Marketo recently produced an infographic that talks about “the contentious state of content marketing” among B2B marketers. The data is pulled from the latest content marketing study conducted by MarketingProfs and the Content Marketing Institute. We don’t think the state is contentious so much as misunderstood. Content Marketing is a relatively new field and too […]
Why lead nurturing is surprisingly like dating … and what to do about it
I’m a happily married lady. Have been married to a terrific man for 25 years now. Which dates me. Speaking of dating. It occurred to me recently, that many business-to-business marketers don’t “get” how lead nurturing is a lot like dating. Whether you are a man or a woman, gay or straight, it is unlikely […]
The difference between marketing automation and CRM
A client asked me recently what the difference is between marketing automation and CRM and why they needed both systems as part of their fundamental infrastructure. CRM solutions like Salesforce target sales and business development folks and the tasks that are important to them, especially how to input, manage, and track their leads. The unit […]
ROI Marketing
How to build accountabilityCEOs and CFOs are demanding that marketing become accountable and are looking to ROI Marketing to link spending on marketing to financial outcomes. ROI Marketing puts a dollar value on every program you field based on the number of customers who purchase as a result of the program and the profits these […]
Does creative matter?
Evidence from the UK that personalization drive incremental response. Management summary of a research report from Lloyd James Group plc. As reported CRM Community: Over the last decade the direct mail industry has more than doubled in size and value, with expenditure up by over £1.5billion and volumes climbing by over 3 billion items. Economic […]
RSS Adoption Not Really Simple
The hype is shifting from search engine marketing to RSS, the trendy abbreviation for really simple syndication or rich site summary, depending on who’s doing the selling. But a new report from JupiterResearch claims RSS will not have a significant effect as a supplemental alternative to e-mail marketing. “Most marketers remain skeptical of using RSS […]
On Differentiation
it takes a surprising amount of courage to build differentiation into products Sign hanging around the neck of a well dressed panhandler we spotted in downtown San Francisco: “Have Courage Will Differentiate for Six Figures” As a marketer, it is extremely tempting to push your company to build me-too products. After all, differentiation takes courage. […]
The importance of lifestage data
It doesn’t take a genius to figure out who your best customers are: They’re the ones who shop most frequently and spend the most, of course. But who are most likely to be the best customers next month? Will it be the same loyal group as last month, or will up-and-comers emerge with a little […]
With Email Precision Timing Counts
Smart postal mailers carefully time their campaigns, taking both season and day of week into account. So should e-mailers, according to executives from UAL Loyalty Services. “The best days to reach businesspeople are Tuesdays through Thursdays, 11 a.m through 3 p.m.,” Ira Dolin, e-mail strategist for UAL Loyalty Services, said at a session at Chicago […]
RFM Analysis
Zoning and Cloning your Best Customers; Avoiding the Worst Before the bubble popped in April of 2000, all that mattered for a new economy company was to get big fast, which in turn meant acquiring customers at any cost. Well, Toto, we aren’t in Kansas anymore— which is my way of saying that start ups […]