Marketers should use lead generation to build brand awareness, nurture prospects and …

Posted on by Dan Strickland

“. . . customers, qualify leads and ultimately generate measurable revenue.” 

Dan Strickland recently downloaded Marketo’s comprehensive, 160 page guide to lead generation, covering topics ranging from content marketing and website SEO to telesales and content syndication.

Marketo’s Guide provides a “How To” for:

  • Defining a lead and understand his or her buying journey
  • Building a robust lead generation strategy through marketing automation
  • Using content marketing, social media, your website, SEO, and paid programs for lead generation
  • Building an enduring customer relationships with Middle-of-Funnel (MOFU) techniques
  • Testing, optimizing, and measuring your lead generation campaigns . . . see link below:

Hubspot, Marketo, Eloqua: New data shows marketing automation market share in unprecedented detail

Posted on by Dan Strickland

“This new information is from Datanyze, a company I’ve called the Google of sales and marketing for software-as-a-service technologies. Datanyze continually scans over 11 million of the world’s most-trafficked websites, looking for the little Javascript embeds and web tags that indicate the presence of an integrated SaaS technology — in this case a marketing automation system.”

“7 Keys To Great SEO: What SEO practices are most important nowadays for brand publishers?”

Posted on by Dan Strickland

Answers to Seven keys to successful SEO:

  1. Original, engaging stories always win.
  2. Keyword and audience research still matters.
  3. Great headlines are key.
  4. Better content > more content.
  5. Optimize on both the page and platform level.
  6. Get inbound links.
  7. Social matters to search, in more ways than one.

Read details of what each key truly means for SEO greatness – full article by Dori Fern located at Contently . . .

What Amazon Knows That Distributors Don’t – Internet Retailer

Posted on by Dan Strickland

An interesting blog post by Ragda Bodla (Director, Industry Marketing, NetSuite Inc.) on Internet Retailer today is a good read:  “What does Amazon know about succeeding in B2B? Basically, B2B buyers increasingly want the same shopping experience they have as consumers on B2C e-commerce sites. The same people who buy shoes online are also buying supplies for their companies, and they demand the availability, convenience and service [found] on consumer sites Tomkins said during a recent Tomkins International webinar: ‘Competing with the Big Dogs: Standing Up to Google and Amazon‘ . . . Five key B2C lessons distributors should learn to succeed in delivering the consumer-like experience its customers expect and are already receiving from competitors. . . “  continue reading full post on Internet Retailer website. 

Playing the Price Game | STORES.org

Posted on by Dan Strickland

Playing the Price Game | STORES.org

The catalyst behind this move is “dynamic pricing,” a strategy that is the direct result of Internet price transparency. It refers to frequent price changes based on customer traffic, demand, weather, time of day, loyalty card data, competitive factors and some complex algorithms.  The concept of dynamic pricing has been enormously successful for industries like …read more at: Playing the Price Game | STORES.org.

Amazon tightening grip on showrooming

Posted on by Dan Strickland

Amazon takes showrooming to next level with image recognition …

mobilemarketer.com

Amazon is tightening its grip on showrooming with a new image recognition application feature that cuts down on the number of steps it takes for a consumer to find and buy a product – read full story by Mobile Marketer’s Lauren Johnson

 

 

 

 

 

Amazon’s iPhone app

CES 2014 brought us the future, and it is curved, ‘smart’ and wearable

Posted on by Dan Strickland

Source: Washington Post

“. . . John Curran, a senior executive with electronics and high-tech at consulting firm Accenture, said that over half of respondents in a survey . . . Fifty-six percent of respondents from the United States, India, South Africa, the United Kingdom, Australia and Canada said they would [buy] a wearable device — though, Curran noted, the firm did not ask what price was right for the gadgets.”

. . . click here to read full story

Responsive Design: Quick Guide for Email Templates and Websites

Posted on by Dan Strickland

Posted by Magento Marketing on Monday, August 26, 2013

Studies show that more than half of emails were opened on a mobile device in the first half of 2013 and eMarketer predicts that eCommerce sales from tablets and mobile devices will reach almost 25% by 2017. However, seven out of ten recipients will delete an email if it doesn’t look good or work well on their tablet or smartphone, and the same goes for websites. Clearly, it’s time to consider responsive design for email marketing and eCommerce websites. The following is a quick guide for making the most important elements of your emails and website responsive.

Email:

image

Content as a Grid – Layouts change depending on screen size, so think about how content can be rearranged into a grid of moveable parts that will make sense in any layout.

Font Size – Make sure text in an image doesn’t scale down so much that it’s impossible to read, and always choose fonts that are clear and easy to read.

Subject Lines and Pre-header Text – Email inboxes on smartphones show sender or company name, subject line and pre-header text. Subject lines, while important, get cut off if they’re too long, so use the pre-header text to really engage and entice the recipient.

Navigation – Website navigation or menu links . . . Read more at: Responsive Design: Quick Guide for Email Templates and Websites.

Google vs. Facebook in the Battle of Affinity

Posted on by Dan Strickland

Excerpt from posted on Allthingsd.com  ” …this affinity data Facebook is collecting is enormously different from the intention data Google has traditionally collected. Think about it: Intent is expressed before a purchase; it’s an indication of what we want. But affinity is typically expressed after a purchase; it’s an indication of how we feel about what we already have. For that reason, affinity data will never predict short-term purchases as well as intent data does. But affinities are based on emotions, and often remain steady for years. That means affinity data does have a valuable role to play in a different kind of marketing: It can power effective brand advertising rather than direct marketing.”  Read the full article here: Google vs. Facebook in the Battle of Affinity.

