Podcasts about smartbug

Click here to try Databox free, or learn more.Jen Spencer (CEO of SmartBug) shares how they've grown by serving the right clients, with the right services, managed by the right team. Learn how this segmentation has been a huge factor in their success, and get insights you can use at your company.Links Explore Databox Benchmarks Follow Jen Learn more about SmartBug If you liked the episode, let us know on LinkedIn!

What is up PartnerUp!Today's episode is a crossover episode from the Marketing Together podcast hosted by Logan Lyles. Jen Spencer is the CEO of SmartBug, a full-service revenue-driving digital agency. She shares essential tips for partner marketing. She touches on things like balancing multiple partners and analyzing the reasons for success or failure of a partner marketing campaign.Hope you enjoy!Never miss an episode of the world's number 1 podcast on partnerships by subscribing to PartnerUp on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. If you're a visual person, sub to our YouTube, and see the full recording of us learning out loud.Share the episode with your commentary on LinkedIn or Twitter and we'll highlight your commentary. We love to hear your thoughts on each episode, and always comment back or respond to emails/dms. Hey! We're real people. You can check out all past and future PartnerUp episodes and subscribe to the world's number 1 partnerships newsletter, PartnerHacker Daily (PhD) at https://partnerhacker.com/.

In this podcast today, I will discuss the company SmartBug! Listen to the podcast for details! --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/thressa-sweat/support

Hannah Shain, SmartBug's former VP of Marketing, is talking too loud about her big move to France. Move over Emily, here comes Hannah in Paris!Robert Chatwani, the Chief Marketing Officer at Atlassian, is talking too loud about the college application process. His daughter is going through it, which means that Robert is also going through it. And it's tough! The choices, the essays, the tours, OH MY!Links to learn more about Robert and Hannah:Robert's LinkedIn Hannah's LinkedIn Follow us:twitter.com/wistiaSubscribe:wistia.com/series/talking-too-loudLove what you heard? Leave us a review!We want to hear from you!Write in and let us know what you think about the show, who you'd want us to interview on future episodes, and any feedback you have for our team.

With Daniel Graff-Radford, CEO of Allbound On this episode of the Intelligent Inbound Podcast, Jen and Daniel talk about how businesses can build better customer relationships by asking the right questions up front. As a former founding member of Allbound, Jen opens the conversation with a full circle moment. She's once again leveraging Allbound's software solutions, but this time, from the vantage point of SmartBug's CEO. Since those early days, as Allbound's CEO explains, a lot has changed within the industry, yet the company has managed to stay on top of the trends, all while retaining top-tier talent. For businesses to remain competitive, especially as rumors of economic uncertainty loom, they'll also need to invest in real, tangible solutions to their customers' most pressing challenges. As both Daniel and Jen point out, it's about posing the right questions, to the right stakeholders, at the right time. And in order to truly measure the success of those initial inquiries and proposed solutions, companies must deliver reliable, relevant, and pointed metrics so that customers and executive boards alike can make data-informed decisions to end the year on a high note and enter 2023 with confidence. Jen and Daniel discuss: Facing economic uncertainty with poise and agility (07:08) Nurturing partner relationships (12:24) Thriving in a digital world with a remote workforce (16:20) Asking your customers the right questions (22:36) Measuring your organization's health (25:42) Investing in content that connects with your customers (31:31) What should Saas CEOs invest in next? (36:34)

On this very special episode of The Intelligent Inbound® Podcast, recorded at INBOUND 2022, Jen talks with Stephanie, Chief Revenue Officer of SmartBug, about what it's like to be a woman in a C-suite executive leadership role today. The path to success hasn't been easy for either of these women, from first launching their careers, to working their way up the corporate ladder. But with equal parts grit, gumption, and determination, they've learned how to take big risks and make big moves without letting adversity get in the way of their next great audacious goals. Listen in as Jen and Stephanie chat: Gender and racial disparities at the C-Suite level (02:48 ) Stephanie's early days as a working mom (04:08) Jen's first career ambitions in the non-profit sector (11:26) “Can I pull up a chair?” Learning as you go (12:56) Client > CRO > President > SmartBug's CEO (16:30) Navigating male-dominated workspaces (19:29) Overcoming imposter syndrome (23:58) “You've got to take a risk.” (27:57)

On the season finale of SmartBug on Tap, Hannah Shain shares some useful tips on how to get started with TikTok as a B2B marketer. If you're thinking TikTok is just for teens and gen z-ers, think again. Brands are growing, recruiting is flourishing, and more leads than ever are being generated from this platform. So if you haven't started yet - it's time to jump in! 

On this episode of SmartBug on Tap, Hannah Shain shares what's on her marketing dashboard and what metrics and data we should be digging into on a weekly basis. Data is the lifeblood of your organization. And putting that data into actionable, goal-oriented reporting is critical for us as marketing leaders as we guide the ship, and make decisions on the next investment or game plan. 

In this episode of the Startup Selling Podcast, I interviewed Jen Spencer.   Jen Spencer is the CEO of SmartBug Media®, a leading Intelligent Inbound® marketing agency that assists both B2B and B2C e-commerce businesses in growing revenue by generating leads, scaling revenue operations, and building market awareness through digital content, design, and web development. Jen is an influential thought leader in the sales, marketing, and revenue operations space, regularly speaking at B2B conferences as well as serving as a mentor for revenue leaders through Pavilion's Rising Executives Program. She also started and hosted a weekly podcast called SmartBug on Tap for several years before launching the new Intelligent Inbound Podcast® aimed at challenging the status quo for inbound marketing with inspiring stories from some of marketing's most innovative and successful players. Jen subscribes to the notion that “we're all in this together,” and great communication leads to a great partnership. She loves animals, technology, the arts, and really good Scotch. Some of the topics that we covered are:   At what stage of your business should you consider hiring a Marketing Agency? What is the importance of having sales-minded marketing people or marketing-minded salespeople? What can you do as a startup in terms of marketing; if you are not ready to hire a marketing agency as yet?  What are the signals to know it's time to hire a marketing agency?  Links & Resources:    Website: https://www.smartbugmedia.com/   LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jenspencer/   Twitter: https://twitter.com/jenspencer   The Intelligent Inbound® Podcast: https://open.spotify.com/show/1MV0CnkTDtCupFnPJzJLFG?si=2452443647174d73 Listen & subscribe to The Startup Selling Show here:   BluBrry | Deezer | Amazon | Stitcher | Spotify | iTunes | Soundcloud | SalesQualia   Thanks so much for listening! Tell a friend or ten about The Startup Selling Show, and please leave a review wherever you're listening to the show.

On this episode of SmartBug on Tap, Hannah Shain talks trending campaigns, specifically QR codes, and how you can bring QR codes into your B2B marketing. Stay tuned as we go beyond the infamous Super Bowl ad to explore actionable insights. 

