Not so long ago a company could send a newsletter and have an 80% open rate, or post on social media and have copious amounts of impressions and clicks. Of course with today’s rapidly evolving online world, the phrase “not so long ago” refers to 6 months ago. Ok, ok - maybe not 6 months ago per se. The fact is that it is continually harder for a company to get its message out to who it’s trying to reach. A good Marketing professional knows what content generates a response, and what generates clicks.
But today, we need more. Clicks aren’t enough. The problem becomes how to move beyond just counting clicks, and even just counting leads, to generate meaningful high quality opportunities that will turn into actual sales.
In our new eBook, 7 Steps That Drive Marketing ROI, we describe how to use Technology Accelerators, digital marketing and content to create an opportunity-generation system that goes far beyond lead-gen. The intent is to build a true “click-to-close” marketing system that drives the sales and marketing funnel with greater efficiency.
Traditionally, leads often get pushed aside by a sales force who are unable to tell who’s ready to buy, compared to someone who’s in early-stage research who may never turn into revenue. What does the sales team do? Exactly what anyone would do who’s compensated on closing deals. They treat all leads as a waste of time, rather than focus on leads ready to turn into revenue.
And who could blame them? There’s no way to tell a tire kicker from a hot opportunity. Salespeople are paid to sell, not to spend 6-9 months qualifying and nurturing a lead until it’s sales-ready. That’s marketing’s job.
So, how to do it? Our eBook walks through 7 critical steps companies can use to improve their sales and marketing impact. Just installing a CRM system such as Salesforce, or beginning an advertising program, or attending a trade show, aren’t going to put you on the path to Marketing ROI. Just as there’s a disciplined process for running manufacturing, finance or any other department, there’s a disciplined process for good marketing.
Predict it. Control it. And improve it. Find out how, and see what tools to use, with our new Marketing ROI eBook.
