Examines ways that enterprise executives can plan and execute critical strategies to improve the quality of leads attributed to digital marketing campaigns.

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The Chief ­Marketing ­Officer’s
Guide to ­Higher ­Quality
Leads ­Created Through
­Digital ­Marketing
B Y B R YA N Y O U N G

2. Unfortunately, many
­businesses are not
“­logging on” to the concept
of going digital.
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F
O R D E C A D E S S U C C E S S F U L B U S I N E S S E S
have credited their marketing departments for
innovative and creative strategies, but times
have changed. Technology is the new leader in all
marketing endeavors. ­Unfortunately, many businesses are
not “logging on” to the concept of going digital. According
to Clara Shih, a Starbuck’s ­Corporation director and the
author of “The Social ­Business Imperative,” every compa-
ny must become technology-based if they hope to compete
in the current business climate. Many of the traditional
lead-generation strategies still work in limited situations,
but their ­usefulness is rapidly fading.

3. M I S S I O N Represent the company Represent the customer
Being found
T H E N N O W
Finding customers
C U S T O M E R
­I N T E L L I G E N C E
1:1 Targeting
Behavioral
Mass advertising
Demographic
M E C H A N I C S +
TA C T I C S
Continuous relationships
Exploding / Integrated channels
Point in time blasts
Few / Isolated channels
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Adapting to ­Diverse
Consumer Needs
N O M A R K E T I N G S C H E M E W I L L D E V E L O P S U C C E S S F U L L E A D S ­
unless you know and understand the diverse needs of the consumer. Dynamic sales strat-
egies are based on the complexities that are found within the ­consumer’s needs. When
your consumer base is broad it requires more flexibility to ­accommodate the varying levels
of consumer purchasing behavior, which are often dictated by age. ­Learning about each
­segment of your consumer base and their specific reasons for ­purchasing will give you a
head start in generating high quality leads.
What does a particular group of buyers want to
­accomplish with the goods they purchase? Are they
businesses, service organizations, non-profits, or
individual people? Will the purchase they make be
for their own use, to enhance a work experience, to
­assist others, or for some other purpose? Knowing the
answers to these questions makes it easier to for you to
demonstrate the benefits of your products or services
within each consumer buying segment. Technology
advancements make it easier for today’s chief market-
ing officer (CMO) to assess the sales program of the
company and bring it into the twenty-first century. Even
the smallest companies need to recognize the benefits
and strengths that come with digitalized automated
marketing platforms. Data is so readily available and
these aforementioned advances in technology have
given many marketers the advantage to personalize
campaigns specifically to these consumer segments.
Advances in technology have given many marketers the advantage to personalize campaigns
specifically to these consumer segments.

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Why Do CMOs
­Resist Digital?
M O S T C O M PA N I E S A C C E P T T H E I M P O R TA N C E O F T E C H N O L O G Y
and digital applications for their business, however many limit incorporating these ideas
into the marketing process. ­You will find most businesses have Facebook, LinkedIn, and
Twitter pages, but this is only a drop in the bucket. There is a protective mindset among
many CMOs, which prefer to rely heavily on the traditional methods and add just enough
digital concepts to appease the technology-minded employees. The CMO has to answer for
every decision he or she makes, and in large companies there is always someone higher up
who can say no. Management often believes the use of traditional marketing strategies
reduces risk, and that mindset ties the hands of the forward-thinking CMO. Many large
firms contract out to management risk companies who are known to discourage even the
smallest amount of innovative thinking. The only way to overcome this type of problem in
both small and large companies is for the chief executive officer (CEO) to accept full re-
sponsibility for the incorporation of digital into the marketing platform. Otherwise there
will always be the debate between employees anxious to move forward and those who are
willing to stay where they are.
Many consumers begin their purchasing cycle online, and your company needs to be with them at every step. If the
buying journey begins on a social media site, smart phone, tablet, or computer you must be there guiding the con-
sumer through the purchase process. Don’t know how to start personalizing your campaigns? Simple questions on
each section of the purchase can provide you with quality lead material. The same process can be adapted for use
in a brick and mortar storefront. These days POS (Point of Sale) systems and consumer loyalty programs can be
combined to allow your consumers to opt-in to campaigns and allow you access to their purchasing behavior data.
Consumer’s devices are frequently in their hands while they are shopping, and businesses need to incorporate
digital into the store experience by delivering content, specials, and discounts through a mobile app. Online or
in-store, every business needs to go fully digital. To reap the full benefits, you must find technology systems that
communicate with each other to allow you to build fully integrated campaigns. More companies are evolving the
CMO role into a new Chief Digital Officer role to focus on successfully connecting the different platforms together.
Regardless, all marketers must constantly work to have a deeper functional understanding of technology to build
successful integrated campaigns. Simply having a team in which you give orders to and receive high level reports
will rarely suffice for true success.

