Should B2B and B2C be Compared?

The editor of B2B Marketing, Joel Harrison, recently attended a round table with the Marketing Society, where the main topic was based on creativity. Delegates questioned if the level of creativeness achieved in B2C campaigns can be transferred to B2B marketing, as this was thought to be an issue. Key examples referred to as B2C successes were the ‘Compare the Meerkat’ campaign for Compare the Market and Cadbury’s Gorilla campaign.

As Harrison describes in his blog “B2B doesn’t need to ‘do a meerkat’ – it would be irrelevant and unnecessary. B2B needs and does focus on driving relevant, appropriate, timely and salient marketing activities to its niche audiences”.

Harrison clearly identifies how B2B marketing is crucially about timing and relevance, in order to generate sales. Businesses can integrate marketing automation solutions to improve the effectiveness of both of these elements. The technology enables marketers to tag and track website visitors, with information about their activity being relayed directly to marketers in real-time. Marketers can use this information to send automated, targeted emails relevant to prospects’ interests at a time when they are ready to buy. Consequently this improves lead generation and allows sales to achieve their targets while businesses can identify a clear ROI.

Visit Profunnel for more information on marketing automation.

Integrating Social Media Proves Powerful For Customer Engagement

A report by Virgin Media Business highlights how more companies are realising the success they can achieve through the use of social media for customer engagement.

Reported by Computer Business Review, the study, which surveyed over 5,000 companies, reveals that businesses are focussing on just one or two social media channels – selecting the tools which work best for their strategy. British businesses are becoming more aware of the benefits of social media to engage customers with 43% of the respondents reporting they use this form of communication, an 8% increase on last year.

Incorporating social media into a marketing strategy is certainly proving to be a beneficial tool for businesses, however integrating this with traditional methods, such as targeted email marketing, means the overall marketing activity can be more effective. Profunnel offers a platform which includes various marketing solutions, such as social media tracking, to assist sales and marketing teams in building relationships with prospects, and to generate more sales.

Visit Profunnel for more information on demand generation

UK falls behind when it comes to customer engagement

Research by the Epson Business Council has found that small businesses in the UK are falling behind its European counterparts when considering the importance of customer engagement.

As inspiresme.co.uk reports, only 29% of the small businesses taking part in the research believe customer service is an integral factor in differentiating from competition in the current economic climate. Comparatively, 84% of Spanish and 77% of Italian small businesses rate customer service more importantly. A similar pattern is found for customer engagement as three quarters of some European countries highly regard technology as a way to engage their customers while only 49% of UK small businesses believe this.

In B2B marketing and sales, it is essential to build a rapport with prospects while making the effort to maintain relationships with existing customers.  As the results from this survey show, technology is an effective way to improve customer engagement, however UK businesses are either not aware of its benefits or the return on investment it can deliver.

Profunnel offers marketing automation solutions which allow businesses to conduct their entire marketing activity from a single platform. With this technology, companies can integrate their email marketing and set tailored, automated messages to be sent in response to website activity. Additionally, prospect and client behaviour is incorporated into the CRM, the information provided here improves communications as sales people can discuss interests with potential buyers and nurture them more closely through the entire buying cycle.

Visit Profunnel for more information on marketing automation.

Email Marketing Provides Greatest ROI

The annual Email Marketing Census 2012 published by Econsultancy this week shows marketers believe email marketing delivers a better ROI than most other channels.

With results compiled from over 800 respondents, the census finds that 70% of the companies considered email marketing to generate either an “excellent” or “good” ROI. The findings also highlight how using an email service provider for more than just “basic broadcast” has had a positive effect on businesses’ ROI. By putting effort into segmenting their email campaigns and integrating email marketing with CRM and web analytics, marketers are 32% more likely to find their ROI to be either “excellent” or “good”.

The census also highlights how many marketers are not taking advantage of more sophisticated forms of email marketing – only 28% said they would send a trigger email to a sign-up or site visitor. These figures clearly identify the benefits of installing technology to assist with lead generation and increase customer sales. Profunnel offers intelligent email marketing solutions to work with other business functions such as web analytics, social media and CRM. The platform can assist company owners with complex marketing campaigns by placing focus on only warm leads. This improves productivity of marketing and sales teams meaning a greater return on investment is achieved.

Visit Profunnel for more information on email marketing.

