Success in Sales: Understanding Automated CRM Solutions for B2B

When CRMs first arrived on the scene, they really were little more than tech-driven Rolodexes.

A few people might have added their sales info to the database, but for the most part, data on prospects were still in people’s heads or never discovered at all.

Today’s customer relationship management system is all about the relationship. Gone are the silos between salespeople. Gone are the barriers between marketing and sales and customer support.

CRM solutions for B2B especially work to provide a complete customer journey from interest to contract to support. Automation tools drive the ability to do this consistently across departments. If you’re looking for a new B2B CRM, take a close look at how well it executes in this area as automation drives success today.

Marketing: Lead Generation and Nurturing

Step one of the sales process is to find some customers, right? This is where marketing comes into play, gathering leads and moving them from initial curiosity to warm interest.

The best B2B CRM software options today have brought the marketing piece of the journey into the system and connected it with sales. Aligning the two functions consistently delivers higher revenue, better customer retention, and higher win rates.

You want your CRM to track leads, but also gather information about those leads to ensure their quality. Once you attract a lead through email marketing or online ads, automation rules decide what contact to make next and their level of interest based on their behaviour.

The goal of marketing automation is to better track prospects and guide their customer journey in a personalized way. Any lead nurtured to a certain point in the process should be ripe for more in-depth contact.

Sales: Lead Scoring

Advanced analytics and AI-based predictions can determine how likely you are to close a deal. Lead scoring ranks prospects based on the intelligence gathered by marketing and lets you prioritize the ones that are farther along in the sales funnel.

This alleviates a common sticking point between marketing and sales. Research shows some sales departments ignore up to 80 percent of the leads marketing sends them. This is understandable when you consider in the past, 73 percent of leads they received were not ready to talk to sales yet.

Automated CRM solutions shorten the long B2B sales cycle by only passing on leads that have shown sales-ready behaviour. Being able to take the guesswork out of when to take the next step in the process underlines the importance of CRM in B2B markets.

Choosing CRM Solutions for B2B

Automation plays a key role in the customer journey today, making your CRM more of a prospect intelligence system than a database. As you consider new CRM solutions for B2B, you want to consider closely how well the system can execute automatically.

The first part of the process is to drive and nurture leads. If you need help with your marketing strategy or have questions about lead scoring, we’d be happy to walk you through the process. Contact us today to get a campaign going to fill your sales pipeline.

Level up Your Next Online Event: The 411 on Virtual Event Giveaways

You are swag.

You are an innovative businessperson. You want interesting and engaging ways to connect with your clients. You give to people every day, and the best way to reach clients is to just keep giving.

Virtual event giveaways are becoming one of the most popular ways to reach out to clients. Get in on the action with this guide.

Activate Your Brand: The Theory of Virtual Event Giveaways

Clients have stuff. The average household has 30 promotional items. But clients remember where they got that stuff; 85% of consumers remember the advertisers who gave them those items.

Every time a consumer wears a branded T-shirt, they see the brand and remember it. They tie the brand to something positive, an item they can use in their day-to-day life. The recall and positive view of the brand encourage them to do business with the brand.

Promotional items are also a subtle way of promoting with others. A T-shirt can reach more than 6,000 people. Someone walking by sees the branded T-shirt, and they remember and want to do business with the brand.

Swag works even when it is virtual. The key is to give away items that attendees will value. You have many choices.

Virtual Event Giveaway Ideas

Consider specializing your swag. Give packages to general event attendees, but also give special packages to speakers and VIPs.

Speaker packages can include custom backdrops. Zoom features virtual backgrounds, and you can create your own for your event. Include your brand name and other meaningful visuals.

You can have one-on-one meetings between your VIPs and important people in your company. Schedule a time that works best for both parties, and loop the VIPs in on your plans and ideas. Give them time to respond.

For general attendees, you can send out coupon codes. Providing discounts encourages them to buy more products. They also remember you for having lower prices and for valuing customer loyalty.

If you are location-oriented, you can send out virtual flipbooks about your location. Include photographs and writings about your city or country. Send out lists of places to visit, and give out travel pointers.

If you are health-oriented, you can send out guides. Include recipes, playlists of songs, and daily wellness rituals.

Promote interactivity through contests and special events. Put up premium prizes, including physical goods like drinkware and apparel. Encourage attendees to write, give speeches, and take photos of different things.

You can also tie in social media campaigns to your events. Encourage people to share or respond to your content in exchange for rewards.

Go Big, Go Bold

If you want swagger, you should give away swag. Swag activates your brand, putting it into action through useful and fun items that your clients use.

Virtual event giveaways work just as well as live event giveaways. Specialize and personalize giveaways to speakers and VIPs. Give out coupon codes and E-books to general attendees.

