News

Rainmaker Systems, a provider of BtoB e-Commerce sales solutions, today announced the completion of its registered direct offering of units consisting of one share of common stock and a warrant to purchase 0.40 shares of common stock. The shares of common stock and warrants were offered and sold after an effective registration statement previously announced with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Nearly 3.5 million shares of Rainmaker’s common stock were sold at $1.05 per share and the warrants to purchase approximately 1.4 million additional shares at $1.40 per share to purchasers comprised of new investors and existing stockholders. Approximately 136,000 shares of common stock were sold at a price of $1.29 per share, with warrants to purchase close to 54,000 additional shares at $1.40 per share, to members of the company’s Board of Directors.

SalesFUSION, an integrated sales and marketing demand generation platform, recently announced its partnership with Sage Software, a global supplier of business management software, adding to Microsoft Dynamics CRM and AppExchange among other CRM integrations.

SalesFUSION’s marketing platform is built from a CRM-style database designed to allow more flexibility and integration to the CRM. The partnership is aimed at fusing the marketing automation platform of SalesFUSION, the Sage CRM and Saleslogix CRM solutions. Additionally, the integration offers automation population of detailed campaign response activity, generated and captured within SalesFUSION to the lead, contact and account records in CRM.

At Eloqua Experience Europe June 21, 2011, Eloqua unveiled the “Eloqua AppCloud,” calling it an “online marketplace for BtoB marketing applications.”

Designed as a platform for the marketing application community, Eloqua launched its AppCloud with 20 “connectors,” including Lithium Technologies, Jigsaw and ON24, but anticipates a substantial expansion of the platform, with new applications focused on social, data and conferencing, according to Eloqua CMO Brian Kardon.

Following the finalization of Europe’s new privacy regulations, marketing automation software providers are taking notice and adding features and functions to help clients adhere accordingly. Pardot, a provider of cloud marketing automation software, today announced the addition of security features, including adjustable cookie-based tracking settings and opt-in tracking code for site visitors.

The new opt-in feature gives site visitors the option to have their browsing activity tracked. This new addition complies with the EU regulation that every site visitor has the option to opt-out of behavior tracking, preventing companies from observing customer page views and file downloads. Pardot’s tracking code is designed to display a pop-up window that asks permission to track visitor activities. With the feature’s country-specific settings, companies can control who receives the notice.

While marketing automation adoption continues to grow, many BtoB organizations are not capitalizing on the features and functions as part of a more efficient marketing strategy, largely due to a lack of knowledge and training.

During MarketingProfs’ BtoB Forum June 14-15 in Boston, this disconnect was addressed by Bryan Brown, Director of Product Strategy at Silverpop. Brown discussed the critical elements of marketing automation during his keynote presentation “Successful Lead Gen Demystified: Tips From The Trenches.” Brown emphasized how BtoB marketers can build a successful automated engagement strategy and improve lead gen accordingly.

DemandGen Report had the chance to catch up with Brown to discuss some of the specific features and functionality that are being utilized to help BtoB marketers and sales teams optimize marketing messaging and cater to the changing, knowledge-empowered buyer.