8OctoberAll Marketers Should Strive to be "Full-Funnel Marketers"By David Karel, Head of B2B Marketing, LinkedInThe answer to "where do you start" has everything to do with taking a real introspective look into where you are on your journey and the needs of the business. There is a tendency to start doing everything all at once without truly understanding where you are as a company and what is needed to achieve your overall objectives. It's difficult to invest in tools and programs without understanding where you are. Ultimately, I believe that all marketers should strive to be "full-funnel marketers" who invest in a diverse set of programs and channels to attract desired audiences early in the buying process. This effort should then be followed up with subsequent programs that will not only engage and educate, but also work to nurture relationships with prospects throughout their journey. So, when they're ready to pick up the phone to speak to a sales rep, your rep is the recipient of the call, and not your competitors'. Few organizations have the luxury of budget and cycles to get it all right simultaneously. When first building out the foundation of your marketing efforts, the immediate goal should be to invest heavily in content and your website, and then ultimately begin driving the right traffic to your website to engage with your content. Investments in channels like SEO, SEM, email marketing, and display retargeting are productive starting points, as they help to reach audiences that are likely further down the path in their purchase process. As you start to scale, you'll need to invest intelligently in "top-funnel" channels like display advertising that will increase overall awareness with your targeted audiences. This will allow your company to be on your potential customers' radar early. IN MY OPINION
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