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	<title>APM Digital</title>
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	<link>http://www.apmdigital.co.uk</link>
	<description>Marketing Agency</description>
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		<title>What is wrong with Lead Generation?</title>
		<link>http://www.apmdigital.co.uk/campaign-blog/whats-wrong-with-lead-generation/</link>
		<comments>http://www.apmdigital.co.uk/campaign-blog/whats-wrong-with-lead-generation/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 05 Jan 2011 10:29:50 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Mark</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Campaign-blog]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Business Development]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[New Business]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Sales]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Sales Efficiency]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Telemarketing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Thought Leadership]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Winning New Business]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.apmdigital.co.uk/?p=1603</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[New Year brings a renewed focus on Lead Generation and New Business development. Unfortunately most salespeople (up to 50%) will be well short of their target. In most cases targets are reasonable, in line with remuneration and experience and most companies have good products and an effective marketing function. It is a classic situation and [...]]]></description>
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<p>New Year brings a renewed focus on Lead Generation and New Business development. Unfortunately most salespeople (up to 50%) will be well short of their target. In most cases targets are reasonable, in line with remuneration and experience and most companies have good products and an effective marketing function. It is a classic situation and one that&#8217;s easily remedied.</p>
<p>So what is going wrong?<span id="more-1603"></span></p>
<h2>Systemic failure?</h2>
<p>It sounds obvious but most salespeople do not want to fail. They want to hit their targets: professional pride, income (and sometimes jobs) are at risk. The vast majority of sales professionals work extremely hard to close deals. But securing business compromises other activities. Focusing (quite reasonably) on progressing opportunities means that there is no time to complete the important task of qualifying leads and booking appointments: salespeople fail to hit targets because there are not enough hours in the day.</p>
<p>In some organisations a reluctance on behalf of management to acknowledge this simple fact means that the business will continue to underperform.</p>
<h2>Do the sums&#8230;..</h2>
<p>Voicemail, receptionists and meetings can all cause delay but they are not the real reason salespeople rarely hit their target. Take the following example:</p>
<p>A new business salesperson, earning £40K basic and £20k commission. A reasonable target is 10 x salary i.e. £600,000 per annum. With 4 weeks&#8217; holiday (not counting bank holidays) they will have 240 selling days.</p>
<p>Some basic assumptions:</p>
<ul>
<li>Average deal value = £20,000.</li>
<li>It takes 2 meetings to close a deal and a meeting takes up half a day.</li>
<li>Proposals take half a day to complete.</li>
<li>Success (proposal to business is 1 in 3).</li>
<li>3 out of 4 meetings result in a proposal.</li>
</ul>
<p>In order to hit target the salesperson has to close 30 deals. With a 1 in 3 success rate, the salesperson has to produce 90 proposals and conduct 240 sales meetings (it takes 2 meetings to close a sale).</p>
<p>Just processing enquiries, conducting meetings and delivering proposals will take 180 days. Leaving only 60 days to book meetings. A working target for most telemarketers is 60 calls a day of which they will speak to 10 decision makers and book a meeting with one (i.e. 60 meetings instead on the required 120).</p>
<p>The example above makes generous assumptions and still the salesperson is only likely to hit 50% of target.</p>
<h2>The simple solution</h2>
<p>Achieving your targets is not rocket science: you just have to conduct enough sales meetings. Invest in resources (either external or internal) that can secure meetings and your sales team will start to hit their targets.</p>
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		<title>Identifying Opportunity</title>
		<link>http://www.apmdigital.co.uk/campaign-blog/identifying-opportunity/</link>
		<comments>http://www.apmdigital.co.uk/campaign-blog/identifying-opportunity/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 28 Oct 2010 10:45:06 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Mark</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Campaign-blog]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Business Development]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Campaigning]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Digital Marketing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Lead Generation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[New Business]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Sales]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Sales Efficiency]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Winning New Business]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.apmdigital.co.uk/?p=1574</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Salespeople have a hard time. If you are lucky they will join your organisation with a network of contacts that will help them generate immediate revenue. It may even be enough to cover their first quarter&#8217;s wages. However, there comes a point where the low hanging fruit runs out and opportunity generation gets a whole [...]]]></description>
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<p>Salespeople have a hard time.</p>
<p>If you are lucky they will join your organisation with a network of contacts that will help them generate immediate revenue. It may even be enough to cover their first quarter&#8217;s wages. However, there comes a point where the low hanging fruit runs out and opportunity generation gets a whole lot more difficult.<span id="more-1574"></span></p>
<p>Traditional prospecting soaks up newly appointed sales professionals&#8217; time. Attendance at trade shows is time consuming and expensive. But it will help the salesperson connect with several potential clients. Cold calling can be soul destroying (and not particularly productive) but it sometimes delivers results.</p>
