Tactics

B2B: Embrace social media for attendance & revenue

Hugh Macfarlane, Founder & CEO of align.me, writes... Social media has opened up an entirely new forum for B2B marketing, but many-a-marketer has dabbled and withdrawn from any serious use of these platforms. Even so, best practice for B2B marketing using web 2.0 functionalities has become a serious and sophisticated element to many Funnel Plans. So how do B2B marketing professionals create the ‘right buzz’ around what they’re doing? That’s the question Aaron Kahlow aims to answer in his DemandCon presentation. As CEO of Online Marketing Connect, and Chairman & Founder of the Online Marketing Summit and READ MORE ›

By Hugh Macfarlane|Tactics|

Science at the top of the B2B marketing Funnel

Hugh Macfarlane, Founder & CEO of align.me, writes... Do you know how to use the internet to find B2B marketing leads? If you’re reading a B2B marketing blog, then your answer is likely a yes. But then comes the other obvious question: are the leads you find via your internet searches of the right quality? There are some great technology solutions designed to help you scour the information on the web for leads, but the biggest costs are incurred by the sales force well after the leads is landed. So how do you get a quality list READ MORE ›

By Hugh Macfarlane|Strategy, Tactics, Velocity|

What to do with a B2B Marketing lead: Best practices for turning leads into sales opportunities

Hugh Macfarlane, Founder & CEO of align.me, writes... We’ve talked before about the importance of handling a B2B marketing lead quickly and well in the sales follow-up process. What happens to a B2B marketing-generated lead in the process of being handed over to the sales department is crucial to the successful conversion of that lead. The wrong processes chew up time, fail to generate revenue, and send the two camps retreating to their respective corners. So what are best practices to help you determine the best process for your company? According to Craig Rosenberg, Leader of Focus Expert READ MORE ›

By Hugh Macfarlane|Tactics, Velocity|

How to build a revenue playbook for B2B marketing

Hugh Macfarlane, Founder & CEO of align.me, writes... In B2B marketing it pays to have a plan. The problem is that often companies recycle ineffective plans based on traditional B2B marketing, rather than revenue marketing. A successful transition from one way of doing things to another depends on having the right information to guide you. Even better, if you can follow a proven, well-worn path, you will get to the main road a lot faster than you would alone. If one path is growing revenue and the other isn’t, you need to know which one is which, and READ MORE ›

By Hugh Macfarlane|Strategy, Tactics, Velocity|

Top of Funnel data strategies for B2B marketing – choosing demand generation technology

Hugh Macfarlane, Founder & CEO of align.me, writes... What value does demand generation technology add to B2B marketing? There are so many complex technology solutions out there that it can become overwhelming to think about which fit your needs well (and that’s once you know what you need). B2B marketing professionals can be forgiven for holding back, but risk seeing their competitors stride ahead, taking early advantage from new technologies. So how do you choose the right platforms for your company? At DemandCon in San Francisco next week, Michael Bird, Chief Revenue Officer of Netprospex will READ MORE ›

By Hugh Macfarlane|Strategy, Tactics, Velocity|

B2B Marketing in the Lower Funnel – Sales Readiness

Hugh Macfarlane, Founder & CEO of align.me, writes... What use is a B2B Marketing lead that isn’t followed up? Or worse, one that is followed up badly? B2B Marketing professionals rely on sales representatives to turn leads into opportunities, and ultimately into clients, but all-too-often the expectations between marketing and sales is blocked. The effect is to reinforce the stock response from both departments. So sales people must know how to handle leads well, which means their companies need to be able to prepare them. But how? James Rogers will be talking about the best practices for preparing sales READ MORE ›

By Hugh Macfarlane|Tactics, Velocity|

B2B marketing nirvana might just be the DemandCon Expert Panel

Hugh Macfarlane, Founder & CEO of align.me, writes... I’m a self-confessed B2B marketing geek, so naturally I can’t wait to hear the luminaries of B2B marketing share their experiences at DemandCon in just a few short weeks. I’m giving a keynote on aligning the whole team (See far, Go fast), and am joined by no fewer than 60 top notch speakers sharing their wisdom. So how do you make sure you get answers to your questions while these B2B marketers are all available in the one spot? On the morning of day 2, B2B marketers can sate their READ MORE ›

By Hugh Macfarlane|Tactics, Velocity|

B2B marketing levers: Using revenue performance management to grow your business

Hugh Macfarlane, Founder & CEO of align.me, writes... If it’s the customers who are in control in B2B marketing, who’s watching them? With all the free information available, and all the savvy buyers sorting through it, B2B marketers need the right business processes to create behaviour (and track it) if they want to drive revenue. Today’s B2B marketer needs a strategy to manage how companies interact with buyers. This strategy must follow the customer through their entire purchase-process. Get this right and you will see dramatic changes: more predictable, rapid and profitable revenue growth. So what kind READ MORE ›

By Hugh Macfarlane|Tactics, Velocity|

B2B marketing keynote – See Far, Go Fast!

Hugh Macfarlane, Founder & CEO of align.me, writes... B2B marketing is my passion, and one of the biggest challenges for B2B marketers is alignment. While we're all busy trying to get Sales and Marketing on the same page, the goals often go and shift on us. And this can be even before most of us have reached the half-way mark! The crucial thing is that the need for alignment has broadened. It's now about getting the whole business and your partners pointing in the same direction. Sounds logical. So how do you do it? If you’ve been reading READ MORE ›

By Hugh Macfarlane|Strategy, Tactics|

Creating Convergence between sales and B2B marketing using Social Media

B2B marketing can be a thankless task. There is a moment in every business where marketing hands off to sales. Planned or not, B2B marketing has created an opportunity, and sales is getting its chance to create a customer. At least, that’s what’s supposed to happen. Did marketing create enough interest? Can sales create enough curiosity and trust? Did they both do their part in getting the prospect to “tell me more?” I’ll be speaking at the DemandCon conference in San Francisco in May this year, and am joined by some luminaries of the industry. Amongst them, READ MORE ›

By Hugh Macfarlane|Tactics|