Category: Marketing Automation

“Hi, I am Rogers, a webmaster, a blog writer and a normal E-commerce businessman. I have been running Amazon and Shopify stores for more than 3 years. During the period of running my own stores, I’ve been super aware of the exhaustion and helplessness of doing e-commerce business sometimes. This is the main reason why I created my ecommeCommerceerce tool collection website. There are over 300 tools and software I used or knew collected on this site, which help sellers with their product research, supplier finding, data analysis, keywords finding, SEO, Affiliate marketing… I believe these tools, software, and tutorials can improve our efficiency to some extent. I’m still working on some details right now, but it’s basically done.” Hope you can enjoy my collection here and I also wanna say thank to some kind people here who once gave me feedbacks and encouragement! I wish you all do well, and most importantly, be healthy~ (Here’s the site address) (Btw, If you have any suggestions for the site, please let me know right away:)
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This question, just like pretty much any question about email marketing, has a very simple answer: it depends. Why? Because there are so many variables that come into play with any email marketing campaign. There may be best practices to go off of or even some more methods that seem to be tried and true,…
The post What Day and Time Should You Be Sending Your Email Newsletters? appeared first on Benchmark Email.

Hiring generally comes with ebbs and flows. During one six-month stretch in 2021, a particularly busy season, I spent more than 120 working hours in six months asking more than 350 individuals the same seven questions for our Buffer values screen. At the end of each conversation, I’d turn the conversation over to them, and many of them asked the same few questions, which I’ll cover in another post.
In that time and with the intensity of the sheer volume of calls, I’ve gained a lot of clarity: about hiring, about what candidates are looking for right now, and about myself as well.
Here are a few of those reflections and some of our values questions that you can ponder, too. We’ve been told they’re thought provoking for many candidates.
Hiring at Buffer
Buffer’s hiring process has grown and evolved a lot over the past eight years that I’ve been on the team. One thing remains constant and vital: we begin interviews with a values screen. (Psst, we also intentionally do not seek out “culture fit” anymore – here’s why.)
The general process looks like this:

Application review: We’re reviewing resumes and asking role-specific questions.
Values screen: We screen candidates with Buffer’s values in mind, we do about 15-20 values screens per role via Zoom.
Role or team interview: The hiring manager or fellow teammates interview candidates via Zoom.
(Optional) Technical screen: This is an exercise and then an interview for technical roles done via Zoom.
Executive interview: A final interview with a member of Buffer’s Executive team.

Sometimes the order of these move, or in some roles we find we need to add a take-home test, but this is the process template we start with when we’re hiring.
Our pipeline is fueled by inbound applications and because we are hiring from a global talent pool, we can have upwards of 600 to 800 applications for one open spot on the team. That’s a staggering amount of applicants, and it’s a highly flattering problem to have. The values screen as a first step in the process after reviewing applications helps us reduce a pool of really qualified candidates down to those who are also super aligned with Buffer.
What is the values screen?
The values screen is a nebulous thing and it’s the one interview where you don’t have “wrong” answers in the classic sense. The questions are prompts for us to converse and for us to listen to how a candidate speaks about themselves, their career, and their outlook on a few of our values. It truly is more about the heart behind it and less about a right or ideal answer. Or as one candidate called it, a “vibe check.”
We also tend to value characteristics that otherwise might not be seen as “correct” by other interview standards. Here’s an example: We used to ask the question, “How do you feel life has turned out for you so far?” The goal here wasn’t to hear any one answer. We used this question to measure resilience, optimism and authenticity.
We stopped using this question because 2020 has made this a bit more of a loaded and personal question. We now ask, “What motivates you in life?”
Here’s another secret: I don’t look for answers that fit the mold. If someone says, “Continuously learning or solving a puzzle,” that’s great and fine. If someone says, “My family or money,” that’s also fine. In fact, the more off-the-cuff or true the answer rings, the better.
Who progresses past the values screen?
It’s cliche to some extent, but it’s absolutely true at Buffer: We want to find people who we feel will be equally content here at Buffer as we will with them and their skill set.
Sometimes candidates are exceedingly qualified, but their answers lead me to think they won’t feel as successful in our unique work environment. This is definitely a judgement call and I’m not always correct. But all interviews involve some measure of subjectivity. We have typically four to five rounds of interviews and include a diverse set of interviewers to double check against bias and inconsistency.
This is all evolving
As I write this, I’m handing over all of hiring to our new Talent Acquisition and Onboarding Manager, Janet, as I transition my role to focus more on engagement and culture-building activities for our company. While I learned about HR and hiring while on the job here at Buffer (and thanks to a certification from the Society of Human Resources Management), Janet has spent many years in recruiting and is already offering a fresh outlook on our hiring approach, pipeline management, and applicant experience.
So while some of the elements I’ve touched on might evolve over the next few months or years, I hope it offers some insight to how we’ve hired at Buffer and what we look for.
What questions do you have about how we hire or our values screen? Send us a tweet!

