For Technology Product Management & Marketing Professionals

B2B Lead Management Automation Market Overview

Multiple Vendor Choices And Confusing Claims Slow Adoption

by Laura Ramos, September 22, 2009

Lead management automation (LMA) requires a degree of process maturity many business-to-business (B2B) firms don't possess, resulting in underachievement by vendors and users alike. Yet, the benefits of adopting LMA are clear: B2B marketers that successfully . . .

For eBusiness & Channel Strategy Professionals

Case Study: New York Life's eBusiness And Agents Live Happily Ever After

A Revamped eBusiness Strategy Scores By Selling The Agent Appointment

by Chad Mitchell, February 20, 2009

In 2001, New York Life Insurance's Web site, which was intended for communication, education, and service, was not meeting its customers' or agents' needs. Web analytics showed that customers were trying to use the Web site to connect with agents, yet . . .

For Technology Product Management & Marketing Professionals

Community Marketing Boosts B2B Marketing's Value During Tough Economic Times

by Laura Ramos, February 19, 2009

Recessions send business marketers scrambling to protect budgets or rebalance the marketing mix once inevitable cuts occur. However, long after this downturn subsides, entirely different business buying behavior will emerge as prospects turn to online . . .

For Technology Product Management & Marketing Professionals

Four Ways To Grade Lead Management Maturity  (112 KB XLS)

by Laura Ramos, January 15, 2009

Mature lead management processes pay off in better sales follow-up rates and higher close-rate percentages for marketing-generated leads. To define a realistic road map for process improvement, B2B marketers must sit with sales, telesales, customer support, . . .

For Technology Product Management & Marketing Professionals

How To Avoid B2B Marketing Obsolescence

Community Marketing Transforms The Marketing Role

by Laura Ramos, January 15, 2009

Business decision-makers are increasingly banding together in online communities to research purchase decisions using peer insights and independent product experts. Business marketer influence is declining at a rapid pace. To remain viable, you must invest . . .

For Vendor Strategy Professionals

Hot Companies To Watch: Q4 Update

Profiles Of Emerging Companies And Technology Trends That Tech Vendors Need To Know About

by Chris Andrews, December 19, 2008

In this series, we highlight interesting new vendors and important technology trends. At Forrester, we've seen a strong interest in emerging technologies among our strategist clients as vendors seek to stay innovative and identify the "next big thing" . . .

For Technology Product Management & Marketing Professionals

Deriving More Value From Your B2B Web Site

Six Factors For Improving Online Lead Generation In A Down Economy

by Alan E. Webber, December 3, 2008

In this recessionary economy, every solid lead is worth its weight in gold. Although most B2B companies focus their Web real estate on getting visitors to download whitepapers or register for a Webinar in hopes of getting more leads, they end up placing . . .

For Interactive Marketing Professionals

Case Study: Epicor Software Uses Personas To Boost B2B Search Marketing Results

by Shar VanBoskirk, September 29, 2008

During the past two years, Epicor Software built a paid search marketing program that today provides a good model for B2B marketers initiating search marketing or those looking to better use search to drive leads. By targeting specific audiences with . . .

For Technology Product Management & Marketing Professionals

How To Make B2B Webinars Deliver Better Leads

Planned Pre-Show And Follow-Up Communications Are The Key

by Laura Ramos, August 25, 2008

As technology and business-to-business (B2B) marketers replace traditional offer-response strategies with community marketing practices to embrace adopter community issues and values, Webinars will become a key plank in the B2B marketing platform. Technology . . .

For Technology Product Management & Marketing Professionals

Inquiry Insights: B2B Marketing, Q3 2008

by Laura Ramos, August 22, 2008

Forrester clients submit roughly 20,000 analyst inquiries each year. Reviewing these one-on-one interactions in aggregate illuminates the issues that concern Forrester's clients the most. Our analysis of the questions submitted by business-to-business . . .

For Marketing Leadership Professionals

CMOs Need To Initiate Marketing-Sales Collaboration

Six Practices To Improve The Relationship With Sales

by Cindy Commander, June 30, 2008

Sales and marketing have a long history of tension, frustration, and misalignment fostered through operation in distinct silos, separated by a wall over which marketing hands off leads, materials, and other insights to sales. However, marketing and sales . . .

For Marketing Leadership Professionals

What Keeps B2B CMOs Awake At Night?

Tactics And Execution Worries Outweigh Strategy and Innovation

by Laura Ramos, November 29, 2007

Top B2B marketing executives enjoy, or suffer from, a broad range of responsibilities spanning tactical execution to strategic visioning. Yet, it's the short-term issues that keep them awake at night. Future thinking and innovation get short shrift as . . .

