Meet The Team: Allison Gordon

With a passion for people and an interest in marketing, Allison Gordon is the perfect addition to our Green Apple team. In her role as an assistant client relations specialist, Allison supports the needs of our clients by managing many of the day-to-day responsibilities of implementing their marketing strategy. As a 6 on the Enneagram, Allison leverages her innate skills to complete tasks and meet all client requests. Her positive personality and her desire to overcome any obstacle make her an incredible asset at Green Apple.  Allison joined the team in 2022 while pursuing her MS in Marketing from the University of Alabama. After multiple years in the hospitality industry, Allison recognized the impact marketing could make and decided to pursue further education. She found Green Apple through a family friend and quickly realized this was the perfect place to add real-world experience to what she was learning in school. “I love that marketing is universal,” Allison explained when asked about what sparked her interest in the field. “No matter what industry you’re in or what type of message you’re trying to convey, you’re going to need marketing. It provides an opportunity for companies to get creative and be strategic in how they introduce and express themselves to the world in order to grow their business.” As a native of Franklin, TN, Allison enjoys spending time with my friends and family during her free time. Whether she’s trying new restaurants, exploring Nashville, going on walks, attending Titans games, or eating Jeni’s ice cream, Allison is up for just about anything as long as she has good company!

How To Write Subject Lines That Increase Your Email Open Rate

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Do you remember the last email you opened from a brand or company compared to one you automatically deleted? More than likely, it was the subject line that was the difference. In today’s digital age, effective subject lines are essential for writing the perfect marketing email. 

Why Effective Subject Lines Are Important for Email Marketing

Here are a few reasons why your email subject lines matter more than ever: 

1. Your audience is flooded with emails every day.  The average person sends and receives 121 business emails every day. The emails you send have significant competition when it comes to earning the attention of your audience.

2. Your subject line is the primary driver of email openings. According to research, 64% of readers make the decision to open an email based on the subject line alone.

3. Bad subject lines could impact your deliverability rates.  69% of email recipients report emails as spam after reading the subject line. If your subject line could potentially be considered spam, your deliverability for all other emails moving forward could suffer. Spam traps can cause your domain or IP address to be denied, affecting your email deliverability rates and sender reputation.

4. Emails are still the most effective way to stay top-of-mind. While it has become increasingly difficult to stand out in your audiences’ email inbox, email is still the primary way you can stay top-of-mind for potential customers. In fact, 99% of email users check their inbox every day, with some checking 20 times a day. Of those people, 58% of consumers check their email first thing in the morning. Your email could be the first thing they see when they wake up.

5 Types of Subject Lines You Can Use

Now that we’ve outlined the importance of crafting the right subject line for your email, let’s talk about some various tactics you can try. Here are a few different types of subject lines we’ve used with our clients over the years:  1. Listed Subject Lines  There’s a reason lists have grown so common in content marketing: they work. Lists provide content in a short, simple, and skimmable format. As human brains are naturally drawn to digits, lists are an easy way to pique a reader’s attention. 2. Scarcity Subject Lines Humans have a deep fear of missing out—on anything. Email subject lines that mention scarcity tend to perform well because they create a sense of urgency for your audience to open the email. 3. Personal or Local Subject Lines People are looking for content that is most relevant to them. This is why crafting email subject lines with unique and specific information can create a sense of personalization. 4. Clever & Witty Subject Lines A witty subject line can stand out among the scores of boring ones around it. If you know your audience well, a clever joke can get your email opened and shared. 5. Emoji Subject Lines Recent studies show that emails with an emoji in the subject line show a 56% increase in open rates. Using emojis can help your subject line stand out, as long as you don’t overdo it.

5 Keys to Craft the Perfect Subject Line for Your Marketing Emails

We’ve identified a few different directions you could take with your subject lines. But how do you know what will work best for your audience? Here are a few best practices to craft subject lines that will stand out and elevate your email marketing campaigns: 

1. Take Time to A/B Test Your Subject Lines Effective marketing is all about experimentation. This includes the subject lines you use in emails. Constantly experimenting and analyzing your subject line strategy through A/B testing is a great way to optimize your email campaigns. Compare open rates, and try to understand why some subject lines are more effective than others.

2. Use Segmentation and Personalization As we highlighted above, personalized subject lines can be a great way to stand out. This is where segmenting your audience based on location, preferences, or interest can be a great way to add personalization to your subject lines. According to Campaign Monitor, using the recipient’s first name in the subject line increased the chance of the email being opened by nearly 15%.