<p>The problem is that while salespeople are concentrating on generating opportunities, they are unlikely to progress many sales. In addition, the skill set employed in prospecting is different to the skills required for face to face meetings. So whilst the pipeline of potential meetings is being built, skills are getting rusty and new business revenue is non-existent or at best, minimal.</p>
<p>Field salespeople are most effective when they are in front of potential customers (not when they are researching a database). Separating prospecting from field sales releases your newly appointed sales professional from the drudgery of cold calling and lead nurturing. They get to focus on what they are good at: selling (after all, it is what they get paid for).</p>
<p>Internal salespeople (or an appointed agency) can quickly build databases: verifying email addresses and direct dial telephone numbers. When combined with well structured knowledge based lead nurturing campaigns, internal salespeople can identify potential opportunities and set appointments. Prospects are more likely to agree to a meeting if it is arranged by the individual with whom they have had an ongoing dialogue. So it makes sense to transfer a lead once the appointment has been arranged.</p>
<p>Separating the two distinct disciplines of opportunity generation with sales progression will improve performance. Individuals can hone their respective skills and the whole sales process becomes far more productive.</p>
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		<title>Don&#8217;t Lose Business</title>
		<link>http://www.apmdigital.co.uk/campaign-blog/dont-lose-business/</link>
		<comments>http://www.apmdigital.co.uk/campaign-blog/dont-lose-business/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 19 Oct 2010 14:35:47 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Mark</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Campaign-blog]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Business Development]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Digital Marketing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[eMail Marketing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Lead Generation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[New Business]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Winning New Business]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Winning New Businsee]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.apmdigital.co.uk/?p=1533</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Businesses spend millions of pounds each year generating opportunities they do not follow up. In most cases organisations have efficient, effective marketing departments and well trained, skillful sales professionals. But the problem is co-ordination. Trade shows will produce leads and mail shots (physical and email) do result in enquiries. Even cold &#8211; call telemarketing can [...]]]></description>
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<p>Businesses spend millions of pounds each year generating opportunities they do not follow up.</p>
<p>In most cases organisations have efficient, effective marketing departments and well trained, skillful sales professionals. But the problem is co-ordination.<span id="more-1533"></span> Trade shows will produce leads and mail shots (physical and email) do result in enquiries. Even cold &#8211; call telemarketing can (in the right circumstances) be effective.</p>
<h2>What Happens to Marketing Leads?</h2>
<p>Co-ordinating marketing and sales effort is challenging for large and small organisations. The act of processing, qualifying and assigning leads to salespeople takes time. Further delays occur when the leads are passed to sales. People are busy and a salesperson may not get through to the prospect for several days.</p>
<p>&#8216;Dropping the baton&#8217; between marketing and sales is a waste of valuable marketing resource. Calling a once warm prospect weeks after the initial contact is the equivalent of a shop assistant turning up at your front door and asking if they can help you with a coat you were looking at three weeks ago. The call is likely to be inappropriate, unwelcome and slightly disorientating.</p>
<h2>When to Pass the Baton?</h2>
<p>As in athletics, passing the baton at the right time transfers responsibility with no loss of momentum. If your salespeople are responsible for making calls and booking appointments from &#8216;warm&#8217; marketing leads you are probably passing the baton too early. Complaints about &#8216;poor quality leads&#8217; certainly indicate premature handover.</p>
<p>Timing the transfer of responsibility is likely to vary between organisations however, there are a couple of principles that should be adhered to.</p>
<h2>Who is Responsible?</h2>
<p>If marketing are to attract, nurture and get the lead qualified ready for sales then responsibility for oppointment setting should be with your marketing or tele-qualification team. The principle is simple. If contact and relationship building has been done by the inside sales team then it makes sense for that relationship to be leveraged when asking for an appointment.</p>
<p>After all, it is marketing&#8217;s job to make sure salespeople have a good pipeline of well qualified opportunites and meetings. It also makes sense from the prospect&#8217;s perspective. A clear separation of responsibility: field sales for physical sales meetings and telesales for qualification and appointment setting.</p>
<h2>Improving Performance</h2>
<p>Getting your marketing department (or external agency) to set appointments delivers two valuable management tools: Quality and quantity management. An appointment is a clear and unambiguous deliverable. No-one can argue of the voracity of the &#8216;lead&#8217; if they are willing to take an appointment. But the quality of appointments is also important: does the prospect have Authority, Need, Budget?</p>
<p>So, you can measure the quantity and quality (and therefore improve) marketing performance. And if your salespeople are being given good quality appointments, you can also measure their performance: how are they progressing the opportunity and how many appointments turn into business.</p>
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		<title>Effective Selling</title>
		<link>http://www.apmdigital.co.uk/campaign-blog/effective-selling/</link>
