Contact Us
860-659-0777

Lead Gen Tactics

Benefits of a Certified Google Ads Agency

Lead Gen Tactics, SEM /

Having a certified Google Ads agency working on your PPC advertising ensures you are maximizing budget, generating quality leads, and using your advertising dollars effectively. A Google Ads Agency Partner You Can Trust Simply running your ad via Google Ads is seemingly very simple. However – and we can’t stress this enough – knowing you are effectively advertising and monitoring the return on your spend is substantially more complex. A well-run Google Ads campaign can generate thousands of dollars in new sales and pays for itself. A campaign that is set up and forgotten about, lacking the strategic expertise of a Google Ads agency can be a huge waste of those funds. To help you evaluate your use of Google Ads and help set up your campaigns for success, we have compiled a list of basics our certified Google Ads agency addresses when helping clients with their PPC advertising: Google Ads Certified Advertising for B2B Clients As a certified Google Ads agency focused on clients in business-to-business fields, our team works every day with companies in manufacturing, medical industry, and technology. Our team has a special focus on Google Ads advertising for the B2B market, and we work to ensure marketing goals, technical benefits and an understanding of your unique target audience is included in all Google advertising. Thinking about trying Google Ads advertising as part of your marketing mix? Contact us and someone from our team will be in touch. We’re happy to discuss your needs and the ways Stifel Marcin’s Google Certified experts can help. Stifel Marcin – The B2B Marketing Agency Unlike many advertising and marketing agencies, B2B isn’t just something that we do, it’s all we do. We’ll work to help your brand achieve its goals through the strategic combination of creativity, communication and technology. Our focused client intake processes give us the ability to thoroughly understand your business, products and objectives, working to identify the competitive advantages and opportunities that will grow awareness, leads and sales. We develop innovative marketing plans with strategic, data-driven processes, presenting complex ideas and compelling messages that position your business ahead of the competition. As your cooperative partner, our integrated B2B marketing agency is dedicated to your success. If you have questions about digital advertising, we’re ready to help. Let’s talk.

Benefits of a Certified Google Ads Agency Read More »

Outsource B2B Marketing Services: 5 Tips

Leave a Comment / Lead Gen Tactics, Marketing Campaigns /

Whether it’s workload challenges or shifting day-to-day needs, many organizations struggle with how to effectively develop and implement marketing strategies. Choosing to outsource B2B marketing services to an experienced agency can be a wise investment. The right partner will work with you to craft a solution that meets your needs and budget, and most importantly, effectively achieve your goals. When companies decide to outsource their marketing, many find they can sustain their initiatives for a longer period than if efforts were handled in-house. We often hear from companies that they significantly increased their KPIs (key performance indicators) after they partner with our marketing firm. An agency partnership can provide access to specialists with knowledge and resources that you likely don’t have in-house. Collaborating with that expertise can ensure effective strategies are developed, and your plans are built with a detailed knowledge of platforms, tactics and trends. Additionally, when you outsource B2B marketing services to an agency, they offer integrated teams that are accustomed to working to meet budget and timeline requirements. Maximizing Results When You Outsource B2B Marketing Services If your company has decided it is best to outsource some or all of your marketing needs, here are some tips that will help you optimize the process. If you are still evaluating solutions and not ready to start contacting vendors, check out our article about what to look for in a marketing agency. Be Clear About Your Goals – As a team, identify and discuss your marketing goals. Perhaps it’s brand awareness, lead generation, revenue growth, or increased engagement. Share your KPIs with potential partners, and explain why and how you are evaluating those metrics. At Stifel Marcin – The B2B Marketing Agency, when we start to work with a new client who has clearly identified KPIs, we are better able to make strategic recommendations and craft plans that effectively work toward, and even surpass, those goals. Beyond the KPIs the agency is judged on, we are here to help you and your team succeed. Do Some Calculations – Estimate (or clearly define if you can) what your budget is for marketing services. This information will be very helpful during initial consultations with a prospective agency partner. It might be tempting to talk more generally to see “what it will cost,” but this can be confusing and even counterproductive. With the incredibly wide variety of options available to marketers today, and the rising costs of media buys (such as PPC ad placements), your agency partner may suggest ideas – that while viable and valuable – quite simply are not in your budget. Research the Right Type of Agency – The right marketing can take your business to the next level, so finding an agency partner that fits your needs is crucial. If, for example, you need assistance with recruitment marketing, speak with an agency with proven results in that vertical. In the B2B world, an agency experienced with the nuances, opportunities and challenges of your industry can make all the difference. At Stifel Marcin, our team is well versed in B2B, and for more than 20 years has helped brands convey their story, benefits and solutions to the right target audiences. Create an RFP – A request for proposal (RFP) allows for clear comparison among agencies. Defining the scope of the project, the reference materials you already have, what you can provide, and what you expect for results will set the stage for success. Agencies may have a wide variety of approaches, and being clear can help you make an “apples-to-apples” comparison of the differences in tactics, costs and expected deliverables you will have when you outsource B2B marketing services. When you have internal marketing resources – existing materials, research documents, assets, brand standards and more – share that insight in your RFP as well. If you identify where you are looking for agency input, and how you can support the agency’s efforts, often this can impact costs and deliverables. Try to be as clear and specific as possible. When a client tells us why and how they want to help in the process we can properly plan. For instance, if your team will be writing the technical content because you better understand the nuances of a product, or if you plan to code an agency-produced design into your private CRM, we can help plan budgets, timelines and cost. Overall, a detailed RFP gives the understanding that results in a detailed (and accurate) quote. Keep an Open Line of Communication – The best laid plans should be continually evaluated. One of the challenges of being an outside agency is that we don’t know what happens “in-house”. With regularly scheduled check-ins, meetings and discussions we can improve our understanding of your business and any changes happening in your industry that could impact marketing and sales. This allows us to adjust our tactics accordingly. Collaborative Relationships Drive Successful Results Choosing to outsource your B2B marketing services can be a big decision. Stifel Marcin is here to answer your questions and listen to your needs. Contact us and let’s get started. Stifel Marcin – The B2B Marketing Agency Unlike many advertising and marketing agencies, B2B isn’t just something that we do, it’s all we do. We’ll work to help your brand achieve its goals through the strategic combination of creativity, communication and technology. Our focused client intake processes give us the ability to thoroughly understand your business, products and objectives, working to identify the competitive advantages and opportunities that will grow awareness, leads and sales. We develop innovative marketing plans with strategic, data-driven processes, presenting complex ideas and compelling messages that position your business ahead of the competition. As your cooperative partner, our integrated B2B marketing agency is dedicated to your success. Whatever your outsourcing needs, we can help. Reach out today.

