Advertiser Platforms
Article | March 12, 2024
Embrace the power of data-driven sales and learn how to harness real-time insights, personalize outreach, and optimize sales process for unmatched efficiency through sales intelligence best practices.
Contents
1. Introduction to Sales Intelligence
2. Sales Intelligence is the Future of Sales
3. Best Practices for Efficient Sales Intelligence in Businesses
3.1. Track Buying Signals
3.2. Understand Buyer Motivations
3.3. Personalize Outreach
3.4. Prioritize Leads
3.5. Track Performance Metrics
3.6. Analyze Data Analytics in Forecasting
3.7. Monitor Market Trends
3.8. Integrate with CRM
3.9. Comply with Sales Ethics and Data Privacy
3.10. Power up Social Selling
3.11. Enhance Customer Retention
3.12. Discover Total Addressable Market
3.13. Improve Lead Qualification
3.14. Gain Insights in Real-time
3.15. Lean into Personalization
4. Building a Modern Sales Culture
1. Introduction to Sales Intelligence
Sales intelligence combines internal and external data to provide deep insights into accounts, prospects, and markets. Internal data from CRM provides behavioral insights about leads and customers. Similarly, marketing automation platforms and other systems offer valuable information. External data sources such as business databases and social media provide relevant firmographic, technographic, and buying intent signals. Sales intelligence analyses this data to offer a clear overview. Eventually, it boosts sales targeting, messaging, and forecasting.
2. Sales Intelligence is the Future of Sales
Sales intelligence is like a secret weapon for sales teams. It uses data, analytics to give full picture of customers and prospects. This means sales reps can have more meaningful conversations and close deals faster. Business intelligence strategies include sales intelligence tools to integrate data from multiple sources, like CRM, marketing automation, and social media. This way they can create detailed profiles of prospects and customers.
The capacity to convert raw data into actionable insights differentiates successful sales organizations today. Forward-thinking companies are wisely investing in sales intelligence platforms from providers. Equipped with real-time alerts and predictive analytics, sales reps can engage in smarter conversations to boost pipeline velocity and conversion rates. The competitive advantage provided by sales intelligence solidifies its role in crafting strategies for the future of sales.
For a successful modernization initiative, sales leaders need strategic alignment across the business.
This involves recognizing the role of AI in sales to improve sales efficiency:
Partner with IT- Ensure seamless systems integration and data flows
Collaborate with Marketing- Coordinate campaigns, assets, and messaging
Involve Operations- Optimize processes to maximize sales efficiency
Educate Executives- Demonstrate value and progress through analytics reporting
Empower Sales Managers- Provide enablement resources to improve team adoption
3. Best Practices for Efficient Sales Intelligence in Businesses
Adopting best practices in the sophisticated approach to sales and marketing intelligence arena enables companies to dissect vast amount of data. This effective data utilization propels them to execute informed strategies. This methodology helps to understand the leads and interact with customers efficiently. The approach catalyzes growth and prepares companies to compete by being innovative in the market.
3.1.Track Buying Signals
Understanding and responding to buying signals in real-time can give an edge to the advertising firms. Businesses can identify accounts in the market or do research by tracking actions such as website visits, content downloads, and social media interaction. This allows sales teams to focus on hot leads instead of cold outreach and time their outreach and proposals perfectly.
3.2.Understand Buyer Motivations
Businesses can uncover what motivates buyers to purchase a particular solution through market research, customer interviews and previous deals. This helps create targeted messaging that speaks directly to the buyer's needs and pain points. Grasping why clients invest in advertising services or products allows for more focused and effective sales strategies. This could be the desire for brand visibility, market expansion, or digital transformation. Tailoring your approach based on these motivations increases relevance and impact.
Segmented personalized automated email messages average 46% higher open rates than normal marketing messages.
3.3.Personalize Outreach
With insights into each lead's role, challenges, and interests, sales teams can craft personalized emails, social media messages, and other touchpoints. This tailored approach improves engagement and helps convert leads faster. Personalization is not just beneficial; it is expected. Using gathered intelligence to customize communications ensures that messages resonate with the specific needs and interests prospects through sales intelligence in B2B prospecting in the advertising sector.
Companies that track buying signals see a 70% increase in lead conversion rates.
