Posts Tagged ‘low cost marketing’
Ways to Use Facebook to Market Your Business
Monday, June 6th, 2011
According to a recent survey regarding social media, 68 percent of Facebook fans stated they are highly likely to recommend products they like to their friends. In fact, Facebook users spend an average of $71.84 more each year than consumers who don’t use Facebook.
Another advantage of using Facebook for business is that it’s a form of inbound marketing; visitors to your page are probably already interested in what you have to offer.
Fan pages offer a number of tools to help you add content and customize the page to reflect your brand. It’s important to note that there is a difference between your Facebook profile page or “wall” and your Fan page, or business page.
After logging in to your Facebook account, follow these simple steps to create your Fan page:
- Click the link on the left side of the page that says “Ads and Pages.”
- On the page that appears, click the button that says “Add Page
- Choose the type of page you want to add. Most businesses will want to choose the option that reads “Brand, Product, or Organization.”
- Next, choose the type of page you plan to create. If your main goal is to direct visitors to your website, then select “Website.”
- Enter a name for your page. This can be the name of your business or website.
- Click “Create Page.”
- Add a photo by in the box in the upper left that has a question mark. Click “Change Picture” to upload your photo.
- Click “Edit Page” below the picture to start creating content for your page. Add a welcome message and a link to your website. Always provide useful information that your visitors would want to share with their friends. When you’re done, click “View Page,” and then “Publish Page” in the upper right corner when you’re ready to publish.
You can also add an opt-in form to your Facebook page by clicking on “Applications,” selecting “FBML” and pasting the code from your email provider into the FBML box.
Make your site engaging by adding videos (also in the “Applications” page). Start a discussion forum to help you get to know your potential customers. Post questions and encourage visitors to share their opinions. You can post updates to the “Notes” page, which functions essentially as a blog.
Businesses can also create a Facebook ad campaign. Facebook ads can be highly effective because you have the ability to target your campaign according to the expressed interests of Facebook users.
Once you’ve gained a level of familiarity with Facebook, you’ll be able to add content and post updates quickly and efficiently, keeping your Fan page fresh and appealing.
Four Reasons to Buy Sales Leads
Saturday, June 4th, 2011Two Cost-Effective Alternatives to In-House Email Marketing
Saturday, February 5th, 2011
Email marketing is without doubt one of the best ways for B2B companies to acquire new leads. That’s why a recent study by BtoB Magazine found that 80 percent of the companies surveyed plan to increase their online marketing budget and of those, 68.6 percent intend to invest more in their email marketing campaigns.
To produce high quality leads, however, email marketing must be well planned and executed, with proper attention given to segmenting and targeting your audience. To optimize the results of your campaigns, you must determine your most crucial and actionable key performance indicators and test the results of each campaign accordingly.
Many companies report that the most challenging aspect of successful email marketing lies in finding employees with the expertise to properly develop and implement an email strategy. A recent survey by InsideUp found that for 70 percent of B2B companies, lack of expertise within their firm and difficulty finding qualified people to do the work were the biggest obstacles to successful online marketing.
Additionally, in-house email marketing can drain your budget and resources and make your marketing department more dependant on IT. It will also require a substantial investment in customized software and server technology.
If this scenario rings true for your company, there are two excellent options that will allow you to reap the benefits of email marketing without the expense and hassle involved with hiring an in-house staff.
1. Outsource Your Email Marketing – Finding a quality email marketing company to take care of your needs can save your company considerable expense, not only in regard to hiring an in-house staff, but also in terms of email server processing power and internal bandwidth. You will have the advantage of the email provider’s expertise in all aspects of email marketing, such as list management, customized content, deliverability, testing and tracking, and regulatory compliance.
2. Purchase Quality, Pre-Qualified Leads – The crème of online lead generation companies have turned the process of generating quality, real-time warm leads into a veritable science. By diverting a portion of your online marketing budget toward purchasing leads that have been verified and scored using a detailed scoring process, you gain immediate access to prospects who are actively seeking your services–at a fraction of what it would cost to pull leads of similar quality from your own email marketing campaigns.