As a writer, I know all about the importance of great hooks.
A good hook is imperative for holding your audience’s attention, and ultimately convincing your audience that you’re worth hearing out.
In sales, it’s no different.
A good sales hook can prevent your prospect from hanging up the phone, or deleting your email entirely. And a great sales hook can start your entire conversation off on the right foot.
Here, we asked six sales reps their tips for creating a convincing sales hook to turn prospects into customers. But first … what is a sales hook?
(If you already know what a sales hook is, and how to create one, feel free to skip to the section where we highlight HubSpot sales reps’ real-life examples.)

What is a sales hook?
A sales hook is the same thing as a sales pitch. Essentially, a sales hook (or pitch) is a condensed sales presentation that gets the conversation started regarding what your business is, as well as your product or services’ main benefits.
A sales hook should be a quick, 1-2 minute rundown of how your product or service can help your prospect. A concise, persuasive sales hook opens the door to longer conversations down the line.
Also considered an ‘elevator pitch’, your sales hook can be delivered via email, over the phone, or in person. However, your strategy will need to shift depending on the platform you use to communicate with the prospect. An in-person hook sounds different than an email hook.
Next, let’s explore how you can create a sales hook.
5 Tips for Creating a Sales Hook, According to HubSpot Sales Reps
1. Do your customer research.
To create a sales hook, you’ll want to start by researching the customer — including their unique challenges, pain points, and needs.
HubSpot Sales Manager Alex Santangelo recommends speaking in the prospect’s language.
“For instance,” Santangelo says, “If you’re speaking to a customer in the B2C e-commerce space, you don’t want to use language that reflects a B2B buyer’s typical goals — instead, you’ll want to talk about how your product will help reduce customer acquisition costs (CAC) and increase customer lifetime value — concepts that are specifically top-of-mind for an e-commerce buyer.”
Consider, for instance, what your prospects’ goals are — and then work backwards. What potential challenges could inhibit your prospect from reaching their goals? What are they missing in their current strategy? How can you save them time or money?
Doing your research includes getting creative about figuring out your prospect’s situation. For instance, let’s say you’re pitching a social media tool. For starters, you’ll want to take a look at your prospect’s existing social media content, and seek out areas for improvement. Then use this information to guide your hook.  
In this example, a good hook might be: “I noticed your brand is active on LinkedIn and Facebook, but hasn’t taken advantage of Instagram. A competitor I’ve worked with in your industry saw 37% audience growth and 12% increase in sales as a result of implementing a strong Instagram influencer strategy using our social media tool. Want to know more?”
Brian Pickett, a mid-market sales rep at HubSpot, agrees that conducting adequate research ahead of your hook is critical for success.
As Pickett puts it, “I often see new sales reps pitch a product before they have gathered enough information from the prospective buyer. My advice is to truly understand who you are speaking with, what metrics they care about, how things are done today, and where your product can help them specifically.”
Pickett adds, “Once you have this information, it’s important to craft your sales hook around the details they shared with you while using their language, not your own. A good sales hook is not one-size-fits-all but crafted around the prospect and their needs, goals, and desires.”

