The prevalence of digital on-line capabilities has changed the consumer buying cycle. Consumers often independently spend the majority of time in the purchase decision doing research and comparison-shopping, acquiring information on their own without the seller even being aware. At the same time, potential buyers may be overwhelmed with too much readily accessible information, which makes buying decisions more difficult. Potential buyers may then seek trusted advice, often looking to what existing customers have to say about the brand, product or buying experience before making the  ...

Social media encompasses digital platforms and apps dedicated to online communities of users, which allow people to engage with other people, events and brands in order to share information, personal messages, ideas or other content in a wide variety of ways. This sharing may be by posting comments, images or video; or by “friending,” liking, following or resending others’ posts. Social media makes it easier for users to join and be in such a community and communicate with each other on a more public and widespread scale. Since social media emerged over two decades ago, it has expanded  ...

With the rapid acceleration of inbound marketing in today’s digital age of computing and the Internet, many companies are generating leads or inquiries with their online presence via their websites. The marketing task is to effectively capture these inquiries, channeling them as prospects into and through the sales cycle, bringing these prospects from the top of the funnel into qualified leads that eventually convert to actual sales. This is accomplished through lead nurturing. Internet computing has dramatically changed lead generation. In many cases, it has lengthened the sales cycle as  ...

Retargeting or remarketing is an area of digital marketing that has shown explosive growth in the last few years, being offered by more and more online display ad networks. This service lets a business market to people who have visited its website using online tracking by placing a small text file or cookie in that person’s browser. The ad networks then place ads relating to the company or its products on unrelated sites the person visits. The concept is that these visitors have expressed active interest in a company’s products or services by visiting its website and therefore are strong  ...

Just about everyone has experienced the ubiquitous product ad that follows you from site to site as you navigate around the web, whether it is a camping tent or a pair of Jimmy Choo shoes. Retargeting, sometimes referred to as remarketing, is a form of behavioral marketing that utilizes online tracking. A person visits an e-commerce website page containing a small text file, generally a JavaScript tag, which places a cookie in the Web browser the web browser the person is using to visit the site. The cookie may be keyed to the web page for a specific product, a shopping cart or a home  ...

Lead nurturing is an ongoing process that persists long past the first interaction. While some companies may cease contact after a lead fails to convert, those that are more attentive to their leads’ needs and stage in the lead generation process will take the time to help the lead move closer to a sale. This lead nurturing process considers the unique characteristics of each lead to tailor efforts in a way that will encourage the lead to become a dependable, converting customer. Understand How and Where to Interact with Leads Before companies can appropriately address their leads, they  ...

It comes as no surprise that people love video games–kids and adults alike. Contrary to popular stereotype, today’s average gamer is not a teenage boy glued to a screen for hours. Shockingly, the average gamer is now 31 years old and in fact, more gamers are over the age of 50 than those under 18. It’s obvious that video games have incurred great momentum over the years. This shift toward gaming interaction preference has changed the most ideal ways to teach, connect with, and excite adults – including your sales team. Here enters gamification. Gamification is a software system that  ...

Grassroots marketing is focused on reaching customers locally or in their community where they live and work, or businesses and the public locally to promote an organization’s products, services or message. It does not generally depend on mass media advertising and targets a smaller, more defined audience. Grassroots marketing is aimed at building strong relationships with the target group so that people in the group become vocal supporters; and pass personal recommendations to others by word of mouth. In this way, the marketing effort reaches a larger audience. Others have a tendency to  ...

When making a sale, how do you know if you’re dealing with a suspect, a prospect or a qualified prospect? Knowing the difference will not only help organize your sales process, but it will give you insight into which tactic will most efficiently display the features of your product or service. The terms “prospect” and “lead” are often used interchangeably and they both follow behind the prerequisite “suspect”: Suspect: A broad term referring to anyone who is in your target audience, or someone who has influence over your target audience Prospect (Lead): Anyone who has taken steps to solve  ...

Remarketing incorporates results-oriented measures to boost the amount of qualified leads and resulting sales. Utilizing tactics that increase traffic, gather qualified leads and encourage conversion over time increases sales in both business-to-business and business-to-consumer markets. These four remarketing strategies address the opportunities of each lead to incur continuous, positive changes in sales.   Segmentation Each of your leads will experience the journey from prospect to customer in a unique way. One way to ensure that you are meeting your leads’ needs at each specific point  ...