Category Archives: MarketStar Direct  RSS Subscribe

Thursday, May 10th, 2012
Posted by Tim Heare - BD Communications Manager
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There’s something to be said for walking a customer through a logical, natural buying process. At MarketStar, we have been preaching the value of Lead Nurturing to our clients for years. But as seen recently, there is nothing like a “real world” example to really drive home the science behind a concept.

For those of you under a rock, Avengers opened this last weekend to stellar reviews. The movie follows “Earth’s Mightiest Heroes” as they battle invading forces set on taking over the world. Marvel Entertainment began an elaborate nurturing campaign in 2008 to build unity in their Marvel Studios properties; including Iron Man(2008), The Incredible Hulk (2008), Iron Man 2 (2010), Thor (2011), and Captain America (2011). In each movie little pieces and hints were strung together to connect the characters, and set the stage for a movie where they could interact.

By the time The Avengers hit the screen, customers were familiar with the product, the story, and had a favorite aspect that appealed to them. These customers were already sold, greatly reducing the amount of effort needed to get them to make the purchase. Continue reading →

Posted by  Tim Heare   Thursday, May 10th, 2012 Leave a comment


Tuesday, March 27th, 2012
Posted by Manuel Rietzsch - B2B Marketing Manager
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How great would it be to only have customers who buy frequently, never return products and drive a ton of referral business without ever needing support?

Of course, we all know this is not possible but implementing the right after-sales strategy might get you closer than you think. The key, as bad as it sounds, is to use your customers. While social media has increased competition and evolved buying behaviors, it also has amplified the potential value customers can bring to your company. Continue reading →

Posted by  Manuel Rietzsch   Tuesday, March 27th, 2012 Leave a comment


Thursday, January 19th, 2012
Posted by Manuel Rietzsch - B2B Marketing Manager
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Back to the topic of content marketing! Today, I spent some time viewing and dissecting a couple of videos created by Coca-Cola. These videos provide a great overview of how Coca-Cola will evolve its marketing to change from “creative excellence to content excellence.” They are very well-produced and fun to watch, but the amount of information communicated is a little overwhelming. I am not sure why Coca-Cola decided to share these videos with the world — probably so people like I can blog about them. I highly recommend watching these videos but here are some great insights: Continue reading →

Posted by  Manuel Rietzsch   Thursday, January 19th, 2012 4 Comments


Tuesday, November 29th, 2011
Posted by Manuel Rietzsch - B2B Marketing Manager
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While reading the printed issue of BtoB magazine, a headline on the front-page caught my eye. I know, old school, huh!? But printed magazines and newspapers do still exist. Anyway! The article I am referring to is titled “Lack of resources impedes marketing automation adoption.”

The story reveals interesting survey results, stating that although awareness of marketing automation platforms is high, only 44 percent of B2B marketers surveyed are using some form of automated marketing. Of these 44 percent, 52 percent are using the tool for automatic distribution of leads and only an additional 19 percent are involved in more advanced nurturing and closed-loop automation — proving that marketers are not able to gain 100 percent of the benefits.

Our friend, Jeff Ernst of Forrester Research, Inc., who participated in our lead nurturing webinar, even questions the 44 percent. He contends that actually only about 5 percent of marketers use a full-featured marketing automation solution. Continue reading →

Posted by  Manuel Rietzsch   Tuesday, November 29th, 2011 Leave a comment


Tuesday, November 8th, 2011
Posted by Travis Clemens - Marketing Systems Administrator
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We all want to arrive at that perfect email marketing list where click through rates exceed 10 percent and opt-outs rarely happen. But getting there is easier said than done, and a lot of factors affect the success of your email.

For example, your email’s content, timing, call to action, offer, and look and feel all play a role in determining how successful it will be. The quality of the list you are sending to is equally important. If your list isn’t built the right way, then your marketing emails will feel spammy to recipients and decrease your effectiveness. Continue reading →

Posted by  Travis Clemens   Tuesday, November 8th, 2011 Leave a comment


Tuesday, October 25th, 2011
Posted by Tracy Thayne - Director of Marketing
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I really enjoyed working with Jeff Ernst of Forrester on the Cowboys vs. Aliens (sales vs. marketing) Webinar. To continue the conversation, I’ve recorded a Podcast with information that can help you establish a solid foundation for lead nurturing within your organization. Continue reading →

Posted by  Tracy Thayne   Tuesday, October 25th, 2011 Leave a comment


Thursday, September 22nd, 2011
Posted by Adam Gunn - Creative Director
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The term “Outsourcing” is a bit of an enigma. For many the term conjures up images of painful experiences coordinating overseas partners. For others it’s an admission of failure when it comes to internal processes, or even success that can sometimes be a bitter pill to swallow.

The reality is businesses outsource many tasks on a daily basis based on relationships of trust and experienced results. We don’t think twice about outsourcing our overnight shipping or janitorial services, do we? MarketStar has just published an exciting new eBook titled, “Why Outsource?” It’s a great primer for anyone interested in learning more about Business Process Outsourcing (BPO), how it’s evolved and, more specifically, what sales and marketing services can successfully be outsourced to cut costs and increase sales.

“Why Outsource?” attempts to quell some of the misconceptions around outsourcing and remind readers that outsourcing, when managed and executed properly, has many distinct advantages. Not only can it be a cost-saving endeavor, but outsourcing is proven to drive incremental revenue, improve efficiency, instill operational focus and expertise, and improve customer satisfaction. Continue reading →

Posted by  Adam Gunn   Thursday, September 22nd, 2011 2 Comments


Monday, September 19th, 2011
Posted by Manuel Rietzsch - B2B Marketing Manager
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Social media-era buyers tend to not engage until the last stretch before making a buying decision as they have access to a wealth of information including real world experiences. This makes it harder for marketers to find prospects that might be interested in their products or services early on, in order to influence them well before the moment of decision. The resulting problem for companies is that buyers make up their minds before they even had a chance to educate them on their offerings and ultimately leads to lost opportunities.

To be able to engage potential buyers long before the decision, marketers need to really understand who their customer is, where they go to solve problems and how they make decisions. Many companies struggle with agreeing who their customers are as evident in a 2010 Forrester Research Marketing & Sales Alignment survey. The results of this survey illustrate that most marketing and sales teams are aligned on internal issues but lack alignment when it comes to the customer.

Continue reading →

Posted by  Manuel Rietzsch   Monday, September 19th, 2011 Leave a comment


Monday, August 22nd, 2011
Posted by Manuel Rietzsch - B2B Marketing Manager
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Don’t miss our lead nurturing webinar featuring Jeff Ernst of Forrester Research, Inc. and Tracy Thayne of MarketStar as they discusss the need for lead nurturing to increase the output of your revenue engine. We still have a few spots left and would love to have you join us! Continue reading →

Posted by  Manuel Rietzsch   Monday, August 22nd, 2011 Leave a comment


Thursday, August 11th, 2011
Posted by Manuel Rietzsch - B2B Marketing Manager
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Content marketing is a “hot” topic for marketing folks right now. But do you really know what it means and how it fits into your overall marketing strategy?

Content marketing involves the creation or sharing of content for the purpose of engaging current and potential consumer bases with high-quality, relevant and valuable information to drive profitable consumer action.”

Boring datasheets and white papers are history – at least until later in the buying process! It is absolutely necessary to publish content that interests and engages your audience, since it increases the time they spend with your content, creates anticipation for further communication, and builds a relationship of trust resulting in increased sales.

When developing content, ask yourself these three questions: Continue reading →

Posted by  Manuel Rietzsch   Thursday, August 11th, 2011 Leave a comment