{"id":396,"date":"2013-11-12T00:18:53","date_gmt":"2013-11-12T00:18:53","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/socialagendamedia.com\/digital-pr-blog\/?p=396"},"modified":"2014-04-12T11:49:35","modified_gmt":"2014-04-12T11:49:35","slug":"82-things-to-consider-so-your-b2b-lead-generation-campaigns-dont-suck-in-the-new-year","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/socialagendamedia.com\/digital-pr-blog\/82-things-to-consider-so-your-b2b-lead-generation-campaigns-dont-suck-in-the-new-year\/","title":{"rendered":"82 Things To Consider So Your B2B Lead Generation Campaigns Don\u2019t Suck in the New Year"},"content":{"rendered":"

Which mantra gets you up in the morning and through your day as a marketer? There are classics like:<\/p>\n

\u201cThe aim of marketing is to know and understand the customer so well the product or service fits them and sells itself.\u201d<\/i> ~ Peter F. Drucker.
\n\u201cWhat really decides consumers to buy or not to buy is the content of your advertising, not its form.\u201d<\/i> ~ David Ogilvy.
\n\u201cMarketing is too important to be left to the marketing department.\u201d<\/i> ~ David Packard
\n\u201cBusiness has only two functions \u2013 marketing and innovation.\u201d<\/i>\u00a0 ~ Milan Kundera
\n\u201cContent is King!\u201d ~ <\/i>Bill Gates.<\/p>\n

Or are you \u201cdown\u201d with a less certain Information Age style exhortation:<\/p>\n

\u201cA powerful global conversation has begun. Through the Internet, people are discovering and inventing new ways to share relevant knowledge with blinding speed. As a direct result, markets are getting smarter\u2014and getting smarter faster than most companies.\u201d<\/i> ~ Levine, Locke, Searls and Weinberger.<\/p>\n

Either way, we can all use inspiration as we seek to create, consume, coordinate and measure our valiant efforts to market into a world moving faster and to customers becoming smarter than ever. So we\u2019ve designed a unique process that will help you to generate demand<\/a> in the right way, and also gathered a baker\u2019s dozen (and three more) experts to answer the cheeky but realistic question:<\/p>\n

SocialAgenda Media: What things should you consider so your 2014 lead generation campaigns are less likely to suck? \u00a0 \ud83d\ude09<\/i><\/span><\/h3>\n

Miles Barry, Head of Marketing\u00a0at\u00a0MDSL<\/a>:<\/b>
\n(MDSL creates world-leading expense and lifecycle management solutions).<\/p>\n

1.<\/strong> Don\u2019t under-estimate the power of PR, particularly when it\u2019s supported by clear metrics for measuring its effectiveness.
\n2.<\/strong> As above \u2013 thorough follow-up is everything, in order to demonstrate ROI and compare campaigns\u2019 effectiveness.
\n3.<\/strong> Know which analysts are tracking your business and how they see the future for the markets in which you operate \u2013 i.e. what will they be telling your customers to watch for next year? Work with Product Development to make sure the new trends, where possible, are on your roadmap and communicate that back to the analysts. If that sounds like: \u201cTell them what you\u2019re going to tell them; tell them it; then tell them what you told them\u201d, then so be it.
\n4.<\/strong> Content programs are labor-intensive, resource-hungry and high maintenance. Don\u2019t underestimate the resources required, and budget accordingly.
\n5.<\/strong> Video is increasingly prominent in B2B lead-gen but expensive to produce, maintain and display online. Plan and budget accordingly.
\n6.<\/strong> Marketing and lead-gen is becoming increasingly spread (thinly, some might argue) over multiple channels and media. Don\u2019t underestimate the resources required to coordinate what can become a series of disparate projects and ensure a consistent message and image is projected across them all.
\n7.<\/strong> When someone suggests \u201cre-doing the website\u201d, quietly arrange for them to disappear (joke).<\/p>\n

Tyler Reed, Manager, Demand Generation & CRM at Control4<\/b><\/a>:<\/b>
\n(Control4 builds one-remote, home automation solutions and products).<\/p>\n

8.<\/strong> More videos.
\n9.<\/strong> Landing page creative refresh.
\n10.<\/strong> Use current customers to produce low effort content.
\n11.<\/strong> Refine our targeting messages.
\n12.<\/strong> Optimize and test everything. Landing pages, emails, PPC campaigns, SEO, social, everything!
\n\"training-how-to-become-better-sales-marketing-manager-leader-boss\"<\/p>\n

