I have long been a believer that cold-calling is an outdated approach still clung to by dinosaurs from the Glenn Garry Glenn Ross days. I am speaking from experience as I have done it all. I sold door to door when I was 17 & 18, I was selling before PC's were at every desk, and I was also selling as "ASP" (Application Service Provider) became SaaS (Software-as-a-Service) and now cloud (yes, dreamy I know). Times have changed. There was a time when I got my leads form the phone book and the news paper. I actually had to go into the newspaper to find leads, cut them out, glue them onto a piece of paper that I would turn into my manager, and this would be my prospecting list for the week. I would then have to go out and not cold call but cold drop-in to businesses and collect business cards to prove I was working and not golfing. There are so many flaws there that is another post by itself.
Times have changed people. The best example I can give is the car buying experience. Think about it ... when you go to buy a car now you likely know what car you want, as well as the colors and options. You have already researched numerous places to buy, and may have even found out what the dealer paid for the car and how much others have paid. You know about all of the features, and ratings from consumers - YET YOU HAVE NOT EVEN WALKED ON A LOT OR SPOKEN TO A SALES PERSON. Other buying decisions are the same - whether B2C or B2B. Learn how to adapt or go the way of the dinosaur.
One of my favorite bloggers (and a VC) recently put out this interview. Check it out.
http://www.forentrepreneurs.com/predictable-revenue/
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Demand Generation VS. Lead Management
Demand generation and lead management are two terms that companies should be fairly familiar with, but it turns out there is quite a bit of confusion around the two. Some companies believe they are the same thing, while others know the difference between the two, but are unsure which to invest in.
Lauren Carlson, an analyst who reviews marketing automation solutions at Software Advice, tipped me off to a two-part whiteboard session with Carlos Hidalgo, CEO of Annuitas Group and Executive Director of the Marketing Automation Institute. In part one, Hidalgo defines both terms and explains how companies should view them not as separate entities, but a dual proposition. Demand generation and lead management actually work together to create a more effective customer engagement strategy.
In part 2, Carlos discusses how marketing automation technology is not the complete answer to all your demand generation and lead management needs. Rather, it provides a critical piece of your demand generation strategy and lead management process.
Data and social media investment central to marketing strategy, programs
Keeping pace with the ever-changing dynamics of the online marketing space is no easy task. New technologies and tactics seem to crop up daily and evolve so rapidly that marketers often have difficulty deciding where to focus their efforts.
Findings from IBM showed that in the next three to five years, 82% of CMOs surveyed worldwide will increase their technology investment in social media, and 81% plan to focus on customer analytics and customer relationship management (CRM) solutions, two technologies designed to help them address the impending issues and concerns surrounding the growing amount of available marketing and customer data.
Marketers are using customer data to help them better reach unique segments of their customer and prospect audiences. In fact, 61% of CMOs said they used customer data for segmentation and targeting, highlighting the desire to better understand and message their current and potential clients.
IBM’s research complements July 2011 data from ClickSquared and The Relevancy Group that found 35% of US marketers were most interested in improving data-centric segmentation and targeting practices. Learning how to integrate and leverage social data was another top priority for 30% of marketers.
The ability to target and segment customers using CRM tools and customer analytics highlights a larger strategic desire to improve customer loyalty and advocacy shared by two-thirds (67%) of the CMOs in the IBM study.
In addition, 56% of respondents looked to leverage social media as a key engagement channel for customers and prospects, and the same percentage of CMOs also hoped to manage these customers through the use of integrated software suites, which could include tools like CRM or marketing-automation software.
The emphasis placed on social media strategy and customer analytics and data management largely reflect marketing aspects CMOs felt they had most room to improve: 71% felt unprepared to leverage the large amounts of data that continue to flood the online marketing space and 68% marked social media for improvement.
Sources: IBM Study & eMarketer
Findings from IBM showed that in the next three to five years, 82% of CMOs surveyed worldwide will increase their technology investment in social media, and 81% plan to focus on customer analytics and customer relationship management (CRM) solutions, two technologies designed to help them address the impending issues and concerns surrounding the growing amount of available marketing and customer data.
Marketers are using customer data to help them better reach unique segments of their customer and prospect audiences. In fact, 61% of CMOs said they used customer data for segmentation and targeting, highlighting the desire to better understand and message their current and potential clients.
IBM’s research complements July 2011 data from ClickSquared and The Relevancy Group that found 35% of US marketers were most interested in improving data-centric segmentation and targeting practices. Learning how to integrate and leverage social data was another top priority for 30% of marketers.
The ability to target and segment customers using CRM tools and customer analytics highlights a larger strategic desire to improve customer loyalty and advocacy shared by two-thirds (67%) of the CMOs in the IBM study.
In addition, 56% of respondents looked to leverage social media as a key engagement channel for customers and prospects, and the same percentage of CMOs also hoped to manage these customers through the use of integrated software suites, which could include tools like CRM or marketing-automation software.
The emphasis placed on social media strategy and customer analytics and data management largely reflect marketing aspects CMOs felt they had most room to improve: 71% felt unprepared to leverage the large amounts of data that continue to flood the online marketing space and 68% marked social media for improvement.
Sources: IBM Study & eMarketer
Whoops. Google Engineer Accidentally Makes His ‘Plus Sucks’ Rant Public
Ooooppppsss - Social media is a great tool……when used correctly.
Welcome, and a promise.
Welcome to the Funnel Works BLOG. I'm thrilled to have you here. Information about Marketing Automation is everywhere .... and so are the pundits. There are some very talented and knowledgable experts providing information on the topic, and quite a few who should ... well... stop writing and start reading.
I created this blog, and my website http://www.funnel-works.com/, to provide Sales & Marketing folks with a reliable source of information and best practices related to Demand Generation / Marketing Automation and managing their funnel.
Having spent the last 9 years playing an instrumental role in growing a Marketing Automation company from 2 people into one of the leading vendors, I have seen a lot and have much to share. I also know how busy executives are these days having worked with literally hundreds of them, and I know that you don't have time to read book-length blog posts.
So here is my promise: I will do my best always keep my content worthy of your time, and I won't take up a bunch of it by writing novels. So in the spirit of keeping it pithy, welcome !
I created this blog, and my website http://www.funnel-works.com/, to provide Sales & Marketing folks with a reliable source of information and best practices related to Demand Generation / Marketing Automation and managing their funnel.
Having spent the last 9 years playing an instrumental role in growing a Marketing Automation company from 2 people into one of the leading vendors, I have seen a lot and have much to share. I also know how busy executives are these days having worked with literally hundreds of them, and I know that you don't have time to read book-length blog posts.
So here is my promise: I will do my best always keep my content worthy of your time, and I won't take up a bunch of it by writing novels. So in the spirit of keeping it pithy, welcome !
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