MARKETING

What is sales enablement?

Published

2 years ago

February 19, 2022

As a practice, sales enablement occurs when marketing teams create materials or share information that helps sales teams better convert prospects. However, certain marketing technologies called sales enablement platforms can help marketers to do just that. Functionality typically found in sales enablement platforms may include content enablement, automation and workflow tools, training functionality and analytics tools that provide insights to inform future strategies.

In the B2B environment, marketers have long played a critical role in the early stages of the sales process, when buyers are independently conducting research and forming the views that shape what vendors they consider and with whom they engage.

Recently, as the COVID pandemic dramatically sped digital transformation, pushing trade show events online and generally limiting in-person interactions, that trend has become even more pronounced. More than 79% of B2B buyers wait until after they have fully defined their needs before contacting a salesperson, while nearly two-thirds (57%) identify solutions first and 37% only engage sellers to nail down the details of a deal, according to the Korn Ferry Buyer Preferences Study, 2021.

At least in part, this aversion to working with salespeople seems to be driven by a perception that sellers are more product-oriented than solution-oriented, and don’t really know how to add value. That challenge has grown even greater during the pandemic as salespeople lost some of the rapport-building opportunities at in-person meetings and at events.

To a greater or lesser extent, sellers have had to learn new skills and develop methods for being persuasive using digital tools, and they’re not yet very good at it, according to the Korn Ferry study. However, they need to get better at it to survive, and they need tools to enable them to succeed because virtual selling isn’t expected to be a temporary phenomenon.

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Capabilities of sales enablement platforms

Though sales enablement has come together as a category in recent years, there are still some significant differences between the tools offered by the various vendors in the space.

Sales enablement platforms aim to bridge the gap between marketing and sales in B2B operations in a few different ways, with features like the following:

Content management
Content search and discovery
Content personalization and distribution
Coaching and training
Virtual salesrooms, including 3D virtual showrooms and personalized portals
Communications tools like VoIP calling and video conferencing
Collaboration
Workflow automation tools to log activity
Analytics to measure activity and provide insights.
Integrations with other business technology

More advanced functionality that lets vendors distinguish their offerings include features like:

Conversational intelligence, possibly including real-time in-call coaching
Artificial intelligence to suggest next best steps or determine how best to coach or train individual salespeople
Content creation, including in 3D, VR and AR

Let’s look a little deeper at the range of features offered by sales enablement platforms.

Content management

The key capabilities of sales enablement platforms, at least where marketers are concerned, relate to content. Primary among these is the ability to ingest and organize content assets in a variety of formats, with an eye toward making them easily found by salespeople. In some cases, the platforms index content located on existing file storage systems like Google Drive, Microsoft SharePoint or Dropbox, saving marketers the time of uploading all their content to a new system.

As with digital asset management (DAM) systems, these assets can typically be tagged and metadata can be added. Some systems use a familiar organizational structure like files and folders, but the systems also allow for the curation of these assets into micro-sites or portals associated with particular business goals — products, initiatives, vertical customer types or individual customers, for example. Sophisticated permissions structures ensure users only access the content they’re intended to see.

Content personalization and distribution

One idea that’s been widely discussed recently is that of empathy — customer surveys consistently find that buyers want businesses to understand their circumstances and the challenges they face, and tailor their communications accordingly.

Sales enablement platform features that address this include the ability for marketers to build templated content that can either be personalized dynamically or by the seller as they prepare to meet with the prospect. Marketers can also provide the building blocks that allow salespeople to create customized portals that address a prospect or customer’s specific situation. Content can also be tailored for different stages in the sales cycle or to overcome common objections.

Once these personalized experiences are created, platforms typically integrate with email, file-sharing and video conferencing tools for distribution.

