Archive for the Marketing Category

Marketing is usually perceived as an add-on to B2B companies. In reality, it should form the core.

Good marketing and branding challenges, pushes, and cajoles companies into action and growth. And this is why companies buy work in marketing and branding in the first place: they want to achieve growth. What most companies don’t realize is that operating at this level is much harder than they thought.

With the talk lately on grading leads and/or prospects, the academic in me wonders something. Does lead grading lead to grade inflation? That is, do grades tend to creep upwards in response to outside pressures?

I just talked to a prospective client. He’s in a B2C services market and his only marketing or advertising right now is direct mail based on purchased lists. This used to work fine, with decent ROI, but it doesn’t anymore. So, he’s naturally looking around for other options. How to respond?

It’s a common occurance. Sales people in the field spend a good deal of time creating their own sales tools. This can range from editing the corporate “deck” to writing and designing entire ads or brochures. Why does this happen? Probably not for the reason you think.

Lead scoring is becoming more and more commonly talked about. But, what the heck does it mean?

Most B2B companies want to increase their revenue. And most of them do it by increasing sales effort. This can take the form of adding staff or increasing advertising. The question is whether this is the best approach.

Last week we released our September newsletter. We discuss the hermeneutics of searching and why sales tools don’t work. Check it out.

I believe that the value of marketing and branding extends through the entire enterprise. At every stage of the value chain, marketing and branding have a crucial role to play.

I sympathize with Jon Miller, who wrote about Lead Nurturing: Escaping the Nightmare. In a complex b2b marketing environment, you can easily end up with dozens or hundreds of qualified, not-ready-to-buy leads. You’re then supposed to nurture these leads with relevant, timely contacts. But, how can this be managed?