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Another reason some CMOs resist the move to
digital is the learning curve. While it is simple
enough for schoolchildren to adjust to new
­technology c­­oncepts on a continual basis, some
CMOs fear their ­employees will balk at having to
learn new methods. ­Unfortunately, this ­reason
has delayed many companies from moving
­forward at a pace that keeps them competitive
with others in their industry.
D I G I TA L M A R K E T I N G P R O V I D E S Q U A N T I T I E S O F I N F O R M AT I O N
on every product and service in existence. Technology places information in the hands
of consumers at a rate faster than it can be absorbed. The consumer has learned to sort
through all the “noise” of the messages being hurled at them, ignoring what they don’t like
and focusing on what they do. No longer do we have a marketing program that “finds” leads
and passes them on to the sales department.
How Digital Accelerates
Quality Lead Generation
The situation has reversed, and today’s buyers are ­online researching their needs and “find” the ­businesses that
can provide them with what they want. Consumers use their computers, smartphones, ­tablets, and ­other devices
to locate and learn about what ­businesses have to offer them. This fact alone makes it critical for every business
to build a strong digital ­presence. Many consumers have their mind made up before they ever speak to a sales
­person, and their decision is based on their online research. What online information are you providing your
­prospective ­customers?
A major shift has taken place in the purchasing process. Buyers are becoming knowledgeable prior to making a
purchase. The new type of lead that businesses need to generate is the self-taught buyer, and this is accomplished
digitally. You can build a strong lead-generation strategy that will grab the attention and trust of the buyer before
they make any sales contact. Your sales team will no longer be wasting time with old-fashioned cold calls. Pro-
gressive marketing departments are increasing their budget allocation for lead generation, and this allows for the
development of creative strategies to place products and services in front of the self-educated buyer.

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M A R K E T I N G A U T O M AT I O N I S O N E T O O L T H AT C A N D R A S T I C A L LY
improve the speed at which you present your message to the consumer. Ever since the
Internet’s value was recognized by industry and ecommerce began its rise in popularity,
consumers no longer need to take time making phone calls or visiting brick and mortar
stores. In a matter of seconds, the consumer is online visiting websites and researching
the products and services they want. How much information are you providing online for
the modern buyer? It’s important to realize they are fully informed on the product and
ninety-percent ready to buy before they contact a sales team. When you send emails to
prospective customers with content that is groomed to meet their specific interests,
you will make an impact. Include links with pictures to the specific products they have
­researched, and watch how many reactions take place. The same material the email con-
tains is automatically uploaded to mobile, website, and social media outlets. The more you
expand your brand’s locations through automation, the sooner you will realize the results.
Automated marketing allows the sales team to concentrate on the quality of the communi-
cations, which can include text, photographs, and video. Today’s major buying segment is a
visual audience, and the wise CMO does not overlook that fact.
Follow-up and service allows additional engagement with the consumer after the sale is complete. By ­providing
excellent customer experience and after-sale service, you are building brand loyalty. Integrated and automated,
digital marketing campaigns provide ­accurate customer tracking. Whether the consumer visits your site from a
smartphone, tablet, or other ­device, digital tracking is in place. The location, products observed, searches, and
other information is provided about the consumer. If you have a “member” option for your site, you will have the
identity of the consumer and know exactly which of your products is being considered. You will know how many
times the product has been looked at and how long the viewer stayed on the page. This is all valuable information
that can only be obtained through digital marketing. The advantages the collected information provides for future
campaign strategies is important and profitable.
There are some drawbacks to an automated program, and they all relate to human error. Every person in the
marketing and sales department must receive training in marketing automation. Computer programs need to
receive the correct data in order to perform properly. If the programming is done incorrectly, the results will not be
favorable. Programs also need to be monitored. Automation is designed to speed up and improve the marketing
campaign, but it doesn’t mean the sales staff gets the day off. Errors can occur in data flow or prospect routing
and the sales team needs to be monitoring the results every day.
Expanding Brand
Awareness

