When business customers look for a product, the first step is usually to check out the internet. Yet companies often do not know how to capitalize on this.
Well, Eloqua has a suite off on-demand offerings to help things out. And to help boost things, the company raised $23 million in a venture round. Investors include Bessemer Venture Partners, JMI Equity and Bay Partners.
"Basically, we help companies have a digital dialogue with customers," said Joe Payne, CEO of Eloqua, in a BloggingStocks interview. "We do this through white papers, microsites, tracking and so on."
Payne thinks that companies are too quick to act on potential leads. "Before handing over a possible customer to a sales person, there needs to be some qualification. If not, there can be lots of wasted time."
Eloqua sells its service on a subscription basis. What's more, its customers include biggies like Sybase (NYSE: SY), Seagate (NYSE: STX), Nokia (NYSE: NOK), MySQL, and Nuance (NASDAQ: NUAN).
And, if you want to check out other recent venture fundings, click here.
Tom Taulli is the author of various books, including The Complete M&A Handbook
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