.5 trillion!) is allocated to content origination,...[read more]

How much effort do you need to put into social media before it pays off in B2B? The answer probably has to do with what you expect from social media in the first place. The problem I see for B2B social media marketing is that instead of (1) increasing marketing effectiveness by facilitating sales and deepening customer relationships...[read more]

One of my most-used words these days is “scrutinize.” Merriam-Webster says it means “to examine closely and minutely.” At ESR, we find ourselves using the word fairly often: VPs have been asking us about how to determine which sales reps to keep and which to redeploy. In this current economic situation some of what salesreps depended...[read more]

The Internet is my best friend for attracting new prospects. In a flash my name and an article I’ve authored have “gone viral.” I’m promoted all over the world and I’m suddenly the expert everyone wants to talk with. Leads start flowing in from people I’ve never met and new opportunities abound. Is it magic? No! It’s Web 2.0, and you can...[read more]

The Wall Street Journal's article Niche Websites Buck Media Troubles discusses a trend we've covered a lot in the past - the growth of small onllne publishers.  Small media companies are exploiting new, niche publishing opportunities created by low cost online publishing tools and the Internet's broad distribution. Many of these small...[read more]