3.4.Prioritize Leads
Not all leads are equal. By scoring leads based on fit, need, and readiness to buy, sales teams know where to focus their efforts for the best return. Data like firmographics, intent signals, and engagement can help segment and prioritize leads. Utilizing scoring mechanisms to identify and focus efforts on high-potential leads ensures optimal allocation of resources towards engagements that are most likely to convert.
A 2023 LinkedIn study reiterates the importance of detailed prospect profiling, noting that companies with comprehensive lead information recorded 40% higher conversion rates than those with sparse data.
3.5.Track Performance Metrics
One of the best practices of sales intelligence is monitoring key performance indicators (KPIs).
These include conversion rates, average deal size, and sales cycle length. These KPIs provide insights into sales effectiveness and areas for improvement.
Additional key metrics like win rates, deal sizes, sales cycle length, and lead response rates should be diligently tracked. Monitoring this data helps optimize processes and double down on what's working.
3.6.Analyze Data Analytics in Forecasting
Advanced analytics helps create accurate sales forecasts to meet targets and gain visibility into the pipeline. Historical data and predictions provide actionable insights for territory planning. Leveraging data analytics to predict market trends and customer needs allows for proactive pipeline management. This helps in anticipating demand shifts in the advertising industry and aligning offerings accordingly.
3.7.Monitor Market Trends
Staying ahead in the advertising industry requires a keen understanding of evolving market trends. This includes shifts in digital marketing, consumer behavior, and technology adoption. These factors enable your team to adapt and innovate, and is a best practice for sales intelligence. This external data paired with internal intelligence guides sales strategy.
Companies that stay ahead of market trends see a 25% increase in revenue growth.
3.8.Integrate with CRM
A CRM (customer relationship management) system integrated with sales intelligence solutions provides a single source of truth. This enables seamless data sharing across sales, marketing, and customer success for complete visibility. A robust CRM system is foundational for managing and analyzing customer interactions. Integration with sales intelligence tools enhances data accuracy and accessibility. The process fosters data-driven decision making and provides a 360-degree view of the customer.
78% of sales pros say their CRM is effective at improving sales and marketing alignment.
3.9.Comply with Sales Ethics and Data Privacy
While leveraging sales intelligence, businesses must ensure ethical data collection and usage practices. Protecting customer privacy enhances long-term loyalty. In an era where data is a critical asset, adhering to ethical sales practices and data privacy laws is paramount to building trust with clients. Additionally, it ensures compliance with regulations such as GDPR and CCPA.
42% helps influence customer buying decisions based on trust in organisation’s data security & privacy practices.
3.10.Power up Social Selling
Social platforms like LinkedIn provide a goldmine of sales intelligence. Following target accounts, engaging with connections, and monitoring content shares provide valuable insights. This utilization of social media platforms connects with prospects and clients, adding a powerful tool to the sales arsenal. It allows for the sharing of relevant content, engaging with brand conversations, and building relationships.
78% of salespeople who use social selling generate more leads than those who don't.
3.11.Enhance Customer Retention
Analyzing customer churn, satisfaction, and upsell opportunities helps retain and grow accounts. Sales intelligence plays a key role in understanding customers better. Beyond acquisition, the focus should also be on retaining advertising clients. This can be achieved through exceptional service, regular check-ins, and understanding evolving needs to foster long-term relationships.
67% of churn is preventable if the customer's problem is resolved during their first interaction.
3.12.Discover Total Addressable Market
Market research and data analysis helps assess the total addressable market (TAM) for products and services. This guides sales goals, resource allocation, and growth strategies. Identifying the TAM enables advertising firms to understand their potential market size and segment focus. This strategic insight guides marketing efforts and resource allocation.
3.13.Improve Lead Qualification
Solid lead qualification is as essential for an efficient sales process as building trust and rapport. Sales intelligence enables businesses to define ideal customer profiles and accurately identify qualified leads. Lead qualification processes can be improved by cultivating leads. Eventually, this maximizes sales efficiency on prospects with the highest likelihood of conversion.
Companies that excel at lead nurturing generate 50% more sales-ready leads at a 33% lower cost.