		<comments>http://www.apmdigital.co.uk/campaign-blog/effective-selling/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 13 Oct 2010 10:43:20 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Mark</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Campaign-blog]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Business Development]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Campaigning]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Digital Marketing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Lead Generation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Thought Leadership]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.apmdigital.co.uk/?p=1514</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Most salespeople miss their targets. Or put another way: most salespeople fail. This appalling situation has a detrimental effect on morale, individuals and ultimately the business. The paradox is that sales professionals are by nature competitive; they love winning. The financial and personal benefits associated with hitting the numbers means that they will pull out [...]]]></description>
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<p>Most salespeople miss their targets.</p>
<p>Or put another way: most salespeople fail.<span id="more-1514"></span></p>
<p>This appalling situation has a detrimental effect on morale, individuals and ultimately the business. The paradox is that sales professionals are by nature competitive; they love winning. The financial and personal benefits associated with hitting the numbers means that they will pull out all the stops to make their targets.</p>
<p>So why are so many failing?</p>
<p>Often businesses blame poor selling skills (but given the financial reward, most salespeople hone their skills to perfection). Salespeople often blame the products, the company or marketing (but most products can be sold and marketing will produce leads).</p>
<p>The real reason sales professionals miss targets because too much time is taken in unproductive activity.</p>
<h2>Being Productive</h2>
<p>It might sound too simplistic but to hit targets salespeople need to meet prospects <em>only</em> when there is a qualified opportunity. This reduces the actual number of meetings attended and allows the salesperson to focus their attention on managing the opportunity.</p>
<p>Unfortunately salespeople often waste hours and days on non-productive opportunities. One of the greatest wastes is cold calling or prospecting. It does not make economic sense for salespeople to do their own lead and meeting generation. Look at the numbers:</p>
<p>Sales person&#8217;s target: £500,000</p>
<p>Average Sale: £20,000</p>
<p>With a generous 1 in 4 win ratio, to hit target your salesperson needs to make 8 good sales appointments per month. If they are generating their own meetings (and just allowing one day per week for the activity) they are likely to average just 4 good sales meetings per month. i.e. they will only hit 50% of target.</p>
<p>Increasing the number of days spent prospecting simply reduces the number of days available for meetings and administration.</p>
<h2>Organise for success</h2>
<p>Getting field sales professionals in front of qualified prospects is the surest way of hitting targets. But they need support to achieve this.</p>
<p>Telesales teams: internal or external can develop the opportunities needed for your teams to hit their targets but they also need support and direction. Cold calling by telemarketers does not guarantee a stream of well qualified meetings. Targeting these teams simply on numbers can result in poor quality meetings and more unproductive activity.</p>
<p>The surest way of generating qualified opportunities is by co-ordinating marketing and telemarketing efforts. Knowledge based digital marketing campaign will identify individuals with an interest in your proposition. Your telemarketing team are then in a position to call, further qualify and set appointments where appropriate.</p>
<p>Separate appointment setting and field sales, provide marketing support, co-ordinate the activity and you will have a sales team that is motivated, happy and exceeds its targets.</p>
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		<title>Payment by Results</title>
		<link>http://www.apmdigital.co.uk/campaign-blog/payment-by-results/</link>
		<comments>http://www.apmdigital.co.uk/campaign-blog/payment-by-results/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 04 Oct 2010 17:41:05 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Mark</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Campaign-blog]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Business Development]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Campaigning]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Lead Generation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[New Business]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Sales]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Sales Efficiency]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Telemarketing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Thought Leadership]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Winning New Business]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.apmdigital.co.uk/?p=1473</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Many companies struggle to get a regular flow of good quality opportunities for their salespeople. The main reasons for this failure are: Poor quality or difficult to use database. Limited regular and consistent marketing. Ineffective cold calling by sales professionals. Mixed experiences with traditional telemarketing. It all adds up to limited numbers of new business [...]]]></description>
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<p>Many companies struggle to get a regular flow of good quality opportunities for their salespeople. The main reasons for this failure are:</p>
<ol>
<li>Poor quality or difficult to use database.</li>
<li>Limited regular and consistent marketing.</li>
<li>Ineffective cold calling by sales professionals.</li>
<li>Mixed experiences with traditional telemarketing.</li>
</ol>
<p>It all adds up to limited numbers of new business meetings, weakened pipelines and missed targets.<span id="more-1473"></span></p>
<h2>What do Salespeople Want?</h2>
<p>Salespeople simply want to do what they do well: sell. And they want as many opportunities to sell as they can sensibly manage. Time taken researching names or cold calling prospects is wasted; it could be put to better use in face to face meetings with qualified prospects.</p>
<p>To be effective your field sales professionals need regular new business appointments with individuals who represent an opportunity. i.e. They have a budget, authority, need and a timescale.</p>
<h2>Effective Opportunity Generation</h2>
<p>Over the past eight years we have run knowledge based campaigns to subscribers in the UK, EMEA and the USA. Our White Papers and Case Studies, have been written for companies as diverse as IBM, Computer Associates and Siemens. They are read by senior business people. We have built up good relationships and great insights with our readers, many of whom have become clients (or clients of clients).</p>