Content search and discovery

For sellers to be able to put together these customized pieces of content, they must be able to find the building blocks and templates. And, if they’re not aware of them, they need to discover them. Finding is facilitated by search and navigation, along with filters that allow users to narrow the pool of results. Discovery is a bit more tricky, but these tools enable marketers to curate content elements tailored for particular situations. Artificial intelligence can also assist here in suggesting the next-best piece of content that should be shared with the client or prospect.

Coaching and training

Depending on the structure of the organization, marketers may or may not be involved in this aspect of sales enablement. Sales enablement platforms incorporate functionality to onboard new salespeople and familiarize them with what they’ll be selling, as well as to inform and educate sellers on an ongoing basis. This can involve textual or video lessons, interactive quizzes, video roleplaying and the like. Sales leadership can utilize analytics features to determine what a given salesperson should be learning or AI functions can suggest areas a salesperson should brush up on, with recommendations based on content use and consumption by customers.

Virtual salesrooms

Thirty percent of B2B sales cycles will primarily be run through a digital or virtual salesroom by 2026, Gartner says, predicting that they will be used throughout the customer life cycle. These experiences can take a variety of shapes, from personal mini-portals to tools that let customers configure solutions and get quotes, to a full-fledged virtual showroom designed to show off products. These virtual salesrooms can also include features like file sharing, chat, meeting requests, video conferencing and contract signing.

Communications and collaboration tools

Sales enablement platforms include capabilities to facilitate communication between sellers and customers, such as dialers, email tools and videoconferencing. They also incorporate functions that help marketing collaborate with sales. For example, a tool may let sellers give marketers feedback on certain pieces of content so that it can be made more effective.

Workflow automation

Rather than spending time manually logging the results of sales meetings, salespeople using these platforms can use automation features that perform this task. Some tools also let sales leadership establish frameworks that conform to popular sales approaches, or customize them to their own philosophies.

Analytics

The sales enablement function of measuring all of the activity that occurs around the marketing and selling process is a key benefit, allowing marketers to perform analysis and iteration that lead to more effective content. Additionally, sales leaders can track individual sellers’ performance and establish best practices to be shared through the organization.

Integrations

As with many other types of business technology, the ability to integrate with other tools — especially CRMs and tools for content creation and distribution — is nearly a foregone conclusion. However, vendors differ in terms of the types of integrations that are included out-of-the-box and which must be developed using APIs.

Tied into this capability is the strength of the vendor’s own developers and the community of agencies and systems integrators that are familiar with their solutions. Some vendors have stronger partner networks in certain geographical areas or with more familiarity with certain verticals.

Advanced functionality

Many advanced features offered by sales enablement vendors tap into less-common technologies like virtual reality or 3D modeling, both of which facilitate virtual showrooms where prospects can interact with models of the items being sold. Vendors in the space are also integrating features common in call analytics platforms, such as recording, transcribing and analyzing conversations between salespeople and prospects. This also includes realtime coaching that can be used to “whisper” in a salesperson’s ear as they are engaged in conversation with the client or prospect.

Vendors are also incorporating more artificial intelligence and machine learning-driven capabilities, such as tools that analyze the available data and suggest a next-best-action (or piece of content) that would help move a sale discussion forward. This type of technology can also suggest training or coaching that would benefit a salesperson.

Is your marketing team ready to give the sales team the support it needs to convert more prospects? Explore top sales engagement platforms in the first edition of this MarTech Intelligence Report.

Click here to download!

The benefits of using sales enablement platforms

The specific benefits of using an enterprise sales enablement platform include – but are not limited to – the following:

Improved effectiveness of sales content. Using the content repository within sales enablement platforms allows marketers to better showcase the content they’re creating for use by sales. With search and curation, sellers can more easily find assets that apply to their particular situation, plus customize them to address the buyers’ specific circumstances and business needs. Analytics functions let businesses determine how content is being consumed and what assets drive deals and revenue. When used effectively, this kind of function can improve the overall revenue picture.
Time savings for marketers and salespeople. Improved findability and curation mean sellers aren’t having to spend time searching for the appropriate assets. Workflow and content distribution capabilities can also drive efficiency if salespeople don’t have to switch from one software to another to get their jobs done. Savings for marketers will depend somewhat on how resources are deployed at your company.
Closer integration between marketing and sales. The analytics delivered by a sales enablement platform are of great interest to both marketing and sales, enabling the two functions to become more closely aligned. Collaboration capabilities allow marketers to educate sellers on the needs a particular piece of content is meant to address, while
salespeople can provide marketers with feedback that allows for learning and iteration of content creation.
Better ROI from content investments. The analytics functions that help marketers understand how content is being consumed — both by sellers and by the clients and prospects they’re wooing — enable them to learn and adjust their strategy for developing new content. Additionally, since assets are more easily findable and customizable, each asset can be more fully utilized, rather than being allowed to drop off the radar after a given period of time.
Faster, more effective onboarding of new salespeople and adoption of new initiatives. Coaching and training functions can help businesses more quickly train new employees so they can begin to close deals. They can also assist marketers in rolling out new products to salespeople as offerings change or the sales approach shifts.
More holistic customer view, including of separate individuals in the buying committee. B2B purchasing decisions are typically made by a group of stakeholders (an average of 11 and sometimes as many as 20, Gartner finds), each of whom has their own role and interests. The analytics capabilities in a sales enablement platform can give users a more holistic view of a customer’s interests over time and can allow marketers to drill down into the particular needs of each member involved in the process.
Better compliance with legal regulations and brand initiatives. In today’s environment, salespeople frustrated by hard-to-find or missing content often “go rogue,” creating their own slide decks or other communications without consulting with marketing. A sales enablement platform can meet sellers’ needs while keeping them from distributing content that may not be aligned with corporate priorities or comply with restrictions that apply to highly-regulated industries.

About The Author

Pamela Parker is Research Director at Third Door Media’s Content Studio, where she produces MarTech Intelligence Reports and other in-depth content for digital marketers in conjunction with Search Engine Land and MarTech. Prior to taking on this role at TDM, she served as Content Manager, Senior Editor and Executive Features Editor. Parker is a well-respected authority on digital marketing, having reported and written on the subject since its beginning. She’s a former managing editor of ClickZ and has also worked on the business side helping independent publishers monetize their sites at Federated Media Publishing. Parker earned a master’s degree in journalism from Columbia University.

MARKETING

The key to correcting the C-suite trust deficit

Published

6 hours ago

May 6, 2024

Entireweb News Bot

The key to correcting the C-suite trust deficit

Take a moment to search “CMO tenure” and you’ll find a wide variety of content discussing the short tenure of CMOs and how it’s among the shortest of roles in the C-suite. If you dive deeper, you’ll find that CEOs don’t seem to trust CMOs.

Boathouse’s CMO Insights study (registration required) noted several sobering conclusions:

34% of CEOs have great confidence in their CMOs.
32% of CEOs trust their CMOs.
56% of CEOs believe their CMO supports their long-term vision.
And only 10% of CEOs believe their CMO puts the CEO’s needs before their own.

If these statistics also apply to the CMO’s entire organization, then it’s clear we have a trust problem with marketing leadership.

If you haven’t read Patrick Lencioni’s “The Five Dysfunctions of a Team,” I consider it required reading for anyone in any leadership role. In his book, Lencioni builds a pyramid of dysfunctions that need to be addressed for a team to succeed. The foundational dysfunction — with which one cannot build a successful team — is “absence of trust.” We see it at scale with marketing organizations today.

Introducing objectivity through data

In “Hamlet,” Shakespeare writes, “There is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so.” Each organization that makes up a company looks at the company from a different perspective. What marketing sees as positive, finance may see as negative. But who’s right? No one.

Usually, there is no objectivity because leadership comes up with an idea and we execute it. It’s like the fashion proverb “Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.” Unfortunately, we’re going to struggle to run a profitable organization if it’s run like a fashion show.