3.14.Gain Insights in Real-time
With real-time alerts and dashboards, best practice in sales intelligence includes sales teams acting on critical events as they occur. This level of agility and visibility drives faster deal progression. Real-time sales intelligence provides immediate insights into customer behavior and market changes. This paves the way for agile responses and strategic adjustments.
3.15.Lean into Personalization
Businesses segment audiences and customize messaging for relevancy using sales intelligence for business growth. Personalized communication converts leads into customers more effectively. Personalization across advanced sales practices can significantly differentiate an advertising firm in a competitive era. Tailor experiences, solutions, and communications to meet the unique needs and preferences of each client.
According to McKinsey, personalization marketing can increase revenue by 5–15% and marketing ROI by 10–30%. It can also reduce customer acquisition costs by up to 50%.
4.Building a Modern Sales Culture
Looking ahead, AI in sales intelligence will become even smarter leveraging to surface patterns, recommend next steps, and even orchestrate actions across sales and marketing stacks. Perhaps most importantly, leading sales teams will increasingly view intelligence not as a utility but as an integral part of their workflow. They will use it to guide everything from targeting to messaging to forecasting. For executives, prioritizing sales intelligence today lays the foundation for data-driven selling and a formidable competitive edge.
Leveraging sales intelligence and marketing automation insights is pivotal for businesses aiming to refine their strategic positioning and enhance operational efficacy. Utilizing cutting-edge sales intelligence, organizations pinpoint lucrative prospects with unparalleled accuracy. They craft sales strategies that resonate on a deeper level with their target demographics. Future trends in sales technology will include strategic deployment of marketing analytics driving the creation of highly targeted campaigns, optimizing channel performance and ensuring elevated ROI.
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Ad Tech and Martech
Article | May 14, 2024
Measuring the ad performance on your website is critical for understanding how well your revenue stream is optimized. Ad sizes, placements, and color are common measures, but they may not necessarily work for you. As a publisher, you must focus on four prime metrics that give you a clear idea of an ad campaign’s performance.
Let us take a look at them:
4 Ad Performance Metrics You Should Track
CPM (Cost per mille)
CPM stands for advertising cost per thousand views. It is the benchmark used to calculate the approximate cost of an advertisement or ad campaign across various media. CPM can be calculated by dividing how much it costs to place an advertisement by the number of impressions (in thousands) that it achieves. This metric helps compare the difference in ad opportunities based on efficiency and to evaluate the overall campaign cost.
CTR (Click-through rate)
CTR is the ad click-through rate that measures how well an online ad campaign is progressing on a website. It is denoted as a percentage and is calculated by how many times an ad is clicked divided by how many times an ad is shown.
RPM (Revenue per mille)
RPM is the revenue generated per 1000 ad impressions. It is similar to CPM but instead of cost, it measures revenue. It is an especially important metric for publishers. If the RPM of a campaign is low, you should replace the campaign with one that earns a higher revenue and RPM rate.
RPC (Revenue per click)
RPC is the revenue generated per click. It tells you how much the average revenue is for every click on your ads and PPC (pay-per-click) keywords. You can easily understand how much you earn every time someone clicks on one of your ads. Comparing RPC and RPM values can give you insights on your ad spend and the money you earned through the ads.
Streamlining Ad Campaigns with Ad Performance Measurement
Here are some tips to streamline your ad campaigns with the insights your ad metrics provide:
Use the right data: First-party data can help you optimize your programmatic ad campaigns along with your content.
Capitalize on returning visitors: Play with ad location on pages with returning visitors. Mix and match to maintain the interest of the visitors.
Optimize your content: Find out the type of content that attracts your visitors and optimize your content strategy based on your findings.
Maintain optimal ad placement and size: Place your ads in the middle of the page, use in-image ads at the bottom of mobile web pages, experiment with different ad sizes and positions to check how users react.
Final Thoughts
Data-driven optimization is the secret to getting the ad revenue you expect. Testing and improving with the help of data insights can help you identify the areas that need attention.
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Advertiser Platforms
Article | March 12, 2024
Marketers and agencies must investigate the relevant counterfactual to advertising exposure to assess advertising effectiveness. Ghost ads can compare exposed and non-exposed consumers to measure ad-related behavior changes.
What are Ghost Ads?
