Posted by Frank Candio on Tue, Jan 12, 2010 @ 07:07 AM
Over the weekend I spoke with a friend who is marketing a sports related product. We were throwing ideas back and forth when I asked him how many website visitors he gets each month. He said about 6,000. I then asked how many email addresses he harvests from those visits. He said none.
One of the biggest opportunities most companies miss is converting website visitors into leads. Your visitors have some interest - that's why they are coming to your site. The goal then is to capture their credentials through offers.
Here's why:
1. You'll be able to execute one to one marketing to these visitors
2. You'll organically build your prospect list
3. You'll learn what offers / messages are resonating with your prospects
It is the biggest bang for your marketing buck. Do it.
Posted by Frank Candio on Mon, Jan 11, 2010 @ 02:44 PM
The whole premise of lead nurturing campaigns rests in the concept that all prospects are not ready for "buy now" sales messages.
This does not mean you have to be passive in your approach. Accelerator campaigns attempt to move prospects along in your process based on their previously identified behavior. By recognizing and analyzing their behavior on your website, the frequency of visits, and the information they have downloaded - for example - you can (and should) adjust your nurturing approach. For our clients this often means we begin one to one marketing.
Prospect digital behavior is telling us something. We need to listen.
Posted by Frank Candio on Tue, Nov 24, 2009 @ 06:56 AM
Interesting new study from CMO Council.
A couple of the findings:
- People are inundated with mass emailings (no surprise)
- Nine in ten people surveyed have unsubscribed from an email newsletter in the past 12 months (no surprise)
- Number one reason cited for unsubscribing was "relevance" (no surprise)
- 22% of respondents said irrelevant promotions caused them not to buy from the company (Wow)
Many companies are harming their brand with poorly planned email campaigns. I often get asked about automation tools like Constant Contact and Vertical Response. My response? They are great products but more emphasis should be focused on what you say rather than how it is delivered.
Posted by Frank Candio on Tue, Oct 13, 2009 @ 07:30 AM
The findings from a new study from comScore and M80 about the impact of Social Media are interesting. Here's the gist:
Internet users exposed to a brand in a social media setting were 1.7 times more likely to later search for that brand using keywords associated with a high level of loyalty and propensity to buy, compared with searchers not engaged with social media.
The study also showed a 50% increase in paid search click-through rates when Internet users were exposed first to social media mentioning a brand.
Validation for what we have been preaching to our clients: A defined social media strategy and consistent execution will yield results.
Posted by Frank Candio on Wed, Sep 23, 2009 @ 09:54 AM
Very cool video on Social Media.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sIFYPQjYhv8
Posted by Frank Candio on Thu, Sep 17, 2009 @ 05:38 PM
Great article from eMarketer about the effectiveness of Web 2.0 tools.
http://www.emarketer.com/Article.aspx?R=1007276
Posted by Frank Candio on Fri, Aug 28, 2009 @ 08:56 AM
I was speaking with a client after a video shoot yesterday. Our discussion turned to Social Media. His company was testing a few strategies and he asked my thoughts about having his Sales Reps actively engaged on the Social Media sites.
Here's what I think:
Back in the early 1980's I was a Sales Rep for a large business process outsourcer. My territory was lower Manhattan. I had to call on 2 bank officers and 2 CPA firms each week to introduce our services / get referrals.
That was my "networking" objective.
Today, the networking is happening in the Groups on the Social Media sites. I would absolutely encourage any company to get their Sales Reps involved and engaged in those Groups. Clearly, you don't want them banging people over the head with a buy now sales message. However, most companies want their Sales Reps to be consultative and lots of people in those Groups are looking for help. Your Reps can add value and it is a great way to engage.
Posted by Frank Candio on Wed, Jul 01, 2009 @ 08:21 AM
The emergence and acceptance of Sales 2.0 approaches has helped (forced?) Marketing and Sales to work together. Their alignment is critical to building and sustaining a qualified sales pipeline.
In our practice we see Sales and Marketing coming together in areas such as the definition of a "sales ready" lead and an overall lead rating system. This is a great start but to optimize we recommend you go further.
Today, the sales/lead pipeline must flow in both directions. Marketing generates the leads but if they are not ready for conversion, sales needs to communicate back to marketing. Then marketing can continue to nurture the lead until it becomes sales ready.
By implementing a two-way feedback and measurement system, you will achieve higher conversion rates and lower your cost per lead.
Posted by Frank Candio on Mon, Jun 29, 2009 @ 09:43 AM
Communicating and connecting through social media improves search engine results and is an effective awareness and nurturing tool. The challenge for many organizations is doing it on a consistent basis with sparse marketing resources.
Companies should consider empowering employees outside of the marketing department to participate. Most companies have subject matter experts (Sales Engineers, Product Specialists etc.) who can add value and should participate in the "online conversation". They can offer thought leadership, best practice suggestions and other content appropriate for blog postings and other social media uses. And they can comment intelligently on other postings within your industry.
With a little bit of training this can be a valuable addition to your marketing efforts.
Posted by Mike Vannoy on Thu, Mar 12, 2009 @ 11:46 PM
According to a recent study by the Aberdeen Group, 84 % of all sales leads identified as "qualified" never close. The statistic is startling when you consider the amount of effort and resource required to build your sales pipeline.
Possible reasons for this disconnect include:
- Marketing and Sales are out of alignment over the definition of a lead
- Sales reps tend to focus exclusively on "sales ready" prospects
- Organizations are unable to create and execute effective lead nurturing campaigns for longer term prospects
Companies with best practice lead nurturing programs convert more leads and drive more revenues than those who do not. They recognize tasking Sales Reps with lead generation responsibilities is a challenge because the Reps must balance business development with the management of active sales cycles.
What are some of the lead nurturing secrets of these best practice companies?
- They nurture their entire prospect database with varied content designed to generate interest regardless of where the prospect is in the sales cycle
- They ensure all prospects are touched even when sales reps turn over or drop the ball on biz-dev/prospecting
- They consistently execute a clearly defined strategy and process for lead nurturing
Your greatest risk isn't coming from your competition. It is in the inability to engage, nurture and follow up on the thousands of prospects unwilling to talk to one of your sales reps.
We will be exploring this topic in more detail in our next web event. I invite you to join us.