Therefore, we need to introduce objectivity to how we work. Leadership needs to come together to agree on goals that align with the goals of the broader organization. One element of this conversation should be an acknowledgment that this is turning a ship.

Often leaders — especially those without marketing backgrounds — are likely to expect instant gratification. It’s going to take time to turn the ship and you and your team would do well to set reasonable expectations right away.

Dig deeper: KPIs that connect: 5 metrics for marketing, sales and product alignment

Aligning goals and metrics across the organization

With goals in hand, we need to assign metrics to their progress and agree on the source(s) of truth. Once these objective measures are in place, perspective doesn’t matter. 2 + 2 = 4 regardless of whether you’re in HR or accounting.

Every public road has a speed limit and whether you’re in compliance with it has nothing to do with your perspective. If you’re above it, you’re wrong and subject to penalties. Referring to the fashion example, it’s not a fashion show where some people like a dress and others don’t.

By using data to objectively measure marketing’s progress within the organization and having the rest of the leadership buy into the strategy, we build trust through objectivity. Maybe the CEO would not have chosen the campaign the marketing team chose.

But if it was agreed that a >1 ROAS is how we measure a successful campaign, it can’t be argued that the campaign was unsuccessful if the ROAS was >1. In this example, the campaign was an objective success even if the CEO’s subjective opinion was negative.

Data-driven campaign planning

Within the marketing organization, campaigns should always be developed with measurement top of mind. Through analysis, we can determine what channels, creative, audiences and tactics will be most successful for a given campaign.

Being able to tell the leadership team that campaigns are chosen based on their ability to deliver measured results across metrics aligned to cross-departmental goals is a powerful message. It further builds trust and confidence that marketing isn’t run based on the CMO’s subjective opinions or gut decisions. Rather, it’s a collaborative, data-driven process.

For this to be successful, though, it can’t just be for show, where we make a gut decision and direct an analyst to go find data to back up our approach. This would be analytics theater, which is a perversion of the data. Instead, tell the analyst what you think you want to do and ask them to assess it.

For the rest of the organization’s leadership, ask questions when the marketing team presents a campaign. Find out how they came up with the strategy and expect to hear a lot about data — especially the metrics you all agreed would support the company’s overarching goals.

Dig deeper: 5 failure points of a marketing measurement plan — and how to fix them

Data literacy: Building credibility through transparency

Building trust doesn’t happen overnight, but a sustained practice of using data to drive marketing leadership’s decisions will build trust if the metrics ladder up to the organizational goals and all of leadership is bought into the measurement plan.

Over time, this trust will translate into longer tenure and more successful teams through building the infrastructure needed to tackle Lencioni’s five dysfunctions.

Opinions expressed in this article are those of the guest author and not necessarily MarTech. Staff authors are listed here.

MARKETING

How Tagging Strategies Transform Marketing Campaigns

Published

1 day ago

May 5, 2024

Entireweb News Bot

How Tagging Strategies Transform Marketing Campaigns

As a marketer, I understand how today’s marketing campaigns face fierce competition. With so much content and ads competing for eyeballs, creating campaigns that stand out is no easy task.

That’s where strategies like tagging come in.

It helps you categorize and optimize your marketing efforts. It also helps your campaigns cut through the noise and reach the right audience.

To help you out, I’ve compiled nine ways brands use a tagging strategy to create an impactful marketing campaign.

Let’s get to it.

How Brands Use a Tagging Strategy

Tagging involves using keywords or labels to categorize and organize content, products, or customer data. You attach tags to specific items or information to make searching, sorting, and analyzing data easier.

There are various types of tags, including meta tags, analytics tags, image tags, hashtags, blog tags, and more.

So, how do brands use a tagging strategy to make their marketing campaigns stand out?