Ghost ads are a great way to measure ad effectiveness or incrementality (the lift or increase in desired outcome through marketing) because they allow brands to see how their ad is received by two distinct consumer groups: those targeted and those who would have seen it organically.
Leveraging Ghost Ads for Causal Ad Measurement:
Here is why leveraging ghost ads to measure ad-related behavioral changes is a great idea:
You don’t need to invest additional funds to create a control group
You can have extensive reach within the DSP (demand-side platform)
You can measure behavior for all formats such as mobile, audio and CTV
Ghost Bidding: Mapping Consumer Behavior:
In ghost bidding, a DSP platform accepts auctions for ad placements on publisher websites/apps/connected devices and bids on them. It records whether the auction was won (and the ad displayed). Before bidding, the platform assigns the user ID to a control or exposed group. For control group users, the bid is withdrawn so that no ad was shown during the study.
This creates two identical groups, one that saw the ad and one that didn’t. You can then compare the test and control groups' website purchases, landing page visits, etc. Over a period of time, it is possible to record large effect sizes across several behaviors.
A Large U.S-based Apparel Company Measured Their Ad Incrementality Using Ghost Ads:
Using ghost ads and ghost bidding, a U.S based apparel company measured its ad incrementality. Over 21 million unique individuals saw the company’s ads over a 15 month period, for an average of around 35.4 ads per individual. The exposed group had a 1.42% greater chance of visiting the site, for a topline lift of 54.9%, compared to the ghost ad viewers. With this information, the company was able to optimize its advertising campaigns on the flu to have a bigger impact on its audience.
Last Word:
Cost-per-click, cost-per-site-visit, and other metrics used by marketers don't show any change in advertising behavior. Ghost Ads are the most cost-effective way to analyze digital marketing campaigns' causality.
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Advertiser Platforms
Article | May 19, 2022
Marketers in the B2B domain have a multi-channel approach to marketing because they target companies as buying groups. B2B marketers are leveraging podcast advertising with the help of advertisers, creators, and publishers for brand building and generating leads. They leverage up-and-coming avenues of advertising, most of which are a part of digital media channels. One such avenue is podcast advertising.
Podcast advertising is emerging as one of the fastest-growing digital media channels for advertising. It is estimated to grow to more than $2.13 billion in 2022, according to a study by the Interactive Advertising Bureau and PwC.
But, what is driving this growth?
Engagement.
People are finding podcasts more engaging than ever. Consequently, the demand for podcast ads across all categories is growing.
Dynamic Ad Insertion (DAI): The Rise of Automated Ad Tech
Dynamic ad insertion is a form of programmatic advertising that uses first or third-party data. This data comes from the device playing a podcast, a device user agent, the device’s IP address, and what episode is requested, to serve ads to a target demographic. The ad server of the podcast hosting platform decides which ads should be stitched into a particular podcast episode. If done well, the audience will never know the difference between a dynamically inserted ad and a baked-in ad, which is a permanent part of the audio of the podcast.
Podcast hosting platforms, advertisers, and publishers adopted DAI because it helps brands win contextual relevance and efficiency through granular advertising opportunities. Through custom audio ads that appeal to the target audience, dynamic or seasonal geo-targeted ads, measurable variables, and performance data, DAI gives advertisers good control over podcast ad campaigns. This control allows them to tailor the campaigns based on the marketers’ demands.
DAI is evolving and has great potential in transcription-based targeting using AI and machine learning. It also has greater creative interactivity to make audio ads engaging through voice interactivity, personalization, and mobile phone engagement.
A podcast advertising example using DAI would be a brand creating multiple versions of pre-recorded audio ads that are served to target audiences on any podcast that meets the campaign criteria.
Podcast Advertising Anchors Digital Marketers for Effective Outreach
Edison Research’s Podcast Consumer 2017 report found that:
24% of people between the ages of 18 and 54 listen to podcasts monthly
Listeners are almost evenly split between men and women
Listeners tend to be affluent, mainly educated consumers
In the 25-54 age bracket, monthly listening has grown year over year for the past four years
These stats demonstrate the growing market for podcast advertising and a very stable demographic that B2B marketers would want to target. Marketers rely more on podcast advertisers and platforms to tap into the potential of podcasts as a media channel.