On this episode of The Intelligent Inbound® Podcast, Jen talks with Jignesh Shah, Head of Integrated Incentives at Rybbon, a Blackhawk Network business.  Rybbon is the leading digital rewards management platform used by 1,000+ companies like Lyft, Pandora, RedHat, and SmartBug to boost customer acquisition and lead generation programs. Jignesh has been building and marketing products for 20 years at start-ups and enterprises and was previously the CMO at Metalogix and Vice President at Software AG. Jen and Jignesh discuss how to use digital rewards to drive better marketing performance across the customer journey and more.

Dean Dutro is the Co-founder of Worth eCommerce, a company helping e-commerce stores drive new and repeat sales with email and SMS marketing. Dean is a Klaviyo and e-commerce expert with over six years of experience in the industry.  Before co-founding Worth eCommerce, Dean founded many email marketing-focused companies, including Emailgrowthtraining.com, Instant Email Copy, and GobySavvy UX Reviews. In this episode… How can you be sure you're getting acquired by the right company? What happens after a business acquisition? Why is email marketing for e-commerce businesses so profitable? Dean Dutro is here to tell you. Co-founder of Worth eCommerce, Dean Dutro, talks about his recent acquisition by SmartBug. Along with host, Todd Taskey, Dean discusses how to execute a successful acquisition, increasing valuation, the benefits of email marketing, and much more.

On this episode of SmartBug on Tap, Jen Spencer shares how SmartBug® worked with Longview to optimize its Marketo investment, boosting lead generation and qualification, and maximizing its marketing ROI.

On this episode of SmartBug on Tap, Jen Spencer shares how SmartBug worked with 1st United Credit Union to overcome a reporting challenge with the institution's third-party software.

On this episode of SmartBug on Tap, Jen Spencer shares how SmartBug worked with a cosmetic surgery practice to build a new website, improve its premium content, and serve its patients better, and ultimately thrive during a pandemic.

On this episode of SmartBug on Tap, Jen Spencer shares how SmartBug worked with Southern Nazarene University to maximize HubSpot and increase the number of applications to the College of Professional and Graduate Studies programs.

Smartbug’s Chief Revenue Officer and RevOps analyst Jen Spencer talks about her recent benchmarking report on the convergence of inbound marketing and revenue operations (RevOps): a survey of 200-plus revenue leaders that includes a RevOps framework for how best to adapt to these trends. Rev Ops — or the alignment of technology and processes to… The post Tech Stacks for RevOps with Jen Spencer appeared first on Eric Schwartzman.

On this episode of SmartBug on Tap, Jen Spencer shares three strategies to maintain consistent revenue growth in your business. Jen discusses how to: 1. Maintain a consistent marketing strategy 2. Leverage marketing automation 3. Personalize your marketing approach  

On this episode of SmartBug on Tap, Jen Spencer shares how to get the most out of account-based marketing without ditching inbound.  Jen shares how inbound and ABM are made for each other and how to get started by:  1. Focusing on the right goals 2. Ungating your content 3. Exploring different verticals Links Mentioned  LIVE DEBATE: Gated vs. Ungated Content Debate

On this episode of SmartBug on Tap, Jen Spencer shares four effective sales enablement strategies to help reps meet their quotas. Jen discusses the following strategies: 1. Redefine Sales Leadership 2. Treat Sales Enablement as a Marketing-Driven Role with Sales 3. Use Customer Personas to Serve Better Customers 4. Set Up More Meaningful Benchmarks

On this episode of SmartBug on Tap, Jen Spencer shares six strategies to turn your blog into a lead generation engine. Jen discusses the following tips: 1. Buyer Personas  2. Blog Subscribers 3. Using CTAs 4. Quality Content 5. Topic Clusters 6. Pop-Up Forms  

On this episode of SmartBug on Tap, Jen Spencer shares a simple five phase approach to setting up a successful tech stack integration project. If you are planning to integrate your sales, marketing, or ERP systems and need to know how to best structure the project, this episode is for you.    

On this episode of SmartBug on Tap, Jen Spencer shares tips for running a fully remote quarterly planning session.  Jen discusses the following: Establishing goals Laying out an agenda Creating working agreements Building a virtual parking lot And more! Links Mentioned Agile Planning for Remote Teams Template        

On this episode of SmartBug on Tap, Jen Spencer shares how to successfully measure sales and marketing attribution in HubSpot. Jen discusses the following tips: 1. Ensure your data is clean.2. Determine what the C-suite cares about.3. Set a baseline of metrics.4. Start with the sample reports.5. Optimize and double down on the metrics that are working.

On this episode of SmartBug on Tap, Jen Spencer shares some of our recent encounters with HubSpot's Service Hub. Jen discusses the following updates: Custom Feedback Surveys Multi-Language Knowledge Base Identify Logged-In Visitors in Chat

On this episode of SmartBug on Tap, Jen Spencer shares the most popular HubSpot integrations that advanced HubSpot users take advantage of on a daily basis, and how these integrations simplify their lives as a marketer and/or sales leader.   Jen shares the following integrations: Salesforce Microsoft Dynamics Vidyard CallRail WordPress Links Mentioned The Most Popular HubSpot Integrations for Advanced Users

On this episode of SmartBug on Tap, Jen Spencer shares how your business can leverage CMS Hub. Jen shares the following recent HubSpot CMS enhancements: Adaptive testing for Enterprise customers Built-in SEO tools Serverless functions And more! Links Mentioned Live Debate: Build Your Website on HubSpot CMS vs. WordPress

On this episode of SmartBug on Tap, Jen Spencer shares the best Marketo add-ons for mid-sized business. Jen shares add-ons that will help: Your sales team see Marketo data without leaving your CRM Your reps easily send and track template emails You with your Account-Based Marketing efforts And more! Links Mentioned Marketo Sales Connect Ad Network Integrations Retargeting Website Personalization Predictive Content

On this episode of SmartBug on Tap, Jen Spencer shares three tips for analyzing HubSpot’s multi-touch attribution reporting. Jen will discuss:
 1. How to choose the data dimension that suits your reporting needs. 2. The four main conversion points used for attribution models. 3. How to understand the different attribution models available Links Mentioned How to Analyze HubSpot’s Multi-Touch Attribution Reporting

On this episode of SmartBug on Tap, Jen Spencer shares some of HubSpot's recent enhancements that impact contextual marketing. Jen will share a few recent updates including: Two-Way Contact Syncing with HubSpot and Shopify Adaptive Testing "Wait Until” Delays in Workflows

On this episode of SmartBug on Tap, Jen Spencer shares some recommendations on how to migrate a Marketo instance. Jen will share: A few questions to work through with your team to help determine your goals. A short list of people who should know their roles in advance. How to deep clean your CRM to prepare for your migration How to organize your current marketing platform And more! Links Mentioned Your Complete Marketo Migration List Marketo's Setup Checklist

In this episode of SmartBug on Tap, Jen Spencer shares why SmartBug Media® decided to become HubSpot Advanced CMS Certified.

