Home > Companies > Thought Leaders > Q&A with Olivia (Ross) Taylor, Director of CRO at Directive Consulting

Q&A with Olivia (Ross) Taylor, Director of CRO at Directive Consulting

Olivia Taylor, Director of CRO at Directive Consulting has 10 years of working experience in graphic designing and has expert knowledge in CRO/UX in landing pages and websites designing.

Olivia was recently nominated for the Orange County Business Journal's Top 25 Women in Business Awards.

MEDIA 7: What’s your superpower?
OLIVIA TAYLOR: I would like to think my superpower is empathy. That’s part of what CRO is: figuring out and understanding what’s going on through people’s minds and finding out what people need and want.

M7: Does it point to user intent, a term generally used in Account Based Marketing?
OT: Yes, exactly that. Because I’m able to basically understand where the consumer and the buyer is coming from, I can better optimize my clients’ websites, change that language in the headline and the subhead to relate to the customers’ pain points and better describe the benefits of what my client can provide to them.

M7: Your career spans an impressive 8 years from a Graphic Designer to being a Director of CRO at Directive Consulting. What attracted you to this industry, and how does Directive Consulting fit into your story?
OT: I became a designer because all other subjects in school were boring. 2+2 will always be 4, but with design, there are so many possibilities - so many different solutions to a problem. Plus, I always loved drawing and creating.
While going to school, I worked as a designer at a few different places. Then upon graduating, I worked at a tech company in-house but it just wasn’t for me. I moved on to an agency that was full-service, but that also was not the right fit. After that job, I ended up at a PPC agency where I learned about CRO. I started there as just a designer and left there as the Director of CRO.

Using the skills I learned there, I was able to join the upstanding company that is Directive where I’m learning so much more, and doing so many more awesome things than I did at any other job and it has been amazing. It’s so wonderful to work at a place that is professional and that takes the work so seriously, only striving to be the best at being different. 


"The best way we can convince the customers is that we need to address what our client does, that no other competitor can do."

M7: Could you tell us about your best practices for creating an ideal customer experience?
OT: A functioning website that loads quickly
Easy navigation and user experience
Clear offerings and clear unique value propositions (what is it that you do that no competitor does?)
Great social proof (testimonials and case studies from current clients, awards, etc)

Great customer service: prompt support, regular email check-ins to see how your customer is doing, offer deals and promotions - all of these things keep a customer coming back for more.

M7: While creating a unique value proposition, how do you drive in the utility? In other words, how do you convince the customer about the uniqueness of your service?
OT: We definitely have to utilize this through the headline and anywhere in the hero section of the landing page or the homepage because that’s where people are landing first and you need to be able to grab their attention in the first five seconds. So, the best way we can convince the customers, is that we need to address what our client does, that no other competitor can do.

If you can say we’re the only platform that does x, y, and z, that is a great unique selling point. Another thing to consider is backing up your clients with data. If you are offering some sort of platform that will save me time on the implementation of a process, then tell me how much time I’m going to save. If you say, “Cut down your execution time by 90% with our platform” that’s a unique value proposition. That shows the benefit to the user there, and that will entice users to click through and complete the form. So, gaining conversions is usually based around giving real data that explains exactly what value the visitors are going to see or how much money is going to be made or saved, and how much time is going to be saved to solve a problem with this solution. The other side of the coin is “we are the only ones that do x y z” and that will basically set a business apart from their competitors.

M7: How does collaboration and communication come into play in your role?
OT: It’s the entire job. I oversee a design team and I need to make sure my team is not only communicating with me but communicating with other departments. PPC, SEO, and CRO must all work together to get the job done and we’re stronger together than apart. I have daily follow-ups on different accounts, weekly meetings, client sync ups - whatever it takes to make sure that I and the rest of the team have complete transparency into what is happening with these accounts so that we can assist in whatever way we can. We want our specialists and account managers to own their strategy, but the directors are responsible for approving the strategy and improving it if needed.


"As designers, we need to remember that form follows function, so we must be sure that this information is easily accessible, that the message is clear."

M7: What are the biggest mistakes you see businesses making when attempting to optimize their site to increase conversions?
OT: These companies spend tens of thousands of dollars on a rebrand which will be done by a branding agency that has no knowledge of designing a site for increased conversions. Too many times we’ve had clients come in that just had a rebrand done and their conversions plummeted. So we will go in and audit the site to find out what is causing the problem. Too often, design takes over function but we must always remember that form follows function. As an example, the white space in the new site may be beautiful, but none of your visitors can even see what you’re offering until they get halfway down the page. Things like this are the biggest issues we see.

Also, with too many changes implemented at once, it makes it harder to pinpoint what caused the drop in conversions. It’s often times all of the things combined together that caused the problem. If a company is going to focus on increasing conversions, the changes need to be based on data and not on whims or best practices. Data doesn’t lie.

M7: What is the most challenging part of doing a conversion optimization project? What type of resource commitment do you require from your team?
OT: The most challenging part is that the results cannot be guaranteed. Our tests are based on data but they’re just that: a test, a hypothesis. Nothing is written in stone. 9 out of 10 times I will be right in my hypothesis, but there will always be a test that fails. We still celebrate the failure because we still learn from it. We can find out why the test didn’t work and use it to narrow down on what will work.

