Roi Marketing Research Paper

ACQUIRE

NURTURE

MEASURE

OPTIMIZE

STRATEGIC MARKETING SERIES

ROI MARKETING V2.0:

THE OPPORTUNITY FOR GROWTH

IN A RECOVERING ECONOMY

By Rick Whitmyre

Preface

In 2006, we discussed a new marketing process

for growing B2B companies in a presentation to

the Albany Chapter of the American Marketing

Association. Called ROI Marketing, it enabled

marketers to utilize a company's knowledge and

content to acquire leads and then nurture them

to sales in a highly measurable way.

Since then, we've learned a great deal as our

clients have implemented this process with

startling results.Theory has become reality.

Technology has expanded capability.Today,

ROI Marketing is achieving far greater returns

than we imagined 3 years ago.

This paper updates our learning about this

exciting marketing opportunity and offers

examples of its powerful ability to achieve

measurable growth as the economy emerges

from recession.

ROI MARKETING V2.0 1

ROI MARKETING V2.0

Introduction

The onslaught of new technologies in the digital age has overwhelmed many B2B marketers.With the

advent of tools such as social media, search engine optimization, email campaign management, CRM, and

performance marketing just to name a few, many marketers have been pushed outside of their comfort

zone into a digital never-never land. For some, the daunting task of integrating these tools with traditional

marketing programs to form effective lead generation and brand building strategies has created an almost

impenetrable barrier to their adoption.

In 2005,Tiziani Whitmyre, Inc. developed an easy to implement process called ROI Marketing that

employed these powerful Internet-driven technologies to accelerate lead acquisition and increase

conversion into sales. It embraced the B2B market's thirst for knowledge by using content marketing

as a way to stimulate prospect response.And it harnessed the measurability of Web-based analytics.

When implemented, ROI Marketing has achieved dramatic results in capturing new prospects and

building sales across a wide range of B2B companies and markets.

The Beginning

In 2004,my partner, Bob Tiziani, and I reached a point in our business when it felt like we were flying

blind. Interesting, yet frightening things were occurring in the way audiences were responding to our

marketing campaigns.We noticed that many of the traditional forms of marketing were losing their

impact. Direct mail was thrown in the trash. Print advertising was ineffective as a lead generation vehicle.

Trade show halls were empty. So we started to explore why the relationship between the seller and the

prospect had dramatically changed.

To begin, we looked back at the dynamics surrounding the rise of the Internet.We observed that despite

the exciting new opportunities that arrived with Web-based technologies, our approach to marketing

hadn't changed. We continued to use big marketing budgets that blasted our prospects with messages

and then hoped feverishly that some of them would stick.We carpet bombed our audience with

advertising and direct mail.We spent lavishly at trade shows.We built huge fulfillment infrastructures

with warehouses stuffed with literature.We threw all of these tactics at our customers and prayed they

would respond through a 1-800 number or a magazine bingo card.

In short,we continued to implement our traditional marketing strategies, while the Internet had

changed the playing field. We had lost the vital connection to the buyer.

The Rise of the "Unknown Buyer"

As our sophistication and understanding of Internet technology increased, our Web sites began offering

more information, functionality, and interactivity.This migration to the Web moved the prospect and the

buying process into a totally new environment.

Now the customer could search and evaluate a product, participate in a demo, perform validation in a

community of interest, configure to specifications, and complete the purchasing transaction - all in a digital,

Web-based environment.That capability created what we call the "unknown buyer." B2B prospects were

ecstatic about searching and selecting products anonymously under the cloak of the Internet.These people

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ROI MARKETING V2.0

wanted 24/7 access to information, but they didn't want to talk to a salesperson.They wanted to selfmanage

the purchasing process until they decided