eBook Vol2 Direct Marketing

101 B2B Marketing and Sales Tips from The B2B Lead

Generating leads and reaching customers via email, direct mail and more

Direct Marketing

VOLUME TWO

P R E S E N T E D B Y

25 Direct Marketing Tips for Driving Lead GenerationToday, direct marketing is the core of any integrated marketing program. There is a lot of buzz around web 2.0 and new social media tactics but direct marketing continues to be the number one measurable lead generation source. Whether through email, direct mail or both, marketers are able to deliver their message to prospective buyers quickly and ef-fectively using direct marketing.

In this collection of 25 direct marketing tips from The B2B Lead, you will find information on targeting and segmenting prospects, marketing copywriting, and much more. Here’s a few of the included tips in this eBook:

• LeadGenerationUsingEmailMarketing

• MarketingtotheEntireDecisionMakingUnit

• BuildingandMeasuringLeadNurturingPrograms

• HowtoWriteandMarketWhitepapers

• TipsforWritingGoodEmailCopy

• SixPrinciplesofSubjectLineWriting

If you like what your see here, be sure to check out theb2blead.comformoreB2BMarketingandSalestips.

Contentcontributedby:AmyHawthorne,DirectorofMarketingatReachForcePamO’NealMickelson,VPofMarketingatBreakingPointLeighAnneWallace,MarketingCoordinatoratReachForce

101 B2B Marketing and Sales Tips from The B2B LeadP R E S E N T E D B Y

VOLUME TWO • Direct Marketing 2

http://theb2blead.com


VOLUME TWO •Direct Marketing 3

Table of ContentsEmail 1. LeadGenerationUsingEmailMarketing

2. AvoidbeingcalledaSPAMer

3. EmailMarketinginaWeb2.0World

4. KeepingupwiththeJoneses:HowDoYourEmailOpenRatesCompare?

5. OptingOutofOpt-In

6. 10EmailPitfallsand10EmailPowerWords

Marketing Copywriting7. SixPrinciplesofSubjectLineWriting

8. TipsforWritingGoodEmailCopy

9. B2BMarketingCopy–WriteitRight

10. B2BMarketingCopy-WriteitRightPartII

Direct Mail11. DirectMailonaComeback?

12. IsDirectMailObsolete.com?

13. Dustingoffsomeolddirectmailideas…wonderingiftheystillwork?

Targeting and Segmentation14. DoingMorewithLess–UtilizingSegmentation

15. GoingNewPlaces–TargetingNewBuyersinNewVerticalMarkets

16. MarketingtotheEntireDecisionMakingUnit

More Direct Marketing Tips17. TurnRole-basedDataIntoInterestedProspectsWithaRelevantandEnticingCalltoAction

18. MarketingSherpaonB2BTechnologyBuyers

19. BuildingandMeasuringLeadNurturingPrograms

20. LandingPages101

21. IsDirtyDataSabotagingyourMarketingResults?

22. MakeMarketingDecisionsbyUsingSurveys

23. DustOffYourAlgebraTextstoImproveConversionRates

24. HowtoWriteandMarketWhitepapers

25. KeepingCustomersEngagedBetweenSalesCycles



Lead Generation Using Email MarketingSincethisisour100thtipIthoughtIwouldblogaboutsomethingIfeellikeIhavebeenaskedabout100times.Ihavebeenaleadgenerationmarketersincebeforeleadgenera-tionwascoolandeventhoughwearechangingwhatwecallit(demandgeneration)myjobisstilltodelivermorehighqualityleadstosales.AtReachForce,70%ofnewcustomerscome through marketing, so I guess we’re doing something right.

Here’swhatwe’redoingtodriveleadgeneration.Thisisn’trocketscience,justtargetingtherightrole-basedbuyersintherightkindsofcompanies.It’swhatwetalkaboutallthetimeheresowehavetobepracticingittoo,right?There’snooneblueprintthatworksforeverybusiness.Therearebasicprinciplesweallsubscribetobutdifferentaudiencesliketo be communicated with in different ways. I will preface by saying that lead generation is all about testing and tweaking, so while this is our basic program today, we’re already in theprocessofaddingnewtoolsandtacticstorolloutnextquarter.Allwithonegoalinmind–Willtherealleadspleasestandup(orout)?!

Forustheobviousstartingpointisthedata.We“eatourowndogfood”hereatReachForcesoIamabletoconsistentlyfeedprogramswithfreshrole-basedcontactsthatareinour target market sweet spot. And while the data is very important, content is key. Because I know I’m targeting the right buyers, this enables me to laser focus relevant messages thatresonatewithmyspecificaudiences.Contactsstartinaprogrambasedontheirdepartmentrole(inourcaseeitherbeinginsalesormarketing)andbydecisionmakingrole(decisionmaker,influencerorenduser).Eachprogramhastailoredmessaginghighlightingpainpointstheserecipientstypicallyexperience.Allcontactsstartinathreetouchemail marketing program that looks like this:

• Email1–Education about the pain points RF solves–sincethisisthefirsttimetheywillreceiveamessagefromus,wewanttoeducatethemaboutwhatproblemwesolveand how/why we are different from the competition

• Email2–Education about our space–thisisanopportunitytoreinforcepainpointsthattheymightbefeeling(andthatwesolve).Awhitepaperorwebcastsettingupthecur-rent ‘state of the union’ is a good offer here.

• Email3–Offer–Nowthatwe’veeducatedthemaboutthecurrentmarketandoursolutions,weofferachanceforthemtoseeforthemselvesviaatrialordemo.

Betweeneachemailtouch,ourSalesteamfollowsupwithalloftheresponders,thosethatopenbutdidn’trespond(toofferthebestpracticepiecefromthemarketingemail),andthosethatclickthroughbutdidn’tdownloadorfillouttheform.I’mnotsurehavingSalesinvolvedsoearlymakessenseforallcompaniesbutourbusinessisrelativelytransactionalandalotoftimesitjusttakes1hooktogetthemengaged.

Aftertheemailtouchcycle,thenonrespondersthenmoveintoanon-behavioralleadscoringsurvey,afewmoregoodleadsfalloutofthisprogram.We’reabouttolaunchthenextpieceofthistangledwebnextmonth.We’llkeepyoupostedonwhathappensnext.

Formoreemailmarketingcall–to-actionscheck out Tip #56.

http://www.theb2blead.com/b2b-marketing-ideas/b2b-marketing-and-sales-tip-71-turn-role-based-data-into-interested-prospects-with-a-relevant-and-enticing-call-to-action/



Avoid being called a SPAMerBe Compliant

• Makesureyourentirephysicaladdressisatthebottomofyourmarketingemails

• Makesureyouofferyourrecipientsawaytounsubscribefromyourmailinglist

• EnsureHTMLcontentcomplieswithstandards

Preserve your Reputation

• Staggeryourmailings

• Choosesubjectlinescarefully

• Carefullytrackunsubscribes,bouncebacksandopt-ins

• Makeiteasyfortherecipienttogetintouchwithyou

• Useemailserviceproviderformoreautomation

Be Careful when Creating Content

• Makesureyournotusingaspambuzzword–checkhere

• Usecapitalizationsparingly

• Minimizeuseof“clickhere”or“clickbelow”

• Watchyourpunctuation

• UsesimpleHTML,NoJavascript

• Useweb-safecolorsonly

• Reduceuseoflargefontsandcharacters

• Avoid“remove”inunsubscribelanguage

• Keepfilesizeunder70K

http://wdvl.com/Authoring/HTML/Standards/

http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/help/HA010450051033.aspx



Email Marketing in a Web 2.0 WorldIknow,Iknow,“Web2.0”soundssoooooclichébuttheso-calledWeb2.0worldhasreallychangedeverythingwhenitcomestomarketingincludingthosetraditionalactivitieslike Webinar marketing, email campaigns, and direct marketing.Now,JeffPulverpostssomewonderfuladviceonavoidingemailmarketingmistakesinMarketing 103: e-mail Marketing Mistakes to Avoid in a Web 2.0 World.

Iencourageyoutoforgivehimhis“web2.0world”reference(we’veallmadethem)andreadthisgreatpost.Mostofhisadviceisfocusedonformattingtheemailtolookasifitispersonalized. But he does offer a few tips that many marketers may not have considered such as:

”-BeONLINEandAVAILABLE.

Thesenderoftheemailmarketingcampaignshouldbeplantobeonlineandrespondingtomessagesastheyarereceivedfrompeopleaskingquestionsfromtheemailtheyjustreceived. The more available the sender is, the higher the probability the success rate will be higher. Avoid going dark if you can avoid it.

–KNOWtheDEVICEandPlatformbeingusedbytherecipienttoreadtheirmessages.ThiscontinuestobetheBESTwaytoincreasethechancesyourmessagewillbeseeninaway you intended it to be seen. The information about the default device/platform used to read e-mail can have a tremendous impact on the future effectiveness of future e-mail marketingcampaigns.”