3. Make It Short and Sweet (and Mobile-Optimized) Most people’s attention spans are very short—so generally it’s a good idea to keep your subject lines brief and to the point. The most effective subject lines are typically no more than five or six words. It’s also important to remember that people are most likely checking email on their phones. Brevity is especially important since most screens only display 30-40 characters in a subject line.

4. Start with Action-Oriented Language Actionable subject lines can often inspire people to click on your email by instilling urgency and excitement. For example, in an email inviting people to an open house at your new office, the email subject line might read, “Enjoy free drinks at our new office!” rather than a more generic (and less actionable) “You’re Invited to our Open House.”

5. Tell Your Audience What’s Inside the Email If you want people to take action, it’s important they know what to expect if they open your email. Make it clear what’s waiting inside the email. This is something your audience wants to know, and it can be the difference between an email that is opened and one that isn’t.

Email Marketing Strategies That Stick

At Green Apple, we’re constantly working alongside our clients to stay updated on the latest email marketing trends as they evolve and change. By using some of our tips, we hope you can come up with creative and engaging subject lines of your own. Reach out today if you need a reimagined and effective email marketing strategy.

4 Ways to Identify Your Ideal Client

You’re scrolling through your feed and see someone wearing an outfit that you admire. While you love it on that specific person, you know deep down that you wouldn’t be able to pull it off quite as well, or maybe even at all. Finding the right client is similar to finding the right wardrobe—they must be the right fit. So, even when a new client is enticing, it’s important to determine whether they’re aligned with your business goals. To make it easier to choose where to invest your efforts and which clients are the best fit for you, here are four ways to identify your ideal client.

1. Start with What You Have

Start by looking at the clients or targets that you already have. These individuals already trust and utilize your brand and are a suburb foundation to build your client base. What qualities do these individuals possess? What are their behaviors or characteristics? Research your audience’s demographics, interests, needs, purchasing habits, challenges, etc., to develop a client persona and begin your search. 

2. Discover and Target Your Desired Audience

Advancing one step further, consider distributing a client questionnaire to your most beloved clients, buyers, followers, etc. Once you have detailed information from them directly, you can target similar or lookalike audiences. You’ll be delivering products or services to people who will enjoy it most, plus you’ll be working with more of your favorite type of people—win-win.  Sample questions can include:
  • What do you like most about our product/service?
  • Where are your problem areas in the X industry?
  • What does your typical day look like?
  • What made you choose us over X?
  • What social channels do you prefer?

3. Establish and Drive Solutions for Problem Areas

Once your initial research phase is complete, you will have an accurate idea of your audience’s primary problem areas. Since your goods and services are most likely a possible option for these individuals, you need to highlight why you are the best solution. Your messaging is key when it comes to communicating with your ideal customer. Accentuate their pain points and emphasize how you can resolve them. Incorporate your targeted messaging in your marketing materials, social networks, website, advertising efforts, and other places where you communicate to your audiences.  

4. Compare and Align Your Values

When determining if a client is right for you or not, aligning your values is an additional way to identify individuals who fall within your niche. If you strongly believe in your values, don’t ever feel like you should compromise to gain business. As a company, you must clarify your values at the beginning. If the potential customer doesn’t respect or have similar values to you, that’s okay. In most cases, the individuals or companies with more aligned principles are the ones who result in long-term relationships.  While someone else may be able to achieve particular looks (or have specific clients), you have just as much range with your unique culture, staple talents, and specialized approaches that they won’t venture. The people who align the best with your business are the ones who will stay, just like your staple wardrobe pieces that you wouldn’t dare trade. 

Identify Your Ideal Client with Green Apple

Green Apple Strategy helps businesses effectively build their brands and market toward their target audiences. We’re ready to help you establish your values, reach your goals, and develop strategic campaigns. Schedule a consultation with us today and get started.

Hiring a Marketing Agency: The 7 Questions You Should Ask

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Searching for the right marketing agency is a process. We understand—there are a lot of options. How can you know which one is the best? Like any relationship, they need to earn your trust, and you want to feel confident before selecting the right one. Before you grant them the power of connecting with your audience, spending your marketing funds, and accessing your client information, you need to feel assured in your decision. To make the process easier, we assembled the top seven questions you should ask your contenders before hiring a marketing agency.

