Comments for The Point http://spearmarketing.com/blog Best Practices & Principles in B2B Demand Generation Thu, 02 Sep 2010 13:44:19 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0.1 Comment on Eloqua’s “Juan Eloqua” Campaign: Email Creative at Its Best by Mike Kissel http://spearmarketing.com/blog/eloqua%e2%80%99s-%e2%80%9cjuan-eloqua%e2%80%9d-campaign-email-creative-at-its-best/comment-page-1/#comment-275 Mike Kissel Thu, 02 Sep 2010 13:44:19 +0000 http://spearmarketing.com/blog/?p=1404#comment-275 I would say this is mildly clever at best. Personally, I fail to draw a connection between an enterprise level Demand Generation tech company and coffee. Well done creative helps to instill a feeling I received this same email yesterday. In my inbox, as well as your screen shot the template is clearly broken due to padding around images that should have been removed. Clicking through to the static web page also shows a plethora of copy from pre-headers/footers that should have been removed, not to mention broken links. This gets a #fail in my book. I would say this is mildly clever at best. Personally, I fail to draw a connection between an enterprise level Demand Generation tech company and coffee. Well done creative helps to instill a feeling

I received this same email yesterday. In my inbox, as well as your screen shot the template is clearly broken due to padding around images that should have been removed. Clicking through to the static web page also shows a plethora of copy from pre-headers/footers that should have been removed, not to mention broken links. This gets a #fail in my book.

]]> Comment on Are Webinars too Popular? by jason rushin http://spearmarketing.com/blog/are-webinars-too-popular/comment-page-1/#comment-264 jason rushin Wed, 04 Aug 2010 18:01:19 +0000 http://spearmarketing.com/blog/?p=1351#comment-264 Great insights, Howard! As a prospect, I've been so disappointed by the bland, droning, poorly-executed webinars that I rarely attend them anymore. And when I do, my already-low expectations aren't even met. As a marketer, I've chosen to make my webinars much shorter (20 minutes or so), much more to the point, and with almost no company sales pitch content except a link to more info. For timing, I totally agree that today's B2B prospects are way to busy to commit to 60- or even 45-minutes. I've hit the 20-minute mark, but with YouTube as a model, 10- or 15-minutes might be the "new" limit. Making it shorter seems to work, but attendance rates are still well below 50%. (I'd love to see some "typical" stats on webinar sign-ups vs. attendance, if you have that. Would also be interesting to know if "live only, no recording" would help attendance?) Having "a particularly well-known or dynamic speaker" is another critical aspect, as you point out. While well-known can help draw leads, dynamic is the key to delivering memorable and effective content. A monotone voice that essentially reads from the slides is the best way to frustrate attendees, as are poorly-designed, busy, and sloppy slides. For content, I get so many B2B marketing emails for webinars that tout the vendor's company or offerings, not the content of the webinar. Yes, there's a place for a product-focused webinar, but as you point out, that's for customers or late-stage prospects, not your general lead population. Great to read your detailed comments. If only marketers would put your insights into practice! Great insights, Howard! As a prospect, I’ve been so disappointed by the bland, droning, poorly-executed webinars that I rarely attend them anymore. And when I do, my already-low expectations aren’t even met. As a marketer, I’ve chosen to make my webinars much shorter (20 minutes or so), much more to the point, and with almost no company sales pitch content except a link to more info.

For timing, I totally agree that today’s B2B prospects are way to busy to commit to 60- or even 45-minutes. I’ve hit the 20-minute mark, but with YouTube as a model, 10- or 15-minutes might be the “new” limit. Making it shorter seems to work, but attendance rates are still well below 50%. (I’d love to see some “typical” stats on webinar sign-ups vs. attendance, if you have that. Would also be interesting to know if “live only, no recording” would help attendance?)

Having “a particularly well-known or dynamic speaker” is another critical aspect, as you point out. While well-known can help draw leads, dynamic is the key to delivering memorable and effective content. A monotone voice that essentially reads from the slides is the best way to frustrate attendees, as are poorly-designed, busy, and sloppy slides.

For content, I get so many B2B marketing emails for webinars that tout the vendor’s company or offerings, not the content of the webinar. Yes, there’s a place for a product-focused webinar, but as you point out, that’s for customers or late-stage prospects, not your general lead population.

