Entries from January 2009
Be my guest for a half-day database marketing conference on February 11, 2009
If you can be in Germantown, Maryland on February 11th, please be my guest for an afternoon conference which is all about database-driven direct marketing.
| What: | The Data Day – A Free Half Day Conference |
| When: | February 11th 2009, 11:30 am to 5:00 pm (lunch included) |
| Where: | Germantown Innovation Center 20271 Goldenrod Lane Germantown, MD |
The day starts with a Speed Networking session facilitated by John Korpela, the business incubator network manager for Montgomery County. Spend a minute with a fellow attendee, then move to the next chair. The final stop is the buffet table for a lunch.
Following lunch, five subject-matter experts will present sessions throughout the afternoon about using data and databases to drive your business, target your marketing, and fuel your sales in today’s tough business environment.
I’m proud to say that I’m one of of the five speakers. My session will be entitled, “Driving more leads and sales with database-driven direct marketing: What’s working best in today’s tough business environment and what to avoid.” You’ll learn which direct marketing strategies and tactics are working best for generating lead and driving sales in today’s challenging business environment, and which you should avoid.
Here’s a sampling of what you’ll get by attending:
- Proven database and direct marketing tips and shortcuts.
- The opportunity to meet and share ideas with fellow marketers.
- A binder full of take-home materials including checklists, templates and how-to guides.
- A bonus gift from Elaunchers.Com: Don’t Gamble With Your Data” – A $250 value.
This information-packed, half-day conference wraps up at 5:00 pm, just in time for you to hit the road for home.
Normally you would have to pay to attend a conference like this, but a generous group of sponsors, including eLaunchers.com, Montgomery College, Staples Business Advantage, and the Production Club of Washington, are picking up the tab instead.
So you and other top corporate, sales and marketing folks from your company can attend for free.
I hope to see you there!
B2B Ninja Marketing Campaign – Pros/Cons
Marketing to B2B marketers can be difficult. We are a tough bunch; often hard to impress.
Yet every now and then I come across a creative B2B marketing effort that does impress me.
The Business Marketing Association (BMA) did just that with their B2B Ninja email:
- It broke through the clutter (in my case, more 300+ emails a day that make it past both my corporate and desktop email filters, not including hundreds more that don’t).
- It spoke directly to its audience. (B2B marketers like you and me.)
- The email addressed pain points and offered solutions.
- It created a desire to learn more, causing me to click through to the landing page.
However, there were some things I believe they could have done better:
The email wasn’t text friendly when viewed on my PDA, which is how more than 30% of business executives, including the email target audience (B2B marketers) read much of their email. If I saw it there first, and didn’t recognize the sender, it would have been “sayonara” email and no chance of response.- The designer must have a honking-big, high-resolution monitor. The landing page was designed to be too big to see without scrolling on my 1024×768 resolution monitor, which is the resolution used by the highest percentage of computer users. I, like most web visitors, click more than I scroll, especially when it wasn’t apparent that there was anything else to see “below the fold.” So I almost missed the viral “SEND TO A FRIEND” feature and didn’t get full exposure to the “free B2B Ninja armband” and “FREE DOWNLOAD” information off on the right.
- Also, the designer must be young with perfect eyesight. I’m over 40 and even with my glasses I had a hard time reading the tiny, fuzzy font on the landing page that says “GET YOUR FREE B2B NINJA ARMBAND NOW!” (My web designer who’s slightly under 40 with good eyesight couldn’t read it either.)
- Perhaps my biggest complaint is that it was a teaser, “stay tuned”-type offer. As Clara used to say, “Where’s the beef?” (If you don’t know who Clara is, ask an American who’s over 40.)
Regarding that last point, remember seeing billboards that spend weeks teasing before they actually reveal they were teasing about?
I think they represent weeks of lost opportunities at high cost while teasing; weeks and money that could have been better spent communicating what they were selling and generating real leads (not just curious people) and driving actual sales.
Back to the BMA, why tease when you could have been more specific? You already got my attention.
I’m guessing the objective was to create interest in their summer conference, but I really don’t know. Perhaps someone will let me in on the secret. Eventually.
You can take a look at the campaign here:
Then please share your thoughts with the rest of the readers.
What are the Attributes of a Great CMO?
There is a thought-provoking article, entitled The DNA of a CMO in the current issue of Marketing Magnified, the e-newsletter of The CMO Council.
The article describes the key attributes of a great Chief Marketing Officer.
Here are some examples:
- Digital Savvy
- Competitive Strategy Guru
- Strong Business Driver
- Able to Secure Executive Support and Foster Cross-Functional Relationships
- A Visionary & Thought Leader
The article also describes disabling factors which include:
- Lack of Accountability
- Failing to Follow Through and Execute
- Poor Leadership
- Neglecting Quantifiable ROI
- Silo Mentality
If you are a CMO, or strive to be a great one someday, you might want to print out the article and pin it to the wall in your office as a reminder of attributes you need to further develop and the disabling factors you need to avoid.
Marketing-for-Leads Guide: Step 6 – How many inquiries needed?
Step 6: Determine how many new inquiries or responses are needed to generate enough qualified sales leads to meet your goals.
The Sales Lead Calculator will help you determine how many new inquiries you need to generate enough qualified sales leads to meet your sales revenue goals. (See Step 5.)
Research conducted on B2B sales lead conversion across industries shows that, of those who buy:
- One in four buys within six months.
- Another one in four buys within the next six months.
- Another one in four buys within the third six months.
- The final one in four buys after eighteen months.
Simply said, three out of four sales opportunities are from the longer-term leads. So even though it may be tempting to create an occasional, dramatic marketing program that drums up a large number of new leads—so you can skim the ones that are ready to buy now—you are actually better off investing in an ongoing series of marketing-for-leads programs.
| To download the complete guide as a PDF, visit B2B Marketing-for-Leads Guide. |
To get those additional three out of four sales opportunities, use direct marketing to nurture your longer-term sales opportunities until they are sales-ready. Consider creating a series of marketing messages that rotate through, say, the three biggest benefits of your products or services and related offers or calls-to-action. Send them to prospects monthly—one, two, three, repeat—effectively staying in-sight and top-of-mind as prospects move from awareness to inquiry, then from inquiry to consideration and purchase.