Outsource B2B Marketing Services: 5 Tips Read More »

Email Marketing for B2B Lead Generation: 8 Tips for Success

Leave a Comment / Email Marketing, Lead Gen Tactics /

Is email marketing for B2B lead generation still a valuable use of time and budget? It’s a common question asked by many marketers, given that more than 306 billion emails are sent and received each day. With so much competition within users’ inboxes, it may feel daunting to get your message to stand out in the crowd. Here are eight strategies that you can implement quickly to improve your email marketing effectiveness for increased leads, sales and retention: 1. Build and Segment Your List Segmenting, or categorizing your email list, allows for highly targeted messages to specific audiences. Examine your target personas and where they might be in the sales cycle. Emails can and should be created with the reader’s interests and demographics in mind (region, job role, market, etc.). If you’re frequently sending emails to your entire list, you’re missing the opportunity to share messaging that matters to that prospect in that moment in time. Working with an agency partner like Stifel Marcin can be particularly valuable when developing and segmenting lists. We’ll work with you to identify your marketing goals and key demographics to develop a list and overall distribution strategy that maximizes open and click-through rates. 2. Leverage Email Automation in Your CRM If you have the benefit of a CRM platform that collects your data, leverage that user data to automate your email marketing. It takes time to carefully plan email trigger points and identify the right content to send based on that user’s interaction with your content – typically your organization’s website. If you’re using email marketing for B2B lead generation, ask these questions about those trigger points: • Is a user at this stage in our marketing funnel likely to submit their personal information? • Why would someone offer their information? In other words, what can your email offer in return for that valuable lead? Is it a call-back from your sales team? Perhaps it’s a price estimate. • What user interactions are worthy of an email? Filling up someone’s inbox won’t lead to positive brand experiences, so carefully planning when and why to email someone is important. If you are using email marketing for B2B lead generation, then select engagement actions that a customer is most likely to do just before they convert to a sale. It could be the CTA to download product information or consider offering any visitor the opportunity to sign up for your newsletter. Whatever your logic, most people agree that the best thing about email automation is just that – the automation. With software powering the email send function, sales and marketing teams no longer need to plan the campaigns. Your CRM is sending email marketing for B2B lead generation without any real action needed. 3. Ask the Question “Is This Valuable?” Reiterating one of the points above, before ever hitting send, one of the most important questions you can ask is “why should the reader care about this message?” Without a doubt, you should have that answer. If you don’t, your target customer certainly doesn’t either. Providing customer-centric content that is poised to help educate, solve a problem, or provides an incentive for them to take further action should be top of mind. If you are focused on email marketing for B2B lead generation, then ask yourself, what can I offer that a recipient will find worthy of offering their information? Personal data is highly valuable, probably even more now than in the past as we prepare for increased data protections. If you are asking for contact info, then be sure you clearly define what the reader will get for it. 4. The Subject Line Matters More Than You May Think In many cases, your email subject line (yes, just a few chosen words) is what makes or breaks an email being opened. In fact, a recent study showed that 64 percent of email recipients decide to open an email based on the subject line. The content you deliver within your email matters, but if your subject line doesn’t earn the click, then that carefully crafted content never reaches its intended audience. Subject lines are a great way to A/B test your emails as well. Here’s a tip: personalize the subject line with the recipient’s name to your A group, while not including a name in the subject line to the B group. Or try two different subject lines all-together. And then look at your data to help inform future tactics (more on data evaluation below). And remember to avoid click-bait messaging. No one wants to open an email expecting one thing and receive a completely different message. It’s a surefire way to earn your way into the junk folder and create a negative perception of your brand. If you’re doing email marketing for B2B lead generation, then a poor brand experience is only going to make your work harder. 5. Make It Mobile Friendly Are your emails designed with mobile in mind? With studies showing that nearly 50 percent of emails are opened on a mobile device, they should be. But according to SuperOffice, nearly 1 in 5 email campaigns is not optimized for mobile. It can’t be underscored enough that if your email isn’t easy to read with a user-friendly layout, your email will very quickly find itself in a deleted folder. And when a recipient clicks on your email, be sure you have also tested your website’s mobile experience. Beyond basic responsiveness, how are your landing pages optimized? With email marketing for B2B lead generation, having a page that is designed for conversions is critical. Users who need to scroll and click to submit their information, are likely going to tire quickly and abandon your marketing funnel. More on that below. 6. State Your CTA Clearly and More Than Once No one wants to take the time to read an email and be confused about what to do next. The best way to move your reader to the next step in your marketing funnel is