<p>We have also built up reliable, actionable, business intelligence.</p>
<p>Our systems register when individuals access information and a picture built up over time enables us to identify when individuals and organisations move into the buying cycle.</p>
<p>We call it &#8216;digital body language&#8217;.</p>
<p>Making contact with senior executives when they are ready to explore business solutions is a very effective way of developing opportunities.</p>
<h2>What does &#8216;good&#8217; look like?</h2>
<p>An APM Digital lead has been qualified in two ways: first we track behaviour (actions speak louder than words) and see what interests individuals. Then we engage, when the prospect is actively reviewing material and qualify the opportunity fully. If appropriate we will then &#8216;pencil in&#8217; an appointment.</p>
<p>This is what an APM Digital lead looks like:</p>
<p><a href="http://www.apmdigital.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/Picture-8.jpg"><img class="alignleft size-full wp-image-1501" title="Picture 8" src="https://www.smartrego.com/express/clients/apmdigital/images/Picture 8.jpg" alt="" width="458" height="523" /></a></p>
<h2>Payment by Results</h2>
<p>Our payment by results offering is a true win &#8211; win &#8211; win situation. Our clients win: they only pay for opportunities and meetings they want to progress (if you do not accept the lead, you do not pay). We are incentivised to secure our clients the best possible meetings and finally, the prospects win because they get to speak with knowledgeable salespeople about products and solutions they are interested in.</p>
<p>And our large, warm and responsive database of senior executives ensures that our clients get the best quality opportunities.</p>
<p>If you would like to get more information on our Payment by Results service, call 01252 620206 or email: <a href="mailto:mark.grey@apmdigital.co.uk?subject=Payment by Results" target="_blank">mark.grey@apmdigital.co.uk</a></p>
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		<title>The Problem With Channel Partners</title>
		<link>http://www.apmdigital.co.uk/campaign-blog/the-problem-with-channel-partners/</link>
		<comments>http://www.apmdigital.co.uk/campaign-blog/the-problem-with-channel-partners/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 29 Sep 2010 09:12:31 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Mark</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Campaign-blog]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Business Development]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Channel Marketing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Market Leadership]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Marketing Automation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[MDF]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.apmdigital.co.uk/?p=1449</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[The Challenge of Channel Marketing Get channel marketing right and companies can enjoy significant growth and improved profitability. But getting your channel &#8216;right&#8217; is a challenge for many vendors. Selecting and recruiting the right companies is just the start of the process: training, support and MDF (Market Development Funds) take valuable time and resources. And [...]]]></description>
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<h2>The Challenge of Channel Marketing</h2>
<p>Get channel marketing right and companies can enjoy significant growth and improved profitability. But getting your channel &#8216;right&#8217; is a challenge for many vendors. Selecting and recruiting the right companies is just the start of the process: training, support and MDF (Market Development Funds) take valuable time and resources. And the results are not guaranteed. Here are just a few of the issues faced by vendors pursuing a channel strategy:<span id="more-1449"></span></p>
<h2>Channel Partners have Limited Resources</h2>
<p>Most partners have little in the way of their own marketing collateral (White Papers, Case Studies, Video) and many do not have a dedicated marketing manager. With resources tight partners tend to focus their efforts on one or two preferred solutions. Which means that for the majority of vendors the 80-20 rule applies: 80% of revenue generated by just 20% of partners. Improving the ratio by 10 points could dramatically improve vendors&#8217; turnover.</p>
<h2>Channel Partners are in Competition</h2>
<p>Get three channel partners in a room together and it is odd on that you will have three organisations in direct commercial competition flaring their nostrils at each other. It does not create an environment of openness and collaboration. Which is a shame for the vendor because openness and collaboration is needed to maximise marketing effectiveness and generate opportunities.</p>
<p>This lack of openness means that it can be difficult to accrurately guage the impact of MDF, joint campaigning and your overall marketing efforts. The channel just appears to be a &#8216;black hole&#8217; into which you pour your marketing funds. And what you cannot measure, you cannot manage. For many vendors, identifying where to focus effort in the channel is impossible.</p>
<h2>A Perfect Solution?</h2>
<p>Vendors want to support their channel, but can be frustrated by limited resources and partners natural aversion to sharing information.</p>
<p>Wouldn&#8217;t it be great if vendors could run regular marketing campaigns directly (and securely) to resellers prospects and automatically route opportunities to the right partner? Well a solution is being rolled out by some international vendors which looks like an answer to a maiden&#8217;s prayer. The short video below (just refresh your browser if you cannot see it and make sure your speakers are on) explains all.</p>
<p><object classid="clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000" width="640" height="385" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true" /><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always" /><param name="src" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/aKvj2SbTPpg?fs=1&amp;hl=en_US&amp;color1=0x2b405b&amp;color2=0x6b8ab6" /><param name="allowfullscreen" value="true" /><embed type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="640" height="385" src="http://www.youtube.com/v/aKvj2SbTPpg?fs=1&amp;hl=en_US&amp;color1=0x2b405b&amp;color2=0x6b8ab6" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true"></embed></object></p>
<p>If you would like a demo or some case studies forwarded, <a href="mailto:mark.grey@apmdigital.co.uk">please just get in touch</a>.</p>
