<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<rss version="2.0"
	xmlns:content="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/content/"
	xmlns:wfw="http://wellformedweb.org/CommentAPI/"
	xmlns:dc="http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/"
	xmlns:atom="http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom"
	xmlns:sy="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/syndication/"
	xmlns:slash="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/slash/"
	>

<channel>
	<title>Sales Lead Insights &#187; Online marketing</title>
	<atom:link href="http://www.sales-lead-insights.com/b2b-marketing/online-marketing/feed/" rel="self" type="application/rss+xml" />
	<link>http://www.sales-lead-insights.com</link>
	<description>A B2B LEAD GENERATION, MARKETING &#38; SALES BLOG</description>
	<lastBuildDate>Mon, 28 Jun 2010 13:04:45 +0000</lastBuildDate>
	<generator>http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.4</generator>
	<language>en</language>
	<sy:updatePeriod>hourly</sy:updatePeriod>
	<sy:updateFrequency>1</sy:updateFrequency>
			<item>
		<title>B2B Marketing Strategies for Small Companies: An Interview with Dianna Huff</title>
		<link>http://www.sales-lead-insights.com/2009/b2b-marketing-strategies-interview-with-dianna-huff/</link>
		<comments>http://www.sales-lead-insights.com/2009/b2b-marketing-strategies-interview-with-dianna-huff/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 29 Dec 2009 14:18:56 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Mac McIntosh</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[B2B marketing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Online marketing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Social Media]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.sales-lead-insights.com/?p=1515</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[B2B Marketing Strategies for Small Companies: My guest today is Dianna Huff of DH Communications. Dianna helps businesses with their B2B marketing communications content strategy and implementation.<p><table cellpadding="15" cellspacing="0" border="1" bordercolor="#cccccc" bgcolor="#eeeeee">
<tr><td><a href="http://sales-lead-insights.com"><img src="http://www.sales-lead-insights.com/site/wp-content/themes/sales-lead-insights-4/images/logo-130.jpg" alt="Sales Lead Insights Logo" /></a></td>
	<td>If you'd like to learn more, please use my <a href="http://www.sales-lead-insights.com/contact" target="_BLANK">Contact Form</a>, call me directly at 1-800-944-5553 or +1-401-294-7730, or check out the <a href="http://www.sales-lead-experts.com/consulting/" target="_BLANK">marketing consulting</a> or <a href="http://www.sales-lead-experts.com/speaking/" target="_BLANK">speaking and training</a> pages on my website.
	</td>
</tr>
</table></p>
]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><em>This is one of a series of occasional interviews with top practitioners on topics of interest to business-to-business lead generation, marketing and new business development professionals.</em></p>
<p><a title="Dianna Huff" rel="lightbox[slideshow]" href="http://www.sales-lead-insights.com/images/2009/12/Dianna-Huff.jpg"><img class="right noborder" height="301" alt="Dianna Huff" width="200" align="right" src="http://www.sales-lead-insights.com/images/2009/12/200/Dianna-Huff.jpg" /></a></p>
<p>My guest today is <a target="_blank" href="http://www.linkedin.com/in/diannahuff">Dianna Huff</a> of <a target="_blank" href="http://www.dhcommunications.com/">DH Communications</a>. Dianna helps businesses with their B2B marketing communications content strategy and implementation.</p>
<p><strong>Dianna, what are some of the marketing mistakes you see smaller companies making with regard to B2B marketing communications strategy, and what should smart marketers do instead?</strong></p>
<p>Mac, that&rsquo;s a good question. I see companies frequently making these two common mistakes:</p>
<p>First, not having a strategy. For example, someone from a small company will call to say, &ldquo;We want to send out an e-newsletter,&rdquo; but the marketer or business owner hasn&rsquo;t thought through the purpose of the newsletter (except for the generic &ldquo;We want to send people to our website&rdquo;). Usually the person doesn&rsquo;t know what the newsletter content will or should be, the publishing frequency, whether or not he or she wants to use segmented lists, etc., etc.</p>
<p>Smart marketers will sit down and plan out strategy based on a stated objective, whether it&rsquo;s to increase sales, bring in more leads, better nurture the leads they have, lower their costs (i.e., move from a print newsletter to an e-newsletter), gain more industry exposure, market an e-book, etc., and then plan out the tactics for implementing the strategy from start to finish based on the objective.</p>
<p>Second, strategy doesn&rsquo;t match the objective. By this, I mean that a marketer or business owner will have a stated objective &ndash; i.e., &ldquo;We want more leads&rdquo; &ndash; and the strategy for getting those leads might be something like writing articles for trade publications or developing a blog. Writing articles and developing a blog are both good marketing tactics for accomplishing such objectives as branding and awareness, but I wouldn&rsquo;t use them to get leads in the door.</p>
<p>As you know, Mac, smart marketers use other methods, both online and off, to generate leads. For example, marketers would be better off using an integrated campaign that includes e-mail, direct mail and pay-per-click advertising to make offers (white papers, reports, e-books) specifically designed to generate leads.</p>
<p><strong>I know you focus a lot on improving your clients&#8217; websites. Dianna, what are the most common mistakes that small businesses are making with their websites, and what should they be doing better?</strong></p>
<p>The biggest mistake small businesses make is to think of their websites as their &ldquo;<a target="_blank" href="http://marcom-writer-blog.com/2009/12/22/your-b2b-small-business-website-is-not-a-brochure/">online brochures</a>.&rdquo; A website and a brochure are two completely different animals.</p>
<p>The other mistake I see is that many small businesses (and large ones too) have absolutely no clue about website marketing and search engine optimization. So they&rsquo;ll spend a boatload of money to make their site look good graphically, then wonder why they still have no visitors.</p>
<p>To be successful online, companies must develop a strategy for getting traffic to their websites. For example, the site, or rather each of its pages, must be optimized in order to get found by the search engines.</p>
<p><strong>Dianna, what do you think B2B marketers at small companies should be doing differently than their peers at big companies?</strong></p>
<p>Actually, small companies usually already do things differently than their peers at large companies: because they are small, they can implement new ideas quickly. That&rsquo;s one reason why savvy small-business marketers have flocked to SEO, social media, blogs, etc. It can take a large company months to make a decision on something as simple as optimizing a site, starting a blog or opening a Twitter account.</p>
<p>Small businesses do and should use this &ldquo;nimbleness&rdquo; to their advantage &ndash; and use the latest online marketing tools to build an Internet presence that rivals that of the &ldquo;big boys.&rdquo; As the <a target="_blank" href="http://www.hubspot.com/">HubSpot</a> founders say in their book, <em><a target="_blank" href="http://inboundmarketing.com/book">Inbound Marketing</a></em>, &ldquo;On the Internet, no one knows you&rsquo;re a dog.&rdquo; For example, prospects often think that my company is larger than it is, due to my strong presence on the Internet.</p>
<p><strong>I noticed on Twitter that you said your #1-read blog post is the one about marketing communications job descriptions. Dianna, why do you think so many people are interested in that topic?</strong></p>
<p>I think people are reading my <a target="_blank" href="http://marcom-writer-blog.com/2008/06/18/what-should-be-included-in-a-marcom-managers-job-description">marcom job description post</a> because they&rsquo;re looking for a job and/or they need to write a job description. The post is near the top of the search results in Google for &ldquo;marcom job description&rdquo; &ndash; that tells you the power of SEO and blogs &ndash; which is probably why I&rsquo;m getting so much traffic to it.</p>
<p><strong>My understanding is that you think marcom professionals &ndash; and those who hire them &ndash; focus too much on managing projects and copywriting. Please tell me more about that.</strong></p>
<p>As you know, Mac, lots has been written about the negative consequences of the &ldquo;disconnect&rdquo; between marketing and sales. In fact, I still remember that wonderful cats and dogs <a target="_blank" href="http://www.sales-lead-experts.com/speaking/titles.cfm">presentation on the subject of integrating marketing and sales</a> you gave at a conference last year.</p>
<p>In my opinion, the marketing/sales disconnect starts with the marcom job description. Just last week I was shown a marcom job description &ndash; and again, the company wanted someone who could write well and manage multiple projects. The job description did not address the most important fact: that marketing&rsquo;s job is to help sales do their job &ndash; i.e., get results!</p>
<p>A marcom professional should know how to communicate well, of course, but this person needs to understand a whole other set of skills &ndash; as you and others pointed out in your <a target="_blank" href="http://www.sales-lead-insights.com/2008/b2b-marketing-skills">follow-up post</a> to my post.</p>