In this episode of SmartBug on Tap, Jen Spencer talks about the pros and cons of migrating from WordPress to the new iteration of HubSpot’s content management system, named CMS Hub.

Sales enablement, in its most simple application, is the holistic process of providing your sales team with the information, collateral, and processes they need to seal more deals. In this episode of SmartBug on Tap, Jen Spencer shares how to build your sales enablement strategy in three easy steps.

The senior living is an industry where building authentic and relational trust with the customer is paramount. You just can’t get that kind of authenticity from a blog. Video finds a way to make the experience feel more real and personal.  In this episode of SmartBug on Tap, Jen Spencer shares four types of videos senior living teams can start using now.

Most inbound marketing professionals want to make the world a better place. But, no matter how idealistic and well-meaning we are, most of us have lead numbers and sales quotas to hit.  One way inbound marketers generate leads is to gate content. On this episode of SmartBug on Tap, Jen Spencer discusses why we gate content (and when we shouldn't).

Welcome to Season Two of SmartBug on Tap. We’re back after a summer hiatus, and on today’s episode Jen Spencer is chatting about mergers and acquisitions—and their impact on Search Engine Optimization.  

What if marketing didn't help sales? Jen Spencer believes marketing works for sales and along with lead generation marketing needs to be practicing sales enablement.  What's that mean? In this episode of the If you Market Podcast Jen gives us the steps and steps and processes to maximize marketing's impact on sales.  As Vice President of Sales and Marketing, Jen Spencer leads SmartBug’s sales, marketing, and brand strategy. Over her career, Jen has built several demand generation and sales enablement programs from the ground up and has experience working within tech startups, publicly traded companies, mid-market organizations, and the not-for-profit space.

This week's EYE ON NPI is buggin' out - with TDK Invensense's SmartBug Multi-Sensor Wireless Module! (https://www.digikey.com/en/product-highlight/i/invensense/smartbug-multi-sensor-wireless-module) Much like our recent product, the Adafruit CLUE (https://www.adafruit.com/product/4500) we're seeing more and more chip companies create 'showcase' hardware boards with a large number of sensors, and a wireless setup for quick demos. TDK did a particularly nice job on this one, its both adorable and powerful! From the product description page: (https://www.digikey.com/en/product-highlight/i/invensense/smartbug-multi-sensor-wireless-module) This module combines six sensors, a powerful wireless (BLE) MCU, seven algorithm-driven features, and a rechargeable battery all in a small ladybug enclosure. It also comes with the option of an add-on board that includes a Wi-Fi module, an SD card slot, and an ultrasonic sensor from TDK. It is the go-to module for quick and easy access to reliable and smart sensor data. The data from each sensor and algorithm can be accessed out-of-box without the need for any programming, soldering, or extra modifications. This makes it a perfect catalyst for IoT product developers, algorithm developers, and sensor data enthusiasts to better understand real application signatures, environment variations, and multi-sensor/algorithm behaviors. I like that they went with a cute shape for this board, its a plastic ladybug, but is easy to open up with only 3 simple screws. Inside is a custom PCB with micro USB power/data, a Nordic nRF52840, 290mAh battery, and a whole mess-load of sensors. There's also an expansion port on the side, which you can use to plug in more sensors like a ToF range finder, two buttons, SD card storage and an ESP32 WiFi module. (https://www.digikey.com/product-detail/en/tdk-invensense/MD-42688-P-XB/1428-MD-42688-P-XB-ND/12525334) The nRF52840 is the main processor, and provides the sensor connectivity, USB interface and of course Bluetooth LE - its one of our favorite processors, and hey it could be reprogrammed to run CircuitPython which would be super cool if someone made a board definition..hint, hint. In the SmartBug is 5 sensors that cover motion and environment: ICM-42688 triple axis accelerometer plus gyroscope (https://www.digikey.com/product-detail/en/tdk-invensense/ICM-42688-P/1428-ICM-42688-PCT-ND/11679713) ICP-10101 barometric pressure (https://www.digikey.com/product-detail/en/tdk-invensense/ICP-10101/1428-1143-1-ND/9555755) AK09940 triple-axis magnetometer (https://www.digikey.com/product-detail/en/akm-semiconductor-inc/AK09940/974-1191-1-ND/10231690) SHTC3 humidity + temperature sensor (https://www.digikey.com/product-detail/en/sensirion-ag/SHTC3/1649-1100-1-ND/8628149), The real star quality of this product is the surprisingly well-done Windows 10 application. As you may know, Windows 10 added native BLE support, so it's possible to write desktop apps to communicate with sensors. You can find the app in the app store, so there's no popups warning you about running unknown apps. Once installed, you can run it, select BLE as the transport and connect in a jiffy. The app has many nice features. The plotter is the first one we tried. It's exactly how you'd imagine, with selectable data rates - you can have multiple sensors at once. Next we tried the activity monitor - this one implements tap detection, plus pedometer/activity sensing using the IMU. What's nice is that since this board is wireless you can put it in your pocket to test the pedometer! Finally, we looked at the HVAC demo that uses the pressure sensor to detect when filters in an AC unit need replacing. I liked the realistic product demos here, for example I didn't realize that was a use case for pressure sensors. TDK / InvenSense is famous for their IMU's - they're used in a wide range of motion-activated video game systems and VR such as the Nintendo Wii and Oculus Rift. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/InvenSense) So it's no surprise they have a really sweet IMU demo showing of their fusion algorithms. These are now often built into the chips themselves, running a proprietary Kalman-like filter that will spit out quaternions or Euler angles. Again, this is a great demonstration of the wireless connectivity - you can pick up the ladybug and twist and twirl it around to see the rock-stable fusion output. All in all, it's a nice bit of kit, at a good price! You can pick up a SmartBug at Digi-Key today, they have plenty of stock, and will ship it to you same day (https://www.digikey.com/product-detail/en/tdk-invensense/MD-42688-P/1428-MD-42688-P-ND/12525336) ------------------------------------- Visit the Adafruit shop online - http://www.adafruit.com LIVE CHAT IS HERE! http://adafru.it/discord Adafruit on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/adafruit Subscribe to Adafruit on YouTube: http://adafru.it/subscribe New tutorials on the Adafruit Learning System: http://learn.adafruit.com/

On the season finale of SmartBug on Tap, I announced our summer hiatus and share how you can quench your Intelligent Inbound® thirst until we return with Season 2 in September of 2020. I also encourage listeners to expand their podcast library to include voices that are sharing important information about diversity, inclusion, and social justice.  Links Mentioned SmartBug Website Code Switch She+ Geeks Out Pod Save the People

COVID-19 has been devastating, and it has already landed some heavy blows that will leave marks for a long time. By adjusting to these strange times, you can come out ahead on the other side. On this episode of SmartBug on Tap, I share five coronavirus-focused SaaS marketing strategies.