Email Marketing for B2B Lead Generation: 8 Tips for Success Read More »

The Rise of B2B E-Commerce

Leave a Comment / Lead Gen Tactics, Websites /

Tips on How to Turn Your Existing Website into a Sales Generation Tool In recent years the growth of digital engagement has grown dramatically, as have customer expectations for what a digital experience looks like. These changes have presented challenges for some B2B organizations, which have had difficulties integrating new technology into existing sales processes. With a systemic shift in the way organizations are doing business, B2B e-commerce platforms and strategies not only continue to rise in popularity, but in many cases have become a necessity. Sixty-three percent of U.S. employees work remotely some or all the time, a number which averaged more than 40% even before the pandemic. This is fertile ground for B2B companies to reach target prospects. Many manufacturers are in a unique position which allows them to turn their existing websites into B2B e-commerce tools – increasing their sales and supporting production lines. With people’s social and digital platform interactions being redefined, B2B marketers need to consider how their websites and lead pipelines can be reengineered to reach prospects and convert them to sales. Set-Up Your Website for B2B E-Commerce Success Now is the time for B2B companies to explore ways to make their website, and its e-commerce functions, user friendly. Most manufacturer sites are already rich with product details and the technical documentation that engineers and purchasers need. Whether you have an existing product database that supports your website content, or you have static content, many B2B organizations are in a unique position to integrate e-commerce functionality. Work with your web development team and your sales team on ways to add e-commerce functions. Most often those additions will fall into two categories: The Rise of Resellers & An Amazon-Like Approach While many manufacturers and B2B organizations have worked for years with distributors, there has been strong resistance – by some – to reseller platforms. Much of this resistance is well-deserved, and most of us marketing veterans have heard of problems with pricing and inventory management using outside resellers. However, times are quickly changing, and the need to provide e-commerce solutions has become more critical. Platforms like Amazon have already primed themselves for increased activities in the B2B sector and have addressed (or at least made more apparent) the challenges faced by some manufacturers selling on their platform. For companies that don’t have the resources to build a B2B e-commerce solution internally, the proven technology and advertising capabilities of an organization like Amazon may be a good choice that will let you respond quickly to prospects’ demands for pricing, information and purchasing. No matter what your opinion of companies like Amazon, many manufacturers will need to develop an e-commerce solution that prevents the loss a critical marketing share – because winning that business back from competitors who work with Amazon will be costly and difficult. Make Your Website User Experience Customer & B2B E-Commerce Friendly According to Garner®, approximately 77 percent of B2B customers find the typical buying process complex and difficult. When it comes to e-commerce for B2B websites, the customer journey needs to be user friendly, fast and clear.  First, this means building a website architecture that is understandable, easily navigated, and allows users to quickly find the right products and right information to support their purchasing decision. Product filters, clear categorization, and minimal clicks are key. But, this also means establishing trust in your brand and transparency in your pricing, so that your target prospects are willing to complete B2B e-commerce transactions. Many B2B companies find online pricing difficult, often because orders are based on volume, and because detailed variables (sometimes which are apparent until late in the order process) affect total costs. But difficult does not mean impossible, nor does it mean it shouldn’t be done. With the need for solutions for e-commerce for B2B rising, solutions that provide customers with an understanding of the variables that affect pricing may be enough. For others, this could be a simple scaled pricing model, where the prospect would get a general idea about costs and would then get a final quote from a sales representative. Automated Increases to Support Customers Very few B2B organizations can fully-eliminate the need for people in the sales process, even with the best e-commerce solution. As you build your e-commerce for B2B capabilities, look at how you will support customers during the purchasing process, both with order-related and technical questions. Often dedicating a small amount of human resources (sometimes even the same people who answer customer questions on the phone), can yield good return as large portions of the process remain in the e-commerce system. The growing usage of chatbots will likely be important for many B2B e-commerce websites. Chatbots provide 24-hour service, instant responses, and gather information on your behalf. These functions are in fact robotic software, with algorithms that support data-based responses, identify customer needs and help with some common questions. As with B2C e-commerce websites, B2B e-commerce websites chatbots can provide detailed and specific information – such as available inventory, the projected date of completion, invoicing, account standing information, and all historical information related to an account. AI learning continues to advance these functions every day. Customer Follow-Up & Nurturing E-Leads To further enhance the customer journey, and ultimately increase sales conversions, B2B companies can establish interactions between ERP systems and e-commerce websites for clear visibility of customers’ orders. As you ramp up your sales via e-commerce solutions, B2B buyers will need support about their purchases. From communications about shipping times, invoicing and even follow-up communications on quotes that never turned into orders – relying on software to help improve the customer experience and follow up with leads can increase sales in the long-run. Also, self-service online payment solutions for B2B buyers will be valuable. Emailed invoice reminders or online payment collection functions can help empower your target prospects to pay their invoices independently while reducing time-consuming work and manual order processing for your accounts receivable department. Security & Compliance in B2B E-Commerce As with B2C, B2B buyers need assurance that their personal and corporate data is protected. This means establishing best practices in security, maintaining every aspect of your website’s backend and

