For many years, direct mail has been an important marketing medium. Even though many companies have turned to social media, email and internet marketing, a targeted and well-produced mail campaign can still be highly effective. Direct mail campaigns can be used to generate leads, promote special offers, support other campaigns, communicate with customers and raise…Read More
With all the focus on digital marketing these days, it’s easy to overlook an old trusted medium that can play an important role in your marketing mix. Direct mail isn’t dead. If you’ve been in the marketing field for 20 or more years, you probably have plenty of experience using direct mail. The trick for…Read More
Marketers have used traditional media such as print, radio, TV, yellow pages and even outdoor ads to reach consumer markets for the last 50 to 100 years. Traditional media can also play a role in the marketing mix for many B2B companies. These media often reach a broad audience and thus can be relatively expensive….Read More
The phrase “cold calling” sends chills down the spines of many business people. It’s often viewed as an intimidating, difficult, and boring process … and that means it doesn’t get done as often as it should. Telemarketing for B2B helps companies reach a group of targeted prospects or customers to communicate a message, gather feedback,…Read More
There’s an old saying in business that people buy from people. If that’s the case, it’s a good idea to get people together as often as possible! Trade show and event marketing is a great way to get people together with common interests to achieve a goal. B2B and B2C marketers use trade shows and…Read More
Email marketing has been a staple for consumer marketers since the mid-90s. A few years later, B2B marketers discovered its value, and email campaigns have become an important tool for businesses in all stages and industries. Yet many marketers just starting in the field are wondering when to use email marketing. Email marketing is a…Read More
Search engine marketing is about gaining visibility on search engines when users search for terms that relate to your business. For most companies, ranking highly in search results isn’t luck – it’s a result of solid effort in one or both categories of search marketing: Organic search (SEO): When you enter a keyword or phrase…Read More
Have you ever read a story about a company and then contacted them to learn more about their product or service? Or perhaps you’ve heard a CEO’s speech and found yourself researching the company later on? Publicity for business can be extremely valuable in building credibility and awareness for your company. For example, a legitimate…Read More
Internet marketing isn’t just for consumer marketers or large B2B firms – it’s a powerful vehicle for companies of all sizes, including small to mid-market companies. Online advertising offers marketers an opportunity to reach very broad or very targeted prospects to generate leads, communicate a message and raise visibility. The term “online advertising” refers to…Read More
Customer lifetime value (CLV) is the amount of profit a customer delivers to your company for as long as the customer is buying from you. It’s typically calculated as the net present value (the value in today’s dollars) of the profit you’ll earn from all of a customer’s purchases over time. When you understand how to…Read More
Have you ever had a difficult time selecting your marketing vendors? Even with years of experience in a particular area, it can be a time-consuming process. It’s even more difficult if you’re hiring a marketing vendor for a function you don’t know very well. Selecting marketing vendors is an important part of the marketing process because…Read More
What’s the difference between a great company that outperforms the market and an average company? Great products, services, strategies and execution … and your employees are responsible for those successes. A company can accomplish far more with a strong team in place than it can with an average team. Recruiting a marketing manager or team is…Read More
Your marketing calendar calls for three new campaigns to launch in the next 90 days. Business goals are outlined, but you’re under the gun to come up with something fresh … and effective. You’ve met with your creative team, but your ideas for marketing campaigns are all tired, or not very good. If you’re a B2C marketer…Read More
Early in my career, the marketing and advertising functions were pretty straightforward. Big companies hired ad agencies to create their big ideas and push them out via print, radio and TV. Most small to mid-size companies didn’t focus on the big idea, since the agencies that created them were out of their budget range. Instead,…Read More
Return on investment (ROI) is a measure of the profit earned from each investment. Like the “return” (or profit) that you earn on your portfolio or bank account, it’s calculated as a percentage. In simple terms, the ROI formula is: (Return – Investment) Investment It’s typically expressed as a percentage, so multiply your result by…Read More
A couple of times per day we check our Real-Time visitor report in Google Analytics. The report itself isn’t very valuable for us, but it’s fun to see new visitors arriving in real-time, along with the traffic source, content they’re viewing and location. Google’s even added a feature displaying desktop versus mobile device visitors. Anyway,…Read More
Yesterday, I attended Neil Patel’s webinar – How to Create a Content Marketing Strategy That Won’t Put You to Sleep. For those of you who don’t know Neil, he’s a co-founder of KISSmetrics and Crazy Egg, and one of the most respected and visible internet marketers out there. KISSmetrics is a powerful analytics tool that we plan…Read More
Last week our friend and colleague, Scott Salkin of IDS Technology Marketing, held a lunch and learn for the members of the Arizona Technology Council. Scott’s presentation – 6 Myths of B2B Marketing – provided many helpful B2B marketing tips that address the changing role of the B2B marketing function in today’s digital world. Here’s…Read More
A marketing ROI calculation is a powerful tool for marketers. It’s a great practice to project return on investment for your marketing campaigns, and then determine your actual ROI after the campaign is complete. This forces you to think through all of the important details that affect your final result: your conversion rates at each…Read More