<p>So, until a company&rsquo;s leaders start demanding more from its marketing communications practitioners, this disconnect will continue to exist and marketing and sales will continue to fight like cats and dogs.</p>
<p><strong>You mentioned that more companies are asking you about social media marketing. What is your perspective on social media, Dianna? Is it something B2B marketers need to pay attention to?</strong></p>
<p>Social media is definately something B2B marketers need to pay attention to. Why? Because as a Fortune 500 client said to me recently, &ldquo;Although most of our customers are 50-year-old white men, it won&rsquo;t be that way forever. Younger people are moving up the ranks &ndash; and they are social media savvy.&rdquo;</p>
<p><strong>Dianna, do you have any last thoughts on the subject of small company B2B marketing you want to share with our readers?</strong></p>
<p>Marketing is changing &ndash; literally. It can be difficult to keep up with all that is new, and for that reason, a small-business owner may elect to simply &ldquo;opt out.&rdquo; After all, he or she reasons, &ldquo;My customers have found me in the past via word of mouth, so I&rsquo;ll keep doing that.&rdquo;</p>
<p>Word of mouth will continue to work, but it has become what author David Meerman Scott calls &ldquo;word of mouse.&rdquo; So it really pays to ensure that you know how to use the Internet to effectively market your business. You simply cannot afford to ignore it.</p>
<p><strong>Dianna, thanks for sharing your expertise with our readers.</strong></p>
<p>Thank you, Mac, for the opportunity.</p>
<p><strong>Readers, what are your thoughts on the subject of B2B marketing for small businesses?</strong></p>
<p>Please add your comments by clicking on the word &ldquo;comments&rdquo; in the line below the Share button.</p>
<p>If you are reading this as an RSS feed, please use this link to add your comments:<br />
<a target="_blank" href="http://www.sales-lead-insights.com/2009/b2b-marketing-strategies-interview-with-dianna-huff/">www.sales-lead-insights.com/2009/b2b-marketing-strategies-interview-with-dianna-huff/</a></p>
<table cellpadding="15" cellspacing="0" border="1" bordercolor="#cccccc" bgcolor="#eeeeee">
<tr>
<td><a href="http://sales-lead-insights.com"><img src="http://www.sales-lead-insights.com/site/wp-content/themes/sales-lead-insights-4/images/logo-130.jpg" alt="Sales Lead Insights Logo" /></a></td>
<td>If you'd like to learn more, please use my <a href="http://www.sales-lead-insights.com/contact" target="_BLANK">Contact Form</a>, call me directly at 1-800-944-5553 or +1-401-294-7730, or check out the <a href="http://www.sales-lead-experts.com/consulting/" target="_BLANK">marketing consulting</a> or <a href="http://www.sales-lead-experts.com/speaking/" target="_BLANK">speaking and training</a> pages on my website.
	</td>
</tr>
</table>
]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://www.sales-lead-insights.com/2009/b2b-marketing-strategies-interview-with-dianna-huff/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>4</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Business Software Marketers: Finally a Conference Designed Just For You!</title>
		<link>http://www.sales-lead-insights.com/2009/software-marketing-conference/</link>
		<comments>http://www.sales-lead-insights.com/2009/software-marketing-conference/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 21 Aug 2009 12:33:33 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Mac McIntosh</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[B2B marketing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Online marketing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Sales lead generation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Social Media]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.sales-lead-insights.com/?p=1016</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Make the absolute most out of your marketing efforts across the board. That's the goal of this first-ever business software marketing conference.

You'll learn cutting-edge strategies for improving everything from your online marketing to your lead generation efforts from top industry experts.<p><table cellpadding="15" cellspacing="0" border="1" bordercolor="#cccccc" bgcolor="#eeeeee">
<tr><td><a href="http://sales-lead-insights.com"><img src="http://www.sales-lead-insights.com/site/wp-content/themes/sales-lead-insights-4/images/logo-130.jpg" alt="Sales Lead Insights Logo" /></a></td>
	<td>If you'd like to learn more, please use my <a href="http://www.sales-lead-insights.com/contact" target="_BLANK">Contact Form</a>, call me directly at 1-800-944-5553 or +1-401-294-7730, or check out the <a href="http://www.sales-lead-experts.com/consulting/" target="_BLANK">marketing consulting</a> or <a href="http://www.sales-lead-experts.com/speaking/" target="_BLANK">speaking and training</a> pages on my website.
	</td>
</tr>
</table></p>
]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<h3>Join me and your business software marketing peers at this conference just for software marketing leaders.</h3>
<h5><a title="business software marketing conference" rel="lightbox[slideshow]" href="http://www.sales-lead-insights.com/images/2009/08/business-software-marketing-conference.jpg"><img height="231" alt="business software marketing conference" width="200" align="right" src="http://www.sales-lead-insights.com/images/2009/08/200/business-software-marketing-conference.jpg" /></a></h5>
<p><strong>Capterra: The Conference<br />
</strong>Empowering Software Marketing Leaders</p>
<p><a target="_blank" href="http://guest.cvent.com/EVENTS/Info/Summary.aspx?e=6886ecc0-0780-4502-81a9-7a5d0349fffb">September 13-15 in Washington DC</a></p>
<p><strong>Make the absolute most out of your marketing efforts across the board.</strong> That&#8217;s the goal of this first-ever business software marketing conference.</p>
<p><strong>You&#8217;ll learn cutting-edge strategies for improving everything from your online marketing to your lead generation efforts</strong> from top industry experts (including yours truly).</p>
<p>Confirmed speakers include Ramon Ray, Bryan Eisenberg, Wil Reynolds,&nbsp;Robert Wright, David Meerman Scott, Ruth Stevens, Ashish Vij, Stephanie Miller, and Gord Hotchkiss. <a target="_blank" href="http://guest.cvent.com/EVENTS/Info/Custom.aspx?cid=17&amp;e=6886ecc0-0780-4502-81a9-7a5d0349fffb">Learn more about them here.</a></p>
<p><strong>Each presentation will be tailored specifically for the business software industry</strong>, and will deliver highly practical ideas designed for immediate results. <a target="_blank" href="http://guest.cvent.com/EVENTS/Info/Agenda.aspx?e=6886ecc0-0780-4502-81a9-7a5d0349fffb">Topics</a> will include:</p>
<ul>
<li>Always Be Testing: Marketing Optimization in Challenging Times</li>
<li>SEO Tools You Can Use Today To Improve Your Rankings</li>
<li>Winning Positioning Strategies For Software Category Leadership</li>
<li>Visitors Come and Visitors Go: Why Aren&#8217;t They Becoming Customers?</li>
<li>How To Motivate Action Online</li>
<li>Using The New Rules of Marketing and PR to Reach Software Buyers Directly</li>
<li>The latest tools and features in Google Analytics to help optimize your website lead pipeline</li>
<li>Successfully Measuring Email Marketing Success</li>
<li>The BuyerSphere &mdash; A Different Perspective on B2B Buying</li>
</ul>
<p>The <a target="_blank" href="http://guest.cvent.com/EVENTS/Info/Agenda.aspx?e=6886ecc0-0780-4502-81a9-7a5d0349fffb">agenda</a> shows my session, <strong><em>A Lead-Driven Approach to Increasing Business Software Sales,</em></strong> is scheduled for Monday, September 14th at 10:00 am.</p>
<p>My presentation will address proven ways to use sales leads to find more short-term sales opportunities that your sales team and channel partners can close before the end of the year.</p>
<p>I&#8217;ll also be facilitating a breakout session on Monday afternoon entitled, <strong><em>Lead Generation: A Group Idea Exchange</em></strong>. It will be&nbsp;your opportunity to swap ideas about lead generation with some of the best in the business: your business software marketing peers. This idea exchange will be an open forum where you&#8217;ll have a chance to share both your successes, and your challenges, with generating, nurturing and qualifying sales leads.</p>
<p><strong>Will I see you at Capterra: The Conference?</strong></p>
<p>If you are planning to attend, please be sure to take advantage of my special presenter&#8217;s discount code <strong>capcon09mm</strong> when registering. It will save you $100!</p>
<p><a target="_blank" href="http:// https://guest.cvent.com/EVENTS/Register/IdentityConfirmation.aspx?e=6886ecc0-0780-4502-81a9-7a5d0349fffb"><strong>Learn more&nbsp;and&nbsp;register here.</strong></a></p>
<table cellpadding="15" cellspacing="0" border="1" bordercolor="#cccccc" bgcolor="#eeeeee">
<tr>
<td><a href="http://sales-lead-insights.com"><img src="http://www.sales-lead-insights.com/site/wp-content/themes/sales-lead-insights-4/images/logo-130.jpg" alt="Sales Lead Insights Logo" /></a></td>
<td>If you'd like to learn more, please use my <a href="http://www.sales-lead-insights.com/contact" target="_BLANK">Contact Form</a>, call me directly at 1-800-944-5553 or +1-401-294-7730, or check out the <a href="http://www.sales-lead-experts.com/consulting/" target="_BLANK">marketing consulting</a> or <a href="http://www.sales-lead-experts.com/speaking/" target="_BLANK">speaking and training</a> pages on my website.