Sarah Noel, Product Marketing Manager at Flexera Software<\/b><\/a>:<\/b>
\n(Flexera enables companies to get more value from their applications).<\/p>\n

13.<\/strong> Market research into target markets in which we are trying to grow our business before doing any lead generation activities to them.
\n14.<\/strong> Do activities that drive leads of a high quality rather than high quantities of leads
\n15.<\/strong> Don\u2019t go with the hype!\u00a0 Social media may have a huge audience but it may not be the audience after which we should go.
\n16.<\/strong> Continue to localise in the international markets to ensure we are \u201clocalising\u201d the content we are producing, not just translating it.
\n17.<\/strong> Work with consultants for very specific markets in which we operate (i.e. Japan and China). Local knowledge is key and you can\u2019t expect to market to these countries unless you have knowledge from people who are in country.
\n18.<\/strong> More lead nurturing campaigns for non-English speaking countries.
\n19.<\/strong> Make sure our websites, emails, etc. are mobile-friendly.
\n20.<\/strong> Continue to produce content that shows we are thought leaders and trusted advisors.\u00a0 Try to ensure we are telling a story when we talk to our audience.
\n21.<\/strong> Be unique!\u00a0 Do something different that makes you stand out from the crowd!\u00a0 (In a good way, of course\u2026)<\/p>\n

Nate Pruitt, Senior Director, Demand Generation at Shoretel<\/b><\/a>:<\/b>
\n(Shoretel\u2019s solutions, whether on-site or in the cloud, exploit the power of IP with unified communication tools).<\/p>\n

22.<\/strong> If you\u00a0focus on keywords, content, and conversion\u00a0\u2013\u00a0you have a winner.
\n23.<\/strong> If you are talking about list rentals, 3rd party telemarketing, buyer personas, and outbound email campaigns \u2013\u00a0you suck \ud83d\ude42<\/p>\n

Jeff Asada, VP of Business Development at Viscira<\/b><\/a>:<\/b>
\n(Viscira is a leading provider of interactive, new-media communication and technology solutions for the life sciences industry).
\nJeff’s answers reflect the movie theme questions that were asked during his interview for the Demand Generation on the big screen: Tragedies, Blockbusters, Mysteries & Horrors<\/a> article.<\/p>\n

24.<\/strong> No “Boiler Room”: \u00a0Do your homework with the financials, forecasts and projections and align marketing activities to this.
\n25.<\/strong> Find your inner “Nemo”: \u00a0Dream and think big, and comprehend the value of taking risks and placing bets where they make sense.
\n26.<\/strong> No I in team\u2026play like “Hoosiers”:\u00a0 Understand your internal team dynamics, sales and marketing cohesion is critical for success.
\n27.<\/strong> “A Few Good Men” challenges us to test for the truth, and doing so for any campaign allows us to pivot towards future success.
\n28.<\/strong> Forrest Gump made the most of his timing: \u00a0As marketers, we should try our best to take advantage of today’s convergence of media and make the next campaign better than a box of chocolates.<\/p>\n

Susan Vitale, Chief Marketing Officer at iCIMS<\/b><\/a>:<\/b>
\n(iCIMS is a leading provider of software-as-a-service talent acquisition solutions).<\/p>\n

29.<\/strong> Plan, plan, and plan: \u00a0If you are planning more activity during the current month, you need more people on your team. It\u2019s so important to pre-plan. Alloting more time for campaign creation, more time can be focused on optimization and analysis.
\n30.<\/strong> Consider a multi-touch, repetitive content approach: \u00a0Are you echoing your messaging across channels? Research shows that prospects who don\u2019t convert the first time may convert the second, third, or fourth time they see your ads. By implementing a multi-touch, repetitive content strategy across the board, you are engaging in nurture tactics without even intending to (or maybe it is intentional). You may gain more leads that you would have lost otherwise
\n31.<\/strong> Budget time & funds to test: \u00a0When planning your budgets, make sure to include a pocket of funds and a timeline for exploring new tactics and vendors. Online Demand Generation options evolve at a very rapid place. Be sure to put some time and money aside to identify the new vehicles that may become integral to your company\u2019s success moving forward. Be sure to have a means to evaluate testing spend and quickly pivot from techniques that are not effective — but do give your team a runway to try some approaches that are unproven.
\n32.<\/strong> Get rid of dead weight: \u00a0If you want campaign success, go back to the failure analysis. Don\u2019t work with a vendor just because there could be some brand potential. Brand should always be a consideration, but there are so many ways to spend and there may be a better place to invest. Eliminate the vendors\/campaigns that aren\u2019t working. Ensure that standard reports are issued so everyone on your team is on the same page regarding what is driving performance and what isn\u2019t.
\n33.<\/strong> Process simplification:\u00a0Sometimes firms are so focused on bigger and better things that they neglect standardizing and simplifying everyday processes that staff must go through to get a campaign live and functional. Eliminate the ineffective processes\/red tape, etc. and simplify the path towards success.
\n34.<\/strong> Make sure Sales is onboard: \u00a0It\u2019s one thing to bring in leads from a campaign that your team puts together, but it\u2019s a whole other ball park to get those leads to convert. Make sure the Sales staff is trained on the marketing material so they can more effectively and efficiently reduce the time to convert.<\/p>\n

