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- 08 Nov
Where do Buyers Research Products? [New Report from HubSpot]
The burning question of the day: Where is it that people do their research when they are considering a purchase? The time was, people perused print ads. Or they saw a promotional flyer. But the times, they are a changing. Or, at least they have changed and significantly. And if brands don’t keep pace with these changes, they loose opportunities to be in consideration of the final purchase.
If Ya’ Snooze if Ya’ Loose . . .
One big shift was noted in 2018 when it was discovered that 40% of people used social media channels for aspects of product research. And younger generations today are getting more and more connected to social media platforms. So, that means that the amount of product research done on these platforms is likely to grow. In fact, 16 to 24-year-olds already conduct product research more on social than search engines.
By now, you might be on all the major social media platforms. But, as they expand and evolve, you might still wonder which you should focus your time and efforts on if you’re selling a physical product. To determine this, it can be helpful to find out which social channels your specific audience is using to look for products, and then create social strategies that meet them where they are on their preferred platforms.
To learn more about the social networks people prefer to surf for product research, see the poll data and read the full article on the HubSpot Blog
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- 30 Oct
7 Things You Can Do Right Now to Boost Your Website Conversion Rate
When you think about it, there are a number of good reasons for creating, updating, and maintaining your business website. On the top of that list should be one important goal. Above all else, it should be able to acquire qualified leads and customers. Otherwise, if your business website fails to generate qualified leads and customers, it certainly is not working on behalf of your success.
Just Becase You Build it, Doesn’t Mean They Will Come . . .
And, not only do you need to build a great website, but you also need to constantly optimize the design, the content and the usability of your website in order to convert more of your visitors. And when you consider that the average website conversion rate is 2.35%, every website could do with a boost to improve results.
So, how can this be improved, you may ask. In this article from Jeff Bullas’ blog, Lilach Bullock shares with us 7 things you can start doing immediately to boost your website conversion rates. To learn how your business can capture more leads and customers through your website, read the full article on Jeff Bullas’s Blog.
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- 22 Oct
Avoiding Funnel Failure: 3 Tips for Lead Generation & Conversion
Lead generation is an expensive task for any B2B marketer, but it’s not cost alone that keeps them up at night. Understanding the nuances of each lead and how to replicate some level of success is as much art as it is science. Once you pay for leads, do they convert? And if they do, how do they stack up against your other sources? Perhaps most importantly, how can those leads successfully transition out of marketing to sales?
The pressure to both create and convert isn’t slowing down. According to a 2018 HubSpot survey, 75% of companies say closing more deals is their top sales priority. But, Econsultancy found that just 22 percent of businesses are satisfied with their conversion rates.
For many B2B organizations, balancing the demand for conversion and the importance of building meaningful customer relationships—and long-tail deal opportunities—is an ongoing battle. The insistence to prioritize today’s growth is at odds with the long-term growth of the business. In short, thinking about leads only for today starves the business for tomorrow.
To hear more B2B marketing tips from Wayne Silverman, join us at
LeadsCon’s Connect to Convert 2019 in Boston, Sept. 25-27The good news is that B2B organizations can implement a lead generation mindset and framework that capitalizes on the opportunity to secure leads throughout each stage of the funnel. Here are three practical tips for how marketers can drive leads, conversion rates, and bottom-line growth.
1.) Fundamentals still matter.
Your website is more than just your online billboard; it is your opportunity to educate prospects on what you can offer and provoke enough interest to convert. Invest in this medium and optimize it for success by thinking like your end user—remember it’s not about you, it’s about them.More From the Connect to Convert Faculty:
- 5 Ideas for Innovative B2B Marketing
- Better B2B Marketing: Improving Engagement and ROI
- Focus on SEO Boosts Traffic for SmarterTravel
2.) Be patient.
Yes, marketers (and the C-Suite they answer to) don’t have time to waste. But, profitable leads take time to nurture and convert. The journey is never linear for prospects, so instead marketers should focus on what they can control—content and response times. By delivering relevant content and connecting with prospects as quickly as possible, leads have a better chance to convert.3.) Make the case for more dollars.
The adage “you have to spend money to make money” comes to mind. For marketers to be successful at building leads throughout every stage of the funnel, they need the tools and the resources to execute. Making a solid business case for the investment required is job number one, but bear in mind the executive team also needs to give control over to marketing to make that happen. Competitive comparisons are also helpful to spur action and open up budget dollars.Generating leads throughout the entire sales funnel is important to business growth. It all starts with a mindset intent on the long view. Taking the time today to set up your lead generation function for future success will yield the results everyone is after—profitable customer relationships and a steady stream of new leads.