As far as resources are concerned, we want to make sure that we’re testing at least a few things each week per client. We use Hotjar for qualitative research as well as Google Optimize for on-page testing, and Instapage/Unbounce for landing page testing. Reporting is a big part of our deliverable so a good amount of our time is spent gathering the data and providing insights to the client.

M7: According to you, what prompts a visitor to scroll down to the bottom of a webpage?
OT: Usually you would have to have a message that entices them in the hero section of the landing page. Just like we discussed about the UVPs, we need to show the customer right when they land on the page, that this is the solution for your problem. That will entice them to scroll down. You can sometimes kind of coax people to scroll down: I like to use false CTAs to get more information and if they click that CTA, it will scroll down to the benefit section on the page and that will get people to start scrolling. And from that benefit section you could have a CTA linking to the case studies on the landing page and get them to scroll down even further on the page.

The main issue is people think of redesigning their page to look better and they see horrible conversions because it may be beautiful but it’s not functional. The messaging is vague and does not relate to what it is they do as a company that’s better than anybody else. They don’t adjust the benefits, and they’re too stuck on this flowery and technical language that a lot of SaaS companies like to use. So, the biggest thing is being very upfront with what you do in layman’s terms, making it as clear as possible to the lowest common denominator, so that you have a potentially larger pool of leads versus only having that technical jargon that only a few may understand. This usually relates a lot to B2B and SaaS clients. They get really hung up on their own language that’s very technical but the common man that needs their service doesn’t understand that...just tell them what the benefit is.

So, to summarize that long rant: basically, make sure that the messaging is clear about the benefits right away, then use CTAs on your page to entice people to keep scrolling so they continue to learn more. Keep people engaged and reading, section by section.


"Gaining conversions is based around giving real data that explains what value the visitors are going to see or how much money is going to be made or saved, and how much time is going to be saved."

M7: In a world where anyone can start a web-based business, generating trust is more important than ever before. Considering this, what impact does design have on revenue?
OT: It has a huge impact. If you land on a site that is poorly designed - it’s ugly, it’s confusing, you have no idea what they sell - do you think you would stay on that site for long? No, you’d go to a site that has a clear hero image showing the product and how it works, and a headline that explains what sets it apart from any other competitor product. The way information is presented is just as important as what information is being said.




One-size-doesn’t-fit-all and I’ve seen pages that - funny enough - looked horrible but converted better than the redesign we did, just because the form was more readily available. All the information was above the fold and it looked really scrunched. However, the customers got whatever they needed right away and that was what was important. So even when you’re seeing this image of bad vs good, we could argue that maybe the option on the right still won’t convert because it’s not quite explaining any unique value composition. It has a lot of beautiful imagery but it’s not getting to the point. Although these full-width websites with huge images is the trend, I think it needs to be taken with a grain of salt and used sparingly; and it needs to be dialed back a bit when it comes to conversions. You have these big beautiful images and people have to scroll very far just to get down to the first paragraph which is not good for conversions even though it’s trendy. As designers, we need to remember that form follows function, so we must be sure that this information is easily accessible, that the message is clear and if it is, then great! The beauty comes after that, but messaging has to be clear, concise, and easily understood.

M7: Directive Consulting ranks #1 on Google for “SEO Agency”. What SEO strategies and tools does the company leverage to channelize its sales campaigns?
OT: On page SEO and targeted guest posting with keyword driven anchor text. Then we continually write content around SEO and internally link back to our core SEO page.

M7: As a child what did you want to be when you grew up?
OT: I wanted to be a speleologist (a cave scientist) for years. I was obsessed with caves, stalactites, and stalagmites. I’ve always been interested in maths and sciences, but there are dangers tied to being a cave scientist so I gave up on that. I still sometimes wonder what would have been if I had gone into the sciences instead of design. Maybe I’ll try it out in a few years!

M7: That sounds interesting! Have you visited caves in your earlier days?
OT: Yes, I did visit just a few caves, nothing big like the Man of the cave or Carlsbad cavern but as a child I was very interested in science – Biology, Zoology, Geology just the world around me and caves are interesting because they��re the dark places that not many people go to. I love history, I love biology so I think caves are kind of that interesting combination of both cause they’re ancient and they have these creatures that are so bizarre you know, like these blind salamanders which is like a different world there. I got very fixated on that for a few years as a child, reading all the books I could about it. I had my mind set, this is what I was going to do and I didn’t take into account the dangers of being a cave scientist. You’ll have to get into tight little spaces and there could be cavemen, you could get lost and stuck. Me being a homebody and kind of a bookworm, I decided, you know, maybe this is not the path for me, but I was also an artistic child. I was drawing all the time and that’s how I ended up in design school instead. So a very different path, but I still love science and history so I might dabble in it later in my life but for now it’s been design.

ABOUT DIRECTIVE CONSULTING

Directive does beautiful search marketing for B2B and enterprise companies that share our values. We redefine the global standard for how marketers work, live, and grow. We are a group of SEO, PPC, and content experts who are passionate about working with the best B2B brands in the world. When we are not executing ROI driven campaigns, you can find us drinking cold brew, volunteering in our community, or playing an intense game of ping-pong.

More THOUGHT LEADERS

'Businesses need to understand what 'customer-centric’ means to them' says Barry Richards, VP Global Strategy at Transmission.

