Whenever I ask this question at a meeting, I get affirmations from all the marketing types. The sales people shoot back with, “But those leads aren’t any good.”
Can they both be right? Actually, yes. In many cases, the leads that marketing sends are not sales ready or even warmed up. They may be potential customers who dropped by a tradeshow exhibit, sent in a BRC, called an 800 number or clicked something online. They may be somewhat interested in learning more about your product or company, but most likely they will need lots of nurturing before a sale is made.
So, here’s my question:
The good news is that we can all stop the finger pointing and get the sales and marketing departments singing Kumbaya. All that’s needed is a good marketing communications strategy, technology (CRM and marketing automation), implementation of an effective demand gen program, and a willingness by management to get everyone focused on results—both short and long-term.
Within the B2B industry, your website can mean everything to your potential customers. Prospects want useful information and they want to get it fast, without making a huge effort, which is why it’s important for B2B companies to provide relevant web content.
The article Website Content Tips, offers six tips to ensure your web content grabs the attention of potential customers. Tips include:
Chunk content
Use instructive headings
Format for scannability:
Bold information-rich keywords
Use bulleted and numbered lists
Consider tables to convey and compare information that can easily get lost in text
Use anchor points
Be clear and concise
Employ good design
So remember, it is extremely important to have organization and flow throughout your website and to communicate your message clearly. By doing this, you will increase your SEO and distinguish yourself from your competition. Let your audience know why your product and/or service is the best!
Research, or just finding out what people are thinking, has become an increasingly important part of decision-making in both personal and business situations. Gathering opinions before you take action can help you make better choices and may head off potential problems.
Which movie will you see tonight? Check the Flixster polls to see which flix other people liked.
Want a new cell phone? See which models have the best customer ratings.
Need to let your elected leaders know your concerns? Answer their surveys.
In B2B marketing, we help our smart, forward-thinking clients make better strategic decisions by recommending market research, customer satisfaction scoring, focus groups and online surveys to uncover what their customers and prospects are really thinking and feeling.
The world may seem survey crazy, but it just human nature to want to know what others think. Right now, I want to know what you’re thinking, so please answer this one question survey. After clicking your answer, you can see if others think like you—or not!
As a PR professional, ghostwriting is a common task in my daily job. Throughout my time in PR, I’ve ghostwritten pieces including press release quotes, feature articles, blog posts and letters and I’ve learned that ghostwriting is an art. There is a lot more to it than just knowledge of AP Style and a good writing ability.
When ghostwriting, it’s so important to absorb the voice of the person you are writing the article, quote, letter or blog post on behalf of. Follow the point of view and speaking style of that person. Read things he or she has written in the past for inspiration (or other pieces that have been ghostwritten for and approved by him or her). Have a conversation to get an idea of the person’s tone and speaking style. These things will help you craft a piece that sounds like it came from that person. And, always get approval from the “author” before publishing anything.
Personally, I love ghostwriting. It’s enjoyable, it gives me the opportunity to fine tune my writing skills and it allows me to creatively write in a variety of tones, depending on the author.
Recently, I have been working on many projects that entail rigorous record keeping. Having used Microsoft Excel on a daily basis for many years now, I consider myself to be pretty advanced when it comes to spreadsheets. Some people in my office even refer to me as the Sultan of the Spreadsheet (actually, I made that up, but you get the point). But no matter how cocky I get when it comes to manipulating columns and rows, I am always finding new ways of making Excel work harder for me.
Over the next few blog posts, I will highlight some of my favorite tricks that I use to make my Excel experience more efficient and enjoyable, especially in a marketing environment.
Now, most of you are probably saying to yourselves “He’s kidding right? I hide rows and columns in my sleep.” Don’t worry; I will offer some more advanced tips as we go. Regardless, hiding rows and columns is a great way to remove unnecessary clutter on your worksheet without deleting important data. This is often the first step I take when working with a spreadsheet because it simplifies everything after that. Trust me, it may take some time up front, but it will save time in the end.
Tune in to my next two posts where I will uncover some more advanced Excel tricks that I use on a daily basis.
