Referral Marketing versus Inbound Marketing

• Buyers • Provider Co- Marketing Referrals & Co-Selling Co Selling Industry Alliances Expertise • Community • Partners Leaders Influence Advocate Strategies for Growth in 2012 eBook: Referral Marketing s Inbound Marketing Refe al Ma keting vs. Inbo nd Ma keting How-to Build your Referrals & Social Capital to Drive your “Lead Demand Engine” using Inbound Marketing Social Marketing, Media, Partnerships, and Strategic Alliances. © 2011 Ephor Group | 1 (800) 379-9330 | www.ephorgroup.com | 5353 W Alabama Suite 300 | Houston, TX 77056Ephor Groups provides services (GrowthSTEP, Revenue Management, & Management Science) needed toefficiently grow, outperform the competition, attract useful capital, and create wealth for software and service

Strategies for Growth in 2012Referral Marketing vs. Inbound MarketingWhen it comes to lead generation, The Internet has shifted the balance ofreferrals are the most cost efficient marketing effectiveness to inbound marketingsales and marketing tactic. (i.e. online social marketing) away from outbound marketing which is more effective than advertising or teleselling teleselling.

Strategies for Growth in 2012Referral Marketing vs. Inbound MarketingLinkedIn drives the most referrals B2B companies using Social Media acquire clients.for B2B outside of client referrals.Client referrals have the highest closerate (typically 1 i 3 or better). t (t i ll in b tt )Strategic alliance partnershipsoutperform sales people whenmanaged.managedNot everyone can sell, but everyonecan ask for feedback and a referral! Average Cost Per Client for B2B <$1,000 using Inbound Marketing versus 5 to 50x the cost for traditional advertising (Ephor Group 2011 research report) report). 89% of US business users search online before they make a purchase (Big Research 2011).

How People Buy Today Has Changed#1. Buyers first ask peers or experts: y p p Blogging and Community Research: #2. Buyers then go online for:  Vendor Comparisons Product/Service Details and Case Studies Online & Analyst Reviews

Inbound Marketing Automation ChecklistSetup Routine ManagementI. Referral templates and processes for  Data Management employees, partners, agents, etc.  Promotion Frequency (publishing schedule)II. Lead Capture (web landing p g p keyword p ( g pages per y phrase) & Call-To-Action Offer Button  Partner Management Integration (website, landing pages, Paid Search Google AdWords, LinkedIn, etc.)  Asset ManagementIII. Lead Sco ead Scoring a d Qua cat o g and Qualification  A/B Testing and Metrics ReportingIV. Integration (Wordpress, CRM, eCommerce, Financial, etc.)  PR & Event ManagementV.V Search Engine Optimization (SEO)  Referral ManagementVI. Social Media: Blogging, Twitter, FaceBook, LinkedInVII. Links: Directories, CommunitiesVIII.Lead Nurturing Campaigns including © 2011 Ephor Group | 1 (800) 379-9330 | www.ephorgroup.com database setup

Generate 10X the Referrals then Generate 10X the Leads “Inbound Marketing” includes: Social Incent all your people to drive referrals Networks such as Twitter, LinkedIn, including: FaceBook, Inclusion in Search Rankings  Account managers such as Google, Online Links from Partners  Customer service reps + Friends, Blogs, News Sites, Opt-In Email  Partners Newsletters, Videos, Viral Content, Q&As, Forums, and social media. CCommunity l d it leaders“Feet-on-the-street models are legacythinking. Today’s wealth creatingenterprises succeed with a few key salespersonnel at the top of the pyramidsupported by word-of-mouth recognition,referrals and inbound marketing leadgeneration. And the majority of a firm’snew clients should come from referrals.”

GoToMarket Case Study: Benefits of Inbound Marketing Content to Drive Leads Content > Visits > LeadsSolidWorks Case Study: 100+ Downloads Available 10,000+ Views/Per Month 500 Leads P Month L d Per M th

Inbound Marketing Automation Best Practice: BloggingBlogging enables content distribution and feedback (i.e. a mechanism for dialogue).Blogging best practices:1.) Publish routinelyaccording to a blogschedule,2.) Comment on relevantand compelling partners,experts, and others, and3.) include a CTA (call-to-action) in every blog post.Bonus blogging bestpractice. i.e. Make it easyfor if viewers to interact t i t twith polls, comments,social media icons for“Like” and “sharing, etc..