Media7 | July 28, 2022

Barry Richards is the VP Global Strategist at Transmission, London. With over 25 years’ experience in the B2B Marketing industry, Barry is a seasoned strategist with a specialism in Account Based Marketing programmes. As part of the leadership team Barry has helped establish and develop the ABM planning, research and insight functions at the agency (including an Insight's Centre of Excellence). He has worked across all accounts and regions helping clients create the right ABM strategy and programmes to meet their goals. ...

Read More

'Don’t just sell a product - use content to establish yourself as an authentic thought leader,' advises AdDaptive Intelligence's Laura Goldstone

Media 7 | March 2, 2022

Laura Goldstone, Director, Communications and Branding Strategy at AdDaptive Intelligence, and an MBA graduate is an accomplished, creative, and strategic marketing leader with a proven ability to develop and implement integrated marketing and communication strategies. We had the opportunity to explore her expertise in elevating brand identities through correct messaging that addresses the customers' pain points. Read on to find out how she leverages analytics and sales communication when creating marketing campaigns that work for AdDaptive Intelligence....

Read More

Customer Success upholds and revamps the value-driven from a product, says Folloze's Adi Aloni

Media 7 | February 14, 2022

We had an opportunity to explore the crossroad between marketing and customer success with Adi Aloni, VP of Customer Success at Folloze. Read and find out more about building a customer success team from the ground up....

Read More

'Businesses need to understand what 'customer-centric’ means to them' says Barry Richards, VP Global Strategy at Transmission.

Media7 | July 28, 2022

Barry Richards is the VP Global Strategist at Transmission, London. With over 25 years’ experience in the B2B Marketing industry, Barry is a seasoned strategist with a specialism in Account Based Marketing programmes. As part of the leadership team Barry has helped establish and develop the ABM planning, research and insight functions at the agency (including an Insight's Centre of Excellence). He has worked across all accounts and regions helping clients create the right ABM strategy and programmes to meet their goals. ...

Read More

'Don’t just sell a product - use content to establish yourself as an authentic thought leader,' advises AdDaptive Intelligence's Laura Goldstone

Media 7 | March 2, 2022

Laura Goldstone, Director, Communications and Branding Strategy at AdDaptive Intelligence, and an MBA graduate is an accomplished, creative, and strategic marketing leader with a proven ability to develop and implement integrated marketing and communication strategies. We had the opportunity to explore her expertise in elevating brand identities through correct messaging that addresses the customers' pain points. Read on to find out how she leverages analytics and sales communication when creating marketing campaigns that work for AdDaptive Intelligence....

Read More

Customer Success upholds and revamps the value-driven from a product, says Folloze's Adi Aloni

Media 7 | February 14, 2022

We had an opportunity to explore the crossroad between marketing and customer success with Adi Aloni, VP of Customer Success at Folloze. Read and find out more about building a customer success team from the ground up....

Read More

Related News

Core ABM

Marketers Given Marginal Grades for ABM-Driven Revenue Growth

GlobeNewswire | January 25, 2024

Seeding and harvesting the sales pipeline — the process of acquiring, capturing, qualifying and converting business opportunities — are essential to the growth and profitability of B2B marketers across every industry and geographic sector. Marketing is largely responsible for driving this business process, yet nearly two-thirds of lead gen and engagement strategies are underperforming. A new Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) Council report, produced in collaboration with WM America, entitled “Fire Up Your Revenue Generation Engine,” covers critical aspects of lead generation and engagement. This includes models and metrics for tracking and measuring performance, best practice demand-gen execution, ways to score effectiveness, and more. The latest CMO Council research finds scores of marketers falling behind in lead scoring, account-based marketing, accelerated pipeline, and intention-based marketing. Key findings from a Q4 survey of over 170 B2B marketing, sales, revenue, growth, demand