IMPROVING B2B LEAD GENERATION PERFORMANCE. Chad Politt Slingshot SEO J. David Green MECLABS / MarketingSherpa

Transcription

1 IMPROVING B2B LEAD GENERATION PERFORMANCE Chad Politt Slingshot SEO J. David Green MECLABS / MarketingSherpa

2 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

3 Speaker Background J. David Green Director, Marketing Partnerships Case study: $1B lead pipeline in 20 months

4 OVERVIEW OF SESSION: DAVE GREEN Lead generation challenges The big picture Lead generation economics Marketing channel effectiveness research Fundamentals: Targeting Messaging Key takeaways

5 THE CHALLENGES

6 GENERATING HIGH-QUALITY LEADS: #1 CHALLENGE Lead volume is #2 The volume vs. quality conundrum

7 THE BIG PICTURE

8 ONCE SALES PEOPLE CONTROLLED INFO

9 NOW CUSTOMERS DO

10 LEAD GEN ECONOMICS

11 FOCUS ROI ON SALES PRODUCTIVITY GAINS 37% Training Travel 19% Lead Gen Account Research 15% Account Service How much time do your sales people spend prospecting? How much is that costing your team? 12% 18% Admin Selling CSO Insights Sales Performance Optimization report, 15 th ed: N=1,800

12 Less Efficient More Efficient LEAD GEN EXPANDS SALES CAPACITY Allocated Sales Resources * Prospecting Nurturing Selling Buying Cycle Stages

13 MARKETING CHANNEL RESEARCH

14 EFFECTIVNESS OF TACTICS BY ORGANIZATIONAL MATURITY The best companies prioritize: Web design Content SEO

15 PRIORITIES BY MATURITY LEVEL Repeatable processes are scalable Repeatable processes enable gradual process improvement

16 THE MOST EFFECTIVE MARKETING TACTICS Targeting, subject lines, landing page optimization, calls-to-action are the most effective tactics

17 ENGAGEMENT TACTICS THAT WORK Relevant content is king Triggers are getting bigger

18 DELIVERY TACTICS THAT WORK Respect Reputation

19 ARE YOU A HIPPO*? Validated test result determines the decision 21% CMO or business unit head makes the decision 23% Only 21% of companies use valid tests to optimize web design Other 4% Marketing department decides collaboratively 36% Marketing department decides based on published best practices 16% Of those, only 40% test for validity threats Source: 2011 MarketingSherpa Landing Page Optimization Benchmark Survey Methodology: Fielded Feb ruary 2011, N=2,673 *Highest Paid Person in the Organization

20 Effectiveness BLOGGING AND BLOGGER RELATIONS RULE B2B 24% 21% 18% 15% 12% 9% 6% 3% Sharing content on multimedia sites Sharing content Social news releases Sphere size indicates level of usage Using social media for SEO Social networks Microblogging Advertising on social media sites Blogging Blogger and online influencer relations 0% 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% Blogging has high effectiveness and usage Social networks are the most commonly used social marketing platform Opportunity: blogger and online influencer relations Effort required Source: MarketingSherpa B2B Marketing Benchmark Survey Methodology: Fielded Aug 2010, N=935

21 SOCIAL MEDIA IMPACTS SEO PERFORMANCE Social Media Users Non-Social Media Users 27% 17% Organic search traffic 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 Source / Methodology: MarketingSherpa Search Marketing Benchmark Survey / Fielded April, 2010 N=2,194

22 THREE FACTORS OF A SUCCESSFUL PPC CAMPAIGN Simplicity Relevance Measurement 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!

23 WEBINARS SUCCESS DEPENDS ON CONTENT Relevant content is still king Lead generation and lead nurturing tactic Great for reaching personas

24 LEAD GEN TARGETING

25 TARGETING TACTICS THAT WORK Ideal Customer Account Characteristics Ideal Customer Buyer Persona Characteristics Identify (which?) Size (how many?) Stratify (how much effort?) Ideal Customer Opportunity Characteristics

26 TARGETING TACTICS THAT WORK Ideal Customer Account Characteristics Ideal Customer Opportunity Characteristics Ideal Customer Buyer Persona Characteristics Who to ask: Sales (Lead Roundtable) Solution Management Professional Service Customer Service Best customers (duh!)

27 TARGETING TACTICS THAT WORK Ideal Customer Account Characteristics Ideal Customer Opportunity Characteristics Ideal Customer Buyer Persona Characteristics Think about your media strategy and content strategy in terms of these characteristics.

28 MARKET PYRAMID: INBOUND PITFALL Ideal Customer Account 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... Source: D&B/Hoovers

29 VALIDATE QUALITATIVE WITH QUANTITATIVE Ideal Customer Account Characteristics Ideal Customer Buyer Persona Characteristics Start with Qualitative Ideal Customer Opportunity Characteristics Validate with Quantitative

30 LEAD GEN MESSAGING

31 VOICE OF THE CUSTOMER PLAYBOOK I Conversational interviews: From each department, 7 to 10 internal thoughtleaders 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

32 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

33 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.

34 KEY TAKE-AWAYS Lead generation scales sales teams Relevant content matters in all channels Focus on the right customers and prospects

35 THANK YOU! J. David Green Director, Marketing Partnerships (904)

36 Chad Pollitt Slingshot SEO

37 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

38 THE ROLE OF SEO & SOCIAL 1» BRAND 2» CONTENT 3» DISTRIBUTION 4» ENGAGEMENT Twitter: #ET12

39 TAKEAWAY #1 Social Media and Search Engines are Content Distribution Platforms

40 #ET12

41 #ET12

42 #ET12

43 ONLINE LEAD GENERATION IN CONTEXT #ET12

44 TAKEAWAY #2 Expect Demand Generation to Create Demand for Your Content and NOT for Your Products or Services

45 INBOUND MARKETING CAMPAIGNS #ET12

46 TAKEAWAY #3 The Inbound Campaign Structure is a Lead Gen and Nurture Process

47 EFFECTS ON TRAFFIC & LEADS #ET12

48 EFFECTS ON TRAFFIC & LEADS #ET12

49 EFFECTS ON TRAFFIC & LEADS #ET12

50 EFFECTS ON TRAFFIC & LEADS #ET12

51 EFFECTS ON TRAFFIC & LEADS #ET12

52 EFFECTS ON TRAFFIC & LEADS #ET12

53 EFFECTS ON TRAFFIC & LEADS #ET12

54 EFFECTS ON TRAFFIC & LEADS #ET12

55 TAKEAWAY #4 Inbound Marketing Positively Effects ALL Inbound Lead Gen Channels

56 TAKEAWAYS 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 Twitter: #ET12

57 FINAL TAKEAWAY Right Content + Right Person + Right Time + Right Channel = Wider Sales Funnel + Acceleration Through it

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59 THANK YOU Chad Pollitt director of marketing OFFICE» ext. 256 MOBILE» WEB» SlingshotSEO.com Twitter: #ET12