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		<title>Social Infrastructure</title>
		<link>http://www.apmdigital.co.uk/campaign-blog/social-infrastructure/</link>
		<comments>http://www.apmdigital.co.uk/campaign-blog/social-infrastructure/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sun, 05 Sep 2010 17:19:03 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Mark</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Campaign-blog]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Business Development]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Campaign]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Campaigning]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Digital Marketing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Market Leadership]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Social Marketing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Social Media]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Thought Leadership]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[twitter]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Web Design]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Winning New Business]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.apmdigital.co.uk/?p=404</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Many organisations dipping their toes into the fast flowing waters of Social Media get cold feet. The medium just does not deliver the returns they expect or worse, they make a social faux pas and wind up with a major PR exercise. It is a fact that Social Media Marketing is effective, it delivers great [...]]]></description>
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<p>Many organisations dipping their toes into the fast flowing waters of Social Media get cold feet. The medium just does not deliver the returns they expect or worse, they make a social faux pas and wind up with a major PR exercise.<span id="more-404"></span></p>
<p>It is a fact that Social Media Marketing is effective, it delivers great results and, as traditional media makes way for the Internet, it is the way all organisations will market in the very near future.</p>
<p>Individuals inevitably fail when they tackle a job with the wrong tools (Ever tried to water a garden with a sieve?). Digital Media Marketing is no different: you need the right set of tools (and experienced tradesmen) if you are going to succeed. This blog outlines the infrastructure we believe organisations need to have in order to execute campaigns effectively.</p>
<h2>Basic Infrastructure: The Principles</h2>
<p>Social Media is just like any other media; there are assets you own and have complete control of, assets you ‘hire’ and have temporary control of and assets you neither own nor control but which you may be able to influence.</p>
<p>Unfortunately it is this latter group of assets that has the greatest impact upon your success.</p>
<p>The success of any campaign will depend upon the way you employ your owned and hired assets: get it right and you’ll be surfing the face of a social wave with skill and style. Get it wrong and you’ll be wiped out and eating sand.</p>
<p>A sound architecture is needed before launching a successful campaign. Make sure your controlled assets are properly linked to the right &#8216;uncontrolled assets&#8217; and that you have done your media planning meticulously. Just like in the traditional world, you need to get your message in front of the right audience.<br />
<strong> </strong></p>
<div id="attachment_1033" class="wp-caption alignleft" style="width: 215px"><a href="http://www.get-itadvantage.com" target="_blank"><img class="size-full wp-image-1033 " title="itadvantage_screenshot" src="http://www.apmdigital.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2009/05/itadvantage_screenshot.jpg" alt="" width="205" height="128" /></a><p class="wp-caption-text">www.get-itadvantage.com</p></div>
<p>Build for interactivit<strong>y</strong>: independent, unaffiliated assets have interactivity built as part of their core functionality; it is what makes these assets popular. Make sure that when your audience uses your assets, they can exchange ideas freely and chat, preferably in real time.</p>
<p>The old adage ‘the harder I work the luckier I get’ is possibly more appropriate for Social Media. Your contributions to debate have to be regular, thought through and engaging.</p>
<h2>Basic Infrastructure: The Assets Interactive ‘Blogsite’ or ‘Micro Site’</h2>
<div id="attachment_1035" class="wp-caption alignleft" style="width: 215px"><a href="hwww.spinningplates.org.uk" target="_blank"><img class="size-full wp-image-1035 " title="spinningplates_screenshot" src="http://www.apmdigital.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2009/05/spinningplates_screenshot.jpg" alt="" width="205" height="128" /></a><p class="wp-caption-text">www.spinningplates.org.uk</p></div>
<p>It is highly likely that your website is unsuited for use in Social Media campaigns. Typically websites suffer from a lack of interactivity, inappropriate information structures or insufficient relevant collateral.</p>
<p>But even if everything was perfect, a corporate site is unlikely to ‘work’ in the Social Media space. Put simply: people will not chat and interact if they think they are going to be watched and sold to.</p>
<p>A Micro Site designed for blogging can provide the necessary distance between the audience and the organisation. Micro Sites can be issue or campaign driven and hold a wealth of information and collateral.</p>
<h2>Sponsored pages</h2>
<p>The company’s Facebook page might not get a lot of activity; it may be good for keeping friends (customers and staff) informed of events but it generally won’t generate the heated and useful discussions that help to develop the next killer product (or sell more of your existing product). There are exceptions, particularly if the product and company are synonymous: Promoting Bands, Celebrities and Events can be very effective on social media sites.</p>
<p>For most organisations, setting pages up which focus on the product or the issue is more effective than ‘The company page&#8217;. Product recall, complaint and feedback pages can help organisations get a feel for sentiment in the wider world. Some of these sites will be developed anyway – &#8216;I hate HP (HP Sucks)&#8217; is a real group on facebook.</p>
<h2>Twitter and other Micro Blogs</h2>
<p>Too many people take Twitter at its word and just make noise. Don’t. It is annoying, will lose brand value and corporate credibility. Only ‘Twitter’ if you have something important to say that adds value for your target audience.</p>
<p>A good Tweet is the equivalent of a great email subject line.</p>
