The way people research and buy products has fundamentally shifted.
These days, people prefer having conversations over filling out lead capture forms (81% don't fill out the form when they encounter gated content).
And 66% prefer real-time messaging for talking to businesses over any other communication channel.
To help you better understand what this new marketing and sales landscape looks like, we teamed up with our friends at Clearbit to create the first-ever State of Conversational Marketing report.
How to Make the Switch to Conversation-Driven SalesDrift
For years, sales and marketing teams have been focused on using the “form and follow-up” approach to capturing and qualifying leads.
We’re all familiar with how this works:
Step 1: Drive people to your website (e.g. via content, social, paid ads, outbound email, etc.)
Step 2: Make those people fill out lead capture forms
Step 3: Email them, or call them, or dump them into an automated “nurturing” flow
For more than a decade now, step one has been getting all the attention, as we’ve been innovating new ways to attract website visitors and track down leads.
Step two, meanwhile, has remained unchanged, and that’s a problem. Because today’s buyers are getting fed up with filling out lead capture forms. As RapidMiner CMO Tom Wentworth explained, the people who visit your website are coming there for a reason (so why waste their time by making them fill out a form?).
People who come to our website aren’t coming there because they want to surf our site, they’re coming there because they have a specific problem, whether it’s a question about our product or what it does, whether it’s some technical support they need, or whether it’s they want to talk to someone in sales.
Using the traditional approach, you would make all of those website visitors fill out forms and then you’d sort them all out later — including the folks who were interested in talking to sales.
But as more and more companies (RapidMiner included) have started to see, by adopting a conversational approach, and engaging with website visitors in real-time, sales reps can create a fast lane for their best leads.
Think about it: With the old way, you’re forcing leads to hurry up and wait. You’re investing all of this time and energy getting leads to your site, but as soon as they get there, BAM. You put up a lead capture form — a barrier.
With conversation-driven selling, you pull down these barriers and give your company’s best leads a direct, real-time line to your sales team. You give leads the power to reach out when it’s convenient for them, and — with the help of intelligent chatbots — you can answer their questions and schedule demos 24/7, 365.
As a result, your sales cycle becomes shorter (example: ThriveHive has seen their sales cycle shrink by 63% after adopting a conversational approach), and you add to your sales pipeline (example: conversations have influenced 25% of RapidMiner’s open sales pipeline, worth more than $1 million).
Ready to see how Tom and thousands of other companies have been using conversation-driven selling to supercharge sales? Check out this SlideShare.
The world’s fastest growing companies are using chatbots to generate leads 24/7/365–but much of Conversational Marketing is still a myth to the majority
of marketers. This session will shatter the myth and provide practical insights that can turn your website into a world-class showroom that provides every visitor with an experience that leaves them feeling like a VIP.
After talking to thousands of customers, what we’ve heard loud and clear (and maybe you’ve felt this, too) is that something is broken with the way we market and sell.
Over the past several years, we’ve become obsessed with tracking and measuring every metric imaginable: hits, clicks, emails, dials, and so on.
We’ve become so focused on things like A/B testing, retargeting, email blasts, robocalls, form fills, marketing-qualified leads (MQLs), and sales-qualified leads (SQLs), that we’ve lost track of what really matters.
At some point, being data-driven started being more important than being customer-driven.
As a result, the buying experience most companies provide has become cold and impersonal. For many marketing and sales teams, their leads have become faceless entities that exist only inside of spreadsheets -- they aren’t treated like actual people.
Not only is it a terrible experience for potential customers, it’s also bad for business.
There’s a reason why only 43% of people answer cold calls, and the average email open rate is about 20%, and the average landing page conversion rate is just 2.35% …
The way we’ve been doing marketing and sales is broken.
The good news? You already know how to fix it, because the solution has always been there:
We need make business personal again.
So that’s exactly what we’re doing, and thousands of businesses are doing it with us. And the way we’re doing it is by putting one-to-one communication and dialogue back at the center of everything.
We’re replacing traditional marketing with conversational marketing.
Keep reading to learn more about what conversational marketing is, what kind of results it’s been driving for businesses, and how you can implement conversational marketing at your business.
State of Conversational Marketing 2019 [Free Report]Drift
What does a great customer experience look like today? In a world where we now expect instant responses to our questions, and where we can order just about anything online with a few clicks and have it delivered to our door that same day, how can SaaS and B2B companies up their game in order to meet (and exceed) those new expectations?
At Drift, we decided to team up with our friends at SurveyMonkey Audience to find out.
In our new report, the 2019 State of Conversational Marketing, we explore how and why customer expectations are evolving and highlight key conversational marketing trends and benchmarks that will help your company become more customer-centric (and, in turn, drive more revenue).
To download the full report, go to: https://www.drift.com/state-of-conversational-marketing/
The 3 Secrets Behind Zoom’s Triple-Digit GrowthDrift
If you work in the tech world, chances are you’ve heard of — or more likely, you’ve used — the video conferencing application Zoom.
At Drift, Zoom has become our go-to tool for running company meetings and hosting webinars.
And based on Zoom’s 700,000 business customers, which include half of the companies in the Fortune 50, it’s clear that a lot of other teams are seeing its value, too.
But it’s not just businesses using Zoom.
Zoom’s customer base also boasts 6,900 educational institutions, which includes 90 percent of the top 200 U.S. universities.
All customers considered, Zoom’s revenue grew nearly 300% in 2016, which marked the company’s fourth consecutive year of triple-digit growth.
To support that growth, Zoom has built offices in San Jose, Santa Barbara, Denver, Kansas City, Sydney, and London. Overall, the company now employs 600+ people.
By all measures, Zoom has become a hypergrowth company, joining the likes of Slack and MailChimp.
And following a $100 million series D led by Sequoia, Zoom has also become a “unicorn,” as their valuation has now stretched beyond $1 billion. (Although here’s a fun fact: Zoom’s founder and CEO Eric Yuan hates the term “unicorn,” and tells Zoom employees not to use it.)
After reviewing all of these stats, and remembering the ridiculous timeframe in which all of this happened, it begs the question:
How the heck did Zoom do it?
How to Make the Switch to Conversation-Driven SalesDrift
For years, sales and marketing teams have been focused on using the “form and follow-up” approach to capturing and qualifying leads.
We’re all familiar with how this works:
Step 1: Drive people to your website (e.g. via content, social, paid ads, outbound email, etc.)
Step 2: Make those people fill out lead capture forms
Step 3: Email them, or call them, or dump them into an automated “nurturing” flow
For more than a decade now, step one has been getting all the attention, as we’ve been innovating new ways to attract website visitors and track down leads.
Step two, meanwhile, has remained unchanged, and that’s a problem. Because today’s buyers are getting fed up with filling out lead capture forms. As RapidMiner CMO Tom Wentworth explained, the people who visit your website are coming there for a reason (so why waste their time by making them fill out a form?).
People who come to our website aren’t coming there because they want to surf our site, they’re coming there because they have a specific problem, whether it’s a question about our product or what it does, whether it’s some technical support they need, or whether it’s they want to talk to someone in sales.
Using the traditional approach, you would make all of those website visitors fill out forms and then you’d sort them all out later — including the folks who were interested in talking to sales.
But as more and more companies (RapidMiner included) have started to see, by adopting a conversational approach, and engaging with website visitors in real-time, sales reps can create a fast lane for their best leads.
Think about it: With the old way, you’re forcing leads to hurry up and wait. You’re investing all of this time and energy getting leads to your site, but as soon as they get there, BAM. You put up a lead capture form — a barrier.
With conversation-driven selling, you pull down these barriers and give your company’s best leads a direct, real-time line to your sales team. You give leads the power to reach out when it’s convenient for them, and — with the help of intelligent chatbots — you can answer their questions and schedule demos 24/7, 365.
As a result, your sales cycle becomes shorter (example: ThriveHive has seen their sales cycle shrink by 63% after adopting a conversational approach), and you add to your sales pipeline (example: conversations have influenced 25% of RapidMiner’s open sales pipeline, worth more than $1 million).
Ready to see how Tom and thousands of other companies have been using conversation-driven selling to supercharge sales? Check out this SlideShare.