1. What Are Your Industry Specialties?

Are you a B2B or B2C company? Do you have a niche? While some marketing agencies don’t promote specializing in one area, discussing their most popular industries or projects is worth mentioning. If you want to improve SEO, and the agency focuses primarily on media relations, be sure to keep your goals in mind and not settle if you want an agency that has more experience in your current priorities. 

Having conversations about common client types also allows you to ask if they are currently working with any of your competitors. Knowing possible conflicts of interest at the beginning will prevent potential development or implementation roadblocks that could negatively impact your service.

2. How do you Communicate with Clients?

One of the greatest benefits of working with a marketing agency is having insight into marketers’ perspectives. However, you want to be sure that these suggestions and ideas are being effectively communicated with you.

Even if you’re new to agency business, you have an idea of how often you need updates or what your communication preferences are. Asking for reporting and dialogue habits will help determine if that’s what you want in an agency partnership. Most agencies will listen and correspond to your preferences. That being said, it will be helpful if your priorities align. That way, both sides are comfortable, resulting in more effective processes and results. 

3. How Much Will This Cost?

Yes, talking about money can be uncomfortable. However, these conversations are necessary early on to determine your options. You don’t want to go with the least expensive option because they’re the cheapest, and you also shouldn’t proceed with the most costly if there’s no valid reasoning. 

Describe what you want and ask them what that range looks like, but continue to dig beyond that. Determine how pricing is structured, what resources they’ll utilize, what percentage goes toward efforts vs. billing, etc. Once you have the numbers you’re looking for, compare with a few other finalists and determine what seems the most valuable to you. 

4. What Do I Own before Our Contract Ends?

There are some instances where the client does not own any of the content that the agency developed for them. This could include photography, graphics, coding, or other branded resources that you may assume are yours. It is imperative to discuss this information upfront so that you know exactly what you are agreeing to. Just in case the relationship or project goes awry, you want to know what is legally yours to avoid issues. 

5. Who Will I Be Working with Directly?

Building a foundation with your leading account holder(s) is beneficial for communication, expectations, and trust. Asking who you will be working with allows you the opportunity to research the individuals on LinkedIn and discover their professional background, including experience and longevity. While newer executives shouldn’t be discarded, it may give you peace of mind to find senior team members who will assist you with your account.  

6. Can I see Your References?

Just like when you’re shopping online or deciding on a restaurant, reviews and photos give you what you need in your decision-making process. In your agency decision process, request case studies, testimonials, and examples that they find valuable. If ROI is important to you, ask specifically for projects with metric-centered results, like audience growth and CTA conversion. If you’re re-branding or need graphic design assistance, focus on visible transformations, like logo or website portfolios. 

7. What Are Your Expectations of Your Clients?

Is there a limit on revisions? Are there certain times that are off-limits? When is an appropriate turnaround time for approval? Talking about expectations for you as a client helps you distinguish how much or little you want to be involved or if your priorities coordinate. 

At the end of the day, you’re the client, and they are working for you. If their expectations aren’t reasonable for you, don’t settle. There are plenty more fish in the sea. 

Bonus: Ask yourself: What does my gut say?

We sometimes tend to ignore gut feelings, and we usually regret that. Maybe an agency looks good on paper, but you lack the chemistry with your account executive. Don’t dismiss your intuition, even if your brain is thinking something else. 

Throughout the process, you’ll learn the agency’s values, culture, and leadership, and you will quickly find out if there are certain details that you can’t get past. Trusting your instincts will only lead to better opportunities. 

Thinking About Hiring a Marketing Agency?

Hiring a marketing agency involves many factors, and it can be daunting signing the dotted line. We want you in the right marketing hands just as much as you do. Green Apple Strategy helps companies strategically tell their stories and successfully implement their goals through our comprehensive set of services. Schedule a consultation today. We would love to see if we’re the right fit for you!

Green Apple Goes Hybrid

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Green Apple has been a virtual team since March of 2020, and what a year it’s been! We’ve loved connecting with each other remotely, becoming even more collaborative and creative. And, during that time, we’ve learned a few things about ourselves as a company, leading us to a new chapter in Green Apple’s story—a hybrid office! You’ll now find us at 1010 16th Avenue South in Nashville. With continued safety precautions top of mind, we’re finally ready to be together in-person on a part-time basis. Here’s how we got here and the kinds of opportunities that this office opens up for us.  

What Do We Mean by “Hybrid” Office? 

