April 25, 2011 — Raab Associates will advise marketers on the preparations needed for a successful system deployment at the DemandCon conference in San Francisco May 18-19. DemandCon is the world’s first conference dedicated to managing the complete sales funnel, top to bottom. It features thought leaders, academics, consultants and leading practitioners from around the world.
The Raab presentation, “How to Avoid a Marketing Automation Train Wreck”, will walk through a step-by-step process of identifying goals, defining the resources needed to reach them, and tracking preparations to ensure your organization is fully prepared when your system is deployed. Detailed are available in a post on the MathMarketing blog.
February 8, 2011 — Raab Associates Inc. has identified the leading B2B marketing automation solutions for different types of marketers in a comprehensive study.
The B2B Marketing Automation Vendor Selection Tool (VEST) is based on nearly 200 data points gathered about 18 marketing automation systems. Each product is scored on its fit with product and vendor requirements for small, mid-size and large marketing organizations. Different weights are applied to the scores for each group to reflect each group’s unique needs. “Leaders” are firms with the highest vendor and product fit scores. In each category, a different set of top candidates emerged:
– Small business leaders include OfficeAutoPilot, Infusionsoft and HubSpot. These are easy-to-use systems with functions not found in other marketing automation products, such as built-in sales automation and order processing tools. These features are most important to small businesses, which lack the resources to integrate separate systems for each function.
– Mid-size business leaders are Eloqua and Marketo. These products offer extensive capabilities that can be operated by non-technical users with a minimum of training and on-going support. The middle tier is the largest segment of the B2B marketing automation industry and contains the most competitors.
– Large business leaders are Aprimo and Neolane. These systems offer special features needed to coordinate large marketing departments where different users manage programs for different products and media, often out of different offices. These products are the most technically powerful, designed to operate on dedicated marketing databases that may or may not be synchronized with a sales automation system.
“The new B2B Marketing Automation VEST goes beyond static reports to provide marketers with an interactive tool to identify the products that best meet their company’s individual needs,” said Raab Associates Principal David M. Raab. “Marketers can adjust the weights applied to categories such as lead generation, campaign management and usability, and to individual items within those categories. This makes it easy to rank products and to the differences that each buyer feels are most important.”
The VEST is available in two editions. The non-interactive Basic Edition that provides general rankings of vendors in each of the three buyer categories and detailed profiles of each vendor. The Interactive Edition lets marketers dynamically adjust scoring weights and drill into the item-level details behind the product scores.
For more information, visit www.raabguide.com.
Chappaqua, NY, January 20, 2010 –New features for social media marketing and salesperson access are major enhancements to demand generation systems covered in the 2010 edition of the Raab Guide to Demand Generation Systems, released today by Raab Associates Inc.
“Last year showed tremendous growth for business-to-business marketing automation products,” says Guide author David M. Raab. “Social media, easier access to lead information by salespeople, and expanded reporting were major changes we observed in the products covered in the Guide. In addition, we saw new features for identifying anonymous prospects and a greatly improved user interfaces.”
The 180-page Raab Guide provides detailed profiles of leading industry vendors, including Eloqua, Market2Lead, Marketbright, Manticore Technology, Marketo, Neolane and Silverpop Engage B2B. Each entry provides information on system features, technology, customer support, pricing and vendor background. In addition to the detailed product tables, the Guide includes a comparison matrix with more than 150 entries for comparison of products on a point-by-point basis.
The Guide also provides background materials explaining what to look for in different system features and giving advice on managing a system selection project. By providing a comprehensive collection of information relating to all aspects of purchasing a demand generation system, the Raab Guide will save buyers weeks of research while helping to ensure they select the most suitable system for their needs.
Demand generation is the fastest-growing segment of the marketing automation industry. Business marketers use these Internet-based systems to acquire leads, nurture relationships, and exchange data with sales automation systems. Standard system features include multi-step email campaigns, Web landing pages and forms, lead scoring, and sales system integration. Some products support additional media such as call centers, direct mail and Webinars.