At SmartBug, we know a thing or two about working remotely. In fact, it’s one of the foundational cornerstones of our company. Over the years, we’ve found the secret recipe that enables us to spend ample time with those we love, while still having fulfilling careers. When working from home is done right, we know that remote workers can be more productive than those in an office. On this episode of SmartBug on Tap, I share four tips for staying productive while working from home.

It’s official: We’re in a recession. Although it’s not clear how long this pandemic-induced recession will last—or what the economy will look like when it’s over—to be recession-proof and retain your customers, you shouldn’t go dark. You must keep marketing and advertising in order to beat the odds.  On this episode of SmartBug on Tap, I share how to recession-proof your business.

During these uncertain times, it’s inspiring to see so many businesses opening their virtual doors a bit wider to support healthcare professionals, educators, and families whose lives have been significantly impacted by the coronavirus outbreak.  Generosity has not been limited to those on the front lines. We’re also seeing free and discounted tools and trainings to support marketing, sales, and service professionals. On this episode of SmartBug on Tap, I share five free and discounted tools to support Intelligent Inbound® during COVID-19. Links Mentioned During the Show Free and Discounted Tools to Support Intelligent Inbound During COVID-19

Sales and marketing are two different departments with the exact same goal, but they’re incredibly different animals with different perspectives and approaches. The solution for better alignment? Sales enablement. Sales enablement is about closing the loop between marketing and sales to ensure that everyone has the intel and content they need to meet customers wherever they are on the buying journey. On this episode of SmartBug on Tap, I share 6 ways marketing can help sales succeed with sales enablement.

If your business has a website, you’ve probably heard of Google Tag Manager, which is the free software tool that gives you the ability to install different types of tags on your website.  In the past, companies needed a web developer on their team in order to track codes. With hundreds of codes to track, this got a bit complicated to update and maintain. Google Tag Manager came in and solved the problem by storing all tags in one place—the Google Tag Manager account. On this episode of SmartBug on Tap, I share five benefits of Google Tag Manager.

Video marketing is one of the strongest ways to give a visual introduction or demonstration of your products or services—and it allows you to capture the attention of your buyer personas at the right stage of the Buyer’s Journey.  On this episode of SmartBug on Tap, I share five best practices to ensure that your company benefits from video marketing.a

Video marketing is one of the strongest ways to give a visual introduction or demonstration of your products or services—and it allows you to capture the attention of your buyer personas at the right stage of the Buyer’s Journey.  On this episode of SmartBug on Tap, I share five best practices to ensure that your company benefits from video marketing.

Long gone are the days of publishing high volumes of low-quality, wafer-thin content and expecting your search engine rankings to increase. Today, SEO is as much an art as it is a science. It requires content writers and digital marketers to understand search engine ranking factors, prioritize searcher intent, and publish valuable, high-quality content that appeals to users and Google’s algorithm.  On this episode of SmartBug on Tap, I share five SEO-friendly content writing tips to outrank your competition.

No matter what industry you’re in, inbound marketing’s buyer-driven approach to content creation turns leads into customers by leveraging your company’s expertise and experience. On this episode of SmartBug on Tap, I share content ideas and examples for every stage of the marketing funnel. 

Should you be using pop-up ads on your page? The answer is more complex than you may think. Despite self-reporting that ads provide a poor user experience, when pop-ups are implemented appropriately, they can be incredibly effective. On this episode of SmartBug on Tap, I share the history of pop-up ads, if they work, and some do’s and don’ts to follow if you give them a try on your website.

Today’s guest is Jen Spencer - Vice President of Sales and Marketing at SmartBug Media. Jen runs a series of weekly podcasts called “SmartBug on Tap” with thousands of listeners. Over her career, Jen has built demand generation and sales enablement programs from the ground up and has experience working within tech startups, publicly traded companies, mid-market organizations. Michael and Jen talk about: the role of the podcast in modern b2b, Jen’s experience in starting and growing a podcast, and what makes a good podcast great. Enjoy listening!

Brands are only as successful as the stories they tell. In a world where everyone is inundated with content, video has become a top contender for being visually appealing and effective as a tactic for marketing.  On this episode of SmartBug on Tap, I share three ways that sales video can help your sales team convert prospects into customers.

Case studies are great pieces of collateral that can have immediate impact on the audience you connect with and can be used in a number of ways throughout the course of your marketing and sales efforts. On this episode of SmartBug on Tap, I share four essential elements of a great case study. 

As remote work becomes increasingly popular and more statistics surface about its effectiveness, it’s clear that this style of working could be the wave of the future. However, it’s important for you and your individual company to decide if remote work is the right fit for your organization.  In this episode of SmartBug on Tap, I talk through five ways we’ve seen remote work make employees more productive.

With almost 2.5 billion users on Facebook every month and advertising capabilities that are highly targetable, this is one advertising platform businesses should consider including in their marketing budget.  But what’s right for you will depend on your marketing goals and budget.  On this episode of SmartBug on Tap, I share a few key distinctions to help you decide what is right for your business.

Having a blog-posting strategy in place that resonates with your target audience will help with your goal of generating more leads for your business and helps establish your business as a thought leader in your industry—so you need to make sure your posts are optimized to maximize your reach.  On this episode of SmartBug on Tap, I’ll share a few easy steps to consider before hitting publish on your next post.

If you’re no stranger to SmartBug, you’re not new to the conflict between sales and marketing. We talk about the misalignment between marketing and sales all the time, but the same conflict can exist between marketing and the C-suite as well.  CEOs are focused on revenue generation and business growth, and they want their teams to be laser focused on an upward trajectory of revenue. A critical element of helping the C-suite find value is in how you present the data to them. On this episode of SmartBug on Tap, I’m going to be sharing several elements you should always include in your marketing reports, especially when your CEO is involved. Check us out on Apple Podcasts here. And if you don’t use Apple Podcasts, here’s an alternative link.

Did you know that almost half of all Google searches are local? People are constantly searching for information that’s relevant to their needs, and most people are looking for something close to their home or work. Therefore, if you’re not optimizing your content for local search, you’re missing out. But not to worry. On this episode of SmartBug on Tap, I’ll share a few easy steps to help you get started in optimizing your website for local SEO. Check us out on Apple Podcasts here. And if you don’t use Apple Podcasts, here’s an alternative link.

You’ve got a killer webinar topic, but you have no idea how to market it (much less how to leverage the event after it’s over). On today’s episode of SmartBug on Tap, I’ll tell you 12 easy steps to market your public-facing webinars to make yourself (and your topic) stand out. What are the six steps you should be taking before the webinar, and how do you continue to market the event once it’s over? The answers are more simple than you think, and they're all here. Check us out on Apple Podcasts here. And if you don’t use Apple Podcasts, here’s an alternative link.

