SmartMarketers http://www.smartmarketers.com/ en-us Copyright 2012 Wed, 03 Feb 2010 11:46:31 -0800 http://www.sixapart.com/movabletype/?v=3.2 http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss Lead Re-Engagement is Lead Nurturing to Rejuvenate Old Leads The January sales push well on it's way and most B2B marketers I know are looking more ways to generate leads faster. But here's a question to ponder...

Do you have a process have a process for handing leads (from sales) back to marketing when they are not sales ready? If not, I recommend you consider at re-engaging the leads you already have in your database and pay special attention to the leads your sales team didn't convert last year.

]]> http://www.smartmarketers.com/2010/02/lead_reengagement_is_lead_nurt.html http://www.smartmarketers.com/2010/02/lead_reengagement_is_lead_nurt.html Wed, 03 Feb 2010 11:46:31 -0800 Social Media = Letting Others In Over the past few months, I have been delivering quite a few presentations on social media to groups (conferences, conventions etc.) of business leaders.

One aspect of embarking into the waters of social media that seems to give most of them some sort of tick is the idea that you have to relinquish some control.

]]> http://www.smartmarketers.com/2010/01/social_media_letting_others_in.html http://www.smartmarketers.com/2010/01/social_media_letting_others_in.html Tue, 26 Jan 2010 08:24:36 -0800 Making Your Channel “Product-Friendly” Guest article by Al Morgan, Channels Performance, Aventi Group

A few months back Sridhar discussed the importance of tailoring your product or solution to the channel. It’s a vital step to ensuring that you will maximize the revenue opportunity through channels. An integrated program will ensure initial mindshare AND pave the way for initial success.

]]> http://www.smartmarketers.com/2010/01/making_your_channel_productfri.html http://www.smartmarketers.com/2010/01/making_your_channel_productfri.html Mon, 25 Jan 2010 11:47:37 -0800 Is Thought Leadership Necessary? “They told me I had to become a thought leader or I’d never achieve great success as a professional.” This is what a leader at a professional services firm told me recently that a marketing consultant told him.

He didn’t say this to me matter-of-factly either. He said it with a mix of fear, skepticism, sadness, and hope.

]]> http://www.smartmarketers.com/2010/01/is_thought_leadership_necessar.html http://www.smartmarketers.com/2010/01/is_thought_leadership_necessar.html Fri, 22 Jan 2010 08:43:47 -0800 Tap Into the Love Affair with Rewards Programs We all know it’s more cost effective to keep the customers you have rather than attract new ones to your business.

But do you offer any incentives to the upper echelon of your customer base through a points, rewards or other loyalty program to encourage them to continue their already good behavior? There is a lot of power behind points and loyalty programs – as attested by a recent article in the Wall Street Journal.

]]> http://www.smartmarketers.com/2010/01/tap_into_the_love_affair_with.html http://www.smartmarketers.com/2010/01/tap_into_the_love_affair_with.html Thu, 21 Jan 2010 13:53:12 -0800 The Future of Social Media: Being Everywhere (a Steve Rubel Interview) In this video I interview Steve Rubel, Senior Vice President at Edelman Digital. Steve advises some of the biggest names in the world, such as Dannon, Hewlett Packard, Pepsi and Microsoft, on social media.

Watch this video to pick up some of the nuggets of social media advice he gives his clients. One valuable tip Steve gives is about “shared mutual gain” and what it means. Steve also explains why he quit blogging.

]]> http://www.smartmarketers.com/2010/01/the_future_of_social_media_bei.html http://www.smartmarketers.com/2010/01/the_future_of_social_media_bei.html Thu, 21 Jan 2010 13:49:35 -0800 Distinction Beats Discounting Every Time As we enter the holiday season on the heels of Black Friday and Cyber Monday, local business owners are confronted with the discount culture that we not only live in, but are quick to play along with. Sales, deals, discounts and price cuts have become the way of the American business culture, or so it seems. In her recent book, “Cheap: The High Cost of Discount Culture,” author Ellen Ruppel Shell opens with the following statement that should send chills down the spine of any business owner.

]]> http://www.smartmarketers.com/2009/12/distinction_beats_discounting.html http://www.smartmarketers.com/2009/12/distinction_beats_discounting.html Tue, 01 Dec 2009 10:11:20 -0800 Launching Products in a Social World Many of our clients ask us this: What do all the new social media tools and vehicles mean for launching new products? At Conifer Consulting a number of our projects involve developing go-to-market strategies and plans for our clients. Increasingly the strategies and plans we develop take account AND advantage of these new vehicles to engage in a two-way conversation with prospects and users. Why do we do this?

