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As we mentioned a few weeks ago, we will shortly be releasing our first annual State of B2B Lead Generation report. In the meantime, we wanted to share interesting snippets to give you a sense of what we've uncovered.

Today, let's look at the use of CRM software. We've talked previously about some keys to ensuring a successful implementation, but firstly, are B2B companies even using CRM systems? Our data says yes, with more than half of the folks we surveyed indicating they do use the software. But that number still seems a bit low given all the talk about lead tracking and management, lead nurturing and more - don't you think? Seems like total CRM adoption still has a ways to go.

Social media is a great tool for generating inbound leads and improving your visibility, but it can be a little scary to get started. Some businesses may be worried about the legal risks -- but those fears are generally overblown. A more realistic worry for many comapnies should be about overdoing it.

If you've ever gotten a LinkedIn request from a salesperson you talked to once, or a Twitter auto-response that begs you to friend a company on Facebook, you've seen the problem in action. It's not quite run-of-the-mill spam -- the requestor at least has some marginal connection to you. But it's not truly social, either.

A recent post at UnMarketing gives this phenomenon a name -- warm spam -- and describes several variations -- all of which can be damaging to your personal or company reputation. Check out the list and make sure you're not making any of these social mistakes.

One addition to their list: "me too" posts or tweets. If you're tweeting or commenting with no substance other than simple agreement, you're probably better off just sending an email or a DM. Otherwise it looks like you're just posting so people see your name. (This isn't exactly a new problem: it's been an annoyance since the infancy of the Internet: Usenet guides recommend avoiding it.)

What other social spam techniques do you see? Let us know in the comments... and the first person who says "me too" gets coal in their stocking.

The Christmas lights are up, Hanukkah menorahs are lit, and hopefully you've finished your shopping and are ready to relax and do some light reading.  As we near the end of 2011, we took a look back at the most popular posts from this year.  Not only does it make for interesting reading, but it helps our BuyerZone blog team understand what topics are top of mind for our readers so we can plan our 2012 content accordingly.

Whether you missed one or simply want to refresh your memory - read on for the top posts of 2011:

1. Building a better ROI calculator for lead generation - use BuyerZone's simple ROI calculator to compare the performance of all your internal and external lead generation programs, as well as do basic lead tracking.

2. Making something out of nothing: big deal value from little guy deals - find out why embracing small customers will help your business grow.

3. Um...did you get my message? - responsiveness is especially critical in the world of business, and not only for leads.

A few weeks ago, we covered the basics of marketing automation - defined as the use of technology to manage and automate processes such as lead nurturing, lead generation, email marketing, and lead management, and improve the measurement and analysis of results.

While the benefits are clear, a recent BtoB Magazine survey shows that adoption of this new technology is still lagging:

"While awareness of marketing automation platforms is high among marketers and the proliferation of digital channels increasingly demands the assistance of technology, only 44% of b2b marketers have implemented some form of automated marketing, according to a new study by BtoB."

Interestingly, the 44% adoption rate indicated by the survey results seems high, as Forrester Research claims marketing automation is used by only 5% of marketers.

Whatever the actual adoption rate is, at this point, the marketing automation wave is just beginning and it will be exciting to see how this technology further improves lead generation methods.

Read the full article.

Happy Friday everyone!

As the work week winds to a close (does it ever stop though?), we want to share some relevant news across the web that caught our eye.

• Liz got you caught up on what this whole marketing automating thing is about. If you're considering making the investment - and trust us, it's a worthy one - there are a lot of choices out there. Our friends at Marketo made news this week with their launch of Spark - a lite version of their slick marketing automation platform, designed for small businesses. 

• As marketers continues to rely on search engine marketing and experiment with social and mobile, email marketing continues to chug along - as instrumental as ever. The folks at Hubspot have put together a solid cheat sheet for creating successful email campaigns. We covered email tips in-depth last year - and they still holds true. Check out our Foundations series on everything you need to know about email marketing for lead generation.
  

• Google has made a number of changes to their search algorithm starting earlier this year with the goal to eradicate 'content farms' - sites designed to beat the system by offering little in terms of value to users - from their organic search results. While well intentioned, the update has impacted many legitimate sites, especially manufacturing-focused sites. Has your site been impacted? 
  

Check out BuyerZone's new Lead Generation Resource Center! BuyerZone's resource center offers in-depth tools and guides for every stage of the sales process.  From generating new sales leads to following up and closing sales, our resource center has the information you need to grow your business.

Here's a snapshot of our latest tools and guides:

Lead generation 101: Discover how lead generation companies capture leads, what to look for in a lead generation provider and decide if it's right for your business.

Lead generation ROI calculator and lead tracker: Download our simple ROI calculator that you can use to compare the performance of all your internal and external lead generation programs, as well as do basic lead tracking.

Lead nurturing basics: Discover basic lead nurturing strategies to help you start generating revenue from stale leads.

Following up on a lead: Maximize your close rate by following our simple, but effective, follow-up tips.

SEO and lead generation: Learn how to use SEO tactics to optimize your website and generate more leads for your business.

Marketing and sales alignment: a shared path: Follow these tips to help bridge the gap between marketing and sales, and generate and close more leads.

Please comment below to let us know what topics you'd be interested in learning more about.

Getting the most out of your marketing dollars is all about return on investment: the ROI is just a measure of how much you spent compared to how much you got back. It's a simple concept, but when we talk to companies that are part of our program, we're often surprised to see how few actually measure ROI in a consistent, ongoing way.

If you use a comprehensive sales tracking system, like Salesforce.com, Sugar CRM, or similar software, you've already got a leg up: those systems make it easy to track each lead back to its source. But what if you don't?

