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Published on Monday 14th of February 2011

Attracting Clients in a New Marketing World

As we discussed in Direct Objective’s December blog about the Major Shifts of Business-to-Business (B2B) “New Marketing Evolution,” traditional marketing sales processes are becoming less effective. Many companies’ marketing strategies are based on the concept of a controlled sales environment, where actions are driven by a “number game.” Simply put: the more outgoing calls you can make = the more your message is pushed onto potential clients = more clients. In a new world where the Internet is so dominant, this equation is not necessarily true anymore.

The easiest way to stay ahead of the curve when it comes to marketing is to shift your fundamental focus; namely, from Push Marketing to Pull Marketing. Why spend enormous resources chasing down clients with constantly changing needs and ways of absorbing information, when you could entice customers to come to you? Not only does it reduce the cost of finding new clients, it also ensures the quality of clients you attract will be exponentially higher, since they’ve already recognized your company as a potential solution provider.

Your next step is to identify the right tools that can help you effectively make the transition from push to Pull Marketing. Some recent examples from our clients include:

There are a number of other new techniques that can simplify the Pull Marketing strategy process, but it’s most effective to create a marketing strategy which successfully integrates several. Every Pull Marketing strategy should have a unique approach, but it is now clear that Pull Marketing is no longer just advisable; it’s a necessity in a rapidly changing marketing world. Talk to Direct Objective today to discuss your options for Pull Marketing strategies to get ahead of the marketing curve.


CATEGORIES:

B2B Lead Generation    Pull Marketing Strategies    B2B Marketing Strategies    

Published on Thursday 9th of September 2010

Is it time to change my corporate branding strategy?

In 2007, Twitter users posted approximately 1.2 million tweets. This year, that number is projected to be over 18 billion. Many large companies now have full-time Twitter social media staff – McDonalds has ten – and Twitter is still dwarfed by others. Social networking sites like Facebook and LinkedIn are poised to rival Google as search engine resources. Facebook users send over a billion messages every day. Not to be outdone, YouTube estimates it will serve 365 billion videos this year. In every demographic, social networking is on the rise; according to a new study from Pew Internet, social media usage among internet users over 50 nearly doubled in the past year, from 22% to 42%. More specifically, 47% of 50-to-64-year-old internet users and 26% of seniors ages 65 and up indicate that they now use these sites, with Facebook and LinkedIn being the main beneficiaries of mature traffic. So the question remains: how can B2B social media strategy be crafted to harvest this incredible potential?

Facebook was originally designed to let college students connect and share pictures, but with its users eclipsing 500 million, companies have realized the potential of an effective social media strategy. An estimated 20% of all tweets are related to a product or brand. With the right tools, B2B social media strategy can help:

Setting up a Facebook or Twitter account is easy, but creating effective social media strategy is much more complicated. Each firm has unique goals, and thus needs a distinctive social media strategy. Contact us today to work with a social media consultant who can help you build the right B2B social media strategy for your company, and escort you along the process to reach your business social networking goals.


CATEGORIES:

Social Media Consultant    B2B Social Media    Social Media Strategy    B2B Lead Generation    

Published on Saturday 16th of January 2010

The B2B Marketing Trends of 2010: Effective Marketing Best Practices

The face of B2B marketing best practices are changing. In order to succeed in today’s business world, companies must reinvent how they go about their B2B marketing. Today’s B2B marketing trends are vastly different than they were just five or ten years ago.

With the arrival of 2010, here are some B2B marketing trends and best practices which we will continue to see developing in the New Year:

•A focus on B2B marketing content that is matched to buyer profiles: Buyers behave very differently now than in past. Today’s buyer is much less receptive to sales people, but would rather research information independently. Thus, B2B marketing best practices now require the creation of reliable, seemingly unbiased content to provide prospects with the information they seek. Like attracting fish to bait, B2B marketing content has to be targeted to the needs of buyers so that they “bite” into it.

