By Darren Guarnaccia, VP Product Marketing, Sitecore

There has been a lot of discussion and buzz around the shift of marketing resources and dollars from offline to online channels.  There are a lot of reasons driving this, but much of it boils down to the fact that online channels offer better tracking and measurement in terms of impact and results. And why not, marketers are under greater pressure to demonstrate results and prove ROI. The days of hiding behind vague assertions around brand impressions are waning, and the modern CMO needs to be able to connect marketing spend to revenue outcomes.

By Jim Meyer, Vice President, eTrigue Corp.

Now more than ever it is important to tend to the database to get the most from marketing initiatives.  Accurate prospect information – proper name and title, what and when content was viewed on your Web site – provides valuable clues as to how best to move prospects to the next phase of the buying process.  Whether that is reaching out with a targeted email from marketing or having a salesperson call, it is important to make sure the right team is focused on the right audience, at the right time. This all depends on having accurate information readily available in the tools that help sales and marketing get their jobs done.

By Carlos Hidalgo, President, The Annuitas Group

Marketing automation systems are robust and do allow marketers to become more efficient and effective, but they can’t deliver the process-based approach that will ultimately help the marketer meet the demands of today. It’s tempting to believe that that technology will cure all of the marketer’s ills. But it won’t. Companies that adopt marketing automation technology without the planning and development of process will not reach the potential returns they could otherwise achieve.

Web analytics are still a new concept for some BtoB marketers, but for the early adopters of these tools the intelligence gathered from online traffic is proving to be a vital tool for qualifying leads and tracking the behavior of prospects. San Francisco-based LeadLander has been one of the pioneers in this space and has carved a unique niche by providing sales teams with real-time analysis of Web activity.

By Ardath Albee, BtoB Marketing Strategist, Marketing Interactions

Newsletters delivered via email are a staple for many BtoB companies. These e-newsletters usually contain titles, descriptions and links to several articles, perhaps an executive column, a customer spotlight, an invitation to a webinar or a white paper download and any product or company news at hand.

By Jim Lenskold, President, The Lenskold Group

This is the third article in the four-part series on Maximizing Lead Generation Marketing ROI. The other articles in this series include:  Part 1: Lead Quality Counts; Part 2: Insight, Alignment & Action.

How do you know if your lead generation program is working and delivering a good ROI for the company?

By Stephan Dietrich, President, Neolane, Inc.

While BtoB marketers might scoff at the simplicity and brevity generally associated with BtoC sales cycles, there is a lot that can be learned from the land of instant discounts and promotions. BtoC marketers have traditionally been focused on lead acquisition, and they excel at it. Considering contrasting lead generation approaches including long campaign cycles and multiple touch points, many BtoB marketers face a skills gap compared to their BtoC counterparts as they try to leverage prospect and customer data in a similar way to accelerate conversions to the pipeline.

By Carlos Vidal, Manager, Lead Generation Practice, SBI

In part 1 of this series, we established the value of installing a closed loop contact-to-contract lead measurement process. We promised to explore in a series of follow-on articles, three metrics that are key to this new process. In this second installment we focus on optimizing Lead Generation Spend.

By Mike Gospe, Principal & Co-Founder, KickStart Alliance

One thing is for sure: no two marketing blueprints are exactly alike. This is because each blueprint is guided by a company’s over-arching marketing objectives, target audience priorities, key messaging, availability of relevant offers, and of course, timing. This is why when it comes to marketing blueprints, be cautious of anyone who promotes a “one size fits all” approach to lead generation.

Solution Snapshot:

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