For eBusiness & Channel Strategy Professionals

Giving Dealers Power of Lead Pricing and Flow Increases Value of Online Leads

by Belis Aksoy, November 16, 2007

For Marketing Leadership Professionals

B2B Marketers Must Measure Lead Gen Costs

Benchmarks Don't Help Close The Measurement Loop

by Laura Ramos, April 18, 2007

Executive demand for marketing accountability increases every year. But firms that sell considered products with long sales cycles struggle to quantify how their marketing efforts contribute to sales success. Nearly one-quarter of business-to-business . . .

For Marketing Leadership Professionals

B2B Marketers Can Learn From Software Firms

Software Marketers Are Mature Lead Managers, But Have Room To Improve

by Laura Ramos, January 12, 2007

Challenged to shorten long sales cycles and convey concise benefits about complex products, software marketers require sophisticated lead management practices to engage and land prospects. Compared with other business marketers, software firms use more . . .

How Technology Improves Lead Management

B2B Marketers Should Exploit Technology To Improve Process Maturity

by Laura Ramos, December 28, 2006

Business-to-business (B2B) marketers rely on technologies built for sales — not marketing. To improve effectiveness of lead management activities, B2B marketers should take advantage of technologies built specifically for marketing. Used appropriately, . . .

Financial Institution CMOs: Assess Your Opportunity Management Practices

by Mary Pilecki, December 13, 2006

Acquiring and retaining customers is a primary strategy being employed by banks to grow revenue. Share of wallet is a measurable goal, but many banks don't have the right tools or processes in place to effectively manage customer opportunities. By performing . . .

How Mature Is B2B Lead Management?

Mature Lead Management Practices Yield Superior Results

by Laura Ramos, November 30, 2006

Lead management process maturity pays off big time. Business-to-business (B2B) firms that fall into the top tiers of our Lead Management Maturity Model enjoy better sales follow-up rates and close a higher percentage of marketing-generated leads. But . . .

For Marketing Leadership Professionals

Improving B2B Lead Management

Use Forrester's Maturity Model To Upgrade Lead Management Processes

by Laura Ramos, October 4, 2006

B2B marketers can no longer afford to emphasize lead volume over lead quality. This practice reduces sales efficiency, increases costs, and fuels the gap between sales and marketing. What should B2B marketers do to mature their lead management practices? . . .

Capitalizing On Banks' Sales Opportunities

by Mary Pilecki, June 19, 2006

As banks push for more sales to their existing customers, many will run into a serious problem: broken opportunity management processes (the handling of leads, referrals, and alerts). Banks need to improve these processes in four areas: developing customer-specific . . .

The State Of Consumer Electronics Online Lead Referrals

A Shared Quantitative Study With Channel Intelligence

by Ted Schadler, April 24, 2006

Forrester and Channel Intelligence recently partnered to conduct a study of online lead referrals. The results: 1) Most consumers seeking purchase information from a manufacturer on consumer electronics (CE) expect to buy from a listed retailer — but . . .

Enterprise Marketing Platforms: Siebel Succeeds With Broad Functionality

The Forrester Wave™ Vendor Summary, Q1 2006

by Elana Anderson, February 3, 2006

Siebel Systems, a Strong Performer in our Forrester Wave ™ evaluation of enterprise marketing platforms, provides the broadest functionality in the market. But, with the ink on Oracle's acquisition of Siebel still wet, a lot of uncertainties exist . . .

Enterprise Marketing Platforms: SSA Global Excels At Interaction Management

The Forrester Wave™ Vendor Summary, Q1 2006

by Elana Anderson, February 3, 2006

SSA Global acquired Epiphany in August 2005, rounding out its ERP capabilities with Epiphany's full suite of CRM functionality. Today, SSA Marketing Suite provides best-in-class interaction management tools, well-integrated analytics, and a solid campaign . . .

Enterprise Marketing Platforms: Unica Offers The Leading Solution For B2C Marketers

The Forrester Wave™ Vendor Summary, Q1 2006

by Elana Anderson, February 3, 2006

The only Leader in our Forrester Wave™ evaluation of enterprise marketing platforms, Unica is tops because of its strong campaign management and usability. Unica also has the strongest strategic vision in the market and is focused on building out . . .

Enterprise Marketing Platforms: Teradata's Next Release Will Improve Its Standing

The Forrester Wave™ Vendor Summary, Q1 2006

by Elana Anderson, February 3, 2006

Teradata CRM (TCRM) version 5.1 has strong functionality for analytics and customer segmentation, but the application focuses only on direct marketing. Teradata is dependent on its own RDBMS, and the application lacks functionality such as interaction . . .