•Increased presence online and focus on online reputation: The Internet has become a dominant source of information. To stay current with B2B marketing trends, a company needs an interactive website, a blog, a profile on different social media sites like Facebook and LinkedIn, not to mention videos, podcasts, and RSS feeds. It’s crucial to spread the word with many online marketing best practices so that buyers can easily find you.

•Lead nurturing is key: Lead B2B marketing campaigns create demand. But each lead should be thought of as a seed. Not all seeds that are planted will sprout right away. They must be ready. With prospects, it is much the same—they must be nurtured until they are ready to buy what you offer. Online marketing best practices now make it easier to score leads based on their level of interest and readiness to make a decision.

•Online marketing automation practices: No B2B marketing campaign stands alone. Nowadays, B2B marketing campaigns are complex. They require planning and execution in order for campaigns to work smoothly side-by-side. Only a truly integrated online marketing campaign leads to success. For instance, you can integrate social media into email marketing to achieve social marketing automation. There are many existing tools to help you get better results with your online marketing practices.

•Measure, measure, measure!: Last but not least is the bottom line. Branding is very important to a company’s development, yes, but it’s not what satisfies the company’s owners and investors. B2B marketing best practices should be monitored and have results measured over a period of time. This will enable the company to invest wisely in its B2B marketing campaigns to generate better results and a better return on investment.

As we enter into 2010, I wish you all the best for you and your business. Feel free to contact me with any questions on online marketing practices.

Happy New Year!
CATEGORIES:

Business Strategy    Business Marketing Planning    B2B Lead Generation    

Published on Friday 18th of December 2009

Bulk Email Marketing Campaigns: 5 Reasons Subscribers Think You Are Spamming Them

Bulk email marketing campaigns can be one of the best ways to reach prospects. However, bulk email marketing can also be one of the worst ways of promoting a company if it is not done properly. Nobody likes to be bombarded with spam, and your company’s reputation will suffer considerably if you are perceived as a spammer sending unwanted email marketing campaigns. Sometimes clients come to me as they are concerned that their email marketing campaigns will be perceived as spam, but it certainly doesn’t have to be that way.

So what are some of the reasons that email recipients would perceive your email marketing campaigns as spam?

1) No Opt-In Program. Because they never opted-in to receive your email marketing campaigns. It is important to get permission before sending bulk email marketing out via email.

2) Content Mismatch. Your newsletter content is completely irrelevant and does not interest the contacts on your bulk email marketing list, or you send emails so often that recipients are overwhelmed and lose interest.

3) Use of Spam Words. Your newsletter content features certain words or terms that set off spam filters. Multiple exclamation points, capitalized words, and terms like “free” in the subject line are a surefire way to get sent straight through to the junk email folder.

4) Unprofessional Look & Feel. You suddenly change your newsletter branding, or use a less-than-professional design for your bulk email marketing campaigns.

5) Poor CAN-SPAM compliance. MOST importantly, you will likely be perceived as a spammer if you do not comply with CAN-SPAM. CAN-SPAM is a law that establishes the requirements for commercial messages and gives recipients the right to unsubscribe to bulk email marketing campaigns. Read more on CAN-SPAM for bulk email marketing campaigns. In the near future, we will see the same in Canada with the proposed electronic commerce protection act. Failing to follow these regulations for bulk email marketing campaigns can incur some tough penalties.

If you have challenges with your bulk email marketing campaigns, contact us to assess why they are perceived as spam.

CATEGORIES:

Bulk Email Marketing Campaigns    Business Strategy    B2B Lead Generation    

Published on Wednesday 14th of October 2009

Fishing for Clients— the Lead Generation Process

Summer has officially come to a close, and with it, many fun-in-the-sun activities. If you happen to fish in your spare time, you may think fishing season is over. But if you’re looking to market your company through the winter, the season never ends! 

Because the lead generation process is, in fact, very much like fishing. After all, the effectiveness of a strategic marketing plan is just a factor of how much you can get prospects to “bite” at your campaigns. Any good fisherman will tell you it takes more than a glitzy lure and a bit of bait to catch a fish. 