“Business marketers increasingly recognize the value provided by demand generation systems,” said Raab. “Changes in the purchase process make it more important than ever for marketing departments to go beyond collecting responses to actually managing prospect relationships over time. Demand generation systems provide that tools marketers need to do this and measure results without expanding the staff devoted to marketing activities.”
The Raab Guide to Demand Generation Systems can be purchased at www.raabguide.com. The site provides samples of Guide contents and a complete Table of Contents. It also includes links to industry blogs and a library of free reference materials such as worksheets to assess software ease-of-use.
The initial edition of the Guide was published in October 2008. The Guide draws on two decades of Raab Associates Inc. experience as independent consultants helping firms to evaluate and select marketing technologies.
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October 11, 2009 – Raab Associates will present on Marketing Measurement and Accountability as part of the B2B Marketing University, a series of free half-day educational events sponsored by Silverpop. Presentations will include Palo Alto, Ca on October 13, 2009 and Boston, MA on November 4, 2009.
Details and reservation are available at http://www.silverpop.com/marketing-resources/marketing-university-b2b/index.html.
B2B Marketing University is a series of free educational events designed to help B2B marketers stay ahead of the curve in this challenging environment. The series will provide serious, world-class marketing education and leading insights around best practices for topics at the top of today’s B2B marketers’ agendas.
The events will be delivered as live, half-day sessions in local markets around the United States. Each event will kick off with lunch and a “state of the union” talk on B2B marketing today. This will be followed by three one-hour course modules designed and taught by the marketing experts we’ve partnered with for this series. And the event will finish with a roundtable discussion (over cocktails) between our experts and attendees.
May 5, 2009 – Demand generation vendors can deliver on promises of fast deployment, but only if marketers prepare in advance, says a study released today by industry analysts Raab Associates Inc.
A survey of demand generation users found that half had finished deploying basic features within one month, but 25% took longer than three months. On average, companies that did not deploy a large number of features immediately lagged two to three months behind those who did.
“The mechanics of deploying today’s demand generation systems are quite simple,” said study author David M. Raab. “Companies can set up sales automation integration and Web site tracking in a day, and send their first email campaign in a week. But this only happens if they know in advance exactly what they want to do. Otherwise, the system can sit underutilized for months while they work out the details.”
Other findings from the survey include:
- Marketers stagger their deployments, starting with basic features for email campaigns and then adding more advanced activities over several months.
- Companies that get off to a slow start eventually deploy almost as many features as companies that start quickly. But they never quite catch up, since both groups of companies continue to add new features over time.
- Systems are delivering value. Two-thirds of the respondents reported that their demand generation system exceeded expectations, and just six percent said they under-performed.
In addition to a detailed examination of survey results, the study offers recommendations on how marketers can ensure a smooth and successful deployment of their own demand generation system.
The Demand Generation Deployment Survey is available without charge at http://www.raabguide.com.
About Raab Associates Inc.
Raab Associates Inc. is a consultancy specializing in marketing technology and analysis. Typical projects help business and consumer marketers with needs definition, vendor selection, and performance measurement. The firm also helps industry vendors to understand customer needs and establish thought leadership through white papers, surveys and presentations.
Raab Associates publishes The Raab Guide to Demand Generation Systems, which compares leading vendors on more than 150 items. The Guide also includes detailed system descriptions, screen shots, and advice on managing selection projects. It is based on independent research and backed by Raab Associates’ decades of technology evaluation experience.
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March 31, 2009 – Most demand generation systems excel at either simple or complex marketing programs, but not both, according to a report released today by industry consultants Raab Associates Inc.
The study scored seven vendors on usability factors drawn from their entries in the Raab Guide to Demand Generation Systems, a detailed, independent assessment published by Raab Associates at www.raabguide.com. Six factors applied to simple marketing programs, six applied to complex marketing programs, and six applied to both types of programs. Vendors could receive full or half credit for each factor. Only one vendor, Market2Lead, ranked highly in both categories. Marketo, Manticore Technology and Marketbright ranked highly for simple programs, while Equola, Neolane and Silverpop Engage B2B led for complex programs.
