The Marketing Maven: Industrial Marketing Blog & B2B Marketing Tips

Get Started on Your 2008 Marketing Budget

It's that time of year again. If you haven't started on your 2008 marketing plan and budget, it's time to pick up your planning tools. Remember, good planning means fewer fires to put out later.

Whether this is your first time building a marketing plan or your twentieth, before you get down to specifying tactics and programs, make sure you have a solid grasp of your company's strategy. Every decision you make in preparing your marketing plan and budget should be in support of executing your company's strategy, so keep it in mind as you define your marketing objectives and build your plan.

Don’t Fumble When Handing Off Leads to the Sales Team

What happens when you pass a lead to your sales team too soon? The first few times it happens, the salesperson might follow up, only to discover the lead is not qualified, does not want to speak to a salesperson and is nowhere near a buying decision.

Soon enough, salespeople will ignore or discard these early-stage leads in favor of short-term opportunities they can close. Don't blame the salespeople. Their job is to sell; they are rewarded for it.
Passing unqualified leads to the sales team results in a culture of salespeople rejecting marketing leads. Some industry experts estimate that early-stage leads which are lost, ignored or discarded by salespeople represent between 40-60 percent of missed sales.

Making the Most of the Season of Giving

By: Chris Chariton

My father was a purchasing agent and growing up, each December brought daily packages of fruit from Florida, liquor, nuts, candies, logoed golf accessories, and more from various companies.

Today there is less corporate gift giving. Many companies have strict policies on accepting gifts and limit it to a certain dollar amount.

Let's face it: sending gifts to your customers is not an altruistic act. The purpose is to thank your loyal customers, strengthen your brand, keep your name top of mind, and further develop your relationship with that company, ultimately resulting in customer retention and additional revenue.