Strategy + Skills + Software = B2B Success

As reported on The Drum, a recent study conducted by ReThink Recruitment shows digital and social media specialists have seen their pay rise by up to 70% over the last three years.

The pay rise in this sector covers all levels but has mostly occurred at more senior positions - with job vacancies now offering salaries of up to £75,000 which is up from an average of £45,000 three years ago.

Mark Geraghty, head of ReThink Executive, comments on the findings, highlighting how the results are not surprising - as companies are continually increasing their online marketing budgets, it is logical to match this effort by investing in good marketing skills.

As these results indicate, investment in marketing professionals and strategy is important. However, assisting these two elements with the latest marketing automation technology can create a winning formula for business success

The demand generation platform from Profunnel offers solutions to the entire B2B lead generation process of a company. The marketing software incorporates web analytics which will monitor visitor activity to the website. Visitors are tracked and tagged so sales and marketing specialists can be informed of just warm leads, which eliminates the issue of wasting time on uninterested visitors. Through this lead scoring system and with crucial information relating to product interest, businesses can be confident that their efforts are being focussed on good, new business prospects and ultimately improve their ROI.

Visit Profunnel for more information on demand generation

‘Loyalty’ and ‘Engagement’ found to be Key factors to Increase ROI

The Guardian Media Group (GMG) has recognised the potential of growth for its online publications and is aiming to become a digital-first company. The group already has the Guardian website in place, however it intends to shift its main focus from print newspapers to a web-based news service.

This strategic decision to drive the Guardian website forward comes from the media group’s desire for a ‘mutualised, collaborative and networked’ form of journalism. To achieve commercial success, GMG is aware that it needs to capture its digital audience and create an individual relationship with the Guardian reader, in order to retain their loyalty. The group intends to deliver customised content, tailored to specific reader interests, via new technology as part of an increased marketing campaign.

Loyalty and engagement are key requirements when building any business relationship. In B2B, companies must connect with prospects on a personal level to increase the chance of securing an affiliation, while current customers require communication and information following their purchase if they are to remain loyal to the company.

Profunnel offers intelligent marketing automation solutions conducted via a single platform – bringing financial benefits to organisations as the issue of implementing various software applications with limited functionality is eradicated, resulting in an improved ROI. The solution increases B2B lead generation and provides marketers with lead nurturing technology to take website visitors from their initial visit through the buying cycle to the final purchase. Additionally businesses can optimise their entire online marketing campaign by integrating email marketing solutions whereby messages can be modified to provide relevant information and increase customer engagement.

Visit Profunnel for more information on marketing automation

Businesses Focus More on the Customer Journey

As reported in Marketing Week, major businesses have discussed their drive to focus on the path customers take from initial research of a product through to the final purchase.

Global brands such as Kraft and O2 have implemented new marketing strategies to understand their customer buying process and their interaction with products. This allows the organisations to analyse the most effective point to develop investment. Making this a business focal point is hugely beneficial to companies wherever there is a product or service to market – whether in B2C or B2B.

Investing in a customer journey tool will radically improve awareness of website activity and ensure businesses optimise their resources for the most interested prospects. Profunnel offers demand generation marketing software which can track and continually monitor visitor activity on a website – providing information on the trails they take and the products they’re interested in. The technology also combines a lead scoring system, ranking the most frequent visitors and sending this information to the sales and marketing team – increasing online lead generation.

With the relevant data and warmest leads to hand, sales representatives can create targeted email marketing messages to approach customers with significant information regarding their interests – allowing companies to build their client body and increase their ROI.

Visit Profunnel for more information on demand generation

Spend, Spend, Spend on New Technology

As reported on Fresh Business Thinking, a recent survey conducted by Netgear shows small businesses are planning to spend more money on innovative IT over the next 12 months.

The survey questioned 300 business owners and IT managers from SMEs and found 35% of the respondents plan to ‘make more strategic IT investments’ in comparison to last year.

Investing in new technology is crucial to businesses that want to remain current in their industry while making the company more time and cost efficient.

