Mediaboss Marketing

What should go into a modern marketing demand gen strategy?

My first Software as a Service (SaaS) company launched in the late 1990s before it was even called SaaS. It was an uphill battle as we tried to educate heads of HR and IT why they should pay us annually, forever, to host their online job boards on our servers. They thought we were crazy. In fact, we burned through $35 million of venture capital in about a year and pulled our S-1 filing in the wake of the notorious dot-com bust of 2000.

Unlike most other startups of that age, we would survive the tech sector reckoning and the company would eventually IPO and get acquired by IBM. This success wasnt due to product-led growth or virality, it was the outcome of good old-fashioned B2B lead generation (now sometimes called Demand Generation).

As SaaS matured, the playbook for acquiring clients became well known and copied. Marketers all spoke the same language which sounded foreign to others. You might overhear, We need more ToFu content and outbound SDRs if were going to get the MQLs and SQLs necessary to hit our MRR. Fill the pipe!

But are the B2B demand generation tactics that minted unicorn companies in the past decade still effective? As prospects are being bombarded with cold calls, free webinars, cold emails and even the same email tactics (the breakup email!) are todays chief marketing officers (CMOs) and demand gen managers seeing decreasing returns?

To find out what is working now, I reached out to several B2B SaaS marketers whose companies are achieving extraordinary success:

At Branch, the MQL is Dead

Branch offers a platform for mobile measurement and deep linking, which enables companies to create better user journeys. Branchs Sr. Director of Demand Generation, Dan Ahmadi, has seen a lot of changes in his ten years focused on demand generation. He shared the vision he had years ago that continues to be met with a mixed reaction:

I spoke at a conference about four years ago and had a slide that said, Hey Marketers, the MQL is dead. Half the roomthe marketersgasped. But the sales side started clapping and one person stood up and yelled, Yes!

He explained that five years ago it was hard to get names and email addresses. So everything was about pushing content that was gated (i.e., requires the prospect to fill out a form to get access). Once a company had the email, they could push out endless emails either automated or from junior salespeople. But with tools like Zoominfo, today its easy to get email addresses of anyone you want. Ahmadi says, yes companies should still track MQLs, but as an activity and troubleshooting metric, the true KPI should be lower in the sales funnel.

Now, Ahmadi says, demand generation is all about understanding your ideal customer profile (ICP), establishing a list of target accounts, and focusing all your marketing efforts on those accounts. He shared a real-life example where a recent webinar they produced attracted over 800 participants, but after closer analysis, they realized only four participants matched their target profile.

So what is working today? While attendance at mass webinars has been declining, Ahmadi says theyre getting great results with smaller, high-quality virtual events that include 20 to 30 participants at a time. They often send physical gifts to participants who actually show up (e.g., cookie packs), and combine a business discussion with something fun like wine tasting.

Theyve also launched a podcast called, How I Grew It, which is a highly produced show interviewing various founders. Because of the hyper-focused content, Ahmadi doesnt assume they are finding many new contacts through the show, but rather they distribute the content to their target audience.

Ahmadis best piece of advice for other B2B marketers is, Focus on your perfect customer.

Axonify Shrank Sales Cycle By Two-Thirds With Industry Focus

Axonify offers a training and communication platform designed to support front-line workers. Lindsay Cournoyer, VP Marketing at Axonify explained that when she first joined the company they were using the old marketing playbook and it was all about driving MQLs. When she looked closer, however, she quickly realized that very few of those MQLs every actually converted into sales. Since then she tracks more closely sales accepted leads and conversion rates.

Echoing the experience and advice of Ahmadi, Cournoyer explained that Axonify spent time to create a niche ICP. Who is the best buyer? Who uses it the most? Which deals close the fastest? And the answer was retail and grocery stores. Once this shift in strategy was in place, Axonify shrank the funnel dropout rate from 70% to 17%, and reduced deal close time from 18 months to 6 months. Today, eight out of ten of their biggest customers are retailers or grocers.

Cournoyer says they still do top of funnel (ToFu) tactics including SEO and SEM, but nobody is calling contacts who have merely downloaded digital content. Shifting to a pure account based management (ABM) strategy, Axonify has reduced their SDR/BDR headcount by two-thirds.

