'Intent -Driven' Sales & Marketing Campaigns – The New B2B Buzz Word!

Marketing Automation as an industry has witnessed some phenomenal growth in the recent years. The existing solutions have changed the way B2B companies do business today. Traditional, B2B marketing techniques like  cold calls, direct mails etc. now have more data and insight to support. Also, the B2B websites have transformed into a fertile ground for companies to find interested prospects.

In many ways marketing automation solutions have added the much needed momentum to a sector which has a lot at stake, when it comes to making a sale.

The other area in which marketing automation solutions have added value to B2B companies are by helping them measure some aspects of their marketing ROI – especially the contribution marketing makes towards the sales in an organization.

In the last two decades, the marketing automation industry has evolved and found solutions for many problems faced by the B2B sector. Finding more qualified Leads, deploying customized Lead nurturing programs and overall better Lead management is now a reality.

However, the advent of social media and the availability of content rich information has changed the way people buy and sell these days. Marketing itself has undergone a sea change with marketers engaging prospects on a one-on-one basis. B2C companies quickly adapted to this change and have thrived on their new found closeness with their customers – but B2B companies are still not there. They need a more substantial solution to deepen their engagement with their prospects and customers which in turn will generate more business opportunities.

LeadForce1 Offering an Integrated Marketing Automation2.0 platform

LeadForce1 a marketing automation2.0 solution which was launched today,  is a solution which will help B2B companies cope with the changing dynamics of B2B marketing.

LeadForce1 offers the unique benefit of being able to determine an online visitor’s interests and intent, using advanced behavioral analysis. Marketing and sales teams can now precisely manage lead nurturing programs and effectively target messages and offers that are customized around the interests of each individual lead. The result is marketing campaigns with greater impact, larger sales pipelines, and improved sales productivity.

LeadForce1′s greatest differentiator is its ability to find the intent of a website visitor – this information and deep insight into a prospect’s mind, challenges – the existing process of generating, qualifying and nurturing Leads. With the intent of the visitor known, each of these processes take lesser time, are more accurate and customized and promise better results and higher conversions.

The other problem LeadForce1 tries to address is the marketing & sales divide. It provides both the sales and marketing teams with a single opportunity or ‘Lead View’. Giving ‘intent’ – driven insights on individual Leads and Enterprise Leads (gives single view of the behavior patterns of different visitors from the same enterprise).

The solution also offers elements of Web2.0 by incorporating the benefits of social networking and single platform collaboration – allowing all stake holders in a company – the marketing guys, the sales guys and other decision makers to collaborate, share, discuss, deliberate and decide, in real-time – ensuring shorter sales cycles and perusal of only qualified business opportunities – thereby maximizing the ROI.

As a PR & Marketing professional, what I personally liked about LeadForce1, is the fact it can accurately measure not only the ROI on marketing spends but also provide enough data on which marketing channels, what kind of marketing content is bringing in the Leads. This is a great add on for those B2B companies whose marketing spends are focussed on attracting Leads and prospects to their sales funnel. Also, knowing which channels of communication best serve my Company’s needs is great information to have – not only to optimize my reach but also to ensure I achieve my end goals as a marketer.

There are many players in the Marketing Automation space, each offering something – LeadForce1 – is a platform which integrates all – ‘from identifying a visitor to making the live connect’. How the new solution and the 2.0 platform will change the marketing automation industry is yet to be seen, but one thing is guaranteed, B2B companies can now think of engaging with their elusive prospects on a one-on-one basis. Reading their minds, and providing them with sales pitches and lead nurturing materials which will be relevant and truly assist in the decision making process.

5Ms of B2B Online Marketing

The CXO forum sponsored by the Silicon Valley Association of Start-up Entrepreneurs was held recently in San Francisco. In today’s post I quote some excerpts of the presentation given by Srihari Kumar, CEO, LeadForce1. While his presentation was more focussed on the need for Marketing Automation and how companies can gain from this growing phenomenon, what caught my attention was his slide on ‘The 5Ms of Online Marketing‘. These are 5 techniques, that are core to the success of any online B2B marketing campaign.

5Ms of B2B Marketing

1. Map

Before starting any online marketing campaign it is important to map the channels you plan to use for your promotions. All sites and blogs are not equal. Click-throughs and conversion can be dramatically improved by using mediums which offer high value, are influential in your space and have a proven track record. Be it any aspect of marketing – advertising, PR or Buzz generation-  this activity is a must to ensure, you derive more value out of your campaign and your investment.

2. Micro- Segment

One size does not fit all and the same applies to the marketing channels you choose. Campaigns which are tailor made with a specific channels (website, blog, Social network) in mind are more successful. Here tailor made means taking into account the specific attributes of a site you plan to use – like its traffic, site demographics, site popularity, campaign sentiment, campaign focus, catch phrases used etc. Such defined campaigns record higher conversions because they appeal to their target audience – employing a medium and a tone they can identify with.

3. Motivate Social Magnets

As in the offline world, the online world also has its set of influencers who over a period of time have garnered a huge following of people who believe in their expertise, their word. These include, a number of bloggers, tweeters, journalists, social activists etc. in every business or industry space you can probably think of. These are people whose personal opinion makes a lot of difference to the decision taken by their huge list of fans. It pays companies to develop a relationship with these influencers over a period of time just like they would with the media offline. If these inluencers believe in your product or service and write about it using their creative channels, it can make a huge difference to your Brand’s online equity.

4. Moderate

All online marketing campaigns need constant monitoring. You need to get involved, stay involved and show that you care. Respond to any queries and responses on a regular basis. Resolve issues. Also constant monitoring helps you keep track of your campaigns, change its feel and tone as per the reader responses – ensuring you keep the momentum and show your readers that you are paying attention to what they think. Keep updating your readers on the developments – keep them engaged through the life of the campaign – only then can you expect to succeed.

5. Mechanize

Set alerts, notifications etc. to ensure you are in tune and upto date with the status of your marketing campaigns. Automate the process if possible but avoid surprises and action immediately where ever your intervention is required. Ongoing analysis of the data at hand is essential to derive definite action steps for future implementation. Such data should also be used to gain insight  into the reaction of your readers and to decide the fate of the campaign.

The 5Ms precisely put down the wireframe of building a successful B2B online marketing campaign. Reaffirming the need for campaigns which focus on customization and reaching out to that niche audience than going mass with their offerings.