Focus on Email Marketing Design for 2012

The results from the latest reader survey produced by Marketing Week indicate that good design is an area many businesses are concentrating on this year.

80% of respondents believe design is an effective area for improving brand perception while over half of the businesses questioned think that design is “very important” in giving them an edge over their competitors. In general, 91% of respondents said design is effective for improving customer experience while 82% believe it is effective for increasing sales.

When asked how design was implemented last year and in which areas it was used most effectively, 44% of businesses said it had the biggest impact on their email marketing and 72% said they will be making this a priority in 2012.

As these figures show businesses are realising that design is important for their overall success and know that strong email is a way of generating good sales. By incorporating email marketing solutions into your strategy, marketers can be assisted with email design and content. Profunnel offers a wide range of email templates, which can be tailored to suit particular interests, therefore increasing customer engagement with your business.

Visit Profunnel for more information on email marketing.

Over Half of Businesses Plan to Increase Marketing Spend

The latest survey by research group Mindmetre shows a growth in confidence from businesses when planning their marketing budget for 2012.

As reported by the BBC, 57.1% of the 2,000 firms questioned said they are looking to invest more in marketing while only 18.6% plan to make cuts. By comparison, the same survey in 2011 showed only 41% of companies wanting to increase their marketing budget and 42% had to prepare to cut back. Although there are worries over the UK being hit with another recession, these figures reflect how business owners understand the importance of spending in the right areas to encourage company growth.

One way to improve marketing productivity while seeing a clear return on investment is by integrating demand generation technology. A platform such as Profunnel’s will assist marketing and sales teams with their B2B lead generation, by increasing lead quantity, quality and conversion rates. Sales people are alerted of the activity and interests of warm allowing them target prospects with automated emails, tailored to suit their interests in specific services and products. This level of communication allows sales people to engage with leads who are at the final stages in the buying cycle - creating a greater rate for securing sales.

Visit Profunnel for more information on demand generation.

Social Media Unfavoured for Marketing ROI

The latest survey by the Chartered Institute of Marketing has found an increasing number of businesses are using social media but are struggling to identify its overall value.

1,500 companies from around the world were questioned including both consumer and B2B companies. As Management Today reports, 67% of B2B companies are using Twitter and 64% are integrating LinkedIn while under half of the businesses are using Facebook. Although these figures suggest that social media is being considered an important marketing tool, many of the businesses in the survey have not been able to prove the ROI. More than 1 in 5 were not convinced that it helps to create new enquiries while only 23% thought it was proving useful for finding prospects.

This survey suggests that social media can be effective but needs to be used in conjunction with traditional media and not relied on to generate customers. A more valuable way to do this is through specialist marketing automation software, which can help businesses to pinpoint prospects. Profunnel’s email marketing solutions can increase leads directly into a sales team's inbox and alert the team not only of emails being opened but also clicks on a website so businesses can clearly see the activity of their database and efficiently act on warm leads.

Visit Profunnel for more information on email marketing automation.

Always look on the bright side

A recent survey has found that SMEs are optimistic towards investment this year, despite claims of a continuing bleak economic climate.

As bdaily.co.uk reports, more than three quarters of the 100 UK small businesses questioned said that the poor economic outlook for 2012 has not deterred their plans to invest. Over 60% of the companies are looking to spend in marketing and sales, stating that one of their main focuses will be email marketing.

Businesses of all sizes need to make careful considerations for spending this year to ensure productivity and efficiency is either maintained or improved so they can be satisfied with their investment.

Profunnel offers an email marking solution which can be tailored to suit the requirements of your business. The software can assist marketers by engaging with only the warmest leads through a variety of methods depending on the campaign strategy, such as drip emails and trigger emails based on website visitor activity. Overall B2B lead generation is improved and better relationships are built between sales and prospects, increasing the number of appointments achieved.

Visit Profunnel for more information on email marketing.

Email marketing ‘has a place’

Although some experts claim email marketing is being made redundant by social media, the latest research by Econsultancy shows quite the opposite.

As reported by MyCustomer.com, the UK market for email marketing grew by 15.5% last year with the value for platforms and services rising to £388 million. The figures have been drawn from email service providers, the cost of internal staff resources for email and spending on agency services.

The research indicates that this boost to email marketing is being strengthened by cross-channel campaigns and according to Econsultancy’s research manager, Aliya Zaidi, the key factor for marketers to master now is relevance. She suggests: “The growth of social media and greater volume of emails means companies can simply no longer afford to ignore email tactics that will increase the effectiveness of their campaigns, including personalisation, targeting and segmentation.”

