Hugh Macfarlane, Author at align.me

Making loyalty pay in B2B marketing

Hugh Macfarlane, Founder & CEO of align.me, writes... In B2B marketing we know the importance of serving our best customer first, right? Maybe! Demand generation and B2B marketing in general is often about acquisition, not retention. Sound familiar? Steve Bernstein, Principal of Waypoint Group, and fellow speaker at DemandCon, puts it this way: “Wouldn’t it be great if all of your customers were truly loyal, buying more from you and referring their friends and colleagues? Using real examples from leading companies, we will share lessons-learned from sales and B2B marketing experts that have successfully leveraged and improved READ MORE ›

By Hugh Macfarlane|Strategy|

B2B marketing professionals beware: your PowerPoint sucks (and how to fix it)

Most B2B marketing professionals learn PowerPoint in about 30 minutes, then jump straight into building lots of presentations. To be sure, B2B marketing professionals have more time to get PPT right than their sales counterparts, but they still suck. “You have had little formal training in presentation best practices, your slides are walking disasters, and worst of all, they get in the way of your ability to demonstrate your expertise” says Rick Altman, a presentations specialist & consultant set to strut the stage at DemandCon in San Francisco this May. Wow! Big call, Rick, but I have READ MORE ›

By Hugh Macfarlane|Skills|

Using video in your B2B marketing demand generation

Hugh Macfarlane, Founder & CEO of align.me, writes... Consumer marketers have always worked hard to create high levels of engagement for their audiences. But in B2B marketing we often struggle, and end up with drab results. Video is an immediately engaging media, and so it should play a big role in our B2B marketing, but many B2B marketers shy away from the technical work involved. The good news for these B2B marketers is that using video just got a whole lot easier. Cliff Pollan, CEO & Co-Founder of VisibleGains, will showcase the best practices for using video READ MORE ›

By Hugh Macfarlane|Tactics, Velocity|

B2B Marketing: real-time account ID for conversion boost

For B2B marketing, the sort of profiling that works in consumer marketing may not be enough. Demandbase CMO Greg Ott observes that although B2C and E-tailer personalisation stories are everywhere, companies that revolve around B2B marketing and selling processes have been left out. In B2B marketing, you never sell to just one person, but an entire account. So what does an effective B2B marketing plan look like? At DemandCon, Greg Ott will talk about how you can increase lead generation, accelerate the sales pipeline, and improve existing customer satisfaction B2B marketing specifically, by practising account-based optimisation. “When READ MORE ›

By Hugh Macfarlane|Tactics, Velocity|

Update your B2B marketing plan with inbound marketing

The way people search for products has drastically changed. B2B marketing plans seem to describe potential customers as if they are static up to a certain point, then all-of-a-sudden engaged. But buyers are seeking out information all the time through Google, blogs and social media. So how do you leverage this new buyer-behaviour in a B2B marketing plan that helps them move though your sales funnel? Many businesses are failing to incorporate modern, inbound marketing techniques into their marketing plan. Search engine optimisation, business blogging and content creation, and social media engagement are all proven tactics that READ MORE ›

By Hugh Macfarlane|Tactics|

B2B marketing and sales alignment: How to expel the twin complex

Hugh Macfarlane, Founder & CEO of align.me, writes... B2B marketing is “...more than right brain vs. left brain,” says James Obermayer, CEO of the Sales Lead Management Association. Obermayer has made it his mission to overcome the rhetoric about what ‘separates’ Marketing and Sales – the two wealth-builders in a b2b marketing company. Obermayer suggests a new way to banish the ‘evil twin accusations’ that circulate between the marketing and sales departments whenever a company underperforms. Instead of pointing the blame, Obermayer suggests bringing the two parties together to negotiate a renewed effort of cooperation. Sound far-fetched? READ MORE ›

By Hugh Macfarlane|Alignment|

How to do your network for success in B2B marketing?

Hugh Macfarlane, Founder & CEO of align.me, writes... How do you make a conference on b2b marketing and sales pay big dividends? ’Networking opportunities’ are one of the major reasons cited for attendance at conferences, conventions and seminars. B2B marketing companies know that most people never take full advantage of these networking opportunities by actually achieving meaningful connections with the other people in the audience – as amazing as those other people may be. So how exactly do you network for success in b2b marketing? At DemandCon in San Francisco this May, Thom Singer will serve as your READ MORE ›

By Hugh Macfarlane|Strategy, Tactics, Velocity|

B2B Marketing: Use Websites to Fill Your Sales Pipeline

Hugh Macfarlane, Founder & CEO of align.me, writes... Getting a steady stream of B2B marketing prospects to your website and turning them into highly qualified leads is an achievable goal if you take advantage of new and powerful web technologies. Depending on your business objectives and strategy, there are a number of tools that act as B2B marketing solutions. You should be leveraging these to not only draw prospects to your website for conversion, but also qualify them over time, saving both you and your Sales team valuable time and energy. So what will deliver the right marketing READ MORE ›

By Hugh Macfarlane|Tactics|

DemandCon: The role of Search in B2B Marketing Plans

Depending on the methodology used, studies show 80-95% of buyers begin their journey with an internet search. So it’s no surprise that smart B2B marketing plans keep across the ever-evolving best practice for search marketing. So what is the best practice for search for B2B marketing? At DemandCon, CEO of Apogee Results Bill Leake, will "walk you through the latest developments in search marketing and show you how to maximize your spend for the most leads possible." But here’s a twist: what if one key-phrase earned you tens of thousands of marketing qualified leads (that Sales READ MORE ›

By Hugh Macfarlane|Tactics, Velocity|

Marketing automation for successful B2B marketing plan

Hugh Macfarlane, Founder & CEO of align.me, writes... Every company starts out small. So what is the magic recipe that sets the not-so-successful ones apart from the oh-so-successful ones? A great b2b marketing plan. Small businesses are not just poorer versions of big businesses. They need to create new tactics and strategies to suit their size. Simply scaling down those that apply to a big business isn’t a marketing plan for success. So what is? Andy Mackensen and Clate Mask have a pretty good idea about marketing plans. As co-founder and CEO of Infusionsoft, Clate has guided the company READ MORE ›

By Hugh Macfarlane|Tactics, Velocity|

About Hugh Macfarlane