The world’s fastest growing companies are using chatbots to generate leads 24/7/365–but much of Conversational Marketing is still a myth to the majority
of marketers. This session will shatter the myth and provide practical insights that can turn your website into a world-class showroom that provides every visitor with an experience that leaves them feeling like a VIP.
After talking to thousands of customers, what we’ve heard loud and clear (and maybe you’ve felt this, too) is that something is broken with the way we market and sell.
Over the past several years, we’ve become obsessed with tracking and measuring every metric imaginable: hits, clicks, emails, dials, and so on.
We’ve become so focused on things like A/B testing, retargeting, email blasts, robocalls, form fills, marketing-qualified leads (MQLs), and sales-qualified leads (SQLs), that we’ve lost track of what really matters.
At some point, being data-driven started being more important than being customer-driven.
As a result, the buying experience most companies provide has become cold and impersonal. For many marketing and sales teams, their leads have become faceless entities that exist only inside of spreadsheets -- they aren’t treated like actual people.
Not only is it a terrible experience for potential customers, it’s also bad for business.
There’s a reason why only 43% of people answer cold calls, and the average email open rate is about 20%, and the average landing page conversion rate is just 2.35% …
The way we’ve been doing marketing and sales is broken.
The good news? You already know how to fix it, because the solution has always been there:
We need make business personal again.
So that’s exactly what we’re doing, and thousands of businesses are doing it with us. And the way we’re doing it is by putting one-to-one communication and dialogue back at the center of everything.
We’re replacing traditional marketing with conversational marketing.
Keep reading to learn more about what conversational marketing is, what kind of results it’s been driving for businesses, and how you can implement conversational marketing at your business.
State of Conversational Marketing 2019 [Free Report]Drift
What does a great customer experience look like today? In a world where we now expect instant responses to our questions, and where we can order just about anything online with a few clicks and have it delivered to our door that same day, how can SaaS and B2B companies up their game in order to meet (and exceed) those new expectations?
At Drift, we decided to team up with our friends at SurveyMonkey Audience to find out.
In our new report, the 2019 State of Conversational Marketing, we explore how and why customer expectations are evolving and highlight key conversational marketing trends and benchmarks that will help your company become more customer-centric (and, in turn, drive more revenue).
To download the full report, go to: https://www.drift.com/state-of-conversational-marketing/
The 3 Secrets Behind Zoom’s Triple-Digit GrowthDrift
If you work in the tech world, chances are you’ve heard of — or more likely, you’ve used — the video conferencing application Zoom.
At Drift, Zoom has become our go-to tool for running company meetings and hosting webinars.
And based on Zoom’s 700,000 business customers, which include half of the companies in the Fortune 50, it’s clear that a lot of other teams are seeing its value, too.
But it’s not just businesses using Zoom.
Zoom’s customer base also boasts 6,900 educational institutions, which includes 90 percent of the top 200 U.S. universities.
All customers considered, Zoom’s revenue grew nearly 300% in 2016, which marked the company’s fourth consecutive year of triple-digit growth.
To support that growth, Zoom has built offices in San Jose, Santa Barbara, Denver, Kansas City, Sydney, and London. Overall, the company now employs 600+ people.
By all measures, Zoom has become a hypergrowth company, joining the likes of Slack and MailChimp.
And following a $100 million series D led by Sequoia, Zoom has also become a “unicorn,” as their valuation has now stretched beyond $1 billion. (Although here’s a fun fact: Zoom’s founder and CEO Eric Yuan hates the term “unicorn,” and tells Zoom employees not to use it.)
After reviewing all of these stats, and remembering the ridiculous timeframe in which all of this happened, it begs the question:
How the heck did Zoom do it?
For years now, the lead capture form has been a favorite tool in the marketer's tool belt. But do forms actually work? We wanted to use data to explore how today’s lead forms are performing, as well as how leads and customers like using traditional communication channels associated with forms (i.e. phone and email). Learn more here: https://blog.drift.com/truth-about-forms/
How can I convert my subscribers into customers, turn my customers into great customers, and extend the lifetime value of my customers?
In each of those cases, lifecycle marketing is key. Lifecycle marketing is about triggering marketing communications when you know they will have maximum impact—and also knowing who you shouldn’t focus your efforts on.
If you’re part of an eCommerce company and are interested in building an automated customer acquisition and retention plan, then this presentation is for you. Mike Arsenault, Co-founder and CEO of Rejoiner, covers:
--The basics of lifecycle email marketing for eCommerce
--How to use a simple spreadsheet to identify customers with the highest potential ROI
--How to predict when customers are about to defect from your company
--How to measure the profitability of your triggered email program
--Examples of lifecycle email campaigns that real eCommerce companies are using today
Let’s look at how business owners can write B2B sales emails. Please note that this article is dedicated to B2B emails specifically. All of the following recommendations are based on our B2B marketing experience.
https://belkins.io/how-to-write-b2b-sales-email
Open any business journal, and inevitably you will see an article about digital transformation. It is a buzzword in today’s marketing, business and strategy world. But how does that apply to professional services firms? During this session, at the 2017 Legal Marketing Association Annual Conference, we look at how to move beyond discreet digital projects (i.e. creating a website, amplifying your message through social and/or fine-tuning your email communications) in favor of a comprehensive multi-year strategy that focuses on continuous improvement, optimization and multi-channel communications. We examine how law firms and other professional services organizations are investing in digital as a core business development and marketing asset.
Specifically, we touch on how to:
1). Break free from the confines of defined project stages (beginning, middle, end), and instead adopt a more fluid approach that allows for continuous, incremental investment
2). Plan strategic short-term actions that will support a long-term vision
3). Collect, analyze and apply data in order to sustain digital momentum
4). Tackle budgeting and assemble strong cross-functional teams to support digital efforts
5). Implement a governance plan to measure and promote progress year after year
In a nutshell, Inbound is what's replaced traditional, costly broadcast advertising with an adaptable model where customer behaviour is made visible, results tangible and effectiveness measurable.
The theme of the 2014 MarketingProfs' B2B Marketing Forum is "Marketing For What Comes Next." Lee Odden of TopRank decided to ask some of the brightest minds in marketing to make predictions about where marketing is heading. What he got ranged from realistic to ridiculous, but all were packed with insight.
Recently, HubSpot launched our first edition of the State of Inbound UK report: Inbound Insights UK – 2014. We surveyed marketing professionals across the UK, both leaders and practitioners, to find out what the current trends in marketing are.
This extensive research aims to specifically help marketers in the UK set realistic benchmarks as well as focus on issues where they may be lagging behind on. For example, the relationship between sales and marketing is ever-increasing and the data indicates strongly that businesses that align these two departments outperform those that don’t by a significant margin.
We came up with many fascinating facts on the state of inbound marketing in the UK. The nine most remarkable discoveries were rolled into this SlideShare
Presentation for NISP at Coleraine Enterprise Agency on Digital Marketing for Startups. Introduction on how to use web marketing for customer acquisition.
A collective of problem-solving, SEO-obsessive, tech literate, brand-aware, social media-loving, entrepreneurial superheroes who join forces every day focused on one goal and one goal only: to use their unique array of skills to take clients’ businesses from good to great and beyond.
We work with all kinds of businesses at all stages by helping establish a powerful online presence. Whether you’re just starting out and want to launch with a bang or you’ve been around for decades and want to re-tool your online presence to generate a much-needed boost in business, we combine a mix of time-honored strategies that are proven to work with a custom business plan devised for each client that uses our wide range of skills to deliver the best possible boost to each individual brand we partner with.
Digital Strategy 101 is an overview of the current state of digital strategy and an exploration of core concepts, deliverables, and thought-leaders relevant to young practitioners.
In a recession, marketing budgets are often the first to get slashed. For many that means cutting programs, cutting spending and cutting staff in order to make it through the economic downturn. But marketing in a recession isn't about marketing less, it's about marketing better and smarter. This webinar will share techniques for marketing more efficiently and effectively, particularly on a tight budget.
SaaS marketing 101 How to execute today for maximum growthAli Mahmoud
Practical tips for any small business or SaaS Company to improve their marketing. Inbound Marketing is a topic often covered however what about businesses that need short term results while they execute on their long term inbound strategy.