Inbound Marketing Automation Best Practice:Get Found Online.Search Engine Optimization (SEO):How to get found 102 on Google when yourbuyers are searching.SEO best practices:1. Add SEO optimized content (with keywords, keywords in links, alt image keyword links, etc.) regularly by category theme like a Increase quality of leads when referred by corporate organization chart to your partners within the community. webpages.2. Get others (partners, bloggers, etc.) to link back to your website using keywords. i.e. have others “syndicate your content syndicate content”

Inbound Marketing Automation Best Practice:Social Media Community Building for ReferralsToday, you would have to run 125 ads to reach 80% of the market versus 1 primetime adon a leading show fifty years ago. But with community marketing ago marketing…Social Media Community Building:Get Found Online When Buyers Search 201.Build relationships and then lead generation and revenue will come naturally.Community & relationship building practices:1. Act like a participant and not an NBA owner.2. Make it easy to use, try, buy, engage, discuss. Invite h I i them. I Incent them. A k them what they want. h Ask h h h3. Spend time listening and then take action.4. Always say- thanks for coming, thanks for participating, thanks for your suggestion.4 ways to generate attention:1. Buy (advertising)2. Beg (PR),3. Bug (direct)4. Earn (Inbound by publishing online)“The purpose of marketing = Buy, beg, or earn attention that goes viral.”– David Meerman Scott Webinar.

You Must Become a Go-To Resource Expert Post Content Referenced Online by industry Offer your buyers and blogs partners: • Unique Research Online discussions Mentioned in • Informed Opinions news • News & Trend Analysis publications • Multimedia Content • Authentic Expert ContributorsLinks are Tweeted • Quality Discussion & Interaction People email links to each other Liked/Shared on Facebook Cited at conferences + events Sometimes, a single piece of content or just a few, can yield these results but, more often, it takes dozens to hundreds of attempts to become a resource.

Discover What People Want By Asking Them! 1. LinkedIn 2. Polls 3. Q&A 4. Surveys 5. Contests LinkedIn’s “Groups” are a powerful way to grow yourLike Facebook, LinkedIn now has a wall network and spread that drives “likes” and comments (as a message. well as traffic).

Partner Blogging + Writing Guest blogging (or contributing content to any type of publisher) is a great way to build your brand and earn links.

The Business Case for A major strategy for growth in 2012 (and 2011 Inbound Marketing for many) is to leverage Marketing Automation for Inbound Marketing versus Advertising as it is Automation more effective (conversion rates) and more cost effective (i.e. Capital efficient).Did you know that almost 80% ofequity ba qu y backed software and service d so a a dsproviders either implementedMarketing Automation in 2011 or isevaluating for 2012? Benefits of Marketing Automation: I. Generate more leads. II. Lower cost of client acquisition and reduce cost of sales. f l d d f l I.

The Business Case for Enables lead capture andInbound Marketing Automation opportunity conversion through automated lead nurturing and scoring programs. i Creates brand awareness by promoting the brand using all available web marketing and web, marketing, social media tools. Enables ongoing, both trigger event based (i.e. when a visitor returns generates and automatic email follow-up with a relevant and compelling offer based on which webpages they visited) and routine lead nurturing. Ensures a robust, full scale email marketing, and direct marketing program without having to hire a full-time marketing coordinator run the program.

Marketing Automation Marketing Automation Vendor Evaluation Scorecard:Vendor Evaluation &Selection CriteriaKey Questions to Ask Before Demo: References by Industry? Integration for CRM, Financial,Wordpress, eCommerce etc.? App marketplace? Onboarding process? Training andongoing support? User conference?

Strategies for Growth in 2012: Create HR Tech LinkedIn Communitya Referral Community EcosystemAre you searching for ways to convert prospects toclients quicker and more efficiently?Fish where the fishes are currently.For the first time in history, you can find, listen toand interact with prospects online. Bypass adminsand reach buyers directly.Key Success Factor: Be a branded sector leader. Alsbridge Outsourcing Leadership

Strategies for Growth “In this slow growth economy, there will be bifurcation between leaders and laggards; the best revenue strategies will outperform the competition, and win the war for profitability.” Legacy Thinking Revenue Strategy for 2012 Outcome of New Revenue Management Practice “Feet-on-the-Street” Direct Sales Multi-tiered Distribution Lower Cost of Client Acquisition Outbound Marketing Inbound Marketing Lower Cost of Sales Pipeline Creation Lead Generation Partner Generation Referral based opportunity introductions introductions. Outbound Telemarketing Market Research Intelligence integrated into ongoing routines. Market to Enterprises or SMB M k tt E t i SMBs Market Niche Verticals M k to Ni h V i l Specialization Improved M i S i li ti = I d Margins.  Effective B2B growth strategies require capital efficient programs to reach qualified buyers buyers.  “Feet on the street” models are legacy thinking.  Multiple lead sources are required to be capital efficient.  Multi-tiered distribution is key.  Referrals from partners, alliances, and communities will generate the majority of new clients. 19