	</td>
</tr>
</table>
]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://www.sales-lead-insights.com/2009/software-marketing-conference/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Email Problems and Recommendations</title>
		<link>http://www.sales-lead-insights.com/2008/email-problems/</link>
		<comments>http://www.sales-lead-insights.com/2008/email-problems/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 20 May 2008 15:30:42 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Mac McIntosh</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Online marketing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[email marketing]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.sales-lead-insights.com/?p=129</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[There are things you can do to minimize the chance that your emails will be filtered out. However, now is also the time to reconsider other direct marketing media, such as postal direct mail, as additional tactics for generating and nurturing prospective customers until you can determine that they are sales-ready.<p><table cellpadding="15" cellspacing="0" border="1" bordercolor="#cccccc" bgcolor="#eeeeee">
<tr><td><a href="http://sales-lead-insights.com"><img src="http://www.sales-lead-insights.com/site/wp-content/themes/sales-lead-insights-4/images/logo-130.jpg" alt="Sales Lead Insights Logo" /></a></td>
	<td>If you'd like to learn more, please use my <a href="http://www.sales-lead-insights.com/contact" target="_BLANK">Contact Form</a>, call me directly at 1-800-944-5553 or +1-401-294-7730, or check out the <a href="http://www.sales-lead-experts.com/consulting/" target="_BLANK">marketing consulting</a> or <a href="http://www.sales-lead-experts.com/speaking/" target="_BLANK">speaking and training</a> pages on my website.
	</td>
</tr>
</table></p>
]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<h3>It is getting harder and harder for B-to-B marketers to get email delivered and read. Here&#8217;s what to do about it. </h3>
<p><a href="http://www.btobonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/section?category=blog-roundup" target="_blank"><img src='http://www.sales-lead-insights.com/i/art-b2bblogpost-20080520.gif' alt='B2B Magazine Blog Post of the Week' style="float:right; display:inline; padding:0 0 1em 1em;" class="img-content" /></a><a href="http://www.sales-lead-insights.com/2008/email-problems/" target="_blank"><img src="http://www.sales-lead-insights.com/i/art-mail.jpg" alt="Email Problems" style="float:right; display:inline; clear:right;" /></a>I&#8217;ve been saying for a while now that email works best as a <a href="http://www.sales-lead-insights.com/2008/email-problems/" class="x">one-to-one marketing</a> tactic for communicating with people you already have a pre-existing business relationship with, but email shouldn&#8217;t be the primary media format for lead generation.  Here&#8217;s why:</p>
<ol>
<li>Unsolicited commercial email, although legal in the U.S. if you comply with the CAN-SPAM Act, is perceived by many to be spam. (<a href="http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/conline/pubs/buspubs/canspam.shtm" target="_blank">Read the law here</a>)</li>
<li>As a result, much of this unsolicited commercial email is blocked by filters at the ISP, corporate gateway or desktop.</li>
<li>Companies perceived as being spammers often find all their emails being blocked as a result.</li>
</ol>
<p>Despite the resulting false &#8220;opens&#8221; as email is being filtered, much (perhaps most) unsolicited commercial email is never read by the intended recipients. </p>
<p>Yet tons of real spam is getting through, clogging up the email inboxes of business people and causing millions of hours of lost productivity as people wade through the junk looking for important emails. This causes more and more businesses to filter their incoming email.  It also causes the filtering software companies to be less forgiving about letting unsolicited commercial emails get through. </p>
<p><span id="more-129"></span></p>
<h3>More bad news for B-to-B marketers who rely on email.</h3>
<p>&#8220;Nearly 18 percent of invited email lands in junk/bulk folders,&#8221; says <a href="http://www.lyris.com/" target="_blank">Lyris</a> in its just-released report on <a href="http://www.lyris.com/media/pdf/reports/ISP_Deliverability_Q4-2007.pdf" target="_blank">email deliverability</a>.  This &#8220;invited email&#8221; is the email people requested by opting in. </p>
<p>Even the companies that sell software for tracking clicks by email recipients on links and Web pages are now having difficulty getting their own email delivered.  For example, emails from one of the leading companies in that category, <a href="http://www.eloqua.com/" target="_blank">Eloqua</a>, regularly get filtered out by email filtering at the ISP my company uses.  Then, even if I tell the ISP to let it through, it gets caught again in the Outlook junk filter on my laptop! </p>
<p>So if you are one of those B-to-B marketers who are dependent on email as their primary communication tactic, you may soon find your leads and sales results heading in the wrong direction.</p>
<h3>So what are your options?</h3>
<p>There are things you can do to minimize the chance that your emails will be filtered out.  Please see my earlier post, <a href="http://www.sales-lead-insights.com/2008/email-marketing-tips/" target="_blank">Optimizing Email Marketing Campaigns</a>. </p>
<p>However, now is also the time to reconsider other direct marketing media, such as postal direct mail, as additional tactics for generating and nurturing prospective customers until you can determine that they are sales-ready.</p>
<h3>CAN SPAM update:  New clarifications from the FTC</h3>
<p>On May 19, 2008, the Federal Trade Commission issued a press release with clarifications to the CAN-SPAM Act. For more information, <a href="http://www.ftc.gov/opa/2008/05/canspam.shtm" target="_blank">read the press release here</a>.</p>
<p>One item to note: A user only needs to give his or her email address and opt-out preferences to be removed from the list.  I am not a lawyer, but it appears to me that if you are requiring more information from your unsubscribers, or if he or she must do more than send a reply email or visit a single Web page to unsubscribe, you&#8217;ll want to update your process to be in compliance.</p>
<table cellpadding="15" cellspacing="0" border="1" bordercolor="#cccccc" bgcolor="#eeeeee">
<tr>
<td><a href="http://sales-lead-insights.com"><img src="http://www.sales-lead-insights.com/site/wp-content/themes/sales-lead-insights-4/images/logo-130.jpg" alt="Sales Lead Insights Logo" /></a></td>
<td>If you'd like to learn more, please use my <a href="http://www.sales-lead-insights.com/contact" target="_BLANK">Contact Form</a>, call me directly at 1-800-944-5553 or +1-401-294-7730, or check out the <a href="http://www.sales-lead-experts.com/consulting/" target="_BLANK">marketing consulting</a> or <a href="http://www.sales-lead-experts.com/speaking/" target="_BLANK">speaking and training</a> pages on my website.
