Tag Archives: Inbound Marketing
Product Launch Has Changed. Have You?
- 15th March 2013
Inbound marketing is driving the need for a redefinition of product launch processes. By 2015, SiriusDecisions predicts that 71 percent of all inquiries will be inbound in nature. This trend must be reflected in launch budgets and strategies, which, historically, have been heavy on events and direct marketing. Organizations that plan and execute inbound marketing techniques (e.g. search engine optimization, search engine marketing, digital marketing, Web site conversion optimization, social media) fueled by thematic, topical, thought leadership content aligned to audience needs do so at their own peril.
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Inbound vs. Outbound: Are You Asking the Right Question?
- 26th February 2013
SiriusDecisions recently launched, with support from marketing automation vendors Marketo, Eloqua and Pardot, a new survey to measure conversion rates as leads progress through stages of the demand waterfall. The objective is to determine what best-in-class performance looks like for different types of b-to-b businesses. This is the first in a series of posts focusing on the questions the survey is designed to help answer. Today's focus is the inquiry phase of the demand waterfall.
Continue Reading....Marketing to Anonymous Web Site Visitors
- 24th October 2012
Look at the universe of people who visit your Web site. Some may be known, but most are not. Most anonymous visitors take no specific action to identify themselves, so how can b-to-b marketers most effectively market to them to drive higher conversion to inquiries?
Continue Reading....Are You an “Innie” or an “Outie”?
- 22nd October 2012
A debate is raging within b-to-b marketing organizations about which approach is best: inbound marketing or outbound marketing. Those who favor inbound approaches (let’s call them “Innies”) claim that outbound is dead or dying, and is so misaligned with how buyers buy that it actually does more damage than good. Most Innies deeply understand and appreciate buyer behaviors and preferences, and want to facilitate the buying process with value-added offers positioned where buyers already go, using tactics like search engine optimization (SEO), pay per click (PPC) and social media. We are strong advocates of inbound, and we have data that shows it is producing more high-quality leads at a lower cost than outbound for many companies. So Innies win, right? Not so fast . . .
Continue Reading....You’ve Come a Long Way, Baby
- 6th September 2012
Marketing, over the past 10 years, has undergone a women’s-lib-esque transformation – shifting from a focus on brand and production value to demand creation and lead generation. The tools and technologies that support the modern marketer are less about design and more about measurement. We operate less on gut instinct and more on predictive outcomes. We’ve come a long way, baby…. There is a dangerous non sequitur in this evolution: the implication that a tactic’s measurability is directly proportional to its value and impact. This type of thinking not only puts almost all reputation-oriented spend at risk, it also reinforces old habits that many organizations are hoping to change, such as the shift from traditional marketing to a more inbound-oriented approach. Philosophically and intuitively, most marketers understand the value of inbound in terms of efficiency and effectiveness but remain stuck in their old patterns of behavior because traditional marketing is easier to measure.
Continue Reading....Is Your Marketing Database Prepared for Inbound?
- 25th July 2012
Among all the effects inbound marketing is having on b-to-b, the least explored may be the impact it’s having on contact databases. Organizations that are experiencing inbound marketing success can quickly find themselves struggling with data challenges they aren’t prepared to deal with. For inbound tactics to be fully effective, they need to be reflected in how the organization manages its data. This means that the traditional thinking about keeping incomplete records out of the database needs to change. For database marketers who can recognize this reality, there’s a huge opportunity to derive even more value from their inbound marketing efforts. Here’s what to do.
Continue Reading....SEO: In Search of a Strategy
- 19th July 2012
Search engine optimization (SEO) has long been a staple of the b-to-b marketer’s tactics menu, ranging from Web page optimization to external link-building strategies focused on increasing relevant site traffic. Yet, for anyone who has managed an SEO project, the catchphrase of the late comedian Rodney Dangerfield often defines these efforts: “I don’t get no respect.”
Continue Reading....Are You “Working Blue” With Your Marketing Copy?
- 16th May 2012
I see a clear “taking the easy way out” parallel between comedians who resort to profanity instead of carefully honed monologues, and b-to-b writers who use the crutch of profound-sounding “filler” words or phrases. These let us use complete sentences even if we haven’t mastered a topic enough to explain it clearly. They also lull us into thinking we sound reasonable because it’s no different than all the other copy out there.
Continue Reading....Marketo Acquires Crowd Factory
- 24th April 2012
Marketo, a marketing automation platform (MAP) vendor, announced it has acquired Crowd Factory, a provider of social marketing campaign technology. With the ever-increasing amount of social activity happening at the top of the demand creation waterfall, expanded functionality to attract and identify individuals through social sites such as Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn is a prime requirement for organizations.
Continue Reading....A Very “Pinteresting” Potential Referral Engine
- 1st March 2012
Pinterest is popping up in social media discussions everywhere, despite the fact that it’s still not available for widespread use (invitation or wait-list only). Why? And, perhaps even more importantly, why should the B2B marketing community care? Keep reading.
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