Whats working? Instead of focusing on webinars, Axonify has moved to digital branded events including their industry-specific virtual conferences known as AxoniCon Live. Shes also a big advocate for customer marketing given how important word of mouth and referrals have become in the buying process.

Lessonly Wins With Virtual Events, 3D Mail, and More

Indianapolis-based Lessonly positions itself as a powerfully simple learning platform for customer-facing teams. Chief Marketing Officer, Kyle Lacey, agrees that as little as three years ago it was all about driving MQLs, with a large inside marketing team. When it comes to exchanging content for an email address Lacy says, The only thing that should be gated is a demo request. And they score requests carefully and all demo requests trigger a preview video that helps to weed out unqualified leads before they get to a sales rep.

Lacy says classic marketing techniques including sending physical mail still works well. Theyve sent everything from board games to company swag. In fact, their mascot, Ollie the Llama, has proven to be so popular, and customers are so engaged, that Lessonly even set up its own Ollie Llama & Co store on Shopify.

And the shift to work-from-home with the pandemic hasnt slowed down their community building efforts. Lacy says theyve been very creative hosting small events for approximately 30 people, with a mix of customers and prospects who are in the funnel. They routinely see 90% attendance rates with activities that have included wine tasting, cheese tasting, cooking classes.

Lacys advice to small B2B startups is, Number one is focus, you cannot boil the ocean if you're trying to find product market fit. You need to find 50 targets and go after them. Number two is that if you are early on, you do not need to create a category. And his final piece of advice for marketers is that you have to constantly find ways to surprise and delight people.

BetterUp Is All About Building Relationships

BetterUp offers mobile-based coaching, counseling, and mentorship. Chief Marketing Officer, Cindy Goodrich, has seen demand generation change over many years, including during her six years at HubSpot. She shared that old school marketing focused on conference sponsorships, expo booths, buying email lists, all with the goal of driving MQLs. Goodrich says marketers now have to shift their mindset.

Its not about a transaction. It really is a relationship and how you are creating value along the way. Old school is extracting value in the form of an email, now its about creating value. Are you bringing in the right people who are going to get the most value from what you have to offer.

Goodrich clarifies that they still track MQLs, but thats not the focus. They know the sales cycle is two or more quarters so the focus is lower in the sales funnel, what Goodrich calls Stage 2 pipeline.

When asked about what comes next, Goodrich didnt focus on tools or technology. She explained that there is a real opportunity to get better at storytelling. Connecting in more powerful ways with your audience. And her advice for smaller startups with limited resources? Get real clarity around the metrics that matter, she suggested. You have to have a growth and learning mindset...go into it with an experimental mindset.

Airtable Marketers Focus on Orchestration

Airtable offers a spreadsheet-database hybrid for building collaborative apps. Nima Asrar Haghighi, Airtable VP of Marketing, explains that you cant talk about tools or tactics without also talking about context. If your goal is to capture demand from a large broad audience, then SEO is probably critical to your success. However, if you have a niche market and an emerging category youll be better off with a targeted account-based management program. Ideally, of course, you have a mix of tactics for top, middle and bottom of the funnel.

His advice to other marketers is to focus less on trying to optimize every single tactic, and spend more time on orchestration. Marketers he explained, Need to bring it all together and make sure all the stakeholders are working together.

Key Takeaways

My days overseeing crowded cube-farms of SDRs stacking up MQLs are clearly long-gone. While context and mix must always be taken into account, my key takeaways include:

Kevin Kruse is the Founder + CEO ofLEADx, a platform that scales and sustains leadership habits throughout an organization. Kevin is also a New York Times bestselling author of Great Leaders Have No Rules, 15 Secrets Successful People Know About Time Management, and Employee Engagement 2.0.

Original post:
Best Practices In B2B Demand Gen According To Branch, Axonify, BetterUp, Lessonly, And Airtable - Forbes

Who should handle our company's media activities? This is an internal struggle that most companies of all sizes face in the current economic instability and amidst ever-changing consumer data security practices. In assessing whether to outsource or insource there are clear advantages and disadvantages to the two choices facing marketing executives.

