Derek Edmond says, “Keyword research can be overwhelming for clients. In its most basic form, keyword research will almost always consist of a spreadsheet of hundreds, if not thousands of words and phrases, or “key phrases.” In an effort to make this type of deliverable more “digestible” for clients, KoMarketing (my employer) will often organize these key phrases around core themes, like solution sets or product categories. From there, we try to prioritize keyword recommendations based on available metrics such as monthly search estimates and applicability to the client. Unfortunately,... [...]

Lindsay Kolowich says, “For B2B tech marketers, it’s crucial to understand the real value of the technology you’re promoting – whether it’s a simple consumer product or a complicated enterprise service. The real trick of technology marketing is learning a subject (one which may be completely foreign to you) quickly and efficiently. When that subject is a complex technology tool or service, you might feel lost trying to comprehend everything there is to know. While I can’t give you a crash course in your client’s work—only they can do that successfully—I can offer... [...]

Laura Ramos says, “I have a confession to make. I love talking with B2B marketers and clients, but there is one question I get occasionally that really makes me crazy. (And you will hear an earful if you are unfortunate enough to ask it.) “Laura, what’s working well in B2B marketing tactics?” And I’m thinking, “Do I look like the Lone Ranger?” (Silver bullets? Get it?) To be fair, when marketers ask me “What works best?” I don’t really think they are looking for a simple and seemingly magical solution to a complicated problem. Most just want to validate their current... [...]

Aaron Ross says, “What’s the difference between the sales email no one opens and responds to and the one that generates dozens of new customers? Is it the subject line, the length, the way the copy is written, or the ideas contained in the content? The answer is a combination of all of the above. Start tracking the performance of your sales email templates in HubSpot’s free CRM software. If you have a targeted lead list and your response rate is less than 10% with personalized emails, your emails could use some work. Earlier this year a B2B company came to me for help with their emails.... [...]

Ayaz Nanji says, “B2B marketers say increasing brand awareness and dealing with budget constraints are the top challenges they face, according to a report from B2B International. The report was based on data from a survey conducted in 2015 of 181 marketers for B2B companies around the world. Respondents were asked to list the top challenges their organization faces without any options or prompts by the researchers. Some 13% of respondents say increasing brand awareness is a top marketing challenge, and the same percentage list budget constraints. Other major challenges cited include doing... [...]

Peter O’Neill says, “For the past six years, Forrester has held its Sales Enablement Forum for B2B marketing professionals in March, the first two years in San Francisco and then down in Scottsdale (see here for my debrief from the successful 2015 event). I’ve already had a few calls and emails asking me about this year’s Forum: What is the agenda? Where and when is it being held? So, here is a timely reminder that we have reconfigured our events calendar this year and the 2016 B2B Marketing Forum is now scheduled for October 18 and 19 in Miami, Florida. Planning is well underway:... [...]

Steve Casey says, “Greetings! This is week three in my journey as a Forrester analyst serving you, B2B marketing professionals, after nearly as many decades as a practitioner like you. I’d like to start our conversation by sharing an idea I had the opportunity to explore during the interview process for this position. It was a process I enjoyed tremendously by the way, because it allowed me to connect the dots between several trends I had observed in my most recent role, where I led marketing for a digital engagement platform vendor, and some recent research from Forrester, most notably... [...]

Daniel Klein says, “Delivering credible, objective, and engaging content is a must for today’s B2B marketer as prospects discover, explore, and buy your solution. But what attributes and sources make content credible and objective to B2B buyers? This is a common question asked of my consulting team, and in the age of the customer — where empowered buyers rely on multiple content sources before talking with a sales team and 50% of buyers say much of the content they receive is useless — the answer is more important than ever. To get answers to this and other key questions we receive... [...]

Chris Sheen says, “Like many companies, in the last 12 months the main focus of our marketing strategy was to produce content. And lots of it. However, on further inspection it turns out we might have been focusing on the wrong metrics. So whether you’re a B2C marketer or B2B marketer like myself, you’re probably under a fair amount of pressure to produce content. Bill Gates famously declared that “Content is King” back in 1996 (yep, 20 years ago!) while more recently, respected marketers like Ann Handley have taught us that the best content is “useful, enjoyable and... [...]

Ed King says, “Congratulations! You have invested in a customer relationship management (CRM) and a marketing automation platform (MAP). You are capturing leads and running campaigns. Ready for more? Your next mission, if you choose to accept it, is segmentation. In this article we’ll explore four ways segmentation can improve demand generation, along with four practical tips on what and how to segment. Segmentation Is Key to Demand Generation Segmentation is the foundation of… Your ideal customer profile and target accounts lists: The best prospects are often those who resemble... [...]