gen and campaign execution leaders include: 63% say marketing must own and optimize a company’s revenue-generation engine 64% say their lead gen and engagement strategy underperforms 78% of highly evolved marketers are satisfied with their accelerated pipeline, compared to only 15% of lesser evolved marketers “In today’s competitive data-driven environment, marketers should no longer be satisfied with paltry returns on their sizable lead-gen and ABM investments,” the report notes. “It’s time to turn the tables on inefficient, ineffective, and outdated practices for anticipating, adapting, and responding to customer needs and opportunities.” “Marketers must climb the evolutionary ladder and leave behind outmoded and dated practices,” notes CMO Council executive director, Donovan Neale-May. “Using AI-derived, intention-based buyer data and advanced sales intelligence are among the ways growth marketers bring more precision, predictability, and performance to B2B account marketing investments.” The CMO Council’s research revealed the top five skill sets contributing to improved ABM-driven business outcomes: Better segmentation and precision targeting of buyers and influencers On-demand customer business intelligence and personal buyer insights Tighter integration of demand gen, channel, direct sales, and support teams Greater utilization of tools and data sources for richer prospect profiling Proactive and timely pre-sales follow up and cultivation strategies The CMO Council has uncovered widening gaps in performance between highly evolved marketers and lesser evolved marketers. Gaps are occurring in four core capabilities: lead scoring, account-based marketing, accelerated pipeline, and intention-based marketing. This report tiers factors that make up a model for better identification, engagement and conversion. The model coincides with the CMO Council and WM America’s thought leadership initiative to advance lead revenue science practices through a certified Lead Evaluation and Assurance Process, or LEAP model. “Marketers will need to take a few LEAPs of faith in the coming months, because sticking to the status quo is just not practical or possible anymore. As data becomes more critical than ever before, CMOs need to extend their visions for innovation and forward-thinking strategies,” according to Lee Salem, WM America’s Vice President of Sales. Methodology The report is based on a survey of over 170 heads of B2B marketing, sales, revenue, growth, demand gen and campaign execution in Q4 2023. It also included content from in-depth interviews with executives from Netline, Autodesk, T-Mobile, NTT, ABM Consortium, TechTarget, IBM, B2B Marketing, Reachdesk, Momentum ITSMA, and Xometry. About the CMO Council The Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) Council is dedicated to high-level knowledge exchange, thought leadership and personal relationship building among senior corporate marketing leaders and brand decision-makers across a wide-range of global industries. The CMO Council’s 16,000+ members control more than $1 trillion in aggregated annual marketing expenditures and run complex, distributed marketing and sales operations worldwide. In total, the CMO Council and its strategic interest communities include over 65,000 global marketing and sales executives in over 110 countries covering multiple industries, segments and markets. Regional chapters and advisory boards are active in the Americas, Europe, Asia Pacific, Middle East and Africa. The Council’s strategic interest groups include the Customer Experience Board, Digital Marketing Performance Center, Brand Inspiration Center, Marketing Supply Chain Institute, GeoBranding Center, and the Coalition to Leverage and Optimize Sales Effectiveness (CLOSE). To learn more, visit https://www.cmocouncil.org. About WM America WM America is a leading B2B marketing company specializing in targeted in-market demand generation. The intent database at WMA tracks the intent behavior of over 75 million business professionals globally, 24X7. The database is segmented into 3,300 categories. WMA keeps around-the-clock track of buying signals from each category in this database. Based on this extremely strong foundation of data points, the company delivers precisely targeted prospects for focused marketing. Accurate keyword search enables deriving of active content consumption and opt-in content downloads. WMA's deep search ensures accurate and targeted information delivery that helps craft successful, cutting-edge marketing strategies. For more information, visit www.wmamerica.com