<p>But you need something to back it up with. Direct followers to your assets: your micro sites, webcasts and blogs. Used effectively Twitter will build your database and audience.</p>
<h2>eMail</h2>
<p>Do not forget your email audience; many will be waiting for your next instalment: it is how they prefer to consume your material. It is likely years have been spent cultivating a readership of customers and prospects. Do not forget them.</p>
<p>eMail is still the number one lead generation vehicle. Effective marketers are already executing co-ordinated eMail campaigns that incorporate social media and delivering great results.</p>
<h2>Non Owned Assets</h2>
<p>Perhaps the biggest mistakes are made by organisations experimenting with Social Media through membership of groups such as LinkedIn. They actively promote products or services: a strategy that inevitably backfires. Rather than increasing market share they shrink it. Discussion and interest groups actively exchange ideas on subjects and issues that directly affect your business. To get involved you need to pose questions and offer opinion. Direct discussion as an effective chairperson would.</p>
<p>It is possible to improve your organisations profile and mindshare within the &#8216;uncontrolled asset&#8217; space. But your contributions will have to demonstrate expertise and your questions will need to precipitate lively debate.</p>
<h2>How to get it working</h2>
<p>A client recently told me that senior management wanted to get involved in social media because it was free.</p>
<p>Skill and expertise built up over years in digital communications are unlikely to be cheap and they are certainly never ‘free’. Whilst digital media may be more cost effective (and measurable)  than traditional channels, you will need a team of experts actively planning and expediting your campaigns. And it is a full, not a part-time, job.</p>
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		<title>Convert Trade Show Visitors to Revenue</title>
		<link>http://www.apmdigital.co.uk/uncategorized/convert-trade-show-visitors-to-revenue/</link>
		<comments>http://www.apmdigital.co.uk/uncategorized/convert-trade-show-visitors-to-revenue/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 02 Jun 2010 09:59:38 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Mark</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.apmdigital.co.uk/?p=1429</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Companies invest thousands in Trade Shows and Conferences. But despite the sums involved, commercial results are frequently disappointing. Managers and executives often justify the investment (to shareholders and themselves) with comments such as: &#8216;we need to be seen at (the event)&#8217; or &#8216;it is hard to quantify what we get out of the event but [...]]]></description>
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<p>Companies invest thousands in Trade Shows and Conferences. But despite the sums involved, commercial results are frequently disappointing.</p>
<p>Managers and executives often justify the investment (to shareholders and themselves) with comments such as: &#8216;we need to be seen at (the event)&#8217; or &#8216;it is hard to quantify what we get out of the event but I&#8217;m sure we cover our costs&#8217;.</p>
<p>The reality is that it is perfectly possible to quantify results. And it is perfectly possible to get great returns from your investment in Trade Shows.<span id="more-1429"></span></p>
<h2>Attract the right visitors</h2>
<p>1. You <strong>do not</strong> want to attract visitors with acknowledged needs who are looking for solutions.</p>
<p>Yes, you read that sentence correctly. At a trade show the competitive environment is weighted heavily in favour of the buyer. There is a concentration of vendors (other exhibitors) and buyers know it. Visitors who attend trade shows in search of a solution are usually in a later stage of the buying cycle. The trade show visit is used for due dilligence and to beat suppliers up on price.</p>
<p>2. You <strong>do want</strong> to attract decision makers and influencers with new and interesting insights into their business problems.</p>
<p>The trade show is your opportunity to start building relationships with key players in the marketplace. Rather than simply fill your stand with &#8216;me too&#8217; products and solutions, use the event to educate the marketplace. Get involved with the lecture programme; provide case studies and get your representatives to talk about business issues rather than product specifications. This will attract individuals and organisations at early stages of the buying cycle. They have yet acknowledge they may have a problem and you are now positioned to influence their buying decsions.</p>
<h2>Keep the conversation going</h2>
<p>Building relationships with organisations early in the buying cycle has an incredibly positive effect on your sales ratios and margin. But catching people early stage means that you have to keep the conversation going over the longer term. It may be superficially more attractive to discuss the quote you sent to a trade show visitor you just met. But your real returns are delivered when you close that deal with an organisation you have spent time understanding and nurturing. Jonathan Calver&#8217;s paper: <a href="https://www.smartrego.com/express/register.cfm?ax=6AD156436994AC4FEEC5EA1D2F5351D0AB8B5C94E8D14FE2CE1898CB4EFA6C98" target="_blank">&#8216;Converting Trade Show Leads into Qualified Opportunities&#8217;</a> provides insights on how to achieve this cost effectively. His paper highlights where most companies go wrong &#8211; and how to fix it. It is well worth the read.</p>
<h2>It is important to get Trade Shows right.</h2>
<p>You invest significant sums on promoting your business through trade shows. You should be maximising the return on that investment. And whilst we would not suggest you turn away &#8216;visitors looking for a solution&#8217; (that would be rude), expending too much effort on chasing competitive opportunities with reduced margins just is not sensible. Focus your attention on building relationships for the long term: it will pay dividends.</p>
<p>If you would like Jonathan Calver&#8217;s paper on the subject: <strong><a href="https://www.smartrego.com/express/register.cfm?ax=6AD156436994AC4FEEC5EA1D2F5351D0AB8B5C94E8D14FE2CE1898CB4EFA6C98" target="_blank">Click Here</a></strong></p>
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		<title>Build an eMailable database</title>
		<link>http://www.apmdigital.co.uk/campaign-blog/build-an-emailable-database/</link>