By following Jeff’s advice and investing in a great database and email automation tools, you can make your email marketing campaigns less of an intrusion and see an increase in clickthroughsandconversionrates.However,IrecommendyoutakeWeb2.0astepfurtherandofferupanumberofoptionsforcommunicatingwithyourcustomers.Makesureyougivethemthechoiceofreceivinganemail,RSSfeed,orTwitterupdates.Youcanincreasethefrequencyofyouroutreachtocustomersandreducetheinvestmentyousinkinto building an email marketing campaign by leveraging these social media tools to build a network of followers. At BreakingPoint, we’ve built a rapidly growing following on Twitter thatispayingoffintermsofwebvisitors,leads,andloyalfollowerswhohelpusspreadwordofmouthaboutourproducts.Curiousabouthowwedidit?Followourcorporatefeedat www.twitter.com/breakingpoint.Or,ifyouwanttogetupdatesonTheB2BLeadstoriesfollowthebloggersatwww.twitter.com/poneal, www.twitter.com/lawallace and www.twitter.com/ahawthorne.

http://www.theb2blead.com/webinars/12-ways-to-turn-300-webinar-attendees-into-3000-part-i-b2b-marketing-and-sales-tip-105/

http://www.theb2blead.com/b2b-marketing/is-direct-mail-obsoletecom-b2b-marketing-and-sales-tip-120/

http://pulverblog.pulver.com/archives/008461.html

http://pulverblog.pulver.com/archives/008461.html

http://www.theb2blead.com/webinars/12-ways-to-turn-300-webinar-attendees-into-3000-part-i-b2b-marketing-and-sales-tip-105/

http://www.breakingpointsystems.com/

http://twitter.com/breakingpoint

http://twitter.com/poneal

http://twitter.com/lawallace

http://twitter.com/ahawthorne

http://twitter.com/ahawthorne



KeepingupwiththeJoneses:HowDoYourEmailOpenRatesCompare?In the world of lead generation, we as marketers are constantly measuring open and conversion rates for our latest email campaigns. Here is a summary of MailerMailer’s latest Email Marketing Metrics ReportfromE-consultancy.

Here are some of the high points:

• Subjectlineswith35charactersorlessare28%morelikelytobeopened

• Emailopenratesaredown:thisismostlyduetoemailprogramsautomaticallyblockingimages(whichishowopensaretracked)

• Clickthroughrateshaveremainedconstant

• MondaysandTuesdaysarethebestdaystosendemails

• Personalizationinthesubjectlineincreasesopensandclickthroughs

See how your resultscompareandgaintipsforsubjectlinesandbesttimestosendcampaigns.

DirectMailtoNoOne-MarketingWTF?Anothergreatstory,wellasadonereallybutstillajawdropper.

OneofmypreviousemployerswhoshallremainnamelessranoneofthemostcostlyandineffectivemarketingcampaignsIhaveeverheardof(thiswasbeforeIworkedthereofcourse).Theyhaddecidedtorunabigdirectmailcampaignsendingoutbrandedscooters.Youknowtherazoronesthatwerealltherageabout5yearsago.Somewherealongthelinethezipcodecolumngotmovedaroundanditdidn’tlineupwiththecorrectaddresses.Noonerealizedtheprob-lemuntilthescootersstartedcomingback.TheyendeduppayingFedExtwice,oncetoshipitthereandoncetoshipitbackbecausethezipcodewaswrong.Sonoonegotthescootersandthemarketingteamhadspenttheirbudgetonthescootersandalltheshipping.Toobad–noonegotascooter.

WhenIstartedworkingthereoverayearaftertheOops,theywerestilltryingtogivethosedarnscootersaway.InfactIthinkImightstillhaveoneinmyga-rage….

Thesemarketerswerealsoofthemindsetthatifyoucouldget100t-shirtsfor$6apiecethengetting1000shirtsfor$4apieceisabetterdeal.Eventhoughnomorethan100peopleeverworkedatthecompany.Savingmoneybybuyinginbulkisgoodbutonlyifyoucanconsumethelargeramount.

http://www.e-consultancy.com/news-blog/364451/email-open-rates-drop-3.html

http://www.e-consultancy.com/news-blog/364451/email-open-rates-drop-3.html

http://www.mailermailer.com/metrics/TR-H1-2007.pdf



Opting Out of Opt-InSomethingIhavebeenaskedaboutlatelyisopt-inemails.Thereseemstobeabattlebetweenwhatisthebestmarketingpractice.Iwillbefirsttoadmitthatopt-inisalwaysbest,but for a new or growing company, building an opt-in list can be a difficult and lengthy process.

Firstthingsfirst,hereisWikipedia’sdefinitionofOpt-inemail:

Opt in e-mailisatermusedwhensomeoneisgiventheoptiontoreceive“bulk”e-mail,thatis,e-mailthatissenttomanypeopleatthesametime.Typically,thisissomesortofmailinglist,newsletter,oradvertising.Obtainingpermissionbeforesendinge-mailiscriticalbecausewithoutit,thee-mailisUnsolicitedBulkEmail,betterknownasspam.

There are several common forms of opt-in e-mail:

Unconfirmed opt-inA new subscriber first gives his/her address to the list software (for instance, on a Web page), but no steps are taken to make sure that this address actually belongs to the person. Thiscancausee-mailfromthemailinglisttobeconsideredspambecausesimpletyposoftheemailaddresscancausetheemailtobesenttosomeoneelse.Malicioussubscrip-tions are also possible, as are subscriptions that are due to spammers forging email addresses that are sent to the e-mail address used to subscribe to the mailing list.

Confirmed opt-in (COI)Anewsubscriberaskstobesubscribedtothemailinglist,butunlikeunconfirmedopt-in,aconfirmatione-mailissenttoverifyitwasreallythem.Manybelievethepersonmustnotbeaddedtothemailinglistunlessanexplicitstepistaken,suchasclickingaspecialweblinkorsendingbackareplye-mail.Thisensuresthatnopersoncansubscribesomeoneelseoutofmaliceorerror.Mailsystemadministratorsandnon-spammailinglistoperatorsrefertothisasconfirmedsubscriptionorclosed-loopopt-in.

Iwantyoutorepeatafterme,“Icannotbuyandopt-inlist.”Foranemaillisttobetrulyopt-in,thesubscriberneedstohavesigned-uptoreceivecommunicationfromyou.Ifacompany is selling an opt-in list, they are selling the names and emails of someone who has agreed to receive emails from affiliates. (We have all signed up for these when ordering amagazineorjoininganewwebsite)Manyrecipientsonthese“opt-in”listsstillconsidertheseaffiliatemessagestobeSPAM.

Somemarketersthinkthattheycanonlyemailopt-inliststoavoidbeingaSPAMer.Whenactually,youjusthavetoincludeawayforrecipientstooptout.Thereareafewotherrules you can read about on the Federal Trade Commission’s website, but currently there is no requirement for the opt-ins. If you are emailing internationally, be aware that each countryhasdifferentlawsforemailmarketing.SomecountriesinEuropehavemuchstricterlawsthanintheUS.

ReallythebestwaytoavoidbeingaSPAMeristodeliverrelevantcontenttothoseyouareemailing.Highlytargetedandsegmentedcampaignswithcompellingcontentthatspeaksto the audience and their pain points. We have found that after we deliver new content to our prospects, they sign up for continued communication.

Ifyouarelookingtoexpandyouropt-inlist,checkoutVerticalResponse’sUmpteenWaystoBuildYourEmailList.

http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/conline/pubs/buspubs/canspam.shtm

http://www.verticalresponse.com/education-support/articles-reports/umpteen-ways-to-build-your-email-list+/



10 Email Pitfalls and 10 Email Power WordsIsawsomethingrecentlythatsaiditwasoktousethewordfreeinanemailsubjectline?SoIwentlookingforotherinformationtosupportthat.Weallknowthatspamfilterslovethewordfree.I’mguessingwecanthanktheB2Cmarketersforthat…

IranacrossaMarketingProfsnewsletterarticle,,titledEmailMarketing-Top 10 Language Pitfalls and Top 10 Power Words. Although some of these are obvious, I thought it was worth passing on as it can’t hurt to be reminded of what we should and should not say when writing our email copy.

Here’stheTopTenLanguagePitfallsinEmailMarketingMessages:

10. Typos and misspellings due to poor editingWow.Withspellcheck,thisreallyhappens?Surelyeveryemailautomationvendoroutthereoffersspellcheck,right?Slowdownandtakethetimetomakesureyourspellingandgrammararecorrect.Youdon’twanttosayfromwhenyoumeanform.

9. Subject lines in ALL CAPSAllcapsinemailisequivalenttoshouting.Youwouldnevershoutatyourcustomersorprospectsinperson,wouldyou?

8. Use of punctuation marks and numbers within the subject lineWhenIfindmyselfneedingpunctuationinasubjectline,Iinstantlythinkit’stoolongandI’mtryingtosaytoomuch.IthinkEloquasaysbestpracticeis6wordsorlessinasubjectline.

7. ALL CAPS within the message bodyRemember,noneedtoshout.Useothercreativemeanssuchascolor,differentfont,orbuttons/banners/backgroundsforemphasisifthereisanexplanation,offer,orconditionnotto be missed.

I agree again on the shouting. I tend to bold important phrases or link them to our call to action.

6. Excessive or unnecessary Power Word repetition; especially of power word #1 Seebelow.

Hint–powerword#1isFREE

5. Copy written in passive rather than active voiceWeneedtogettothepointquicklyinemail.Front-loadsentencesandparagraphswithactionverbsandeye-catchingbenefits.

