[Posted by Kristin Hambelton
Senior Director of Marketing, Neolane, Inc.]

“These are the new leads. These are the Glengarry leads. And to you they’re gold, and you don’t get them. Why? Because to give them to you would be throwing them away. They’re for closers.” — Blake, Glengarry Glen Ross

While the most frequently quoted lines from the 1992 film classic Glengarry Glen Ross are probably Alec Baldwin’s diatribe related to always being closing, there’s a great deal of banter about lead quality that’s particularly apropos for today’s ROI-driven marketing universe. I think of these discussions as I talk to clients and prospects who increasingly focus on lead quality rather than quantity—doing what’s necessary to nurture the gold leads, the Glengarry leads, not the “weak leads” that beaten-down salesmen like Sheldon “The Machine” Levine could never, ever close. Maybe all they needed was a little marketing automation (Oh, and computers, too – it’s amazing to see just how analog their world of leads on an index cards was, but I digress).

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[Posted by Kristin Hambelton
Senior Director of Marketing, Neolane, Inc.]

As we prepare for Forrester’s Marketing Forum 2010, taking place in Los Angeles April 22-23, we’ve been talking with customers and partners about what “adaptive marketing” means to them.  The key theme of the event centers around Forrester’s perspective on the topic, one that has to power to impact momentous change in the way marketing organizations respond to changing customer and business requirements.

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[Posted by Stephan Dietrich]

More than ever before, consumers and businesses alike are flooded with information while making purchase decisions. Since that data is available to customers through various communications channels, it’s a challenge for marketers to be everywhere the customer is most likely to be researching and buying. So, it’s critical for marketers to choose the right mix and be able to justify investment decisions to senior management by demonstrating ROI.

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