	</td>
</tr>
</table>
]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://www.sales-lead-insights.com/2008/email-problems/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>April Fooled? Tips to Beat Content Thieves</title>
		<link>http://www.sales-lead-insights.com/2008/protect-content/</link>
		<comments>http://www.sales-lead-insights.com/2008/protect-content/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 01 Apr 2008 05:01:54 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Mac McIntosh</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Online marketing]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.sales-lead-insights.com/2008/protect-content/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[You spend time and energy crafting the right marketing messages and content to connect with prospects and clients. Then you find it littered throughout the Internet on trashy websites&#8211;or worse, on a competitor&#8217;s.
Time to wage war on the offenders? I found a useful blog post listing &#8220;100 Tips to Defeat Content Thieves&#8220;. Some highlights:

Set up [...]<p><table cellpadding="15" cellspacing="0" border="1" bordercolor="#cccccc" bgcolor="#eeeeee">
<tr><td><a href="http://sales-lead-insights.com"><img src="http://www.sales-lead-insights.com/site/wp-content/themes/sales-lead-insights-4/images/logo-130.jpg" alt="Sales Lead Insights Logo" /></a></td>
	<td>If you'd like to learn more, please use my <a href="http://www.sales-lead-insights.com/contact" target="_BLANK">Contact Form</a>, call me directly at 1-800-944-5553 or +1-401-294-7730, or check out the <a href="http://www.sales-lead-experts.com/consulting/" target="_BLANK">marketing consulting</a> or <a href="http://www.sales-lead-experts.com/speaking/" target="_BLANK">speaking and training</a> pages on my website.
	</td>
</tr>
</table></p>
]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="http://www.sales-lead-insights.com/2008/protect-content/" target="_blank"><img src='http://www.sales-lead-insights.com/files/art-thief.jpg' alt='Find out who is stealing your content for B2B marketing and sales' style="margin:0 1em 1em 0em;float:left;display:inline;" class="img-content" /></a>You spend time and energy crafting the right marketing messages and content to connect with prospects and clients. Then you find it littered throughout the Internet on trashy websites&#8211;or worse, on a competitor&#8217;s.</p>
<p>Time to wage war on the offenders? I found a useful blog post listing &#8220;<a href="http://www.virtualhosting.com/blog/2008/take-it-back-100-tips-to-defeat-content-thieves/">100 Tips to Defeat Content Thieves</a>&#8220;. Some highlights:</p>
<ul>
<li>Set up Google Alerts for key phrases in your content &#8212; You&#8217;ll get regular emails with search results showing who else has your content on their site</li>
<li>Add a message in your feeds asking people to email you if they are reading your content on someone else&#8217;s website.</li>
<li>Put a spy image, a small image link, in the HTML, and watch your log files to see where it is being called from.</li>
<li><a href="http://www.copyscape.com">CopyScape</a> helps you find other sites with your content.</li>
</ul>
<p>There&#8217;s lots more as well, including whether you have the rights to go for them and resources about how to go about it.</p>
<table cellpadding="15" cellspacing="0" border="1" bordercolor="#cccccc" bgcolor="#eeeeee">
<tr>
<td><a href="http://sales-lead-insights.com"><img src="http://www.sales-lead-insights.com/site/wp-content/themes/sales-lead-insights-4/images/logo-130.jpg" alt="Sales Lead Insights Logo" /></a></td>
<td>If you'd like to learn more, please use my <a href="http://www.sales-lead-insights.com/contact" target="_BLANK">Contact Form</a>, call me directly at 1-800-944-5553 or +1-401-294-7730, or check out the <a href="http://www.sales-lead-experts.com/consulting/" target="_BLANK">marketing consulting</a> or <a href="http://www.sales-lead-experts.com/speaking/" target="_BLANK">speaking and training</a> pages on my website.
	</td>
</tr>
</table>
]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://www.sales-lead-insights.com/2008/protect-content/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Should blogging be on your to-do list?</title>
		<link>http://www.sales-lead-insights.com/2008/blogging/</link>
		<comments>http://www.sales-lead-insights.com/2008/blogging/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 31 Jan 2008 10:30:42 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Mac McIntosh</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Online marketing]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.sales-lead-insights.com/2008/blogging/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[You&#8217;ve been hearing a lot about blogging for the past few years and you&#8217;ve reluctantly concluded that maybe it&#8217;s time to join the parade. Company blogs have a place in the B2B marketing arsenal, but only under the right circumstances.
While there are millions of blogs online, consider that the Pew Internet &#38; American Life Project [...]<p><table cellpadding="15" cellspacing="0" border="1" bordercolor="#cccccc" bgcolor="#eeeeee">
<tr><td><a href="http://sales-lead-insights.com"><img src="http://www.sales-lead-insights.com/site/wp-content/themes/sales-lead-insights-4/images/logo-130.jpg" alt="Sales Lead Insights Logo" /></a></td>
	<td>If you'd like to learn more, please use my <a href="http://www.sales-lead-insights.com/contact" target="_BLANK">Contact Form</a>, call me directly at 1-800-944-5553 or +1-401-294-7730, or check out the <a href="http://www.sales-lead-experts.com/consulting/" target="_BLANK">marketing consulting</a> or <a href="http://www.sales-lead-experts.com/speaking/" target="_BLANK">speaking and training</a> pages on my website.
	</td>
</tr>
</table></p>
]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>You&#8217;ve been hearing a lot about blogging for the past few years and you&#8217;ve reluctantly concluded that maybe it&#8217;s time to join the parade. Company blogs have a place in the B2B marketing arsenal, but only under the right circumstances.</p>
<p>While there are millions of blogs online, consider that the Pew Internet &amp; American Life Project reports that only 39 percent of Internet users read them. Is your target audience among them?</p>
<h3>Marketing Benefits</h3>
<p>Blogs are usually more effective for enhancing brand image and awareness than they are for driving leads and sales.</p>
<p>Blogs establish expertise by giving the company a venue for sharing what they know about subjects related to the products and services they provide.</p>
<p>Some of the most effective business blogs are written by management personnel for business decision makers&#8211;it&#8217;s not just for the techies anymore. Regardless of their editorial focus, the best-read corporate blogs avoid hype and self-congratulatory content. Instead, they focus on content useful to readers.</p>
<p>To create awareness about your company, products and services, keep in mind that blogs tend to be favored in the Web&#8217;s Search Engine Results Pages (SERPs). That can go a long way toward helping your company be found by prospects who are actively searching for what you sell.</p>
<p>Your blog can also have a big impact on a potential customer moving through the awareness/inquiry/consideration/purchase cycle. When you find areas of confusion about the marketplace or can answer common questions prospects have, you are supplying the information needed to move to a purchase decision&#8211;anticipating the needs of those who haven&#8217;t contacted you directly.</p>
<h3>Required Commitment and Resources</h3>
<p>To gain and maintain readers, you need to keep your blog fresh. So you&#8217;ll need someone who has the expertise, writing skills and time to frequently post new blog content. How frequently? According to a research study by public relations firm Porter Novelli and market analytics company Cymfony Inc., only 24 percent of bloggers post once a week or less (I belong to this camp). Some 39 percent of bloggers post several times a week and 37 percent post daily or multiple times a day.</p>
<h3>Are you ready for a conversation?</h3>
<p>Blogs are inherently a two-way medium. Get ready for bluntly honest responses from delighted real customers as well as disgruntled naysayers. Yes, you can choose to disallow comments completely, but that removes the authenticity that you can build with a blog versus other ways of keeping in touch. </p>
<p>You can screen comments, which I recommend. But don&#8217;t immediately trash the comments that raise valid concerns and issues. These tough topics are key to showing that your company can handle doubts and respond to them, as well as listen to problems and resolve them. Skeptical prospects will watch and learn that you are listening, making you stand out from the crowd.</p>
<p>I recommend that you plan to post new content to your blog weekly to start. You can always turn up the frequency later, once you&#8217;re sure you have the ability to keep up the pace.</p>
<p>You also need a place to host your blog. (If you&#8217;re looking for links from the blog to your Web site to boost your Web site&#8217;s search engine results, host it on a different server than where your Web site is hosted.) Consider using Microsoft Live Spaces (http://spaces.live.com) or search using a phrase like &#8220;blog hosting&#8221; on your favorite search engine to find additional and inexpensive options.</p>
<h3>To Blog or Not to Blog?</h3>
<p>I recommend that you consider blogging if you need a venue to demonstrate your expertise (branding) or are looking for additional ways to move up in the SERPs (for traffic). However, you should launch a blog only if you, someone on your staff, or an outsourcer can post regularly.</p>
<p>If you&#8217;re tasked with driving leads and sales, hand it off to someone else or put it on the back burner. There are plenty of marketing tactics that will have a more direct impact on the bottom line.</p>
<table cellpadding="15" cellspacing="0" border="1" bordercolor="#cccccc" bgcolor="#eeeeee">
<tr>
<td><a href="http://sales-lead-insights.com"><img src="http://www.sales-lead-insights.com/site/wp-content/themes/sales-lead-insights-4/images/logo-130.jpg" alt="Sales Lead Insights Logo" /></a></td>
<td>If you'd like to learn more, please use my <a href="http://www.sales-lead-insights.com/contact" target="_BLANK">Contact Form</a>, call me directly at 1-800-944-5553 or +1-401-294-7730, or check out the <a href="http://www.sales-lead-experts.com/consulting/" target="_BLANK">marketing consulting</a> or <a href="http://www.sales-lead-experts.com/speaking/" target="_BLANK">speaking and training</a> pages on my website.