Photo by Susan Q Yin on Unsplash

Many companies make these moves without clearly understanding that there are two sides to the coin when it comes to insourcing media buying. It is important for those who believe that insourcing is the only way forward to take a step back to ensure they understand the common misperceptions and not only the positives.

Lets investigate both.

Some misconceptions about outsourcing

On the other hand, the benefits of outsourcing should also be considered. Not only can this strategy save a company money, but also open up vital resources to manage other priorities while ensuring maximum creative output. This will allow for quicker profitability and sustained growth - the typical goals of any business. Of course, there are also various upsides to an in-house approach but it is critical to take all of the companys goals into account. Every situation will have its own unique set of variables. This is where management must put their best efforts forward to be informed before deciding between the two options.

Ideally, companies should understand the ins and outs of both strategies to ensure there are no surprises further down the line. Do thorough research. Consider all the benefits and potential drawbacks. Talk to other companies that have made the leap from insourcing to outsourcing, or vice versa and most importantly, make sure that you are not seduced by the advantages of only one particular strategy.

About the AMF

The Advertising Media Forum (AMF) is a collective of media agencies and individuals including media strategists, planners, buyers and consultants through whom 95% of all media expenditure in South Africa is bought. The AMF advises and represents relevant organisations and aims to create open channels of communication and encourage and support transparent policies, strategies and transactions within the industry.

For more information on the AMF, visit amf.org.za

Read more:
Insourcing: Appreciate the up and downside before you take action - Advertising Media Forum - Bizcommunity.com

Let me start with a bold statement. You can build a SaaS company from the ground up, without any outside help.

And the best thing is, you dont need luck or privilege to bootstrap. You can achieve it with tons of blood, sweat, and tears along with valuing every penny and using every resource at your disposal. Then after some trial-and-error, youll get there.

I had an idea, and I made it a reality. Scratch that, Im making it a reality. I cant say Ive made it as a bootstrapped entrepreneur, but I can happily say that Ive gotten some of the way. Ive spent some of the blood, sweat, and tears required to make it happen, and Ive got plenty more to spend but also some advice to share.

So heres what Ive learned from my bootstrapping journey.

Lets set the scene to have some proper context. There I was, a 20-something coding know-it-all, working for an enterprise-sized CRM system. My job was to travel around the US and Europe, implementing, training, and picking up big fat invoices from customers.

Sounds like a sweet gig? Thats because it was. I was blessed to travel, doing something I loved, and something I was good at. I was extremely comfortable but then I gave it all up. I walked away.

I always had one question simmering away at the back of my mind, nagging away at me: why?

Why couldnt CRM be as simple as a Chrome extension, like Skype, for example, and why was it so expensive for these customers? We were training people in dozens of different processes, but the teams only used one or two of them. Why didnt the technology bend to fit existing processes rather than processes bending to fit a CRM? Lightbulb.

Six years later and I want to impart what Ive learned since then. Specifically, I want to speak to my bootstrapped peers about what I see as more valuable in business than somebody elses money.

Above everything, our people are at the heart of our business our team. Maybe its different for you, but I quickly realized that I couldnt be everything to everybody.

I had the coding credentials, but Im far, far away from being a marketing expert. Im a good communicator, but have I got the steel nerves I need to deal with something negative somebody says about my product? No way. Besides, theres not enough time in the day for me to do everything.

Thats why to borrow some startup jargon our employees areat NetHunt T-shaped. Now, whats that supposed to mean?

It means I look for people who arent specialized in just one thing (I-shaped people), nor generalist jacks-of-all-trades (dash-shaped people). The people we hire at NetHunt specialize in their primary role but can fulfill other tasks as and where we need them.

We cross-train and educate each other around our specializations, which improves our communication, and provides a better buying experience for our customers. Our T-shaped teams are excellent at adapting to fluctuating demand, which is crucial in the post-2020, post-pandemic business climate.

Theres also one incredibly important fact every bootstrapped founder needs to know: team size is not equal to success. So you dont necessarily have to spend more money to improve your team, but you need to make sure your processes are optimized for success.