Maybe this isn’t true at your company, but I’m seeing that marketing marketing is finding itself deeper inside the sales pipeline.   Especially when revenue goals rely on feeding sales with qualified leads that become paying customers.   On this episode of SmartBug on Tap, I talk to you about 2 ways that marketing should own its role in the pipeline and give 2 tips for making it happen.   Check us out on Apple Podcasts here. And if you don’t use Apple Podcasts, here’s an alternative link.

Marketing automation is all about efficiency — in general. But it’s so easy to misuse (by spamming inboxes and frustrating contacts). Before you think you’re ready to ready to implement, ask yourself these 3 questions first. On this episode of SmartBug on Tap, I talk to you about how to know whether you’re doing email marketing automation right.  P.S. I’m proud (and excited) to announce the free resource we launched: The Ultimate Guide to Marketing Automation Software. Check us out on Apple Podcasts here. If you don’t use Apple Podcasts, here’s an alternative link.

Thanks to an increasingly content-fatigued audience, and a rise in the popularity of automation and conversational AI, today's SDRs face an uphill battle.   Because of this, SDRs need the right tools, skills, and collateral to really connect with the right leads and usher them through the buyer's journey.   And as marketers, there are some things you can do to help your SDRs be more successful.    So, on this episode of SmartBug on Tap I’m sharing my 4 tips for ensuring your SDRs have everything they need to succeed.

Employing a great contextual marketing strategy on your website can help you build awareness, generate leads, nurture prospects, and delight your customers.   But how do you put together a great strategy?   On this episode of SmartBug on Tap I’m sharing my top 4 tips to employing a great contextual marketing strategy on your website.    Check us out on Apple Podcasts here. And if you don’t use Apple Podcasts, here’s an alternative link.

It can be intimidating to shift from 100% inbound marketing to ABM. You're probably not entirely positive on how you'll prove to leadership that ABM works for your organization. Lucky for you, we recently discussed ABM metrics with two industry experts. Jen Spencer, Vice President of Sales & Marketing at SmartBug, and Todd McCormick, CRO right here at Terminus give us some industry-leading advice on measuring ABM success Here's what we cover: Setting KPIs that matter Mixing inbound and ABM Finding the best SaaS product Testing different verticals To listen to this episode and more like it, you can subscribe to #FlipMyFunnel on Apple Podcasts or tune in on our website.

I get really excited when a customer agrees, or better yet, proactively volunteers, to participate in a case study.   But let’s be honest. The case study process can be a bit nerve racking.    Your customers are really busy people. So, you only have one opportunity to talk with them.   Yet successful case studies are crucial to your business, so it’s important to be prepared to make the most of your client interviews.   So, on this episode of SmartBug on Tap, I’m sharing some pro tips, helpful information, and 15 questions you can ask your customers to ensure you get stellar case studies.   Check us out on Apple Podcasts here. And if you don’t use Apple Podcasts, here’s an alternative link.

This may go without saying.    But website design today absolutely must account for the proliferation of users accessing pages on mobile devices.    And there's a huge difference when designing for a desktop versus mobile.    So, with that in mind, on this episode of SmartBug on Tap I’m sharing my top 10 tips for designing for mobile.    Check us out on Apple Podcasts here. And if you don’t use Apple Podcasts, here’s an alternative link.

Printed content is generally complete when it's published.    But websites are different. Because they're not 100% final when they go live. Pages will be added or removed. And design and functionality will be changed, as needed.     So, while you want it to be as perfect as possible at launch, your website is meant to be an evolving, improving creation. And to foster this kind of growth driven design, you need to know what's working and what's falling short of expectations.    That's where analytics come in handy. On this episode of SmartBug on Tap, I outlined several tips for using analytics to ensure your website is high performing.    What we talked about: What analytics you should actually use Google Analytics, HubSpot, Heatmaps How often you should run analytics What metrics you should look at   Check us out on Apple Podcasts here. And if you don’t use Apple Podcasts, here’s an alternative link.

Every month, tens of thousands of Google users search some version of "how to block pop-ups."    Evidently, we're not all in love with this digital marketing tactic.    But here’s the thing: some types of pop-ups can actually be a pretty useful addition to your inbound marketing strategy.    So, on today’s episode of SmartBug on Tap we’re looking at pop-ups, how they’ve evolved, and how you can effectively incorporate them into your inbound strategy.    Resources we talked about: HubSpot Lead Flows Juli Durante’s article about pop-ups   Check us out on Apple Podcasts here. And if you don’t use Apple Podcasts, here’s an alternative link.

I'm happy to report that the SmartBugs are all back in our respective cities after a few of us were in Boston last week for HubSpot's INBOUND 2019 conference.    We had a great time visiting with everyone there and really walked away with some great key takeaways.    One of the highlights for me was the launch of HubSpot’s frictionless selling framework. The framework is a road map to reducing friction and improving the effectiveness of your sales team.   So, on this episode of SmartBug on Tap I’m walking you through the framework and how we’re applying it here at SmartBug Media. 

Ryan Malone discusses SmartBug’s team structure and how his agency’s org chart has changed over time to accommodate growth. We talk about team (or “pod”) structures, career pathing, and how SmartBug split up responsibilities by role.

If you've looked at the agenda for this year's conference, the first thing you probably noticed is that there are literally hundreds of sessions to choose from. Unfortunately, that means it's simply impossible for you to attend all of these amazing sessions. You've got the challenge of choosing and prioritizing how you'll spend your time in Boston.   But we’re here to help. That’s why we started our Countdown to INBOUND series a few weeks ago. We’re giving you the inside scoop on all things INBOUND to help you decide which sessions to attend.    So, with that in mind, two more team members — Benji Bateman, Marketing Consultant and Amber Kemmis, VP of Client Services — came on this week’s episode of SmartBug on Tap to share two more sessions you don't want to miss. 

Last week we kicked off our Countdown to INBOUND series. This series is designed to give you the inside scoop on all things INBOUND. We’re here to help you decide things like which sessions to attend, to help you really get the most out of your time there.   Today we’re introducing you to two more of our team members, Christopher Hutchens, Marketing Consultant, and Nicki Kamau, Marketing Programs Manager. They came on this week’s episode of SmartBug on Tap to talk about the INBOUND session they're most excited about and why they're recommending that you attend as well.

On this episode of SmartBug on Tap we kicked off our Countdown to INBOUND series.    INBOUND 2019 is right around the corner, so we’re hoping this series will provide you some inside scoop to the world’s most remarkable business event hosted by HubSpot!    Two of our Senior Marketing Strategists, Jessica Vionas-Singer and Paul Schmidt, came on the show to share the details of the INBOUND session they're most excited about and why they're recommending that you attend, as well. 

On this episode of SmartBug on Tap, I’m talking about how marketers can better prepare their sales team for a campaign launch. And since my role oversees both marketing and sales, this topic is near and dear to me.   As you can imagine, our internal sales and marketing alignment is extremely tight here at SmartBug Media. So, I thought you'd appreciate hearing the way we roll out a marketing campaign and what types of enablement resources we provide our sales team. 