Wayne Silverman is CRO of Business.com.
The post Avoiding Funnel Failure: 3 Tips for Lead Generation & Conversion appeared first on Chief Marketer.
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- 17 Oct
How to Create Effective Sales Enablement Content
In far too many businesses there is far too little connection between marketing and sales team members. And that’s a shame. Because everyone in those companies suffers as a consequence of this lacking.
Marketing and Sales Have Plenty to Offer One Another
Marketers drive interest in the product or service through the content they produce and publish. Salespeople nurture the would-be clients through the educational content and sales materials they share. But if the content coming from marketing is disjointed, prospective clients can quickly lose trust. And then, unfortunately, marketing content is often shelved after one use.
That can make it a costly investment. But, what if that content could have a second life, or third, fourth, and more. Well, its ROI would soar. So, to learn How to Create Effective Sales Enablement Content, boost sales and increase the value and return on your content, read the full article at MarketingProfs.com
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- 07 Oct
New Research Reveals How to Accelerate the Buyer’s Journey with Content
by Josh Baez
It’s no secret today’s buyers are overwhelmed. And today, the average consumer experiences tremendous marketing fatigue. They are literally being bombarded from every angle with marketing messages. And, that experience isn’t always a positive one.
Are We Hindering or Helping?
70% of buying decisions are made before ever talking to a salesperson. And these days, for buyers, experience and information matters more than ever. So, now there is an even greater reliance upon content for marketing outcomes.
As marketers, Are We Enabling Those Decisions or Hindering Them?
But, what can be done? New research just released give us some great tips. The report gives us some intereting insights into how we can best use our content to accelerate our buyer’s journey. And not to hinder it. So to learn what they found, read the full article at Heinz Marketing’s Blog
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- 04 Oct
Which Tactics Do Marketers Consider Effective At Different Stages of the Funnel?
Many marketers could be suffering from leaky funnels, as the majority (82%) of businesses have zero to moderate integration of funnel sections, while only 2% say they have complete integration of their funnel sections. To make matters worse, according to a report [download page] from GetResponse and Demand Metric, 7 in 10 of the more… Read More »
The post Which Tactics Do Marketers Consider Effective At Different Stages of the Funnel? appeared first on Marketing Charts.
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- 26 Sep
How to Create Buyer-Focused Content That Gains Engagement & Gets Traction
by Adam Little
What makes the difference between a piece of content that gets no traction, and another that encourages a potential client to buy? Is there some magic formula that does this?
Great Questions, But How About a Great Answer
Frequently, market and sales content is written as if it’s either a sales brochure or a technical manual. It comes off as either too pushy or far too clinical. It seems that most content online and in emails today simply misses the point. It needs to reflect the wants, needs and interests of the reader. In style and substance, it needs to fit the buyer.
And the key is to ensure the content, in both substance and style, fits the buyer’s needs. And that is the crux of all well-performing content. The collateral you create must fulfill the needs of the buyer, at whatever stage of the buying journey.
To learn how you can accomplish this and to help pinpoint the why and how of creating excellent buyer-focused content, read the full article at MarketingProfs.com
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- 24 Sep
What is Intent Data and Why Should I Care?
by Kira Jerome, Intern at Heinz Marketing
As a marketer, you know how important it is to get in front of the right prospects at the right time. Your sales team may be asking for more leads, or maybe they have the volume, but not the low-hanging fruit—those prospects that fit your target audience and are ready to buy. A technology that could alert you when your ideal prospect was ready to buy sounds too good to be true, right? This is intent data. You may have heard about intent data, but maybe you’re not quite sure what that is or why its beneficial.Now This May Sound Too Good to be True . . .
Intent data is important because it shows when “high-fit” accounts or leads have been researching solutions that your company specializes in. When they do this, they leave digital footprints that can be tracked. Utilizing this kind of information can drastically increase the number of qualified leads and new sales opportunities for your company. And that permits your sales team to focus its energy on the most fruitful prospects at the right time.
In the world of B2B marketing, intent data is still a relatively new resource. But with it, there is an opportunity for your company to stay ahead of the tech curve and your competitors. To learn what you need to do to get started, read the full article at Heinz Marketing Blog
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- 30 Aug
How to Use Social Media Research as a Tool for Sales Success
by Mike Schultz
If you’re in business, you market and sell something. And one of the challenges you face is finding prospects that want to buy. But, that takes a couple of things. First, you have to know who they are and they need to know who you are. Then, you need to know something about them. You need information about the buyer.But Where to Start? Without Being Creepy
Quite frankly, you are absolutely crazy if they don’t take advantage of the vast amounts of information about your buyers that’s available on social media. Whether you’re researching new prospective B2B buyers before reaching out, a buyer before a sales conversation, or a target industry, social media should be one of the first places you look.