Read More

Account Based Data

DemandScience’s End-to-End B2B Demand Generation Products Earn 50 Awards in Winter 2024 G2 Reports

GlobeNewswire | January 10, 2024

DemandScience, a leading B2B demand generation company that accelerates global growth for its clients, today announced that the company’s products earned 50 awards in G2’s Winter 2024 reports. This is the second consecutive quarter DemandScience has won 50 or more G2 awards. Highlights include: four Fastest Implementation awards, three Easiest To Do Business With awards, four Momentum Leader awards, nine Leader and 30 High Performer awards. “Winning 50 G2 awards across our product portfolio underscores DemandScience’s ability to partner with our customers at any point in their demand generation campaign lifecycle to help them exceed their goals and realize a quantifiable ROI – which is vitally important during these times when marketers are expected to do more with less,” said Peter Cannone, Chair and CEO of DemandScience. “We value each and every customer and are especially proud of these G2 awards because they are based on verified reviews from real users of our solutions.” DemandScience’s Winter 2024 G2 awards are both global and regional, including wins in the Americas, EMEA, and APAC. Examples of recent, verified customer reviews of DemandScience on the G2 platform: “The level of knowledge and attention the team provides is exceptional.” “They are very flexible, quick to respond and are thorough from beginning to end. I enjoy having a full program that provides the level of insight and lessons learned once the program wraps up. I’d recommend…” “DemandScience - A win for Lead Gen.” “DemandScience is the best way to get highly qualified MQA (Marketing Qualified Accounts) using content syndication campaigns…” “Klarity by DemandScience is the wind beneath my wings.” “Klarity has been an invaluable and versatile tool for our Growth Marketing team. We have been able to use it in a variety of ways including database building, pulling in specific segments to run campaigns to, and identifying target audiences for us to run in both content syndication and display with DemandScience.” DemandScience’s Content Syndication, ABM Display and B2B Intent Data products won 25 awards: Award Report Easiest To Do Business With Relationship Index for Enterprise Account-Based Web and Content Experiences Easiest To Do Business With Relationship Index for Enterprise Account-Based Advertising Easiest To Do Business With Relationship Index for Mid-Market Buyer Intent Data Providers Fastest Implementation Implementation Index for Mid-Market Account-Based Advertising Momentum Leader Momentum Grid Report for Account-Based Web and Content Experiences Momentum Leader Momentum Grid Report for Account-Based Advertising Momentum Leader Momentum Grid Report for Buyer Intent Data Providers Momentum Leader Momentum Grid Report for Lead Capture Leader Grid Report for Lead Capture Leader Enterprise Grid Report for Lead Capture Leader Small-Business Grid Report for Lead Capture Leader Americas Regional Grid Report for Lead Capture Leader EMEA Regional Grid Report for Lead Capture Leader Europe Regional Grid Report for Lead Capture Leader United Kingdom Regional Grid Report for Lead Capture Leader Enterprise Americas Regional Grid Report for Lead Capture Leader Small-Business Americas Regional Grid Report for Lead Capture High Performer Grid Report for Account-Based Advertising High Performer Grid Report for Buyer Intent Data Providers High Performer Enterprise Grid Report for Buyer Intent Data Providers High Performer Mid-Market Grid Report for Buyer Intent Data Providers High Performer Americas Regional Grid Report for Buyer Intent Data Providers High Performer Americas Regional Grid Report for Marketing Account Intelligence High Performer Europe Regional Grid Report for Account-Based Advertising High Performer Mid-Market Americas Regional Grid Report for Buyer Intent Data Providers Klarity by DemandScience, the company’s B2B marketing and sales Account Intelligence tool for building, sharing, and prioritizing contact lists has won 25 awards: Award Report Fastest Implementation Implementation Index for Small-Business Lead Intelligence Fastest Implementation Implementation Index for Marketing Account Intelligence Fastest Implementation Implementation Index for Sales Intelligence High Performer Small-Business Grid Report for Marketing Account Intelligence High Performer Small-Business Grid Report for Sales Intelligence High Performer Americas Regional Grid Report for Lead Intelligence High Performer Americas Regional Grid Report for Sales Intelligence High Performer EMEA Regional Grid Report for Lead Intelligence High Performer EMEA Regional Grid Report for Sales Intelligence High Performer Europe Regional Grid Report for Lead Intelligence High Performer Europe Regional Grid Report for Sales Intelligence High Performer United Kingdom Regional Grid Report for Lead Intelligence High Performer United Kingdom Regional Grid Report for Sales Intelligence High Performer Asia Regional Grid Report for Marketing Account Intelligence High Performer India Regional Grid Report for Marketing Account Intelligence High Performer Asia Pacific Regional Grid Report for Marketing Account Intelligence High Performer Mid-Market EMEA Regional Grid Report for Sales Intelligence High Performer Mid-Market Americas Regional Grid Report for Sales Intelligence High Performer Small-Business Americas Regional Grid Report for Lead Intelligence High Performer Small-Business Americas Regional Grid Report for Sales Intelligence High Performer Small-Business EMEA Regional Grid Report for Lead Intelligence High Performer Small-Business EMEA Regional Grid Report for Sales Intelligence High Performer Small-Business Europe Regional Grid Report for Lead Intelligence High Performer Small-Business Europe Regional Grid Report for Sales Intelligence High Performer Small-Business United Kingdom Regional Grid Report for Sales Intelligence “Rankings on G2 reports are based on data provided to us by real software buyers,” explained Sara Rossio, Chief Product Officer at G2. “Potential buyers know they can trust these insights when researching and selecting software because they’re rooted in vetted, verified, and authentic reviews.” G2 is one of the world’s largest and most trusted software marketplaces. For more information on G2 Research Scoring Methodologies, visit here. Learn more about what real users have to say at G2’s DemandScience page and Klarity by DemandScience page. About DemandScience DemandScience is the premier B2B demand generation company accelerating global growth for our clients. The DemandScience intelligence platform empowers B2B organizations to swiftly identify the right accounts and target in-market buyers with precision. By combining groundbreaking technologies, machine learning and data science innovation, the company ensures timely delivery of accurate data, intelligence, and insights, adding value to the end-to-end journey from initial engagement to conversion. Founded in 2012, DemandScience provides 1,500 global customers with superior marketing solutions, B2B data, and leads. With a team of 600+ employees across operations in seven countries, DemandScience is certified as a Great Place To Work, named #5 on Fortune Magazine’s 2022 list of the Best Workplaces in Advertising & Marketing, and one of only 143 companies in history to be named to the Inc. 5000 for 10 consecutive years. For further insights on why DemandScience stands at the forefront of transformative demand generation, visit demandscience.com and connect on LinkedIn, X, Facebook, and Instagram. About G2 G2 is the world's largest and most trusted software marketplace. More than 60 million people annually — including employees at all of the FORTUNE 500 — use G2 to make smarter software decisions based on authentic peer reviews. Thousands of software and services companies of all sizes partner with G2 to build their reputation, manage their software spend, and grow their business – including Salesforce, HubSpot, Zoom, and Adobe. To learn more about where you go for software, visit www.g2.com.