You can level up your next event with the right help. Big Bold Thinkers offers a number of marketing and creative services to meet your needs. Contact us today.

The Most Effective Principles on How to Create the Best Web Design

We live in the digital age, and every company that wants to survive must have a digital presence. E-commerce is steadily becoming the main source of consumption. By 2021, e-commerce will generate $4.5 trillion in sales, and by 2040, it is projected that e-commerce will account for 95 percent of all transactions.

If you want to have a piece of this huge pie, you have to create a website. However, your website has to be appealing and navigable for people. This can seem difficult to make happen, but don’t worry here’s an effective guide to creating the best web design.

Website Purpose

Your website must be recognizable and should be designed with the consumer in mind, catering to their every question. They should answer the most basic questions:

  • What’s your website for?
  • Why are you here?
  • What can this website do for the consumer?

If these are not answered, you need to reevaluate the website’s purpose and realign it. Your website is made to serve the consumer, and if you don’t understand your own website purpose, an everyday consumer won’t either.

Remember the core purposes of most websites: Recognition of your brand, description of your services/products, promotion, and customer relations.

Image Use

The imagery on your website is crucial. Let’s be honest, people don’t like to read, in fact, over 90 percent of people prefer visual content overwritten.

Images will bring more interest from consumers, as they can see the products or services they are investing their money into. Adding images will make creating your website both easier and more effective for its target audience.

Choosing the best images for your website is something we do well at Big Thinkers. We can make your website aesthetically pleasing while balancing the effectiveness of the images.

F-Shape Formatting

Studies show that our eyes follow the “F-pattern” when reading. Most times, the eyes don’t even make it to the right of the screen. The F-pattern follows the same way we are taught to read in the West.

By strategically placing important images or crucial information closer to the left, you make consumers more apt to view what’s there.

Easy Navigation

Navigation of your website is integral to the retention of visitors. They should be readily able to find whatever they are looking for on your website. If not, navigating for them will be too difficult and confusing.

They then will give up and go elsewhere that’s easier. We can make this happen at Big Thinker.

Mobile Friendly

Website design also includes making a mobile-friendly version. Most people spend the most time online using their phones.

Making a website design that caters to this fact is important to the success of your website, and one we can take care of at Big Thinkers.

Create the Best Web Design

When trying to create the best web design, you have to consider several things. If you want to make money, then you should be sure to follow these points. At Big Bold Thinkers, we understand what you need in a good website design.

Let us build that website for you so you can get a slice of that money pie. It tastes delicious. Be sure to contact us here if you have any questions or would like to know about what we have to offer.

What Is Google My Business and Why Do I Need It?

It’s not a secret. Google has without a doubt become one of the most popular search engines in the world. And while you may utilize it often as a consumer, it’s just as important for business owners.

For starters, Google has excellent resources for business owners who want their companies to list on the top of search engines. One of the staples? Google My Business.

If you’re looking for a great way to increase your local search result rankings, you need to make a Google My Business listing. Here are all the benefits of creating your own listing.

What Is Google My Business?

Before creating a listing, you may want to know what’s the big deal behind Google My Business. If you have ever searched a business on Google, you have probably run into their business profile. Profiles are usually located on the right side of the Google page and have a phone number, address, and hours of operations listed.

The Benefits of Using Google My Business

If you don’t believe there are any real benefits in using Google My Business, think again! Here’s are some ways listing your business on Google can help you generate business.

Click to Call Phone

One of the most convenient features associated with Google My Business is their click to call feature. If a potential client has a question regarding your products or services, they are not only able to view your number but can press it and immediately get a real-time conversation.

Reviews

Let’s face it. Reviews are so important when it comes to validating a company. Studies show that over 60% of customers form an opinion about a company when reading reviews.

Fortunately, creating a Google listing provides an easier way for you to manage Google My Business reviews. Not only can you evaluate areas of improvement, but you can thank customers for leaving positive feedback as well.

Photos

Adding photos to your Google listing is so important when it comes to promoting your business. It gives your clients a better picture of what your company is about and what they should expect when they enter the premises.

Insights

Last but not least in conjunction with Google Analytics, you can gain access to back-end insights. Want to check how your listing is doing in your local market? You can check it here. Want to see what keywords are getting customers to click on your site? You can check it here too!

The Benefits of Google My Business and More!

Whether you’re looking to learn about the benefits of Google My Business or are simply looking to take your marketing efforts to the next level, we’re here to help. We know how difficult it can be to find a reliable marketing agency. Fortunately, we excel at helping customers like you target their ideal demographic.

In need of marketing services? We’d love to help. Feel free to contact us and a member of our team will point you in the right direction.