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Earlier this week, Anne Kelly, our VP of Sales (who you'll be hearing more from on this blog in the coming months) and I attended Demandcon in Boston. It was our first time at this conference and we attended because the subject matter is right in our sweet spot: accelerating and aligning marketing and sales resources to succeed with lead generation.

I thought I'd share some key takeaways:

State of B2B Demand Generation

Jay Gaines from SiriusDecisions keynoted the conference with some interesting thoughts about the state of demand generation. Over the past few years, demand generation techniques have improved vastly - it's now a well-oiled machine, but the training wheels are still on.

• Tools and technology are on the rise, and marketers are doubling their investment in business intelligence and marketing automation/CRM software. But less than 25% of businesses are leveraging these tools to their fullest (especially marketing automation).
  

• And though marketers have many more tools at their disposal -- allowing for targeting, segmenting, lead scoring, nurturing and the like, many are still resorting to the tried and true tactics of "spray and pray" -- sending generic email blasts hoping to drive leads.

• The balance of inbound lead channels versus outbound lead channels is still skewing towards inbound. Inbound leads are always a good thing (especially when factoring in cost), but you still need a balance of the two, which we talk about at length in our recent whitepaper.
  

• As we all know, not all leads will close. According to Jay, 80% of Sales Qualified Leads (SQLs) don't close. Thus, there is an immense amount of "lead waste" if you aren't prepared to turn those "wasted" leads into future opportunities with lead nurturing. The key is to manage the waste with smart but not overly complex lead nurturing campaigns. Campaigns that address the reason for non-closure, for instance, and not just a one-size-fits-all maze of emails that are unlikely to turn a prospect back into your pipeline. 

Last Tuesday we co-hosted a webinar with LeadsCouncil on our recent whitepaper, the Art and Science of Successful Online Lead Generation. Nearly 100 attendees learned simple and actionable lessons from two lead generation experts.

Watch the video (it's just under 50 minutes) and learn for yourself how these simple, yet vital steps can ensure success for your lead generation campaigns:



And if you missed the whitepaper, you can download a free copy here.

Do you have tips for success for online lead generation? Share them in the comments below!

I wrote a blog post a few weeks ago about the proliferation of mobile in online lead gen and would like to provide a follow up given the recent patent verdict in Apple vs. Samsung. A word of caution - this story is still very much in flux, so these observations are purely hypothetical at the moment.

The mobile OS landscape
Even if you don't follow tech, many of you know that the two dominant players in the mobile OS space are Apple's iOS and Google's Android operating system. According to the latest reports Android and iOS combine for more than 85% of smartphone market share. When we optimize for mobile, we are doing so to enhance the user experience largely for people accessing our sites via one of these two mobile operating systems.

Up until now, businesses haven't really had to optimize for either platform because the way one uses an iPhone or an Android phone have been pretty much the same (much to the dismay of the folks in Cupertino). Things like pinch-to-zoom and double tap-to-zoom when viewing a website site have become as common as a mouse click. But, that functionality and others we all know could change if Apple takes this victory to the next level.

By now, you're surely familiar with banners ads littering almost every website in existence today. But in the past few years, those banner ads have gotten a bit more sophisticated, and they may be a great tool to add to your lead generation arsenal.

While many companies buy banner ad space on websites to generate clicks (and, hopefully, leads), increasingly, companies are turning to banner ad retargeting to stay in touch with prospects who've already been to their website.

It works like this: you attract a visitor to your site through a number of different online advertising methods (paid search, a piece of content, an email). The visitor browses around your site and may or may not take an action (such as making a purchase or filling out a contact form), but in the meantime you've dropped a cookie on their browser. When the visitor goes to another website - in the same session or even a few weeks later - you'll be able to serve ads to them as they browse other websites. This way, you can hope to capture their attention again, since they should know who you are.


Image courtesy of Fulfilltopia.com.

If that explanation didn't make any sense, think of it like this: when you're looking for a pair of new running sneakers on Zappos, but don't make a purchase, that banner ad for Zappos you see on CNN.com a few minutes later isn't a coincidence. That's retargeting, in a nutshell.

Retargeting can be a great way to re-capture potential leads that did not convert on your site. You've likely spent money to attract them to your site in the first place, and retargeting can be a cost-effective way to "re-convert" a significant percentage of them, even if it's not right away.

According to retargeting company, Fetchback, 98% of website visitors don't convert. Maybe it's time you looked into retargeting strategies for your business? If so, here's a brief primer on four of the leading players. And, of course, Google also offers retargeting services to its advertisers as well.

We all would be lost without our smartphones right? Whether at home, in the car, or on the job, our iPhone or Droid is always just a pocket reach away. Mobile is everywhere and by now it's obvious that more and more people are accessing the web via a touch-based mobile device. But, between playing Angry Birds and texting, these smartphone users are headed to your website in droves and if it renders poorly on their screen, they're probably going to be out of there fast.

Mobile and B2B
When it comes to B2B, if your site isn't optimized for mobile by now, it's time to get moving. According to a recent eMarketer article, 28% of U.S. C-level executives in the B2B space used a mobile device to research business purchases. That's a significant chunk and the numbers will only go up from here.

A quick Monday morning nugget for you: the good folks over at the Sales Lead Management Association have a blog post up about our recent State of B2B Lead Generation report with some commentary of their own. Some great thoughts based on their extensive knowledge of the space.

Check it out.

We cover a lot of topics on this blog - and hopefully you're finding the information helpful. But we know that sometimes you want more. More topics, more depth. And that's why we built our Resource Center.

We've compiled whitepapers, an infographic and quick guides that cover important topics in the world of online lead generation. And we're not done yet -- more content and tools will continue to be added.

So head over to our Resource Center and check out topics like:

• The State of B2B Lead Generation: our 2012 report
• Marketing and Sales alignment
• SEO for Lead Generation
• And more...

The BuyerZone Resource Center: when the blog just isn't enough.

The way businesses communicate and work together is constantly changing. Likewise, the technology businesses are using is also always developing.
 
And no, that is not a coincidence.

Technology greatly influences everyday business. The problem, however, is how are businesses supposed to know which technologies they should be working with and which ones they can pass on?

That's where technology blogs and sites come into play.

How many times a day do you spend reading TechCrunch or ReadWriteWeb? Quite a lot if you're like me. Well, I want to know which other blogs or sites you're reading to help you keep up with the times - because I'm going to find the best ones and give them the props they deserve!

That's right. The next Best of BuyerZone article is: The Best Business Technology Blogs of 2012.

Video marketing is becoming a popular marketing tool for B2B marketers. One study of B2B content marketing found that video is being used by more than half of marketers today, a 27% increase from 2010 to 2011. Additionally, 61% believe video is an effective marketing tool. It's clear that what was once a B2C standby has become a go-to marketing method in the business to business space.

Are you thinking about giving video a try? Here are some tips we've gathered:

• Be short and sweet. One marketer suggests even with a thirty minute video, say everything you want in the first two minutes. 
• Use humor and let your personality shine. The online marketing world can be an impersonal place. Video is a great way for prospects to see who you are, and what you're about.
• Include a text summary of the video (helpful for SEO too!).
  
• Put a full plan in place to ensure success.

And even though video might be a new tactic for your business, approach it like any other marketing channel. Production quality is important, make it usable, ensure the content is helpful and test, test, test.

Have you found success with video for your business? Share your tips in the comments section below.