	</td>
</tr>
</table>
]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://www.sales-lead-insights.com/2008/blogging/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>2</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Viral videos for marketing: A difficult balance</title>
		<link>http://www.sales-lead-insights.com/2007/viral-video/</link>
		<comments>http://www.sales-lead-insights.com/2007/viral-video/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 14 Dec 2007 05:01:11 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Mac McIntosh</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Online marketing]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.sales-lead-insights.com/2007/viral-video/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Many viral ads are fun, funny or clever, but few do a good job of really selling the product.

While taking a break after teaching a webinar from my home office, I was watching the top five viral videos that were mentioned in an e-newsletter I subscribe to from Marketing Vox.
When my wife, Andrea, came into [...]<p><table cellpadding="15" cellspacing="0" border="1" bordercolor="#cccccc" bgcolor="#eeeeee">
<tr><td><a href="http://sales-lead-insights.com"><img src="http://www.sales-lead-insights.com/site/wp-content/themes/sales-lead-insights-4/images/logo-130.jpg" alt="Sales Lead Insights Logo" /></a></td>
	<td>If you'd like to learn more, please use my <a href="http://www.sales-lead-insights.com/contact" target="_BLANK">Contact Form</a>, call me directly at 1-800-944-5553 or +1-401-294-7730, or check out the <a href="http://www.sales-lead-experts.com/consulting/" target="_BLANK">marketing consulting</a> or <a href="http://www.sales-lead-experts.com/speaking/" target="_BLANK">speaking and training</a> pages on my website.
	</td>
</tr>
</table></p>
]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Many viral ads are fun, funny or clever, but few do a good job of really selling the product.</p>
<p><object width="425" height="355"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/qg1ckCkm8YI&#038;rel=0&#038;color1=0xd6d6d6&#038;color2=0xf0f0f0&#038;border=0"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/qg1ckCkm8YI&#038;rel=0&#038;color1=0xd6d6d6&#038;color2=0xf0f0f0&#038;border=0" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="355"></embed></object></p>
<p>While taking a break after <a href="https://www.eventbuilder.com/event_desc.asp?p_event=6b4a9o4x" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">teaching a webinar</a> from my home office, I was watching the top five viral videos that were mentioned in an e-newsletter I subscribe to from <a href="http://www.marketingvox.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Marketing Vox</a>.</p>
<p>When my wife, Andrea, came into my office to ask how the webinar went. She sat down and watched with me.  </p>
<p>After watching the first one, <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CbLr2NEV_7o" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Gorilla Drummer</a> which was interesting and fun,  Andrea said, &#8220;I don&#8217;t get what this has to do with the product.&#8221; The product, a chocolate bar, was only shown briefly at the end.</p>
<p>We both agreed that the second one, loosely promoting a <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GWzNiUXTh7E" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">alcoholic green tea beverage</a>, was funny, but way too long. </p>
<p>The <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-prfAENSh2k" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">third one</a>, sponsored by a leading manufacturer of sunglasses according to Marketing Vox, was interesting, but also never mentioned the brand, Ray-Ban&trade;, directly. I&#8217;m guessing they thought that we all would recognize the sunglasses in the video as being their brand.  The risk is that the audience of this viral video may be too young to recognized the iconic look of Ray-Bans.</p>
<p>I thought the <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qg1ckCkm8YI" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">fourth one</a> from a blender manufacturer, Blendtec, was the most effective overall.  It not only was provocative, making it a good candidate for going viral, it also clearly demonstrated the product in action and offered up a website to learn (see?) more.  My wife commented that she sure hoped our kids didn&#8217;t see the video, as she didn&#8217;t want them trying it at home. But she also suggested I send it to a friend of ours.</p>
<p>The <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B8eUGtZr4Co" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">fifth video</a>, although clearly not aimed at my demographic (old and married), was clearly effective at selling the implied &#8220;benefit&#8221; of a body spray for young men. I&#8217;m guessing any male teenager with horomones raging would understand the message clearly. Even this old guy got the message, as did his wife.</p>
<p>Although these are the top five viral ad videos, I&#8217;ll bet these last two translated into far more sales than the first three!  </p>
<p>Even though these examples are not business-to-business advertising, I think there are lessons we B2B marketers can learn from them. </p>
<p>The main lesson is that the hard part is making the video interesting, funny or provocative enough to go viral, while selling the product at the same time.  Hats off to Blendtec and Lynx and/or their agencies for doing so.</p>
<p>I also wonder, is anyone tracking results such as a lift in sales as a measure of success? Or are they only bragging about how many views the videos got?</p>
<p id="technorati-tags"><a href="http://technorati.com/tag/b2b+marketing" rel="tag">b2b marketing</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/marketing" rel="tag">marketing</a></p>
<table cellpadding="15" cellspacing="0" border="1" bordercolor="#cccccc" bgcolor="#eeeeee">
<tr>
<td><a href="http://sales-lead-insights.com"><img src="http://www.sales-lead-insights.com/site/wp-content/themes/sales-lead-insights-4/images/logo-130.jpg" alt="Sales Lead Insights Logo" /></a></td>
<td>If you'd like to learn more, please use my <a href="http://www.sales-lead-insights.com/contact" target="_BLANK">Contact Form</a>, call me directly at 1-800-944-5553 or +1-401-294-7730, or check out the <a href="http://www.sales-lead-experts.com/consulting/" target="_BLANK">marketing consulting</a> or <a href="http://www.sales-lead-experts.com/speaking/" target="_BLANK">speaking and training</a> pages on my website.
	</td>
</tr>
</table>
]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://www.sales-lead-insights.com/2007/viral-video/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>5</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>What the B2B Marketer Should Know About Facebook</title>
		<link>http://www.sales-lead-insights.com/2007/facebook/</link>
		<comments>http://www.sales-lead-insights.com/2007/facebook/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 22 Aug 2007 14:49:31 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Mac McIntosh</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Online marketing]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.sales-lead-insights.com/2007/facebook/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Facebook: You either use it or you only have a vague idea what I&#8217;m talking about. But it&#8217;s a growing presence online and B2C marketers are coming up with ways to leverage the social network to grow and audience of customers or potential customers. Is Facebook also for B2B marketing?
Jeremiah Owyang&#8217;s recent article &#8220;What the [...]<p><table cellpadding="15" cellspacing="0" border="1" bordercolor="#cccccc" bgcolor="#eeeeee">
<tr><td><a href="http://sales-lead-insights.com"><img src="http://www.sales-lead-insights.com/site/wp-content/themes/sales-lead-insights-4/images/logo-130.jpg" alt="Sales Lead Insights Logo" /></a></td>
	<td>If you'd like to learn more, please use my <a href="http://www.sales-lead-insights.com/contact" target="_BLANK">Contact Form</a>, call me directly at 1-800-944-5553 or +1-401-294-7730, or check out the <a href="http://www.sales-lead-experts.com/consulting/" target="_BLANK">marketing consulting</a> or <a href="http://www.sales-lead-experts.com/speaking/" target="_BLANK">speaking and training</a> pages on my website.