Don’tforgetpeoplealsoreademailsinapreviewpane.Makesureyouaregettingtheirattentionimmediately.Itrytoincludeacall-to-actionlinkinthefirst2linestoo.

4. False or inflated sense of urgencyTheverynatureofemailimpliesexpediency,immediacy.Youraudienceisalreadyinamindsettoquicklyaccessandprocessemailmessages.Nudge,don’tshove.InourB2Bcommunications,whatisreallyallthaturgentanyway?

https://www.marketingprofs.com/premium_preview.asp?adref=&file=%2F8%2Femail%2Dwatch%2Dyour%2Dlanguage%2Dtalavera%2Easp



3. Vague calls-to-action“Clickhere”or“visitourWebsite”aretoogeneral;theydon’treinforcethesubjectofyourmessageoryouroffer.Nordotheyinstillconfidenceinwherearesponderwillland.Bespecific,suchas“downloadyourfreewhitepaper”or“seethemoviepreview”instead.This is also why I use key messages as links. It stands out and reinforces my offer.

2. Exaggerated ModifiersLike“Amazing,”“Revolutionary,”“Great,”“AllNew,”(whenjust“new”wouldsuffice)andeven“Special”and“Important,”especiallywhenusedinthesubjectline,canlandyouremailinthejunkfolder.Hypeisahallmarkofspamandisunnecessarywhenyourmessagesaretargetedandrelevant.

Fluff.That’swhatthesewordsare.EveryonelookspastthemsoIthinkyou’rewastingyourtimeandvaluablerealestateifyou’reopeningwiththesewords.And the number-one pitfall:

1. Including the word “spam” in your message (such as “this is not spam”)Theveryexistenceofwrittenjustificationthatyouremailisethicalcallsitslegitimacyintoquestion.Ican’tthinkofamoreself-defeatingpropositionthanstatingyourmessageisNOTwhatyoufearitwillbe.

Really?SurelythisisaB2Cthing,right?

Top Ten Power Words

Here are the top ten power words for your email advertising and communications:

10.New-Appealstoourbasichumancuriositytoseeknovelty.

9.Save-Weallloveabargain.

8.Safety-Connotesreliability;appealstobasichumanneeds.

7.Proven-Justifiesyourclaim,removesfearoftheunknown.

6. Love - An all-time favorite.

5.Guarantee-Ifyouhaveone,stateit.Itiron-cladsyouroffer.

4.Immediate(Now,orInstant)-Instantgratificationistheexpectationonline.Ifitcan’tbefound,completed,orreceivedalmostimmediately,you’reofferisinthewrongchannel.

3.Results-Providesrationalizationforinstantconversion.

2.You-RememberWIIFM?Youraudiencewantstohearaboutwhat’sinitforthem,notyou.Articulateyourbenefitsinpersonal,conversationalterms.

AndthenumberonePowerWord:

1.Free-Surprised?Probablynot.Becausethisisthetime-honored,mostpotentmotivatorindirectresponse,beparticularlyvigilantofoveruse.Justadash’lldo.Strivetooptimizeplacement,andtestifnecessary.SoFreeisbackin.Andnotjustbackinbutlistedasthe#1PowerWord.

Areyouusingit?Haveanymetricstoproveit’sokandworking?

***These great tips were contributed by Karen Talavera, president and founder, of Synchronicity Marketing



Six Principles of Subject Line WritingSubjectLinesarelikefirstimpressions.Whenanemailcomesin,mostemailprovidersaresetuptoshowyouwhothemessageiscomingfromandthebriefsubjectofthemes-sage.Asyouarewritingsubjectlinesforyourdemandgenerationprograms,makesureyourmessageincludesthefollowing6principles–

• BeInformative–Besuretoconveysomethingimportant,valuableortimely

• CreateIntrigue–Promptyourreadertoopenandactontheemailimmediately

• BuildTrust–Besurenottooverpromiseormisleadyourprospects

• CalltoAction–Makeiteasyforyourprospectstoactonthecalltoaction

• Understandwhoyouaretargeting–Speaktoeachprospectasanindividualandaddresstheirpainpoints

• Fromwho?–SubjectlinescanworkwithFromLines

Ijustrecentlyheardanewbestpractice–subjectlinesshouldbenolongerthan6words.Doyouthinkthisisbecausesomanypeoplearegettingemailonmobiledevices?

Arewemissinganythinghere?Post a comment to add to the list.

http://www.theb2blead.com/b2b-marketing-copy/b2b-marketing-and-sales-tip-12-six-principles-of-subject-line-writing/



Tips for Writing Good Email Copy• Considerwhatyourprospectorcustomerwantstohear,notwhatyouwanttotellthem.

• Don’tbeataroundthebush–gettothepointin100wordsorless

• Makesurecalltoactionisabovethefold(andinthepreviewpane)

• Besureyourofferorcalltoactionarerelatedtothecontent

• Gettothepoint–use1ideapersentenceandmakesentencespunchyandeasytoscan

• Donotusecatchphrases,clichés–userealdatatomakekeypoints

• Askyourself–Sowhat?–thiswillhelpyougettotherealmessage



B2B Marketing Copy – Write it RightWhenIreviewB2BMarketingcopy,IcanalwaystellwhenaMarketerdoesn’tfullyunderstandhis/hercustomerorproduct.Youcantellbecause,generally,thecopyischockfullofproductfeatures,hypeandMarketingbuzzwords.ToeasilycreatehighimpactB2B Marketing copy that stimulates buyers to action, follow these two guidelines:

1.Knowyourcustomer-Never,never,neverbeginwritingabrochure,email,webpageorothercustomer-facingdocumentbeforeyouhaveathoroughunderstandingofyourtargetaudience.It’snotenoughtoknowyourproductorserviceinsideandout,andthenstartputtingwordsonpaperwithoutevenconsideringthecustomer.Understandtheirrole, pain points, decision drivers, emotional drivers, and motivation for addressing that pain point. Then focus on those and how your product or service enables them to achieve their goals.

2.FollowthisB2BMarketingCopyRecipeandyou’llquicklycrankoutshort,conciseandcompellingcopythatgetsbetterresults.Usethefollowingoutlineasatemplatefordevel-opingyournextbrochureoremail.

A. CustomerPainPointorGoal

B. ImpactorCostsofNotAddressingPain/OrtheBenefitsofMeetingGoal

C. SolutionorProductDescription

D. RequirementsforAdequatelyAddressingPainorAchievingGoal

E. YourUniqueAbilitytoAlleviatethePainorEnableCustomertoAchieveGoal

F. TheAdvantagesand/orBenefitsYouDeliver

G. CalltoAction

H. CredibilityBuilders

I. ContactInformation

http://www.theb2blead.com/

http://www.reachforce.com/theroleofrole.pdf



B2B Marketing Copy - Write it Right Part IIHereonTheB2BLeadBlog,weareobsessedwithgreatB2BMarketingcopy.Hereareafewnewtipsforcraftinghighimpactcopy:

• Gettothepointquickly.Startwithpainpoints,goals,orthemostimportantreasonthatthereadershouldcare.Putyourselfinthebuyers’shoes.Whywouldyouspendmoneyorspendvaluabletimetoreadthedocument?Togettotherealpain,ask“why”threetimes.

• Rememberyouraudience-whatdotheycareabout?Leadwiththemostimportantvalueproposition,what’smostlikelytosellfirst.

• Provideafullexplanationoftheconcept,butremember:lessismore.Donotusetoomanywordstosaysomething.Donotsaythesamethingseveraldifferentwaysbeforeget-ting to the point.

• Thereadershouldbeabletoscantheheadlineandsubheadsthroughoutthepieceandgetthebasicstory.Eachsubheadshouldtellasignificantpieceofthestory.Makeample use of bulleted lists for readability.

• Effectivelyusecalloutboxesorhighlightedquotes.

• Ensurethereisclearlinkagefromoneconcepttothenext,andoneparagraphtothenext.

• Useshortpunchysentencesandbulletedliststhatareeasytoreadquickly.

• Repeatbrandnamesandkeymessagestoreinforcebranding.

• Don’tusebuzzwordsorhype.

• Tiethethemeoftheheadlinetothecopy.Weavetheheadlineintothecopytoreinforce.

• Useactionwords.Speaktocustomerneedswithbenefit-orientedstatements.Avoidoverlycuteorclichélanguage.

• Alwaysincludeacompellingcalltoactionandafast,easywaytocontactyou.



DirectMailonaComeback?AsalongtimeB2BMarketerIknowItypicallyhaveto“touch”alead5to6timesbeforetheybecomeaprospectinmysalesfunnel.Withthatinmind,Iamusingmultipletacticstogetsuspectstoraisetheirhand.Ihaveafeelingdirectmailisonthecomebacksoweareabouttogiveitatryagain.Yes,it’sstillexpensiveandpostageratesarestillgoingupbutwithemailboxesbeingfilledupwithspam,suspectsmaybemorelikelytoactifwecanfigureouthowtostandoutinthecrowd.