		<comments>http://www.apmdigital.co.uk/campaign-blog/build-an-emailable-database/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 24 May 2010 12:08:02 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Mark</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Campaign-blog]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Business Development]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Campaigning]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Digital Marketing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[eMail Marketing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Lead Generation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Market Leadership]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[New Business]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Winning New Business]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.apmdigital.co.uk/?p=1405</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[When it comes to lead generation too many organisations rely on third party lists (or poor quality &#8216;in-house&#8217; lists). The results are always disappointing and frequently appalling. Well designed, updated and administered emailable databases will deliver results well above industry standards. If you are currently experiencing open rates below 15% and &#8216;click through&#8217; rates lower [...]]]></description>
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<p>When it comes to lead generation too many organisations rely on third party lists (or poor quality &#8216;in-house&#8217; lists).</p>
<p>The results are always disappointing and frequently appalling.</p>
<p>Well designed, updated and administered emailable databases will deliver results well above industry standards. If you are currently experiencing open rates below 15% and &#8216;click through&#8217; rates lower than 10% then you may wish to read further.<span id="more-1405"></span></p>
<h2>What is an eMailable database?</h2>
<p>Well it is more than a list of names and email addresses of &#8216;prospects&#8217;. A database consists of:</p>
<p style="padding-left: 30px;">1. Individuals with whom you have an active or latent commercial relationship.</p>
<p style="padding-left: 30px;">2. Individual, personal email addresses.</p>
<p style="padding-left: 30px;">3. Individual permission to communicate via email.</p>
<p style="padding-left: 30px;">4. Individual intelligence: you know exactly where the individual is in the buying cycle.</p>
<p>Note the use of <em>individual</em>: email marketing is not mass marketing. Organisations and colleagues who talk of &#8216;eshots&#8217; and &#8216;email blasts&#8217; just do not get it; they need education. An emailable database is a valuable resource that delivers regular revenue. A simple list will perform badly, damage your digital reputation and cost you money.</p>
<p>Jonathan Calver&#8217;s White Paper on &#8216;<a href="https://www.smartrego.com/express/register.cfm?ax=29B5128A619E4080EEC5EA1D2F5351D0AB8B5C94E8D14FE2CE1898CB4EFA6C98" target="_blank">How to Build an eMailable Database</a>&#8216; provides an insight into what it takes to start improving your campaign rates. If you would like it: <strong><a href="https://www.smartrego.com/express/register.cfm?ax=29B5128A619E4080EEC5EA1D2F5351D0AB8B5C94E8D14FE2CE1898CB4EFA6C98" target="_blank">Click Here</a></strong></p>
<h2>Building rather than buying your list.</h2>
<p>When you build your own database you embed value:</p>
<p style="padding-left: 30px;">1. It contains historical data: all the interactions you have had with the individuals in the database.</p>
<p style="padding-left: 30px;">2. It is far more responsive than a &#8216;bought list&#8217; or sending campaigns via third parties.</p>
<h2>5 List Building Strategies:</h2>
<p style="padding-left: 30px;"><strong>1. Raid the Sales Team.</strong></p>
<p style="padding-left: 30px;">They might not like it at first but when you start to deliver real opportunities into their laps they will soon forgive you. Your sales team will have built up some serious intelligence on potential customers: it belongs to the company, not on a sales executives private spreadsheet, outlook file or notebook. Do not underestimate the level of authority you may need to extract this information. But the leads belong to the company, not the individual.</p>
<p style="padding-left: 30px;"><strong>2. Purchase a list to get you started</strong></p>
<p style="padding-left: 30px;">Working in conjunction with telemarketing (either internally or externally) a bought list can provide you with enough information to start really building intelligence into your database. Remember, at this point you are not selling. You are simply getting enough information and permission to start email campaigns.</p>
<p style="padding-left: 30px;"><strong>3. Telemarketing with a valuable offer</strong></p>
<p style="padding-left: 30px;">If you cold call someone, ask for their email address and permission to email, you will probably get a &#8216;No&#8217;. Hopefully it will be a polite, &#8216;not company policy&#8217; rather than a short expletive! However, if you have a valuable offer of interest: a Sample, White Paper&#8217;, &#8216;Case Study&#8217; etc. you are far more likely to get a positive response. And if the individual appreciates the offer, you will have started to build the commercial relationship.</p>
<p style="padding-left: 30px;"><strong>4. Convert your Direct Mail list to an eMail list</strong></p>
<p style="padding-left: 30px;">Look at your most responsive, regular direct mail contacts. Working with them first to attain their email address should be relatively easy: they already have a relationship with you and should be willing to provide email addresses.</p>
<p style="padding-left: 30px;"><strong>5. Use social media &amp; website interactions to capture data</strong></p>
<p style="padding-left: 30px;">Many organisations have &#8216;subscribe to our newsletter&#8217; options on their websites. But they don&#8217;t deliver that many quality leads. However, if you provide useful information through social networking sites (blogs, White papers etc). people will access that information and provide you with their email address as a quid pro quo. If you then match your communications to their stage of the buying cycle you will start to build a strong pipeline of potential business.</p>
<h2>Take your time</h2>
<p>Building a valuable resource like an emailable database takes time. Do not expect to have 30,000 individuals waiting to receive your next email in two weeks time. Rather, focus on quality. 200 good quality emailable records per month will deliver read rates above 40% and click throughs of around 30%. That will significantly improve your digital reputation. It will also improve the quality of the leads that are passed to your sales team.</p>
<p>If you would like to read the full White Paper <strong><a href="https://www.smartrego.com/express/register.cfm?ax=29B5128A619E4080EEC5EA1D2F5351D0AB8B5C94E8D14FE2CE1898CB4EFA6C98" target="_blank">Click here</a></strong></p>