The Rise of B2B E-Commerce Read More »

Turning “Traditional” Marketing Tools into Interactive Digital Marketing Assets

Leave a Comment / Corporate Branding, Lead Gen Tactics /

Many companies have been increasing their digital marketing assets over recent years. With a large number of Americans reporting that they continue to work remotely, the need for those materials remains crucial. Right now, fewer sales teams, product managers and service reps are face-to-face with existing customers or new potential sales. With less in-person factory tours, on-site meetings and trade shows, the need to ensure your communications are effective is critical. Marketing assets need to support brand positions, look professional, be high-quality, and work even harder than before, especially if you and your team can’t always be there to talk directly to the customer. Features to Make Your PDFs More Engaging If you are looking to shift your marketing presentations to be more digital and more engaging, consider how you can leverage your existing “traditional” sales tools – like brochures, line cards or sell sheets – and change static PDFs into something more interactive. While many businesses already use basic features, like embedded hyperlinks or signatures, there are other useful tools that are often overlooked. Here are some suggestions that can make traditional PDFs feel and function more like an interactive presentation: 3 Video Tutorials to Make Your PDFs More Interactive in Minutes 1. Make Sales Tool Easy to Navigate Your customer may not need (or want) to read the information you are presenting in a 1, 2, 3, 4, page order. Similarly, if you are in a teleconferenced presentation, accessing visuals that support your commentary quickly and easily is critical. Consider adding a navigation menu on every page of your PDF, slightly adapting the design to allow for a clear and understandable user experience. This will help readers move quickly through a multi-page document and access the pertinent information they are looking for. 2. Make a PDF Easier to Browse with Hide/Show Details Allowing a reader to quickly review and sort content allows people to find the specifics they want more easily. An interactive PDF can include features such as rollovers or click animation effects. These features can allow a reader to consolidate dense information into clearly organized content blocks – revealing product specifications, features boxes and technical descriptions easily by simply clicking on a button. 3. Embed Videos into the Layout Little compares to the power of video when communicating information. Whether showing product demonstrations, instructional tutorials or customer testimonials – video can quickly tell a story with little reader effort. By including video assets in your document, a simple PDF instantly becomes more robust. Depending on the final delivery of your PDF, or your file size limitations, you can also embed video links or “calls” to a video hosted on YouTube or Vimeo. 4. Embed & Capture Form Data If you have gotten a customer to engage with your document, you want to make it as easy as possible for them to continue their journey through the sales funnel. Considering including forms in your PDFs – either to collect general contact info, allow customers to submit a quote request, or even to collect orders. Like website forms, PDF forms can be individually set, sending unique form information directly to the right person in your organization. Be Sure Your Team is Using the Right Materials It may sound simple but putting in place a process to ensure your team has the latest files is a critical step when using digital marketing assets. From the first new PDF asset to revision updates, to controlling what content can be customized by the sales team member – some basic processes will help maximize value and brand compliance. One way to ensure that the latest version of documents are used is to set up a web-based marketing portal housing sales tools on your website or a shared drive, which can only be accessed via a password-protected portal. This allows your sales team to download and share digital marketing assets, or automatically synch up assets whenever a computer has WiFi access. Similarly, your sales team can also share sales assets directly with customers via links, assigning them a unique (and trackable) password to access and view documents. Instead of sending PDFs as attachments, by using a link to one central document, customers will always see the most current version of the file. Support for Your Digital Needs Many B2B marketing teams have adapted to new market conditions and new business requirements. If you need some support to increase your digital library, or with any digital or integrated marketing campaign needs, our team is here to help. Whether you are looking for a specific scope of work, or a full-service B2B marketing agency partner, we bring two decades of proven results to every project. Contact us for a free consultation or let us know how we can help. We’re ready to help you Power Up Your Marketing. Stifel Marcin – The B2B Marketing Agency Unlike many advertising and marketing agencies, B2B isn’t just something that we do, it’s all we do. We’ll work to help your brand achieve its goals through the strategic combination of creativity, communication and technology. Our focused client intake processes give us the ability to thoroughly understand your business, products and objectives, working to identify the competitive advantages and opportunities that will grow awareness, leads and sales. We develop innovative marketing plans with strategic, data-driven processes, presenting complex ideas and compelling messages that position your business ahead of the competition. As your cooperative partner, our integrated B2B marketing agency is dedicated to your success. If you need help with digital marketing assets, our solutions can help. Let’s talk.