AsMarketers,whenwestarttobuildoutacampaignwespendtimeontheWHATwearegoingtodeliver,theHOWwearegoingtodeliverourmessageandtheWHENtheprogramisgoingtogooutbutwhenitcomestotheWHO,wehaven’thadmanyoptions.Ourchoiceswereeitheranin-housedatabase(howoldandaccurateisthisdatareally?)ortorentdatafromatitle-basedlistbroker.Anddoweknowwhothesepeopleareorhowthesenameswerereallyacquired?

SoaswegetreadytobuildoutadirectmailprogramI’mremindedofatragicstoryoneofourcustomerstoldus.Theyhadatotalbudgetof$100,000foradirectmailcampaign.Thiswasgoingtobetheprogramofthequarterandtheywereveryanxioustogetitoutthedoorsotheresponderswouldstartrollingin.Oftheirtotalbudget,theyspent$5,000ontheWHOtheyweretryingtoreach.Therestofthemoneywenttocreatinganelaboratepiecewith“exactlytherightmessaging”,anattractivecalltoactionandwebcomponentsfortracking.Theyfeltgoodabouttheprogramandbelievedthenumberofresponseswouldjustifythecost.Theydroppedthepiece,thenwaitedandwaitedandwaited.Notonlydidtheynotgettheoverwhelmingnumberofresponses,theyonlygotone.Nowthat’soneexpensiveleadifyouaskme.

Obviouslywhencreatingadirectmailcampaignweneedtocreateacompellingpiecewithastrongcalltoaction.ButtheWHOiswherealotofB2BMarketersgowrong.Themostsuccessfulcampaigns,directmailorotherwise,arethosethataretargetedattherightpeopleintherightcompanies.SohowdoyoudecidewhattherightWHOlookslike?Here’swhatI’mdoing–

To find the right businesses, I go straight to my sales pipeline and recent customer wins. I’m looking for where we are winning and what kinds of companies are moving through the funnelthefastest.ThenIbuildoutaninitialdatabaseofothercompaniesthatmatchthisprofile.NowthatI’veidentifiedtherightcompaniestogoafter,I’mjustleftwithfindingtherightcontactsformymessage.Luckyme,we’reinthebusinessofbuildingcustomrolebasedcontactdatabasesforleadgenerationinitiatives.SoIuseourownrole-basedcontactdiscoveryservicetofindtherightdecisionmakerswithinthosetargetcompanies.BypayingalittlemoreattentiontoWHOI’mtargeting,Ifeelconfidentmyupcomingdirectmailcampaign is going to deliver.

Justincaseyou’rewondering,thepersonwhowasresponsibleforthe$100Kcampaignlosttheirjob.AndthepersonthattooktheirplacenowusesReachForcetohelpkeeptheirjob.



IsDirectMailObsolete.com?I’vebeenthinkingalotaboutdirectmaillately,ponderingwhetheritcouldpossibleworkagain,orifithassimplybecomeanunforgivablesinagainsttheenvironment.Yousee,us-ingemailforacquisitionjustseemsawfullyriskythesedayswithincreasinglystringentCAN-SPAMlaws.And,I’mjustnotcomfortableblastingoutanemailtoanunscrubbedlist.

Before I would ever feel comfortable sending out a direct mail or email campaign, I would have to come up with a killer creative idea and offer that would compel my target audi-ence to take action. And, I would need a precision database to ensure high response rates and minimal waste. But that’s another post.

And, I confess, I’m at a loss for inspiration. The last creative direct mail campaign I saw was at least 4 months ago, and it wasn’t even addressed to me. I was in my boss’s office andIspottedanunusualrelicsittingontopofastackofpapers.No,therelicwasn’tjustadirectmailbrochure,itwasafloppydisk!!!Canyouimagine?Ihadnotseenoneofthesesince I was, erh, merely an infant.

Anyway,thefloppydiskwasimprintedwithacustomURLbasedontheprimarydomainofwww.areyouobsolete.com.Wow!Itwastheperfectcombinationofincrediblycreative,environmentallyfriendly(recyclingoldfloppies),anditsparkedacuriositysostrongthatIwascompelledtorunbacktomyofficetotypeintheURL.And,toblogaboutit.

WhenIreachedmyofficeandtypedintheURL,Iwasgreetedwitha“We’reSorry,wedonotrecognizetheURL”messagebecauseIhadnottypedinthepersonalizedURL.Sadly,thefolksatProgressSoftwarewhodesignedthisingeniouscampaign,hadneglectedtoconsiderthatthecampaignmightjustbesocleverthatitwouldstimulatestrongWordofMouthandintrigueotherpossiblebuyerstovisitandlearn.Asimplecatch-allpageatwww.areyouobsolete.comwouldhavebeenveryhelpful.

AsapotentialprospectforProgress,Imightalsosuggestthattheybuildoutadatabasewithallofthebuyersinthebuyingprocessandsendthefloppiestoeachofthem.Yousee,my boss had no interest in following up and he didn’t have time to indulge his curiosity. By sending the mailer to each member of the team, they would increase their odds of suc-cess.

GotanygreatdirectmailsuccessstoriestosharewithTheB2BLead?Usethecommentsfieldtobragaboutyourrecentsuccesses.I’mindireneedofinspiration.

http://www.areyouobsolete.com/campaign/ayo-bps/file_not_found.aspx



Dustingoffsomeolddirectmailideas…wonderingiftheystillwork?I’mconstantlytryingtoaddnewthingstoourmarketingmix.IfeellikeI’vetalkedalotaboutdirectmailonTheB2BLeadbutwestillhaven’tgivenitashothereatReachForce.Beforeemailmarketing,directmailandeventswereouronlyoptionstodirectlyreachaprospect.I’mwondering…iseverythingdoneonlineonlynow?Dopeopleevenpayatten-tiontoorreadphysicalmailanymore?I’mnotsure,anyonedoneaB2Bdirectmailprogramlately?DidyougettheROIyouwerehopingfor?

Weallknowphysicalmailcostsmorethancommunicatingonlinebutisitpossibletostandoutinthecrowd?AsIwentbacktoaboxofoldideas,IranacrossafewideasIpulledout and thought about giving another try.

• Gotaneventinvite?–TrysendingyourinviteattachedtoaheliumballoonandputthewholethinginaFedExbox.Ihaven’ttrieditmyselfbutIthinkthisisagreatidea.Heliumballoonslastacoupleofdays.Thisensuresyourinvitesticksaroundforawhilenottomentionitwillliterallyjumpoutoftheboxwhentheyopenit.

• Mailingtoasmallgrouporaverytargetedhighimpactprogram?Tryhandwritingtheaddressinsteadofprintingit.Thereareservices/peopleouttherethatwilldothisforyou.Youmightalsoconsiderusingstampsinsteadofmeteredmail.

• Sendorusesomethinguseful–Igotawinebottleopenerfromanadvertisingagencywithatagattachedthatsaid‘OPEN’ononesideandontheothersidetheyreinforcedthe‘OPEN’themebylistingaseriesofthingslike–“We’reopentothemostinnovativeandeffectiveapproachestobuildingcompaniesandbrands.”

• Andthere’sstillalwaysthehookof“I’msendingyouhalfofsomething.Togettheotherhalfyouhavetocontactme.”Weactuallyjustdidasmalltestbatchofthesejustre-cently.WesentReachForcebrandedremotecontrolcarsandmotorcyclestotheVPofSalesandtheVPofMarketinginafewtargetcompanies.Wemixeduptheremotessotheyhadtochataboutthemtoswitchtheremotesback.Wearenowfollowingupwiththesepeoplewithan“everyonebenefitsifyouworktogether”message.We’llseehowitworksout…..

Anyonegotanyothergooddirectmailideas?Isdirectmailpartofyourmarketingmixorisitconsideredoldschoolnow?Jumpinandshare…

MarketingWTF?-ISeeDeadPeople–InMyDatabaseEveryB2BMarketerhasstruggledwiththeproblemofbaddata.Asitturnsout,evencompaniesinthebusinessofsellingdatabasetechnologyhavethesameissues.Onesuchcompany’sMarketingProgramsgroupattemptedadirectmaildatabasecleanupprojectusingtheoldReturntoSendertrick.Theywerequickly inundated with stacks of returned direct mailers. In fact, they had so many returned that they had to hire a team of temps to remove all of the bad recordsfromtheirmarketingdatabase.Theyevenfoundonestamped“RecipientDeceased”.

Talk about hitting the wrong target market.



Doing More with Less - Utilizing SegmentationItonlymakessensethatifweareabletogettherightmessagetotherightbuyersintherightkindsofcompanieswewillincreaseMarketingROIandaccelerateSalescycles.Sowhydon’tweactuallydojustthat?

Bysegmentingourleadsdatabaseintosmallergroupswithsimilarcharacteristics,weareabletocreateverytargetedprogramsthatenableustohighlightexactpainpointsandspecific solutions for those points. These more focused groups also enable us to very direct with our content and offers. We no longer have to generalize or discuss issues from 10,000 ft up.

Also,considerthis–wouldn’tyouconsiderarespondertoaverydirectmessageamorequalifiedleadthanonethatbitesonageneraloffer?Also,wouldn’tyourSalesteampreferfewer,morequalifiedleadstobucketsofnamesofpeoplewhoyoudon’tknowwhattheydoonadaytodaybasis?