Read More

ABM Accounts

Collibra Shines with Multiple MarCom Awards for Excellence

Collibra | November 08, 2023

Collibra receives multiple MarCom Awards, including two Platinum and three Gold Awards, recognizing achievements in design, publications, and podcast production. Highlighted among Collibra's successful projects is 'The Data Download' podcast, which is focused on the data community, AI/ML, and data governance education. The MarCom Awards, sponsored by the AMCP, celebrate creative excellence in marketing and communications, emphasizing the importance of creativity and branding in a competitive market. Collibra, a renowned data intelligence company, has recently announced its remarkable success at the MarCom Awards, where it garnered numerous prestigious accolades for marketing and communications. The company's outstanding achievements were acknowledged with two Platinum Awards, three Gold Awards, and one Honorable Mention, spanning categories such as creative design, publications, and podcast production. One of the highlighted endeavors among these accolades was 'The Data Download,' a podcast dedicated to the data community, AI/ML, and data governance education. The MarCom Awards are a prestigious platform that celebrates the exceptional achievements of creative professionals involved in the conception, direction, design, and production of marketing and communications materials and programs. The judges, who are seasoned industry experts, seek out companies and individuals whose talents transcend the conventional standards of excellence and serve as exemplars for the entire industry. Collibra received the following awards: Platinum Awards Collibra Impact Report Category: Creativity - Design | Annual Report / CSR Collibra Impact Report Category: Publications | Annual Report | CSR Gold Awards The Data Download Podcast by Collibra Category: Web Based | Web Element | Podcast Collibra Partner Program Brand Guide Category: Creativity - Design | Identity Suite Collibra Partner Program Brand Guide Category: Creativity - Design | Program Guide Honorable Mention The Data Download Podcast by Collibra Category: Creativity - Design | Identity Suite MarCom stands as one of the most renowned and longstanding creative competitions globally. These awards are sponsored and evaluated by the Association of Marketing and Communication Professionals (AMCP), a leading organization with a 28-year history comprising thousands of creative professionals. Denise Vu Broady, the Chief Marketing Officer for Collibra, remarked that in today's highly competitive market landscape, strong creativity, branding, design, and content have become more important than ever for brand differentiation. She expressed her enthusiasm in observing Collibra's efforts being acknowledged with multiple MarCom honors. She further conveyed her excitement in sharing this recognition with their broader team and extended her gratitude to them for their diligent efforts in earning these awards.

Read More

Core ABM

Marketers Given Marginal Grades for ABM-Driven Revenue Growth

GlobeNewswire | January 25, 2024

Seeding and harvesting the sales pipeline — the process of acquiring, capturing, qualifying and converting business opportunities — are essential to the growth and profitability of B2B marketers across every industry and geographic sector. Marketing is largely responsible for driving this business process, yet nearly two-thirds of lead gen and engagement strategies are underperforming. A new Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) Council report, produced in collaboration with WM America, entitled “Fire Up Your Revenue Generation Engine,” covers critical aspects of lead generation and engagement. This includes models and metrics for tracking and measuring performance, best practice demand-gen execution, ways to score effectiveness, and more. The latest CMO Council research finds scores of marketers falling behind in lead scoring, account-based marketing, accelerated pipeline, and intention-based marketing. Key findings from a Q4 survey of over 170 B2B marketing, sales, revenue, growth, demand gen and campaign execution leaders include: 63% say marketing must own and optimize a company’s revenue-generation engine 64% say their lead gen and engagement strategy underperforms 78% of highly evolved marketers are satisfied with their accelerated pipeline, compared to only 15% of lesser evolved marketers “In today’s competitive data-driven environment, marketers should no longer be satisfied with paltry returns on their sizable lead-gen and ABM investments,” the report notes. “It’s time to turn the tables on inefficient, ineffective, and outdated practices for anticipating, adapting, and responding to customer needs and opportunities.” “Marketers must climb the evolutionary ladder and leave behind outmoded and dated practices,” notes CMO Council executive director, Donovan Neale-May. “Using AI-derived, intention-based buyer data and advanced sales intelligence are among the ways growth marketers bring more precision, predictability, and performance to B2B account marketing investments.” The CMO Council’s research revealed the top five skill sets contributing to improved ABM-driven business outcomes: Better segmentation and precision targeting of buyers and influencers On-demand customer business intelligence and personal buyer insights Tighter integration of demand gen, channel, direct sales, and support teams Greater utilization of tools and data sources for richer prospect profiling Proactive and timely pre-sales follow up and cultivation strategies The CMO Council has uncovered widening gaps in performance between highly evolved marketers and lesser evolved marketers. Gaps are occurring in four core capabilities: lead scoring, account-based marketing, accelerated pipeline, and intention-based marketing. This report tiers factors that make up a model for better identification, engagement and conversion. The model coincides with the CMO Council and WM America’s thought leadership initiative to advance lead revenue science practices through a certified Lead Evaluation and Assurance Process, or LEAP model. “Marketers will need to take a few LEAPs of faith in the coming months, because sticking to the status quo is just not practical or possible anymore. As data becomes more critical than ever before, CMOs need to extend their visions for innovation and forward-thinking strategies,” according to Lee Salem, WM America’s Vice President of Sales. Methodology The report is based on a survey of over 170 heads of B2B marketing, sales, revenue, growth, demand gen and campaign execution in Q4 2023. It also included content from in-depth interviews with executives from Netline, Autodesk, T-Mobile, NTT, ABM Consortium, TechTarget, IBM, B2B Marketing, Reachdesk, Momentum ITSMA, and Xometry. About the CMO Council The Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) Council is dedicated to high-level knowledge exchange, thought leadership and personal relationship building among senior corporate marketing leaders and brand decision-makers across a wide-range of global industries. The CMO Council’s 16,000+ members control more than $1 trillion in aggregated annual marketing expenditures and run complex, distributed marketing and sales operations worldwide. In total, the CMO Council and its strategic interest communities include over 65,000 global marketing and sales executives in over 110 countries covering multiple industries, segments and markets. Regional chapters and advisory boards are active in the Americas, Europe, Asia Pacific, Middle East and Africa. The Council’s strategic interest groups include the Customer Experience Board, Digital Marketing Performance Center, Brand Inspiration Center, Marketing Supply Chain Institute, GeoBranding Center, and the Coalition to Leverage and Optimize Sales Effectiveness (CLOSE). To learn more, visit https://www.cmocouncil.org. About WM America WM America is a leading B2B marketing company specializing in targeted in-market demand generation. The intent database at WMA tracks the intent behavior of over 75 million business professionals globally, 24X7. The database is segmented into 3,300 categories. WMA keeps around-the-clock track of buying signals from each category in this database. Based on this extremely strong foundation of data points, the company delivers precisely targeted prospects for focused marketing. Accurate keyword search enables deriving of active content consumption and opt-in content downloads. WMA's deep search ensures accurate and targeted information delivery that helps craft successful, cutting-edge marketing strategies. For more information, visit www.wmamerica.com