Entrepreneurs are faced with too many choices: inbound vs outbound, social, referral or account-based marketing. This slideshare takes an in-depth look at outbound marketing & referral marketing which can be two highly effective vehicles to help you acquire customers today.
Enjoy and please share your thoughts, successes and even your failures. We can all grow together.
Marketing with magnet (not with a sledgehammer)KatapultInbound
As part of global inbound marketing week 2015, Katapult hosted a free business event at the University of Derby. Titled 'Marketing with a magnet (not with a sledgehammer) the event covered why outbound marketing techniques are no longer effective, and why inbound marketing is the way forward.
Our Digital Marketing Director, Martin Broadhurst was the speaker at the event. He shared insights on how to use inbound marketing techniques to draw buyers toward your digital channels where they can learn more about what you offer on their own terms.
Here's the hard truth about marketing: your customers are better at it than you. Over the past decade, marketers perfected content creation, but as a result, things got a lot more competitive for businesses and a lot more crowded for buyers. So while creating content is still your best and cheapest strategy, it should no longer be your only strategy. That's where your customers come in. Learn more.
B2B Digital Marketing Playbook for the COVID EraRohas Nagpal
Customers have changed.
Spending patterns have changed.
People's priorities have changed.
How people spend their time has changed.
So naturally, marketing techniques
NEED TO CHANGE.
The "B2B Digital Marketing Playbook for the COVID Era" recommends an 11-point approach:
1. Understand what you are selling
2. Understand whom you are selling to
3. Design your digital marketing strategy
4. Optimize your website
5. Incentivize influencers
6. Optimize your digital marketing assets
7. Distribute your digital marketing assets
8. Make it easy for potential customers to contact you
9. Aim for a 60-second response time
10. Use dynamic QR codes
11. Use Artificial Intelligence
Simply SaaS University: Marketing 101 - Asia MatosJacey Lucus
Atlanta Ventures hosted the 2nd Simply SaaS University class: Marketing Metrics 101 with Asia Matos. In the class, SaaS entrepreneurs learned more about the fundamentals to defining their customer acquisition strategy, why it’s important to define your primary marketing channels, best practices around researching, how to create an amazing funnel.
A look at the marketing strategy with the highest ROI and how it helps companies close more accounts.
Get product and customer marketing tips right to your inbox once a week. Subscribe here: www.drift.com/subscribe
For years now, the lead capture form has been a favorite tool in the marketer's tool belt. But do forms actually work? We wanted to use data to explore how today’s lead forms are performing, as well as how leads and customers like using traditional communication channels associated with forms (i.e. phone and email). Learn more here: https://blog.drift.com/truth-about-forms/
How can I convert my subscribers into customers, turn my customers into great customers, and extend the lifetime value of my customers?
In each of those cases, lifecycle marketing is key. Lifecycle marketing is about triggering marketing communications when you know they will have maximum impact—and also knowing who you shouldn’t focus your efforts on.
If you’re part of an eCommerce company and are interested in building an automated customer acquisition and retention plan, then this presentation is for you. Mike Arsenault, Co-founder and CEO of Rejoiner, covers:
--The basics of lifecycle email marketing for eCommerce
--How to use a simple spreadsheet to identify customers with the highest potential ROI
--How to predict when customers are about to defect from your company
--How to measure the profitability of your triggered email program
--Examples of lifecycle email campaigns that real eCommerce companies are using today
Let’s look at how business owners can write B2B sales emails. Please note that this article is dedicated to B2B emails specifically. All of the following recommendations are based on our B2B marketing experience.
https://belkins.io/how-to-write-b2b-sales-email
Open any business journal, and inevitably you will see an article about digital transformation. It is a buzzword in today’s marketing, business and strategy world. But how does that apply to professional services firms? During this session, at the 2017 Legal Marketing Association Annual Conference, we look at how to move beyond discreet digital projects (i.e. creating a website, amplifying your message through social and/or fine-tuning your email communications) in favor of a comprehensive multi-year strategy that focuses on continuous improvement, optimization and multi-channel communications. We examine how law firms and other professional services organizations are investing in digital as a core business development and marketing asset.
Specifically, we touch on how to:
1). Break free from the confines of defined project stages (beginning, middle, end), and instead adopt a more fluid approach that allows for continuous, incremental investment
2). Plan strategic short-term actions that will support a long-term vision
3). Collect, analyze and apply data in order to sustain digital momentum
4). Tackle budgeting and assemble strong cross-functional teams to support digital efforts
5). Implement a governance plan to measure and promote progress year after year
In a nutshell, Inbound is what's replaced traditional, costly broadcast advertising with an adaptable model where customer behaviour is made visible, results tangible and effectiveness measurable.
The theme of the 2014 MarketingProfs' B2B Marketing Forum is "Marketing For What Comes Next." Lee Odden of TopRank decided to ask some of the brightest minds in marketing to make predictions about where marketing is heading. What he got ranged from realistic to ridiculous, but all were packed with insight.
Recently, HubSpot launched our first edition of the State of Inbound UK report: Inbound Insights UK – 2014. We surveyed marketing professionals across the UK, both leaders and practitioners, to find out what the current trends in marketing are.
This extensive research aims to specifically help marketers in the UK set realistic benchmarks as well as focus on issues where they may be lagging behind on. For example, the relationship between sales and marketing is ever-increasing and the data indicates strongly that businesses that align these two departments outperform those that don’t by a significant margin.
We came up with many fascinating facts on the state of inbound marketing in the UK. The nine most remarkable discoveries were rolled into this SlideShare
Presentation for NISP at Coleraine Enterprise Agency on Digital Marketing for Startups. Introduction on how to use web marketing for customer acquisition.
A collective of problem-solving, SEO-obsessive, tech literate, brand-aware, social media-loving, entrepreneurial superheroes who join forces every day focused on one goal and one goal only: to use their unique array of skills to take clients’ businesses from good to great and beyond.
We work with all kinds of businesses at all stages by helping establish a powerful online presence. Whether you’re just starting out and want to launch with a bang or you’ve been around for decades and want to re-tool your online presence to generate a much-needed boost in business, we combine a mix of time-honored strategies that are proven to work with a custom business plan devised for each client that uses our wide range of skills to deliver the best possible boost to each individual brand we partner with.
Digital Strategy 101 is an overview of the current state of digital strategy and an exploration of core concepts, deliverables, and thought-leaders relevant to young practitioners.
In a recession, marketing budgets are often the first to get slashed. For many that means cutting programs, cutting spending and cutting staff in order to make it through the economic downturn. But marketing in a recession isn't about marketing less, it's about marketing better and smarter. This webinar will share techniques for marketing more efficiently and effectively, particularly on a tight budget.
SaaS marketing 101 How to execute today for maximum growthAli Mahmoud
Practical tips for any small business or SaaS Company to improve their marketing. Inbound Marketing is a topic often covered however what about businesses that need short term results while they execute on their long term inbound strategy.
Entrepreneurs are faced with too many choices: inbound vs outbound, social, referral or account-based marketing. This slideshare takes an in-depth look at outbound marketing & referral marketing which can be two highly effective vehicles to help you acquire customers today.
Enjoy and please share your thoughts, successes and even your failures. We can all grow together.
Marketing with magnet (not with a sledgehammer)KatapultInbound
As part of global inbound marketing week 2015, Katapult hosted a free business event at the University of Derby. Titled 'Marketing with a magnet (not with a sledgehammer) the event covered why outbound marketing techniques are no longer effective, and why inbound marketing is the way forward.
Our Digital Marketing Director, Martin Broadhurst was the speaker at the event. He shared insights on how to use inbound marketing techniques to draw buyers toward your digital channels where they can learn more about what you offer on their own terms.
Here's the hard truth about marketing: your customers are better at it than you. Over the past decade, marketers perfected content creation, but as a result, things got a lot more competitive for businesses and a lot more crowded for buyers. So while creating content is still your best and cheapest strategy, it should no longer be your only strategy. That's where your customers come in. Learn more.
B2B Digital Marketing Playbook for the COVID EraRohas Nagpal
Customers have changed.
Spending patterns have changed.
People's priorities have changed.
How people spend their time has changed.
So naturally, marketing techniques
NEED TO CHANGE.