Facebood vs. Google on Affinity Data

Yahoo Climbs Back Above Google in U.S. Web Traffic

Posted on by Dan Strickland

Lizz Gannes from Allthingsd.com posted interested Yahoo! story today. . .[Excerpt]: “Yahoo properties got more unique U.S. visitors than any other company’s in July, according to comScore. They had 196.6 million, compared to 192.3 million for previous leader Google. What’s more, Yahoo’s numbers didn’t include the new Yahoo-owned Tumblr, which came in 28th place.”  Read the full story titled: “Yahoo Climbs Back Above Google in U.S. Web Traffic.”

Industry Statistics: E-commerce sales grow 17.3% in . . . – Internet Retailer

Posted on by Dan Strickland

BREAKING NEWS:  Industry Statistics – E-commerce sales grow 17.3% in Q3 – Internet Retailer
E-commerce accounted for approximately 5.2% of total retail sales excluding foodservice — mainly restaurant and bar sales—during the three months ended Sept. 30, up from 4.7% in the third quarter of 2011 and 5.1% from the second quarter of 2012, the Commerce Department says.Total retail sales excluding foodservice during the third quarter totaled $1.09 trillion.

Industry Statistics - E-commerce sales grow 17.3% in Q3 - Internet Retailer

Moz ‘State of Local’ report shows confusion, fragmentation in local SEO efforts – Search Engine Land

Posted on by Dan Strickland

Moz ‘State of Local’ report shows confusion, fragmentation in local SEO efforts – Search Engine Land
— Read on searchengineland.com/moz-state-of-local-report-shows-confusion-fragmentation-in-local-seo-efforts-308714

Great article written by Greg Sterling @gsterling on Search Engine Land

Study indicates that B2B audiences are avid consumers of business content online

Posted on by Dan Strickland

Clutch’s survey of 384 consumers of online business content found that 87% of respondents frequently encounter business content using search engines, slightly more than the 85% who find business content through social media and 75% who encounter content most frequently on company websites.

The study indicates that B2B audiences are avid consumers of business content online and use content to inform their purchasing decisions.

By optimizing content for SEO and for their target customers, companies can engage B2B audiences online and work to transition them through their sales funnel to conversion.

B2B audiences consume content frequently and according to their purchasing intent

Clutch’s survey supports industry research that B2B customers extensively research companies and products online as part of their purchasing process.

The survey found that 88% of B2B audiences consume business content online at least once a week.

For the most part, the reasons why B2B audiences consume business content online reflects their buying intent and determines the type of content they prefer.

For example, 45% of B2B audiences read business content online to stay informed about industry trends, the most common reason cited among respondents.

This broad reasoning for consuming content demonstrates low purchasing intent. Thus, this group likely fits in the “awareness” stage of the conversion funnel and consumes content to learn more about a business or an industry before moving forward in their purchasing process.

As a result, they reported blogs and articles as their preferred type of content, since blogs and articles are more likely to focus on broader topics such as industry trends.

On the other hand, B2B audiences that read content to further research a company’s products or services, or to help them make a final purchasing decision, gravitate towards content that speaks to their high level of purchasing intent. Fittingly, this group prefers product descriptions and reviews more than other forms of online content.

Continue…

[Weekend Read] Force-feed your marketing funnel now – MarTech Today

Posted on by Dan Strickland

Force-feed your marketing funnel now
Contributor John Steinert explains how SiriusDecisions’ Demand Unit Waterfall serves as a wake-up call for marketers who are looking to find real, active demand in their markets and rapidly funnel it to sales.
John Steinert on June 28, 2017 at 4:04 pm

I love B2B marketing. I came for the diversity of challenges. And I’ve stayed for the continuous change. Throughout, I remain acutely aware of the balancing act that’s part and parcel of life in this job. We practice in the space between the scientists who create great products and the warriors who help sell them. We weigh strategic vision against tactical reality.

Last month, I wrote about the potential unifying power of SiriusDecisions’ Demand Unit Waterfall as a strategic concept — bringing all the constituencies in this value chain together around a common understanding of the market and the activity occurring in it. This month, I’m diving deeper into one particular part of our reality: the area where field marketing and sales connect.

I want to share what I think is the fastest, simplest way to add real value to our businesses right now — how marketers can find more of the real, active demand in their markets and funnel that more quickly to sales.

— Read on martechtoday.com/force-feed-funnel-now-199871

3 attribution considerations for B2B lead generation – Marketing Land

Posted on by Dan Strickland

Manny Rivas breaks down three attribution modeling concepts and discusses the paid credit metric to help marketers better understand their marketing campaigns.

Manny Rivas

Manny Rivas on August 6, 2018 at 1:26 pm

Customer life cycles and marketing campaigns alike are becoming increasingly complex and difficult to measure. Marketing attribution is the fundamental, yet complex, concept of reporting multiple user touch points, and it ties the entire customer journey together at the conversion action.

Attribution modeling allows marketers to measure the value of their campaigns across the top, middle and bottom funnel stages plus channels, campaigns and more.

Business-to-business (B2B) lead generation initiatives bring their own set of challenges and considerations to attribution, such as the potential for a long sales cycle, an emphasis on content and other top-of-funnel assets.

It’s essential to understand what is bringing real value. This article will break down three attribution modeling concepts that can help marketers better understand their campaigns in a complex digital environment.

–Read on marketingland.com/3-attribution-considerations-for-b2b-lead-generation-245529