Today HubSpot launched Marketing Grader, a new, free tool designed to grade online marketing, pinpoint what needs improvement and compare competitive performance. Marketing Grader analyzes more than 30 measures of marketing effectiveness and grades the business on a 1-100 scale. Marketing Grader is a replacement for Website Grader (launched in 2006), which, according to HubSpot, has been used by more 4 million people to grade web site marketing effectiveness.

Using the URLs of the company and any competing web sites, Marketing Grader is designed to evaluate performance at the “top of the funnel” (ability to generate new interest and traffic), “the middle of the funnel” (whether that traffic converts into prospects, leads and customers) and analytics (measuring and comparing the right things).

By Greg Head, CMO, Infusionsoft

Inbound marketing attracts traffic with great content that gets found, educates and is worthy of spreading. Marketing automation continues the conversation with subscribers, prospects and customers, primarily through email marketing. 

Sounds simple, right? Not if you are keeping up with industry discussions.

By Greg Head, CMO, Infusionsoft

Inbound marketing attracts traffic with great content that gets found, educates and is worthy of spreading. Marketing automation continues the conversation with subscribers, prospects and customers, primarily through email marketing. 

Sounds simple, right? Not if you are keeping up with industry discussions.

By Dan McDade, President and CEO, PointClear LLC 

A marketing and sales highlight, this year is the well-documented gain in closed deals that BtoB companies have achieved with best-practice lead generation processes. But we still see companies struggling with average and laggard processes that prevent them from reaching revenue targets.

With a goal of focusing awareness on critical areas where improvements can and should be made, here is a tongue-in-cheek review of six faster, more expensive ways to waste marketing and sales dollars.

By Dan McDade, President and CEO, PointClear LLC 

A marketing and sales highlight, this year is the well-documented gain in closed deals that BtoB companies have achieved with best-practice lead generation processes. But we still see companies struggling with average and laggard processes that prevent them from reaching revenue targets.

With a goal of focusing awareness on critical areas where improvements can and should be made, here is a tongue-in-cheek review of six faster, more expensive ways to waste marketing and sales dollars.

Act-On Software today announced that the company has exceeded the 500th customer mark in less than two years. News of the milestone follows a record Q3 for Act-On, during which the company saw a 400% year-over-year growth, and added 164 new customers.

The company’s momentum is anticipated to continue rapidly, according to CEO Raghu Raghavan. “Act-On should hit 700 customers by the end of 2011 and 1,000+ by the end of Q1 2012,” he told DemandGen Report. “We're extremely pleased by this phenomenal growth and are planning accordingly by scaling the post-sales side of the business now so as to ensure that everyone is successful going forward.”

The recent news of Marketo’s $50 million round of new venture financing has stirred plenty of dialogue among other vendors in the marketing automation category. While competitors applauded the new round of, led by Battery Ventures, in supporting the growth of the category, they also speculated on what impact Marketo’s funding and potential funding will have in the future.

 “I think this is great for the marketing software industry,” HubSpot CMO Mike Volpe told DemandGen Report. “For too long marketing teams have suffered with outdated and inadequate software.”

In announcing the new round, Marketo CEO Phil Fernandez pointed out that the company 2010 revenue came in at $14 million, and projected sales in 2011 would grow by 140%, putting revenue in the $35 million range. He also forecasted that Marketo’s revenue would double in 2012, and said there is a “strong possibility” of an IPO in the next 12 to 15 months.

By David Lewis, CEO, DemandGen International

Thinking of implementing a lead scoring system, but not sure if your organization is ready to undertake that kind of effort? Here’s a short checklist to help you determine if a lead scoring project is the right step for you right now.

By David Lewis, CEO, DemandGen International

Thinking of implementing a lead scoring system, but not sure if your organization is ready to undertake that kind of effort? Here’s a short checklist to help you determine if a lead scoring project is the right step for you right now.

Despite huge increases in smartphone and tablet penetration, 70% of BtoB companies have yet to optimize their web sites for mobile users, according to research from IDG.

As mobile becomes a vital part of browsing and buying processes, industry analysts suggest BtoB companies must take cues from their BtoC counterparts to determine best practices for an efficient mobile strategy. “When it comes to considerations for mobile marketing, we have to think about it in terms of this is going to be the way that people use the internet,” said Karsten Weide, Research VP Digital Media & Entertainment, IDG. “It’s going to be mobile first!”