Though we will remain a virtual team, Green Apple will now have a central office, where we can come together for meetings, brainstorming, team building, open-space working, and team collaboration. We will keep our flexible work schedules, but our team members will now have the option to come into the office as they please. As a bonus, this office gives us the space we need for a few exciting projects on the horizon. 

What this Means for Green Apple

Our time spent working remotely has been incredibly productive. We’ve had the space to step back and analyze what the future holds for Green Apple and to put a plan in place to make it happen. This office space gives us a central location to bring those plans to life. 

With that, we’re thrilled to announce that we have recorded the first episode of our new podcast, Core Conversations—where marketing and gratitude come together to explore what makes us so passionate about our industry. The first six episodes of the podcast will debut as part of another Green Apple endeavor, The Orchard Press. This passion project will feature the Core Conversations podcast, a collection of thoughtfully designed and beautifully crafted thank you cards available for ordering, and a gratitude-focused blog. We’re living out our core value of gratitude in a creative project that is evolving every day. Stay tuned for launch details!

What this Means for our Clients

You can now see smiling Green Apple faces in the vibrant neighborhoods of Edgehill, Music Row, and Vanderbilt. We chose this location very intentionally and are excited to be here among all of the history, great food, and entertainment that the area has to offer. It also gives us easy access to The Gulch and downtown Nashville.

The hybrid space will allow us to meet with clients for strategy sessions and other collaborative efforts. We also now have the capacity to record podcasts in-house, which we will continue to lean into as we explore podcasting internally. 

We’ll See You at 16th Avenue South!

Are you looking for a strategic, full-service marketing firm centrally located in Nashville? Contact Green Apple Strategy today to schedule a consultation. Our team is happy to sit down with you to discuss your goals and how we can help you achieve each and every one of them.

Enneagram and Marketing: How Type Ones Accelerate Your Strategy

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Are you an Enneagram Type One? Have one on your team? 

Type Ones are known for their sense of responsibility to improve the world around them. They tend to accomplish this by striving for perfection, following the rules, and doing what’s right. This person is your organizer—the one keeping everyone in check and keeping everything moving. We’re lucky to have a Type One on our team that is a master of attention-to-detail and organization—two common traits of this Enneagram group. Olivia Cooper, our Senior Client Relations Specialist, is the secret weapon of our marketing team. Let’s take a look at why that is and how the Type One on your team can help accelerate your marketing strategy.  Read More: How Understanding The Enneagram Can Help Your Customers

Type Ones Identify Opportunities for Improvement

“Type Ones are often improvement-oriented. We love to fix everything or solve problems to make something as perfect as it can be. Marketing is always changing, so it’s important to constantly make strategies better as the industry and clients evolve,” says Olivia.  What an essential quality in marketing, right? This right here is what we love about our Olivia, and what we love about Enneagram Type Ones as a whole: they continually make us better marketers, better brands, better communicators. You name it, and your Type One will help you identify opportunities for improvement to make your brand better as a whole. After all, in our fast-changing world, we need Type Ones to show us the light and help us to keep up.

Type Ones Have Great Integrity

“I care very much about doing the ‘right thing.’ Being ethical in marketing is extremely important for transparency with consumers!” she says. Above all, consumers want a brand they can trust so that they can feel good about where their money goes. The Type Ones on your team will always be looking to do what’s right by you and your audience. 

Type Ones Are Organized

“I am pretty organized, which helps me keep everything together. This is especially useful for marketing at an agency, where I’m balancing many different clients at once,” Olivia explains. In fast-paced environments, Type Ones are your ally. They will be the person keeping your projects afloat and ensuring that nothing is overlooked along the way. 

Type Ones Are Detail Oriented

We all like to say that we’re detail-oriented. In fact, I would venture to say that you can find those words on the vast majority of people’s resumes. However, as much as we feel like we need to say that we have a keen eye for detail, that isn’t always the case. No matter how hard we look, we’re going to let a few things slip through the cracks. Not Type Ones. They’re looking out for perfection. “Even the tiniest details are important in marketing. People don’t forget the small things, so I’m always looking out for clients in this way,” says Olivia.

Ready to Accelerate Your Marketing Strategy? 

Our team enjoys learning more about each other through Enneagram Types and Culture Index surveys to ensure that we communicate and work together effectively. In the end, this is all to improve our clients’ marketing strategies and use our small team to garner big results.  Are you looking to see what full-service marketing can do for your brand? Contact Green Apple Strategy today to schedule a consultation.