We want to help. We're working on a simple ROI calculator that you can use to compare the performance of all your internal and external lead gen programs, as well as do basic lead tracking. Want to check it out? Download it here: BuyerZone Lead Tracker.xls

It's just an Excel file -- no software to install, and no real CRM features like workflow, dashboards, or automatic importing or exporting from other tools. We're not saying you can use this to run a large sales organization. But what you can do is use it as a guideline for calculating the ROI for BuyerZone or any other lead gen program.

What's in the calculator

The first tab, basic ROI, lets you calculate a simple ROI based on the number of leads and their cost, or your total expense on a program. If you'd like to use this tracker for multiple programs, you can copy that sheet and reuse it for each program.

The second tab is a basic lead tracker where you can enter each lead on its own line. This information feeds into the next sheet, results, which gives you a basic breakdown of each of your lead sources and how they're performing.

What SHOULD be in the calculator?

Now you tell us. What else should a basic lead tracking sheet like this do? Would you like a breakdown by month, for example? What other information should it contain on each lead? We want to make this a useful, free way for businesses to get started tracking ROI on lead gen programs, so any feedback you have is appreciated.

At small companies like BuyerZone, you pitch in where help is needed, and over the past few months, I've been helping our Quality Assurance team test a wave of new features and improvements to our RFQ platform.

It's been an eye-opening experience, to say the least. Just when we think we've tested every possible combination of both inbound and outbound leads, we find another potential situation that requires testing. And of course, it's never the straightforward, everyday situations that cause the bugs -- it's the edge cases, the unusual combinations that reveal a bug or a design problem.

This QA time made me realize how marketing and sales organizations could apply broader testing strategies to their efforts. Sure, most companies will test a new landing page, or measure the return they get from a new marketing program. But there are opportunities for testing up and down the sales channel. Here is just a sampling:

• Test the offer: the most basic type of testing you can do. Which is more attractive - a 30 day free trial, or 5% off your first order? Should you push the 10-user license, or unlimited license with the subscription fee? Should you offer a "free estimate," a "consultation," or an "audit?" Try different offers in identical lead gathering settings to see what grabs the most attention.
  
• Test landing pages: this is probably one of the most commonly tested parts of a lead generation campaign, and for good reason: they make a huge difference. When you test landing pages, don't get too bogged down in details: test large changes in design and copy first, then refine the winners. 
• Test forms: it doesn't matter if it's a one-field newsletter signup form, a full-fledged sales cart, or anything in between: the design and functionality of your information-gathering form can make a huge difference in a campaign's performance.
  
• Test performance of different channels: do leads that come from your own web site behave differently than those you purchase from a lead aggregator? Your marketing channels may require individual testing and customized messaging or approaches.
  
• Test salespeople: you should look beyond, 'are they following up as they should'? are one rep's tactics more effective than another?
• Test follow up schedules: how many calls and emails should you place, and when?
• Test messaging: every email or call script is fair game for testing.
  
• Test nurturing materials: measure response rates as well as eventual sales from drip marketing campaigns. 

Of course, most of this is comparative testing: which one of two (or more) approaches is better. Don't forget to do some basic functional testing as well: how does your web site perform during peak busy times? Do all the phone numbers you use actually ring at the right desk? Is all the information you're gathering correctly making it into your CRM?

Your turn -- what kinds of testing have you found the most valuable? Do you stick with the basics, or do you test end-to-end? 

Marketing Automation is software that helps to truly align marketing and sales. Mac Macintosh defines it as "The use of technology to generate, nurture, score and qualify leads, and drive sales, using customized, multi-touch marketing communications tailored for each contact's profile, level of interest, behavior or place in the buying process". Though it sounds complicated, it's really not.  Essentially, marketers use real-time information gleaned from a CRM to automate campaigns and generate leads for sales.

Marketing automation software can be bought as standalone software - say to help segment your customer database and execute email campaigns. However, the real beauty is marrying the software with your CRM. The folks over at Software Advice have posted a good primer on the importance of CRM integration in Marketing Automation.

I would emphasis their key point even further: CRM integration with Marketing Automation isn't important, it's imperative. The beauty of this evolving concept is sending out the right message to the right prospect at the right time using technology instead of luck. Marketers can't do this well without knowing deep information about a prospect. And what better place is there to get that data than a CRM system full of demographic, behavioral and purchasing information about a prospect? Sure, Marketing Automation can work without the CRM component, but not nearly to the level as when you harmonize marketing prowess with ongoing sales insight.

Marketing Automation is a topic we haven't covered a ton yet on this blog - but it's an area we intend to explore much more this year. In fact, we launched an integrated Marketing Automation solution at BuyerZone just over a year ago - so we'll be sharing a lot more of what we've learned so far.

Is Marketing Automation a totally new concept for you? Or, are you an experienced pro? Share your thoughts in the comments section below!

As 2010 winds down, we thought it would be worth recapping some of the most popular posts from this year in case you missed one, or if you want to review one of the topics we covered in detail.

This was our first year authoring this blog, and we hope you've enjoyed our thoughts on the world of lead generation. Of course, we're still new at this, so please let us know what you like and what we could do better.

Without further ado, the top 10 posts this year:

10. The Importance of Speed-to-Call in the Sales Process - our friends at Leads 360 talk about the need to follow-up on leads, quickly.

9. Selling Tips for New Sales Representatives - hiring a new salesperson? Here are some thoughts on getting them up and running smoothly.

8. Insights on the Construction Buyer -  key findings from our research on how to best sell to people looking for buy construction equipment.

7. Nine Online Sales Tools Worth the Money - learn about nine tools that are worth the money and give you more control in how you manage your time, connect with clients and perform sales operations.

6. Five SEO No-No's - five SEO tactics you should absolutely, positively never do.