And yet, most of us don’t do that. But those who do have a great advantage. Here are ways to research buyers on social platforms at MarketingProfs
NOTE: A Free Registration pop-up opens on this site. A Free MarkeitngProfs Registration may be required to read the full article.
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- 26 Aug
Conversion Rate Benchmarks Report: How Do YOUR Conversion Rate Compare?
by Connor Bond
Here’s a bit of wisdom for you. Impressions and clicks don’t keep the lights on. If that were the case, everyone would be running a successful small business.You Can’t Manage What You Don’t Measure
Whether you’re in lead gen, or managing your business’s online accounts, it means keeping tracking of a bunch of different metrics. You may already try to keep track of your progress. You may even go so far as to use search impression share to judge how well you’re performing. But, measuring your click-through and conversion rates are about the only way to really determine how compelling your ad copy, content or offer really is.
And one way to measure your success is to compare with industry standards and peer performance. It is the one measuer that allows you to benchmark how your conversion rates compare. And each year, WordStream creates a guide with the goal to provide the essential conversion rate benchmarks you need. And this year is no exception. To see the report and to measure how your results compare, read the full article at WordStream.com
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- 13 Aug
What You Need to Know About Email Deliverability
You click send. And your marketing email is off on its journey into subscribers’ inboxes. But when you go back to view performance, 10% of the mailing list didn’t even receive it. What gives? The emails you spend so much time strategizing about, crafting, and scheduling aren’t worth much if they don’t actually reach your target audience.
You Cant Manage What Y0u Don’t Measure, Accurately
One truly essential marketing measure that many marketers either ignore or don’t understand is email deliverability. But what is it? Simply stated, deliverability is the email’s ability to reach recipients’ inboxes rather than a “junk” or “promotions” folder. And if you aren’t measuring this, then you can’t manage your email program.
Remember that simply because an email is sent, doesn’t mean it is delivered to a person’s inbox. To learn why and how to remedy this, read the full article at MarketingProfs.com
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- 12 Jul
The Demand Marketer’s Dilemma: Achieving Authenticity, at Scale
by Paul Heald
In today’s marketplace there are myriad options for buyers. And buyers not only want and need information, they also want authenticity. They want to do business with companies that offer good products, believe in their quality and make genuine efforts to meet customer needs.
It Ain’t Easy Being
Green. . . AuthenticThat means forging authentic connections with customers is the best way to cut through market noise and make a sale. Now, achieving authenticity in marketing may sound simple, right? But, when it comes to B2B marketing, though, the job is anything but.
However, authentic connections that are easy to forge with individuals gets challenging fast when organizations are trying to do it at the enterprise level. And if you need to scale, the job gets even harder. So, how can you achieve authenticity at scale? To learn how, read the full article at the Target Marketing Blog
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- 28 Jun
5 Strategies to Target Your B2B Audience Online
B2B audiences aren’t always extremely easy to find, but they’re out there just as often as B2C audiences are. We marketers just have to look a bit harder for them. And that means that B2B advertising has a unique challenge in digital marketing.If you sell a product like socks or toilet paper, you know nearly everyone on the planet uses them, or we all hope they do. So your audience is everywhere. That’s the case for many B2C offerings. The target audience feels like they’re all over the place.
For B2B, That Feeling – and the reality – Isn’t Even Close to the Same
So what gives? Do we just take our ball and go home? Of course not! And that’s because your users are also all over the web, just like B2C audiences. The only difference: We have to work harder to find the proper targeting options. So what can we do? To find out, read the full article at WordStream.com
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- 15 Jun
How to Captivate Customers by Using Video in Digital Ads
There is ample evidence that video dominates the web. Today, consumers spend an average of five to six hours watching videos each day. With 20 percent of that time devoted to digital content alone. And Forrester Research predicts that digital video ad spend will reach $102.8 billion a year by 2023.
A Medium That is Big and Only Getting Bigger
There are a lot of advantages that video content offers marketers and brands. For one, it allows companies to engage with their audience. And, study after study tells us that consumers trust video ads more than static advertisements. So, the use of video in our ads can hel establish a deeper relationship with consumers to progress them through the buyer’s journey.