“The distinction between simple and complex programs is crucial when evaluating usability,” said David M. Raab, principal of Raab Associates Inc. “Some features that make simple programs easy are ill-suited to complex programs, and vice versa.” The study describes “simple” programs as being run by small marketing staffs who manage relatively few products and market segments. “Complex” programs involve large marketing staffs, many products and many segments.
“Small and complex don’t relate to sophistication,” Raab cautioned. “Marketers running small programs can be very sophisticated. But their needs are still different from marketers running complex programs.”
In addition to usability scores, the report rates the vendors on twenty-two specialized features found in relatively few systems. Examples include partner relationship management, detailed project scheduling, and custom database tables. These items, also drawn from the Raab Guide, allow marketers who require these features to easily identify the most appropriate vendors.
The Usability and Special Features study is available without charge at www.raabguide.com.
About Raab Associates Inc.
Raab Associates Inc. specializes in helping marketers to select and deploy marketing automation systems. Typical projects include needs definition, vendor selection, and performance measurement. The firm also offers industry vendors assistance in understanding customer needs and establishing thought leadership through white papers, surveys and presentations.
The Raab Guide to Demand Generation Systems compares leading vendors on more than 150 specific items. The Guide also includes detailed system descriptions, screen shots, and advice on managing selection projects. It is based on independent research and backed by Raab Associates’ decades of technology evaluation experience.
David M. Raab has consulted on marketing technology since 1987. He has written hundreds of articles for DM Review, DM News, and other industry publications; written hundreds more blog posts; and conducted workshops in Europe, North America, Australia and Asia. His book The Marketing Performance Measurement Toolkit was published in March, 2009 by Racom Communications and is available at www.racombooks.com.
March 27, 2009 — Raab Associates Inc. Principal David M. Raab will discuss “Does On-Demand Business Intelligence Make Sense?” on April 2 at 2 p.m. Eastern / 11 a.m. Pacific time. Raab will be joined by Paul Staelin, co-founder of business intelligence vendor Birst, which is sponsoring the Webinar.
Registration is available at http://businessintelligence.ittoolbox.com/research/does-ondemand-business-intelligence-make-sense-19354
About Raab Associates Inc.
Raab Associates www.raabassociatesinc.com consults on marketing technology and analysis with marketers and industry vendors. David M. Raab is author of The Raab Guide to Demand Generation Systems www.raabguide.com, the most detailed, independent analysis of demand generation systems available. His book The Marketing Performance Measurement Toolkit was recently published by Racom Communications and can be purchased at www.racombooks.com.
For more information about Raab Associates Inc., contact:
Joyce Stein
jstein@raabassociates.com
NEW BOOK BY MARKETING EXPERT DAVID M. RAAB SHOWS
HOW TO BUILD AN EFFECTIVE MARKETING MEASUREMENT SYSTEM
Marketers consistently rank marketing measurement as a top priority, but fail to develop effective measurement systems. In The Marketing Performance Measurement Toolkit (Racom Communications), marketing technology expert David M. Raab shows how to break through this log jam by providing a practical, step-by-step guide to running a successful measurement project. The book can be ordered at www.racombooks.com.
The book further helps its readers succeed by providing a downloadable forms, checklists and score cards to help them organize information and monitor the progress of their projects. The forms include score cards for each project stage that highlight threats to success – allowing readers to quickly react and correct any problems before moving ahead. The forms are available to everyone at http://raabassociatesinc.com/mpm-toolkit/.
The Marketing Performance Measurement Toolkit leads readers through the complete development process, from setting goals and defining marketing strategy through software selection and system implementation. The book stresses the importance of matching a marketing measurement system to an organization’s culture and resources and shows how to choose the most productive metrics for a particular business.
The book shows how to create a marketing measurement system that provides the information companies need to make the right decisions. Marketers will learn how to design and build a system specifically designed to meet the needs of their particular business. CEOs and managers will find guidance on
how to measure the value of marketing programs and how best to invest marketing dollars.