2. Figure out the customer’s pain points.
As any psychologist will tell you: The pain of losing is twice as powerful as the pleasure of gaining.
Which is why your hook doesn’t need to focus on the benefits of your product or service. Instead, it should focus on your prospect’s pain points — and how you can solve for them.
If you’re unsure how to learn a customer’s pain points, you’re in luck — we’ve written a whole post about that.
A customer’s pain points might include positioning pain points (i.e. “No one knows who our company is”), financial pain points (“Revenue is up, but profitability is low”), or process pain points (“Customer churn is high because our service department is inundated and can’t keep up”).
Figuring out your customer’s biggest pain points is vital for creating a narrative in which your product or service becomes a necessity to your customer’s success or long-term growth. Of course, you don’t want to lie and pretend your product is a solution if it isn’t one. If you identify a prospect’s pain point and recognize your product isn’t a good solution for their needs, that’s a strong sign you’ll want to move on and find prospects that are a better fit.
3. Ask a question as your sales hook.
Associate Inbound Growth Specialist Dan Taft recommends creating a hook that starts with a question.
“As someone who came from a restaurant background and jumped into this B2B sales world cold, something that helped me immensely was to put myself in the shoes of the person I am selling to — for instance, rather than using bland subject lines like ‘HubSpot intro’, I’d try something like ‘growth strategy’ or ‘revenue targets 2022’, to help connect with folks on topics they care about.”
Additionally, Taft recommends making educated guesses on what your prospect’s challenge might be, and then addressing that challenge through a question.
As an example, he says, “You could say something like, ‘How many hours does it take you a week to create reports?’ It’s great when you get a response like, ‘Way too long’ back.”
HubSpot ​​Growth Specialist Jack Chascin also encourages reps to consider how they might tailor their hooks towards the prospect in a way that encourages a positive response.
“For instance,” Chascin says, “if I’m targeting a manufacturing company I want to make sure I’m sharing relevant information that resonates with the pain points my solution can solve for in that industry.”

Chascin says, “If I’m in the prospects shoes, I’d be a lot more apt to respond to someone who I believe has taken the time to try and understand me and my role than someone who is reaching out to me as just another prospect.”

 
4. Practice active listening skills.
Giving an effective hook isn’t about making a statement and walking away — instead, it’s about spending more time listening to the prospect than you spend speaking.
Tori Rotermund, a Principal Account Executive at HubSpot, told me one tip she gives new sales reps is to ensure their sales hook lines up with what the prospect wants to accomplish — something you’ll only figure out by listening.
As Rotermund puts it, “Active listening and asking the right questions are critical to understanding 1) if and how we can help, and 2) articulating it to the customer in a way that gets them excited and makes them feel confident in your solution.”
Sales reps who practice active listening should focus on what the customer is actually saying, rather than waiting until they’re done talking to launch into a pre-planned pitch. Active listening is a four-part process and requires you to listen, confirm you heard the customer correctly, ask relevant follow-up questions, and let the customer guide the conversation.

5. Make it personal and have some fun with it.
HubSpot Sales BDR Amber Brown-Hospedale told me she would encourage new reps to have fun with their sales hook.
Brown-Hospedale says, “This is your first impression in connecting with someone. Make it personal, but also have fun as if you were going out for coffee, or hanging out after work.”
She adds, “There was one prospect I was reaching out to and I realized in addition to sales and marketing, her storytelling interests involved theatre, as well. So, I wrote: ‘Is there a particular day this week or next that works best to put time on the calendar? If nothing else, as a former theatre major we can block some time off in your day to come up with our own soliloquies of the season? Hah!’”
Brown-Hospedale told me the prospect soon followed up, said “LOL”, and booked time with her. Adding a personal touch shows the prospect you’ve done your research, and it will ideally also make them smile.
These prospects are people, after all, with a myriad of interests and hobbies outside of work — figure out how to connect with them on a personal level, and you’ll find it easier to gain their trust and establish a strong relationship from the beginning.
If you’re pressed for time, consider implementing a tool like Icebreaker, which sends you articles already curated by your own internal teams to effectively re-engage the prospect and elicit a response.
Additionally, equipping your sales reps with a tool like Co-Pilot, which curates personalized conversation starters related to local weather, local and company-specific headlines, or local holidays, could go a long way towards increasing the personalization of your outreach efforts.
Next, let’s dive into three real-life examples, used by HubSpot sales reps to effectively land deals. 
Effective Sales Hook Examples

1. The hook that highlights the sales rep’s industry experience. 
“Hey there, thanks for taking a moment to speak with me. A lot of companies I’ve been speaking to within your industry have been struggling to attract new customers, and have also had difficulty getting existing customers to renew. I’m curious if that’s similar to what your experiencing?”
Why this works: This is an effective hook because it highlights the rep’s experience with the prospect’s specific industry — something that immediately signifies the rep’s ability to help solve for the prospects’ unique challenges. It also ends with a question that will enable the prospect to speak about his or her challenges, which will help the rep tailor their approach.