What Not to Do During a Zoom Meeting

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No matter your industry, you’re likely now familiar with the phrase, “I’ll send you a Zoom invite!” While digital meeting tools like Zoom have been gaining momentum organically during the past decade, the practice of virtual meetings has skyrocketed in 2020 amid the COVID-19 pandemic. In fact, Zoom’s CEO Eric Yuan reported in April of 2020 that daily active users had increased from 10 million to over 200 million in just three months.  As millions around the world began staying home to help slow the spread of the coronavirus, Zoom has since become popular with organizations, schools, media outlets, churches, and more. Digital meeting tools are being used for everything from a one-on-one hangout to team strategy sessions to large-scale events.  And, the practice doesn’t appear to be slowing down anytime soon, as the number of users will no doubt increase in 2021 and beyond!  Though digital meeting tools like Zoom are an excellent way to effectively communicate when you can’t have a physical meeting, there are certain things to consider when using this constructive technology. Our team at Green Apple has made Zoom meetings a regular part of our work days since becoming a virtual team in 2020, so here’s our list of things we recommend not doing when it comes to proper Zoom meeting etiquette.

1. Don’t replace professionalism with comfort.

We get it—when you’re at home, you’re in your comfort zone. However, it’s important to always keep your audience in mind when it comes to a Zoom meeting. A best practice for your appearance and attire is to pretend you’re still meeting in person. Ask yourself questions like, “What would I wear if this was an in-person meeting? Or “How would I sit or communicate if we were in person?” All in all, you’ll never go wrong with dressing for success and setting up your space at a desk or table, just as you would if your meeting was at an office or coffee shop. Tip: Don’t show up to your Zoom meeting in your pajamas or gym clothes, and avoid laying on your bed or relaxing on a sofa.

2. Don’t set the scene for distractions.

Your surroundings say a lot about you, so it’s essential to make sure that they say the right things for your audience. Before you log on to your Zoom meeting, make sure you have chosen a clean backdrop in your space that doesn’t distract viewers from your communication. If you don’t feel like your home or office space has a desirable backdrop, you can always explore Zoom’s Virtual Background feature, which allows you to display an image or video as your background during a Zoom Meeting.  Tip: Pick a solid or less busy wall as your backdrop, and use good judgement if opting for a virtual background.

3. Don’t forget to eat beforehand.

We’ve all seen it—and possibly done it ourselves—but it’s definitely best to avoid eating during your Zoom meeting. Unless the meeting is intentionally designated as a lunch-and-learn or lunch meeting, try to eat before you log in. Tip: If your meeting involves lunch, make sure you keep yourself on mute while chewing or swallowing.

4. Don’t Zoom and drive.

It should go without saying, however, it’s never a good idea to take a Zoom meeting while driving. Not only are there numerous issues that come along with distracted driving, but some employers could even be liable if a worker has an accident while driving distracted on a Zoom meeting. Tip: If you do have to take a Zoom meeting while on the go, make sure you’re the passenger.

5. Don’t put a private message in a Zoom chat.

There will likely be moments when you want or need to share a private comment or thoughts to a specific team member who’s also a part of the Zoom meeting. If that case arises, make sure not to share those comments in the Zoom chat feature where everyone may see them. Tip: When you have a private comment or message to share, it’s a safer bet to use a platform other than Zoom.

6. Don’t forget to mute yourself when not speaking.

We’ve all been a part of a Zoom meeting when you’ve heard things in someone else’s background that can be distracting (or maybe even embarrassing). You’ll never go wrong by keeping yourself on mute until it’s your turn to speak. Tip: Especially if you have children, family members, or pets in the house who may need to come and go in your space, keeping yourself on mute is always a win. Also, refrain from playing music or leaving the TV on in the background to prevent sound distractions.

7. Don’t be late.

Not only should you not be late to your Zoom meeting, but it’s best to log in a few minutes early to ensure you don’t have any connectivity issues that can make you late to the meeting or possibly miss key introductions. Tip: Set an alarm on your phone to help you remember to log in early to your Zoom meeting.

8. Don’t discount the importance of good lighting and camera angles.

This one is probably one of the easiest yet most ignored aspects of Zoom etiquette, but good lighting on your face is vital to you being seen clearly by other participants. If possible, adjust your camera to be at around eye level and take note of the angle of your laptop screen if using the built-in camera. Tip: Take your Zoom meeting in the space of your home or office that has the most natural light, and use overhead lighting when possible. 

