Budget cuts, doing more with less, and consolidation of business tools are all on the rise in 2024. Jeff Coleman, chief customer officer at Act-On, explained during an interview that, as the economy contracts, customers are deciding to use fewer products and consolidate the ones they already have. And that leaves many battling to protect at-risk business. Research shows that only two-fifths of companies focus equally on customer acquisition and retention, despite customer churn costing U.S. providers $168 million annually. The challenge is that even if you’re focusing on retention, cross-sells ..read more

Lead generation is on the to-do list of most marketers. And sure, you might have some successful strategies in place, but wouldn’t it be nice to capture some easier wins? One of the best ways to land these wins is through customer marketing. Why? Companies have a 60% to 70% chance of selling to an existing customer, compared to a brand-new one (the latter is only 5% to 20%). Research also shows existing customers spend 67% more than new customers. The bottom line is that existing customers are easier to sell to, and they buy more. So, if you want to capture more of that revenue, a great place ..read more

Did I make the right decision? Should I have purchased XYZ products instead? Maybe I acted too soon…. Post-purchase evaluation, the process a customer goes through after making a purchase, is real. Research says that 90% of consumers report their post-purchase experience is just as important as the quality of the products. And that process starts with your welcome email. We recently spoke with our internal customer marketing expert, Jennifer Blanco. She explained that while you don’t need to overthink it, you do want to seize the opportunity to get your new relationship off to a great start.&n ..read more

Is retention marketing on your list of priorities? It’s certainly on ours! Keeping your existing customers happy not only helps secure more referrals but also paves the way for more cross-sells and upsells. In 2022, we decided to relaunch our Power-Up Series, which is a customer success program we paused during the pandemic. The relaunch transformed what was previously a basic webinar series into custom landing pages, office hours, and hands-on workshops. During the first year, 286 different accounts attended, and that attendance number jumped to 400 in 2023, which is a 140% increase. Customer ..read more

Now that we’ve covered the basics of lead scoring, and how to build your model, let’s tackle the last topic in our 3-part lead scoring series: lead scoring tools. Lead scoring is a process and a framework, not a tool — but technology makes it possible to implement at scale. Here are the lead scoring tools you can expect to use in your quantitative quest. Lead scoring tools: lead enrichment Lead enrichment tools like ZoomInfo supplement your first-party data (like form fills and website tracking) with third-party information.  While you don’t need lead enrichment tools to implement lead sc ..read more

Marketing leaders are facing an unprecedented time with unprecedented demands: Wring every drop of value from generative AI. Navigate ever-changing email privacy regulations. Deal with the loss of third-party cookies. And reassure your CEO and board that your tech stack and team deserve to ride out this wave of economic uncertainty.  So during this season of massive change, we sat down with marketing leaders who bring decades of experience and a refreshingly long lens to the current moment, including:  Wendy White, CMO at health and wellness SaaS platform Daxko, 30+ years in enterpr ..read more

Designing a lead scoring model seems like a complex proposition. And if you jump into it without a solid strategy in place, you aren’t going to see game-changing results (or a happy sales team). So let’s break it down. There are clear steps you need to take to build and implement a lead scoring model:  Assemble your cross-functional squad As we mentioned earlier, lead scoring is a team sport. It’s only useful when all the relevant players are aligned, bought-in, and using the framework on a daily basis. So before you start assigning points and determining thresholds, recruit active p ..read more

Imagine going on a blind date. All you know about the person sitting across from you is their name, maybe what they do for a living, and that your cousin Susan thinks you might get along.  But before you have a chance to ask any questions or get to know them better, they give you a big smile and say, “It’s so nice to meet you. I’d love to show you around my apartment. When’s a good time for you to come by this week?”  How inappropriate! But not entirely unlike when a colleague sends you a link to a gated ebook, you give your contact info to download it, and then get a phone call from ..read more

When it comes to email marketing tips, there are a few things that we have all been told to do. From using specific CTAs to sending at certain times of the day, but does some of that conventional wisdom really make a difference? After extensive tests, see what we uncovered. When’s the best time to send an email? What kind of personalization actually drives engagement? Do people prefer designed or plain text messages?  Email marketers have strong opinions on these questions. And we spent the last few months A/B testing every send to separate fact from fiction on topics like timing, design ..read more

Migrating to a new email marketing platform (aka marketing automation) can be intimidating. But it doesn’t need to be. Consider first whether you even need to perform a full migration. Changing providers offers a unique opportunity to take a look at your current programs and lists and determine what’s working, and what’s not. You might not need a full migration. Once you are 100% confident in the need for a change, it’s crucial to make sure the migration process goes well. Use this article as your guide for a smooth transition for email marketing migration. Gather critical assets for email mar ..read more