The good fisherman starts by deciding just what he is fishing for— lobster? Salmon? Trout? Depending on the catch, the location will be vastly different! The lead generation process is similarly different according to the chosen target market. And a fisherman will not want to crowd close to other boats, where fish may be drawn away. In this way, your strategic marketing plan should delineate how you will compete with other companies and “fish” in areas with less competition. Then there’s the question of equipment. Will you need lobster traps? A fishing rod? Or maybe a net? 

To launch an effective lead generation process, you need to take in all of these kinds of considerations, like a fisherman. You need to define your best target market, resolve on where to find the leads, figure out how to get them interested in your product or service. You need to make sure that prospects instantly understand the difference between your offering and your competitor’s, and get them to act and ultimately pay for your offering.

The positioning strategy defines how to project your offering as visibly and attractively as possible, so that your potential client base (i.e., target market) will easily recognize it and will show increased interest in your offering. 

Are you ready to fish for new clients? Do you know which segment would be the most profitable for you? Do you have the right positioning strategy in place? If not, it’s time to equip yourself!


CATEGORIES:

Business Strategy    Business Marketing Planning    B2B Lead Generation    

Published on Monday 22nd of June 2009

More on Html Email Newsletters: Background for Newsletter Marketing

In my last blog, I talked about the difference between blog marketing and email newsletter marketing. While blogs are pretty straightforward once you get the hang of content, it’s worth another post on html email newsletters. Html email newsletters require a mailing list, an attractive design, and a good application for mass emailing, such as Vertical Response. Unlike blogs, you have the ability to review in-depth statistical information from the recipients of your html email newsletter. A mass email application will tell you how many people opened the email newsletter, how many clicked on the newsletter links, which links they clicked on, and how many unsubscribed from the mailing list. This is all very valuable information which can be used to maximize the effectiveness of your email newsletter marketing.

Knowing who opened your last email newsletter, for instance, you may decide to send a follow-up newsletter marketing campaign to interested recipients. Or, if not many recipients opened the html email newsletter, you may choose to modify the subject line next time. If one of your links garnered more clicks than another, that will indicate what is worth honing in on for later email newsletters.

Html email newsletters require a good contact email list. You can get lists from lead generation campaigns, but they must be kept up to date. It helps to personalize newsletters with dynamic content—for instance, an html email newsletter can be coded to address itself to individual recipients. Rather than have a generic newsletter marketing campaign, each email newsletter will be tailored to each recipient. This kind of practice increases response rates and improves the success of each email newsletter campaign. It’s important not to over-send email newsletters or campaigns as this can irritate recipients. In the same vein, it’s best to keep html email newsletters brief—save the content for your business blog instead. You’ll see more recipients clicking the links in your html email newsletter if they don’t have to wade through excessive content to find it.

Successful html email newsletters require commitment and patience, but they will bring results. Email newsletter marketing will increase traffic to your web site and blog. Html email newsletters increase awareness, offer an avenue for branding and promotion, and are a good way to stay on the radar of prospects. To learn more, read my last blog on the difference between business blogs and html email newsletter marketing.
CATEGORIES:

B2B Lead Generation    

Published on Thursday 21st of May 2009

Business Blog Writing and HTML Email Newsletter Marketing: What’s the Difference?

