Nonprofits need to be careful stewards of their money. A reluctance to take money away from the mission can stand in the way of implementing best marketing practices or embracing marketing automation technology that can help extend reach and win new advocates. Yet most nonprofits already recognize...
Twitter enables the open exchange real-time information with the world in quick, frequent messaging. This is exactly what makes Twitter great, but also challenging for marketing. How does a company or brand stand out? Hashtags are the main way for people to find what they are looking for. Putting...
There once was a time, ages ago, or at least decades ago, when Internet visitors wouldn’t question a website with a stodgy layout, some distracting link colors (too often fluorescent), and generic clip art. We all know those days are gone. Design is an essential part of building trust with inbound...
B2B sales are all about building relationships. You know that. Yet what are some best practices for building the B2B Sales Funnel? After all, you can’t build relationships if you don’t have the leads to be nurturing in the first place. 1. Connect marketing automation with customer relationship...
Marketers aim to nurture leads and convert prospects into buyers while increasing the lifetime value of each relationship. Ultimately, marketing is a process of providing ongoing education, inspiration, connection, encouragement, purpose, and resolve -- leading to “yes.” A foundational...
As a CMO, you may be anxious about your industry’s changing landscape and the rapid pace of technological advances. The recent CMO-specific follow-up to IBM’s C-suite study suggests you’re not alone. “We’ll have to think differently. We can’t be so monolithic; we need to expand our perspective,” a...
It may be difficult to say “SMarketing” without wanting to snicker, but there are many reasons integrating sales and marketing — known as SMarketing — is nothing to laugh about. "Companies with ‘dynamic, adaptable sales and marketing processes’ report an average of 10% more sales people on-quota...
Inbound marketing is no longer the new buzz phrase. Yet it’s still the new kid on the block (the dreamy one that listens to you) when compared with outbound marketing. Companies are 3X as likely to see higher ROI on inbound marketing campaigns than outbound. — HubSpot, State of Inbound 2015...
The communication service industry took a well-documented hit in 2015 – and it’s expected to continue this year. According to Gartner, worldwide spending fell 8.3% in 2015, and it’s projected to fall an additional 1.2% in 2016. Yet, with the right approach to lead generation, communication service...
Buyer personas are fictional representations of your actual, paying customers, created based on the data you have about them – such as their job title, budget, buying motivation, challenges, company size, age, pain points, education level, buying concerns, etc. Above: Hubspot's persona system Your...