This week I presented at Internet World on behalf of the IDM on the benefits of using Lead Scoring and Lead Nurturing as strategies that can help B2B marketers to efficiently qualify and manage leads from first click to lifetime customer.

One of the biggest advantages of an effective lead nurturing campaign is the ability to use automated communications to enable you to work on prospect lifecycles offering truly relevant and timely information. However, sending information at the right time isn't enough. You also need to make sure the content you are sending remains relevant to the individuals you are speaking to. One of the easiest ways to do this is using simple dynamic content based on the information you have collected as part of the lead management process. For example, when sending case studies as part of your program - instead of sending a generic case study to everyone - target the email by industry sector and send them something they can really identify with. If you have a number of products then send out information on those that are most suitable based on information you have collected previously. Examples of these could be company size, industry sector, number of sales staff etc.

Good marketing is about providing relevant information at the right time. Technology today is a great facilitator of email communications that enable you to take part in a conversation with your customers and prospects, listening to what they want and responding accordingly.

Julie Joseph
eMarketing Consultant, Silverpop EMEA

(Image courtesy of piermario)

Posted by Riaz Kanani at 12:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Silverpop is going to have plenty of presence at Internet World this week with no less than three people holding sessions at the show as well as our stand at E7087.

Look out for the following sessions from the EMEA team:

Engagement Marketing - anticipation instead of interruption:Discussion of key trends that are greatly affecting the ability of email marketers to succeed.
Will Schnabel - VP, General Manager EMEA
Email, Mobile Marketing & Analytics Theatre: Tuesday 28th April, 10:40-11:10am

Engagement through email: How to improve efficiencies through lead scoring and nuturing and managing the sales and marketing relationship better. Actionable tips and advice for getting started.
Julie Joseph, eMarketing Strategy Consultant
Email, Mobile Marketing & Analytics Theatre: Wednesday 29th April, 16:00-16:30am

Panel Debate: DMA Council
As the recession bites, marketers are often pressured into sending more email. What will be the impact of this now and in the longer term?

- What is the impact of this on ROI?
- How do you cut through the clutter?
- Is the situation different for B2B?
- Will volumes change again when the economy improves?

Riaz Kanani, Director, Product Marketing-Internationl
Email, Mobile Marketing & Analytics Theatre: Tuesday 28th April, 16:00-16:30am

We will be Twittering away during the event as well - you can follow us at @Silverpop. There is also a hashtag to allow you to follow the event (#iwexpo) here.

See you there!

Posted by Riaz Kanani at 11:44 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Social Media has been a big topic in marketing for a while now. Last month, Forrester released a report showing that more than 50 percent of marketers planned to increase their investment in social media and predictions place this area as the strongest for growth in 2009.

With conversations coming online through networks like Facebook and Twitter, marketers need to move to take advantage of these new communications channels to reach both existing and prospective customers. To date, the traditional online methods of advertising to this audience have not been successful, but this is because they have not been able to engage with the user. Solving this is a big challenge for marketing today.

This is not something that can wait either.

Rebecca Jennings at Forrester Research posted some statistics earlier this month on how the Baby Boomer generation (43-63 year olds) in Europe are actively using Social Media today.

The research shows that almost half of the younger baby boomers (43-52 year olds) are participating in Social Media today compared to approximately 40% of older baby boomers (53-63 year olds). This is not something that is restricted to Generation X or Y. You can see the country breakdown below.

Twitter (which has seen phenomenal growth last quarter) and Facebook (which is also growing in Europe) are focussed on generating conversations online and continuously trying to reduce the barriers to creating content. Over time, this will reduce the number of spectators and force marketers to become more actively involved and closer to their audience.

Posted by Riaz Kanani at 9:57 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I was fortunate to be part of a debate for the 6th IDM B2B Marketing Conference looking at how companies can “survive and thrive in turbulent times”. The day was jam packed with more than 150 people attending and the conversations seemed to be really upbeat and positive which was great given the turmoil in the economy.

The debate looked at whether B2B marketers need to invest in their brand rather than lead generation to survive in these tough economic times. It went really well, with a lot of audience discussion and interaction. Moderated by Joel Harrison of B2B Marketing, the format encouraged us all to look at the extremes of each motion, and to take sides. It also allowed the panel to keep comments more on topic, rather than on their own service offerings, which can sometimes happen at events such as these. I liked the format so much that I am considering using this in our upcoming B2B masterclass on 14th May (you can find out more here).

As for the outcome of the debate, there was plenty of back and forth and in the end lead generation won by a whisker. It was obvious that the real answer was a compromise between the two, and both set of requirements need to be given attention, while we all ensure we prove our worth while delivering short and long term benefits to our organisations.

Will Schnabel, VP International Markets

Posted by Riaz Kanani at 12:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

At the same time I also want to point you in the direction of our European webinar series. Our first webinar is an introduction to Engagement Marketing for both B2B and B2C marketers given by William Schnabel, General Manager-EMEA. Engagement Marketing allows the marketer to work within a new environment where with the increase in social media, users are having many more conversations online and traditional marketing channels are now just one of many sources of information. You can find out more here.

Posted by Riaz Kanani at 4:02 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)