Becoming a World Class Demand Generation Agency

Transcription

1 Becoming a World Class Demand Generation Agency

2 INTRODUCTION The landscape for marketing agencies is an ever-dynamic environment.it is relentless in its pursuit of the next creative peak and unforgiving of plateaus. Technology advancements are changing client expectations. Agencies that are focused on creative and singular modes of delivery are stagnating. Today s savvy clients demand that agencies not only differentiate, but also monetize their creative endeavors. They are requiring specializations in skills and capabilities that are breathtaking and moving at the speed of technology. Capabilities that are needed include the ability to wrangle data to create impactful and relevant campaigns that are measurable and of course drive increased revenue. A skills gap exists in new Marketing and Sales roles today that has a tremendous impact on a client s ability to effectively manage their sales cycle. Disparate systems impacting multiple marketing and revenue functions are becoming the norm at more and more organizations. Integration between data collection tools such as CRM and Marketing Automation systems, social media management tools, and with billing and accounting systems is becoming more complex. Marketers are being challenged to consider operations, interoperability and revenue as part of their job description. Titles such as Director of Marketing Operations, Manager of Demand Generation, Data Scientist, Chief Revenue Officer and Marketing/Lead Analyst are becoming more commonplace. With a dearth of expertise within the marketplace, clients are now looking to agencies to meet this need. Agencies with strength in strategy, identity, design and development, including web presence creation and SEO/SEM, recognize this trend. They have been in the foreground looking for unique and emerging ways to support their clients revenue growth efforts. The opportunity before these forward-thinking agencies is immense and it involves reinvention, reevaluation and preparation. To understand thisrevolution, it s important to look at some trends. Follow us 2

3 THE BASICS OF A DEMAND GENERATION AGENCY Demand Generation is a revenue-focused business philosophy that impacts revenue through awareness, education, differentiation and monetization through a creative content strategy. Demand Generation is part of a strong Inbound Marketing strategy in which marketers provide various types of content such as white papers, blog posts,tweets and videos to create awareness and drive prospects through a pull process (as opposed to a push process of outbound calls, advertising, etc.), targeting the right prospect at the right time with relevant materials and information that is important to the buyer at that moment. Marketing Automation technology is the tool that supports this philosophy to create consistency and scalability such that no prospect falls through the cracks. Marketing Automation is a technology that supports the marketing and sales process by capturing and identifying leads, defining criteria that determines the relevant content to provide to leads, and nurtures and scores those leads to move them through the sales funnel to monetization. While it may sound simple, the hard truth is that these systems do not run by themselves; they require highly skilled individuals to design, implement, manage and optimize them. What types of skill does it take? It takes people who can choose a technology solution based on a long set of factors, manage large volumes of data, demographics and firmographics; and can continually design processes for lead scoring and nurturing based on vastly different buyer behaviors. To give some scope to this problem/opportunity, a recent survey of B2B Marketing Providers by Focus, indicates that 75% of respondents believe that this marketing skills gap affects revenue, yet only 21% plan to address this deficiency through training. So if they aren t addressing it through training, where is the capability coming from? This is where you get to be the superhero, again. Follow us 3

4 DISPARATE SYSTEMS MARKETING MANAGERS HAVE COMPLEX JOBS IN TODAY S MARKET CRM Dealers Fulfillment Marketing Automation Commercial Credit Services Lead Tracking Service Collections Credit Customer Service Sales Tech Service Installers Customer Care Maintenance Tracking Other Services Credit Card Fulfillment Orders Commissions Customer Care Sales Order Entry Billing Inventory...hello, can we talk? Internet B2C B2B Dealer Support Order Entry Financials Accounting Credit Clearing Leasing Inventory Follow us 4

5 DEMAND GENERATION DRIVE AWARENESS & INTEREST Demand Generation is truly an emerging and gamechanging business service that collects web analytics and drives awareness, i n te r e s t, a n d s a l e s, f o r a brand or idea through the targeted use of creative content. The tool used to manage this p r o c e s s i s a Marketing A u t o m a t i o n (MA) platform. MA tools support the marketing and sales process to manage leads then apply criteria that determines proper content to provide the prospect, and nurtures those leads to become a sale. The combined engine that feeds this process takes creative and analytic staff along with fresh, relevant and creative content. This is exactly the capability agile agencies a r e s u i te d to provide. Follow us 5