9. Don’t have a busy desktop backdrop in case you need to share your screen.

If you are the meeting host or could be asked to share your screen at any point in the meeting, make sure to clean up your desktop and close any browser tabs that you don’t want meeting recipients to see. For security purposes, make sure you don’t have any important documents that contain personal or confidential information open or displayed on your screen. Tip: In addition to cleaning up your computer desktop, consider whether your computer’s wallpaper is professional or appropriate for others to see.

10. Don’t forget to participate.

Above all, don’t be the one Zoom meeting attendee who isn’t participating. Even if your role is just to listen and take notes, it’s important to stay engaged throughout the meeting by chiming in when appropriate and maintaining eye contact as much as possible. Tip: Find moments throughout the meeting to offer comments and ask questions, as your contributions could be beneficial to everyone involved. And, when possible, always try to log into your Zoom meeting with the video feature so that everyone can put a face to the name. Are you looking for a marketing partner that can help you navigate successful meetings and presentations, especially when it comes to virtual meetings? Contact Green Apple Strategy to schedule a consultation.

How to Identify & Fix the Broken Parts of Your Marketing Funnel

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If the goal of marketing is to guide people from discovering your brand for the first time to becoming a qualified potential customer, then understanding every part of that journey is essential. Most people refer to that process as the marketing funnel. In most of the conversations I have, it’s easy for business leaders and marketing professionals to know if their marketing funnel is broken. The more difficult task is identifying which part is broken and how to fix it. Your sales team might think you have a lead generation problem, but what is actually preventing them from hitting business development goals is that the leads they’re following aren’t ready to buy. This would be more of a lead nurturing issue. In this post, we highlight a few areas of the marketing funnel, share specific ways you can identify the problem area, and, more importantly, tell you how to fix it.

How to Identify & Fix the Broken Parts of Your Marketing Funnel

Brand Awareness
How can you tell if your “top of the funnel” marketing efforts aren’t working? The signs of a brand awareness problem are easy to see—if you’re looking. Most awareness problems fall into this category: Your brand can’t capture its target audience. Analyzing metrics such as website traffic or foot traffic (if you’re a local shop or retail store) can be a great way to determine if enough people know who you are. Fixing this issue could include more digitally-oriented marketing tactics such as social media, SEO, or SEM.
Lead Generation
Maybe you’re getting a decent amount of traffic to your website, but you have a hard time identifying who is visiting and if they could be a potential customer. Many factors make generating leads difficult. Are you offering a lead generation that people care about? Are you asking for the right information? Are you making it easy for people to find your lead generation resources and take action? Never underestimate the power of addressing your lead generation challenge; leads are the lifeblood of your marketing funnel.
Lead Qualification
The biggest challenge I hear from business leaders isn’t about lead quantity; it’s lead quality. To convert marketing leads to customers, you need to make sure you’re talking with the right people. Alongside your sales team, you should make sure you understand who you’re trying to reach. If you’re struggling to generate quality leads, it’s important to define buyer personas. This strategy helps you establish a compelling value proposition that educates people about how you can help them right now.
Lead Nurturing
What do we do with the leads that might be qualified but aren’t ready to buy? Many business development professionals toss these leads to the side—neglecting them until the person raises their hand again and expresses interest. If you’re struggling to convert qualified marketing leads (those with the power to make a purchase decision), then you might rethink how you’re nurturing them throughout the buying process. Many potential customers are exploring your brand, but they might not be ready to buy. This doesn’t mean you should ignore them.
Lead Hand-Off to Sales
The hand-off between marketing and sales is one of the easiest tasks to ruin in the demand generation process. As in a relay race, the lead hand-off should be an actual hand-off, not a toss. If you feel like your sales team isn’t following up with quality leads, it’s crucial to have a documented process that is agreed upon by both sales and marketing. Just as a doctor diagnoses which system in your body is causing illness, it’s vital to determine which areas of your marketing funnel are causing your lead issue. Without identifying the specific area that needs attention, you can’t create a truly healthy funnel.

4 Creative Ways to Be More Agile & Effective with Marketing in 2020

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If there’s only one word I’m encouraging business leaders and marketers to value in 2020, it’s agility. The business world is changing faster than ever before. As marketers and sales professionals, we must stay vigilant to what today’s customers want and how they communicate. This is why being agile is the most important part of any marketing plan you could put together for 2020. It’s essential to be able to pivot without abandoning your entire strategy.  