Today’s 24/7 news cycle has created the need for content. But staff writers can't do it all. They need you. That’s where contributed content comes in.  Contributed content is when someone at your company authors an article for publication in a trade publication or mainstream outlet. And, if you follow a few tips, you can pitch your content in a way that increases your chance of being published. That leads to improved brand awareness, increased thought leadership, and a greater exposure for your website. So, on this episode of SmartBug on Tap I’m sharing my top four tips for pitching your content. 

You probably know how important it is to use buyer personas.  But your work doesn’t end there. It's actually really important to consider customer personas, negative personas, and micro personas. Each of these personas can be helpful when it comes to increasing the success of your marketing campaigns.  So, on this episode of SmartBug on Tap, I’m talking through how to use each of these three personas. 

Lead nurture campaigns can seem a bit tricky. After all, there are a lot of elements, like creating great copy or choosing the right frequency, that you need to get right in order to convert leads. But don’t worry — in this episode of SmartBug on Tap I’m sharing my guide to addressing each of those elements to create a great lead nurture campaign.  These are the eight steps you need to follow to create that great campaign — and how to get each of those steps just right. 

If you're already writing SEO-optimized, persona focused content, and if you're publishing that content on a regular basis and creating detailed newsworthy updates that Google's going to love, then the tips I'm going to share with you in this episode of SmartBug on Tap will provide some ideas on where you can go next.  On this show I’m sharing our team’s favorite tips to help you refine your content strategy and grow your organic search. 

We've all been there. You sit down to write and…nothing. Whether it's a blog post, an e-book, or sometimes even an email, writer's block can affect us all. If you're up against a deadline and just can't get your words down on paper, I have some helpful ideas to get you out of your rut. In this episode of SmartBug on Tap I’m sharing six tips for overcoming writer’s block.

Infographics made their splash in 2013. Six years later, they’re still popular. That’s pretty unusual in the fast-paced, ever-changing market we’re used to today. And while infographics have definitely evolved with advances in marketing technology, the same best practices for successful infographic creation — and the same reasons you’d want to create an infographic — still ring true today.   So, why are infographics still a valuable content marketing tool? On this episode of SmartBug on Tap I’m sharing five reasons why infographics are still a power content marketing tool in 2019.

Inbound marketers today are armed with a serious amount of data. And that data can be used to help a sales team close deals faster. In this episode of SmartBug on Tap I covered the three main ways I like to approach this challenge: segmentation, personalization, and well crafted lead nurturing campaigns. All three of these tactics will give your leads the "I am a special snowflake" feeling and really help build trust.

I expend a great deal of energy simply trying not to react. See, I've learned the hard way that, if I react, when the dust settles, my reaction didn't properly represent my intentions. It's when I've allowed myself to react quickly that I've regretted my choices. Because, as it turns out, I never actually made any conscious choices at all. So, on this episode of SmartBug on Tap, I want to share why it's good to hit the pause button every now and then to reset your intentionality.

Watching a new qualified lead come in is a beautiful thing, because it's a validation of our marketing efforts and our market fit. After all, you can have the best product or service in the world. But if it doesn't solve a real person's problem, good luck selling to anyone. So, with my marketing brain on high alert, the first thing I look for in a lead is its source — what did we do that paved that yellow brick road for this individual to flow directly to us. Was it the webinar we co-produced last week with another organization? The conference we exhibited at? Or any number of educational, provocative blog posts that we wrote and have been shared on LinkedIn and Twitter. My favorite type of lead are those that come from channel partners. Why? Well, that’s what I wanted to talk about on this episode of SmartBug on Tap.

There's one kind of question that frequently comes up when I'm doing webinars or in-person presentations: What kind of content belongs in each stage of the buyer's journey? In this episode of SmartBug on Tap, I’m talking about what kind of content you should use through each stage of the buyer’s journey and how to deliver it from a tactical perspective. This will ultimately help you achieve that goal of creating a new customer.

In this episode of SmartBug on Tap, I’m talking about why and how you can use PR to ramp up your content marketing program. Many organizations make the mistake of thinking that a content marketing program fits into the same bucket as public relations. But the thing is, there's more opportunity out there. That's where PR comes in. With that in mind, I want to share three ways you can use public relations to really get the biggest bang out of your content marketing program.

On today’s episode of SmartBug on Tap, I’m sharing how you can utilize your marketing team to enable sales. Many people assume sales enablement is strictly a job for sales managers. This is wrong! There’s one trick you can use to sell efficiently at a higher velocity rate: your marketing team. Today we’re going to take a step back and look at what sales enablement really is. I’ll also be sharing 3 simple extensions that your marketing team can utilize to ensure a smooth transition for your future customers as they shift from marketing to sales.

