B2B Marketing Agency Client Relationships – What Changed?
The relationship between a B2B marketing agency and its client used to be easy to define. Then along came the concept of inbound marketing and everything changed. In the past, the agency/client process tended to follow the steps outlined below: A Client has a...
Websites And The Corporate Brand
The first step before embarking on any website development exercise is to define its primary purpose. It could be a corporate presence that builds credibility to aid client retention, or it may be a lead generation tool. We suggest it cannot be both. Choose between a...
The Short Term Impact Of Reduced Marketing Spending
What is the real impact of reduced marketing spending? Many suggest it is a false economy but the truth is it can often have a negligible short term impact on sales. The marketing process can continue to have an impact several months after marketing personnel have...
Use Content To Build Credibility In B2B Markets
In risk-averse B2B markets, supplier credibility is a key distinguishing factor. This post suggests four ways a business can use content to build credibility in B2B markets. Four factors that influence the credibility of a supplier are: Social proof. The quality of...
Organising A B2B Lead Generation Team
How should a B2B lead generation team be organised? What tactics are best? Who is responsible for delivery and what can be outsourced? Without a solid strategy, whatever tactics are employed are likely to fail. Without the right team and (crucially) the right team...
4 Advantages and Disadvantages Of Inbound Marketing
Before considering the advantages and disadvantages of inbound marketing a definition is appropriate. According to David Meerman Scott ‘inbound marketing is about developing marketing activities that ‘pull’ people into your site, generally through compelling content...
Improving The Marketing And Sales Relationship
In this post, we consider possible ways to improve the marketing and sales relationship. We then discuss the potential sales and marketing alignment benefits of an Account-Based Marketing approach. Areas of conflict Between Sales And Marketing The potential for...
9 Key Inbound Marketing Skills
In B2B markets there has been a shift toward inbound marketing in recent years. This, in turn, has modified the skill sets required by marketers. Today the main skills marketers need are: Strategy, planning and segmentation. The ability to write high...
5 Reasons To Use An External Marketing Team
What are the advantages of an external marketing team compared to the in house approach? Is an external marketing agency just another cost or can they deliver real benefits? This post sets out to answer those questions. Outsourcing marketing to an experienced...
The B2B Market Segmentation Process
The time taken to undertake a B2B market segmentation process is rarely wasted. It can be all too easy for a sales department to lack focus and to chase the easy target. The prospects competitors chase, or the contacts that are always open for a visit. Instead, it is...