4 Creative Ways to Be More Agile & Effective with Marketing in 2020

So how can you be more agile in your marketing efforts this year? Here are a few creative practices you can consider: 

  1. Shorten the planning process for your campaigns. If you typically plan the whole year, instead, consider planning the first six months. If you plan by quarters, try six-week campaigns. Shortening the length of your planning process will cause you to systematize the way you evaluate campaigns with a more agile approach.
  2. Make sure you’re continually looking at the data to analyze campaigns. Companies that adopt data-driven marketing are six times more likely to be profitable year-over-year. By letting data be the diplomat, you will be able to see what’s working and what’s not.
  3. Set weekly stand-up meetings with key leaders. Communication is the key to agile marketing. One recommendation I often give is to conduct 15-minute check-ins with the team to briefly discuss work from the previous day, in addition to plans for that day. This strategy allows you to address any hiccups and resolve them as quickly as possible.
  4. Celebrate collaboration and teamwork. A team that enjoys working together will be more willing to embrace an agile approach. In closed teams, it’s easy for people to start pointing fingers at the other. But creating a culture of collaboration and teamwork will cultivate an environment where everyone is willing to work together despite their differences or setbacks to accomplish a goal. 

Taking a more agile approach to your marketing campaigns isn’t easy, especially if your team isn’t familiar with the approach. While you may not be able to direct the daily activities of your sales and marketing departments, taking time to consider these ideas will help you set the tone for greater collaboration within your team.

The Most Important Thing Sales Can Do to Convert Marketing Leads

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There are a lot of factors that go into converting a marketing-generated lead into a sale, but there’s one element that seems to rise above the rest: quick follow up. But, don’t just take my word for it. Numerous studies outline that prompt follow up is the most important thing sales can do to convert marketing leads. 

3 Reasons Why Salespeople Should Immediately Follow Up with Marketing Leads

Here are a few fascinating studies on the importance of prompt follow up …

  1. You should try to make contact within the first hour that a lead comes in. According to a recent study conducted by Prof. James B. Oldroyd at MIT, waiting even an hour to contact and qualify a marketing-generated lead can drastically reduce your chances of success.
  2. Immediately following up in the first five minutes is even more valuable. You’re 400x more likely to get a response if you do this within the first 5 minutes of them downloading the content. (Source)
  3. Prompt follow-up allows you to qualify leads more effectively. Companies that contact leads within an hour of receiving a query are 7X as likely to qualify the lead as those that tried to contact the customer even an hour later—and more than 60 times as likely as companies that waited 24 hours or longer. (Source)
  4. Prompt follow-up helps you stand out from your competitors. The average response time, among companies that contacted leads within 30 days, was 42 hours. So, taking the time to develop a quick response process will help you rise above the rest. (Source)

How to Empower Sales for Quick Follow Up with Marketing Leads

So, how do you go about empowering sales to follow up with marketing leads within an hour? Here are a few important principles to consider: 

Sales and Marketing Teams Need to Be in Alignment Around the Process.

Without proper marketing and sales alignment, it’s easy for leads to fall through the cracks. By establishing processes for how and when leads are transferred to sales, each team focuses on what they do best.

Sales and Marketing Teams Need to Be in Agreement on the Definition of a Lead.

It’s important to ensure that everyone has the same definition of a lead and are aligned around focused goals. You need to make sure both teams are in agreement on things like quality vs. quantity and velocity vs. volume. Agreement on what is a marketing-qualified lead is the first step in ensuring a quick marketing-to-sales handoff.

Sales Teams Need to Be Committed to Prompt Follow-Up.

Responding within an hour can seem intimidating, especially if you’re just starting the process. Start by establishing current benchmarks for how quickly your sales team is following up on leads. From there set goals to shorten this time frame. The closer sales can get to the five-minute mark, the more likely they are to qualify and eventually convert a lead to a customer.

Sales Teams Need to Be Equipped with Information and Resources to Be Effective. 

If your sales team is going to follow up immediately, then they need to know exactly what generated the lead. It also might help to equip them with resources and tools to be more effective. It could be something as simple as creating email templates your business development team can use for conversations with prospective customers. Technology also provides an opportunity to send emails on behalf of your sales team as a way to further qualify leads for them.