This section highlights news announcements, solution provider growth news and platform enhancements in the B2B industry.
The Pedowitz Group, a revenue marketing agency, is expanding its services with a new Search Services offering that includes Search Engine Marketing (SEM) and Search Engine Optimization (SEO).
The addition of these SEO/SEM services gives the company a better opportunity to assist clients in increasing web site traffic and revenue, according to company sources.
Business.com recently released a report, titled: Small Business Pulse: 2013 Lead Generation Insights, which surveyed more than 500 active pay-per-lead advertisers across all industries. The report found that these companies are turning to lead generation to engage buyers in small and medium-sized business sectors.
As many as 74% of B2B marketers participate in lead generation practices, and 50% plan on increasing their lead generation spending through the next year, the report revealed. But even with amplified interest, 76% of respondents do not use third-party services for lead nurturing and lead scoring purposes.
Silverpop customers now have the opportunity to personalize their web sites with the launch of Smart Content.
Smart Content is designed to connect with the Silverpop Engage marketing database and the user web site, allowing for new, personalized content to be written in HTML coding in real time. When consumers visit a site supported with Smart Content, the marketing automation solution will automatically recognize them and present tailored content on the page based on behavioral marketing data.
Marketing Advocate, a Through-Partner Marketing Automation (TPMA) software provider, announced an extended partnership with NetProspex to use Workbench, a cloud-based data management platform that assesses database health for B2B channel marketing campaigns.
The partnership is designed to enable marketing teams to make smarter decisions by analyzing, enhancing and growing their prospect databases. It also looks to enable real-time assessment of overall contact data health and deliverability, and improve the overall quality of leads for channel marketers and sales teams.
Revenues for B2B marketing automation systems will grow 50% to reach $750 million in 2013, according to Raab Associates’ recently released B2B Marketing Automation Vendor Selection Tool (VEST) report. The 50% growth rate is lower than the 2012 rate of 54%, although the dollar increase is substantially higher: $250 million vs. $175 million.
B2B marketing automation continues to grow at a very healthy pace, according to VEST author David M. Raab. He explained that some larger firms are reporting a lower growth rate, and, unlike previous years, there has not been substantial growth by industry challengers to significantly change the overall rate.
Small business marketers are looking for help in addressing a number of pain points, including choosing the right sales and marketing tools, building automated sales and marketing processes and developing appropriate content. These are some of the findings of a research study from Infusionsoft, titled: The American Dream: What Really Motivates Small Business Owners.
“The results of the survey paint a clear picture of the sales and marketing technology challenges facing small businesses today,” said Greg Head, CMO of Infusionsoft. “The data shows small businesses need better education on how to select and use technology, and they still feel somewhat lost on finding the right solution for their specific needs. By sharing the results, the market will gain a better understanding of what small businesses want from technology.”
HubSpot recently introduced updates to its marketing automation platform, including a Content Optimization System (COS), a social media tool called Social Inbox and a new analytic reporting engine. The company also unveiled Signals, an app for sales reps.
The COS serves as part content management system, part personalization engine, and is fully integrated with every marketing channel, according to HubSpot Co-Founders Brian Halligan and Dharmesh Shah.
Room 214, a digital and social media marketing agency, recently joined LaunchPoint, Marketo’s partner ecosystem.
In addition to social media and digital marketing services, Room 214 provides consulting services to companies that are implementing the Marketo platform. More than 35% of Room 214 employees are Marketo certified.
ActiveCampaign, an email marketing software provider, announced its users could now manage up to 2,500 contacts for free. According to a company press release, this is a “tenfold increase” over the previous number.
The company has also added full access to other marketing automation features that were once only available to paid subscribers. Users of the servicecan now send as many as 10,000 emails per month with phone, live chat and email support without having to sign up for a payment plan.