Read More

Account Based Data

DemandScience’s End-to-End B2B Demand Generation Products Earn 50 Awards in Winter 2024 G2 Reports

GlobeNewswire | January 10, 2024

DemandScience, a leading B2B demand generation company that accelerates global growth for its clients, today announced that the company’s products earned 50 awards in G2’s Winter 2024 reports. This is the second consecutive quarter DemandScience has won 50 or more G2 awards. Highlights include: four Fastest Implementation awards, three Easiest To Do Business With awards, four Momentum Leader awards, nine Leader and 30 High Performer awards. “Winning 50 G2 awards across our product portfolio underscores DemandScience’s ability to partner with our customers at any point in their demand generation campaign lifecycle to help them exceed their goals and realize a quantifiable ROI – which is vitally important during these times when marketers are expected to do more with less,” said Peter Cannone, Chair and CEO of DemandScience. “We value each and every customer and are especially proud of these G2 awards because they are based on verified reviews from real users of our solutions.” DemandScience’s Winter 2024 G2 awards are both global and regional, including wins in the Americas, EMEA, and APAC. Examples of recent, verified customer reviews of DemandScience on the G2 platform: “The level of knowledge and attention the team provides is exceptional.” “They are very flexible, quick to respond and are thorough from beginning to end. I enjoy having a full program that provides the level of insight and lessons learned once the program wraps up. I’d recommend…” “DemandScience - A win for Lead Gen.” “DemandScience is the best way to get highly qualified MQA (Marketing Qualified Accounts) using content syndication campaigns…” “Klarity by DemandScience is the wind beneath my wings.” “Klarity has been an invaluable and versatile tool for our Growth Marketing team. We have been able to use it in a variety of ways including database building, pulling in specific segments to run campaigns to, and identifying target audiences for us to run in both content syndication and display with DemandScience.” DemandScience’s Content Syndication, ABM Display and B2B Intent Data products won 25 awards: Award Report Easiest To Do Business With Relationship Index for Enterprise Account-Based Web and Content Experiences Easiest To Do Business With Relationship Index for Enterprise Account-Based Advertising Easiest To Do Business With Relationship Index for Mid-Market Buyer Intent Data Providers Fastest Implementation Implementation Index for Mid-Market Account-Based Advertising Momentum Leader Momentum Grid Report for Account-Based Web and Content Experiences Momentum Leader Momentum Grid Report for Account-Based Advertising Momentum Leader Momentum Grid Report for Buyer Intent Data Providers Momentum Leader Momentum Grid Report for Lead Capture Leader Grid Report for Lead Capture Leader Enterprise Grid Report for Lead Capture Leader Small-Business Grid Report for Lead Capture Leader Americas Regional Grid Report for Lead Capture Leader EMEA Regional Grid Report for Lead Capture Leader Europe Regional Grid Report for Lead Capture Leader United Kingdom Regional Grid Report for Lead Capture Leader Enterprise Americas Regional Grid Report for Lead Capture Leader Small-Business Americas Regional Grid Report for Lead Capture High Performer Grid Report for Account-Based Advertising High Performer Grid Report for Buyer Intent Data Providers High Performer Enterprise Grid Report for Buyer Intent Data Providers High Performer Mid-Market Grid Report for Buyer Intent Data Providers High Performer Americas Regional Grid Report for Buyer Intent Data Providers High Performer Americas Regional Grid Report for Marketing Account Intelligence High Performer Europe Regional Grid Report for Account-Based Advertising High Performer Mid-Market Americas Regional Grid Report for Buyer Intent Data Providers Klarity by DemandScience, the company’s B2B marketing and sales Account Intelligence tool for building, sharing, and prioritizing contact lists has won 25 awards: Award Report Fastest Implementation Implementation Index for Small-Business Lead Intelligence Fastest Implementation Implementation Index for Marketing Account Intelligence Fastest Implementation Implementation Index for Sales Intelligence High Performer Small-Business Grid Report for Marketing Account Intelligence High Performer Small-Business Grid Report for Sales Intelligence High Performer Americas Regional Grid Report for Lead Intelligence High Performer Americas Regional Grid Report for Sales Intelligence High Performer EMEA Regional Grid Report for Lead Intelligence High Performer EMEA Regional Grid Report for Sales Intelligence High Performer Europe Regional Grid Report for Lead Intelligence High Performer Europe Regional Grid Report for Sales Intelligence High Performer United Kingdom Regional Grid Report for Lead Intelligence High Performer United Kingdom Regional Grid Report for Sales Intelligence High Performer Asia Regional Grid Report for Marketing Account Intelligence High Performer India Regional Grid Report for Marketing Account Intelligence High Performer Asia Pacific Regional Grid Report for Marketing Account Intelligence High Performer Mid-Market EMEA Regional Grid Report for Sales Intelligence High Performer Mid-Market Americas Regional Grid Report for Sales Intelligence High Performer Small-Business Americas Regional Grid Report for Lead Intelligence High Performer Small-Business Americas Regional Grid Report for Sales Intelligence High Performer Small-Business EMEA Regional Grid Report for Lead Intelligence High Performer Small-Business EMEA Regional Grid Report for Sales Intelligence High Performer Small-Business Europe Regional Grid Report for Lead Intelligence High Performer Small-Business Europe Regional Grid Report for Sales Intelligence High Performer Small-Business United Kingdom Regional Grid Report for Sales Intelligence “Rankings on G2 reports are based on data provided to us by real software buyers,” explained Sara Rossio, Chief Product Officer at G2. “Potential buyers know they can trust these insights when researching and selecting software because they’re rooted in vetted, verified, and authentic reviews.” G2 is one of the world’s largest and most trusted software marketplaces. For more information on G2 Research Scoring Methodologies, visit here. Learn more about what real users have to say at G2’s DemandScience page and Klarity by DemandScience page. About DemandScience DemandScience is the premier B2B demand generation company accelerating global growth for our clients. The DemandScience intelligence platform empowers B2B organizations to swiftly identify the right accounts and target in-market buyers with precision. By combining groundbreaking technologies, machine learning and data science innovation, the company ensures timely delivery of accurate data, intelligence, and insights, adding value to the end-to-end journey from initial engagement to conversion. Founded in 2012, DemandScience provides 1,500 global customers with superior marketing solutions, B2B data, and leads. With a team of 600+ employees across operations in seven countries, DemandScience is certified as a Great Place To Work, named #5 on Fortune Magazine’s 2022 list of the Best Workplaces in Advertising & Marketing, and one of only 143 companies in history to be named to the Inc. 5000 for 10 consecutive years. For further insights on why DemandScience stands at the forefront of transformative demand generation, visit demandscience.com and connect on LinkedIn, X, Facebook, and Instagram. About G2 G2 is the world's largest and most trusted software marketplace. More than 60 million people annually — including employees at all of the FORTUNE 500 — use G2 to make smarter software decisions based on authentic peer reviews. Thousands of software and services companies of all sizes partner with G2 to build their reputation, manage their software spend, and grow their business – including Salesforce, HubSpot, Zoom, and Adobe. To learn more about where you go for software, visit www.g2.com.