Great to read your detailed comments. If only marketers would put your insights into practice!

]]> Comment on Getting the Most from Salesforce.com: A Conversation with David Taber by David Taber http://spearmarketing.com/blog/getting-the-most-from-salesforce-com-a-conversation-with-david-taber/comment-page-1/#comment-261 David Taber Mon, 26 Jul 2010 13:29:25 +0000 http://spearmarketing.com/blog/?p=1337#comment-261 Chris, The problem you are having with the "total leads" report is that you're trying to do it as one report. SFDC just can't do reports that span Leads and Contacts (and Opportunities) at the same time. You have to use an external reporting tool like Crystal or Birst to provide the unified view. Or, if you have internal coding resources, Access or Excel plus Visual Basic. You're not the only one who's tripped across this issue! Chris,

The problem you are having with the “total leads” report is that you’re trying to do it as one report. SFDC just can’t do reports that span Leads and Contacts (and Opportunities) at the same time. You have to use an external reporting tool like Crystal or Birst to provide the unified view. Or, if you have internal coding resources, Access or Excel plus Visual Basic.

You’re not the only one who’s tripped across this issue!

]]> Comment on Getting the Most from Salesforce.com: A Conversation with David Taber by Chris Keller http://spearmarketing.com/blog/getting-the-most-from-salesforce-com-a-conversation-with-david-taber/comment-page-1/#comment-259 Chris Keller Wed, 21 Jul 2010 15:48:00 +0000 http://spearmarketing.com/blog/?p=1337#comment-259 Great interview. Expertise like David's is much needed for marketers today. I for one am battle scarred from a previous marketing automation integration with Salesforce. My still unresolved big issue with Salesforce was reporting "total leads" that ever enter the top of the funnel. Even after engaging their sales engineers, we could not find an automated solution to create a end-to-end lead water flow report per stage. The problem was once a lead was converted, it fell out of the "total leads" generated bucket. That was a big problem that created confusion and doubt in the numbers when "total leads" reported decreased month over month as leads were converted. That appears to still be a big Salesforce problem. Great interview. Expertise like David’s is much needed for marketers today. I for one am battle scarred from a previous marketing automation integration with Salesforce. My still unresolved big issue with Salesforce was reporting “total leads” that ever enter the top of the funnel. Even after engaging their sales engineers, we could not find an automated solution to create a end-to-end lead water flow report per stage. The problem was once a lead was converted, it fell out of the “total leads” generated bucket. That was a big problem that created confusion and doubt in the numbers when “total leads” reported decreased month over month as leads were converted. That appears to still be a big Salesforce problem.

]]> Comment on Are Webinars too Popular? by Jep Castelein (LeadSloth) http://spearmarketing.com/blog/are-webinars-too-popular/comment-page-1/#comment-257 Jep Castelein (LeadSloth) Mon, 19 Jul 2010 19:50:06 +0000 http://spearmarketing.com/blog/?p=1351#comment-257 Hi Howard, this is a great post. I agree that not enough companies ask themselves the question "why would someone want to attend this event?" and use that in their invitations. Additionally, I find webinars a good format for lead generation with partners. You can share leads and expand your database. It's easy to co-present a webinar, while it's not always easy to co-author a whitepaper. Hi Howard, this is a great post. I agree that not enough companies ask themselves the question “why would someone want to attend this event?” and use that in their invitations.

Additionally, I find webinars a good format for lead generation with partners. You can share leads and expand your database. It’s easy to co-present a webinar, while it’s not always easy to co-author a whitepaper.

]]> Comment on Do Email Open Rates Really Matter? by Tom Elrod http://spearmarketing.com/blog/do-email-open-rates-really-matter/comment-page-1/#comment-251 Tom Elrod Thu, 01 Jul 2010 21:21:28 +0000 http://spearmarketing.com/blog/?p=1292#comment-251 Excellent post Howard and right on the money. Open rates can really only provide a general gauge for success, regardless of the email platform being used due to technical limitations. Measuring email click rates will provide a much more accurate measure since it requires explicit action by the recipient. Going a step further, being able to also measure conversions post-click is even better (i.e. how many actually signed up for the offer being promoted via the email campaign). Excellent post Howard and right on the money. Open rates can really only provide a general gauge for success, regardless of the email platform being used due to technical limitations. Measuring email click rates will provide a much more accurate measure since it requires explicit action by the recipient. Going a step further, being able to also measure conversions post-click is even better (i.e. how many actually signed up for the offer being promoted via the email campaign).