Turning “Traditional” Marketing Tools into Interactive Digital Marketing Assets Read More »

B2B Marketing in the Attention Economy: Expert Tips

Leave a Comment / ABM, Lead Gen Tactics /

If it is possible to offer a diagnosis on the B2B customer right now, it would be this one: We have forgotten how to pay attention, not because we wish to, but because we have too much to pay attention to. Inundated by messages, whether they’re on phones or laptops, means there is a lot of clutter, and much of this messaging will by necessity command little of our attention. In the B2B sphere, it has never mattered more that marketing content be easily understood and offer great value to a potential customer. Welcome to the Attention Economy, where human attention is treated as a scarcity. People only have so much time and smart B2B marketing is key to capturing attention, or you risk losing your audience altogether. Consider the Attention Cycle of a typical marketing initiative, an email campaign, that unless the messaging offers clear, valuable and long-standing customer connections, is just an exercise in generating volume, not results.  As you can see, message generation, without strategic intent and purposefulness, leads to less attention, not more. The idea that simply sending more emails will get more eyeballs is inherently incorrect. Attention is incredibly valuable. That’s why we don’t just “give our attention” – we “pay attention.” With an ever-escalating volume of marketing messages bombarding audiences online, creating brand-focused assets that resonate and cut through the clutter has become of great importance. Get noticed or get lost in the crowd – this has never been truer than today. If you want someone to “pay attention,” you must make sure what you offer is of value. Along with your marketing team, sales team, management and marketing agency, you must first decide who you want to reach. Get specific – exactly who are you targeting? Is it a potential customer who responds well to the latest technology and who will want to know more about the innovation at your plant? Is it a cost-conscious customer who will be motivated to act when they find out that your company can now do larger production runs for less? Your content marketing strategy doesn’t have to be complicated, but it does need to be effective. Using your outside B2B marketing agency can provide crucial insight into ways to make any marketing efforts more impactful. If you’re already uncertain that you’ve identified key targets, or are reaching them effectively, you might want to read more about Account Based Marketing. B2B marketing in the Attention Economy means creating content that matters to the reader. What do these key targets value and how can you develop invaluable content that will become a “must read” for them. In the new Attention Economy, capturing the attention of a prospect is only the first step. By serving value, you will “command attention” in the future. Your marketing efforts should be anticipated content your key target looks forward to receiving. It should be smart, aligned with your brand, and aligned with your goals – and make that recipient feel it is worthy of their valuable attention. What do you want your potential customer to do? Download a whitepaper? Sign up for a webinar? Come to a tradeshow or event? Good B2B marketing materials are always driven by clear calls-to-action, and in the Attention Economy, clarity and thoughtfulness in driving engagement is more important than ever. Consider how a marketing asset’s call-to-action will foster further engagement – and will give you the opportunity to turn a contact into an on-going relationship. Monitoring how readers respond to those calls-to-action, how they engage, and the feedback they provide also has benefits. By tracking those interactions, you may get insights that help you zero in on your potential customers’ concerns and needs. In the Attention Economy, tracking what does and doesn’t work is critical to long term returns. Work with your team and your marketing agency to make sure efforts are effective. Monitor each campaign asset, and use analytics, tracking and other measurable results to ensure you are having success getting attention – the attention of your target. Digitally, you can see if your efforts are returning results via more website traffic, directing new traffic to the site, offering content that makes people engage with your brand, or submitting website forms. It can mean more attendees at your next event, more people recognizing your name, or more requests for quotes coming in. Ensuring that you are getting a return keeps everyone motivated to continue the outreach to new clients. It may be a new way of thinking for your organization, but even though there are marketing costs associated with developing content-driven, strategic creative, the idea that you are offering something of value to your prospective customer base is critical in the Attention Economy. More than creating another B2B marketing asset, you are actually creating value in the mind of your potential customer. You Modernize Your Plant. Modernize Your B2B Marketing for the Attention Economy. The demand for content is huge. Marketing surveys reveal that 75% of B2B purchasers rely on content as a research medium when they look to make a buying decision. Provide value and attention will be paid. Thinking about how you can capture attention with your B2B marketing in the frenetic world of the Attention Economy? Contact us and we’ll help you identify key targets and develop smart, strategic, attention-capturing marketing initiatives. Let us help you Power Up Your Marketing today. Stifel Marcin – The B2B Marketing Agency Unlike many advertising and marketing agencies, B2B isn’t just something that we do, it’s all we do. We’ll work to help your brand achieve its goals through the strategic combination of creativity, communication and technology. Our focused client intake processes give us the ability to thoroughly understand your business, products and objectives, working to identify the competitive advantages and opportunities that will grow awareness, leads and sales. We develop innovative marketing plans with strategic, data-driven processes, presenting complex ideas and compelling messages that position your business ahead of the competition. As your cooperative partner, our integrated B2B marketing