By integrating email marketing solutions, businesses can create focussed, segmented campaigns based on the use of their website by prospects, such as keywords, downloads and number of visits. The technology can also provide real time statistics on open-rates to ensure marketers can concentrate on warm prospects while companies improve overall communications with customers.

Visit Profunnel for more information on targeted email marketing.

Marketers are the happiest and hardest workers

Research conduct by Mars Drinks UK shows marketers are the happiest workers within an organisation.

As reported on Marketing Week, the study included the responses of 2000 office workers from various departments including, marketing, creative, finance, IT and legal. 60% of the marketers questioned said they were happy where they worked – more than any other office sector.

Trade marketing manager for Marks Drink UK, Jenni Morgan, who commissioned the research, said: “Our results also show that we are working longer hours than ever before but this has not dented our enjoyment of the job.”

Happiness at work for marketers, whether consumer or B2B, is vital for good results. A happy marketer makes for a good marketer.

The combination of dedication and job satisfaction is good news for business owners but the productivity of B2B marketing can be increased with the support of marketing automation software. Marketers can optimise their entire online strategy through integrated, targeted email marketing. The increased level of communication by automated emails builds a rapport with prospects and enhances lead generation - creating more qualified leads and appointments, and highlighting a clearer ROI.

Visit Profunnel for more information on email marketing

Marketers Plan to Spend More this Year Compared with 2011

The latest quarterly IPA Bellwether report shows marketing budgets rose for the second consecutive time in the last quarter of 2011, as reported in The Daily Telegraph.

Although there is concern for the year ahead, 20% of the 300 marketers questioned increased their spend between October and December last year and this looks likely to continue as the majority of marketers plan to spend more in 2012.

It is apparent that businesses are also looking for more efficient marketing methods in order to maintain their exposure while managing costs. The report indicates a shift in investment from traditional media towards digital channels.

Profunnel offers a solution that conducts various marketing techniques from a single platform. Through demand generation technology, intelligent forensics allows visitor behaviour on your site to be monitored. Specific movements such as length of visits and product interest trigger the delivery of automated, personalised emails. The nurture campaign increasingly engages prospects, with interests being transferred into a lead score in your CRM. This information enables sales and marketers to connect with the warmest prospects at the point they are ready to buy.

Visit Profunnel for more information on demand generation.

It’s all in the Measure

The latest survey by the Content Marketing Institute has highlighted prominent trends for the year ahead.

As reported on thenextweb.com, 60% of respondents have said they plan to increase their spend on content marketing over the next 12 months. The report also indicates that more than a quarter of B2B marketers are planning to dedicate their total budgets to content marketing activities. These results show how B2B marketers are realising the potential of content marketing to benefit lead generation.

When incorporating content marketing into a strategy, it is essential to measure its level of success in order to invest more resources in the channels which are most productive.

Profunnel offers a marketing automation platform which encompasses content marketing products and tools to measure success. The software offers a range of templates to allow you to create targeted email marketing. Producing more relevant emails for prospects and existing customers allows web conversion rates to increase as warm visitors are directed back to your site. By tagging and tracking these visitors, the lead generation software will only alert sales with warm leads to approach, meaning businesses can clearly identify their ROI.

Visit Profunnel for more information on marketing automation.

2012 – The Year to Get Ahead in Marketing

As the clock struck 12 on New Year’s Eve, reports of a struggling economy for the year ahead were ready and waiting to fill the newspapers.

According to the founding editor of B2B Marketing, Joel Harrison, marketers need to adopt new ways of working in order to stay ahead in their industry and the economy. With the technological revolution, marketers have been increasingly pressured with more demands and less time to deliver results for their clients and their company. Harrison suggests an interest in new tools and methods is essential as marketing continues to change. Marketers must be in tune with technology – analytics, automation and social media monitoring. Not only are these tools necessary for today’s marketing processes but they also assist marketers with their work.

Email marketing software such as Profunnel’s can offer a personalised and flexible solution to your email marketing campaigns. In contrast to the known ineffectiveness of “email blasting”, the platform allows prospects to receive highly relevant emails based on their activity on your site. This level of automation means campaigns can be executed more efficiently, with less time spent but greater results.

Visit Profunnel for more information on targeted email marketing.