Advertiser Platforms
Article | March 12, 2024
The coronavirus epidemic has so ravaged travel, live entertainment and physical retail that companies across those industries have frozen their marketing, causing ad prices to plunge. Meanwhile, online beauty brand Insert Name Here is generating so much business that it’s snapping up ad space at a discount. Based in Los Angeles, Insert Name Here sells hair extensions and wigs, which are in high demand now that women are unable to visit their hairstylists. To reach all those consumers who are stuck at home, Insert Name Here is working with social media influencers to create do-it-yourself styling videos for Instagram as well as Facebook, Tik Tok, Snapchat and YouTube.
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Advertiser Platforms
Article | March 4, 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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Advertiser Platforms
Article | January 9, 2024
A KPMG study found that 86% of consumers are concerned about data privacy and 78% about the amount of personal data collected. Industry players are re-envisioning their future strategies and how they will need to adapt to the impending demise of third-party cookies.
Contextual targeting has resurged to ensure campaign reach and effectiveness, Let us examine how contextual targeting can help advertisers adapt to a cookie-less future:
Targeting Has Advanced
AI and machine learning are trending. Theymimichuman behavior to understand the context of any given environment to serve relevant ads. This type of targeting is called semantic contextual targeting. AI advances with Natural Language Processing (NLP) enable deeper, more nuanced page analysis that can understand tone and sentiment. Advertisers can place campaigns more reliably and brand-safely without cookies or other identifiers. Recently, TikTok launched its new contextual tool, TikTok Pulse. Brands can advertise alongside top-performing content in the “For You” feed. This symbolizes a privacy-conscious future for the digital advertising industry.
Contextual Targeting Can Outperform Third-Party Cookies
Contextual targeting can outperform cookies in clickthrough rate (CTR), cost-per-click (CPC), and viewability. Contextual targeting does not require user information, first-party data, or consent to work.
Advertisers like you can target the audience using brand-relevant content to boost brand recall and engagement, even in niche categories. You can fine-tune your inventory selection and create custom segments. This reduces the risk of the ad appearing alongside inappropriate content. Contextual targeting is also good for publishers because it lets them show ads that are accurate and relevant at the right time.
CTV is a New Contextual Ads Frontier
Targeting the right audience without cookies is difficult in CTV, but contextual targeting and the rise of more industry players offer scalable and customizable solutions. AI and audio recognition can target viewers based on what they're about to watch. Such individualized, non-disruptive ads ensure performance and brand safety in premium broadcast environments.
Final Thoughts
Changes in the advertising industry, combined with advancements in contextual targeting, make it more relevant than ever for advertisers and publishers. The industry must collaborate to create more privacy-compliant and brand-safe environments in the future.
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Article | April 15, 2020
With live sports on hold for the foreseeable future, broadcasters have started reairing games from yesteryear to keep audiences entertained during the coronavirus pandemic. For sports fans who know the outcome, reruns can be dull. Enter Super Squares, an app developed by Tampa-based React LLC that can put the adrenaline back into those dusty classics. The iOS and Android app is a modern take on “football squares” players check in before a game and make predictions, answer questions about ads and the game at regular intervals, and earn new super squares.
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