The "B2B Digital Marketing Playbook for the COVID Era" recommends an 11-point approach:
1. Understand what you are selling
2. Understand whom you are selling to
3. Design your digital marketing strategy
4. Optimize your website
5. Incentivize influencers
6. Optimize your digital marketing assets
7. Distribute your digital marketing assets
8. Make it easy for potential customers to contact you
9. Aim for a 60-second response time
10. Use dynamic QR codes
11. Use Artificial Intelligence
Simply SaaS University: Marketing 101 - Asia MatosJacey Lucus
Atlanta Ventures hosted the 2nd Simply SaaS University class: Marketing Metrics 101 with Asia Matos. In the class, SaaS entrepreneurs learned more about the fundamentals to defining their customer acquisition strategy, why it’s important to define your primary marketing channels, best practices around researching, how to create an amazing funnel.
A look at the marketing strategy with the highest ROI and how it helps companies close more accounts.
Get product and customer marketing tips right to your inbox once a week. Subscribe here: www.drift.com/subscribe
The Next Wave: The Future of Higher EducationLinkedIn
Jeff Selingo, distinguished author and editor of Inside Higher Ed, shares macro trends in Higher Education today and what marketers need to know to stay ahead.
You're a team of one, or just a few. Your job is to create "content," whatever that means, but you don't have resources, access, or approval. What do you do?
This presentation provides tips for individuals and small teams of content creators. Tools, advice, and capybara all included.
Legend of the Hidden Audiences: Web Personalization at CA TechnologiesMarketo
Put on your explorer's hat and join us on an expedition to discover the hidden audiences on your website using Marketo Web Personalization. The legend of the unknown visitor is real and there’s probably thousands of them on your site right now. We must create personalized experiences that engage visitors to fill out forms and become known. Huddle around your guides from CA Technologies and Marketo as they share their personalization secrets and discoveries.
The 2017 State of Social Marketing Report RevealBryan Blackburn
In this live-recorded webinar, we unveil the findings from our 2017 State of Social Marketing Report.
With responses from nearly 2,800 marketers from 111 countries, this is our biggest report yet. You will get a detailed look into the social media industry in 2017 - including:
Challenges and successes of marketers from across the world
Social media budget forecasts through 2020
The rise of influencer marketing
Paid social and its role in business objectives
Beyond Cat Videos: Driving Business with Social MediaLinkedIn
Social media isn't just a black hole of cat videos. It's a way to grow your business at scale. In fact, 78% of salespeople use social media to outsell their peers and customers are 29% more likely to purchase on the same day when social communications are a part of their buyer’s journey.
With proof like this, it’s time to get smart on how you leverage social media.
And to help your business post with poise, we’ve put together a superstar panel of social media managers to share:
• The tools, tips and tricks every social media marketer should know
• How the right digital presence can help you build brand awareness, generate leads and showcase thought leadership
• The types of content that perform best
• How to measure business impact from your efforts
With 6,000+ tools to choose from, marketers are experiencing a "Stackapocalypse." Cut through the nightmare of choice with our ultimate growth marketing stack, proven to work seamlessly together to turn leads into conversions at scale.
Join Kissmetrics and Effin Amazing in this upcoming webinar to learn:
The tool stack that drove record-breaking growth for Effin Amazing's clients
How to integrate your stack for maximum marketing impact and minimum effort
Cool stack use cases including data enrichment, lead scoring, and workflow automation
Learn how LinkedIn is investing in higher education and get a sneak preview of new solutions and tools that will help you achieve your marketing goals.
PERFECT IS THE ENEMY OF GOOD - How Imperfection Can Drive InnovationAndreas Krasser
Many big agencies, and businesses in general, tend to fall into the perfectionist trap. They spend too much time refining, second-guessing and researching their ideas, and by not moving fast enough today, they risk to be irrelevant already by tomorrow.
This presentation talks about DDB Group Hong Kong’s own little start-up venture, and how it helped the agency to un-learn its love for the absolute perfect, and instead embrace the good – the minimum viable good.
Further, this presentation also contains practical tips and frameworks for agencies as well as corporations that are looking to foster a culture of innovation from the inside out.
The Future of Searchable Content | Voice Search & AIKaty Katz
The landscape of search marketing is changing as voice search, artificial intelligence, and machine learning become a reality of our everyday lives. Learn how to adapt your content strategy to get ready for these changes ahead of time.
Hacking Inbound: 25+ Proven B2B Lead Generation Quick Wins and Campaign IdeasPR 20/20
Inspired by the best ideas from dozens of B2B marketing strategy workshops and the actual results from hundreds of inbound marketing campaigns, this fast-paced session will deliver a wealth of tools and tips designed to make an immediate impact on your business. Looking beyond the standard inbound marketing playbook, we'll dive into unique uses cases for HubSpot software, artificial intelligence, social selling, interactive tools, data-driven storytelling, public relations and more.
UX 프로젝트를 시작하는 분들을 위해 UX 디자인과 프로젝트방법론에 대한 A부터 Z까지를 간결한 질문들을 중심으로 모두 정리했습니다. (PDF 다운로드 가능)
1. UX 디자인이란?
• UX 디자인은 한 마디로 무엇인가?
• UX 디자인에서 하는 일은?
• UX 디자인이 왜 필요한가?
• UX 디자인의 핵심은?
• UXer들이 알고자 하는 사용자 경험이란 무엇인가?
• UX 디자이너들은 누구인가?
2. UX프로젝트란?
• UX 프로젝트는 무엇이 다른가?
• 왜 UX 프로젝트를 해야 하는가?
• 우리 분야에 대한 경험이 부족한 UXer에게 프로젝트를 맡겨도 되는가?
• UX 프로젝트를 했다가 실패한 경험이 있다. 무엇이 잘못된 건가?
• UX 프로젝트의 일반적인 일정
• UX 프로젝트 계획 시 염두에 두어야 할 5가지
• 컨설팅 업체가 UX 프로젝트를 진행할 때 우리의 역할은 무엇인가?
• 컨설팅 업체가 요구하는 자료가 많은데, 모두 공개해도 되는가?
• 진행중인 UX 프로젝트를 공개하면 어떤 장점이 있는가?
3. 필드리서치
• UXer들은 왜 필드리서치를 하는가?
• 필드리서치와 마케팅 리서치의 차이점은?
• 필드리서치는 누구를, 몇 명이나 대상으로 해야 하나?
• 필드리서치를 할 때, 주의해야 할 사항은?
• 필드리서치 결과를 가지고 바로 디자인하면 안 되는가?
4. UX 모델링
• UX 프로젝트에서 모델링이란 작업을 굳이 해야 하는가?
• 필드리서치 결과를 가지고 가장 빠르게 인사이트를 도출할 수 있는 방법은?
• Persona가 기존의 마케팅 시장세분화와 다른 점은?
• Persona를 통해서 얻을 수 있는 기대효과는?
• 선행연구 프로젝트에 가장 적합한 UX 모델링 방법은?
• Journey Map은 언제나 유효한가?
5. UX 전략
• UX 모델링을 통해서 얻어야 할 최종 결과는?
• UX 프로젝트에서 이야기하는 전략이란?
• UX에서 가치가 중요한 이유는?
• UX 프로젝트에서 얘기하는 가치의 구체적인 구분은?
• UXer들은 새로운 사용자경험을 어떻게 디자인하는가?
• UX 프로젝트에서 사용자 시나리오가 중요한 이유는?
• 사용자 시나리오는 어떻게 활용되는가?
6. 프로토타이핑
• UX 프로젝트에서의 프로토타이핑은 무엇인가?
• 구현충실도(fidelity)를 꼭 낮은 것에서부터 시작해야 하는가?
• 프로토타입 작업 시 사용성 테스트를 거치는 이유는?
• 테스트는 누구를 대상으로 하는 것이 좋은가?
• 테스트는 몇 명이나 하는 것이 좋은가?
• UX 프로젝트에서 이야기하는 테스트 방법에는 어떤 것들이 있나?
The TMI team played host to a group of customer experience professionals. The purpose was to get together to discuss key trends, share best practice and identify any emerging needs
over the next 12 months.
The world is ever-changing, and technology is taking the lead. Today, everything goes digital - amusement, health, property, banking and even currencies. This is, however, comprehensible. In North America alone, eighty nine of the population is on-line (subscription required).