B2B Marketing in the Attention Economy: Expert Tips Read More »

How to Target Prospects Strategically with “Big Data Marketing”

Leave a Comment / Lead Gen Tactics, SEM /

Digital marketing is complex and leading with a “big data marketing” mindset can seem daunting. Big data, AI and user tracking are top of mind for many marketers – but when it gets into the details of how, what and who – there can be confusion. As we add in multiple layers of interest targeting, geotargeting and the capabilities of different platforms, the intricacies expand. To help, we’ve compiled an overview of how our team uses big data marketing strategies to target new customers and expand touchpoints. What is Big Data and Who is Collecting It? Simply, “Big Data” is all the information digitally tracked about a person. The website pages you read, the words you use to search, the type of content you engage with – all this data is collected. That information is combined into a data set, which then combines with other people’s data sets, and is analyzed. Computer algorithms then create profiles about you – predictive patterns, interests and associations – that we marketers can leverage. Data is collected as you go through your day, so your profile is a full representation of you – what you do at work, what you do at home, what you like, etc. Keep in mind, data collected is not just from what you type and read after a Google® search, but also what you say and do. The Facebook App, Google Home Smart Speaker, Amazon Alexa, iBeacon tracking, etc. automatically collect data, image content, position tracking and more. This monitors what you do, where you go, what you say, and what you type. Advanced Big Data knows more about you than you probably care to imagine. How Do We Use Big Data Marketing in Digital Campaigns? The data available for B2B marketers has become more robust and refined. More than just a job type or industry, we can identify specific B2B interests – such as involvement in operations, supply chain, metals and more. Different platforms allow these data collections to be leveraged by marketers. While each platform offers different data options, similarities exist. Sites like Facebook, Google and Native platforms include a variety of interest settings, job information, demographic data as well as geographic statistics (including if you are home, at work, traveling, etc.). Sites like LinkedIn also provide job titles and past/current employers. These platforms have different dashboards, which require the understanding of interface settings and the nuances of each of them. By carefully targeting segments, overlaying settings and aligning our B2B digital marketing campaigns with client goals, we can serve ads to your potential customers. We can even tailor ad content, timing and messaging to the individual – serving them ads they are most likely to engage with – which we also know from Big Data tracking. Our digital marketing team is available to leverage a wide variety of Big Data – so that two people sitting right next to each other, both looking at the same website will see different ads. Accessing Information for Big Data Marketing  While the novice marketer can likely gain access to some of the profiling tools and platforms that leverage Big Data, an expert hand is needed to truly be effective. Understanding the complexities of these advanced tools allows marketers to correctly leverage all the capabilities. It takes time. It takes thought. And it takes skill. Don’t be lured by automated platforms and auto-generated targeting and ad content. B2B marketing is complex and must be carefully implemented. Remember that a smart marketer will not only maximize your visibility and return, but also protect your brand as part of a well-crafted digital strategy. Placements, pacing, spend, conversions and more should be regularly monitored data points. Big Data Marketing That Drives Results At Stifel Marcin, we have more than two decades of B2B digital marketing expertise. We’ve watched the growth of platforms, digital opportunities and data tracking, and know how to maximize its value. Let’s talk about your marketing goals, and how we can bring data-driven digital marketing into your mix to increase your visibility, brand positioning and sales. Contact us today to learn more. Stifel Marcin – The B2B Marketing Agency Unlike many advertising and marketing agencies, B2B isn’t just something that we do, it’s all we do. We’ll work to help your brand achieve its goals through the strategic combination of creativity, communication and technology. Our focused client intake processes give us the ability to thoroughly understand your business, products and objectives, working to identify the competitive advantages and opportunities that will grow awareness, leads and sales. We develop innovative marketing plans with strategic, data-driven processes, presenting complex ideas and compelling messages that position your business ahead of the competition. As your cooperative partner, our integrated B2B marketing agency is dedicated to your success. If you want to learn more about Big Data affects your company, we can help. Reach out today.