Read More

ABM Accounts

Collibra Shines with Multiple MarCom Awards for Excellence

Collibra | November 08, 2023

Collibra receives multiple MarCom Awards, including two Platinum and three Gold Awards, recognizing achievements in design, publications, and podcast production. Highlighted among Collibra's successful projects is 'The Data Download' podcast, which is focused on the data community, AI/ML, and data governance education. The MarCom Awards, sponsored by the AMCP, celebrate creative excellence in marketing and communications, emphasizing the importance of creativity and branding in a competitive market. Collibra, a renowned data intelligence company, has recently announced its remarkable success at the MarCom Awards, where it garnered numerous prestigious accolades for marketing and communications. The company's outstanding achievements were acknowledged with two Platinum Awards, three Gold Awards, and one Honorable Mention, spanning categories such as creative design, publications, and podcast production. One of the highlighted endeavors among these accolades was 'The Data Download,' a podcast dedicated to the data community, AI/ML, and data governance education. The MarCom Awards are a prestigious platform that celebrates the exceptional achievements of creative professionals involved in the conception, direction, design, and production of marketing and communications materials and programs. The judges, who are seasoned industry experts, seek out companies and individuals whose talents transcend the conventional standards of excellence and serve as exemplars for the entire industry. Collibra received the following awards: Platinum Awards Collibra Impact Report Category: Creativity - Design | Annual Report / CSR Collibra Impact Report Category: Publications | Annual Report | CSR Gold Awards The Data Download Podcast by Collibra Category: Web Based | Web Element | Podcast Collibra Partner Program Brand Guide Category: Creativity - Design | Identity Suite Collibra Partner Program Brand Guide Category: Creativity - Design | Program Guide Honorable Mention The Data Download Podcast by Collibra Category: Creativity - Design | Identity Suite MarCom stands as one of the most renowned and longstanding creative competitions globally. These awards are sponsored and evaluated by the Association of Marketing and Communication Professionals (AMCP), a leading organization with a 28-year history comprising thousands of creative professionals. Denise Vu Broady, the Chief Marketing Officer for Collibra, remarked that in today's highly competitive market landscape, strong creativity, branding, design, and content have become more important than ever for brand differentiation. She expressed her enthusiasm in observing Collibra's efforts being acknowledged with multiple MarCom honors. She further conveyed her excitement in sharing this recognition with their broader team and extended her gratitude to them for their diligent efforts in earning these awards.

Read More

Spotlight

Directive Consulting

Directive does beautiful search marketing for B2B and enterprise companies that share our values. We redefine the global standard for how marketers work, live, and grow. We are a group of SEO, PPC and content experts who are passionate about working with the best B2B brands in the world. When we are...

Events

Resources

resource image

DIRECTIVE CONSULTING PORTFOLIO

Whitepaper

resource image

Biggest B2B Marketing Challenges That We See Everyday as an Agency

Video

resource image

Why Content for Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

infographic

Events