While sales and marketing are ultimately marching toward the same goal—driving leads and closing more deals—there has long been a disconnect between these two functions. Sales teams often follow up with leads based on little insight into how that prospect became a lead, or what specific area of interest the prospect has.
What can large B-to-B businesses learn from the techniques that small business owners know so well?
Telemarketing doesn't have the best reputation in many circles. But if done properly, it can be a great way to engage B-to-B prospects and help guide them through the sales process.
Bernice Grossman has a message for business-to-business marketers starting to explore the mobile and social media channels: Slow down, and review some fundamental data opportunities which are largely being overlooked.
In today’s challenging economic environment, not following up on tradeshow lead data is really inexcusable. It is expensive—really expensive—to be an exhibitor at a show. And whether your tradeshow exhibitor investment will net a profit or a loss all depends on how the lead data is capture and used.
Chief Marketer recently talked with John Coe, president of Sales & Marketing Institute, and Jim Wheaton, co-founder of Wheaton Group, about why it is essential for B-to-B marketers to have both a CRM system and a proper marketing database.
Business-to-business communications are fundamentally different from business-to-consumer. With B-to-B, there is usually a long sales cycle. Your goal is to engage, to establish your company as a valuable source of information. You want to get your messages opened and read often, making you the authority buyers turn to when they are deciding where to purchase.…
While it is true a great B-to-B salesperson is invaluable, Google and other prominent search engines have made finding new and/or unique suppliers much more efficient, thus altering the way many B-to-B buyers purchase items in their private lives
Modeling business-to-business data can be tricky business. There are considerations consumer marketers don't have to worry about, such as how a given industry indicates propensity to purchase, or the impact of multiple decision makers within an organization. Chief Marketer spoke with Matt Fulk, senior manager of database marketing at SAS, about the challenges of creating…
Navel gazing doesn’t come intuitively to business-to-business firms, but perhaps it should: A good, hard, introspective look at itself – augmented by voice of customers and prospects research – was key in Hoover’s Inc.’s refining its marketing message. This was not a feel-good exercise. “With everything going into social media, the world is becoming more…
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