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Edwin Thompson

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Director, Demand Generation, The Pedowitz Group

120 points

March 22, 2012

Edwin Thompson is now following Steve Gershik and 2 other people

Oct. 24, 2011

Edwin Thompson and 30 other people answered this question

Is CRM really worth the hassle?

George, Jeffrey's points are right on. Keep it simple. Also adoption is frequently an issue, so the CRM needs to be more than a virtual rolodex, it needs to be part of the process. Therefore, it is critical that reps find value there (make them ... more

Customer Service

Aug. 25, 2011

Edwin Thompson and 8 other people answered this question at this roundtable

Modern B2B Marketing Strategies [7/12 @ 1 pm]

Is it me or is sales-marketing alignment only being talked about by marketing?

Great discussion, I'd love to see more folks from the sales side chime in.
Marketing is starting to be measured on revenue which means we're the ones that NEED the alignment to take place in order to prove our contribution. Sales is still measured the same ... more

B2B Marketing Week

Content Marketing

Inbound Marketing

Aug. 18, 2011

Edwin Thompson recommends this answer by Scott Benedetti

Should more companies look to outsource the operation of their marketing automation solution?

Carlos,
As always, a timely and poignant question. We are both in the business of helping companies outsource these services - and clearly know their are ramifications to such a decision.
I am fearful that many companies may think they already use marketing automation to the full ... more

June 22, 2011

Edwin Thompson and 5 other people answered this question at this roundtable

Avoiding the Potential Pitfalls of Marketing Automation [6/21 @ 1 pm]

How can a CMO or VP of Marketing develop a buy in strategy prior to purchase?

Buy-in needs to be won long before you can bring in a vendor. What you are trying to win buy-in for is to be empowered to change your organization by solving some fundamental sales and marketing (revenue) problems.
It will require an investment in people, ... more

Lead Management

Marketing Automation

June 16, 2011

Edwin Thompson and 7 other people answered this question

What's the difference between RPM & marketing automation?

I think it's about defining the space. "Marketing Automation" as a term, is a little limiting and doesn't account for all the other people, processes, and technologies involved. "Revenue Performance Management" as a term hopes to encompass that larger scope, and be more inclusive of ... more

Marketing Automation

Marketing Services

June 14, 2011

Edwin Thompson and 3 other people answered this question at this roundtable

Drive Sales Revenue with Social Selling, Lead Generation and Next Generation Mobile Engagement [6/14 @ 11 am]

Sales and marketing bicker over what a qualified lead means. What does it mean?

Barbara, Usually that's a symptom of having no executive sponsorship for the agreement. Document it, communicate it, enforce it on both sides. Quantity and close rates should be the more contentious part of the discussion. more

Information Technology

Lead Generation

June 8, 2011

Edwin Thompson and 7 other people answered this question at this roundtable

Avoiding the Potential Pitfalls of Marketing Automation [6/21 @ 1 pm]

What is the most common pitfall of marketing automation that you've seen?

It's the business process changes that need to happen in order for Marketing Automation to successfully perform the job it's supposed to: automating something worth repeating. Automation can make a bad process even worse. more

Lead Management

Marketing Automation

June 7, 2011

Edwin Thompson and 4 other people answered this question

How much should your marketing department be using CRM?

Great points, Peter. I would add: Marketing (or Marketing Operations) should not only use the CRM system, they should own it. How else would they prove their contribution to revenue, provide focus for sales, and properly steer the company? more

June 3, 2011

Edwin Thompson and 4 other people answered this question

What's driving those who are hating on Marketing Automation?

Great thread. As with anything, it's just easier to say no than to figure out how. But we're preaching to the converted here. We get it. Craig's point about building the market is critical. 200MM seems criminal for such a valuable set of tools.
We've had ... more

June 1, 2011

Edwin Thompson and 3 other people answered this question

What are some tests that businesses can run to see how their website is performing?

Hi Lauren, Could you clarify? Perform in terms of speed or in terms of results?

Content Marketing

Corporate Website

May 24, 2011

Edwin Thompson and 10 other people answered this question

How many presentation slides would you create for a one hour presentation?

