Optimize the Sales Funnel with Lead Scoring
I‘ve been in sales for 20 years, and I can say for certain that new sales leads are vital to a company’s continued existence. However, once marketing gets those leads flowing, it soon becomes apparent that there’s more to success than just pure volume. Leads are not all created equally – some are likely to […]
On the Road to Marketing Accountability: Five KPIs You Should Start Tracking Today
Marketing departments take pride in coming up with clever campaign ideas, exciting images, and compelling messages – and rightly so. However, these matter little to the executive team if the following concern is not addressed: Are our marketing investments bringing enough return? The first step in addressing this concern, and therefore building up marketing’s credibility, […]
5 Helpful Tips for Sales and Marketing Cooperation
As long as people will be people, and as long as sales and marketing have different goals, we will have conflicts of interest between the two. A recent study by the Corporate Executive Board revealed that 87% of the terms used by sales and marketing to describe one another are negative. (Sounds a bit like […]
6 Social Media Marketing Myths to Avoid
Despite its relative youth, social media marketing has proven itself to be a valuable addition to the marketing mix. As reliance on Facebook, Twitter, and other social media platforms continues to grow, business owners and marketing managers must educate themselves on the myths and realities of social media marketing. By recognizing the following six myths, […]
An Act-On Conversation: Anneke Seley and Shawn Naggiar Talk Inside Sales
Editor’s note: Anneke Seley is the CEO and founder of Reality Works Group, and co-author of the book “Sales 2.0 Improve Business Results Using Innovative Sales Practices and Technology.” She is also the founder of OracleDirect, Oracle’s global inside sales organization, now a multi-billion dollar, world-wide operation. Thursday February 6th, Anneke will moderate an interactive […]
B2C Marketers: 4 Reasons Why Webinars Are Worth the Investment
Webinars have long been a top-ranking tactic among B2B marketers and for good reason: They work. More often than not, webinars deliver measurable upside across the entire customer journey by incrementally building and strengthening brand awareness, trust, preference, and loyalty among prospects and customers. But it’s a different story in the B2C world where anecdotes, casual conversations, and bona […]
How to Leverage LinkedIn for Lead Generation and Recruitment
Though it might lack the flair its younger siblings on social possess (Facebook, Twitter, et al.), LinkedIn remains the great stalwart of professional networks, regularly attracting some 81% of today’s B2B marketers (“How B2B Marketers Use Social Now,” Zachary Reiss-Davis, Forrester Research). The site has also made strides as a content hub, becoming in the […]
So, The Underdog is on Top Now?
Yesterday’s release of Forrester Research, Inc.’s report: “The Forrester Wave™: Lead-to-Revenue Management Platform Vendors, Q1 2014” is, in our opinion, an amazing milestone for this company – an objective validation of our status as a true leader in marketing automation. A “Forrester Wave™” is a meticulously researched evaluation of vendors in a software, hardware, or […]
Diversity: A Strategic Business Issue
“We may have all come on different ships, but we’re in the same boat now.” Today is our national day to honor Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. He’s one of our country’s most inspiring heroes. He had vision and moral courage, and a rhetorical eloquence that held audiences spellbound. He spoke truth…to power, and to […]
Google Authorship 101
Because virtually all consumers do some amount of online research before making a purchase or visiting a store, and because the search engine of choice is Google most of the time, it’s simply crucial for marketers to understand ways to optimize Google performance. First, a bit of context: Search engine optimization, or SEO, is key […]
How to Win (Social) Friends & Influencers
As third-party review sites like Quora and Yelp come to play outsized roles in the brand-building process, and reviews figure into Google+, LinkedIn and other forums, it’s well worth marketers’ time to consider the influence today’s buyers wield online. You look really good when people who don’t even work for your company are talking you […]
2013 Roundup of Marketing Miscellany
Every day the inbox brings a flood of predictions for 2014 and best-of-2013 collections. We’ve grabbed a smattering of examples.
4 Tips for Maximizing Advocacy
One of the most effective ways to capitalize on these opportunities is to ensure that your best customers are also your brand advocates.
Inside Sales: The Rise of the Machines
On December 10th, TIME Magazine’s website published a story by Zeke Miller and Denver Nicks titled “Meet the Robot Telemarketer Who Denies She’s A Robot.” It all began when TIME Washington Bureau Chief Michael Scherer got a phone call from a pleasant woman offering a deal on health insurance. Scherer sniffed out that something wasn’t […]
3 Ways Online Marketing Forms Drive Conversions
It’s critical to use online marketing forms well. They are the one place on your website where you have the chance to capture contact data that a prospect willingly provides, in essence giving you permission to market to them. Of course, this works only if you offer something of value, such as access to an […]
The Gift of the Magi
They used to say “All roads lead to Rome.” In today’s politically correct climate, it’s bad manners to imbue holiday greetings with any sort of religious sentiment, unless you can be certain of being inclusive. But the one common denominator that applies across all religions (and non-religions, if that term applies) is love…that simple, complicated, […]
Peace on Earth, Good Will to All: Happy Holidays from Act-On!
Gentle Reader, we wish you a happy season, and a wonderful: Solstice, Hanukkah, Advent, Christmas, Kwanzaa, St. Nicholas Day, Epiphany, Bodhi Day, Las Posadas, Wigilia, Boxing Day, Saint Lucy’s Day, Chalica, Yule, Soyal, Yalda, Saturnalia, Pancha Ganapati, Dōngzhì, or Saint Stephen‘s Day. Herewith, a scattering of Act-On employees tell us a few of their favorite […]
Congratulations, Oracle & Responsys!
With the acquisition of Responsys, Oracle now has legitimate solutions for every stage of the complete customer lifecycle (B2B and B2C marketing, sales, support, and last but not least, billing & accounting). Oracle has long owned the enterprise back office. Now, they are signaling that they plan to own the enterprise front-office as well. This […]
Why Advocate Marketing Should Be Part of Your Lead Generation Strategy – Part 2 of 2
In our last post, we discussed what advocate marketing is, why it works and why marketers love it. Now let’s dive into how to motivate your advocates and keep them engaged for the long-term. Motivating through value and needs Let’s be honest. Happy customers will spread the word without much nudging. But you often can’t […]