The New Year always brings hopes of new strategies, idea, goals and successes. But before we dive into what’s next, we thought it would be a good idea to reflect on the top 15 most important marketing and technology trends from 2015. Jen Bullett and Kalev Peekna count down 15 strategies, trends and tactics that Business-to-Business and Professional Services marketers should keep on their radar as they delve into 2016. Specifically, we cover topics including lead generation, predictive marketing, brand storytelling and cross-channel metrics.
Digital transformation challenges and the marketing audit imperativeSilvia Rak
The digital transformation poses a unique opportunity for marketers: this process that puts a question mark on business models and erases whole industries offers a chance to take the marketing discipline to a more strategic level. Because at top level everything is under scrutiny, it is a springboard for everyone who would like to escape the “we’ve always done it this way” trap. But my prediction is: only few will make it.
The Future of marketing isn't the same for everyone. In this presentation, we'll dig into two different futures. The near term future as demonstrated by what current high performers are doing, and the distant future and what you need to prepare for.
Are your marketing efforts keeping up with the trends? Do you have any idea what's the best new thing in the digital sphere? Wonder no more as this compelling resource will help you trace the new digital footprints taking waves this 2015. Keep yourself in the loop of the latest frontier that makes marketers go gaga over.
The 2015 Digital Trends report, created in partnership with Econsultancy, discusses the trends and tools you need to provide exceptional customer experiences and to gain a competitive edge. Take a look at what the marketing thought leaders across the globe are talking about. Be on the lookout for the latest buzzwords and trends directly from the pioneers.
Courtesy of Econsultancy and Adobe
2024 State of Marketing Report – by HubspotMarius Sescu
https://www.hubspot.com/state-of-marketing
· Scaling relationships and proving ROI
· Social media is the place for search, sales, and service
· Authentic influencer partnerships fuel brand growth
· The strongest connections happen via call, click, chat, and camera.
· Time saved with AI leads to more creative work
· Seeking: A single source of truth
· TLDR; Get on social, try AI, and align your systems.
· More human marketing, powered by robots
Similar to State of Conversational Marketing 2017 (14)
What does it mean to be a product marketer? What responsibilities do product marketers have?
Learn the answers to this, plus tips for elevating your company's product marketing here: https://www.drift.com/blog/what-is-product-marketing/
Introducing Drift Sequences: Sales Email Built to Drive Conversations, Not SpamDrift
The days of spray and pray are over. The best sales reps are helpful and personal. They are tour guides – more likely to be a product expert than a pushy salesperson.
While the way you and I buy things has changed, the tools have not.
Most sales reps rely on spray and pray tactics – how many emails can they send in order to book a meeting? It’s just a numbers game.
Today's sales email tools were built for yesterday's sales person.
Or as our CEO, David Cancel, would put it “they are perfectly suited for a world that no longer exists.”
That’s because traditional sales email tools are designed for spray and pray tactics – instead of conversations.
Last October, we launched part one of our reinvention: a Drift Chrome Extension that connects your outbound prospecting to real-time messaging on your website.
Today, we’re announcing Drift Sequences, sales email re-designed to help sales reps start more high quality conversations with their prospects.
When we launched Drift back in 2016, we were a messaging tool, plain and simple. But as we talked to the marketers and salespeople using our product day after day, week after week, month after month, and incorporated their feedback into the product, Drift began to evolve.
Today, what started out as a messaging tool has become the world’s first conversational marketing and sales platform.
And we’re pumped to announce that with the launch of our developer platform, now everyone can build on top of Drift.
Here’s The Deck Andy Raskin Called “The Greatest Sales Pitch I’ve Seen All Year”Drift
Andy Raskin has led strategic story training at Uber, Intel, Yelp, General Assembly and Stanford and called this the greatest sales pitch he's seen all year. Have a look.
My 3 Biggest Discoveries of the Past 20 YearsDrift
Drift co-founder and CEO David Cancel's presentation from HYPERGROWTH 2017. Learn about the 3 biggest discoveries of David's 20+ year career building companies and developing tools for marketing and sales teams.
Why do some companies, products, services, and ideas achieve Hypergrowth, while others only capture a small portion of a market?
That’s the question I was trying to answer when I came up with the Hypergrowth Curve.
The curve consists of three stages of growth that every breakthrough company, product, service, or idea transitions through. And in each stage, the strategy and focus totally shifts.
In the first stage on the Hypergrowth Curve, you’re building a product and finding your tribe. You’re seeing if the idea is even possible.
In the second stage, you’ve found product/market fit and are now focused on rolling out your invention to the masses.
Finally, in the third stage, you’re focused on building a global brand and dominating an entire category (or micro-niche).
David Cancel's presentation slides from the 2017 Revenue Summit conference. Look back 5-10 years ago, and sales and marketing teams were all focused on this same thing: Attracting website visitors. Back then, everyone was asking questions like…How do I rank higher in search? How frequently should I be posting on social media sites? How long should my emails subject line be?
Some people are still asking these questions today, but for the most part these are questions that we’ve already found the answers to.People have figured out how to attract attention and get awareness and get people to their websites, thanks in part to all of the technology that’s been developed: marketing automation software, social media management software, blogging software with built-in SEO tools, and the list goes on.
That was the first wave in sales and marketing.
Now it’s time to move on to the next wave.
Businesses talk about branding all the time. What’s the #1 common thread that I hear? “We need brand standards!”
We were getting a lot of questions about how we think about branding at Drift, so we created a brand guide to share our approach. In this book we cover our mission, values, culture, logos, typography, colors, editorial voice, social media voice, and visual branding.
Branding is so much more than a logo. That's why we break down our core brand values — and core value number three is Transparency.
So sharing version one of our brand book with you just seems right.
It’s a living document — which means we’re always going to be changing, updating, and tweaking, but it’s time to share V1 with you now.
Here’s the Drift Brand Book, version one.
3 Things Every Sales Team Needs to Be Thinking About in 2017Drift
Thinking about your sales team's goals for 2017? Drift's VP of Sales shares 3 things you can do to improve conversion rates and drive more revenue.
Read the full story on the Drift blog here: http://blog.drift.com/sales-team-tips
We've made diversity a priority here at Drift from day one and we want to hold ourselves accountable. So we are happy to announce the launch of the first edition of Drift's Diversity Report. We will continue to lean in on diversity to improve in all areas.
Seeking Wisdom is a podcast that deals with many topics -- ranging from life, to fitness, to entrepreneurship, to the work-life balance.
The show has two hosts. One is 5X startup founder, David Cancel. The other David Gerhardt, a marketer whose career is beginning to take off. David and Dave work together at Drift (a live chat messaging app based in Cambridge, Massachusetts).
It’s a different kind of show -- and people are really liking it.
With over 30 episodes out -- David and Dave have discussed many life lessons on the show and want to share them with you here.
The Seeking Wisdom podcast is supported by a community of listeners who want to get better every day. This slideshare is meant to take the top pieces of advice from the podcast and share them with this community.
Follow Seeking Wisdom Here:
Twitter: https://twitter.com/seekingwisdomio
Medium: https://seekingwisdom.io/
Listen to Seeking Wisdom Here:
SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/seekingwisdom
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/seeking-wisdom/id1072506427?mt=2
OverCast: https://overcast.fm/itunes1072506427/seeking-wisdom
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/david-cancel/seeking-wisdom
RSS: http://feeds.soundcloud.com/users/soundcloud:users:193080377/sounds.rss
Follow David (https://twitter.com/dcancel) and Dave (https://twitter.com/davegerhardt) on Twitter.
Want To Improve Your Retention? Focus On This One ChangeDrift
Drift CEO David Cancel's presentation from SaaStock 2016 on the change that your business needs to make to improve retention: aligning incentives. Based on lessons learned at Performable, HubSpot, and Drift.
The secret is to align all of the teams inside of your company around customer retention. Here's how to do it.
A.I. (artificial intelligence) platforms are popping up all the time, and many of them can and should be used to help grow your brand, increase your sales and decrease your marketing costs.In this presentation:We will review some of the best AI platforms that are available for you to use.We will interact with some of the platforms in real-time, so attendees can see how they work.We will also look at some current brands that are using AI to help them create marketing messages, saving them time and money in the process. Lastly, we will discuss the pros and cons of using AI in marketing & branding and have a lively conversation that includes comments from the audience.
