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May 12, 2011

Peter Johnston and 8 other people answered this question

Any advice for marketers who are working without a marketing automation system in place?

Yes. Don't do it. Here are 14 good reasons...
1. Marketing Automation is built on the old-fashioned push model of marketing.
2. MA is based on the discredited “Marketing makes leads for Sales” ideology.
3. MA is designed for enterprise corporations, not mid-market B2B companies.
4. Email is no ... more

Marketing

B2B Marketing

Brian Carroll

Demand Generation

3 more topics

Jan. 11, 2011

Peter Johnston and 7 other people answered this question

At which stage should a lead be nurtured before passing it on to sales?

Interesting perspective, Michael.
There are certainly threads of four things happening, most of which you have covered.
1. Helping buyers towards an informed buying decision
2. Qualifying prospects to prioritise them
3. Moving them from stand-off closer to engagement.
4. Using intelligence to identify buying signals.
But they aren't stages. ... more

Marketing

B2B Marketing

Focus Interactive Summit

Focusib2bs

3 more topics

Jan. 5, 2011

Michael Brenner and 3 other people answered this question

What is the best way to create content that is not product focused?

I agree with everything that was said above by these thought leaders in Content Marketing. I especially like Stephanie's thoughts on approaching it based on an understanding of your prospects needs at each phase. And the need to get internal buy-in for this approach is ... more

Jan. 5, 2011

Michael Brenner answered this question

How do you manage the the quality of the information that leads provide?

I do have a suggestion for this. We have found that the email field is more likely to be correct than phone. So one way to address this is to run "nurturing" emails using your best content and a simple form asking for the registration ... more

Marketing

B2B Marketing

Focus Interactive Summit

Focusib2bs

2 more topics

Dec. 23, 2010

Veronique Palmer and 1 other person answered this question

How can we take content that people create on our social media sites and integrate it with our own?

(Assuming you mean Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook - please clarify if not).
The person who wrote the original content is the person who owns it. That post may be tweeted, sent via Facebook or LinkedIn, but the content still belongs to the author.
Be very careful of posting ... more

Dec. 21, 2010

Lynn Maria Thompson and 2 other people answered this question

How do you connect social media and content marketing?

Easy; post links to your articles and blog posts in your social media streams! Make sure they're keyword-rich with terms that will interest your target audience in following them. more

Marketing

B2B Marketing

Content Marketing

Content Marketing Strategies

4 more topics

Dec. 15, 2010

Ryan Alex answered this question

What resources do you suggest to a start-up on designing their sales metrics?

What do you want to measure? Understand this. This is really about understanding your sales process. Then you will want to set up your CRM for this.
The other aspect is to make sure that sales will actually log all of the details in your ... more

Dec. 15, 2010

Michael Brenner answered this question

What do you see the greatest challenges for B2B marketers relating to social media?

From what I can see the greatest challenge is getting more of us started and engaged. I do not see a majority of marketers actively participating in social media. That's why I agree that there is a lack of digital marketing talent. It starts with ... more

Marketing

B2B Marketing

Focus Interactive Summit

Focusib2bs

2 more topics

Dec. 15, 2010

Michael Brenner answered this question

Where should a start-up put their money first in terms of an integrated online marketing effort?

I would start with lots of keyword research, then setup a website / blog to start asking your customers directly. For a small business the blog (interactive content) is the new website (static content). Then build it out from there to other social channels. The ... more

Marketing

B2B Marketing

Focus Interactive Summit

Focusib2bs

2 more topics

Dec. 14, 2010

Craig Rosenberg asked a question

Do you prefer one medium over another for real-time marketing?

Marketing

B2B Marketing

David Meerman Scott

Focus Interactive Summit

3 more topics

Dec. 14, 2010

Craig Rosenberg asked a question

What are companies that are best suited for real-time marketing? Least suited?

Marketing

B2B Marketing

David Meerman Scott

Focus Interactive Summit

3 more topics

Dec. 14, 2010

Jennifer Wing and 12 other people answered this question

What is more beneficial: creating a separate website for our blog, or adding it to our current site?

Like JP said about playing "devils advocate" - when you incorporate a blog onto your main site, you lose additional visibility that you had with two sites on the internet. Obviously two is better than one and increases your chances of people finding you. While ... more

Dec. 14, 2010

Barry Zweibel answered this question

What's the most important component of a successful internal launch of a new corporate purpose?

The most important component of a successful internal launch of a new corporate purpose is making sure each of your middle managers understands, and agrees with, how you've answered their...
WSIL (pronounced "whistle") - "Why Should I Listen?"
and their...
WIIFM (pronounced "WIFF-um") - "What's In ... more

Marketing

David Srere

Engagement

Focus Interactive Summit

1 more topic

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Lead Nurturing 202: The Next Generation May 31 @ 11 am PT
Marketing Thought Leaders: A Conversation with Jamie Mallinger June 1 @ 11 am PT
The Tricks to Paid Media June 6 @ 11 am PT
Display Advertising for Brand Awareness June 20 @ 11 am PT

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