Business blog writing and html email newsletters are great ways to remind prospects of your company’s presence. By staying in the awareness of prospects, you significantly increase the likelihood that they will become clients. So which should you use? Strive to have both, as business blogs and email newsletters marketing can often work in tandem. Business blogs have quite different content from html email newsletters and it is important to understand the difference:
Business Blog Writing
Business blogs are an opportunity to lay out an opinion on a given subject and weigh in on industry news or trends. Business blogs are usually brief, concise and informative, teaching readers about a certain topic. A blog will let you educate readers about new concepts and trends that you would like to introduce to the market. Business blogs are valuable because they reflect the personal attitude and experience of the blog writer. They are a great way to build trust and credibility. With relevant content and well-written blog writing, you can get regular visitors to read your thoughts on your business blog.
Good blog writing is not always easy, and a business blog can be time-consuming and difficult to maintain. For one, blog writers must take into account Seach Engine Optimization practices. By infusing blog writing with relevant keywords, a business blog will rank high on search engines and get a high amount of traffic. It would also have an impact on the traffic going to your Web site, provided the blog is well integrated into your site.
Still, even with good search engine ranking, audiences only read business blogs when they want to. You have to entice them to subscribe to your blog so that they will read it regularly. Writing business blogs is a commitment and thus many companies outsource their business blog writing to a marketing company. Companies will typically come up with the subject, decide their stance, and choose how they would like to present it. The actual write-up is performed by a professional marketing copywriter.  
Html Email Newsletter Marketing
Html email newsletter marketing is perfect for a company requiring a long sales cycle. If your buyer needs time and information before deciding to go with your company, it’s important to stay in touch. Html email newsletters shed light on the offering and make decision-makers more knowledgeable over time. Over the long-term, email newsletter marketing will reinforce to decision-makers that yours is the right service/product for them. Otherwise, prospects may visit your site, but never return. If they subscribe to your html email newsletter, they will always be reminded to come back and read your business blog, or look at new web content. The result will cement your credibility and expertise.
Html email newsletters, as opposed to blogs, are not so much about broadcasting personal opinions as they are about keeping contact with clients, distribution channels, and prospects. Email newsletter marketing is an easy way to keep clients abreast of what is going on in your company as well as current industry news. When you update your business blog, make changes to your website, or come out with a new product, a great way to let prospects know is through email newsletter marketing. If you acquire a prestigious client, receive an award, or recruit a new staff member, you can also inform your target audience with email newsletter marketing.

While the content of email newsletter marketing is all about what is newsworthy, it is crucial that an html email newsletter is properly written with an aesthetic appeal. The subject line has to be tantalizing but clear. To avoid having your email intercepted as spam, the body of the email must avoid using certain words which will surely send your html email newsletter straight to the junk mailbox.
Last but not least, if your company intends to send out monthly, bi-monthly, or quarterly newsletters, you need to make sure that you are delivering on time. Some companies may outsource their email newsletter marketing along with business blog writing. This way everything is sent out regularly with content that will increase traffic to the business blog.

Business blog writing and html email newsletters build trust. Want to stay in the awareness of prospects? Ask yourself whether it might be worthwhile to start a business blog and/or invest in email newsletter marketing now. Read more about html email newsletters in my next blog.


CATEGORIES:

B2B Lead Generation    

Published on Sunday 22nd of March 2009

Achieving Top Web Site Ranking: How Search Engine Optimization Services can Boost Web Site Lead Generation

Achieving the top web site ranking for a keyword is often difficult, but it is extremely worthwhile. Subsequent to my last blog posting on web site lead generation, I’ve received some questions about Search Engine Optimization services and how sites can achieve top web site ranking. Here is a breakdown of some of the main elements of Search Engine Optimization services which can help you achieve top web site ranking:

• Keyword research for targeted web site lead generation

Keyword selection is a crucial part of Search Engine Optimization services, and it should never be based solely on intuition. Systematic research ensures that Search Engine Optimization services are not wasted on keywords that are either not searched or too competitive to achieve top web site ranking.

• Readable, keyword-infused copy for top web site ranking

It is difficult to achieve top web site ranking against your competitors when you use similar or industry standard keywords. Thus, to reach top ranking, web content should be infused with relevant keyphrases and right keyword density. Of course, the copy content should be professional and seamlessly written, or else you may compromise your web site lead generation. Good Search Engine Optimization services can create content that is optimized for both readers and Search Engines.

• Keyword-infused HTML tags for more effective Search Engine Optimization

Newcomers to Search Engine Optimization services may not know that Search Engine Optimization goes beyond just web content. Keyphrases should be inserted in image tags and various parts of HTML coding that are not visible on a web page to achieve top web site ranking.