How to Target Prospects Strategically with “Big Data Marketing” Read More »

How to Reach New Customers with Innovative Digital Marketing Campaigns

Leave a Comment / ABM, Lead Gen Tactics, Marketing Campaigns, SEM /

With the variety of Big Data, profiling and targeting available, the ways in which digital marketers are able to expand a brand’s reach via innovative digital marketing campaigns has grown. Beyond simple demographics, campaigns can be deployed to reach people based on interests, topics they engage with, their job title, the industry they work in and more. Using data we are able to predict what content people are likely to engage with, what we should serve, and when. We then overlay targeting options and can be highly-specific about how digital campaigns are deployed, and to whom. Advanced B2B Digital Media Tactics & Campaign Building The range of data available to B2B marketers has become more robust (you can read more in our article on How to Target Prospects with “Big Data” & Strategic Digital Marketing). Interest categories related to manufacturing, operations, management and corporate structures have become more granular, and our expert B2B marketing team is leveraging this data to improve return and performance. Types of Common Digital Advertising Platforms The variety of digital platforms we have available is extensive, all designed to capture the attention of customers during that 10+ hours a day the average person in the US is in front of a screen. Instead of relying on trade magazines and purchased lists – which have their place in a full marketing strategy – our digital marketing platforms allow us to access up-to-date data and go directly to the consumer’s screen. While different platforms have different targeting capabilities and restrictions, all utilize predictive algorithms, 3D data and AI to help serve ads to only customers deemed most relevant to a campaign goal. Successful innovative digital marketing campaigns combine strategies for apps, social media, online properties and search engines to achieve results. Some of the common B2B paid digital marketing platforms we utilize are: Graphically-based ads, including animated ads, that serve on the Google Partner network. While we control the deployment locations, this can include news sites, travel sites, weather and more. Display and news-style ads that appear on 3rd party sites. Often this looks like actual content from that platform. Similar to Google Display with similar deployment controls, these ads also appear on news sites, interest sites, etc. Both display ads and newsfeed posts placed on sites like Facebook®, Twitter®, Instagram® and LinkedIn®. From magazine websites to e-newsletters, trade publications offer various digital opportunities to target customers. Cost is always a consideration with trades and should be evaluated as part of a full B2B digital marketing plan. Combining both content marketing and direct marketing strategies, eNewsletters work to reach customers in their inbox. This can be achieved by utilizing a purchased list (which should be well-vetted to ensure quality), or even better, by using a customer contact list. Integrated Marketing Solutions for Maximum Impact As a full service B2B marketing agency with integrated services, we build complete strategies for our clients. All our work is tailored to meet client goals, needs and resources, and we partner with clients and act like an extension of their company to maximize results. Additionally, as part of our integrated capabilities, we also help clients define campaign positions as well as ensure their brand is protected in digital marketing. Contact us today, and let’s discuss how together we can create innovative digital marketing campaigns to grow your brand and increase your sales. Stifel Marcin – The B2B Marketing Agency Unlike many advertising and marketing agencies, B2B isn’t just something that we do, it’s all we do. We’ll work to help your brand achieve its goals through the strategic combination of creativity, communication and technology. Our focused client intake processes give us the ability to thoroughly understand your business, products and objectives, working to identify the competitive advantages and opportunities that will grow awareness, leads and sales. We develop innovative marketing plans with strategic, data-driven processes, presenting complex ideas and compelling messages that position your business ahead of the competition. As your cooperative partner, our integrated B2B marketing agency is dedicated to your success. If you have questions about our marketing solutions, reach out today.

How to Reach New Customers with Innovative Digital Marketing Campaigns Read More »

B2B Digital Advertising – What Format is Best?