2. The hook that demonstrates gaps in the prospect’s current internal processes. 
“Company prides itself on offering omni-channel growth software that improves service levels and reduces operational costs. Do you feel you inherited a growth platform that does the same for you?”
Why this works: The first line — “Company prides itself on offering omni-channel growth software that improves service levels and reduces operational costs” — was copy-and-pasted from the front page of the company’s website, and used to highlight the irony that the company touted certain product benefits to their customers, but didn’t receive the same benefits from their own internal software. This hook works because it proves the sales rep has done their research on the prospect and feels well-equipped to point out any gaps in their current strategy.
3. The hook that identifies the prospect’s pain points. 
“Hey [name]. I hope that you and your family are safe, healthy and well during these unprecedented times.
I wanted to reach out with a short video to outline some reasons [my product] could be a strong fit for your team. [My product] can consolidate all the different solutions you’re using (for instance, I saw you’re using

for marketing and for social media management). By consolidating all that into one suite, you’ll have a 360 degree view of all your contacts and customers in a central database.
You’ll then be able to take all that information and leverage it for more effective and targeted ad campaigns.
If this is timely for you, happy to have a conversation about other ways [my product] can help you increase conversions and decrease customer churn. If not, happy to be a resource for you in the future.”
Why this works: This is an effective hook because the sales rep took the time to identify the prospect’s pain points — namely, having a messy system with various products that don’t necessarily fit together seamlessly. Focus on how your product or service can make your prospect’s life easier, and you’ll have an effective hook.

Ultimately, learning how to create effective hooks is a matter of trial and error. As you test out new hooks, take note of which ones prove most effective for continuing the conversation with prospects. Using these tips and examples as inspiration, you’re well on your way to creating strong hooks that attract new customers for the long-haul.

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Marketing automation allows your team to increase productivity while simultaneously nurturing more leads.
Within the category of marketing automation tools are B2B marketing automation tools — software that’s ideal for the B2B marketer.

B2B Marketing Automation
B2B marketing automation allows you to streamline marketing tasks and role responsibilities through workflows and triggers. B2B marketing automation is meant to help your team stay productive and efficient while nurturing your leads.
B2B Marketing Automation Examples
Here are some examples of how you might use B2B marketing automation on your team.

Trigger follow-up workflows after leads visit high-intent web pages (e.g. product page, pricing page).
Create educational workflows to send to your new customers — included educational resources may include videos, how-to articles, and knowledge base articles about how they can accomplish basic tasks.
Nurture leads with content that shows you’re a thought-leader in the industry and is also tailored to their specific needs and goals. This will help you show your prospects that you’re the right solution for them.
Set up rewards for loyal brand advocates — for example, send a discount code to a customer after they successfully refer a new customer or complete a certain number of purchases.
Set up email campaigns with lead nurturing so you can better understand which campaigns work best among your audience while also having the ability to manage a higher volume of leads.
Trigger notifications to internal team members when a prospect takes a specific action.
Set up workflows for webhooks, lead scoring, and lead rotation (to Sales).
Automatically complete data fields and update current data to avoid the need for any manual entry.