Jay Millard,\u00a0COO, Amadeus Consulting<\/a>:<\/b>
\n(Amadeus Consulting is a company that builds custom technology solutions for their customers).<\/p>\n

35.<\/strong> You achieve what your plan dictates:\u00a0 In the absence of a true measurable lead plan, you will have uncertain results.\u00a0 Have a plan, take action, and be ready to adjust.\u00a0 These plans aren\u2019t static; they operate in the environment of the real world.\u00a0 Changing course is acceptable when not done recklessly in the absence of a plan.\u00a0 When you adapt for a purpose because you understand both what you intended to happen and what actually happened, your course correction is not only purposeful\u2026it will likely ensure your success.<\/p>\n

John Sarich,\u00a0Vice President of Strategy, VUE Software<\/a>:<\/b>
\n(VUE Software is a software solutions for the Insurance Industry).<\/p>\n

36.<\/strong> Get aligned with what is happening in your market, industry, and customers.
\n37.<\/strong> What specifically is your value proposition?
\n38.<\/strong> Determine the \u201cwhy buy now\u201d for each and every product or service you offer, and get that into all of your content.
\n39.<\/strong> Develop an overarching theme for your marketing initiatives and use that theme in all messaging.
\n40.<\/strong> Make all messaging relevant to each specific market segment in which you operate.
\n41.<\/strong> Make certain that sales management is on-board with the entire go-to-market strategy.<\/p>\n

Trish Stromberg, Vice President of Demand Generation at Infinisource<\/a>:<\/b>
\n(Infinisource is a leader in workforce management, HR, benefits administration & payroll processing solutions).<\/p>\n

42.<\/strong> Create content, but not just any content: \u00a0Ensure it is engaging, but most importantly that it provides true insight that the customer wants.
\n43.<\/strong> Mobile: \u00a0Ensure your campaigns are all mobile friendly.<\/p>\n

Meagen Eisenberg, Vice President of Demand Generation at DocuSign<\/a>:<\/b>
\n(DocuSign is a provider of cloud-based electronic signature technology that facilitates exchanges of contracts, tax documents and legal materials).<\/p>\n

44.<\/strong> Better segmentation for better targeting.\u00a0 Collect the right information on the lead at the form or list acquisition.\u00a0 You need personal and company information.
\n45.<\/strong> What technologies can you leverage so that you better target your communications when leads come in?\u00a0 At DocuSign, we leverage Eloqua, Demandbase and Mintigo to capture the information we need to better message.\u00a0 We use Eloqua as our marketing database to capture and normalize the data, such as title to a certain department use case.\u00a0 Demandbase provides us with the company information through a real-time API call \u2013 no need to ask for any location or company info, such as revenue, size of company, industry, country, state, zip, etc.\u00a0 Only need to ask for personal information on your form.\u00a0 And we use Mintigo to better understand our existing customer DNA across different segments as well as better score with more information.
\n46.<\/strong> Better lead scoring.\u00a0 Implement a model that has two points to reference \u2013 a letter for firmographic info and a number for engagement.\u00a0 Both of those are important pieces of information to deliver to sales to make them more efficient and effective.\u00a0 Ex. A1 \u2013 they meet our target criteria and they are engaged with us on our website, email or within the product.\u00a0 Prepare to tweak the model based on learnings.
\n47.<\/strong> ROI model to show and learn from what marketing campaigns are working and what are not.
\n48.<\/strong> Partner with your sales team.\u00a0 They are in hand-to-hand combat and have a lot of good insights into what is working and what is not.\u00a0 Solicit their feedback and improve your programs.
\n49.<\/strong> Monitor conversions closely.\u00a0 What types of leads convert?\u00a0 Build that back into your lead scoring model.
\n50.<\/strong> Be creative.\u00a0 Don\u2019t forget the Art in Art & Science.\u00a0 Channels are crowded.\u00a0 Find new channels or be very creative in how you get targets to engage.
\n51.<\/strong> Add social where you can to expand your reach and peer referral capabilities.\u00a0 Example, make sure all whitepapers, webinars, blogs, posts, etc. can be tweeted, liked, +1, posted, etc.<\/p>\n