I agree with Tim and Krissy,
Nothing is worse than getting to a room and having a presenter read their slides to you.
Simple visuals, maybe a short sentence, but avoid bullets and slides full of text. You want people looking at you, not reading your ... more

Presentation Length

March 22, 2011

Edwin Thompson and 3 other people answered this question

What advice would you give b2b marketers looking to execute a nurturing program for the first time?

Keep it simple.
Start with a small segment. For instance: Leads with a status of Marketing Qualified Lead that have not had any activity in the past 45 days.
Review the list. Make sure the data is accurate.
Build a simple 3 or 4 step program using ... more

Lead Nurturing Cookbook

Marketing Automation

March 17, 2011

Edwin Thompson and 10 other people answered this question

What steps can be taken to ensure a better overall return on investment in marketing automation?

I think it's important to first determine and agree upon how you will measure ROI, before you start.
Marketing Automation can automate a marketing function or functions, but which ones? It depends on the customer.
This could be a customer service application, in which case retention, ... more

Marketing Automation

Marketing Automation Software

March 17, 2011

Edwin Thompson answered this question

What role should sales, especially inside sales, play in the nurturing process?

Inside Sales is critical to the nurturing process. They are having first-hand dialogue with those they suspect are viable prospects. Who better to assess where someone is in the buying cycle? The key is to provide inside sales with the tools to easily enroll prospects ... more

March 9, 2011

Edwin Thompson and 1 other person answered this question

What can a company hope to achieve with their first 90-days with marketing automation

While every environment is different, for new users, I believe it's very realistic that you can have your website tracking, forms and auto-responsers completed, your IP warming program completed and begin to ramp up your email volume. You can also be integrated with your CRM ... more

Marketing Automation

March 9, 2011

Edwin Thompson and 1 other person answered this question

What does a typical marketing automation deployment require from a marketing and/or sales team?

Technical deployment process aside, what's required is agreement. Marketing Automation can only help if it is improving a real-world business process that meets the needs of marketing and sales. Agree on the goals. Agree on the metrics. Agree that you'll need to revisit each item ... more

Marketing Automation

Marketing Automation Implementation

March 2, 2011

Edwin Thompson and 4 other people answered this question

What's the difference between demand generation, lead management and marketing automation?

I agree with most of Carlos' points, but I define "Demand Generation" as encompassing the entire process from lead generation (the act of collecting the name initially), management, routing, scoring, and nurturing through the entire sales/buying process. Marketing Automation, as stated is one of the ... more

Demand Creation

Demand Generation

Feb. 23, 2011

Edwin Thompson and 5 other people answered this question

Who should manage marketing automation?

Craig's points are spot on. Marketing should own it, Marketing Ops if that's the structure. Talent is hard to find, however, so the "person in charge of Marketing Automation" could very well be a 3rd party resource - at least until the hire(s) can be ... more

Information Technology

Cloud Computing

Marketing Automation

Feb. 9, 2011

Edwin Thompson recommends this answer by Jeff Pedowitz

What does Marketo's position and brand represent?

As an implementer of both solutions, I think both companies offer a lot of value to the marketplace. I see Marketo's brand as fast, aggressive, savvy and smart. They have a culture of innovation and fast time to market - both with their product and ... more

Marketing Automation

Feb. 3, 2011

Edwin Thompson and 11 other people answered this question

Is in person & telephone the only way to truly launch the sales process?

Trish’s question: "What is the tipping point between figuring out when branding/awareness, content development and market validation/buyer messaging stops and selling starts?" brings up the heart of the matter.
We are talking here in terms of “Sales Process” but let’s not confuse that with the buyer’s ... more

Buyer Decision Journey

Jan. 22, 2011

Edwin Thompson and 5 other people answered this question

Inbound Leads Best Practices: What are your 3 tips for following up on inbound leads?

Michael and Michael offer solid advice. I'll assume your website had auto-responders that are setting the proper expectation for follow-up with the prospect, and that the action they've taken is appropriate for a follow-up call - like your "Contact Sales" form for example. Here are ... more

General Management

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Lead Management

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