I try to solve that by focusing on untethered communication between our teams. We run daily stand-ups to know what others are doing and have one big cross-team meeting to keep each other in the loop. Our teams are aligned under a shared-informational environment, and they have the tools to back up their existing skills.

So to sum up, if you tell me I need money; I say no. I need people.

You cant set out a business simply upon the strength of finance. However, you can set out a company based on the strength of feeling that people generate when theyre devoted and theyve got the skills to execute an idea.

As a bootstrapped entrepreneur, its essential to have a good nose for the right people to propel your business forward.

Its easy to tap out early on; after the honeymoon period is over, and the novelty of living your dream and working for yourself has worn off.

When you look at these tech-juggernauts, with their mega-campuses in Silicon Valley and marketing budgets bigger than we can imagine, its easy to think: whats the point? Ive been there, and I think weve all probably been there.

It might not seem like it at that point, but being a small business has its advantages. For example, its much easier to build better relationships with customers when youre just starting out. We can avoid awful, transactional communication and speak to them like humans and friends.

We can listen to their feedback, act on it, and close feedback loops quickly. We can prioritize individual customer success, which is the underlying foundation of business success in the SaaS industry.

Similarly, things are much easier among a small team. Sorry, but Im going to use the C-word again communication. Thats what it all comes down to.

The smaller the team, the clearer the vision is, and the less diluted your final goals become. At NetHunt, were close, almost like a family. Everybody knows each other and talks to each other about life when theyre stuck in the elevator together. Problems get solved because were honest and constructive with each other.

Ditch that megalophobic feeling when you look at Apple, Google, or whoever else. As a small, relatively underdeveloped business, we hold an advantage ourselves. Sure we dont have the financial backing that these guys do, but weve got the flexibility they cant afford.

Change things up while you still can: pricing, product UI, and branding. Experiment. Dont be afraid of your churn rate rising, but believe that your service brings value to customers and their work.

Competition is good because it means that a market exists for your product. We use competition to push us closer towards the boundaries of what we can do; we use our competitors as inspiration for what to do next.

As a small business, its your job to find sanctuary amongst all that competition, a place within the competition where there is no competition. The eye of the storm is your niche.

But being a smaller player, you must choose your battles wisely. Pick a few marketing and acquisition channels, scaling them as your business grows. Otherwise, youre everywhere but spread so thinly that youre nowhere.

As a cost-effective and relevant method of lead generation and education, at first, my team and I decided to focus on content marketing and its inbound and outbound distribution. Every piece of content we put out brings us closer to our niche.

Specifically, we care about SEO and our Google rankings. Users who find us through these channels tend to maintain a high buying intent; they already know what they want a need. Its a long game, but were playing an even longer one at the moment as we try to conquer YouTube and video marketing. In every video, we try something different; a shorter intro or a CTA in another place, and in every video, we learn something new that helps us.

Keep an eye on the prevalent trends in your industry; know which marketing and acquisition channels work. Sure, your larger peers have got the budgets to attack those trends, but they also run on massive, often rigid systems with a lot of red tape. If you attack it early enough, you can settle into that niche before they manage to find it.

Thats anyones guess. Personally, Im hungrier than ever after six years of building my own company. Ill continue to iterate my growth strategies, looking for that key growth factor. Ill never stop looking for that perfect product-market fit, and I know my team wont either. Business never sleeps; it continuously evolves.

Trends come and go; audience preferences change, and our product must keep moving with the times. With my team behind me, I know that anything is possible for the next six years as long as we continue to follow the same formula towards success:

Hypothesize, implement, measure, conclude

Its more than possible to build a SaaS company from the ground up, with no outside help, and bootstrapped. Good luck!

More:
The 3 most important lessons I learned as a bootstrapped founder - The Next Web

Just over one year ago, travel plunged from vibrant to zero in about one day.

Unemployment occurred almost immediately thereafter and was eventually followed by the CARES Act that provided desperately needed funds to help get through the rough patch, which wasn't nearly enough. Several rough patches later, another round of stimulus helped reduce the unemployment rolls and supported owners to get to the next place.

And now, here we are. So, what has changed?