For businesses looking to improve the technology in their sales and marketing departments, Profunnel offers the latest lead generation software to maximise the production of new business opportunities. Profunnel’s demand generation solution integrates and automates the lead management process, meaning visitors to the website will be tracked and tagged. Sales and marketing teams are then provided with information on warm leads generated by the intelligent lead scoring system. The teams can then approach these warm leads through targeted email marketing – capitalising on the relationships they have started to build and increasing the new business brought into the company.

Visit Profunnel for more information on lead generation.

Businesses opt for B2B Email Marketing

Research conducted by Econsultancy has found that the chosen method for companies to communicate with their customers is through email marketing.

The findings indicate a wide range of areas for which email marketing is preferred for customer engagement. 86% of the businesses questioned choose this channel for corresponding offers, 80% for product and service news, 76% opt for email marketing when requesting feedback and 60% prefer this channel when offering customer service.

As illustrated by these statistics, the majority of companies consider email marketing to be most valuable. However it’s important to implement the correct strategy in order to generate successful communication and build relationships with customers.

By integrating email marketing solutions into their campaign, businesses can increase the effectiveness of their messages. From a single demand generation platform, Profunnel offers solutions which incorporate automatic tracking of visitors to the website and real-time alerts highlighting the interests of these visitors to the sales and marketing team. This process improves online lead generation as only warm leads are referred to the sales team. The information retrieved through Profunnel’s demand generation software can assist sales in creating tailored email messages to achieve successful engagement with customers.

Visit Profunnel for more information on email marketing.

The Death of Cold Calling OR The Advent of Perfect Timing - Profunnel's latest webinars

Profunnel's latest webinars

The Death of Cold Calling OR The Advent of Perfect Timing webinar featuring our guest speaker, Kevin Miller - VP of Sales & Marketing at SalesFusion.

To be successful in sales, perfect timing is absolutely key. We typically hear sales leaders and sales people across the country suggest that when in front of the right people they are successful but find the task of getting in front of the right people at the right time extremely difficult.

Our webinar will address the most difficult element of selling, that of getting in front of the right people at the right time. Joined by our guest speaker – Kevin Miller – VP Sales & Marketing at SalesFusion – we will look at shifting trends in the market place, how to adopt new approaches to lead generation and how to ensure you get your timing absolutely right.

Here is the agenda:
• The importance of timing
• The statistical failure of cold calling – in its traditional sense
• Where leads originate from in 2011 and beyond
• Generating sales ready leads
• Adapting your company to succeed in the modern day
• How to leverage technology to drive the new paradigm

Hurry, places for this exclusive webinar are limited. please visit http://www.profunnel.co.uk/webinars.php

Boost to Direct Marketing Spending

According to the latest Bellwether report, direct marketing budgets have grown. In keeping with Profunnel’s beliefs, it’s refreshing to see companies investing more in their marketing strategies.

As reported in Marketing Week, the second quarterly report from Bellwether shows that companies have increased their investment in direct marketing, including email marketing, which is one of only three channels to see a rise in spending. From April to the end of June, budgets have jumped by 2.5 per cent, compared with 1.8 per cent in the first quarter.

Mel Cruickshank, chairman of the Institute of Practitioners in Advertising’s direct marketing group, says companies are “turning to direct marketing to provide return on investment against marketing spend”.

In order to be a good investment, successful direct marketing depends greatly on forward planning, accurate targeting and up-to-date data. Integrating intelligent marketing technology can ensure companies receive this good return on investment, which Profunnel has proven time and time again.

The latest email marketing solutions from Profunnel, allow sales and marketing professionals to tailor their messages – offering a personal approach to engage their visitors – making them more attractive to potential customers. Profunnel’s targeted email marketing software incorporates a level of personalisation and flexibility derived from the results of lead scoring, which are generated by visitor activity. Based on these findings messages will be sent containing relevant information to prospects, which improves email lead generation, directing warm leads into a company’s sales inbox.

Visit Profunnel for more information on email marketing.