Umesh Malhotra, Director of Demand Generation at Arena Solutions<\/a>:<\/b>
\n(Arena provides affordable product lifecycle management (PLM) for manufacturers of all sizes).<\/p>\n

As Director of Demand Generation, I would do the following:<\/p>\n

52.<\/strong> Measure the ROI of all marketing campaigns launched in past quarters.
\n53.<\/strong> How many of the leads converted into customers?
\n54.<\/strong> If any marketing campaign was a pricey spend but didn\u2019t convert into a customer, that\u2019s OK. As long as the lead has converted into a medium-to-high opportunity stuck in the pipeline and waiting to convert into a sale.
\n55.<\/strong> Eliminate campaigns that didn\u2019t work and are not working.
\n56.<\/strong> Campaigns that are working, increase spend to generate more leads.
\n57.<\/strong> Experiment with campaigns that were never experimented in the history of the company.
\n58.<\/strong> Promote campaigns in places where majority of your audience hangs out the most (Sites, articles, events, etc.).<\/p>\n

Heidi Bullock, Senior Director Marketing at Marketo<\/a>:<\/b>
\n(Marketo provides easy and powerful marketing automation software with everything a marketer needs: email, social, analytics, lead management, and more).<\/p>\n

59.<\/strong> Make sure you are communicating the right message at the right time:\u00a0 To do this, one critical step is to map content to the buying cycle.\u00a0 There is awareness, evaluation, and purchase.\u00a0 Your buyer needs different types of content depending on where they are in this process.\u00a0 Think about looking at the assets you already have and identify where there are gaps.
\n60.<\/strong> Segmenting so people get the right message for them:\u00a0 This can always be refined, updated, and optimized.
\n61.<\/strong> Running multi-channel campaigns:\u00a0 Today\u2019s consumers move seamlessly across digital and offline channels, and in general, will access information in whatever way is easiest for them (web, mobile, tablets).\u00a0 Run campaigns that have a consistent message but engage users in different ways.\u00a0 For example, if you have a product launch, consider announcing it with a press release, engage your audience with an email campaign and a complementary webinar series, use a referral campaign to drive additional engagement, and promote on social.
\n62.<\/strong> Testing and really doing something with the data to inform your campaigns: Every business is different \u2013 you need to test and optimize for your business and audience.
\n63.<\/strong> Nurture\/scoring: \u00a0Get these components right.\u00a0 The majority of those you engage are not ready to buy immediately \u2013 they require nurturing.\u00a0 Nurturing can shorten the buying cycle significantly when done well.\u00a0 If you need new ideas, consider the 4-1-1 rule.\u00a0 This is where you run four entertaining content pieces (or educational), followed by a soft promotion (attend a webinar), then a harder promotion (sign up for a demo).
\n64.<\/strong> Lead scoring is another area to focus on and continue to optimize.
\n65.<\/strong> And lastly, try something new!\u00a0 It is important to test different programs and channels.\u00a0 Keep testing assumptions \u2013 things can change!<\/p>\n

Randy Littleson, Senior Vice President of Marketing at Flexera Software<\/a>:<\/b>
\n(Flexera provides software licensing management, software compliance, installation and application packaging solutions).<\/p>\n

66.<\/strong> As noted previously, we need to do more around content tied to various personas \u2013 speak more personally to each persona rather than generally.\u00a0 We need to get more proactive in leveraging the really strong reporting we have today to fine-tune our decisions.\u00a0 We need to increase the integration across all of our campaign elements so we have more things \u201crowing in the same direction\u201d and working to support each other rather than disparate efforts.\u00a0 We need to conduct more direct research with our market on their preferences and buying process \u2013 we rely on too much indirect information today.<\/p>\n

Brent Baker,\u00a0Key Account Manager (former Marcom Manager), Swagelok Northwest (US)<\/a>:<\/b>
\n(Swagelok is the home of the unique \u201cOne Swagelok\u201d business model, which includes a network of more than 200 exclusive authorized sales and service centers in more than 70 countries).<\/p>\n

In order to develop programs that don\u2019t suck the following questions need to be answered:<\/p>\n