Strategies for Growth in 2012 Best Practices for 2012 and beyond include: I. Have a lower cost of sales than your co pet t o competition. II. Have a capital efficient pipeline generation and revenue model. III. Utilize Technology: CRM, Social Media, & Marketing Automation II. Implement multi-tiered Sales Distribution Compensation: PRM, Agent, Alliances, Partners, Account Managers, Sales Personnel III. Leverage a Portfolio of Sources and Mix. IV. Implement Management Science reporting to provide visibility and proactive actions: p y p Pro-Activity of the 3 C’s: Cash, Clients, Contracts. V. Invest in Asset Management to ensure a lower cost of customer acquisition and higher ROI for spend. 20

Revenue Management Marketing is Hard • Crowded marketplace Conversion Rate from Lead to Close • Too much advertising g • “Committee Buy” Referral • Resource constraints Channel • Buyers require Immediate ROI from a Direct Branded Leader Partners Matter • Reputation = Lower cost of sales • Use of best practices from both organizations Direct • Create referrals, incent referrals Partners Team Management CRM New Operations is Key • Provide expertise and service Origination Opportunity from a Partner’ Client • Must be committed to client outcomes Opportunity MAPPING Alignment Upsell Upsell Client Management

Marketing Automation Best Practice: Lead Nurturing Checklist: 1. Have documented programs and Convert Leads to Opportunities. use them. 2. Database management best 400%+ more webpages indexed for companies that blog. practices in place. 100% more inbound links for companies that blog. 3. Phone Qualify the Leads (MEDDIC). 55% more website visitors for companies that blog. 4. Clear handoff for each lead – be 100% certain on action, next steps, closed loop feedback.Inbound Marketing Call-to-Action (CTA) Checklist: g ( ) 5. Ask questions about the 51. Create Urgency individual and the buying2. Use #’s process, and append company info from 3rd party sources.3. Indicate a specific action 6. Leverage 3rd party content and4. Use images4 reuse available content 7. Think like a publisher.5. Make clickable6. Position Position Position7. Use Contrasting Colors PR = Daily Frequency Market the hit, not just the news,8.8 Test, Test, Test Test Test! don’t need to initiate, make it about9. Use CTA links: the conflict, re-tweet others content. • Use buttons Make others feel important. • “See..examples of why XYZ” • “Find out how” • “Listen to …” • “Take our quiz, poll, survey”

GrowthSTEP™ >> Star Performer Attributes >> Perform Business Process™ >> Wealth Creation Management Science Revenue Management a) Operational EfficiencyGo-To-Market Flight Plan b) Tactical Clarity c) Strategic Claritya) Referral Community a) Portfolio of Revenue Sourcesb) Inbound Qualified Leads Engine b) Portfolio MixOutcomes created: Outcomes created: Outcomes created: Pipeline of Leads & Referrals Lower Cost of Sales Increase near term earnings Profiled Targets of Dissatisfied Buyers Early Buyers, Capital Efficient Revenue Model Position the company to attract an array of strategic Adopters and Influencers Alternative Distribution creates opportunities to options for value realization (“Strategic Optionality”) test new pricing, products, markets Predictable Cash Management Alternative Distribution creates strategic alliance Proactive Client Management ensures budget and M&A opportunities accuracy and greater per client profitability Balanced portfolio of revenues: service offerings, Top quartile growth created through market industries served and customer concentrations differentiation at service level © 2012 Ephor Group | 1 (800) 379-9330 | www.ephorgroup.com

Strategies for Growth Objective = Lowest Cost of Client Acquisition Go to Market  Development & Implementation of Brand Assets Ephor G E h Groups provides services id i  Development & Implementation of Marketing Assets (Revenue Management, GrowthSTEP,  Marketing Asset Performance & Management Science Management Science) Revenue Development needed to efficiently grow, outperform the competition, p p ,  Profiling & T P fili Targeting ti attract useful capital,  Lead Development and create wealth  Probability Based Selling for software and service providers.  Sales productivity = Management Science reporting Alternative Distribution  Identification & Development of Channel & Partnering Relationships  Development & Implementation of Channel Partner Support Programs Productization of Services  Product Development definition and service delivery standards  Distribution venues by product Acquisition & Integration  M&A Corporate Development Transaction Services C t D l tT ti S i  Integration & Operational Conversion © 2011 Ephor Group | 1 (800) 379-9330 | www.ephorgroup.com

Referral Marketing versus Inbound Marketing

by charles bedard on Jan 17, 2012

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Referral Marketing versus Inbound Marketing — Presentation Transcript

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