7 Tips for Your Next Lead Generation Campaign.

7 Tips for Your Next Lead Generation Campaign.

As the little things can often have a BIG impact in any lead generation campaign, I hope these 7 tips will help you when planning your next initiative.

1. Set clear goal -- Too often people plan elaborate campaigns with unclear or no real goals at all. Set goals that are specific and measurable; number of leads, number of sales appointments and number of conversions/sales wins. This will not only help you to determine if your effort was a success, it will also help you plan future campaigns.

2. “What’s in it for me” -- Always remember, customer is king. You may have the greatest product or service in the world but how will help your customer save money, make money, be more efficient, be more effective, etc. You get the picture.

3. Keep everyone in the loop – Make sure that anyone in your company who has customer contact (which is often times everyone) is trained in what you they need to know and say. Lead generation campaigns are primarily designed to generate qualified leads sales people but other employees can seek out and direct these leads to the sales team – IF they know about the program. Set up ½ hour overview webcast or conference call.

4. Test and learn – Think about planning your campaign in a phased approach. Create and test several approaches, measure results early and often and get feedback from sales. This gives you the opportunity to make adjustments along the way. Small things like changing the email subject line can make a big difference in the success of your campaign.

5. Be consistent – make sure the all your marketing materials and messages are coordinated with the campaign. Things as simple as including the campaign message in automated voice mail or a recorded after hours message are easy to do. If there is a specific ‘offer”, your sales people can customize their automatic Outlook email signature to include it.

6. Think environmentally – Lead generation is an ongoing process; develop your campaign so that it can be used over again, again and again. Keep in mind what and how elements of the campaign can be re-purposed for a different target audience or a follow-up campaign. No need to reinvent the wheel.

7. Keep is simple – Maybe the most important aspect of any campaign. From the message to your prospects to sales training to the way you track and measure the program. Everyone has a lot on his or her plates these days. Keep it simple…and have fun.

Common-Sense Marketing Advice – For  practical, no nonsense approach to effective marketing contact bill@wmmcguire.com | 973-216-4152

7 Tips for Promoting Your Webinar

Whatever you call it --Webinar, Webcast, Web Conference, it’s an excellent (and very cost-effective) way to educate prospects about your product or service. It’s also a great way to generate high-quality leads for your sales people. So, you want to make sure that you do everything you can do ensure a great turnout.

Here are a few things to consider when planning your promotional efforts:
1. Check the Calendar – Make sure that your webinar doesn’t fall on any holidays or conflict with any competitor or industry events. Also, consider the day of the week and time of day…or night. Know your audience and make sure it’s convenient for them.
2. Get the Word Out Early and Often – Let everyone know with all the different ways that are available to you. Since it’s an online event, email and your website will draw the best response. But also include the URL address in your direct mail, print advertisements, and postcards at trade show or how ever else you communicate with potential customers. You may even want to consider creating a press release and sending through targeted newswire distribution.
3. Give All the Details But Not Too Much –Besides the obvious who, what, where and when info, your invitation should include lively and effective graphic elements. If you have a notable speaker or panel discussion, make sure to include photos and brief bios of participating speakers. This will attract more attention and increase your registration rate.
4. Send Out Reminders – Everyone has busy calendars these days. Send out a reminder the day before AND morning of the webinar. Some of the webinar software providers have a feature that does this automatically. Some even synch up with Outlook and other email calendar software so that as soon as someone registers it sets a meeting planner appointment directly on their calendar.
5. Timing is Everything -- Keep the webinar to a reasonable timeframe, most are an hour in length. Start promptly and make sure you leave 10-15 minutes for Q&A (questions and answers). The best webinars are interactive; some even allow attendees to submit questions online that can be answered in real-time. You want to make sure that your audience is engaged and stays on the webinar until the end…and looks forward to the next one too!
6. How We Doing? – When the webinar has concluded, send an email survey to all attendees, ask them what they liked, what they didn’t like, if they have any specific question and what they’d like to see if future webinars. Send a similar survey to those who “registered but didn’t attend” and ask them why. Send the survey shortly after the webinar, ideally the same day. You want it to be still fresh in their minds.
7. Follow-up, Follow-up, Follow-up – Do not leave anything to chance here! These folks took an hour of their time to learn about your company. Make sure you have a thought-out plan to follow-up with them effectively. You might even create a follow-up script that your sales team can use as a guide. This will also help maintain a consistent follow-up process.
Remember, it’s all about learning and making improvements for the next go around. Webinars can be a very effective method to educate prospect about your company and create leads for your sales people to then convert into satisfied clients.