As long as it’s done well, every industry stands to benefit from the use of video. One study suggests that 74 percent of users who watched an explainer video proceeded to buy the product or service they learned about. But implementing video in digital ads and on social media can be an intimidating thought. And if you are wondering How to Captivate Customers by Using Video in Digital Ads, read the full article on Chief Marketer.
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- 10 Jun
How to Generate Quality Leads From Your PPC Campaigns
You’ve poured thousands of dollars into your Pay-Per-Click (PPC) search campaigns. And you have managed to generate a substantial number of leads. You’re rocking your conversion rates and your cost per lead is great.
What’s the problem?
It’s only when you start analyzing your results and dig a little deeper that you realize an overwhelming majority of these leads are, in essence, “junk leads.” Very few are turning into opportunities, let alone customers. The bottom line is, you’re just not seeing a healthy ROI.
What’s the solution? And, how can you turn this around? In this post, Andy Beohar gives us 10 proven strategies that you can use to generate better quality, bottom of the funnel leads from your B2B PPC campaigns. Let’s dive in at HubSpot.com
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- 07 Jun
Is Your Content Following The Trend?
Most businesses have accepted or even embraced the idea that without creating content, your website can’t hope to compete. In fact, without it, you have no chance for search engine rankings, high visitor counts, or much engagement.When the Competition Gets Tough, The Tough Get Going
There are just too many sites out there fighting for the same eyeballs that you want. And that means that if you don’t put something appealing and fresh in front of them, you’re going to be out of luck.
So, what’s to be done? To start, BuzzSumo did a study of over 100 million posts and came up with some very revealing data. To take a look at a couple of the more interesting insights and diagnose what they might mean for how we should shape our content strategy, read the full article at the McLellan Marketing Group.
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- 04 Jun
Testimonials Are B2B Companies’ Most Important Marketing Tool
In today’s hyper-competitive world customers don’t want marketing spiel. Your B2B customers can smell a sales pitch a mile away. And they are skeptical.
But, What is it That Customers Want . . . ?
Studies show us that what customers want is balanced and unbiased information. And they want it from people they can relate to. Plus, they want concrete figures and results not buzz words and slogans. And well executed customer testimonials can do exactly that.
Testimonials build trust between the company and its users. And they help customers overcome any skepticism they might have. So, how can you start developing a solid customer testimonial program? You can start by reading the full article at MarketingProfs.com.
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- 01 Jun
Empathy Mapping for Marketing Content: What It Is and How to Do It Well
by Linda Emma
Have you noticed that the best books and movies are so totally immersive you feel as if you’ve actually entered the world they depict? Which is why I’d argue that the people most skilled in content aren’t necessarily the best writers. Rather, they’re the ones who are able to empathize with characters so well that their creations seem real.
And when writing for marketing, you need to do the same thing. You need to connect with your audience. But first you have to understand who they are and what they care about. That’s where empathy mapping comes in.
So, What Is an Empathy Map?
An empathy map is a systematic tool that brings to light to your most likely customers. As you work through it, it teaches you how to connect with the people who will consume your content, products, or services. So, if you’re wondering how to understand what will motivate your potential customers, read the full article at MarketingProfs.com to find out.
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- 20 May
B2B Buyers Want More Data and Research in Vendor Content
from Marketing Charts
If you are selling to other companies and you work to develop a thought leadership position, then content is a core tool. And that content is a critical building block for your success. But, what you think is valuable content may not be what your buyers think is valuable content. Wouldn’t it would be great to be able to know exactly what content buyers value in their purchase journey?Well, Now You Can
Thanks to a recent study [access page] by Demand Gen Report and ON24 we can now better understand what our B2B buyers value in content as they make their purchase decisions. One thing the report does bring out is that an extremely high percentage of B2B buyers say they currently have less time to devote to reading and research durring their purchase journey.
So how can vendors make content more valuable when time is limited? To find out, gain additional insights and to learn a few actionable points using data from the study, read the full article at MarketingCharts.com
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- 13 May
The No. 1 Rule and Four Essential Parts of High-Converting B2B Emails
There is a common human behavioral tendency called decisions paralysis. Simply stated, this is manifested when buyers are confronted with too many choices, the result, in most customers, is to not buy.To Decide, Or To Not Decide. That is The Question . . .
Decision paralysis also applies to your email marketing as well. If you give your subscribers too many options, they won’t know what you want them to do or where they should click. The best advice, in that case instead, is to focus on the Rule of One. This rule essentially states that every promotion must contain four essential elements for success.
To learn more, read the full article at MarketingProfs.com
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