Shawnna Sumaoang: Hi, and welcome to the Sales Enablement PRO podcast. I am Shawnna Sumaoang. Sales enablement is a constantly evolving space, and we are here to help professionals stay up-to-date on the latest trends and best practices so they can be more effective in their jobs. Our guest today is Jen Spencer, VP of sales and marketing at SmartBug Media where she leads the sales, marketing, and brand strategy. Throughout her career, she has built many sales enablement programs from scratch and we are so excited to be hearing from her today. Jen Spencer: Of course, of course. I love it. SS: So, I want to jump a little bit over to the conversation that you led at the Sales Enablement Soiree. We really kind of had you focused on the content component. In the panel, you had actually mentioned that the lines are starting to blur between marketing content and enablement content. I would love your opinion on how they differ and then also how they work together. Jen Spencer: So I think when you’re creating content, you should be thinking about that buyer’s journey, so they’re moving through stages of awareness, consideration, decision, and then you’re getting into evangelism. And there is content that is more appropriate in some stages than they are in others. So, that’s when we see something like a blog that is very educational is going to be something that is more an awareness stage piece of content because you are just trying to attract people based on a pain they’re having. If you are talking about consideration stage content, now someone knows they have pain, they have to figure out if they want to do anything about it, and the option is always still no, I’m not going to do anything about it. So, if you’re trying to show them that there’s a better way, then you’re still continuing to educate them not just on your product or your solution, but on what happens if you don’t do anything. And then into decision, decision I think gets split into kind of two different areas. It’s intent and then actual decision. So, the intent is “I know I have a problem, I’ve recognized that there’s a solution, now I have to figure out which solution I am going to select.” So, if that solution is on software, now there are five different companies that do the same thing, and then kind of deciding to move forward with an organization. So, why do I explain all this? I’m explaining all this because everyone moves through that buyer journey at a different pace and with a different level of understanding. So, if I have previously purchased – let’s use, for example, I’m going to pick on Gong again – call recording software. This is a purchase I recently made and I have previously purchased that software. So, my buyer journey was very different the second time around than it was the first time that I purchased that. The first time I was stressed out about the legality, I was stressed out about how exactly it was going to function, that was what I was worried about. The second time around, I already knew all of that. I felt comfortable with it. But earlier on in my buyer journey, I wanted to get into the weeds of what the product actually did, and I didn’t want to talk to a sales rep. So, whereas in my first time buying that software it was more appropriate for the sales rep to be educating me on the functionality of the product. My second time around, I wanted that information a lot quicker. I think that’s where we’re seeing the marketing demand gen content and the sales enablement content kind of blur. It is based off of where that customer is in that person’s journey, and there is nothing about the number of visits I’ve made to your website or my job title that will tell you I’ve already purchased software like this before and I’m not at the 12th grade level, I’m at the Ph.D. level of this purchase. SS: You mentioned this at the Soiree as well, so I wanted to dive into it. That’s the follow on question. But you mentioned how sales and marketing leaders are struggling to meet buyers where they are in their buyers’ journey and you called out some great points there. How do you think enablement can really help address that issue though? JS: We need to, first of all, make sure that we are providing customers with access to the types of tools or resources that they are looking for, and the fact is that in a digital world it’s really easy to make things available to people and kind of test and see what works and what doesn’t and turns things on and turn things off. So, let’s say there was some kind of a calculator-type tool or some kind of resource that you were previously kind of keeping to yourself and you weren’t making it more publicly available, what’s the harm in making it publicly available? Actually, you can start to gather some data on how that sort of resource is used, for example. The other piece is making sure you are providing your sales reps and anybody really, for that matter, who is interacting with customers, so your customer success team, and we’re talking about sales reps and picking on them. Your customer success team probably has some upsell goals and churn goals as well, so we need to be enabling them and making it very easy for them to connect pain or connect opportunity with the right kind of content or material that the customer would need. We need to make it easy for the customer on their own to find it but then also that the sales rep or customer success rep or whatever role that is, that person has easy quick access to what is going to help them serve the customer better. I think we are not as forthcoming culturally about how hard it is because we sometimes we come into the “check the box” culture. We were just talking about this internally. Here at SmartBug, our own knowledge base, for example, has gone through multiple different iterations. And we still are not satisfied. We haven’t found the solution that really makes it effortless, as effortless as possible, for our team to get the information they need to properly serve our prospects and our customers. So it’s something that we are constantly iterating on. Now, I happen to work for a company that doesn’t mind being five or six months into something and going, “hey, this isn’t working, let’s change it.” But I also recognize that’s not the norm. So, being comfortable with cutting the line on projects that you’ve started or maybe investments that you made that you thought were going to make sense, and just really tracking what’s become actually useful and being really honest about how useful it is. You should be able to log into systems and you should be able to see how many times a certain piece of content or a certain resource has been used and by whom. And if it’s not being used, is it a training issue or is it a system issue? SS: That’s perfect. That’s great feedback and absolutely true. I also want to ask, and this is deviating a little bit but just knowing your background with Allbound, I would love to just get your take on the difference between kind of direct sales enablement and then channel sales enablement. What are some of the challenges that are unique to the channel sector? JS: Channel has been really interesting for me because I worked at Allbound, right, where it was a true enablement and sales product for channel. Before that, I ran marketing at an organization that sold 80% of its business through channel, so I was on that end of it. And now, I’m in a position where I am a channel partner of many organizations and it is painful. It is very, very painful. I mean I kind of knew, but now I really know. So, the biggest thing is – and I’ve said this before but it’s still very, very true – you need to treat those channel partner sales reps like they are your sales reps. They need to be an extension of your team. So what I’ve noticed is, well, here’s the pricing documentation and rules of engagement we have for our internal team, but we don’t share that with our partners. Well, why? That doesn’t make any sense. So you really need to treat your partners like they are part of your team and make it easy for them to access resources that are necessary. There is an organization I am a partner with. Just today I said, “I just want to verify that this is the most accurate pricing document” and he said, “you know what, no, we rolled out a new one.” Luckily I asked because otherwise, I would be setting both myself and my partner rep over there up for failure because I’d be sharing – in this case, the pricing increased – so I would be sharing a lower price point with this potential customer who is then going to get blindsided by an additional price. It is going to position me as not really knowing what I am talking about. Ultimately, they would end up wanting a discount because they knew that other price had existed at some point, which they should ask for. So, I think that’s one of the hardest things that I see also for partners. Partners are typically partnering with many organizations and it is easy to forget that you’re not the only one. I mean, we are partnered with so many technology companies that I had to create a whole separate sales pipeline in our CRM to keep track of all of the referrals we are doing because we had no system of record for checking as a whole what commissions we were owed or what stage things were at. We are working with direct reps at all of these different organizations. So, I had to create a custom field in the deal record so I can keep track of the individual rep and I can kind of report on that because I’ve got my CEO who’s asking me about it, who’s saying yes, it’s great for us on paper to say we’re partnering with these companies, but what is it doing for us bottom line-wise? And these are all separate organizations, so there’s no one tool that’s going to come and solve all this. It is tough, and I think the thing that organizations need to do is have some empathy for those partners, understand kind of what they are going through, and try to make it as easy as possible for them to get access to the resources that they need, and never be in a position where they are going, “do I have the most accurate this, or the most updated that?” That should never be a question. SS: Absolutely, absolutely. Expanding beyond channel and because you raised this earlier before, and it’s an interesting topic around doing enablement beyond sales. I’m curious to hear your perspective, though, on if sales enablement, no matter where they sit, does span the entire go-to-market team. It seems like it would be challenging because all of those different functions execute relatively differently. Like, how do you enable marketing and how do you enable customer success in ways that are similar but different from the way that you have to enable your sales reps? JS: It’s a really good question, and it is something that we deal with regularly in our organization. Mostly, that’s because I have three sales reps who are responsible for bringing on new business but we have like 35 strategists who are basically in a customer success type of role that are working day in and day out with customers, and are responsible for keeping them as customers and growing them as customers and what have you. And those people aren’t salespeople by nature, right? They’re not at all. That’s not what we’re hiring for in that position. So, what we do is we do have that knowledge base that I mentioned. It is a little sick, so it’s not ideal. But we do have kind of a knowledge base where we are keeping track of all of our processes and those resources, but then we are doing kind of spin-off trainings that are very, very focused depending on the role, and that is something that we just recognized that we have to do as an organization. Some of the core material might be the same regardless of what their function is, but there are going to be scenarios, there is going to be training with different role-playing, there are going to be just different situations, so it behooves us to just dedicate some separate time for those particular functions. SS: Thanks for listening. For more insights, tips and expertise from sales enablement leaders, visit salesenablement.pro. If there is something you would like to share or a topic you want to know more about, let us know. We would love to hear from you.

