 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Bulldog Solutions launches its new Resource Calendar, providing access to Webinars in technology, health care, human resources and other industries.
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| | Return to MWJ Home | ||
|
||
 |
January 2007, Issue 35 |
 |
|
A Systematic Approach Is Critical for Demand Development Success
By Koen De Witte, Vice President of WW Marketing and General Manager of European Operations, Bulldog Solutions
Most seasoned marketing executives have come across the 4Ps at some point in their careers: Product, Price, Place and Promotion. This structure for the marketing mix, developed many decades ago, has weathered the years well.
Of course, the details and instruments have changed, and business plans today don't necessarily follow this classic structure. Marketing plans simply aren't written in a laboratory. For example, competitive forces analysis is an important influence on the planning process. But in a lot of ways, the essence of the 4Ps remains. Any marketing strategy based on defining the right marketing mix is based on those 4Ps.
In a narrow definition, lead generation is part of the Promotion "P." How do I find an audience for my products and solutions? How do I identify contacts for my sales teams? As I mentioned, the way to go about that has changed dramatically. To accommodate this marketing evolution, Bulldog Solutions has created a framework for successful demand development called the 5Ms. Our products and services, from media buying to prospect communications to data collection and reporting, are consistent with that framework, and it drives everything we do for our clients and for ourselves.
Read more about the 5Ms.
A Systematic Approach to Lead Generation
The biggest evolution in marketing has been in the area of business process management—an evolution enabled primarily by the arrival of information technology and online systems. Measurement and feedback loop integration are important: How are your decisions playing out and how does that impact the marketing mix going forward?
But there's also a broader view. To be successful, we must look holistically at the entire process of demand development. What can we learn from executing a series of lead-generation tactics? By establishing feedback loops for a mix of various lead-generation tactics, product marketing and product management departments can learn important information about positioning, competitive analysis, messaging and the sales model.
In other words, when we apply a systematic approach to lead generation, it surmounts the initial tactical objective. It becomes a process that influences the marketing mix and associated go-to-market execution.
That brings me back to my earlier statement about business process. Demand development today is also about internal operational organization. It's about sales optimization as well. On a tactical level, we can define success of a lead-generation tactic as the number of responses to a tactic or the number of sales engagements or proof of concept.
But the end game is to produce optimal top- and bottom-line effect. Closing the loop, i.e. following a lead through all of the stages of the sales cycle, becomes important. The handover point between marketing and sales becomes a very critical tipping point. Sales and marketing alignment is the key word.
A recent SiriusDecisions study found that the conversion between a marketing qualified lead and a sales qualified lead, which is nothing other than sales accepting a lead from marketing and taking it to the next stages, ranges from 51.4 percent to a high of 68.3 percent.¹
That means marketing has spent dollars on projects, tactics and programs that go nowhere. That number should be 100%.
The 5Ms framework is designed to achieve that goal.
¹Demand Creation: Performance Anxiety. SiriusDecisions.
Koen De Witte is vice president of worldwide marketing and general manager of European Operations at Bulldog Solutions, the lead-generation optimization and management company.
Know a colleague who would be interested in this topic? Send this newsletter to a friend.
Marketing Watchdog Journal is a monthly newsletter from Bulldog Solutions, a lead optimization and lead management company dedicated to helping our clients generate more, better leads and turn them into revenue. You may have noticed this newsletter has a new look and a new focus. We welcome your feedback on the revamped content and design, and encourage you to share your ideas for topics you would like us to cover in future issues. Please send your comments to Amy Bills, director of corporate marketing communications.
For more information on Bulldog Solutions, please contact Russell Griffin, sales director.
 |
About Bulldog Solutions, LLC. Bulldog Solutions is the recognized thought leader and pioneer in lead optimization and management using Webinar campaigns and other information platforms. Bulldog Solutions' unique multi-step process integrates marketing and sales efforts to increase reach, maximize marketing ROI, shorten sales cycles and boost top-line revenues. Bulldog Solutions has developed successful lead-generation campaigns and strategies for B2B marketers across a variety of industries, including technology, financial services, life science, health care, telecom, insurance and publishing. The company is headquartered in Austin, Texas, with EMEA operations based in Brussels, Belgium. www.bulldogsolutions.com © 2007 Bulldog Solutions. All rights reserved. |