Hey, MarCom!

Our 2009 survey report is here!

After months of hard work and planning, we’re proud to announce the release of the new Eccolo Media 2009 B2B Technology Collateral Survey Report!

We discovered a ton of interesting and useful information, including the fact that a lot has changed in the year since we released our last survey report. For example, last year we found that 28 percent of respondents had watched a video to prepare to make a purchasing decision; this year, that number jumped to 51 percent. How people interact with collateral is constantly in flux, so it’s important to pay attention to how people use your content and adjust accordingly.

But we don’t want to spoil all of the surprises. Download the free report to get the full details—and be sure to check back here for an ongoing discussion of our latest findings.   

The wait is almost over!

Over the past few months, we've been keeping you up to date on the progress of our 2nd-annual B2B Technology Collateral Survey Report. The air is thick with anticipation here at the Eccolo Media offices because we're thrilled to announce that the 2009 report will be released next week!

For this year’s report, we more than tripled the number of respondents, we included more survey topics, and discuss even more best practices. Be sure to check back here next Wednesday, September 15 to read highlights from the 2009 report and download your free copy.

In the meantime, you can check out the findings from our 2008 report. If you have any questions or comments about our research, we’d love to hear from you.

Enter the (lead nurturing) matrix

We recently looked at how lead nurturing campaigns can play a key part in revving the sales cycle. Understanding how content can keep customers engaged is interesting stuff, so we were happy to hear from the folks at a Bay Area marketing automation firm called Marketo. They directed us to their most recent publication, The Definitive Guide to Lead Nurturing, and it turns out they're marketing people after our own hearts.  

Why is that? Marketo emphasizes something we’ve known for a long time--customers appreciate quality content, and they want lots of it if they think you’re offering valuable information. But how can you tell if your content is worthwhile? The guide has some pretty simple advice that we happen to agree with: “Ask yourself if the information you’re providing will be useful to them even if they never buy from you.”  

Marketo’s guide features some really fascinating numbers around lead nurturing. For example, did you know that nurtured leads produce a 20 percent increase in sales opportunities versus non-nurtured leads? Even more surprising: according to Marketo, 95 percent of qualified prospects who visit Web sites are there to research and aren't ready to buy yet.

So go ahead and check out Marketo's guide (it's available as a free PDF download). We think you'll like it.