On today's episode of SmartBug on Tap I’m talking about how you can maximize your trade show marketing efforts by actually incorporating digital strategies. During an era where nearly every marketing innovation is digital, there is still one traditional mainstay I see in B2B marketing — the trade show. But live event marketing campaigns, such as trade shows, are expensive endeavors. How much of the money allocated to these events is wasted? How could marketers use cost-effective digital marketing campaigns to improve the overall ROI of these efforts? That’s what we’re talking about today. I’m going to give you 4 tactical tips to help you reduce budget waste, become more efficient, and successfully transition from scanning a live lead at a trade show to converting that lead into a sales opportunity.

Jen Spencer here. On today’s episode of SmartBug on Tap we’re talking about buyer personas. Specifically, how sales teams can use personas to close more deals. Here’s a rundown of what we’ll cover. First, we’re going back to the basics, reviewing what a buyer persona is and what it is not. Next, I’ll review the importance of negative personas. Finally, I’ll give you some tips for integrating personas into your sales process. And if using personas is a bit new to you, I’ve got three steps you can take to get started. Let’s dive in.

While I was working for a SaaS startup, a member of our board once gave some advice for sales and marketing. He said pick one, maybe two bets, and go all-in. It's not in my nature to go all-in, especially when there’s a lot at stake, but it’s something I'm working on. And this wonderful little thing called data sure does help. On our latest episode of SmartBug on Tap, we discussed the 3 keys to going all-in with your data. Check it out.

In this episode of the #NewPodcast series, Logan shares part of the very first episode of SmartBug On Tap with Jen Spencer, VP of Sales & Marketing at SmartBug Media. Check out the new show in your favorite podcast player: Apple Podcasts Spotify Sticher SoundCloud

Ryan Malone, Founder and CEO of SmartBug Media, an inbound marketing agency, HubSpot Diamond Partner, and winner of more than 100 awards, founded his company on this premise:  That clients would be best served by providing them with marketing strategists who had in-the-trenches P&L, product launch, skin-in-the-game experience and an understanding of the impacts of wrong decisions. Ryan started his career leading marketing teams for publicly traded and early-stage technology companies. He saw agencies that threw any available talent at the strategic function – using interns, copywriters, and graphic designers to develop marketing plans, then blaming poor performance on his company's failure to provide the correct inputs for the marketing agencies' “whiz-bang” strategic processes. Ryan wanted to build his agency with the best veteran marketers he could find. But, how could he do that in Orange County, CA, where local talent would be limited to those who would be willing to drive in community that ranks first nationally in stressful (nightmarish) commutes? Ryan decided to hire the best-fit marketers for his agency, regardless of location, and to put his strategists front row with clients, instead of interjecting “account managers” into the company-client relationship. Today, his company has almost 60 employees, all completely remote . . .located in 25 states and 2 provinces. He warns that the idea that companies will save money by hiring remote employees is a misconception – the cost savings of not having physical facilities is more than offset by the added costs of building a strong team and company culture. Every year, SmartBug brings all the employees and their families together at a top West Coast resort for a training, team-building, quality-time event, SmartBugaplooza. Ryan believes the quality of talent he has been able to acquire through hiring remote is a strategic advantage – but, focusing on culture is critical to making the long distance relationships work. Another practice that Ryan has found to be effective is that he interviews prospective new employees ahead of need (SmartBug is always hiring) and queues up candidates with scheduled onboarding. Again, his hiring field is not local . . . it's all of North America . . .and having potential hires “ready” means he is not forced into making potentially risky “emergency hires.” Ryan also explains why it is important to establish corporate policies when a company is small. Ryan talked about growing his agency and covered some of what is in this interview in more depth when he presented “Building a Remote Agency at Scale: The Big Decisions You Will Face and Must Conquer” at Hubspot's Inbound 2018 conference. Ryan can be reached on his company website at: smartbugmedia.com, by email at: ryan@smartbugmedia.com, and on LinkedIn at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ryanmalone

Don't miss this week's guest, Jen Spencer, VP of Sales & Marketing at SmartBug Media.  We'll be live at 11:30 PST Thurs. 1/4.  Check back here for the recording no later than 1/8/18 and read the transcript on the Heinz Marketing blog on Mon. 1/15/18.   We'll talk about:  How to enable your entire go-to-market team: Best practices and advice to increase conversion rates and sales success Some Highlights: Intelligent Inbound - Data-oriented - Not just blogs and whitepapers -- web design, PR, sales enablement, creative working together to grow revenue and marketing ROI - Importance of the marketing to sales handoff with inbound - Evolution of public relations; how to use it to enhance inbound strategy MORE ABOUT OUR GUEST:  Jen Spencer is Vice President, Sales & Marketing for SmartBug Media, a leading intelligent inbound marketing agency that assists businesses in generating leads; increasing awareness; and building brand loyalty through inbound marketing, digital strategy, design, marketing automation, and PR. Prior to her role at SmartBug, Jen was the VP of Sales and Marketing at Allbound, a partner sales acceleration software-as-a-service solution provider. She was responsible for developing and executing an inbound demand generation strategy, raising brand and market awareness for Allbound, and channel sales and marketing. She helped the company reach 50 percent growth in year-over-year traffic and a 363 percent increase in sales leads. While serving as Director of Marketing at nettime solutions, acquired by Paychex in June 2014, Jen developed and executed an inbound lead generation and content marketing strategy while supporting a channel of referral, reseller, co-branded, and white-labeled partners. Through her role, the company saw a 103 percent increase in website traffic, a 415 percent increase in direct sales leads, and an 89 percent increase in revenue. Whether she's writing a blog, delivering a speech, interviewing clients or managing agency relationships, aligning with her audience is always at the forefront of her mind. Jen subscribes to the notion that “we're all in this together,” and great communication leads to great partnership.  In her free time, Jen serves on the Board of Girls in Tech - Phoenix, a local chapter of the global non-profit focused on the engagement, education and empowerment of girls and women who are passionate about technology.  If you get to know Jen, you'll discover she loves animals, technology, the arts, and really good Scotch. She's also the mother of twin teenage boys which means there's likely a lone dirty sock in every room of her house.

Over the past few years, organizations have wrestled with the concept of remote employment - having employees who work from home. Much has been written about the effectiveness of the remote worker, and how to lead a remote - or virtual - team. A recent Gallup study revealed that more Americans are working remotely, yet not all industries and organizations have embraced the concept. As many companies struggle to find the sweet spot, one organization has gone all in with a 100% remote workforce, and it’s been a big success. SmartBug Media is an award-winning, full-service inbound marketing agency with clients in several industries. Its CEO founded SmartBug to provide clients with outstanding results while offering employees a fulfilling life outside the office. SmartBug Media CEO Ryan Malone joins us today to discuss how a fully remote workforce can produce winning results. Learn how the William and Mary Center for Corporate Education can help you and your organization develop your top talent through customized executive education and professional development programs. Visit us at www.wmleadership.com. Thank you for listening.

Journey to a world where everybody walks funny, where they all have dead eyes and where pores are non existent. Where Michael Ironside is nowhere to be found, where the only good bug is a poorly pixalated bug and where even a Hocken reference fails to make what you're watching any better.