• Develop incoming/outgoing links for stronger Search Engine Optimization and web site lead generation

Search Engine Optimization services should strive to develop inbound and outbound links to raise a site’s Google PageRank, which is a measure of a site’s quality and relevance. PageRank is a rating analysis algorithm developed by Google that assigns a numerical weighting to each HTML page in order to measure its relative importance. A higher PageRank helps a site achieve top web site ranking on search engines relative to others competing for the same keywords.

These steps are just an introduction to Search Engine Optimization services; web site lead generation comprises many elements, and achieving top web site ranking is often a long process, and also just part of the overall lead generation strategy. It is important to realize that Search Engine Optimization is always changing, and as search engines adjust their algorithms, web site rankings will fluctuate accordingly. That is why SEO needs to be maintained to ensure consistently high ranking.

Want to learn more about how your Web site can also achieve top Web site ranking with Search Engine Optimization services? Start by having a professional assess your site.

CATEGORIES:

B2B Lead Generation    

Published on Friday 20th of February 2009

Reassess your Professional Web Layout Design and Web Content Copywriting for Better Lead Generation

Professional web layout design and web content copywriting are increasingly important markers of a company’s credibility. Because your website is the face of your company, you should always invest in professional web layout design and outsource web content copywriting to an experienced copywriter or marketing agency. But all too often I have seen great sites, even with a professional web layout and design and great content copywriting, struggle to attract traffic. It’s a shame to see how such investments fall short of their potential. After all, what’s the point of investing in great web content copywriting if nobody is reading it? Particularly with the economic downturn we’re in, businesses can’t afford to lose money. And even a professional web layout design and featured web content copywriting are not enough to bring visitors to a site if they don’t know about it.

That’s why it’s important to think of your web site as a lead generation tool. It can be tempting to structure your professional web layout design into an electronic brochure for your products or services and to just create your web content copywriting accordingly. But while this approach can make for a great-looking site, it won’t necessarily generate traffic. To function as a lead generation tool, you need to look beyond just professional web layout design and create more strategic web content copywriting.

This means investing in Search Engine Optimization (SEO) for your web content copywriting and structuring your professional web layout design to attract more search engine traffic. Other strategies include using newsletters and email campaigns to bring targeted leads to your site, submitting your site to relevant directories, and going beyond just web content copywriting into other forms of promotional writing, such as white papers.

Professional web layout design and web content copywriting are important parts of any web site; however, with increasing online competition, they are just not enough to bring leads to your site. With the right strategy and professional SEO, you can create a web site that is a lead generation tool in its own right.
CATEGORIES:

B2B Lead Generation    Market Slowdown    

Published on Friday 23rd of January 2009

New Year’s Resolutions for your Business Marketing and Marketing Lead Generation

It’s a New Year, and what better time to set resolutions for your business marketing? Start off 2009 right, with goals and a clear plan for your marketing lead generation.

Here are a few considerations and tips for your company’s business marketing in 2009:
  1. Adjust to New Market Trends - The business marketing of your company may need adjustment due to the downturn economy. For example, a company targeting the financial industry will see its market sector dramatically decrease spending in 2009. Take stock of the new market conditions, which have changed substantially since 2008, and update your 2009 business marketing lead generation program accordingly.

  2. Revise your Branding and Positioning Strategy - Before planning for the New Year, reassess your marketing lead generation and business marketing materials. Ask yourself, are your branding and marketing materials still in line with your marketing positioning strategy? Do they emphasize what sets you apart from the competition?

  3. Cut your Business Marketing Budget, but Not Entirely - In a downturn economy, you might be tempted to totally cut funding for your business marketing lead generation . But do not stop investing in your marketing in 2009. Turn off your business marketing expenditure, and your prospect leads will dry up. Without fresh leads, you will be entirely dependent on your existing client base. Of course, remember to nurture your existing client relationships and capitalize with cross-selling and up-selling as much as possible. But you’ll find that with a little investment in your business marketing and marketing lead generation, you’ll be more visible during an economic downturn, and get new clients as a result.

