Susan Pascal Tatum, co-founder and president of Tatum Marketing, is a recognized expert in business-to-business internet marketing. She has been helping software, information technology and other BtoB firms achieve greater online marketing results for more than two decades. She is a popular author and speaker, and regularly publishes internet marketing strategies and actionable tips on her Tatum Marketing blog. Visit Tatum Marketing online for a complementary copy of their latest report, Technology Marketing 2008.
A recent survey conducted by research firm, MarketingSherpa, found that business-to-business marketers are shifting from offline to online marketing programs in record numbers.
This is a good move.
In most B2B situations, online lead generation will get you more good leads, faster and potentially at less cost than offline tactics. The only requirement is that your prospects must be online themselves.
Online lead generation has become critical for business-to-business marketers because prospects are actively researching B2B products and services, and they’re doing it online.
For example:
- 80% of business technology buyers say that they found the vendor – the vendor did not find them. (MarketingSherpa, Business Technology Marketing Benchmark Guide 2007 – 2008).
- Well over 70% of B2B purchases begin with an online search. (Enquiro Research Business to Business Survey 2007).
- Even C-Level executives (82%) use search engines. (Forbes.com and Gartner online C-Level survey Nov & Dec 2007).
Take a look again at those first two points. The combined concept is worth repeating. 80% of your potential prospects are looking for solutions like yours, and most of them are finding those solutions online. It pays to be where they’re looking for you.
Another reason online lead generation will get you more good leads, faster and potentially at less cost than offline approaches is because it is easy to track and measure the results of online tactics. It’s easy to keep what’s working and drop what isn’t. That saves you money.
It’s also easy to compare one version against another until you’ve found the combination that produces the greatest results. That makes your marketing investment more efficient.
To succeed in online lead generation, you have to lay a good foundation. Here are five fundamental secrets to doing that.
- Be very visible. Your goal should be to become highly visible and easy to find anywhere your prospects are hanging out or looking for products or services like yours.
- Get your prospects to take action. Just as with conventional offline marketing programs, the goal of an online program should be to get your desired prospects to do something.
- Be prepared to convert the leads you generate. Only a small percentage of prospects will be ready buy or to talk with a sales person on the initial contact. Sending traffic or leads to your website is only the first step in a multi-stage process.
- Participate in the community. Your target audiences – prospects, customers, journalists, employees and investors - are talking online. There’s much to be gained by participating – correctly – in those conversations.
- Test and measure. The ability to quantify and compare results from nearly every aspect of an online marketing program is a key advantage of online marketing.
Marketers are moving to online lead generation because it works – and especially in a poor economy, it offers many advantages over offline programs. But, like more conventional marketing tactics, you can waste a lot of money if you don’t do it right. Keep the above “secrets” in mind and you’ll vastly improve your chances for success.
© 2008 Tatum Marketing Inc.
- Related Videos
- Related Articles
- Ask / Related Q&A
- Online Marketing Services, Online Dental Marketing, Online Marketing Service
- Internet Marketing: Online Marketing Techniques
- The Secrets of Internet and Online Marketing
- Online Marketing Also Referred to as Web Marketing, Online Marketing, or Emarketing, is the Marketing of Products or Services Over the Internet
- Search engine marketing Online Marketing Agency - An Effective Way Of Marketing A Brand Posted By:
- Marketing Online - Marketing Articles To Increase Your Credibility
- Internet and Online Marketing Secrets
- Internet Marketing: Online Marketing Platform Internet Property Search
Put Port Macquarie Accommodation On Your To-Do List
By: Gloria Dekker | 06/01/2010Have you got making plans for an Australian holiday on your to-do list? Because if you don’t, you should have! And when it comes to deciding whereabouts in Australia you would like to head, you really must consider Port Macquarie as the ideal holiday spot.
High Performance Signal Level Analyzer Provides a Wide Frequency Range
By: GAOInstruments | 06/01/2010The portable analyzer is commonly used to facilitate CATV field engineers and technicians in the installation and testing of CATV systems.
8 Reasons Why Social Media is Tailor Made For Small Businesses Marketing
By: Amarjit Kapur | 06/01/2010Social media has changed the entire landscape of the small business marketing online. It allows the little companies to compete with the big boys and reach a large geographic market. The whole idea behind social media is being able to connect and build relationships with others. It's an advantage because unlike...