Key Takeaways:
Attendees will learn about LLM platforms, like ChatGPT, and how they work, with preset examples and real time interactions with the platform. Attendees will learn about other AI platforms that are creating graphic design elements at the push of a button...pre-set examples and real-time interactions.Attendees will discuss the pros & cons of AI in marketing + branding and share their perspectives with one another. Attendees will learn about the cost savings and the time savings associated with using AI, should they choose to.
Most small businesses struggle to see marketing results. In this session, we will eliminate any confusion about what to do next, solving your marketing problems so your business can thrive. You’ll learn how to create a foundational marketing OS (operating system) based on neuroscience and backed by real-world results. You’ll be taught how to develop deep customer connections, and how to have your CRM dynamically segment and sell at any stage in the customer’s journey. By the end of the session, you’ll remove confusion and chaos and replace it with clarity and confidence for long-term marketing success.
Key Takeaways:
• Uncover the power of a foundational marketing system that dynamically communicates with prospects and customers on autopilot.
• Harness neuroscience and Tribal Alignment to transform your communication strategies, turning potential clients into fans and those fans into loyal customers.
• Discover the art of automated segmentation, pinpointing your most lucrative customers and identifying the optimal moments for successful conversions.
• Streamline your business with a content production plan that eliminates guesswork, wasted time, and money.
Mastering Multi-Touchpoint Content Strategy: Navigate Fragmented User JourneysSearch Engine Journal
Digital platforms are constantly multiplying, and with that, user engagement is becoming more intricate and fragmented.
So how do you effectively navigate distributing and tailoring your content across these various touchpoints?
Watch this webinar as we dive into the evolving landscape of content strategy tailored for today's fragmented user journeys. Understanding how to deliver your content to your users is more crucial than ever, and we’ll provide actionable tips for navigating these intricate challenges.
You’ll learn:
- How today’s users engage with content across various channels and devices.
- The latest methodologies for identifying and addressing content gaps to keep your content strategy proactive and relevant.
- What digital shelf space is and how your content strategy needs to pivot.
With Wayne Cichanski, we’ll explore innovative strategies to map out and meet the diverse needs of your audience, ensuring every piece of content resonates and connects, regardless of where or how it is consumed.
When most people in the industry talk about online or digital reputation management, what they're really saying is Google search and PPC. And it's usually reactive, left dealing with the aftermath of negative information published somewhere online. That's outdated. It leaves executives, organizations and other high-profile individuals at a high risk of a digital reputation attack that spans channels and tactics. But the tools needed to safeguard against an attack are more cybersecurity-oriented than most marketing and communications professionals can manage. Business leaders Leaders grasp the importance; 83% of executives place reputation in their top five areas of risk, yet only 23% are confident in their ability to address it. To succeed in 2024 and beyond, you need to turn online reputation on its axis and think like an attacker.\
Key Takeaways:
- New framework for examining and safeguarding an online reputation
- Tools and techniques to keep you a step ahead
- Practical examples that demonstrate when to act, how to act and how to recover
Come learn how YOU can Animate and Illuminate the World with Generative AI's Explosive Power. Come sit in the driver's seat and learn to harness this great technology.
Mastering Local SEO for Service Businesses in the AI Era is tailored specifically for local service providers like plumbers, dentists, and others seeking to dominate their local search landscape. This session delves into leveraging AI advancements to enhance your online visibility and search rankings through the Content Factory model, designed for creating high-impact, SEO-driven content. Discover the Dollar-a-Day advertising strategy, a cost-effective approach to boost your local SEO efforts and attract more customers with minimal investment. Gain practical insights on optimizing your online presence to meet the specific needs of local service seekers, ensuring your business not only appears but stands out in local searches. This concise, action-oriented workshop is your roadmap to navigating the complexities of digital marketing in the AI age, driving more leads, conversions, and ultimately, success for your local service business.
Key Takeaways:
Embrace AI for Local SEO: Learn to harness the power of AI technologies to optimize your website and content for local search. Understand the pivotal role AI plays in analyzing search trends and consumer behavior, enabling you to tailor your SEO strategies to meet the specific demands of your target local audience. Leverage the Content Factory Model: Discover the step-by-step process of creating SEO-optimized content at scale. This approach ensures a steady stream of high-quality content that engages local customers and boosts your search rankings. Get an action guide on implementing this model, complete with templates and scheduling strategies to maintain a consistent online presence. Maximize ROI with Dollar-a-Day Advertising: Dive into the cost-effective Dollar-a-Day advertising strategy that amplifies your visibility in local searches without breaking the bank. Learn how to strategically allocate your budget across platforms to target potential local customers effectively. The session includes an action guide on setting up, monitoring, and optimizing your ad campaigns to ensure maximum impact with minimal investment.
Financial curveballs sent many American families reeling in 2023. Household budgets were squeezed by rising interest rates, surging prices on everyday goods, and a stagnating housing market. Consumers were feeling strapped. That sentiment, however, appears to be waning. The question is, to what extent?
To take the pulse of consumers’ feelings about their financial well-being ahead of a highly anticipated election, ThinkNow conducted a nationally representative quantitative survey. The survey highlights consumers’ hopes and anxieties as we move into 2024. Let's unpack the key findings to gain insights about where we stand.
Core Web Vitals SEO Workshop - improve your performance [pdf]Peter Mead
Core Web Vitals to improve your website performance for better SEO results with CWV.
CWV Topics include:
- Understanding the latest Core Web Vitals including the significance of LCP, INP and CLS + their impact on SEO
- Optimisation techniques from our experts on how to improve your CWV on platforms like WordPress and WP Engine
- The impact of user experience and SEO
The session includes a brief history of the evolution of search before diving into the roles technology, content, and links play in developing a powerful SEO strategy in a world of Generative AI and social search. Discover how to optimize for TikTok searches, Google's Gemini, and Search Generative Experience while developing a powerful arsenal of tools and templates to help maximize the effectiveness of your SEO initiatives.
Key Takeaways:
Understand how search engines work
Be able to find out where your users search
Know what is required for each discipline of SEO
Feel confident creating an SEO Plan
Confidently measure SEO performance
Search Engine Marketing - Competitor and Keyword researchETMARK ACADEMY
Over 2 Trillion searches are made per day in Google search, which means there are more than 2 Trillion visits happening across the websites of the world wide web.
People search various questions, phrases or words. But some words and phrases are searched
more often than others.
For example, the words, ‘running shoes’ are searched more often than ‘best road running
shoes for men’
These words or phrases which people use to search on Google are called Keywords.
Some keywords are searched more often than others. Number of times a keyword is searched
for in a month is called keyword volume.
Some keywords have more relevant results than others. For the phrase “running shoes” we
get more than 80M relevant results, whereas for “best road running shoes for men” we get
only 8.
The former keyword ‘running shoes’ has way more competition from popular websites to
new and small blogs, whereas the latter keyword doesn’t have that much competition. This
search competition for a keyword is called search difficulty of a keyword or keyword
difficulty.
In other words, if the keyword difficulty is ‘low’ or ‘easy’, there won’t be any competition
and if you target such keywords on your site, you can easily rank on the front page of Google.
Some keywords are searched for, just to know or to learn some information about something,
that’s their search intention. For example, “What shoe size should I choose?” or “How to pick
the right shoe size?”
These keywords which are searched just to know about stuff are called informational
keywords. Typically people who are searching this type of keywords are top of a Conversion
funnel.
Conversion funnel is the journey that search visitors go through on their way to an email
subscription or a premium subscription to the services you offer or a purchase of products
you sell or recommend using your referral link.
For some buyers, research is the most important part when they have to buy a product.
Depending on that, their journey either widens or narrows down. These types of buyers are
Researchers and they spend more time with informational keywords.
Conversion is the action you want from your search visitors. Number of conversions that you
get for every 100 search visitors is called Conversion rate.
People who are at different stages of a conversion funnel use different types of keywords.
The What, Why & How of 3D and AR in Digital CommercePushON Ltd
Vladimir Mulhem has over 20 years of experience in commercialising cutting edge creative technology across construction, marketing and retail.