Common-Sense Marketing Advice – For  practical, no nonsense approach to effective marketing contact bill@wmmcguire.com | 973-216-4152

7 Tips For Trade Show Success

It’s that time of year again! Trade Shows can be one of the best ways to get face-to-face meetings with a large number of influencers and decision-makers in a short period of time. With proper planning, this can make for a very effective lead generation campaign.
So, in the spirit of “Take care of the little things and the big things will take care of themselves”, here are a few things to consider when planning your next trade show:
1. Establish Clear Goals - Set goals for what you want to accomplish – number of leads, number of meetings after the show, number new customers and amount of new business. Then, measure the results on a 3, 6 and 12-month basis. This will help you determine your return on investment. You should also compare these results against other trade shows that you participate in.
2. Fill Your Calendar – Everyone knows it takes more than just showing up. Make sure to let all your clients and prospects know that you’ll be exhibiting at the show and what your involvement is; i.e. speaker on panel, new product introductions, and educational seminars. Set-up ½ hour meeting in advance of the trade show –schedule early morning breakfast or dinner meetings if that’s more convenient for your customers.
3. Read the Manual – this may seem obvious, but be sure to carefully go through the entire exhibitor manual. Most of the time, there are ways to save money – such as getting service forms in early. There are also often low cost and free opportunities promote your firm to attendees. Most important, if the attendee list available – get it! It’s a great way to follow-up with those you meet …and those you miss.
4. Dust Off Your Display…or Not – Consider all the costs associated with your display – refurbishing, shipping, storage, labor, etc. It may be cheaper to get a new display than to bring your old one out from storage. Retractable banner stands are a fantastic option for the do-it-yourselfer. They’re also easy to set-up and easy to update with new graphics for the next show.
5. Listen and Learn – Trade Shows are a great forum for conducting a customer survey. Whether you use self-service computer touch screens or an in-person questionnaire, be respectfully of individual’s time. Also, if the survey findings are useful to attendees, give them the option to provide their email address to get the final report. This is another great way to keep the lines of communication open with your customers.
6. It’s Show Time! – Remember, it’s called a trade “SHOW” for a reason. Make sure that everyone at your booth has his or her trade show “game face” on. Everyone representing your firm should be well trained, prepared and eager to welcome attendees and make visiting your booth the high point of their trade show experience.
7. Keep the Momentum Going –Trade Shows are hectic and confusing, everyone comes back with a lot of work and good leads can sometimes fall through the cracks. Begin your follow-up within a week after the show -- in order of urgency and opportunity. You might even consider developing a targeted direct mail campaign. Find something that’s unique, fits your budget and achieves your results.

Common-Sense Marketing Advice – For  practical, no nonsense approach to effective marketing contact bill@wmmcguire.com | 973-216-4152

Summer Marketing: 3 Simple Tips...

OK, it's summer, time for fireworks, barbeques, and vacations. It can also be time to get a jump start on making a some improvements with your marketing efforts. Since it's summer, let's go with just 3 quick tips that can make a big improvement:

1. Inventory Your Brand -- Make an list of all your marketing materials business cards, letterhead, brochures, etc.  Is everything consistent, update to date, and where you want it to be?  Does your brand need a facelift or a complete overhaul?  Also, include all touchpoints with the public from your phone answering message to your office lobby, they're all part of the brand image.
   
2. Plan an Event -  From choosing the venue, crafting the communication, sending the invitations, following up with RSVPs, 2-3 month is an aggressive plan from start to finish. So if you’re planning for this Fall you better get started today.
   
3. Update your Website - Summer is a perfect time to take a closer look at your website to see if it's meeting your goals and the needs of your customers.  Is your website engaging to viewers to take an action of some type and does it give the a reason to return? If this answer is no, you'd better take a closer look and figure out why.  There are many new and cost effective ways to enhance your site to be more interactive. Maybe even add a blog...

Common-Sense Marketing Advice – For  practical, no nonsense approach to effective marketing contact bill@wmmcguire.com | 973-216-4152