After a year of empty airports, U.S. air travel is coming back to life, albeit the continued use of masks, limited interactions between airline employees and travelers in an effort to reduce costs. For frequent travelers, TSA PreCheck and Clear will be the preferred way to get to your flight through security. If you prefer to keep your mask on through security, you may need to use Clear they use biometrics. Hopefully you are ready to fly if you have stayed up on your airline status as a flyer, your Global Entry or any other needed documents.

There will also be more automation.

Everything will be touchless, including food, beverage, boarding and checking bags. Most likely, airports will be the last to relax COVID-19 policies and have the fewest amenities of any leg of the trip. Will outdoor dining and cocktail service be available at the airport?

Hotels have gone through major systemic changes. Housekeeping is no longer a standard for guests during their stay. All front-desk transactions are and will continue to be contactless. Check-in lines will not likely be necessary as it is possible to check in an entire roster of arrivals into a hotel beforehand. Food and beverage ordering will not include printed menus, and all guests will be spread out no more standing elbow to elbow at the bar waiting for service. Grab-and-go and outdoor dining are happening when weather permits. Will vaccines and a few months of time change that? Maybe, but visitors and locals alike enjoy dining outdoors.

Housekeeping has undergone more than a facelift. Leaders who understand sanitization and safety have put together a massive change in how rooms are cleaned as well as when they are cleaned. Every single room is both inspected and sanitized before every new guest. This might create a benefit that helps to earn some lost market share back from short-term rentals. Public spaces are cleaned and sanitized frequently. And masks, hand sanitizers and partitions rule those spaces.

The hotel sales department has undergone a complete reorganization. Zoom calls replace in-person visits and meetings are going hybrid. This requires sales people to be tech-savvy as many meeting planners are not yet comfortable planning their own hybrid meetings and will be asking the hotel for help. The human resources department has had to endure furloughs, layoffs, rehiring, followed by more furloughs, layoffs and another round of rehiring. They will be required to update handbooks, train staff and essentially start over.

Digital marketing was already a thing before the pandemic crushed our business. Now, without sophisticated digital marketing that includes well-coordinated social media marketing, search engine optimization and crisp up-to-date content, strategic campaigns are more important than ever. Group business remains extremely difficult in states with strict lockdowns and corporate travel is not yet back.

For owners, it is a time to evaluate capital expenditures, top management skills and training, flatter organizations and more. Average rates are down markedly and competition now includes some new hotels as well as short-term rentals. Building revenues based solely on domestic leisure business is not easy, particularly midweek.

Restaurants, attractions, retail and other destination amenities continue to be in flux over capacity constraints. It is not clear that vaccines will necessarily be required for travel within the U.S. There might be legal battles if that does occur, but it is important to note that beating the pandemic is not an option we must do that to fully recover. Be prepared for shifting tides. But it looks to me like the coast is clear for recovery. It was a long year and not fun for most. So, hang in there and enjoy a recovery that will be just as long as the downturn but headed in the right direction.

Robert A. Rauch

Read more:
How Coronavirus Changed The Hospitality Industry | By Bob Rauch - Hospitality Net

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BrightEdgeConductorLinkdexSpyFuYextWordStreamG2 CrowdMoz

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IndividualEnterpriseGovernment Organization

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By Regions:

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Table of Contents:

Executive Summary

Assumptions and Acronyms Used

Research Methodology

SEO Software Market Overview

Global SEO Software Market Analysis and Forecast by Type

Global SEO Software Market Analysis and Forecast by Application

Global SEO Software Market Analysis and Forecast by Sales Channel

Global SEO Software Market Analysis and Forecast by Region

North America SEO Software Market Analysis and Forecast

Latin America SEO Software Market Analysis and Forecast

Europe SEO Software Market Analysis and Forecast

Asia Pacific SEO Software Market Analysis and Forecast

Asia Pacific SEO Software Market Size and Volume Forecast by Application

Middle East & Africa SEO Software Market Analysis and Forecast

Competition Landscape

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Originally posted here:
SEO Software Market 2021 Will Reflect Significant Growth in Future with Size, Share, Growth, and Key Companies Analysis- BrightEdge, Conductor,...