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		<title>8 Marketing Reasons Why Most Companies Generate Poor Quality Leads</title>
		<link>http://www.apmdigital.co.uk/campaign-blog/8-marketing-reasons-why-most-companies-generate-poor-quality-leads/</link>
		<comments>http://www.apmdigital.co.uk/campaign-blog/8-marketing-reasons-why-most-companies-generate-poor-quality-leads/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 19 May 2010 13:43:02 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Mark</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Campaign-blog]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.apmdigital.co.uk/?p=1367</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[There are 8 common marketing problems shared by most companies and whilst not every company experiences all the problems at the same time, it is fair to assume that we have all encountered these issues in the past. Below is an abridged version of Jonathan Calver&#8217;s fine White Paper on Marketing Efficiencies. If you would [...]]]></description>
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<p>There are 8 common marketing problems shared by most companies and whilst not every company experiences all the problems at the same time, it is fair to assume that we have all encountered these issues in the past.</p>
<p>Below is an abridged version of Jonathan Calver&#8217;s fine White Paper on Marketing Efficiencies. If you would like to download the paper <strong><a href="https://www.smartrego.com/express/register.cfm?ax=E50C06F5290E3B10EEC5EA1D2F5351D0AB8B5C94E8D14FE2CE1898CB4EFA6C98" target="_blank">Click here</a><span id="more-1367"></span></strong></p>
<h2>Problem 1: Insufficient focus on Target Companies</h2>
<p>Target companies are organisations you should be doing business with. They are absolutely <em>not</em> the largest, most prestigious companies, nor are they every organisation that expresses an interest in your products. They are those companies which you can sell to with the minimum of effort and the maximum of profit. Examine your current customers. Which customers &#8216;suit&#8217; your organisation the best? Who do you deliver great service and products to efficiently?</p>
<p>By identifying those organisations that &#8216;fit&#8217; your company best you can start to develop an Ideal Customer Profile (ICP).</p>
<h2>Problem 2: Reliance on Mass Marketing Techniques</h2>
<p>Mass marketing works OK for simple, FMCG products. Unfortunately some B-2-B organisations use similar methods to generate leads for their sales teams.</p>
<p>If anyone in your marketing department uses the phrase: &#8216;email blast&#8217; or &#8216;eshot&#8217; then shoot them now: they are seriously damaging your company, your departments reputation and your prospects. You need to develop multi-phase communications. Dialogues that recognise where buying teams are in the purchasing process and communicate accordingly.</p>
<h2>Problem 3: Low Quality Marketing Collateral</h2>
<p>Are you willing to be judged by the quality of your White Papers, Case Studies and Market Communications? Have you got sufficient material to develop a sensible business argument?</p>
<p>Many organisations have a good &#8216;White Paper&#8217; in them but one is not enough. And in today&#8217;s multi-channel fast moving communication stream you need to invest in regular, good quality pieces. If you don&#8217;t, you will lose your audience.</p>
<h2>Problem 4: Poor Response Rates</h2>
<p>If you solve the first three issues, your response rates will improve. Do not be fooled into thinking that &#8216;industry average&#8217; rates are good. They are not. If you are not regularly hitting open rates above 25% and read rates (click through) above 30% then you are failing.</p>
<p>Response rates improve dramatically with good quality materials targeted at the right individuals.</p>
<h2>Problem 5: Loose Lead Qualification</h2>
<p>Does the sales team fight over the leads you pass to them or are they rarely followed up? In an effort to &#8216;hit the numbers&#8217; marketing teams will put anyone who has opened an email, registered on the website or downloaded a paper into the &#8216;to call list&#8217;.</p>
<p>The result is an increasingly disillusioned sales team and genuine opportunities being &#8216;overlooked&#8217; in the noise.</p>
<h2>Problem 6: Lack of Marketing Consistency</h2>
<p>Marketing thrives on momentum. Communicate your value propositions regularly and you will generate a consistent flow of well qualified leads. Many companies take a &#8216;campaign approach&#8217; this has a &#8216;stop-start&#8217; effect that creates great surges of leads followed by periods of quiet.</p>
<p>Most companies are unable to manage in the &#8216;rush&#8217; and are overstaffed when it goes quiet.</p>
<h2>Problem 7: Inadequate Marketing Measurement</h2>
<p>Most organisations measure ROI based upon &#8216;leads generated&#8217;. However, as most leads are poorly defined, the information obtained is next to useless. measuring website visits gives you nice graphs and open rates provide a talking point. But this is the equivalent of measuring the success of a bridge building project by looking at the size of the trenches dug. OK the foundations may look nice but are you building a bridge?</p>
<p>Waterfall Rates are a much more effective measure if you would like to know more about these <strong><a href="https://www.smartrego.com/express/register.cfm?ax=9567F20F508732FAEEC5EA1D2F5351D0AB8B5C94E8D14FE2CE1898CB4EFA6C98" target="_blank">Click Here</a></strong><strong>.</strong></p>
<h2><strong>Problem 8: Insufficient Marketing Resources or Know-How</strong></h2>
<p>Many Business to Business organisations &#8216;scrimp&#8217; on marketing. Companies are regularly &#8216;technology led&#8217; or &#8216;sales led&#8217;, they are very rarely &#8216;marketing led&#8217;. But the sad fact for technology companies is that marketing matters: you may be able to do very clever things with software or engineering. But if there is not a market for your product, you will lose money.</p>
<p>For most, not investing in marketing is a false economy. For the smaller concern there are plenty of organisations and consultants who will deliver excellent programmes and drive your sales.</p>
<h4>You may agree or disagree with the points raised, Please feel free to comment.</h4>
<h4>For further reading, the full white paper, written by Jonathan Calver can be <a href="https://www.smartrego.com/express/register.cfm?ax=E50C06F5290E3B10EEC5EA1D2F5351D0AB8B5C94E8D14FE2CE1898CB4EFA6C98" target="_blank">downloaded here</a>.</h4>
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