Lead-Generation or Lead Genetics?

Hierarchize the needs.
Portraying the future customers. 
One goal, establishing genuine and close relationships with human beings.

Understanding the way the engine of marketing campaigns works. Workflows. Segmented lists. Automated Actions. Resources Allocation.

Marketing Campaigns are like road-trips.
You need an itinerary with a destination and milestones. Check your Resources & Equipment. Prepare your bags…. and Go!

On the opposite image, you have a non-exhaustive list of repetitive tasks that can be automated in a database. They mainly concern the database management. Security. Performance. Accessibility.

On the Marketing side, many tasks are automated inevitably too. 

Some automated tasks depend on the objectives to be achieved and the lead scoring attributed. However, all the tasks related to lead nurturing, customer engagement and optimization of marketing efforts are commonly automated in a database.

(*) with ChatGPT, you can even create an entire automated landing page (structure, content – text, visuals, CTAs, etc.)

While you define your destination, you define the WHY of it. You will never go to a place you have no interest in. Question of common sense. 

Then, when your destination is defined, you can focus on HOW to go there. 

• you will identify the material you will need. You won’t be equipped the same way if you go to True North or central Africa.
• you will estimate the timeline needed to reach your goal. 
• you will draw the best itinerary to follow.
• you will calculate your budget and evaluate the talents you need. 
• you will elaborate tools to measure your progress
• etc. etc.

Whatever the goal of a campaign is, the first step I take before developing anything new is to assess what already exists in terms of:

• marketing material (documentation, case studies, success stories, ID elements, website, social media, etc.)
• content (text, visuals, videos, etc.)
• resources (budget, team skills)
• tools (templates, forms, questionnaires, etc.)
• etc.

Once you know your starting point, you can elaborate your plan to the destination. A 13-Step journey over 3 or 6 months. 

The mechanics are a jewel of precision, where all the elements are interconnected. A slight shift at a certain point can distort the whole trajectory.

The outcome of online quizzes & polls feeds topics of Live Events or the subject of a demo in a workshop. Vice-versa, a question raised during an Event or a Workshop or even a chat on WhatsApp can lead to a quizz/poll. 

Direct Emails or Newsletters are fed by the happenings, online OR during trade-shows, plus the analysis of the outcome of surveys by an industry influencer. 

A Whitepaper can be inspired by chats during events or on WhatsApp. 

The Landing pages on the website are optimized with the inputs collected over the campaign. 

 We have at least twentyish indicators to monitor. The progress of the marketing campaign is watched like milk on the fire, as my grand-mother would say. 

Of the 15 points usually listed to measure the success of a marketing campaign, I would highlight the THREE major ones in my eyes.

• Conversion Rate = how much the campaign resonated with the audience. 
• ROI or ROMI = profitability of the campaign.
• CAC (Customer Acquisition Cost) = efficiency in acquiring new customers.

You have a game-changing project to launch or boost to the next level?
You need advice and/or someone to support you in executing marketing? 

This is an extraordinary project, the kind of those you come across maybe once in your life. A game-changing solution at the heart of democracy, where people will express for the very first time ever their vote electronically.

Reminder: we are in 2003 (again!). Robert Hensler, Chancelor of Geneva State , sees the internet voting as a great democratic advance for his Canton to be considered as a pioneer.

HP has been selected to develop the solution. Imagine, an American company serving Swiss Voters! But at that time Silicon Valley was the bubly cradle of High-Tech.

For HP, this project was a fantastic opportunity to showcase its innovation power, the same that animated Bill Hewlett and David Packard when they created the company in a famous garage you can visit by the way.

As the Regional Marketing Manager, I was appointed as Communication Co-ordinator to represent HP at the Communication Committee of the Geneva State dedicated to this project. My role was also to support with my skills the Marketing efforts for the so challenging B2C-B2G campaign.

The campaign was focused on two directions:

•  B2C: TV reports, Demo Kiosks in shopping malls and administrative centers, flyers, online videos to explain the features of the system, social media messages to answer questions.
• B2G: conferences, presentations, reports, whitepapers, videos, events, social media posts and groups.  

Of course, a crisis plan was a must for this campaign. 

• Gain Trust of Geneva citizens about the efficiency, security, and confidentiality of the system;
• Master the opponents’ and detractors’ actions against the solution;
• Master the huge international press coverage;
• Coordinate the project with the Federal authorities in order to ensure homogeinity amongst other E-voting solutions developed in other cantons, plus check the respect of the Federal laws. 

Pressure may stimulate the spirits? All the efforts of the joint Team led to amazing results:

• 100,000+ users over expectations (we were close to server crash)
• detractors and opponents under control
• Geneva Canton and project covered by press all over the world

A more recent event, this time. We are in 2018. November. Wien in Austria. I joined DEPsys two months ago. 

ENLIT is THE big event in the energy sector. DEPsys is a Swiss scale-up, whose core business is to digitalize the power grids in Europe, Asia and Nordics. 

DEPsys presence at Europe ENLIT trade-show has been planed for months. I jumped on the bandwagon, like we say. 

My focus is Brand Awareness. My Strength is Digital Communication. I give an hand to the marketing team in that field. 

I take in charge the communication in the social media. LinkedIn & Twitter. I spotted Energy Groups on LinkedIn, one very active key influencer on Twitter.

DEPsys faced TWO big market challenges:

• make awareness on its solution in a market under big pressure – cost optimization, climage change, due diligence, efficiency.
• the industry dynamics are slow. Decisions take long time to be made.

My challenge was simple. I must act as I would perfectly know the energy market, which was not the case. I had to learn everything, while communicating.

On site in Wien, while twitting, I follow the influencer who publishes a lot of posts about what he notes in terms of innovation, what he thinks about some strategies, etc. 

I ping him from the booth with a teasing message, inviting him to join us for a demo. One hour later, he is on booth. Fortunately, DEPsys CTO was there to make the show, that the influencer filmed with his device.

Some days later, the influencer published the video on his webpage and on his Twitter Timeline. A first step to a collaboration.