6 LANDSCAPE As an innovator, you re ready to look at traditions in a novel way. Traditional marketing and sales channels are morphing and technology is causing this disruption. Content is king -- adaptive, relevant and directed content, that is. And just as the first screen, TV, the web and mobile apps impacted the need for content and spawned the emergence of the creative class, so too is this new sales channel called Marketing Automation. New roles are being defined, new skills are required,and agencies with the tools, technology, and skills to meet this demand are emerging. So let s take one step back and look at sales in a traditional way. Let s look at sales from your client s perspective, because Demand Generation is the next generation of sales and marketing innovation that agile agencies are providing. OBJECTIVE We ll review a traditional outbound marketing approach and then demonstrate the value of Inbound Marketing and Demand Generation. We ll focus on the strategy, techniques and service goals necessary to move your agency into the forefront of this emerging market. Then we ll focus on the fabulous content opportunity this provides for your agency and we ll help position your agency as the vehicle for this transformation. Follow us 6

7 HISTORY Let s keep this brief. The traditional marketing landscape is moving away from outbound marketing. Outbound marketing consists of direct mail, television commercials, billboards, trade shows and static web content. There will always be a use for outbound at some level, but it s not the driving force of today s new revenue. Prospect behavior is changing such that they are becoming far more proactive in researching and investigating far earlier than ever before in the sales process, so providing the right message to the right individual at the right time is more imperative than ever before. Inbound marketing is the process of content, social media, blogs, whitepapers and podcasts. A recent study by a major analyst group found that 83% of all B2B decision makers start their buying process searching online. This paradigm shift moves the prospect from a marketing push model to a model that generates demand. Demand Generation activities and Marketing Automation tools leverage data, analytics, customer relationship tools, and content delivery mechanisms to target prospects and increase sales interacting with prospects through dynamic, interactive and targeted content. Follow us 7

8 THE BIG IDEA Technology, through Sales and Marketing tools, are changing the revenue generation landscape. These tools require strategic experts, with data-driven capabilities, and a steady stream of creative messaging. Because these tools are new and because they require deep specialization and the ability to manage a creative campaign along with the ability to provide a continual flow of creative content, clients are turning to agencies to provide much of these services. Clients have always been in pursuit of ways to monetize creative -- they want it to have legs; they want it to do more. Agencies are partners in these goals. But agencies have a unique ability to consistently attract high caliber knowledge workers, creative geniuses, and individuals who aren t afraid to learn new technologies. In many instances, this is a unique competitive advantage of an agency, especially if they are able to implement and deliver. Your clients expect you to have a crystal ball and know what the future holds. And the future is not plastics, but Demand Generation! Follow us 8

9 BUSINESS CASE A transformational moment exists in marketing. Consumers and technology users are interacting with marketing efforts through the emergence of computationally-driven, data intensive campaigns that are targeted, social, and personal. Specialization in this field is unparalleled, so those in need are reaching out to Demand Generation Agencies to provide the resources, capabilities, and content. STRATEGY A good strategy differentiates you from your competitors. As an emerging service, Demand Generation is a key differentiator. Here s a starting point to consider your strategy. Create a Demand Generation offering to be distributed to clients, emphasizing skill in emerging marketing and data trends, by offering the highest calibre capabilities in technology, creative extensibility, and marketing automation. TACTICS Research Demand Generation capabilities, resources, tools Model potential revenue impact Analyze gaps in capabilities Close the skills gap through strategic hiring Analyze opportunities to extend life of client creative through social, mail, and demand generation Research Marketing Automation vendors Determine need for white label or reseller opportunities Select Marketing Automation partners Follow us 9