Previously the founder and Tech and Innovation Director of Creative Content Works working with the likes of Next, John Lewis and JD Sport, he now helps retailers, brands and agencies solve challenges of applying the emerging technologies 3D, AR, VR and Gen AI to real-world problems.
In this webinar, Vladimir will be covering the following topics:
Applications of 3D and AR in Digital Commerce,
Benefits of 3D and AR,
Tools to create, manage and publish 3D and AR in Digital Commerce.
How to Run Landing Page Tests On and Off Paid Social PlatformsVWO
Join us for an exclusive webinar featuring Mariate, Alexandra and Nima where we will unveil a comprehensive blueprint for crafting a successful paid media strategy focused on landing page testing.With escalating costs in paid advertising, understanding how to maximize each visitor’s experience is crucial for retention and conversion.
This session will dive into the methodologies for executing and analyzing landing page tests within paid social channels, offering a blend of theoretical knowledge and practical insights.
The Pearmill team will guide you through the nuances of setting up and managing landing page experiments on paid social platforms. You will learn about the critical rules to follow, the structure of effective tests, optimal conversion duration and budget allocation.
The session will also cover data analysis techniques and criteria for graduating landing pages.
In the second part of the webinar, Pearmill will explore the use of A/B testing platforms. Discover common pitfalls to avoid in A/B testing and gain insights into analyzing A/B tests results effectively.
Metaverse Marketing in the Generation of the Internet - Eugene Capon
State of Conversational Marketing 2017
1.
2. 2017 State of Conversational Marketing Report2
Welcome to the first-ever State of Conversational Marketing
report, presented by Drift and Clearbit.
We’ve teamed up to analyze the sales conversations that
have been taking place on thousands of B2B websites all
around the world.
Our goal: Understand the influence conversational marketing
is having on today’s buying experience, and identify the types
of leads conversational marketing can help you capture,
qualify, and connect with.
Here’s what you’ll find inside the report…
4. 004 2017 State of Conversational Marketing Report
“For thousands of years, we
knew exactly what markets
were: conversations
between people who sought
out others who shared the
same interests. Buyers had
as much to say as sellers.
They spoke directly to each
other…”
-The Cluetrain Manifesto
Introduction: The Rise of
Conversational Marketing
5. 2017 State of Conversational Marketing Report5
Conversations have always been
central to marketing and sales.
Before the internet, before the
telephone, before the printing press,
conversations were how people
marketed and sold their products.
And it’s still how a lot of corner stores,
mom and pop shops, and other small
businesses market and sell today.
But over the decades, businesses
have slowly been removing
themselves from the conversation.
Instead of engaging with potential
customers one-to-one, we’ve been
plastering their screens with
advertisements, and blasting them
with automated emails, and
bombarding them with cold calls.
Then, if someone does want to talk,
and they come to our website, what
do we do? We make them fill out a
lead capture form, and then we follow
up when it’s convenient for us.
The problem with this approach? It
was created for a world that no
longer exists.
6. 2017 State of Conversational Marketing Report6
Today, 81% of tech buyers who
encounter gated content don’t fill out
the form -- they’d rather go elsewhere
for information.
Buyers have come to expect a real-
time, on-demand experience. The
longer you make them wait, the less
likely it is that they’ll end up as
customers.
Research shows that responding to a
new lead within five minutes of when
they first reach out is crucial.
Respond any later than that, and
there’s a 10x decrease in your odds
of actually getting in touch with that
lead. After 10 minutes, there’s a 400%
decrease in your odds of qualifying
that lead.
To ensure that leads can always get a
response within that five-minute
window, more and more companies
have been turning to conversational
marketing.
19%
81%
7. 2017 State of Conversational Marketing Report7
conversational marketing
noun
the process of having real-time, one-to-one conversations in
order to capture, qualify, and connect with your best leads.
Unlike traditional marketing, conversational marketing uses targeted
messaging and intelligent chatbots instead of lead capture forms —
that way leads never have to wait for follow-ups, and can engage
with your business when it’s convenient for them (like when they’re
live on your website).
Keep reading to learn how the conversational marketing movement
has been spreading around the globe.
8. 018 2017 State of Conversational Marketing Report
“There are literally
millions of alive, flawed,
human, passionate,
influential and authentic
conversations going on
around you right now:
isn’t it time you joined in?”
-Joseph Jaffe
A Global Phenomenon
9. 2017 State of Conversational Marketing Report9
Billions of people around the world
now use real-time messaging as their
default channel for having
conversations.
Whether it’s chatting with friends on
Facebook Messenger or WhatsApp,
or exchanging ideas with coworkers
on Slack or Microsoft Teams,
messaging has become an essential
part of people’s lives.
So why aren’t more businesses
offering messaging as a
communication channel on their
websites?
A 2016 survey of 6,000 consumers
(spread across North America,
Europe, and Asia) found that 9 out of
10 wanted to be able to use real-time
messaging to have conversations
with businesses.
That same survey found that 66% of
people preferred messaging over any
other communication channel for
talking to businesses.
34%
66%
10. 2017 State of Conversational Marketing Report10
When we dug into our conversation data, we weren’t
too surprised to find that the people who are going to
websites, starting conversations, and converting into
leads come from every single country -- all 195
countries were represented in the data.
The bottom line: People from all around the world are
seeking out a conversational buying experience.
Let’s learn more about them...
11. 0211 2017 State of Conversational Marketing Report
“Get closer than ever
to your customers. So
close that you tell
them what they need
well before they
realize it themselves.”
-Steve Jobs
Behind the Conversations:
The People
12. 2017 State of Conversational Marketing Report12
By opening up a real-time
communication channel on your
website, you’re giving potential
customers a direct line to your
business.
(And for your product team, you’re
building an incredibly useful customer
feedback loop.)
But what types of people are going to
websites and having these
conversations? And, more importantly,
are they the types of people your
business is trying to attract?
A 2017 study found that 92% of
marketing leaders believe selling at
the executive level is more important
to their strategy than it was two years
ago.
That being said, we’ve got some
good news: Our data shows that
executives are one of the top groups
seeking out a conversational buying
experience.
8%
92%
13. 2017 State of Conversational Marketing Report13
Look Who’s Talking (By Seniority)
20%
39%
41% Executives
Managers
Directors
Breakdown of who’s using real-time messaging to start sales conversations
14. 2017 State of Conversational Marketing Report14
When we look at who’s having conversations by role,
people working in Sales, Marketing, Engineering, and
Operations claim the top spots.
But right behind them are CEOs (representing just over
7.4% of all conversations) and founders (6.5% of all
conversations).
15. 2017 State of Conversational Marketing Report15
Sales
Marketing
Engineering
Operations
CEO
Founder
Product
Owner
Education
Finance
President
Information Technology
Communications
Human Resources
Recruiting
Real Estate
Health Professional
Legal
Customer Service
Research
Public Relations
0 0.045 0.09 0.135 0.18
0.2%
0.7%
0.8%
1.0%
1.0%
1.2%
1.4%
1.6%
2.0%
2.0%
2.3%
3.1%
3.4%
4.6%
6.0%
6.5%
7.4%
8.3%
14.4%
16.1%
16.3%
Breakdown of who’s using real-time messaging to start sales conversations
Look Who’s Talking (By Role)
16. 2017 State of Conversational Marketing Report16
Overall, people in every role are having conversations
on B2B websites -- including decision-makers (a.k.a.
the gatekeepers of the budget).
But engaging with the right types of people is only part
of the conversational marketing equation: You also
need to make sure the companies those people work
at are a good fit for your product.
17. 0317 2017 State of Conversational Marketing Report
“Our work, our relationships,
and our lives succeed or fail
one conversation at a time.
While no single conversation
is guaranteed to transform a
company, a relationship, or a
life, any single conversation
can.”
-Susan Scott
Behind the Conversations:
The Companies
18. 2017 State of Conversational Marketing Report18
So now that we have a better understanding of the
types of people having real-time conversations on
websites, let’s look at the companies those people
represent.
Specifically, we’re going to break these companies
down by sector, industry, and number of employees.