]]> http://www.smartmarketers.com/2009/11/launching_products_in_a_social.html http://www.smartmarketers.com/2009/11/launching_products_in_a_social.html Tue, 24 Nov 2009 13:58:42 -0800 Effective Lead Management: Converting More Leads Into Sales We had a great turn out for our recent B2B Lead Generation Rountable Webinar “Effective Lead Management: Learn How to Convert Marketing Leads into Sales Pipeline.” In case you missed the live presentation, there are still two ways you can review it:

  • Watch the Presentation recording (no registration)
  • Read the Effective Lead Management Executive Summary ]]> http://www.smartmarketers.com/2009/11/effective_lead_management_conv.html http://www.smartmarketers.com/2009/11/effective_lead_management_conv.html Tue, 24 Nov 2009 13:55:35 -0800 Don't Forget Hard Copies The other night I talked before about fifty budding entrepreneurs. Mostly in their 20's, these young people gave me a new-found confidence in our collective ability to generate new companies and jobs.

    They are wicked smart and tend to soak up almost every bit of information that is sent their way, especially from someone who has fought the good fight, ie, started companies too. They LOVE hearing stories.

    ]]>     http://www.smartmarketers.com/2009/11/dont_forget_hard_copies_by_gl.html http://www.smartmarketers.com/2009/11/dont_forget_hard_copies_by_gl.html Mon, 23 Nov 2009 15:44:53 -0800     5 ways to promote internal training and events I had a meeting with a client this morning and one of the topics on the agenda was how could they better promote an internal training event that was optional for the employees.

    When I asked how they would normally promote it, they said...we'd make up a flier with all the information and attach it to an e-mail. We'd send it out to everyone. We might send it out a couple times or ask their supervisors to also send it out.

    ]]>     http://www.smartmarketers.com/2009/11/5_ways_to_promote_internal_tra.html http://www.smartmarketers.com/2009/11/5_ways_to_promote_internal_tra.html Mon, 23 Nov 2009 15:39:49 -0800     The Story You Can Tell to Triple Your New Client Wins A few weeks ago a client said to me, "In this economy, I don't think we’ll ever be able to get ahead. It's been nearly impossible to get new clients to sign on, and I think it will be for some time to come. My team feels flat. It’s been a huge challenge to keep them motivated. And I understand why...it's just so hard out there."

    We talked about it. The conversation went like this:

    ]]>     http://www.smartmarketers.com/2009/11/the_story_you_can_tell_to_trip.html http://www.smartmarketers.com/2009/11/the_story_you_can_tell_to_trip.html Mon, 16 Nov 2009 11:55:04 -0800     Major Study Shows White Paper Power Increasing! Listen up businesses! The white paper is here to stay and it’s only getting more important. Or so says a brand new study by Eccolo Media.

    I covered the main take-home message of their last report earlier this year. But this new study has some amazing findings covering everything from the influence of white papers compared to other marketing tools, how they are shared, their ideal length and when they are used in the purchase cycle.

    ]]>     http://www.smartmarketers.com/2009/11/major_study_shows_white_paper.html http://www.smartmarketers.com/2009/11/major_study_shows_white_paper.html Mon, 16 Nov 2009 11:05:26 -0800     Find Your Core When the recession hit, many companies lost their nerve. They began to second-guess their own decisions. They compromised on what they believed was right because right was too expensive. They chased after business that wasn't really a good fit — because any business was better than the potential of no business.

    And they lost their way. A side effect of being lost is being scared. Sometimes being scared leads to being paralyzed. In my opinion, that's why this recession got so bad.

    ]]>     http://www.smartmarketers.com/2009/10/find_your_core.html http://www.smartmarketers.com/2009/10/find_your_core.html Mon, 26 Oct 2009 09:51:32 -0800     Making Money Beyond Your Wildest Dreams Imagine yourself on your best day. It seems like you’re productive before you wake up, because something happened while you were asleep to charge your batteries, clear your thoughts, and give you inspiration while you snoozed.

    You wake up and nothing can stop you. The path is clear and the ideas are flowing. You settle in to work earlier than usual and start plugging away. And it all starts clicking. You accomplish one goal.

    ]]>     http://www.smartmarketers.com/2009/10/making_money_beyond_your_wilde.html http://www.smartmarketers.com/2009/10/making_money_beyond_your_wilde.html Mon, 26 Oct 2009 09:48:25 -0800