Aligning your CRM stage names to the Buyers’ Journey

    If the probability of closing a marketing lead is 28% higher for companies that let their marketers change their CRM stages, and 88% higher if those new stages are buyer stages not seller stages, why do only 24% of marketers make this change?   In this blog, Hugh explains the Buyer's Journey - a phrase he coined in 2003 when he wrote The Leaky Funnel - and makes concrete suggestions about how to name the lead and opportunity stages in your CRM and Marketing Automation Platform.

By |Alignment, Evergreen|
Read More

How to build the case for an inbound marketing budget

Even though inbound marketing is now an essential part of most company’s marketing strategy, one question still persists in the minds of many business owners and executives: How much does it cost? It’s a valid question because inbound marketing is as much a change in process as it is an investment in digital marketing. What's the right level of spending? A recent Gartner survey showed that, on average, US companies spend 2.5 percent of their revenue purely on digital marketing activities and its expected to grow by 9% in 2013. So if your company generates, say, $5 million READ MORE ›

By |Strategy, Tactics|
Read More

Using PURLs in Direct Mail

What is a PURL and why would I use one? By Charlotte Mackenzie Well, the answer is pretty simple. PURL stands for ‘personalised URL’, which is exactly what it is; a fully-trackable online address that is exclusive to the individual buyer. When a person visits their PURL, it redirects to whatever URL you want it to. This could be any page on your site, a promotional offer, or a landing page generated for a specific campaign, such as a personal event invite and registration form. PURLs can be incorporated into your personalised direct mail and eDM communications READ MORE ›

By |Tactics|
Read More

The 5 key ingredients for Twitter success

By Inka Wibowo As B2B marketers, everything we do comes down to one goal: creating buyers. To do this, we often need to start at the very beginning – even before buyers know who we are, what we do, and that they have a problem we can solve. We get buyers started on this journey by reaching out to them, and initiating a conversation – a conversation that we hope will one day create a troubled and qualified buyer. Social media is one way to start this conversation, but with so many different networks at our disposal, READ MORE ›

By |Tactics|
Read More

How to leverage surveys in B2B marketing

By Andrew Swan Your marketing strategy is only as good as the information used to build it, which is why smart marketers use surveys to gather key information about their buyers to help them not only build an effective strategy but also inform how best to execute it. When done right, surveys can help you better understand your market, uncover buying habits, attain product feedback, measure customer awareness, and most importantly they can help you progress buyers through their journey to purchase in the following ways: Find new names For your significant digital assets (eg. white papers), READ MORE ›

By |Strategy, Tactics|
Read More

Leverage templates for identity, consistency & efficiency

  By Charlotte Mackenzie At align.me, we communicate with many different businesses all around the world and, like everyone else, we like to look professional when we do it. It goes without saying that all written communication should contain well-written content that represents your company well. But how it looks visually is just as important, and often neglected. Essentially, every communication piece should instantly notify the recipient of who you are via a clear and consistent corporate identity. What’s the best way to establish and then maintain that corporate identity? By leveraging templates. Customised templates are an READ MORE ›

By |Strategy, Tactics|
Read More

Is Google+ relevant to B2B marketing?

By Inka Wibowo When it comes to Google+, the B2B marketing community seems to be divided into three distinct camps. There are those who live and breathe it, hailing it as the next big thing in social media. There are those who understand that it may one day be a key part of their marketing mix, but for now can’t justify doing any more than setting up their profile and posting every once in a while. And then there are the cynics, who view it as Google’s adventurous yet ill-fated attempt to compete with the likes of READ MORE ›

By |Tactics|
Read More

5 Reasons Why Events are a Must-Do B2B Marketing Tactic

At align.me, we run a lot of B2B marketing events – for ourselves and for our Marketing Services clients These range from small, boardroom discussions with just a handful of prospects in a room; to larger, forum-style events with various decision makers and companies in attendance. Regardless of the size or format, the objective is always the same: to get a bunch of targeted individuals together, and have them acknowledge the problems they face in their business – problems that we, surprise surprise, happen to be well-equipped to solve. Although events require a lot of preparation READ MORE ›

By |Tactics|
Read More

How to select tactics that move buyers

We often accuse salespeople of pitching too early: "I'm ready to sell - I hope you're ready to buy". But it's much the same with Marketing. We make offers designed for buyers who are ready to choose between options, but many buyers aren't there yet. But unless your tactics move buyers through their journey, you are likely to fail. Your tactics need to: Identify buyers who meet your target profile Position your brand on their list and get their attention Get these buyers to accept that they have the problem you solve best Have them accept your READ MORE ›

By |Tactics|
Read More

Webinars for B2B Marketing: Lead Gen to Closed/Won

Webinars are now a popular tool for most of us in B2B marketing. At align.me, we began with live webinars about 4 years ago, but found the grind of supporting US, Asia and Europe to be gruelling. Most of our B2B marketing audience used to listen to the webinars after the fact anyway, so we bit the bullet and took the recorded route. Since then, we have learned how much richer you can make the experience if you have the luxury of post-production time and resources. At Demand Con in San Francisco in September this year, READ MORE ›

By |Tactics|
Read More
    Go to Top