19. 2017 State of Conversational Marketing Report19
Information Technology
Consumer Discretionary
Industrials
Telecommunication Services
Financials
Health Care
Consumer Staples
Utilities
Materials
Energy
0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4
0.5%
1.0%
1.3%
2.8%
3.9%
4.2%
5.8%
20.3%
26.4%
33.9%
Conversations by Sector
Breakdown of who’s using real-time messaging to start sales conversations
20. 2017 State of Conversational Marketing Report20
As you can see, people from every sector are having
real-time conversations.
The sectors with the most people seeking out a
conversational buying experience are Information
Technology (34% of all conversations), Consumer
Discretionary (26%), and Industrials (20%).
21. 2017 State of Conversational Marketing Report21
28%
15%
9% 6%
5%
4%
3%
2%
2%
2%
1%1%1%1%1%1%1%1%1%1%1%1%1%1%1%
Conversations by Industry
Breakdown of who’s using real-time messaging to start sales conversations
Internet Software
& Services
Consulting
Education Integrated Telecom Services
Internet
(unknown)
4%
3%
Hotels, Restaurants,
& Leisure
2%
2%
Specialized Consumer
Services
Consumer Staples
22. 2017 State of Conversational Marketing Report22
Nearly every industry is represented in our conversation
data. Of the 92 industry groups we looked at, people
from 96% of them are having real-time conversations.
The most “talkative” industries include Internet Software
& Services (28% of all conversations), Consulting (15%),
and Education (9%).
23. 2017 State of Conversational Marketing Report23
1 - 10
11 - 50
51 - 250
251 - 1K
1K - 5K
5K - 10K
10K - 50K
50K - 100K
100K+
0 0.05 0.1 0.15 0.2
3%
2%
9%
5%
13%
12%
19%
18%
20%
Conversations by Company Size
Breakdown of who’s using real-time messaging to start sales conversations#ofemployees
24. 2017 State of Conversational Marketing Report24
As you can see, employees from companies of all sizes
are having real-time conversations.
People from companies with one to ten employees are
the most likely to engage in real-time (they represent
20% of all the conversations we looked at ), while people
from companies with 51 to 250 employees come in a
close second (representing 19% of conversations).
25. 0425 2017 State of Conversational Marketing Report
“Through the power of
community, dialogue and
partnership, marketing can be
a conversation; a welcome
guest in the homes,
experiences and lives of our
consumers, if — and only if —
certain principles, pathways
and philosophies are put into
practice.”
-Joseph Jaffe
The Conversational Marketing
Methodology
26. 2017 State of Conversational Marketing Report26
In order to turn conversational marketing theory into practice,
you can follow the Capture, Qualify, Connect methodology
— It’s a step-by-step guide for using conversations to turn
visitors into leads, lead into opportunities, and opportunities
into customers.
Here’s a quick overview of how the methodology works…
QUALIFYCAPTURE CONNECT
?
Visitor Lead Opportunity Customer
27. 2017 State of Conversational Marketing Report27
?
1. CAPTURE 2. QUALIFY 3. CONNECT
• Replace lead capture forms with messaging
• Bots capture leads even when you’re offline
• Targeting let’s you filter out the noise
28. ?
1. CAPTURE 2. QUALIFY 3. CONNECT
• Replace traditional marketing automation with
conversational AI
• Bots ask leads qualifying questions and can
book demos for reps 24/7, 365
2017 State of Conversational Marketing Report28
29. 2017 State of Conversational Marketing Report29
?
1. CAPTURE 2. QUALIFY 3. CONNECT
• Intelligent routing connects leads to the right
reps based on sales territory
• Bots replace manual meeting scheduling
30. 2017 State of Conversational Marketing Report30
Conversational ABM
As we learned in Section 2, executives
represent 41% of the leads having
conversations on business websites
(and another 20% are directors).
So if your account-based marketing
(ABM) strategy doesn’t include real-
time messaging, your marketing and
sales team isn’t providing the type of
buying experience the decision-
makers in your target accounts have
come to expect.
By applying the principles of
conversational marketing to ABM, you
can finally deliver a personalized,
one-to-one website experience at
scale.
After all, these are your ABM
prospects we’re talking about here,
the best of the best. They deserve the
VIP treatment.
Here’s how you roll out the red
carpet for them:
31. 2017 State of Conversational Marketing Report31
STEP 1
Set up personalized
welcome messages
for target accounts.
STEP 2 STEP 3
Connect outbound email
to real-time messaging.
Get alerts whenever
prospects visit your
site or open email.
32. 0532 2017 State of Conversational Marketing Report
Conversational Marketing
Metrics
33. 2017 State of Conversational Marketing Report33
Now that you have a general
understanding of how conversational
marketing works, let’s take a look at
how you measure conversational
marketing performance.
Ultimately, marketing and sales teams
that have adopted a conversational
approach look at a lot of the same
metrics they’ve always looked at, with
a few notable exceptions -- like the
introduction of the conversation-
qualified lead, or CQL.
But let’s start with the most
fundamental metric of all when it
comes to conversational marketing:
Conversations
How many conversations are you
having on your website each day,
week, month? Are you having more
conversations week-over-week?
Conversations are the fuel your
conversational marketing engine runs
on. And we’re not just talking about
human-to-human conversations.
At Drift, chatbots now participate in
nearly 90% of all website
conversations, and chatbot-only
conversations are approaching 50%.
34. 2017 State of Conversational Marketing Report34
0%
25%
50%
75%
100%
November-15
December-15
January-16
February-16
March-16
April-16
May-16
June-16
July-16
August-16
September-16
October-16
November-16
December-16
January-17
February-17
March-17
April-17
May-17
June-17
July-17
August-17
Rep only
Bot and rep
Bot only
Drift Conversation Breakdown: Who’s Doing the Talking?
35. 2017 State of Conversational Marketing Report35
Conversation-Qualified
Leads (CQLs)
A CQL is someone who has
expressed intent to buy during a one-
to-one conversation with either A) an
employee, or B) a chatbot.
Unlike marketing-qualified leads
(MQLs), sales-qualified leads (SQLs),
and product-qualified leads (PQLs),
CQLs come to your website with
specific questions about your product
that they want answered in real-time.
For years, marketing and sales teams
have been letting these leads slip
through the cracks. But with the rise
of messaging and intelligent chatbots,
teams can now open up a fast lane
for CQLs and give them a direct line
to their sales reps.
At ThriveHive, leads that come in
through conversations close at 2x the
rate of leads from other sources.
36. 2017 State of Conversational Marketing Report36
Meetings Booked
How many conversations result in
leads scheduling demos with sales
reps?
Now that chatbots allow teams to
schedule meetings at scale, this is a
key metric to track.
At TrainedUp, 15% of all chatbot-only
conversations convert into demos.
And 40% of those demos convert into
customers (and they convert within a
month of their demo).
Opportunities
How many potential future sales are
being sourced from conversations?
(We’re not just talking about people
who are a good fit for the product, but
real revenue opportunities.)
MongoDB saw a 170% increase in
opportunities less than three months
after adopting a conversational
approach to generating and
qualifying leads.
37. 2017 State of Conversational Marketing Report37
Pipeline Created
What’s the total dollar amount
associated with the opportunities that
are being sourced from
conversations?
Conversational marketing influences
25% of RapidMiner’s open sales
pipeline (worth more than $1 million)
and is the source of 10% of all new
sales pipeline created.
38. 0638 2017 State of Conversational Marketing Report
Key Takeaways
39. 2017 State of Conversational Marketing Report39
1) Conversational marketing has gone global.
The people who are visiting websites, starting conversations, and
converting into leads come from every single country on the planet.
2) Executives and CEOs have joined the conversation.
In terms of seniority, 41% of the people having conversations on
company websites are executives. In terms of role, 7.4% are CEOs.
3) Buyers from every type of company want a real-time
experience.
Employees from companies of every size, sector, and nearly every
industry are having real-time conversations.
40. 2017 State of Conversational Marketing Report40
Conclusion:
If you’re not using conversations to drive engagement, you’re missing
out -- regardless of who your target buyer is.
41. 0741 2017 State of Conversational Marketing Report
Report Methodology
42. 2017 State of Conversational Marketing Report42
Drift and Clearbit partnered to analyze the leads generated by the
thousands of organizations using Drift to power their conversational
marketing.
Clearbit’s data enrichment technology allowed us to identify the
following data points for each lead:
• Country
• Seniority level
• Role
• Sector
• Industry
• Employee count