	</td>
</tr>
</table></p>
]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Facebook: You either use it or you only have a vague idea what I&#8217;m talking about. But it&#8217;s a growing presence online and B2C marketers are coming up with ways to leverage the social network to grow and audience of customers or potential customers. Is Facebook also for B2B marketing?</p>
<p>Jeremiah Owyang&#8217;s recent article &#8220;<a href="http://www.marketingprofs.com/7/facebook-what-web-marketers-should-know-owyang.asp">What the Web Marketer Should Know About Facebook</a>&#8221; provides a useful summary of Facebook and marketing. Here are a couple of takeaways for business-to-business.</p>
<h3>Can you build a community around your product or service?</h3>
<p>If you sell highly-specialized equipment or services, the answer might well be no. But in some cases you can get creative. Maybe you have a system that needs extensive customization. Could your end-users benefit by networking with others who are solving the same problems? You could build a presence for your product or company, develop helpful resources, mix in some thought leaders, gregarious evangelists and loyal customers and see what happens.</p>
<h3>How networked is your sales force or your marketing team?</h3>
<p>For complex sales with an extended consideration and buying process, keeping in touch is important over the long term, and networking offline and online can keep your people top-of-mind with prospects. First seek out those you know in your company to be well-networked, see what tools they&#8217;re using and if it&#8217;s making a difference. Consider implementing a department-wide or company-wide set of services such as Facebook, LinkedIn, or others, and encouraging those inside your company to link with prospects and current customers. It&#8217;s one way to stay in the know about what the market needs and to let them know when you&#8217;ve got a new solution to help their business. One issue you might be faced with is maintaining the quality of communication and a consistent public message, but this is also true of phone conversations, sales visits, emails, etc.</p>
<p>Facebook and web services like it may not be a gold mine for business-to-business marketing, but if you research it and get creative, you can expand your online presence into a new frontier and could gain valuable insight into the marketplace.</p>
<p>Technorati Tags: <a class="performancingtags" href="http://technorati.com/tag/marketing" rel="tag">marketing</a>, <a class="performancingtags" href="http://technorati.com/tag/b2b marketing" rel="tag">b2b marketing</a>, <a class="performancingtags" href="http://technorati.com/tag/online marketing" rel="tag">online marketing</a><br />
<table cellpadding="15" cellspacing="0" border="1" bordercolor="#cccccc" bgcolor="#eeeeee">
<tr>
<td><a href="http://sales-lead-insights.com"><img src="http://www.sales-lead-insights.com/site/wp-content/themes/sales-lead-insights-4/images/logo-130.jpg" alt="Sales Lead Insights Logo" /></a></td>
<td>If you'd like to learn more, please use my <a href="http://www.sales-lead-insights.com/contact" target="_BLANK">Contact Form</a>, call me directly at 1-800-944-5553 or +1-401-294-7730, or check out the <a href="http://www.sales-lead-experts.com/consulting/" target="_BLANK">marketing consulting</a> or <a href="http://www.sales-lead-experts.com/speaking/" target="_BLANK">speaking and training</a> pages on my website.
	</td>
</tr>
</table>
]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://www.sales-lead-insights.com/2007/facebook/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>1</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Some Really Interesting Information About How Tech Buyers Respond To Online Marketing</title>
		<link>http://www.sales-lead-insights.com/2007/tech-marketing/</link>
		<comments>http://www.sales-lead-insights.com/2007/tech-marketing/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 06 Jun 2007 23:41:57 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Mac McIntosh</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Online marketing]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.sales-lead-insights.com/2007/tech-marketing/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[An article by Jack Loechner published on June 5, 2007 in the Center for Media Research&#8217;s Research Brief newsletter, entitled Tech Buyers Go Deep For Information and Bite on White Papers, highlights a new research study from KnowledgeStorm, in conjunction with MarketingSherpa  which surveyed nearly 3,000 B2B marketers and technology and business professionals in [...]<p><table cellpadding="15" cellspacing="0" border="1" bordercolor="#cccccc" bgcolor="#eeeeee">
<tr><td><a href="http://sales-lead-insights.com"><img src="http://www.sales-lead-insights.com/site/wp-content/themes/sales-lead-insights-4/images/logo-130.jpg" alt="Sales Lead Insights Logo" /></a></td>
	<td>If you'd like to learn more, please use my <a href="http://www.sales-lead-insights.com/contact" target="_BLANK">Contact Form</a>, call me directly at 1-800-944-5553 or +1-401-294-7730, or check out the <a href="http://www.sales-lead-experts.com/consulting/" target="_BLANK">marketing consulting</a> or <a href="http://www.sales-lead-experts.com/speaking/" target="_BLANK">speaking and training</a> pages on my website.
	</td>
</tr>
</table></p>
]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="http://www.sales-lead-insights.com/2007/tech-marketing/"><img src="http://www.sales-lead-insights.com/i/art-brainchart.jpg" border="0" alt="Online Marketing Tips" style="float:right; display:inline; margin:10px;"/></a>An article by Jack Loechner published on June 5, 2007 in the Center for Media Research&#8217;s <a href="http://blogs.mediapost.com/research_brief/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">Research Brief</a> newsletter, entitled <a href="http://publications.mediapost.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=Articles.showArticleHomePage&amp;art_aid=61371" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">Tech Buyers Go Deep For Information and Bite on White Papers</a>, highlights a new research study from <a href="http://www.knowledgestorm.com/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">KnowledgeStorm</a>, in conjunction with <a href="http://www.marketingsherpa.com/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">MarketingSherpa</a>  which surveyed nearly 3,000 B2B marketers and technology and business professionals in April 2007,  included CMO, VP or Directors of Marketing, Marketing or Product Managers, IT professionals, Strategic Planners, and Buyers.</p>
<p>I found some of the findings to be very interesting.  For example:</p>
<ul>
<li>Sixty-six percent of marketers said they have a strategy for achieving a high organic (natural) placement for their content on major search engines. Yet, only fifty-six percent thought that their content was consistently indexed and usually accessible within the major search engines.
</p>
<p>That means that the webpages of more than a third of the technology marketers are NOT being found in the search engine results pages!  That is a huge problem for those marketers.</p>
</li>
<li>Eighty percent of technology buyers say that offline marketing materials such as magazine advertisements or direct mail &#8220;sometimes&#8221; or &#8220;frequently&#8221; create sufficient interest for them to seek more information online.
<p>I think that eight out of ten is pretty significant. This reinforces the need for both online and traditional marketing communications tactics.</p>
</li>
<li>More than 50% of technology buyers say they give a valid name, email address, industry, job title and company name when they register for technology content online. And less than 40% provide accurate phone numbers.
</p>
<p>That means that nearly half DON&#8217;T give valid contact information and the majority DON&#8217;T want to be called by phone. Why? I think it is because they would rather be in control of their consideration and buying process but are often forced to &#8220;register&#8221; to get the information they want.</p>
<p>So you have to find other ways to continue to reach out and touch these prospects as they move through their consideration process.</p>
<p>Also, if your information helps sell your company, products or services, don&#8217;t you want to get it into your prospective customers&#8217; hands?   My approach is to let my prospects download the information they want without having to register first, then ask them if they want to sign up for some addition information that may be useful to them, such as a newsletter on the same topics or updates on future events.</p>
</li>
<li>Nearly 80% of technology buyers will register for a white paper, which is also the top content type marketers deem as worth requiring registration. By contrast, only 38% of buyers will register for a demo and 31% for a Webcast.
<p>Requesting and reading a whitepaper takes less of a commitment than attending a Webcast or sitting through a demo, which may be more appropriate for the middle and later stages of your prospects&#8217; buying process.</p>
<p>I recommend that B2B marketers, including tech marketers, who are looking to generate sales leads, include multiple offers or calls-to-action in all their marketing communications; each designed to appeal to prospective customers at different stages of their buying cycle.  By offering three choices, you&#8217;ve effectively tripled the chance that one of your offers is appropriate to the reader or visitor and will generate a response.</li>
<li>When technology buyers are asked to register for content 74% want to see at least a one-paragraph overview. However, only 48% of marketers provide this desired level of detail.