Here are some of the ways in which podcast advertising can enhance B2B marketing plans and bring in more conversions:
Listener behavior expansion− By understanding what kinds of podcasts the target audience listens to, marketers can create ads that appeal to them, and advertisers can help them get the perfect spot for the ad campaign to make it more successful.
Pivoting messaging is easier− Using different voiceovers, marketers can deliver the same message but elicit a different reaction from their target audience. Recycling old ad files is also a viable option to save time and resources.
Human connection− Hyper-personalized targeted ads relevant to the podcast content create a human connection with the audience and can influence their opinion about a brand.
Personal influence− Podcast hosts create a personal influence on the listeners so they keep tuning in to the podcast and even listen to the episodes again after a period. Ads on such podcasts receive stronger engagement and response. Additionally, hosts can also relay brand messages to listeners and influence their buying decisions.
Regional marketing− Podcasts are a great way to connect with a target demographic residing in a certain geographical area. Geo-targeting is a boon for region-specific marketing endeavors.
Effective storytelling− Podcasts can fuse autonomous sensory meridian response (ASMR) for immersive storytelling to impress listeners. The continuity and power of an engaging narration keeps the listeners subscribed and attached, ensuring that any kind of advertising on such podcasts can reach a wider audience.
Advertisers Are Helping B2B Marketers Generate Revenue
According to a forecast by IAB (Interactive Advertising Bureau), podcast advertising revenue will exceed $4 billion by 2024. Marketers are dependent on advertisers to tap into the podcast advertising potential to generate revenue in the following ways:
Demand Generation
An estimated 62 million Americans (Source: Edison Research) listen to podcasts, and this number is expected to grow. An interview by a product expert on an industry-relevant podcast can help get leads without wasting any budget on creating awareness, making it cost-effective. It’s no wonder LinkedIn and HubSpot have started their own podcast networks to host business and career-related content.
Brand Building & Customer Retention
Apart from using podcasts to generate leads, it can also help with brand building. Sponsoring a popular and relevant podcast episode can create a brand’s reputation and trust. It can also help retain existing customers as sponsorships demonstrate a continuous commitment to industry growth and development.
Ad Effectiveness
75% of podcast listeners were happy with the purchase they had made from podcast ads (A Study by Voices, the #1 voice marketplace). This goes to show that podcast advertising brings out expected results and conversions without compromising the customer experience or opinion.
Podcast as a Medium for Thought Leadership
Podcasts are a great medium for B2B thought leadership. They are a free space to express expert industry opinion, talk about the current industry trends, address the pain points of the customers, discuss tech advancements, and create a personal connection with the listeners. Tailored thought leadership content can fuel brand engagement and bring in leads that convert because of brand trust. Feedback gathered through interactive content can help B2B marketers create personalized marketing plans to align their goals with ad campaigns better.
Podcast Ads: Taking the First Step
Before you step into the world of podcast advertising, make sure you consider aspects like target demographic, podcast ad pricing, industry/brand relevant podcasts, ad purchasing, the reputation of the podcast advertising network, and podcast advertising platforms. Policygenius, a New York-based insurance agency, invested early in podcast advertising through Ad Results Media, an ad agency. Policygenius achieved its ROI goals, and its media spending increased by 10x in two years.
You can buy podcast ads directly, through a podcast advertising network, or programmatically. To track the success of your ads, use KPIs like unique listeners, ranking and reviews, subscribers, social sharing, and episode-by-episode metrics.
Wrapping It Up
Podcasts can be a great advertising avenue for B2B companies to influence their buying groups and create new customers. Its monumental growth as a media channel and its ad revenue over the past couple of years indicate that it is here to stay and should be harnessed for a wider reach and bigger sales numbers.
FAQ
What is the role of podcast advertising networks?
A podcast advertising network is a full-service podcast advertising solution that maintains podcast ad inventory and manages ad campaigns for marketers.
How is podcast advertising different from traditional advertising methods?
Podcast advertising uses automated ad tech to create dynamic ad campaigns across relevant podcasts, while traditional advertising methods focus on print ads, outdoor billboards, and cable television.
Which are some popular podcast advertising platforms?
Some popular podcast advertising platforms are Midroll, AdvertiseCast, PodGrid, and Archer Avenue.
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