B2B Marketing Automation Software
1. HubSpot Marketing Automation Software

Price
HubSpot Marketing Hub comes in a free-forever version. For omnichannel marketing automation, you’ll need a Professional plan ($800/mo) or an Enterprise plan ($3,200/mo).
Key Features
With HubSpot, you can create and automate beautiful and customized email drip campaigns to help you nurture prospects. The tool will help you send the right type of email to the right prospect at the right time based on audience criteria.
Use the visual editor to easily create workflows and use advanced segmentation logic to determine which audience members should be enrolled in your workflows. HubSpot makes it easy to personalize emails for your recipients in those workflows by pulling contact information from your HubSpot CRM.
You can implement workflows and triggers for lead scoring, lead rotation, webhook creation, data entry, and internal notifications (e.g. notify your sales team when a prospect completes a certain action).
2. Versium Reach

Price
There are B2B Digital and B2B Direct plans that start at $300/mo/billed annually. There are also pay-as-you-go plans.
Key Features
Versium Reach makes it easy to visualize marketing data. As a B2B marketer, you can view a snapshot of leads so they can effectively tailor content and other marketing materials to them throughout the different stages of the buyer’s journey.
You can also create targeted B2B audiences that you can reuse across all of your digital marketing platforms.
Versium Reach also automatically manages your data for you — it surfaces your ideal targets for you so you don’t have to review multiple data sources.
3. Marketo Engage

Source
Price
Contact Sales for pricing.
Key Features
Marketo Engage is a B2B marketing tool that allows you to segment your audiences and enrich your audience data with engagement information and integrated customer profiles.
Experience automation nurtures your audience and scores engagement throughout the buyer’s journey. It provides tailored content that feels personal for audience members at scale with the help of artificial intelligence.
4. ActiveCampaign

Price 
There are four plans all ranging in price based on the number of contacts that you have and the features you need. Plans start at $9/mo.
Key Features
ActiveCampaign’s Marketing Automation tool gives you the ability to automate a number of tasks such as sending welcome email campaigns and tracking engagement (by using engagement tags, custom fields, and more). 
ActiveCampaign pulls in information about your audience from all of the channels they have access to including social media, live chat, web pages, and SMS. It automatically identifies your most engaged audience members 
Begin Using B2B Marketing Automation
B2B marketing automation has the power to save your B2B marketing team time, increase their productivity, and help them reach and resonate with more qualified leads. So, find the right tool for your team and begin using B2B marketing automation. 

In a 1996 essay, Bill Gates wrote, “Content is king,” and what was true then is still true now. Content is necessary to the success of a business.

If the content is the king, we could say its operations are the queen — or at least a knight. Imagine a startup that wants to create a blog post. It’s a timely post that needs to be up before the end of Q1. Because the startup is new, it hasn’t established concrete operations for blog content. So, the post sits in a Google document with no plan for who uploads the content or what blog platform will host the information. The business has a content writer, but operations don’t typically end there.

Blog posts aren’t the only content option there are. You can incorporate over a dozen different content types, including email, videos, social media posts, podcasts, infographics, and other visual content to increase brand awareness. Without content operations, though, this content likely has no plan for production, publication, or distribution. And what good is a blog post if no one reads it?
If the goal is to post content daily, then you’ll need to identify who is performing the work? What methods are they using? What systems are necessary to get the job done?
One department is the solution to these questions — content operations.

Content operations focus on three elements:

People: who is performing a task and what their roles and responsibilities are.

Process: what functions are needed to complete a project successfully.

Technology: what tools help build out a content operations system.

People
In content and content operations, the people are the foundation. While customers sit at the center of content, the operations aspect focuses on the company and its team. Roles and responsibilities should be well-defined and outlined to keep the system running smoothly.
The first step is defining clear roles. Content teams have content strategists, managers, creators, editors, and more. For example, the content creation department might break down into specialized positions — content writers, graphic designers, and photographers. Although these are typical roles, some content roles and responsibilities may overlap. Content writers and editors have distinct differences. Depending on the team and its bandwidth, your writers may be responsible for editing their work. It is best to avoid overlap; however, that is sometimes impossible. As long as the roles and responsibilities are clear, the team and its operations should function successfully.
Process
Once you have a team in place, how will you get your projects from start to finish? Your people need processes. Your team — and their roles and responsibilities — will help determine workflows to keep your content moving from planning to publishing.
Say you were publishing a blog post. A sample process might go as follows:

Step 1: Strategize and generate the idea.

Step 2: Set a timeline and schedule for the post.

Step 3: Write the post.

Step 4: Edit the grammar and content.

Step 5: Add graphics.

Step 6: Optimize the post for SEO.

Step 7: Publish.

Step 8: Share.

Step 9: Analyze.

