Improving B2B Lead Generation Performance

IMPROVING B2B LEAD GENERATION

PERFORMANCEChad Pollitt

Slingshot SEOJ. David Green

MECLABS / MarketingSherpa

INTRODUCTION – Chad Pollitt

• Director of Marketing at Slingshot SEO

• Former Army Commander and Iraq War Veteran

• Author of The Content Marketing Manifesto

• Featured in The Wall Street Journal, Inc., PR Daily, BtoB Magazine, on MSNBC and others

Twitter: #ET12 - @CPollittIU

Speaker Background

J. David Green

Director, Marketing Partnerships

MECLABS

@DaveGreenLeadswww.linkedin.com/in/davegreenmeclabs

Case study: $1B lead pipeline in 20 months

OVERVIEW OF SESSION: DAVE GREEN

• Lead generation challenges

• The big picture

• Lead generation economics

• Marketing channel effectiveness research

• Fundamentals:• Targeting

• Messaging

• Key takeaways

THE CHALLENGES

GENERATING HIGH-QUALITY LEADS: #1 CHALLENGE

• Lead volume is #2

• The volume vs. quality conundrum

THE BIG PICTURE

ONCE SALES PEOPLE CONTROLLED INFO

NOW CUSTOMERS DO

LEAD GEN ECONOMICS

FOCUS ROI ON SALES PRODUCTIVITY GAINS

• How much timedo your sales people spend prospecting?

• How much is that costing your team?

19%

37%15%

12% 18%

Lead GenAccount Research

TrainingTravel

SellingAdmin

AccountService

CSO Insights Sales Performance Optimization report, 15th ed: N=1,800

LEAD GEN EXPANDS SALES CAPACITY

Buying Cycle Stages

Prospecting Nurturing Selling

Allocated Sales

Resources *

Effi

cie

nt

Mo

re E

ffic

ien

t

Less

MARKETING CHANNEL RESEARCH

EFFECTIVNESS OF TACTICS BY ORGANIZATIONAL MATURITY

• The best companies prioritize:

– Web design

– Content

– SEO

PRIORITIES BY MATURITY LEVEL

• Repeatable processes are scalable

• Repeatable processes enable gradual process improvement

THE MOST EFFECTIVE EMAIL MARKETING TACTICS

• Targeting, subject lines, landing page optimization, calls-to-action are the most effective tactics

EMAIL ENGAGEMENT TACTICS THAT WORK

• Relevant content is king

• Triggers are getting bigger

EMAIL DELIVERY TACTICS THAT WORK

• Respect

• Reputation

ARE YOU A HIPPO*?

• Only 21% of companies use valid tests to optimize web design

• Of those, only 40% test for validity threats

CMO or business unit head makes

the decision

23%

Marketing department

decides based on

published best practices

16%Marketing

department decides

collaboratively36%

Other4%

Validated test result determines

the decision

21%

Source: ©2011 MarketingSherpa Landing Page Optimization Benchmark Survey Methodology: Fielded Feb ruary 2011, N=2,673

*Highest Paid Person in the Organization

BLOGGING AND BLOGGER RELATIONS RULE B2B

• Blogging has high effectiveness and usage

• Social networks are the most commonly used social marketing platform

• Opportunity: blogger and online influencer relations

Advertising on social media sites

Sharing email content

Blogger and online influencer

relations

Social news releases

Using social media for SEOSharing content

on multimedia sites

Blogging

Microblogging

Social networks

0%

3%

6%

9%

12%

15%

18%

21%

24%

0% 10% 20% 30% 40%

Effe

ctiv

en

ess

Effort required

Sphere size indicates level of usage

Source: MarketingSherpa B2B Marketing Benchmark SurveyMethodology: Fielded Aug 2010, N=935

SOCIAL MEDIA IMPACTS SEO PERFORMANCE

• Organizations with an integration strategy experienced a 59% lift in organic conversion rates over organizations without an integration strategy

• Social marketing builds trust

– More listings

– Improved rankings

– Inbound links

– Presence above competition conveys authority

27%

17%

Organic search traffic

Social Media Users Non-Social Media Users

Source / Methodology: MarketingSherpa Search Marketing Benchmark Survey / Fielded

April, 2010 N=2,194

THREE FACTORS OF A SUCCESSFUL PPC CAMPAIGN

• Relevance: Keep the goals of the search engine in mind

• Simplicity: Don’t confuse your audience in the ad or landing page

• Measurement: One of the greatest benefits of PPC –use it!

Relevance

MeasurementSimplicity

WEBINARS SUCCESS DEPENDS ON CONTENT

• Relevant content is still king

• Lead generation and lead nurturing tactic

• Great for reaching personas

LEAD GEN TARGETING

TARGETING TACTICS THAT WORK

• Identify (which?)

• Size (how many?)

• Stratify (how much effort?)

Ideal CustomerAccount

Characteristics

Ideal CustomerBuyer Persona Characteristics

Ideal CustomerOpportunity

Characteristics

TARGETING TACTICS THAT WORK

Who to ask:

• Sales (Lead Roundtable)

• Solution Management

• Professional Service

• Customer Service

• Best customers (duh!)