HereareacoupleofdifferentwaysIsegmentourleadsfortargetedprogramshereatReachForce.

We slice leads by:

• Geography

• Industry

• Prospecttitle

• Prospectrole(i.e.enduser,decisionmaker,keyinfluencer,etc.)

• Specialinterestgroup(i.e.eventattendees,customersofsalesforce.com,etc)

• Companysize

• Companyrevenue

• Productlineofferings

• Customers’competitors

• Peoplewhoactedonaspecificcalltoaction

• PeoplewhodownloadedProduct/ServiceInfo.

• Peoplewhotookademo

• Peopleinthesalespipelinethatarestuck

Canyouthinkofanymore?



Going New Places – Targeting New Buyers in New Vertical MarketsAsB2BMarketerswecanbefacedwiththechallengeofbranchingintonewanduntestedmarkets.Environmentswherewehavenomarketinghistory,nomeanstosetexpecta-tions,nosalespipelinepredictability.BelowareafewbestpracticesweareusinghereatReachForceaswelooktomakeournextmove.Thisisourapproachtobeingmoredelib-erate about targeting new buyers in new vertical markets.

Step 1. Customer Profiling• Produceaprofileoftopcustomersinbestperformingmarkets.• Identifyuniversalcharacteristicsandapplytonewmarkettoselecttoppriorityprospectcompanies.

Example–Ifyouarecurrentlyseeingsuccesssellingintolargercompaniesvs.smallerorcompaniesthathavemanydivisionsorbranches.Thesecharacteristicscarryovermultipleverticals. It’s a good place to start when venturing into a new space.

Step 2. Prospect Matching and Research• Applyprofiletocompaniesinnewverticalmarkettoidentifythosewithhighestpropensitytopurchase.• Findoutwheredecision-makers,recommendersandinfluencersfromthesecompanieshangout.Whatassociationsdotheybelongto?Whateventsdotheyattend?What

newslettersormagazinesdotheysubscribeto?• PhonescreensamplebasetomaptheDecisionMakingUnitandunderstanduniqueverticalmarketneeds,decisiondrivers,andpainpoints.

Step 3. Prospect Discovery• Mapprofiletoexistingdatabasetodeterminewhatcontactsyoualreadyhave• Identifywhatcompaniesandcontactsyouaremissing• Augmentwhatyourmarketingdatabasewithrole-basedcontacts,thisenablesmoretargetedleadgenerationprograms.

Step 4. Marketing Campaign Execution• Executemulti-modalMarketingCampaigntocontactsfocusingonkeyverticalpainpoints• Leverageindependentanalystreports,verticalcustomercasestudies,testimonials,orawardstoestablishcredibilityinanewmarketwhenavailable• SupportDirectMarketingeffortswithNewMedia,SearchEngineMarketing,andPRprograms• Harvestresponders,furtherqualify• FunnelsalesreadyleadstoSalesteam

Step 5. Lead Nurturing• SupportSalescyclebyperiodicallyreachingouttoprospects.• Provideinformation/offerstostaytopofmindandencourageengagement.

Forbestresultsbesuretoengagewithsalesbeforelaunchingthenewprogramandensuretheyareonboardtoprovideguidanceandfeedbackthroughouttheprocess.

Beforestartingtoexploreyournewworldofbuyersrememberyourdollarsandsense.ToexecuteahealthyROIgeneratingprogramit’simportanttomapouteachstepofthebuild-ing process taking into consideration your budget, timing and appropriate follow up activity.

Click here for a template to help you build out your own vertical focused lead generation programs.

http://www.reachforce.com/resources/Tear%20Sheet%20-%20New%20Vertical.pdf



Marketing to the Entire Decision Making UnitIn most, if not all B2B sales, there is more than one person involved in the buying decision. It could be any number of people that serve any number of roles within the organization. Gettingeveryoneonthesamepagecanbechallenging.

Eachmemberisinvolvedfordifferentreasonsthereforetheyneedtobemarketedtodifferently.Yourmessagetoeachofthemshouldbetailoredtorespondtotheirspecificpain.Forexample,anexecutiveinvolvedmaycareabouthowthisnewproductisgoingtoincreaseefficiencieswhiletheactualendusermaycaremoreabouteaseofuseandifitinte-grates well with other solutions already being used.

Here’sadirectmailcampaignIdidthatdeliveredan80%(marketingtosales)conversionrate.

BACKGROUND: At the time I worked for a content management platform company. We were looking to partner with about a dozen strategic partners and needed a high impact programtogettheirattention.ThegoalwastogetameetingwiththeCEO,theCTOandtheVPofStrategicAlliances,onemeetingwithall3peopleinattendance.Thesecompa-nies didn’t know us so I needed to do something to stand out among all other marketing attempts.

ACTION PLAN: MissionImpossible2wasabouttocomeoutonDVDandadvertisinghadkickedupfortheupcomingreleasedate.Idecidedtoleveragethishypeandbuildacampaign around the movie.

Iwantedtogettheattentionofthekeyexecutivesandgetthemtoacceptameetingwithourexecutives.MycopiesoftheMI2DVDarrivedonthereleasedate,Ithenturnedaroundandsentthemtothepotentialpartnerexecutivesinametalbriefcasewithamessageattached.Themessageread-“ThispackagehasalsobeensenttoJasonMorio,CTOandSuaadSait,CEO.Whicheveroneofyoulogsintothissite(PURL),acceptsameetingwithusandensuresall3ofyouareinattendancewillgetaportableDVDplayer.(I’mabouttodatemyselfherebutohwell,portableDVDplayershadjustcomeoutandwererunninganywherefrom$600-$1200each.)IfIweredoingsomethinglikethistodayImightofferthecoolnewiPhone.

Ofthe12companiesthatwetargetedwiththisfirstpiece,6companiestookthemeeting.Wewereveryexcitedwiththeresults.(DISCLAIMER:IfeellikeIneedtosaythisbeforewegoonanyfurther.I’msuremostofthemtookthemeetingjustfortheDVDplayer,butevenso,wegotourshotatthetablewiththedecisionmakingunitforapartnership.)MyjobasaMarketerwasdone.Iopenedthedoorandsetupameetingwiththerightdecisionmakers.

Therewerestill6morecompanieswewantedtotalktothatdidn’trespond.Forthosethatdidn’trespondtotheDVD,wesentafollowuppiece.Thistime,arocketwithsunglassesandmessageinside.(Ifyourememberthemovie,itbeginswithTomCruiseclimbingamountainandarocketisfiredintothemountainwithamessage.)Imailedtherocketwithapieceofrockattachedtoitwithdifferentmessagingthistime.Stilltryingtosparkaninternalcompetitionbutthistimewithdifferentsolutionmessaging.Wethoughtmaybewithalittletweakingofthevaluepropositionwecouldlandafewmoremeetings.Itworked!Threemorepotentialpartnerstookmeetings.

Soofthe12originallytargetedprospects,wegottheattentionof9andwereabletopresentourvaluepropositionaswellasajointvalueproposition.

Tips to remember when building a program for the entire decision making unit:• Leveragewhatisalreadyhappeningaroundyou• Makethemostofyourfirstimpression• Tailormessagestotheeachmemberofthedecisionmakingunit• Don’tdependonsomeoneelsetochampionyou,createawarenesswiththeentiredecisionmakingunit• Everyonelovesacompetitionandespeciallyonewherethereisahighpercentagechanceofwinning• Ifitdoesn’tworkforeveryone,continuetestingandtweaking



Turn Role-based Data Into Interested Prospects With a Relevant and Enticing Call to ActionAttention Conservation Notice: The following post provides a list of offers that B2B Marketers can use to improve campaign results.

OK,it’sanewyear.Nowwhat?Ifyoufoundyourselfbusyreactingtoendofyearcrisesanddidn’tgreettheNewYearwithaproperlyplanned,integratedleadgenerationcampaign,youcanstilljuiceyourSalespipelinewithawellwrittenemailandastrongcalltoaction.

Unfortunately,formostB2Bmarketers,thereinliesthechallenge.Whattooffer?WherecanIfindafreshandcompellingwhitepapertoserveup,because,well,everyB2Bmar-keter knows that a white paper is the number one offer in our arsenal. But if your product marketing group is as busy as mine, it’s not always easy to get your hands on new content to support your latest campaign.

Don’tbetemptedtoresorttoaSweepstakesofferlike“entertowinaniPod.”Mostwillrespondforthewrongreasonsoravoidrespondingentirelybecausetheofferis“toogoodtobetrue.”Aimforsomethingthatisrelevanttotheprospects’dailyjob.Hereareafewquickideas:

1. FreeBooks:Identifyanewbusinessortechnologybookthatisrelatedtoyourprospects’responsibilitiesandyourproductorserviceandgiveaway10tothefirstrespondents.

2. Webinar:RecruitaspokespersonandscheduleaneducationalWebcast.

3. Newsletter:Offerasubscriptiontoyournewsletterwithtipsandcasestudies.

4. VideoTutorial:GrabyourFlipcam,anexpert,andawhiteboardandshootamini-tutorial.

5. Podcast:Thinkvideotutorialwithavoicerecorderinstead.

6. ExpertGuide:Askanall-stargroupofexpertstosendyoutheirbestadviceoranecdotes,packageitupintoa“guide”andpublish.

7. QuickAssessment:Providealistofquestionsthatcanbeusedtoassessaproblem.

8. FreeResources:Pulltogetherafewfreeonlinetools,previouslypublishedwhitepapersandarticles,thenofferaccesstothecompendium.