David M. Raab has consulted and written on marketing technology and analysis since 1987. He has published hundreds of articles in publications including DM Review, DM News, Relationship Marketing Report, Bank Marketing, Target Marketing, and The Journal of Database Marketing. As a speaker, he has addressed audiences in the U.S., Europe, Asia and Australia.
Raab has advised major consumer and business marketers including Allstate Insurance, CIGNA Health Care, Cox Newspapers, CitiGroup, The Gap, GTE, IBM, Lowe’s, Monsanto, Nordstrom, Pleasant Company, Rodale Press, Time Consumer Marketing, Unisys, U.S. Sprint, Verizon Wireless, and Williams-Sonoma.
Raab is also author of The Raab Guide To Demand Generation Systems (www.raabguide.com), the only detailed independent review of software used for business marketing. He publishes additional research in his blogs Customer Experience Matrix and MPM Toolkit.
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The Marketing Performance Measurement Toolkit
Written by David M. Raab
Published by Racom Books/Racom Communications www.racombooks.com
March 2009
304 pages
List price: $39.95 hardcover
ISBN: 978-1-933199-14-6
January 6, 2009 — Raab Associates Inc. Principal David M. Raab will discuss “How to Get the Most Value from Your Marketing Automation System” on January 14 as part of the two day online Marketing Automation Summit 2009. Raab’s session will focus on how marketers can improve short-term profits without making new technology investments. It will delivered at 4 p.m. Eastern / 1 p.m. Pacific time. Registration is available at http://www.brighttalk.com/webcasts/2017/attend.
Raab will also participate in a roundtable discussion as part of the Summit at 7 p.m. Eastern / 4 p.m. Pacific time on January 13.
About Raab Associates Inc.
Raab Associates www.raabassociatesinc.com consults on marketing technology and analysis with marketers and industry vendors. David M. Raab is author of The Raab Guide to Demand Generation Systems www.raabguide.com, the most detailed, independent analysis of demand generation systems available.
About the Marketing Automation Summit
The Marketing Automation Summit is organized by BrightTalk www.brighttalk.com, a provider of Webcast technology that organizes free online conferences.
For more information about Raab Associates Inc., contact:
Joyce Stein
jstein@raabassociates.com
Raab Associates Inc. has released a trio of free papers that define requirements for demand generation systems and clarify how they differ from other customer management systems.
The new papers are available at www.raabguide.com, the Web site of the Raab Guide to Demand Generation Systems. They are part of the site’s library of materials that help marketers understand and evaluate demand generation products.
The first paper in the set, “Introduction to Demand Generation Systems”, defines demand generation systems as products that “help marketers acquire, nurture and distribute leads to sales”. It illustrates demand generation process flows, identifies six primary tasks, and describes typical system features for each task. Readers gain a comprehensive framework for evaluating systems and an understanding of differences between major products.
“Demand Generation vs Marketing Automation” explains that both types of systems are used by marketers, but demand generation systems are focused on lead acquisition, while marketing automation systems cover acquisition, relationship growth, and retention. The paper lists the five main functions of marketing automation and describes how typical demand generation systems perform them. Readers gain a clear picture of the relative strengths and weaknesses of the two sets of products.
“Demand Generation vs. Customer Relationship Management” compares the focused nature of demand generation systems with the broad scope of integrated CRM suites, which are used by marketing, sales and service for interactions across the customer life cycle. It identifies the trade-off between integration and specialized functionality as the key choice faced by CRM users deciding whether they need a dedicated demand generation product. Readers learn how well CRM systems perform demand generation functions and the underlying technical differences between the two sets of products.
The Raab Guide to Demand Generation Systems is an independent study of major demand generation vendors including Eloqua, Vtrenz, Marketo, Manticore Technology and Market2Lead. The 125-page Guide includes a detailed vendor comparison matrix, narrative descriptions of each product, and instructions for running a system selection project. The Guide is published by Raab Associates Inc. www.raabassociatesinc.com, widely recognized experts in marketing technology evaluation.
For more information contact: Joyce Stein, jstein@raabassociates.com, 914-241-2117.
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