Improve Social Media Engagement

With over 5 billion users, social media provides an easy way to connect with your audience, build relationships, and promote your offerings.

1714881365 414 How Tagging Strategies Transform Marketing Campaigns

Use a tagging strategy to boost social media interactions. Consistently use hashtags that align with current trends and topics. This encourages people to interact with your content and boosts content visibility.

You can also use tags to monitor brand mentions of your products or your industry. This allows you to engage with your audience promptly.

Consider virtual social media assistants to streamline your tagging strategy. These AI-driven tools can suggest relevant hashtags, track mentions, and automate responses. Implementing them can save time and resources while ensuring consistent engagement across your socials.

Build a Personal Brand on LinkedIn

LinkedIn is the world’s largest professional networking platform, with over 1 billion members across 200 nations. It offers excellent opportunities for individuals and businesses to build and nurture their brands.

1714881366 482 How Tagging Strategies Transform Marketing Campaigns

However, simply creating a professional profile isn’t enough to build a personal brand on LinkedIn.

Use various tags to increase your visibility, establish thought leadership, showcase expertise, and attract the right connections. For instance, use skill tags to showcase your expertise and industry tags to attract connections and opportunities within your industry. Use certification tags to help showcase your expertise and credibility to potential employers or clients.

Facilitate Customer Segmentation and Personalization

Personalization matters—more so in today’s data-driven world. In fact, 65% of consumers expect your brand to adapt to their changing preferences and needs.

To meet this expectation, consider using a tagging strategy.

Segment your customers based on shared characteristics, such as demographics, interests, purchase history, cart abandonment, and behavior.

Here’s a summary of the steps to customer segmentation.

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With your customer segments ready, use tags to tailor your marketing messages and offerings to specific segments. Imagine sending targeted email campaigns based on what your customers need. That’s the power of segmentation and tagging in action!

Enhance SEO and Content Discoverability

Tagging content can have a profound impact on search engine optimization (SEO) and content discoverability. When users search for specific topics or products, well-tagged content is more likely to appear in search results, driving organic traffic to your website.

Additionally, tags can help you analyze the most popular topics with your readers. Then, the results of this analysis can help you adjust your content strategies accordingly.

And get this— certain AI tools can help analyze your content and suggest relevant tags and keywords. Using these tools in addition to a tagging strategy can help optimize your SEO strategies and boost content discoverability.

Partner with the Right Influencers

Influencer marketing has become a go-to marketing approach for modern brands. Recent stats show that 85% of marketers and business owners believe influencer marketing is an effective marketing strategy.

But how do you find the perfect influencer for your campaign?

Utilize tags to identify influencers who are relevant to your niche. Beyond this, find influencers who align with your brand values and target audience.

Additionally, look for influencers who use hashtags that are relevant to your campaigns. For instance, fashion influencer Chiara Ferragni uses #adv (advertising) and #ghd (good hair day) hashtags in this campaign.

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Monitor industry-specific hashtags and mentions to discover influential voices and build profitable relationships with them.

Track Hashtag Performance

Tracking your hashtag performance helps you understand your campaigns’ engagement, reach, and effectiveness.

To achieve this goal, assign special hashtags to each marketing project. This helps you see which hashtags generate the most engagement and reach, enabling you to refine your tagging strategy.

Here’s an example of a hashtag performance report for the #SuperBowl2024.

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This curated list of hashtag generators by Attrock discusses the top tools for your consideration. You can analyze each and choose the one that best fits your needs.

Categorize Content Accordingly

The human attention span is shrinking. The last thing you want is for your audience to have difficulty in finding or navigating your content, get frustrated, and bounce.

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Untagged content can be difficult to navigate and manage. As any marketer knows, content is important in digital marketing campaigns.

To categorize your content, identify the main categories by topics, themes, campaigns, target audiences, or product lines. Then, assign relevant tags based on the categories you’ve identified. After that, implement a consistent tagging strategy for existing and new content.