Gotanyothercreativeideas?Sharethemwithus.



MarketingSherpa on B2B Technology BuyersTheexpertsatMarketingSherparecentlypresentedthefindingsoftheirannualsurveyofB2BTechnologyMarketersandB2BTechnologyBuyers.TheB2BLeadBlogsharesafewof the findings here for those of you didn’t have time to attend.

1. SurveyResult:EnterpriseBuyingCommitteesareGettingBigger–therearemoreandmorepeopleinvolvedinthebuyingprocessandasyourtargetcompanygetslarger,sodoes the size of the buying committee.

Lesson:SetyourwhitepaperPDFsfree,iftheleadcomesback,itisreallyalead.LetyourPDFsgoviralbyremovingthebarrierstoyourcontent.Thatwayitismorelikelythat your materials will be forwarded to all of the members of a buying committee. But, make sure you’ve included a call to action at the end of the white paper.

2. SurveyResult:B2BDecision-makersattendmorewebinarsthanContributorsakaEnd-users.

Lesson:Managers,DirectorsandVPsaremorelikelytoattendyourwebinars,thanend-userswhotendtopreferwhitepapers.Targetyouroffersaccordingly.

3. SurveyResult:80%ofyourprospectsthinktheyfoundyou.

Lesson:Makeyourselfmorevisible.MakesureyouaretherewhenB2Bbuyersareshopping.Captureorappendtheircontactinformationwhenyoucanandthenlaunchasystematic multi-modal Marketing Communications campaign.

ForthecompleteB2BMarketingsurveyresults,purchasethefullreportathttp://www.sherpastore.com/b2bbenchmark08.html and stay tuned to The B2B Lead Blog for more in-sights.

http://www.marketingsherpa.com/

http://www.reachforce.com/solutions/campaign.jsp

http://www.reachforce.com/solutions/campaign.jsp



Building and Measuring Lead Nurturing ProgramsAsweacquirenewleadsandmarkettothemwequicklyseeleadsmoveintosmaller,moresegmentedgroups.Sometakethehookyou’veputoutthereandaskformore,there’ssome that act interested but don’t commit to anything, and there’s those that are radio silent and give you no indication of real life.

Eachgroupnowneedsadifferentkindoffollowup.Thefirstgroupisreadyforanothertargetedmarketingprogramofferingthemanotheropportunitytoengage.Andthosethatdidn’trespondmightbereadyforaslowermovingnurtureprogram.Maybeyourmessagemissedwiththesepeople,anurtureprogramisagoodplacetotestmessaging.Ormaybeyouaretargetingthewrongpersonandtheydon’tcarewhatyouhavetosayorwhatweyouareoffering.(You’rewastingyourtimewiththesepeoplebutyoudon’tknowityet.)

Here are a few tips to building and measuring segmented lead nurturing programs.

(Ifyou’relost,don’tworrythere’smarketingautomationfolkslikeVtrenz,Eloqua,MarketoandManticorethatcanhelpyouautomatetheexecutionofallofthesedifferentpro-grams.)

1. MakesureMarketingandSaleshaveaclearunderstandingofwhataleadisandwhatasales-readyleadis.Youhavetostarthere.MarketingneedstoknowwhattheyarelookingforandSaleswantstoknowwhattheyaregetting.

2. Divideyourmarketingdatabaseinto2initialgroups,activeleads(peoplewhohaverespondedorengagedinthepast)andinactiveleads(peoplethathaveneverrespondedtoanyoutreachcommunicationfromyourcompany).IfyouareanEloquacustomer,theyhaveareportthatwillgiveyouthisinformation.Understandifthereareanypatternsamongthosethatareactive,ifso,besuretoconsiderthiswhenbuildingoutyournurtureprograms.Rememberthegoalofnurturingistomovecurrentlyactiveleadstothetop of the sales funnel and move inactive leads to an active status.

3. Measureandtrackmovementinthenurturingcycles.Asleads/prospectsrespond,usethisdatatodeterminenextsteps.Youcanconfirminterestbyreachingouttothemagainwithasimilarmessageanddifferentofferorcalltoaction.Iftheyrespondagain,theymightbereadyforthenextstepinyournurturingcycle.Iftheydon’trespond,continue to try different offers or messaging.

4. Developascoringsystemthatenablesyoutodeterminewhenleadsaresalesready.Assigndifferentvaluestoeachkindoftouch.Forexample,aconversationhadbytele-marketingthatbetterqualifiesaleadmightgetascoreof10whileanopenedemailmightgeta3.OncealeadreachesascoreagreeduponbySales,thentheleadisreadyto be passed on.

5. Don’tforgetabouttheonesthathavemovedon.SometimesaprospectgivesoffalltherightsignalsthattheyarereadytoengageonadifferentlevelbutoncehandedovertoSalestheyclamup.Makesurethesepeopledon’tgetlostintheshuffle.It’sokforalead/prospecttomovebackandforthbetweenSalesandMarketing.

6. Determinewhenit’stimetothrowinthetowel.Therearepeopleineverymarketingdatabasethatcontinuetohangaroundfornoreason.Whatareweholdingontohere?Before completely throwing these people out, try and determine why they aren’t responding to you.

• Aretheytherightbuyerforyourproductorservice?

• Howlongagowasthisleadcreated?Hasthepersonpossiblymoveduporon?

• Aretheynotagoodfitforyouroffering?

Remember-keepingyournurturingprogramsfocusedonthemostsuitableprospectswillhelptoensurethesuccessofyourprogram.



Landing Pages 101 AsIwasgettingreadytostartbuildingoutafewlandingpagesforsomenewsletteradvertisingIdecidedtoGooglelandingpagebestpractices.Asexpected,lotsofbothorganicandpaidoptionscameup.InoticedMarketohadanadoutthere,soIclickedonit.I’veseentheirstuffbeforeandwasveryimpressed,soIthoughtI’dstartherewithmylandingpageinquiry.AfterafewclicksIgottoaneBook–“BuildingEffectiveLandingPages”.ThiseBookhadsomegreattipsthatwereB2BLeadworthysoIwantedtoshareandgiveMarketoashoutouttoo.YoucangetthisgreateBookaswellasothersathttp://www.marketo.com/b2b-marketing-resources/best-practices.php.Fornow,here’safewtipsthatreally stood out:

1. Focus on a single call to action, such as a download or a demo. Distractionskillconversions.

Thisisreallyimportant;offeringtoomuchinformationmuddiesthewaters.Youwantyourcall-to-actiontostandout.Rememberwearenottryingtocompleteasaleviaanemailprogram.Weareeducatingourprospectsandhighlightingpainpointsinbitesizechunks.WarmingleadsuptobetterqualifythemforSales.

2. Content – Give it to them straight.

• Makeitclearandtothepoint,butgiveyourprospectareasontogiveyouhisinformation.

• Setuptheproblem

• Talkaboutthesolution(youroffer)

• Deliverthegoods(suchasawhitepaper,videodemoorwebinarregistration)

• Andusebulletpoints-theyareeasiertoread

Emailsseemtobemosteffectivewhentheyare2-3shortparagraphswithalinktoalandingpage/offerasclosetothetopaspossible.Rememberalotofpeopleviewemailsinapreview pane. This may be your only opportunity to present your message, so make sure you get straight to the point.

3. Call to Action – Forms–Remembernottoasktoomanyquestionsupfront.

Youdon’tneedeverythingtheyfirsttimeaprospectengageswithyou.Rememberyouarebuildingarelationship.Collectmoreinformationastheprospectcontinuesonthejourneywith you.

4.Confirmation/ThankYous-It’sjustplaingoodmannerstosaythankyou.Doyouhavesomethingelsetheymightbeinterestedin?Makeanotheroffer.

Ithinkthismightbeoneofthemostimportanttipsonthelist.SayingThankYounevergoesoutofstyle.And,IagreewithMarketo,putanotherofferoutthere,seeiftheybite.Tak-ing you up on a second offer could be a sign of a cold lead moving to warm.

5. Page URLs -Thenameofthepage,alongwiththerestoftheURLpath,isweighedfairlyheavily.Youcanuse1024characters,soyoudon’thavetobestingy.Andusedashesbetweenwords,notunderscores–searchengineslikethatbetter.

Marketoexample:www.marketo.com/building-effective-landing-pages.html

Don’tforgetyourGooglejuicewitheverylandingpageyoubuild.RemembertouseyourPPCkeywordsheretoo.

Again,thankstoMarketoforthelistoflandingpagetips.Don’tforgettocheckouttherestofthelistatMarketo’s B2B Marketing Best Practices.

http://www.marketo.com/b2b-marketing-resources/best-practices.php

http://www.marketo.com/b2b-marketing-resources/best-practices.php



IsDirtyDataSabotagingyourMarketingResults?Dirtydata—whetherpurchased,gatheredviadownloadoffersoragedandstoredinyourinternaldatabase—costscompaniesbillionseveryyearinwastedresourcesandlostproductivity.