Leave a Comment / Lead Gen Tactics, SEM /

A savvy B2B marketer’s media mix includes strategic B2B digital advertising. Simply put, digital advertising is anything a potential customer sees on a screen, whether you have a presence on Google Ads, trade website banner ads, page takeovers, social media or email marketing. On average, people in the United States spend at least seven hours a day in front of a screen. As online content continues to proliferate, along with visuals that seek to grab and hold your attention, it can be more and more difficult to have your creative stand out. Marketers must consider how to capture attention and increase click-throughs in an increasingly crowded and competitive field. Unfortunately, there is no “one rule” for B2B digital advertising performance – ad engagement is highly-specific to the media on which it appears. On social media, animated content outperforms static content almost 2-to-1. Conversely, in some very recent studies, static ads actually outperform animated ads in website layouts (like trade publications), likely due to users gravitating to clean and simple content in a busy and cluttered layout. This can be an especially difficult challenge in B2B digital advertising, where often there are complex differentiators in products/service (ie. a lot to say). While video is often a go-to option for engagement and visibility, allowing marketers to deliver a lot of information in B2B digital advertising material, recent trends also show increased engagement in interactive content – such as HTML 5. This format allows marketers to create digital ad materials that actually let a user interact with the media – affecting the content that is displayed. One key consideration before you set out to develop new creative B2B digital advertising campaigns, is knowing exactly what formats your media placements support. For example, many industrial companies and manufacturers place ads in digital trade publications – such as eNewsletters and websites. Often these media only support specific file formats and have size limitations – many of which prevent video or interactive content from being an option. When preparing your next B2B digital advertising campaign, and planning for cost-effective ad material development, consider these common ad types: HTML 5 Banner Ads: Several years ago Apple made the decision to not support .swf files on all iOS browsers and, initially, this seemed to have killed the animated banner ad. Now, the HTML 5 format has taken root. An HTML 5 package allows advertisers to make ad units that operate as mini, fully-coded websites, including HTML, CSS and JavaScript, that will create your layout and motion graphics. While this takes advanced knowledge to properly code and create the digital materials, as well as to ensure the ad content will comply with media requirements – so it will work when supplied to the third-party media – the increase in ad engagement and CTR, in many instances, is notable. This ad content is often highly brand-relevant for B2B companies, looking to display their technology-forward company image in a visual way. HTML 5 also supports a wide array of customizations, interactive functions, video, and more. The production costs – and planning costs – are higher for these ad types. But, given the high cost of media buys, and the fact that increasing customer touchpoints is key in modern B2B digital advertising initiatives, the value of these ad formats goes well beyond a simple CTR metric. Social Media Templates: Social media sites have improved their support of interactive graphics formats – take Facebook’s extensive variety of templates, as well as LinkedIn’s expanded support of video content. In a platform where you need to capture users attention quickly, and where large areas of the viewable layout remain as static/flat text, interactive graphics can help improve B2B digital advertising results. As part of its robust marketing platform, Facebook has developed a number of tools for advertisers to enable. These not only support the upload of a variety of finished creative types, but also allow digital advertising to be developed right within the Facebook system. One can upload a company logo, a series of still photos and write custom text, and the Facebook Ad platform will create an animated slideshow ad unit for Facebook and Instagram. And with a number of different, pre-made templates available, B2B digital advertisers can develop interactive content using static sources, which can be very effective, especially if your budget can’t support a costly custom video or an elaborate B2B digital advertising development effort. Video in B2B Digital Advertising: Video has long been a go-to source for highly-engaging, highly-informative visual content. While some statistics recently released over-hyped the value of video in B2B digital advertising content, video still can definitely be an effective tool to increase engagement. There are a wide variety of production considerations to evaluate when creating video – for example, how many applications it will have – as well as the lower resolution requirements of many digital advertising platforms that can allow for less costly video shooting. As opposed to a high-end company overview video, a 15-second Facebook spot can often be filmed inexpensively, with in-house editing, suitable for use across desktop and mobile platforms. Obviously, a good strategy should be in place to effectively and strategically create video marketing content (Stifel Marcin can help there too). New technologies and software have made creating and embedding video easier as well. With Premier and After Effects included in the Adobe Creative Cloud, anyone with an Adobe subscription has access to the same software used by video professionals. Google Web Designer can embed a video hosted on YouTube. You can also upload video directly to Facebook to use as your creative. Video has seen an increased presence, not only in traditional banner ads of all sizes, but in large screen takeovers, environments where you have a user’s undivided attention. It’s important to consider size limitations of video. Even a small video ad will likely be more than 15mgs, which is well-beyond the limitation of most B2B digital advertising trade media placements. A complete review of the placement options can help determine the

B2B Digital Advertising – What Format is Best? Read More »

Scroll to Top