  4. Focus on Economical Marketing Methods - Even if you are not cutting your business marketing lead generation entirely, it is likely that you will have to cut costs in 2009. Resolve to invest in low-budget business marketing mediums, such as online internet marketing. These mediums are sometimes much more effective than traditional marketing methods, and significantly less expensive.

  5. Measure Marketing Results - Remember that New Year’s is a great time to take stock of your marketing lead generation and overall business marketing, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t monitor your business marketing throughout the year. Resolve to keep tabs on your business marketing activities throughout 2009, and keep tuning them to get the best possible results. Know what works for you and what does not.
With an updated approach to business marketing and marketing lead generation, you’ll ensure that 2009 is a productive and successful year for your company.
CATEGORIES:

B2B Lead Generation    Business Strategy    

Published on Monday 27th of October 2008

The Do-Not-Call List and the Changing Face of Marketing

As of September 30, 2008, Canadians can call in to place their names on the national Do-Not-Call List (DNCL). Click here to read the legislative summary. A simple phone call to the toll-free number 1-866-580-3625 or visit to the DNCL website is now enough for consumers to place their numbers on the fast-growing list. Already the phone lines have been inundated with Canadians eager to cut off cold calls.

The DNCL will severely limit the number of available telemarketing leads. The Canadian Marketing Association expects at least 60% of Canadian consumers to register their phone numbers. While telemarketing companies across Canada are facing a huge drop in their target market, Canadians are falling all over themselves to place their names on the list as quickly as possible—so much so, in fact, that on the first day of registration phone lines were overwhelmed with 1562 calls a minute, according to a recent CBC article.

The prognosis for small-scale telemarketers is grim. One needs only look to the backlash of the DNCL in the US, introduced in 2003. As of October 5, 2007, there were 145,498,656 telephone numbers registered in the States. An article appearing in the Canadian business journal Decima Telemanagement quotes Robert Kaiser, president of a US-based Telemarketing firm. “Many telemarketing firms closed in the initial backlash,” he said. "The legislation weeded out the smaller companies that can't afford the back office support and left more experienced companies that can afford the legal and other staff needed to follow the rules." So while large telemarketing companies can probably withstand the transition, those small businesses that rely on cold-calling and telemarketing will be hurt the most. The new regulations require that businesses adhere to the DNCL and update it on a regular basis, or risk fines of up to $15,000. There are a few exceptions to the rule, notably registered charities, political parties, newspapers, market research companies, and companies that have an “existing business relationship” with consumers.

The message is that if you’re still engaged in cold-calling and telemarketing to generate leads, it may be time to think about updating your approach. Marketing is an ever-changing process, and it’s critical to stay ahead of the curve if you want to beat out the competition. The fact is, the new Bill C-37 arose out of a poll with Industry Canada showing that 97% of Canadians react negatively to telemarketing calls. With the overwhelming number of telemarketers vying for their attention, this is hardly a surprise. If people do not want to receive sales calls, it is because they are inundated with them every day. They do not want to hear what your salespeople have to say.

So what are the alternatives?

Marketing in today’s world needs to take a different tactic, and the DNCL marks the decline of cold calling. While businesses are not yet qualified to add their numbers to the registry, it is only a matter of time. Marketing now needs to take into account that your potential clients are increasingly busy and resistant to impingements on their time.

The solution is to build trust with prospects before going for the sale. With the advent of white papers, search engine optimization, media insertion in trade magazines, industry analyst reports, email campaigns, blogs, and webinars, you can provide prospects with valuable information to let them make a responsible decision on their own terms. The advantage is that, with modern marketing lead generation tactics, prospects will be more receptive and informed about your company and your product/service—thus shortening your sales cycle. In addition, you will gain leads from prospects interested in your specific offering, if positioned correctly, and enjoy a higher conversion rate—no cold calling required.

Resources


CATEGORIES:

B2B Lead Generation