Ideal CustomerAccount

Characteristics

Ideal CustomerBuyer Persona Characteristics

Ideal CustomerOpportunity

Characteristics

TARGETING TACTICS THAT WORK

Ideal CustomerAccount

Characteristics

Ideal CustomerBuyer Persona Characteristics

Ideal CustomerOpportunity

Characteristics

Think about your media strategy and content strategy in terms of these characteristics.

MARKET PYRAMID: INBOUND PITFALL

Source: D&B/Hoovers

Ideal CustomerAccount

Characteristics

1K+ Employees: 23K Accounts

100 to 999 Employees:156k Accounts

10 to 99 Employees: 1.7MM Accounts

1 to 9 Employees: 21.9MM Accounts

There aren’t many large accounts.. . . but large accounts have more decision makers and influencers . . .

VALIDATE QUALITATIVE WITH QUANTITATIVE

Start with Qualitative

Validate with Quantitative

Ideal CustomerAccount

Characteristics

Ideal CustomerBuyer Persona Characteristics

Ideal CustomerOpportunity

Characteristics

LEAD GEN MESSAGING

VOICE OF THE CUSTOMER PLAYBOOK I

• Conversational interviews:

– From each department, 7 to 10 internal thought-leaders with deep customer insight

– 7 – 10 buyer persona types for each solution (start with your most important solution and persona) from ideal current customers

– Go on sales calls and use the phone

• Open-ended questions, probes (oh? ROI?), silence so they can think

VOICE OF THE CUSTOMER PLAYBOOK II

• Confidential

• Record – video/audio – the conversations (with permission)

• Draft a report with key findings and the transcript, including gaps between departments and with customers

• Look for case study material

• Start a customer council

MARKETING MONEY QUESTIONS

• What motivated you and others to look for our solution?

• What problems / challenges were you trying to solve?

• What was your process for researching and making a decision?

• What channels, search phrases did you use?

• What challenges did you face in making a decision?

• Why did you select our solution?

• What else should I know.

KEY TAKE-AWAYS

• Lead generation scales sales teams

• Relevant content matters in all channels

• Focus on the right customers and prospects

THANK YOU!

J. David Green

Director, Marketing Partnerships

MECLABS

@DaveGreenLeadswww.linkedin.com/in/davegreenmeclabs(904) 372-2302

Chad PollittSlingshot SEO

AGENDA: Chad Pollitt

• The Role of SEO & Social Media

• Online Lead Generation in Context

• The Inbound Campaign Structure

• Inbound’s Effects on Traffic & Leads by Channel

Twitter: #ET12 - @CPollittIU

THE ROLE OF SEO & SOCIAL

Twitter: #ET12 - @CPollittIU

1» BRAND

2» CONTENT

3» DISTRIBUTION

4» ENGAGEMENT

TAKEAWAY #1Social Media and Search Engines

are Content Distribution Platforms

#ET12 - @CPollittIU

#ET12 - @CPollittIU

#ET12 - @CPollittIU

ONLINE LEADGENERATION IN

CONTEXT

#ET12 - @CPollittIU

TAKEAWAY #2Expect Demand Generation to Create

Demand for Your Content and NOT

for Your Products or Services

INBOUND MARKETING CAMPAIGNS

#ET12 - @CPollittIU

TAKEAWAY #3The Inbound Campaign Structure

is a Lead Gen and Nurture Process

EFFECTS ON TRAFFIC & LEADS

#ET12 - @CPollittIU

EFFECTS ON TRAFFIC & LEADS

#ET12 - @CPollittIU

EFFECTS ON TRAFFIC & LEADS

#ET12 - @CPollittIU

EFFECTS ON TRAFFIC & LEADS

#ET12 - @CPollittIU

EFFECTS ON TRAFFIC & LEADS

#ET12 - @CPollittIU

EFFECTS ON TRAFFIC & LEADS

#ET12 - @CPollittIU

EFFECTS ON TRAFFIC & LEADS

#ET12 - @CPollittIU

EFFECTS ON TRAFFIC & LEADS

#ET12 - @CPollittIU

TAKEAWAY #4Inbound Marketing Positively Effects

ALL Inbound Lead Gen Channels

TAKEAWAYS

Twitter: #ET12 - @CPollittIU

1. Social Media and Search Engines are Content Distribution Platforms

2. Expect Demand Generation to Create Demand for Your Content and NOT for Your Products or Services

3. The Inbound Campaign Structure is a Lead Gen and Nurture Process

4. Inbound Marketing Positively Effects ALL Inbound Lead Gen Channels

FINAL TAKEAWAYRight Content + Right Person

+ Right Time + Right Channel

= Wider Sales Funnel + Acceleration Through it

THANK YOU

Chad Pollittdirector of marketing

[email protected]

OFFICE » 317.575.8852 ext. 256MOBILE » 260.255.4006

WEB » SlingshotSEO.com

Twitter: #ET12 - @CPollittIU