Strong Social Media Growth Presents Challenges…Benefits to B2B Marketers
Monday, January 3rd, 2011The big news for B2B companies for 2011 is the undeniable trend toward social media marketing. In fact, Forrester Research predicts that B2B companies will increase budgets for interactive marketing spend to $54 million by 2014, double the amount spent in 2009. And for good reason: according to SiriusDecisions, by 2015 as much as 75 percent of B2B demand will come from the Internet.
Clearly there is great potential for B2B social marketing as prospects regularly go online to research business services and vendors. Social media can — and should — be used to engage prospects and interact with them throughout the buying cycle. Many companies are already immersing themselves in the social media marketing scene, with excellent results. A recent report by Mashable cited a study in which the vast majority — 86 percent — of B2B companies said they use social media for marketing.
Yet according to Marketing Sherpa’s recent social media benchmark survey, shown in the chart below, 48 percent of participants stated that social media was only “somewhat effective” at generating leads. 
This is likely due to the fact that many companies lack well-defined strategies for capturing online prospects through social media, as well as the resources to develop and implement such strategies. A study by White Horse Marketing reported that 60 percent of B2B firms have no staff dedicated to social media and a mere 10 percent use outside agencies or consultants.
Successful social media marketing does require a substantial commitment in terms of time and budget. B2B online marketing is always evolving — and becoming more fragmented. It is no longer a simple matter of mastering search marketing. Companies must now become adept at effectively leveraging video, blogs, Facebook, Twitter and a plethora of other tools. Finding out where your prospects are and what type of online media they are using involves constant, diligent research followed by continual fine-tuning of your social media strategy based on your research results.
Consider using the expertise and experience of an outside company that both understands B2B marketing and knows how to effectively use social media to generate quality leads as part of an overall lead generation platform. Using a third-party source for leads could help your organization save countless labor hours and other resources that might otherwise be swallowed up in the social media vortex.
New Iphone App Makes Customer Acquisition Easier
Monday, November 22nd, 2010
If you’re a B2B marketer, by now you have no doubt heard the buzz about the increased use of mobile marketing by B2B companies. One way to take advantage of this new channel for customer acquisition is with B2B iPhone apps such as the Vendor Quotes app, recently released by InsideUp. This innovative app helps marketers take advantage of the ubiquitous nature of mobile media to connect instantly with prospects.
This solution has the potential to greatly increase lead conversion rates. According to an MIT study, the chances of qualifying a lead that is called within five minutes decrease 21 times after just 30 minutes have passed. The key to making that crucial immediate contact lies in eliminating or reducing any processes that can eat into those critical first minutes.
By following a few simple steps outlined in the instruction document for the Vendor Quotes app, marketers will be able to receive leads directly to their Salesforce account. The leads will be posted using a standard Salesforce field, such as name, company, title, industry, phone number, etc. Category-specific questions and answers will then be posted to the “Description” field.
This new app will be an indispensable time-saver for businesses. The immediacy of such a system makes it simple and cost-effective for businesses to receive ready-access to service providers. It allows companies to respond the moment a potential customer submits a request, which makes this a valuable tool for both small and large business owners.
Keeping Prospects Engaged Through Email Can Lead to Future Sales
Tuesday, July 13th, 2010Email is proving to be one of the most effective means of initiating contact with and nurturing B2B leads. A recent study by MarketingProfs found that companies offering business services were among those who experienced the highest open rates (at 21.9 percent) as well as an excellent click ratio (at 4.9 percent) in their email campaigns.
In a 2010 survey conducted by Datran Marketing, 39.4 percent (the highest result) of industry executives, reported that the email was the most effective advertising channel for their company.
A strong email marketing campaign will combine the right timing of emails with a targeted campaign based on where your leads are in the sales cycle. Building a relationship in this way will result in greater customer retention and higher repeat purchase rates.