10 AGENCY CAPABILITY Agencies that are a good fit for Demand Generation success typically have the following characteristics. Technologically savvy with the ability to create strategy, identity, design and development Client trusted to provide strategic direction and full-servicemarketing support Leverages marketing automation for themselves internally Don t just build creative, but look for ways to enhance it with tools, services, or delivery mechanisms Comfortable with an initial level of complexity as they become accustomed to the service offering Internal capabilities consisting of marketing, legal/contract, technology, process and account management functions in addition to extreme creative, copywriting, and social chops. Desire for growth and ability to support it CLIENT AUDIENCE Agencies that recommend Marketing Automation have a high success rate with the following client types. These clients are generally market challengers. As Marketing Automation becomes more prevalent and the skills gap continues to grow, agencies will have more success with market followers. Clients with high brand awareness/recognition, and or Philanthropic, charitable, or highly regulated clients, and or Clients using social media Follow us 10

11 ADDITIONAL CHARACTERISTICS Has a website with expensive or unusual products or services Has a desire to increase revenue and are willing to consider tools and services to support this goal Desires to monetize creative or having an obsessive compulsion to remind the agency of this desire Likes to use content in new and meaningful ways Has a complex sales cycle; multiple decision-makers involved Lengthy sales cycle; 30 days plus Prospects who desire education about the product or service Customers with a high lifetime value; desire to increase revenue per client Many leads/prospects requiring organization Expensive high-touch sales resources (sales people, sales engineers, etc.) CLIENT IMPACT Marketers that implement Demand Generation affect sales and increase lead responses. Agencies that provide Demand Generation services become trusted partners that provide strategic consulting services, content creation and content repurposing activities, and all manner of digital media services. Clients that implement demand generation can increase qualified leads by over 125%. They can increase revenue by over 65% and can see a cost per lead decrease of over 40%. (Source: Net-Results 2012). Follow us 11

12 CLIENT READINESS Determining when a client is ready for Demand Generation involves two significant discoveries. First and foremost, a client must have change readiness in their DNA. And second, the client must have a risktolerance (or reward tolerance) that is high enough to support this endeavor. The client must also view the agency as a partner in their success -- a partner that is mission-ready to implement the right solution for each client to promote an impact through sustainable services whether technical, resource, content or support. FINAL TALKING POINT: ADDING A DEMAND GENERATION OFFERING When considering a new revenue stream, it s important to make an informed decision. Agencies need to consider their own organizational readiness and resources. They must investigate the tools and techniques that exist within the space and then develop a supportable business case. Multiple source of information exist on the case for Demand Generation and Marketing Automation. Tools to support the effort run the gamut of simple collection tools to fully-integrated white label solutions that allow agencies to define and brand their Marketing Automation efforts under their creative direction. Follow us 12

13 DEMAND GENERATION & YOUR FUTURE NET-RESULTS RECOMMENDS YOU CONSIDER THE FOLLOWING INFORMATION TO DETERMINE IF DEMAND GENERATION SHOULD BE IN YOUR NEAR TERM. 1. Are you looking for a growth-oriented service to provide your clients? 2. Do you have technically savvy staff? 3. Are you willing to grow your staff capabilities to include noncreativ roles such as analyst, technologist, account manager, and/or implementation manager? 4. Does your agency want to move from order taker to a more strategic role with you client? 5. Do you have clients with complex, expensive or highly regulated products or services? 6. Do your clients view you as a partner in their brand awareness or marketing efforts? 7. Do you have the ability to provide great creative to your client on a consistent basis that is tied to a system that monitors, measures and reports on its results? 8. Does your agency interface directly with your client s Director of Marketing or Chief Marketing Officer? 9. Have you investigated Marketing Automation tools and are you willing to recommend the right tool for your client regardless of the vendor? When you are able to answer yes to most of these questions, you ll be well on your way with the ability to drive even more revenue for your clients, further entrusting them to your expert services and solutions. Demand Generation will increase revenue for clients and agencies alike. Follow us 13

14 SHIFT YOUR PARADIGM Agencies that can provide Demand Generation services now are novel, unique and perfectly suited to capitalize on this emerging market. What are you waiting for? NET-RESULTS Marketing Automation should be simple to obtain, easy to manage and have a significant impact on revenue. We believe in the philosophy of Marketing Automation, not just the technology. We believe in the synergy of marketing and sales. And we believe that leads are lifeblood, not just data. Our Marketing Automation tool is built to serve our clients and agency partners first, last and always by providing easy-to-use tools, outstanding marketing support, best practices and the industry s only white label Marketing Automation product. Follow us 14