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I T ’ S I M P O R TA N T T O D E T E R M I N E W H I C H
K P I indicators will reflect the success of your campaign during
the initial stages of organization. Depending on your product,
the ­customer base, and the current strength of your brand, KPI
will vary. If the goal of your company is to be the most successful
within your industry, you may consider one of your KPIs to be the
percentage of sales that come from return customers. Once you
have ­determined all the critical KPIs for your business, you must
accurately define each one. A company that wants to expand sales
beyond the current customer base might choose a KPI of “Increase
New Customer Sales”. It’s not hard to figure out what KPI you need
once you establish your overall goals. You should also set target
goals for each KPI. These precise definitions will help everyone
on the team to understand what is happening and take actions to
successfully reach goals. All of this information must be accurately
entered into your software program in order to track and monitor
your success.
Recognizing Key ­Performance
Indicators (KPI)

8. 125%
86%Q: Do you have lead
nurturing campaigns in
place?
L E A D G E N E R AT I O N
R O I B Y U S E O F L E A D
­N U R T U R I N G
Source: ©2012 MarketingSherpa Lead Generation Benchmark Survey
Methodology: Fielded January 2012, N=1,915
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Build-up your email list by offering a specific discount
on the first purchase of all new customers who sign up
online. Offer ten-percent or higher to generate a good
response. You can also offer special product videos
only to people on your mailing list. Consumers like
videos and knowing they can only see them if they
sign up is a great incentive. Make sure your videos are
worth the consumer’s time by including quality and
valuable ­content. How-to videos are especially popular
for products used in building, remodeling, car repair,
cooking, and crafts. If your product is a running shoe,
a video showing the shoe in action on various surfaces
will ­garner a lot of attention. If you sell pet products,
you can charm customers with adorable animal videos.
Quality and value are the two most important i­ngredi-
ents for lead generation.
Generating Good Lead
Magnets in A Digital
Business Climate
T H E R E A R E M A N Y E X C E L L E N T M E T H O D S O F G E N E R AT I N G L E A D S
that didn’t exist 15 years ago, but one concept has remained the same. Consumers still like
to get things for free. The great thing about the digital age is that a business can ­offer free
things with little cost to their marketing budget. We know the power of a magnet is its
ability to make things stick to it. Your lead magnets must exhibit the same traits. Some
inexpensive and well-received lead builders include online discount coupons, ebooks,
­webinars, website membership special pricing, and free additional item with a purchase of
a certain dollar amount.

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C M O s M U S T C H O O S E A N D R E I N F O R C E S T R O N G
team goals. There are several areas to boost including product
launches, sales promotions, and revenue initiatives. You do not
want your teams chasing around after several different campaigns
when they can all be coordinated under a single roof. Stay off the
hamster wheel and choose just the marketing options that make
sense for your business and train your team to make each venture
successful. Your sales and marketing teams must work together
on the ultimate goal of revenue generation. Alignment of these
two crucial factors begins with effective communication, and
that means agreeing on common terminology and avoiding any
­confusing jargon. Have weekly joint meetings and share informa-
tion. Build a strong relationship based on mutual goals. Analyze
and challenge the legitimacy of these goals on a quarterly basis at
­minimum. Are our goals realistic? Does the data support our pro-
jections? Where is there room for improvement? Digital changes
so often that having these conversations more often well help you
stay ahead of the competition. I can’t emphasize how just simply
mimicking things you’ve seen competitors doing solely because
you’ve seen competitors doing it will not yield expected results.
CMOs can lead their companies to new levels of success by utilizing digital
­technology. Working together with management and sales, communicating the latest
trends, and sharing what the competition is accomplishing can aid the forward-­
looking CMO in convincing the management team that digital technology is the
avenue to ­generating new and better leads for the future.
Building A Top Notch
­Marketing Team