Today’smobileworkforceischangingjobsfasterthaneverbefore.AccordingtoGartner,30millionofthe138millionworkersintheUSwillswitchjobsinthenext12months.Nowadd that to the number of businesses that move or get acquired every month. It’s easy to see how they dirty data piles up and piles up fast.

FeedingdirtycontactdataintoamarketingautomationorCRMsystemhasamultipliereffectthatcanderailsuccessby:

• Deliveringthewrongmessagetothewrongperson

• Annoyingcustomersandprospectswithredundantmessages

• Losingcredibilityduetobotchedattemptsatpersonalizedcommunications

• Failingtoleveragemulti-modalmarketingcapabilities

• Misinterpretingcampaignsuccessmetrics

• CreatingmoreSalesinefficiencies

Evenwithsomuchatstake,tacklingdatacleanupissuesisadauntingproposition.MostMarketersareoverwhelmedbyacustomerorprospectdatabasewithhundredsofthou-sandsofduplicateentries,olddata,inaccuratecontactdetailsandcountlessrecordsinmyriadstatesofcompleteness.Thisexistingdatahaslikelybeengatheredbymanydifferentindividuals over multiple years. It is often too difficult to know where to begin.

Before you undertake any data cleaning, segmentation, or augmentation initiative, be sure to map out your plan. Here’s an outline to get you started.

Targeting the Right Companies–

Usewhatyoualreadyhaveaccesstofirst–yourCRMdataandyourwebsitevisitorlogs

CRMdataProfileyourtopperformingmarketsegments–whereareyouwinning?•Identifyyourbesttargetmarkets–whatkindsofdealsclosethefastest?•Determinekeyqualifyingcompanycharacteristicsandbuyerroles.•

Websitevisitorlogs/UnknownvisitorlogsLookforvisitorpatterns–ex.aretherelotsofhealthcarecompaniesvisitingyouthatyouhaven’tdirectlytargeted?•Arecompaniesvisitingalreadycurrentlyinyourdatabase,ifso,areyourecordingthesepagevisits?•YouronlinemarketingandPPCadvertisingisdrivinglookers,justbecausetheydon’tannouncethemselvesdoesn’tmeantheyaren’tpotentialleads.•

Thisanalysiswillhelpyoudeterminewheretofindyourtargetmarket“sweetspot”.

Onceyou’vebuiltaprofileofcommondenominatorsorqualifyingcriteriaforyourtargetmarket“sweetspot,”nowyou’rereadytoidentifyyourdecisionmakingunit.Thedecisionmaking consists of everyone involved in the buying decision of your product or service.



Startwithadecisionmakingunitprofiletoidentifythetypesofbuyersinvolvedinthebuyingprocessandtherolesofthesebuyersbothinthebuyingcycleandtheirrolewithintheorganization. It is vital to understand the responsibilities for each of your buyers. With this information, you will be able to refine your data augmentation program and standardize data collection requirements for more targeted marketing programs.

Nowthatyouhaveyourbuyingunitprofiled,pullalistofpre-existingcontactsthatcorrespondtoyourTargetAccountssoyoucanbegintheprocessofde-duping,identifyingmissing fields such as addresses or contact details, and identifying gaps such as key buyers, roles and other relevant details.

After your de-duping process, you now know what you have and what you need to fill in. When filling in the gaps, remember to look for role-based contact resources, like ReachForce.ShamelesspromotionIknow…butrememberthetitle-basedlistswe’reallusedtousingarestilldeliveringalessthan3%responserate.Isn’titworththeriskoftryingsomethingnew?

AfewextradatahygienetipsfromourMarketingOpsGuru,Lauren,hereatReachForce–

• Markallrecordsthatareincludedinyourcurrenttargetmarket,youdon’tnecessarilywanttodeletethedatayouaren’tusingbutyouwanttobeabletopullyournewtargetmarketdataeasily.You’llbethankfulyoudidthis,Ipromise.

• Adda‘bornon’datefieldtotherecordandonceyou’verefreshedit,addthedate,everyonetouchingtherecordwillbehappyyoudidthis.

• Asyouarefillingingapsandbuildingoutcontactdatafornewroles,considerothersegmentingoptions.Whileyou’reupdatingyoushouldgoaheadanddothistoo.Thiswillenable you to laser target your message at these prospects.

MarketingWTF?-KnowThyCustomerAreaderofTheB2BLeadBlogreportsaB2BMarketer,whowillgounnamed,recentlyconfessedtoaratherembarrassingandcostlyblunderthatwasaclearresultofbreakingthefirstcommandmentofSalesandMarketing–KnowThyCustomer.Apparently,thenewbieMarketersentaveryexpensiveSellingtoVITOdirectmailertoaUPSexecutiveinaFedExenvelope.Doh!

HaveanyotherembarrassingorcostlymistakestosharewithreadersofTheB2BLeadBlog?SubmitaPost!

http://www.reachforce.com



Make Marketing Decisions by Using SurveysOntheB2BLeadwehavediscussedusingsurveystoscoreleadsbutsurveysarealsoausefultoolforgettingtoknowyourprospectivebuyers.Doyoureallyknowyourtargetmar-ket?Arethereshiftingtrendsyoudon’tknowaboutbutshould?Byunderstandingaprospect’sbusinessenvironmentandspecificbusinessinitiatives,marketingandsalesteamscanfurtherrefinetheirapproachfortargetingthem.Surveyscanbeespeciallyusefulwhenlaunchinganewproductorenteringanewmarket.

As B2B marketers are increasing their spend on social media, a survey may be an opportunity to find out where your customers and prospects are going online. If all of your customers/prospectsareeitheronFacebookorLinkedIn,don’tbotherwithcreatingaMySpacepage(onasidenote,itseemstobefairlyunanimousthatMySpaceisprettymuchworthless for B2B).

As marketing budgets are being tightened, costly events are being cut. It can be difficult to decide which events to keep and which to drop especially if your product has a long salescyclesoROIcannotbemeasuredbeforeitistimetosignacontractagain.Ashowmaybetimedpoorlythisyear,likeonElectionDay(sorry,Iamcallingyououtsalesforce.com), which could cause lower attendance. Ask your prospects which events they will be attending.

Things to consider when creating surveys:

Howlong?Shorterisalwaysbetter•Ask only what you need to know•Try to keep it to 5 minutes or less•

Toofferanincentiveornot?If you are doing a longer survey, a incentive is a must•If you are offering a incentive tell the participant upfront•Couldtheinformationyouaregatheringbeusefultotheparticipants.Iftheanswerisyes,havetheincentivebetogivethemtheinfoyougathered.Rememberpeoplelove•reports on industry trends.

Types of questions Multiplechoicearetheeasiestandfastesttoanswer•Freeresponsemaygiveyoumorequalitativeinfobutismoredifficulttogetparticipantstofillout•

Onceyouhavecompletedsurveyingyourprospects,usethisinformationtosegmentyourcontactdatabaseandcreatedifferenttargetedmessagesforeachsegment.Youmayalsofind that different segments respond to different marketing mediums. If you are entering a new industry, be sure to find out if prospects are better reached by email, direct mail, events, etc.

SomegoodonlinesurveytoolsincludeSurveyMonkey and Zoomerang. These are both free for basic functionality and are easy to use. I have used both. I personally liked the re-portingbetterthroughZommerangbutSurveyMonkeyofferedbetterfunctionalityindesigningthesurveyquestions.Ihaven’tusedityet,butVerticalResponse also recently added surveys to their offering.

http://www.surveymonkey.com/

http://zoomerang.com/

http://www.verticalresponse.com/surveys/



DustOffYourAlgebraTextstoImproveConversionRatesMarketingExperiments.com(MEC)hastheequationforboostingyouremailandlandingpageconversionrates.TheycallittheMECconversionindex:

C=4M+3V+2(I-F)–2A

“Theprobabilityofconversion(C)isafunctionofthebuyer’smotivation(M),howstrongourvalueproposition(V)is,andthecombinationoffriction(F)andincentive(I)elementsthatmakeupourregistrationprocess,furthermitigatedbyanyanxiety(A)experiencedbythecustomerduringtheprocess.”

IattendedareallyintriguingMarketingExperiments.comwebinarlastweekcalled“LandingPageOptimization:HowBusinessesAchieveBreakthroughConversionbySynchronizingValuePropositionandPageDesign”wheretheydiscussedthisformulaandcritiquedanumberoflandingpagestoillustratetheirpoints.

BigTakeaways:Youcanboostyourlandingpageconversionratessubstantiallybyhighlightingaconcisevaluepropositionthatclearlycommunicateswhyyouridealprospectshould buy from you versus your competition. And, include a very compelling call to action that is consistent with that value proposition. What’s more, you can reduce friction or anxiety—aleadingcauseofsiteflowdisruption—byensuringeveryaspectofyourlandingpagemakessenseandsupportsyourvalueproposition.Thatmeansyourgraphics,photographs,copy,flow,andanythingelseonthepageshouldallworktogethertoinspiretheconfidenceofyourvisitorandnotdisrupthim/herbytriggeringanxiety.Forexample,if you are promoting a free trial of a security product, make sure your landing page is designed to communicate that your company is a secure, stable, trustworthy organization and don’thighlightgraphicsofpaymentmethodswhichisincongruouswiththe“freetrial”offer.

http://www.marketingexperiments.com/



HowtoWriteandMarketWhitepapersIsawagreatpresentationearlierthissummerattheMarketingProfsB2BForumbyMichael Stelznertitled“AttractingQualityLeadswithWhitePapers.”Michaelhasgenerated60,000 qualified leads with his program, so I thought I would share some of his ideas.