]]> Comment on Help Our Client Choose a Logo (Poll) by Dennis Hogan http://spearmarketing.com/blog/help-our-client-choose-a-logo-poll/comment-page-1/#comment-250 Dennis Hogan Thu, 24 Jun 2010 03:50:57 +0000 http://spearmarketing.com/blog/?p=1153#comment-250 I am in the custom apparel business, mostly embroidery. I chose "C" because I think it fit well into an apparel program for the business - it is clean & crisp and has the right amount of open space in the design. It would lend it's self to both screen printing and embroidery I am in the custom apparel business, mostly embroidery.
I chose “C” because I think it fit well into an apparel program for the business – it is clean & crisp and has the right amount of open space in the design. It would lend it’s self to both screen printing and embroidery

]]> Comment on Help Our Client Choose a Logo (Poll) by Diane Frieders http://spearmarketing.com/blog/help-our-client-choose-a-logo-poll/comment-page-1/#comment-249 Diane Frieders Thu, 17 Jun 2010 16:51:34 +0000 http://spearmarketing.com/blog/?p=1153#comment-249 I voted for "C" because it says it all at a glance - Canopy Tours - you don't need to search for what they are selling. However, I believe, it would have all the right dimensions if it had the style of tree as in "D" with the smaller tree at the other end, use black lettering for Sonoma and change out the green for lime green and blue-for the zipliner and "zip the redwoods. It would be a win/win. It's about time we have zip lining in the U.S. - Good for them!!!! We loved it in Costa Rica years ago. I voted for “C” because it says it all at a glance – Canopy Tours – you don’t need to search for what they are selling. However, I believe, it would have all the right dimensions if it had the style of tree as in “D” with the smaller tree at the other end, use black lettering for Sonoma and change out the green for lime green and blue-for the zipliner and “zip the redwoods. It would be a win/win. It’s about time we have zip lining in the U.S. – Good for them!!!! We loved it in Costa Rica years ago.

]]> Comment on New White Paper: Top 10 Tips for Lead Nurturing Success by Ardath Albee http://spearmarketing.com/blog/new-white-paper-top-10-tips-for-lead-nurturing-success/comment-page-1/#comment-248 Ardath Albee Sat, 12 Jun 2010 18:20:29 +0000 http://spearmarketing.com/blog/?p=1260#comment-248 Hi Howard, Just wanted you to know that I think your white paper is a fantastic resource for B2B marketers! Not only do you provide 10 solid tips, but you share great examples and ideas to show marketers how to approach each one effectively. Nicely done! Ardath Hi Howard,

Just wanted you to know that I think your white paper is a fantastic resource for B2B marketers!

Not only do you provide 10 solid tips, but you share great examples and ideas to show marketers how to approach each one effectively.

Nicely done!
Ardath

]]> Comment on Help Our Client Choose a Logo (Poll) by Fran http://spearmarketing.com/blog/help-our-client-choose-a-logo-poll/comment-page-1/#comment-247 Fran Tue, 08 Jun 2010 18:32:02 +0000 http://spearmarketing.com/blog/?p=1153#comment-247 I voted for C for overall design. However, I like the size of the tree in D, E and I better, as it emphasizes the sheer size of the whole effort. Perhaps modify C by making the upper (branched) part of the tree a bit bushier and extending the trunk down to the baseline of the tag line? Also have to admit that I absolutely don't care for the graphic representing the person. It strikes me as awkward and cartoonish. I voted for C for overall design. However, I like the size of the tree in D, E and I better, as it emphasizes the sheer size of the whole effort. Perhaps modify C by making the upper (branched) part of the tree a bit bushier and extending the trunk down to the baseline of the tag line? Also have to admit that I absolutely don’t care for the graphic representing the person. It strikes me as awkward and cartoonish.

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