67.<\/strong>\u00a0What\u2019s important to the business?
\n68.<\/strong> What lead generation activities are you good at?
\n69.<\/strong> What lead generation activities are you bad at?
\n70.<\/strong> How well do you know your customers?
\n71.<\/strong> How well do you know your sales team?<\/p>\n

Alice Lankester, CMO\u00a0at\u00a0Friend2Friend<\/a>:<\/b>
\n(Friend 1Frind is a company that engages fans with brands on social since 2007).<\/p>\n

72.<\/strong> Most important, never, ever ignore the mobile experience! On Facebook mobile now represents more than 40 percent of all Facebook’s ad revenue for the most recent quarter, and Zuckerberg indicates he expected mobile revenue to exceed desktop “soon.” \u00a0On LinkedIn, mobile now accounts for 38% of all traffic, and Weiner indicates he expects that to be close to 50% in 2014.
\n73.<\/strong> Any brand that isn’t studying behavior on mobile is putting itself in a dark room, with a blindfold on. Everything that a consumer does in a brand’s digital presence should be studied for mobile habits. Tablet? Mobile? Which mobile phone? Is the same user visiting on desktop or mobile, or both, and when? Every brand owner should study the whole consumer journey on mobile, from start to finish. No point in the journey should lie un-inspected on mobile.<\/p>\n

Marcia Kadanoff, CMO at\u00a0Bislr<\/a>:<\/b>
\n(Bislr is a provider of the intelligent marketing OS for marketing automation, content management, and real-time analytics).<\/p>\n

Content marketing is the fuel that fires all lead generation campaigns.\u00a0 What this means for you is that in 2014 you\u2019ll want to:<\/p>\n

74.<\/strong> Create fewer pieces of content but really make sure they get noticed, using a combination of email (the backbone of every lead nurturing program) but also social media.\u00a0 If your marketing automation program cannot support integrated flows like this, consider replacing it with one that can.
\n75.<\/strong> Make every piece of content you create arresting in terms of its visual content.\u00a0 Visuals light up the part of the brain that is more emotional and less logical \u2026 giving your brand a distinct advantage.\u00a0 We like to think that business buyers are (always) rational but the fact of the matter is that B2B buyers are people, not job titles.
\n76.<\/strong> Walk a mile in the buyer\u2019s shoes.\u00a0 What content do they need to get to be able to understand the issues in your category and buy with confidence? Forget about self-serving content that talks about you.\u00a0 Instead, create content that speaks to the benefits of your product in a way that is unique to your brand and also resonates with your prospective buyer.
\n77.<\/strong> Optimize your lead generation programs not just for conversion but also for mobile viewing using responsive design.\u00a0 I cannot tell you how important this is.\u00a0 Already some brands are seeing 50% of their opens and click throughs for emailing happen on email.\u00a0 In 2014, we expect this number to go up to 60-70%.<\/p>\n

Jim Van Meer, Creative Director, Global Industry Services at the American Petroleum Institute<\/a>:<\/b>
\n(API Global represents all of America\u2019s oil and natural gas industry).<\/p>\n

78.<\/strong> Insist on quality: \u00a0There’s already too much crap in the world. No need to add more.
\n79. <\/strong>Reach higher: \u00a0The low-hanging fruit will always be there, but don’t ignore them. And, be willing to reach higher and go after markets you may never have considered.
\n80.<\/strong> Let the creative be creative:\u00a0 Coming from the creative side,\u00a0I\u00a0can say that the more creative the campaign, the better the leads. Let the creative people do what they do best. They’ll appreciate you more and they’ll do better work for you, which will give you better results.
\n81.<\/strong> Use common sense:\u00a0 The answer to effective marketing is not found in a database. It’s found in the real world, populated by real people with real lives, real problems, and real thoughts. Use your common sense when you generate leads. Address your audience as if they were sitting right next to you.
\n82.<\/strong> Look at the big picture:\u00a0 Yeah, yeah, yeah, the creative\u00a0group\u00a0is out of control, the product engineers insist the technical data be a major feature, and the bean counters are raising fiery hoops for you to jump through. That’s what’s called a normal day at work. But don’t give up. Plow ahead, but don’t look down the road \u2013 look over the horizon. Over the horizon is where you can stand and see the big picture. You’ll know it once you’ve crested the hill. Once you see the big picture, you’ll see a\u00a0campaign\u00a0that doesn’t suck.<\/p>\n

* * * * *<\/h2>\n

Also read:<\/h2>\n