Organizing your content using tags can also help streamline your content management workflow. Most importantly, readers can easily find the content they’re looking for, thereby boosting overall user experience, engagement, and conversions.

Boost Your Email Marketing Strategy

Email marketing remains a powerful marketing tool in today’s digital world. It’s also another area where brands use a tagging strategy to directly reach their target audience.

Use tags to segment your email list and personalize your marketing messages. Then, you can send targeted emails based on factors like purchase history, interests, and demographics.

Personalization can significantly improve open rates, CTRs, and overall engagement and conversion rates. It’s a simple yet impactful strategy to make your email marketing strategy more effective.

Plus, you can use tags to track how well your emails perform with each group. This helps you understand what content resonates best with your audience and provides insight on how to improve your emails going forward.

Enhance Analytics and Reporting

Every marketer appreciates the immense value of data. For brands using tagging strategies, tags are powerful tools for gathering valuable data.

Analyze how users interact with your tagged content. See which tags generate the most clicks, shares, conversions, and other forms of engagement. Gain insight into audience preferences and campaign effectiveness.

This granular data about your marketing efforts allow you to make data-driven decisions, allocate resources effectively, and refine your marketing strategies.

Final Thoughts

There isn’t a single correct way for brands to use a tagging strategy in marketing. You can use a tagging strategy however you see fit. However, the bottom line is that this strategy offers you a simple yet powerful way to create attention-grabbing and unique marketing campaigns.

Fortunately, tagging strategies are useful across various marketing initiatives, from social media and email marketing to SEO and more.

So, if you’re ready to elevate your marketing campaign, build a strong brand presence, and stand out among the competition, consider employing effective tagging strategies today.

MARKETING

Tinuiti Recognized in Forrester Report for Media Management Excellence

Published

2 days ago

May 4, 2024

Entireweb News Bot

News

By Tinuiti Team

Apr 30 2024

Tinuiti, the largest independent full-funnel performance marketing agency, has been included in a recent Forrester Research report titled, “The Media Management Services Landscape, Q2 2024.” In an overview of 37 notable providers, this comprehensive report focuses on the value B2C marketing leaders can expect from a media management service provider, and analyzes key factors to consider when looking for a media management partner such as size and business scenarios. B2C marketing executives rely on media management services to:

Augment the efficacy of media investments
Bridge media impressions to commerce transactions
Enhance ad campaigns to drive performance

Report authors, VP, Principal Analyst Jay Pattisall and Senior Analyst Nikhil Lai call attention to the pressing need for providers to prove their value, deliver profitable ROAS, and drive alignment between CMOs and CFOs and thus liberate strained marketing budgets.

Our Always-On Incrementality tool – which is a part of our patented tech, Bliss Point by Tinuiti – empowers marketers to validate the incrementality of their spend on each ad set, media channel, and marketing tactic so marketers can create stronger, more focused campaigns that get the job done without sacrificing the bottomline.

B2C marketing leaders often seek and expect key business scenarios from media management service providers including media measurement and attribution, data strategy, and marketing mix modeling. MMM’s adaptability to the post-cookie/ post-IDFA world positions it as an essential tool for marketers. As businesses seek to connect the dots, leverage data, and make strategic decisions, MMM is a crucial ally in the dynamic realm of mixed media advertising. Our Rapid Media Mix Modeling sets a new standard in the market with its exceptional speed, precision, and transparency.

According to the Forrester report, “46% of senior B2C marketing and advertising decision-makers say they plan to integrate performance and brand media assignments with a single media agency in the next 12 months…”

In our quest to better understand all revenue-driving aspects of a given campaign, we have started on a process to quantify the impact of Brand Equity, which we believe is one of the largest missing pieces in more accurate and complete measurement.

Learn more about Bliss Point by Tinuiti, our use cases, and our approach to performance and brand equity.

The Landscape report is available online to Forrester customers or for purchase here.