Super Charge Your Next Promotion With Promotional Plastic Pens
By: Dan Toombs | 05/01/2010You do not need to look far to find plastic promotional pens. They are everywhere. Plastic pens are the backbone of the promotional gifts industry because they are inexpensive and offer real value for money. There are few other promotional products that are in such high demand as pens offer the user a service that they require daily: a means of writing down their thoughts, needs and wants. If you are looking for an outstanding way of promoting your business or organisation, then read on...
Help Your Customers Remember You With Promotional Pen Sets
By: Dan Toombs | 05/01/2010What do you think when you picture promotional pen sets? Do you think expensive? Perhaps you have considered pen sets in the past for your key customers only to give it a miss when you started looking for sets that were within your budget. Good news! Pen sets are more popular than ever for business promotion and many new stylish sets have hit the market at a fraction of the cost they used to be.
Banner Promotional Pens For Supersize Promotions
By: Dan Toombs | 05/01/2010Two of the things I have always liked about promotional pens as marketing tools are that they are used by all and they make you focus on what the most important part of your message is. You cannot normally print large amounts of text on a pen so you need to decide what you most want to promote such as your logo, website and telephone number. Over the years I have seen quite a few gimmicky pens come and go. Generally I tend to steer people away from them but banner pens are the exception.
How to Be Confident You Are Getting the Best Promotional Pens For Your Money
By: Dan Toombs | 05/01/2010How do you know you are getting the best prices for promotional pens? Many people ask themselves this question before ordering a large or small quantity of pens printed with their company logo & details. It is a good question which needs to be addressed. There are many pens suppliers out there, most of whom do not have enough knowledge on the subject to give you expert advice. This is because most promotional pens suppliers do not sell enough pens to know which to recommend for your requirements
Jazz Up Your Business Promotions With Multi Colored Promotional Pens
By: Dan Toombs | 05/01/2010Have you ever noticed how colorful presentations are so eye-catching? The more color you can incorporate into your promotional designs the more people look at them and the better chance you have of a successful promotion. This is one of the reasons why mix-n-match trim colors and full color barrel printing are so popular now in the promotional pens industry. Following are some proven successful ways of promoting you business with colorful promotional pens.
7 Major Components to a Great Website
By: Susan Tatum | 19/05/2009 | MarketingA new or revamped website can deliver a tremendous boost to your bottom line – or it can be a big waste of money. Most business owners and even experienced marketers fail to consider all of the critical components that make a good website. Read this article to ensure that your site delivers.
How to Convert More Prospects on Your Website
By: Susan Tatum | 05/05/2009 | MarketingIf your website contains a contact form you hope visitors will complete, you may be driving prospects away instead. Read this article to discover how small changes in your web form can mean big changes in the number of prospects you capture.
Marketing Plans & Why You May Not Need One
By: Susan Tatum | 20/03/2009 | MarketingMarketing plans are considered fundamental to success, but often the need for a plan keeps businesses from getting any real marketing done. Read this article to find out why you may not need a plan and how to run a successful marketing program without one.
How To Cut Marketing Costs Without Endangering Business Growth
By: Susan Tatum | 03/03/2009 | MarketingNearly every business owner is under pressure to reduce costs but there’s danger in eliminating the programs that bring you new business. This article shows you five ways to reduce marketing costs without reducing lead generation.
5 Secrets to Successful Online Lead Generation
By: Susan Tatum | 12/02/2009 | MarketingOnline lead generation is the fastest, most efficient way to generate both higher quality and higher quantities of leads for your business. Read this article to understand the big picture.
Checklist to Ensure a Solid Marketing Program
By: Susan Tatum | 05/02/2009 | MarketingEveryone wants more leads and lower marketing costs, but you need a solid foundation to accomplish that. Read this article to discover if your marketing program has what it takes.
Nine Ways to Know It’s Time to Expand Your Marketing
By: Susan Tatum | 29/12/2008 | MarketingRecessions scare a lot of people into reducing their marketing efforts, but for many companies recessions are a great opportunity to expand. Read this article to learn if yours is one of those companies.