The Social Side To Lead Generation

With sales and marketing having to squeeze more results from constrained budgets, the companies that have enjoyed most success are the ones who have taken up the challenge and done something new, embracing new technology and opportunities. Key to success in this field is the ability to co-ordinate sales and marketing activity – increasingly influential in this is lead generation technology, providing a far greater insight into customer behaviour, sales patterns and communication.

While some companies have just got their heads around the Internet, the incredible rise of social media has changed the playing field once again and it is now integral to the online strategies of many companies.

With its growth, organisations are recognising that social media cannot be ignored – but they need technology that will incorporate social media tagging and tracking solutions if they are to truly understand and act on the full potential sites such as Twitter and Facebook offer. Today’s lead generation technology brings this value, enabling companies to identify, track and nurture customers through the full range of sales and marketing channels, building stronger relationships and maximising new opportunities– click here for more information.

How will the ‘digital hub’ affect business?

As the Government unveils its plans to create a ‘digital hub’ in every community in the country, as part of an £830 million strategy to make sure the UK has the best broadband network in Europe by 2015, the new plans are set to have a huge impact on business.

Faster broadband will mean increased Internet usage for both consumers and business, enabling people to more easily research their options, make an informed choice and buy online. As a result, it is even more important for businesses in both the B2B and B2C sectors to build their customer understanding and use online marketing to maximum effect.

With more potential customers surfing the web, you need to interact with them and nurture them from the start to help win their business - and this is where the latest marketing technology can really help such as marketing automation. The boost in broadband is set to help us all, but as a business you need to capitalise early on the opportunities out there.

Visit the BBC article for more information on the Government’s broadband plans.

‘Digital Finger Printing’ Now Core for Sales Success

Over the last decade the growth of the Internet has seen the customer buying process change dramatically. Now businesses that fail to capture, tag and track vital information about the many elusive visitors to their website are unlikely to survive.

Understanding who these visitors are, what motivates them, where they are in the buying cycle and more – the technology,such as demand generation, is now available to build this into an in-depth profile of your prospects – their ‘digital finger prints’ – that gives sales people the edge they need to win the business.

This ability to tag and track website visitors opens up a new world of opportunity, providing insight into prospects’ buying motivations and behaviour throughout the sales cycle. Rather than giving just an overview of the website’s performance, it builds knowledge of who wants to buy and when – creating the digital fingerprint, or DNA, that is crucial to sales success.

For more information the Profunnel White Paper on the importance of digital fingerprinting is available for free download here.

Taking Advantage of Social Media

The growth of social media in recent years has been phenomenal, not only for individuals but also for companies and brands. So how can companies take full advantage of this opportunity to develop their business?

Firstly plan your social media activity as part of the overall company marketing strategy, taking in appropriate channels such as blogs, Facebook and Twitter. Once you become actively involved in social media you’ll need to track and respond to numerous tweets and posts. This can be very time consuming for companies, but it’s vital to maximise the impact. Fortunately there are now social media tagging and tracking solutions that make the process a lot easier.

By allowing these software solutions to analyse your social media activity, companies can quickly respond to potential interest, helping develop business and increase sales. Any leads generated can be tracked and monitored, creating demonstrable ROI on your social media activities and supporting future planning.

Click here for more information on social media tracking