Direct Marketing Links

Happy Friday! As always, here's a round-up of some of the blog posts I've enjoyed this week.

B2B Lead Nurturing
I personally believe that lead nurturing is both a science and an art. It's so key to develop an understanding of where your leads are in terms of the sales funnel, and then treat them appropriately so they move to the next step and ultimately become loyal customers. This post from the B2B Lead Generation blog provides a recap of some recent Marketing Sherpa research on this topic as well as some other handy links.

Writer's Block?
Wendy Maynard shares some excellent ideas for bloggers and others who write, on her Kinetic Ideas blog. She lists 7 tips to help you come up with blog content. My favorite is her Tip 7: Share Your Success Stories. I agree that there can be nothing more powerful than hearing about a real-life example of marketing that achieved results. The more exact reporting of results (numbers, revenues, etc), the more powerful the case study (in my opinion, of course).

Social Marketing Case Study
And, while we're on the topic of the power of case studies, take a look at this post from the Advergirl Blog. The author goes into wonderful detail about the social marketing initiatives recently launched by the city of Columbus tourism and convention bureau. I like the honesty and insight of this reporting, and I learned a lot. Thanks, Advergirl!

Client Relationships: Good or Bad?
We're always talking about the importance of building and maintaining long-term client relationships. That's why this opposing viewpoint from the Guerrilla Consultant Blog was especially interesting. It talks about the downside of long-term client relationships. A very interesting perspective and one that hit home with me.

Rebounding from a "No"
This simple, yet oh-so-true post from the Diva Sales Tips Blog is definitely worth a read, especially if you're responsible (like me) for generating sales and new business. It provides practical and sound advice on actions you should take when your prospect or client says 'no' to one of your proposals. I liked this quote: "So even when you get a NO - make sure you act gracious." The article goes on to give you ideas of concrete actions you should then take to set yourself up for the next 'Yes'.