</p>
<p>Wow.This is a huge disconnect. How can your prospects determine if they want it, if you don&#8217;t tell them what it is and why they would want it?</p>
</li>
</ul>
<p>Request your free copy of the report <a href="http://www.knowledgestorm.com/search/viewabstract/77699?pos=1&amp;referer=SEARCH_RESULTS&amp;trkpg=search_results_abstract" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">here</a>. Unfortunately, you&#8217;ll have to register first.</p>
<table cellpadding="15" cellspacing="0" border="1" bordercolor="#cccccc" bgcolor="#eeeeee">
<tr>
<td><a href="http://sales-lead-insights.com"><img src="http://www.sales-lead-insights.com/site/wp-content/themes/sales-lead-insights-4/images/logo-130.jpg" alt="Sales Lead Insights Logo" /></a></td>
<td>If you'd like to learn more, please use my <a href="http://www.sales-lead-insights.com/contact" target="_BLANK">Contact Form</a>, call me directly at 1-800-944-5553 or +1-401-294-7730, or check out the <a href="http://www.sales-lead-experts.com/consulting/" target="_BLANK">marketing consulting</a> or <a href="http://www.sales-lead-experts.com/speaking/" target="_BLANK">speaking and training</a> pages on my website.
	</td>
</tr>
</table>
]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://www.sales-lead-insights.com/2007/tech-marketing/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Up-to-date Research Results on B2B Search (Finally!)</title>
		<link>http://www.sales-lead-insights.com/2007/b2b-search/</link>
		<comments>http://www.sales-lead-insights.com/2007/b2b-search/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 23 May 2007 15:05:59 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Mac McIntosh</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Online marketing]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.sales-lead-insights.com/2007/b2b-search/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[The results of a new study of business-to-business search and its role in purchase decisions were just released by Enquiro Search Solutions. This is an update of Enquiro&#8217;s 2004 study of B2B search. Here are some key findings: 

Vendor websites, along with word of mouth from a colleague or peer, are the top influencers in [...]<p><table cellpadding="15" cellspacing="0" border="1" bordercolor="#cccccc" bgcolor="#eeeeee">
<tr><td><a href="http://sales-lead-insights.com"><img src="http://www.sales-lead-insights.com/site/wp-content/themes/sales-lead-insights-4/images/logo-130.jpg" alt="Sales Lead Insights Logo" /></a></td>
	<td>If you'd like to learn more, please use my <a href="http://www.sales-lead-insights.com/contact" target="_BLANK">Contact Form</a>, call me directly at 1-800-944-5553 or +1-401-294-7730, or check out the <a href="http://www.sales-lead-experts.com/consulting/" target="_BLANK">marketing consulting</a> or <a href="http://www.sales-lead-experts.com/speaking/" target="_BLANK">speaking and training</a> pages on my website.
	</td>
</tr>
</table></p>
]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>The results of a <a href="http://www.enquiro.com/Downloads/b2b-research-2007.aspx" target="_blank">new study of business-to-business search</a> and its role in purchase decisions were just released by <a href="http://www.enquiro.com/" target="_blank">Enquiro Search Solutions</a>. This is an update of Enquiro&#8217;s 2004 study of B2B search. Here are some key findings: </p>
<ul>
<li>Vendor websites, along with word of mouth from a colleague or peer, are the top influencers in B2B buying decisions.</li>
<li>General search engines follow closely behind, with Google being the first choice for 77.7% of business-to-business searchers.</li>
<li>Of the B2B searchers surveyed, 74.4% clicked on an organic link, and the top four organic listings captured 52.6% of all clicks.</li>
<li>Only 18.7% chose to click on a sponsored link.</li>
<li>While12.2% clicked on the ads at the top of the search engine results rages (SERPs), only 6.5% clicked on those down the right side of the SERPs.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Some background</h3>
<p>Back in the fall of 2004, Enquiro teamed up with <a href="http://www.marketingsherpa.com/" target="_blank">MarketingSherpa</a> to conduct what I believe was the first real research study of B2B search behavior. I can&#8217;t tell you how happy I was at the time to finally have some real data!</p>
<p>I&#8217;d been making recommendations to my marketing consulting clients and seminar attendees about the importance of being found at the top of the SERPs by prospective customers searching for companies, products or services.  I was making these recommendations based on having witnessed the success of other B2B marketers in using search engine marketing (SEM) tactics to drive leads and sales. However, because my clients wanted to keep their results confidential, I wasn&#8217;t able to share the hard data (other than results from my own SEM efforts) that supported my recommendations.</p>
<p>Suddenly, with the release of the 2004 study, I had proof of my claims about how B2B searchers were actually behaving—and proof of the importance of organic or natural search engine optimization (SEO) in driving leads and sales. I must have referenced findings from the 2004 B2B search study a thousand times when consulting with clients and in my seminars and articles when discussing SEM and SEO. </p>
<p>Then, a year later, when the 2004 study data was starting to feel like old news (doesn&#8217;t a year sometimes feel like eons when it comes to the Internet?), I ran into <a href="http://www.enquiro.com/hr/team.asp" target="_blank">Gord Hotchkiss</a>, president and CEO of Enquiro, when we were both speaking at MarketingSherpa&#8217;s B-to-B Lead Generation Summit (later renamed <a href="http://www.sherpastore.com/B-to-BDemandGenerationSummit2006-copy.html" target="_blank">MarketingSherpa&#8217;s B-to-B Demand Generation Summit</a>) in San Francisco. I remember begging Gord at the time, &#8220;PLEASE repeat the B2B search research study!&#8221; I told him how important I thought the research was, and how I believed it would help position his company as a leader in search marketing. Now, two years later, my wish has come true!</p>
<h3>Some of my thoughts about the new B2B search study results</h3>
<p>Surprisingly, the current results are not that different from the original 2004 study results. For example, Google is still leading the search engine pack and B2B searchers are still much more likely to click on organic links on the SERPs.</p>
<p>However, the new study sliced the data according to the four stages of a prospect&#8217;s buying process: awareness, research, negotiation and purchase. It clearly shows the role that search plays in each of these stages in the B2B buying process.</p>
<p>The new study also sliced the data according to the respondent&#8217;s role in the purchase decision. These were identified as Economic Buyer, User Buyer, Technical Buyer and Coach Buyer. Enquiro plans to report further on these cuts of the data in a series of three white papers to be released later.</p>
<h3>My initial conclusions and recommendations</h3>
<p>Organic SEO continues to be a marketing best practice. And Google is still the search engine on which to concentrate your SEO efforts. </p>
<p>But if your website fails from the perspective of your human visitors, SEM won&#8217;t do you any good either. (Please help yourself to my <a href="http://www.sales-lead-experts.com/tips/tools/website-checklists.cfm" target="_blank">Website design checklists for B2B marketers</a>. It addresses optimizing your website for both the search engines and your human visitors.) </p>
<p>And while the report clearly shows that search marketing plays a very big role in the B2B buying process, it also confirms that more traditional off-line marketing communications continue to have a significant impact on buyers as well. So be sure to keep some of your marketing eggs in those off-line baskets too.</p>
<p>Get your copy of this new <a href="http://www.enquiro.com/Downloads/B2B-research.aspx" target="_blank">B2B search study</a>, compliments of Enquiro and its research sponsors, <a href="http://www.zoominfo.com/" target="_blank">Zoom Information</a>, <a href="http://www.marketingsherpa.com/" target="_blank">MarketingSherpa</a> and <a href="http://www.surveysampling.com/" target="_blank">Survey Sampling International</a>. </p>
<p>Then subscribe to <a href="http://ui.constantcontact.com/d.jsp?m=1101540473142&#038;p=oi" target="_blank">Enquiro&#8217;s newsletter</a> so you&#8217;ll hear about the study&#8217;s additional white papers when they become available.</p>
<table cellpadding="15" cellspacing="0" border="1" bordercolor="#cccccc" bgcolor="#eeeeee">
<tr>
<td><a href="http://sales-lead-insights.com"><img src="http://www.sales-lead-insights.com/site/wp-content/themes/sales-lead-insights-4/images/logo-130.jpg" alt="Sales Lead Insights Logo" /></a></td>
<td>If you'd like to learn more, please use my <a href="http://www.sales-lead-insights.com/contact" target="_BLANK">Contact Form</a>, call me directly at 1-800-944-5553 or +1-401-294-7730, or check out the <a href="http://www.sales-lead-experts.com/consulting/" target="_BLANK">marketing consulting</a> or <a href="http://www.sales-lead-experts.com/speaking/" target="_BLANK">speaking and training</a> pages on my website.