HereareMichael’s6mistakesMarketersmakeinregardstowhitepapers:

1. ProductMarketingCurse-Usingatechnicaldocumentforleadgen.

2. MarketingtheWrongContent-usedcarsalesmanapproach,highlyfocusedoncompanyandproduct.

3. PostandHopeSyndrome-Youneedtodriveprospectstothecontent,“Ifyoubuildit,theywillcome”onlyworksforKevinCostner.

4. BriefLandingPages-longformwithlittlecontent

5. ImmediateAccesstoExcellentContent-Noregistration,nofollow-upemails

6. NotIntegratedwithOthermarketingEfforts-Notpromotedthroughemailordirectmailcampaigns,leftoutofnewslettersandblogs

Michaelgavesomecompellingreasonswhywhitepapersshouldbeapartofyourmarketingmix.Togettothepoint,theyareaprovenleadgentool,helpeducateyourbuyersandposition your company as a thought leader.

HereareMichael’stipsforwritingandpublishingwhitepapers:

• Whenyousitdowntowritethewhitepaper,youfirstneedtodeterminewhichtypeofproblemyouaregoingtosolve:Peopleproblems,Processproblems,QualityproblemsorAbsent problems. Then lead with the challenges faced by the ideal reader.

• Discussthesolutionisgenericterms.Peopleneedtothinkthattheyneedasolutionlikeyoursbeforeyoucansellthemyourspecificsolution.

• Includea“whattolookfor”list-Thisisyoursilverbulletwhereyoucreateaconditionwhereonlyyourproductorservicecansucceed.Besuretocalloutpointswhereyoudeliver over your competition.

• Onlyattheendofthewhitepaperdoyoumentionyourcompanyandtheproductorserviceyouarepromoting.Dobesuretohaveyourbrandingoneverypageaswellasthelanding page.

• Savethecalltoactionfortheverylastsentence-makeitcompelling,actionable,andmeasurable

• Thinkofthefirstpageofyourwhitepaperasamovietrailer-showthemenoughforthemtobewillingtopay(filloutaform)fortherest.

•Identifytheidealreader,summarizethechallenge,summarizethesolution,statethegoalofthepaper

•AVOID:detailedexplanationofthesolutionandfeatures,introductionofyourcompany,humor

• Whendevelopingatitle,keepinmind“what’sinitforme?”andthe3U’s:

•Ultra-specific

•Unique

•Usefultoreaders

http://www.writingwhitepapers.com/blog/



• Testthetitlewithcurrentcustomers,theywillbethebestjudges.

• Havelonglandingpages(thisisagainstalotofwhatwearehearingrightnow,butMichaelhastheresultstoprovethatitworks)

•Provideasignificantamountofcontentatthetopofthelandingpagewithaveryshortform(Michaelsuggestsjustnameandemail)atthebottom. This way readers are already hooked by the time they get to the form and more likely to fill out the form to get the rest of the whitepaper.

•ItisalsogreatforSEO

• Don’tallowimmediateaccesstothewhitepaper.Wait30minutestosendthepdfdirectlytotheemailaddressgiven.Thisdoestwothings.First,itprovidesasenseofanticipa-tion.Secondly,thisisawayforyoutoverifythattheygaveyouavalidemailaddress,[email protected].

IamworkingonimplementingsomeofMichael’sideas.Hesharesalotmoreinhisbook,Writing White Papers.Doyouhaveanysuggestionsforwhatworksinwritingandpromot-ingwhitepapers?

http://books.google.com/books?id=Le0lUcpqZioC&dq=writing+white+papers&pg=PP1&ots=ooSTkFwpE-&sig=HT7hKhi075BYgad-0Nr5ie82CXc&hl=en&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=1&ct=result#PPP1,M1



Keeping Customers Engaged Between Sales CyclesWhenIfirststartedatReachForce,wewerestillinstart-upmodeandallmarketingwasfocusedonacquiringnewcustomers.Becausewerunonasubscriptionmodel,Isawanopportunity for continued customer marketing to help increase our renewals. I developed a fully integrated program which you may have seen on the blog, the ReachForce Book Club.ThroughouttheyearwearesendinggreatMarketingbookstoourcustomers.Forabout2monthsafterwesendthebook,wediscussithereonTheB2BLead.

Here are the steps we take:

• Wehandwriteashortnoteineachbooktohelptellthemwhywechosethisbookandtomaketheexchangemorepersonal.

• WealsoputalittlenotecardinthebooktotellthemalittlemoreaboutthebookanddirectthemtoTheB2BLeadtojoinintheconversation.

• Isendanemailtoallofourcustomersaboutaweekaftermailingthebookstotellthemtoexpectthebooktoarriveshortly.ThisemailalsolinkstoTheB2BLeadwhereIhavepostedaboutthenewbookandwhichchapterswewillbereadingthenextweek.

• Everyweektwoofusfromthemarketingdepartmentblogaboutthechapterswearereading.

• Iemailtheauthortoletthemknowwhatwearedoingandinvitethemtojointheconversation.Theseareoftenbusypeoplebuttheyareusuallyhappytohelppromotetheirbook.

Abookclubisn’tidealforeverycustomerbasebutyoushouldhaveacurrentcustomerprograminplace,evenifyoursalesmodelisnotsubscriptionbased.Youofcoursealwayswant to keep your customers happy for referrals, case studies, as well as cross-selling and up-selling opportunities.

When you begin a current customer program, start small. We started with Thanksgiving cards. Be sure to clean up your database to make sure that all of your contacts are still thereandthatyouhavecorrectcontactinformation.AccordingtoMarketingSherpa,inhousedatabasesgobadatarateof2%permonth,butwhoknowswhich2%.

Sofar,wehavehadagreatresponsefromourcustomersandwehopetocontinuetogrowtheprogramtoreallycreateacommunityforsmartmarketers.

http://www.theb2blead.com/reachforce-book-club/reachforce-book-club-the-new-rules-of-marketing-and-pr/

http://www.theb2blead.com/reachforce-book-club/reachforce-book-club-the-new-rules-of-marketing-and-pr/



About ReachForceReachForcedeliverssoftware(SaaS)anddataservicesthatenableB2Bcompaniestolasertargettheirleadgenerationprograms.ReachForcesolutionsallowmarketingandsalesteamstotargetmarket‘sweetspots’usingCRMandwebsitevisitordatathenreachtherightbuyersinthesecompaniesusingrole-basedcontactdiscoveryservices.

ReachForcewascreatedtoensureMarketers,keeptheirseatatthetable.AsateamoflongtimeMarketerswedecidedweweretiredofitbeingoktobewrong97%ofthetime.Withmarketingresponserateindustryaveragesbeinglessthan3%,thereissomethingfundamentallywrongwiththewayweasB2BMarketershavebeendrivingleadgenerationinitiatives.Responseratesdon’tequalleadsandleadsdon’talwaysmeanqualifiedbuyers.

AtReachForce,wedon’tcareaboutormeasureresponserates,wedriveandmeasurerevenuedeliveredtothebusinessfromleadgenerationinitiatives.Byaddressingthefounda-tionofanymarketingprogram,thedata-or“TheWHO”aswecallit,ReachForcewasfoundedwithonegoalinmind:toprovidebusinesseswithrevolutionary,highquality,cost-effective data to fuel their marketing and sales lead generation initiatives.

About The B2B LeadWe’vedesignedTheB2BLeadblogtodeliverrealworld,practicalB2BSalesandMarketingTipstohelpyoucapturemorequalifiedbuyersandconvertthemintoprofitablecustomerrelationships.Eachweek,wewilldeliversnack-sizehow-to’sandthought-provokingcommentaryfromB2BMarketersforB2BMarketers.ReachForcecustomers–whoincludeDirectorsofMarketingCommunications,SalesProfessionals,MarketingProgramsManagers–andotherguestwriterswillsharetechniquesthathelpyoutakeamoredelib-erateandpredictableapproachtoincreasingthevelocityandefficiencyoftheMarketingandSalesfunnel.

Ifyouwanttoshareideaswhilelearningfromyourpeers,subscribetoourB2BMarketingRSSfeednow.Wehopeyouwillmakeityourgo-toresourcefortechniquestosucceedinthenewworldofmetrics-drivenMarketing.

ThisisthesecondofafivevolumecollectionofB2BMarketingandSalesTipsfromTheB2BLead.Belowarethepastandupcomingvolumes.Todownloadall101 B2B Marketing and Sales Tips, check back in the coming weeks.

VolumeOne:OnlineMarketing

VolumeTwo:DirectMarketing

VolumeThree:EventMarketing

VolumeFour:MarketingandSalesAlignment

VolumeFive:MoreMarketingandSalesTips

http://www.reachforce.com/resources/index.jsp

http://www.reachforce.com/resources/index.jsp

eBook Vol2 Direct Marketing

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Transcript of eBook Vol2 Direct Marketing