If one of the steps in this process falls through, it impacts the overall success of the operation. Style guidelines, templates, and content governance models strengthen processes and promote accountability and consistency. These frameworks help keep content on track, but they need to be used with technology to ensure content operations are running smoothly.
Technology
The last key to successful content operations is technology or the necessary tools for accomplishing each task. Because the planning and execution of content are so extensive, teams require multiple resources to be successful.
The technology for content operations can fall into categories such as:

Project Management & Scheduling
Task Management
Content Execution
Analytics & Reports

Project Management & Scheduling
All content should appear in an editorial calendar. It is a high-level calendar that keeps track of where, how, and most specifically, when content publishes. Not to be confused with scheduling tools that send out timed posts, like Hootsuite or Sprout Social, tools for project management and scheduling include Monday and Asana.
Task Management
Monday and Asana are also great examples of task management tools. These platforms allow for the building, following, and executing of content operations by the team.
Content Execution
Content operations also require the technology needed to execute a task. What is the team using to get the job done? Writers need access to word processing tools, like Microsoft Word or Google Docs. Alternatively, designers might need a variety of web and graphic design tools like Adobe Photoshop or Canva.
Analytics & Reports
Analyzing and reporting is usually the last step in a content life cycle. Analysis tools measure your content and its success. WordPress, the world’s biggest blogging platform, has its analytics capabilities while thousands of companies, including General Electric and NASA, use Google Analytics to monitor their content and traffic.
Who benefits from content operations?
This is a simple question with a simple answer — everyone. Content operations provide stability and consistency at every level. Upper management personnel, like a CEO, know that the business is operating efficiently, which has a positive reflection on the company as a whole.
Content operations also benefit the members of the team who are directly involved. Team members can use clearly defined responsibilities and processes to work confidently in their roles. It can boost both workplace culture and quality of work.
Lastly, and possibly most importantly, the final group that benefits from content operations are consumers. Content is one of the biggest tools companies use to keep current and potential customers engaged. Blog posts provide valuable information and tips. Emails inform them of current or upcoming sales and promotions. As customers build relationships with businesses, they have expectations. Content operations help meet them.
Why do content operations matter?
Content operations lead to results, and they result in:

Saving time and money
Better quality content
Producing content faster
Happy and confident teams

Saving Time And Money
When a content operations team establishes a sound cycle between people, processes, and technology, it leads to efficiency. Efficiency saves time and money. Content operations allow companies to save time by reducing the time needed to get content created, approved, and published. Companies save money when their team can produce content according to schedule without additional resources, for example, extra labor or tools.
Better Quality Content
Content operations promote better quality content. Teams uphold standards for accurate, consistent, and impactful content with a structured content cycle process.
Producing Content Faster
While there should always be a focus on quality content, that content needs to get out quickly. Not all content is evergreen. When faced with an immovable deadline, content operations keep teams on schedule.
Happy And Confident Teams
When team members are unhappy or confused about their roles, responsibilities, or resources, their work may reflect it. Not only does content operations promote accountability and structure, but it allows teams to become confident in their position. It breeds a positive and happy workplace environment for all involved.
Content Operations Manager
At the head of content operation sits the content operations manager. While the title can vary from business to business, the job function is the same. The content operations manager oversees the day-to-day operations of the content team to ensure that the necessary people, process, and technology execute the content strategy.
To accomplish their overall goal, content operations managers might also be responsible for:

Choosing the technology and tools to support operations
Creating and managing company policies and procedures
Streamlining content processes
Recruiting and hiring content staff members
Training new staff members

In summary, the work of a content operations manager has less to do with actual content and more to do with the people, processes, and technology needed to plan, create, and publish it.
The Three Words Of Content Operations
To understand content operations, remember these three words — people, process, and technology. As long as the right people are in place, with knowledge of the processes and access to the technology, the content operations of a company should run smoothly and successfully.

Learn how to integrate your Shopify store with GetResponse to boost your sales, save abandoned carts, and turn one-off customers into returning clients.

Google Sheets is a handy tool for digital marketers, small business owners, and professionals in general. Whether you’re tech-savvy or not, there’s always a way or two this user-friendly Google app can streamline your workflows and processes.  Google Sheets has numerous features, but in many cases, users don’t make the most of it. In this…
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