	</td>
</tr>
</table>
]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://www.sales-lead-insights.com/2007/b2b-search/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>1</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>B2b Online Marketing Tip: Does Your Website Make it Immediately Clear What Your Company Does and Who it Serves?</title>
		<link>http://www.sales-lead-insights.com/2006/clear-messaging/</link>
		<comments>http://www.sales-lead-insights.com/2006/clear-messaging/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 03 Nov 2006 21:58:48 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Mac McIntosh</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Online marketing]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.sales-lead-insights.com/2006/clear-messaging/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Take a fresh look at your company&#8217;s website. Does your Web site make it immediately clear what your company does and who it serves?
Does it clearly spell out:
* The products or services your company sells?
* The most common applications for your products or services?
* The types of businesses or institutions you serve? business? education? government?
* [...]<p><table cellpadding="15" cellspacing="0" border="1" bordercolor="#cccccc" bgcolor="#eeeeee">
<tr><td><a href="http://sales-lead-insights.com"><img src="http://www.sales-lead-insights.com/site/wp-content/themes/sales-lead-insights-4/images/logo-130.jpg" alt="Sales Lead Insights Logo" /></a></td>
	<td>If you'd like to learn more, please use my <a href="http://www.sales-lead-insights.com/contact" target="_BLANK">Contact Form</a>, call me directly at 1-800-944-5553 or +1-401-294-7730, or check out the <a href="http://www.sales-lead-experts.com/consulting/" target="_BLANK">marketing consulting</a> or <a href="http://www.sales-lead-experts.com/speaking/" target="_BLANK">speaking and training</a> pages on my website.
	</td>
</tr>
</table></p>
]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="http://www.sales-lead-insights.com/2006/clear-messaging/"><img src="http://www.sales-lead-insights.com/i/art-www.jpg" alt="B2B online marketing" style="float:right; display:inline;"/></a>Take a fresh look at your company&#8217;s website. Does your Web site make it immediately clear what your company does and who it serves?</p>
<p>Does it clearly spell out:</p>
<p>* The products or services your company sells?<br />
* The most common applications for your products or services?<br />
* The types of businesses or institutions you serve? business? education? government?<br />
* The size of organizations your company serves? large? medium? small?<br />
* The geographies you serve? local areas? states? countries? regions of the world?</p>
<p>And don&#8217;t fall into this trap: No matter how hard you try, you can&#8217;t have the perspective of an outsider. Come up with a few objectives for your ideal website visitor, have some real outsiders try to accomplish them, and listen to what they are going through. It can be quite revealing and the insight can be helpful to getting the results you want.</p>
<p><a title="Buy Don't Make Me Think" href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0321344758/macmcintoshin-20">Don&#8217;t Make Me Think: A Common Sense Approach to Web Usability</a> by Steve Krug provides a useful, real-world approach to getting those outside opinions&#8211;and turning it into action items.
<p id="technorati-tags"><a href="http://technorati.com/tag/B2B+marketing" rel="tag">B2B marketing</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/online+marketing" rel="tag"> online marketing</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/sales+leads" rel="tag"> sales leads</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/lead+generation" rel="tag"> lead generation</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/leadgeneration" rel="tag"> leadgeneration</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/sales+lead+generation" rel="tag"> sales lead generation</a></p>
<table cellpadding="15" cellspacing="0" border="1" bordercolor="#cccccc" bgcolor="#eeeeee">
<tr>
<td><a href="http://sales-lead-insights.com"><img src="http://www.sales-lead-insights.com/site/wp-content/themes/sales-lead-insights-4/images/logo-130.jpg" alt="Sales Lead Insights Logo" /></a></td>
<td>If you'd like to learn more, please use my <a href="http://www.sales-lead-insights.com/contact" target="_BLANK">Contact Form</a>, call me directly at 1-800-944-5553 or +1-401-294-7730, or check out the <a href="http://www.sales-lead-experts.com/consulting/" target="_BLANK">marketing consulting</a> or <a href="http://www.sales-lead-experts.com/speaking/" target="_BLANK">speaking and training</a> pages on my website.
	</td>
</tr>
</table>
]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://www.sales-lead-insights.com/2006/clear-messaging/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>1</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Online marketing</title>
		<link>http://www.sales-lead-insights.com/2006/online-marketing/</link>
		<comments>http://www.sales-lead-insights.com/2006/online-marketing/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 15 Feb 2006 10:48:11 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Mac McIntosh</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[B2B marketing tools]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Online marketing]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.sales-lead-insights.com/?p=26</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Use this checklist to see if your Web site converts visitors to sales.<p><table cellpadding="15" cellspacing="0" border="1" bordercolor="#cccccc" bgcolor="#eeeeee">
<tr><td><a href="http://sales-lead-insights.com"><img src="http://www.sales-lead-insights.com/site/wp-content/themes/sales-lead-insights-4/images/logo-130.jpg" alt="Sales Lead Insights Logo" /></a></td>
	<td>If you'd like to learn more, please use my <a href="http://www.sales-lead-insights.com/contact" target="_BLANK">Contact Form</a>, call me directly at 1-800-944-5553 or +1-401-294-7730, or check out the <a href="http://www.sales-lead-experts.com/consulting/" target="_BLANK">marketing consulting</a> or <a href="http://www.sales-lead-experts.com/speaking/" target="_BLANK">speaking and training</a> pages on my website.
	</td>
</tr>
</table></p>
]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Here&#8217;s a summary of the checklist I use when I evaluate a client&#8217;s website. Use it to see if your Web site converts visitors to sales. That&#8217;s what it&#8217;s for, right? You might be surprised by the answers.</p>
<p>See the full checklist at: <a href="http://www.sales-lead-experts.com/tips/articles/website-prospects.cfm">B2B website checklist</a>.</p>
<p>- Does your Web site make it immediately clear what your company does and who it serves?<br />
- Is it easy for your prospects and customers to find their way around your Web site?<br />
- Does your Web site quickly communicate your company&#8217;s unique selling proposition?<br />
- Does your Web site back up those claims?<br />
- Does your Web site explain the additional resources you can bring to bear for your customers?<br />
- Does your Web site contain lots of offers designed to engage prospects and start sales-winning relationships?<br />
- Does your Web site make it easy for your prospects and customers to take the next steps in their consideration or buying process?<br />
- Does your Web site make it easy to place an order?<br />
- Are there multiple ways for prospective customers to request assistance or additional information about your company and its products or services?<br />
<table cellpadding="15" cellspacing="0" border="1" bordercolor="#cccccc" bgcolor="#eeeeee">
<tr>
<td><a href="http://sales-lead-insights.com"><img src="http://www.sales-lead-insights.com/site/wp-content/themes/sales-lead-insights-4/images/logo-130.jpg" alt="Sales Lead Insights Logo" /></a></td>
<td>If you'd like to learn more, please use my <a href="http://www.sales-lead-insights.com/contact" target="_BLANK">Contact Form</a>, call me directly at 1-800-944-5553 or +1-401-294-7730, or check out the <a href="http://www.sales-lead-experts.com/consulting/" target="_BLANK">marketing consulting</a> or <a href="http://www.sales-lead-experts.com/speaking/" target="_BLANK">speaking and training</a> pages on my website.
	</td>
</tr>
</table>
]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://www.sales-lead-insights.com/2006/online-marketing/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>1</slash:comments>
		</item>
	</channel>
</rss>