In fact, a 2009 study conducted by the Direct Marketing Association revealed that email marketing resulted in an ROI of $43.62 on every dollar spent. This was the highest rate of all direct marketing methods.
Immediate Initial Contact Followed by Nurturing—A Golden Combination
The best time to email a new lead is within the first five minutes of receiving the lead. Take this opportunity to thank them for their interest and to present any special offers you have as further incentive to try out your services.
Use email to build trust throughout the sales cycle. This is especially effective for B2B purchases, which typically have a longer sales cycle as the buying decision goes through various levels of approval. Your emails can create an atmosphere of goodwill and demonstrate that you’re there to help them find solutions.
Focus on providing real value with every email; your prospects will appreciate the fact that you are delivering more than just a sales pitch, and the occasional testimonial or case study regarding your services will be well received.
Once you have closed a sale, send an immediate thank you email and let your customer know you are there if they need help. This is a good time to offer tips on how to get the most from their purchase.
Retention emails afford the opportunity for future sales, but be careful to avoid a “hard sell,” and always pepper your sales messages and offers with useful tips and information that will help build confidence and trust in your company.
So what are the best times to contact your leads? As with telephone marketing, the best time to email a new lead is within the first five minutes of receiving the lead. Take this opportunity to thank them for their interest, and to present any special offers you have as further incentive to try out your services.
Email is a valuable tool for building trust throughout the sales cycle. This is especially true for B2B purchases, which typically have a longer sales cycle as the buying decision goes through various levels of approval within a company.
A slower economy has also contributed to lengthening sales cycles, resulting in an even greater need to fine-tune the nurturing process. An effective email campaign can help create an atmosphere of goodwill with your prospects and demonstrate that you’re there to help them find solutions.
Strategic consultants at Responsys suggest using a progressive profiling system, asking only one question with each email, letting the customer set the tone and pace, and being careful to never assume too much about your prospect.
During the consideration phase, continue to monitor the data you collect about your prospect and change your messages accordingly.
Strategists for ExactTarget recommend that companies focus on two complementary goals during this stage: Deliver content that helps establish the company as the expert on the topic of interest, and educate the consumer on the products or services the consumer inquired about.
Inbound Marketing—Why it’s Less Expensive and More Effective
Wednesday, April 28th, 2010
It seems you can’t go online, turn on the television, or even step outside without being bombarded with advertising by companies desperately trying to convince you of their superiority. Most people, however, are so accustomed to these ads, they simply tune them out. Which is bad news for the B2B marketers who are still spending much of their budget on these outbound lead generation methods.
That is exactly why many businesses, especially small and medium sized ones, are gravitating toward inbound marketing methods. Unlike outbound marketing, where companies cast their advertising “net” out on the waters along with every other business, and hope it lands in the right spot, inbound marketing draws customers by offering valuable information, and the opportunity to find out more about your company via online interaction.
Inbound marketing is more effective in establishing a relationship with your prospective customers, giving you the chance to become a reliable resource for business advice in your area of expertise. Once you have established this kind of trust with people, your company will be the natural choice when they need to make a purchase.
Another key reason for this shift in marketing focus is that, according to a new survey by Hubspot, the average cost per lead generated through inbound marketing is sixty percent lower than that of leads obtained through outbound marketing. The survey found that marketers spend an average of $332 on outbound marketing to generate one lead, whereas inbound marketing produces leads at an average cost of $134 each.
Inbound marketing does, however, take a commitment. You will need to not only establish your company’s blogs and other social media channels, but also cultivate and nurture them. But in time, if you consistently serve up information your customers find useful, you will begin to develop a loyal following, and your efforts will be rewarded.
In the meantime, you can jump-start your inbound marketing campaign by purchasing leads from a lead generation company that uses inbound marketing methods and allows you to interact with your prospects, learn about their business needs, and even give quotes for your services. Your cost for these leads will most likely be even less than what you will spend on your own inbound marketing efforts, and will be of the same, or superior quality.
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