90octane Partner Sam Eidson spoke about Lead Management Automation at the 2010 Integrated Marketing Summit in Denver, CO this summer. Watch part one of the program as he discusses the importance of establishing goals and metrics before developing a campaign strategy. And then visit the 90octane YouTube channel to watch the entire presentation.

You’ll learn about:

• Cultivating trust between your organization and its prospects
• Using a lead calendar to track and measure marketing and sales conversions
• Targeting prospects in critical phases of the buying cycle
• Giving your prospects the information they need to choose the best solution
• Creating a lead nurturing flow to qualify leads
• Scoring leads using implicit and explicit data

Posted by: Gloria Dutton, Senior Marketing Coordinator

When discussing the goals of lead programs with sales teams, we often get one message – volume volume volume. The ‘volume’ mentality has an obvious attraction: at least some of the many leads that come in the door will close. However, when we dig deeper, we all become convinced that volume is less important than delivering quality, closeable leads to sales.

So, what is the process for identifying quality leads before sending them to sales? Lead nurturing programs. They help qualify and guide prospects through the buying cycle by analyzing what offers they are interested in and the specific actions these prospects take. Through learning about prospects, we’re able to target marketing initiatives to be focused on their needs as they gather information and research, evaluate their options and ultimately make a purchase decision.

How do we identify when a lead needs to be nurtured and when they are ready for sales? Start by segmenting by preference. Provide multiple offers on your site requiring registration – everything from white papers and research studies, to pricing sheets and sales contact information.

This week, 90octane‘s Jim Grinney, Sam Eidson and Brooke Caesar attended the Integrated Marketing Summit in Denver. Sam was a featured speaker on the topic of marketing automation and lead management, and we co-sponsored the event with Eloqua.

We took advantage of the many knowledge-sharing opportunities among top marketers to put together this quick list of hot topics and key learnings from IMS:

1. Marketing plans should start with the desired outcome for the organization. Once that’s established, you can outline the marketing objectives, strategy, programs and tactics (in that order).
2. Keep asking “why” throughout the course of your marketing programs. Asking why specific objectives are being set, for example, provides insight into bigger business goals.
3. Think performance management, not just campaign optimization, to demonstrate how you’re guiding your marketing programs to greater success.
4. Communicate how your marketing success is making a business impact to the C-Suite. They’re interested in customer acquisition, retention and growth, so change marketing reports from being tactically focused (CTR, open rate, impressions, etc.) to speaking the C-Suite language (market share, customer value, category growth rates, etc.).
5. Remember that, these days, consumers control your brand. From brand experiences to social media, viral content can help grow your company. Use these channels to your benefit.

Posted by: Kerry Houchin, Project Manager

There are two ways to generate BtoB leads using Linkedin: the expensive way and the free way. For advertisers who are willing to spend $25,000 or more, the site offers the “Linkedin Advertising Sales” option, which includes a variety of highly-targeted display ads, polling questions and more. For those with budgets smaller than $25,000, Linkedin offers a DirectAds text ad option that works on a highly-targeted pay-per-click or pay-per-impression model. While both of these options may have a place in your lead generation strategy, you may be wondering how to effectively generate leads without spending part of your precious media budget.

Linkedin is a social network where business professionals go to look for advice and make connections, not a venue where they look to be sold on a product or service. The key to generating leads on Linkedin is to first gain people’s attention and trust, and then become a thought leader in your area of expertise. Make sure to join Linkedin under your own name instead of a company identity. Next, use the search function to find the most active (not necessarily the largest) group in your area of knowledge. Then, join the conversation and, where appropriate, use collateral such as white papers or specially created social media landing pages to add value to the topic.

Remember that it can take time to gain a following on Linkedin and that leads may not be of the same quality that you’re used to seeing from other conversion-driven tactics, but with diligence and patience, Linkedin could become a great lead generator for your business.

Posted by: Erin Wilson, Marketing Coordinator

Although social media is an extremely popular marketing tool for B2C companies, many B2B companies have been hesitant to jump on board. Recently, however, more and more B2B companies are adding social media tactics to their marketing plans. In fact, spending forecasts predict that they will continue to increase their marketing budgets to include social media.

Some B2B companies may still doubt the efficacy of social media, but a recent study featured in eMarketer found that “at least once a week, 33% of active Twitter users share opinions about companies or products, while 32% make recommendations and 30% ask for them.”  In other words, companies are being talked about whether or not they have a social media presence.  By joining and guiding the conversation, B2B companies can more effectively position their brands and generate leads.