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Mapping the marcom mix to the lead funnel
Is your marcom mix mapped to your lead funnel? It's common to get caught up in the "ready, fire, aim!" approach to lead generation. Executives and marketers scramble for action. But when the action is mis-directed to producing the wrong kind of leads, everybody...
Is Someone Talking About You? Monitoring the Web for Mentions — Good and Bad
In this social media age, smart businesses are listening to what people are saying about them online. Because blogs, Twitter, Facebook and other social networks are available to anyone who has something to say, when customers are dissatisfied, that is exactly where they go to complain…
7 steps to designing an integrated marketing plan
There are seven steps we typically take in designing an integrated marketing plan. We work with many clients on engagements to generate and nurture leads. The goal is clear—fill the sales pipeline with enough qualified prospects so that sales can meet revenue...
Your Best Customers Are Your Customers
Looking to increase sales in this recession? Your past and current customers are your best customers. Most companies are looking to get more from their existing investments, not to make new investments. That means that the current vendors and suppliers can have a...
Executing Personalized Marketing Programs
In my last post, Six Tips When Evaluating B2B Offers, I mentioned that personalized media (email or direct mail) and landing pages with pre-populated forms can raise response rates by 100%-130% (Caslon & Co.). Dynamic imaging software, digital printing technology...
Get Your Feet Wet with Internal Social Media
If you've been pondering whether, or how, to get your business involved in social media, a good way to evaluate the concept is to use social media for internal information exchanges and get used to some of the tools and applications. The familiar ones used externally,...
CAB or no CAB? That is the question
Customer Advisory Boards (CABs) are a critical component of your marketing programs. But should you invest in CABs in a recession? Absolutely! Investing in your best customers is always good business.
Six tips when evaluating B2B offers
Evaluating B2B offers for your demand gen program? Here are six best practices to ensure you maximize your conversion rates. Tie the offer to your prospects' buying cycle. A simple buying cycle continuum is: awareness, interest, consideration, decision. Think about...
Finding Buyers in This Recession
There are companies buying products and services, even in this recession. There are companies that will grow. Many companies will be able to maintain a good business and there are even some new emerging business areas. Buyers are out there. They just may be a...
Selling in a Recession – First Impressions Matter
First impressions are even more important when selling in recessionary times. Sales is all about them, it's not about you. Customers are concerned and want their money to go a long way. They are looking for long term value, short term payback, transparency in the...