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September 7, 2010

Research is key to making your emails leap out of the screen

Ever stood in a crowded marketplace trying to catch a glimpse of something you wanted to buy amid the distracting hustle and bustle?

That same sensation is also experienced by prospects when they open their email inboxes and find scores of junk mail and correspondence competing for their attention.

This obviously poses serious problems for B2B marketing firms that rely on email to lure sales leads to their websites. If your email does not send all the right signals, rest assured, it will go unnoticed or worse still, head straight to the junk mail folder never to see the light of day again.

So how do you make sure that your content is not among those poor unfortunate rejects? Easy. Research what works and apply these rules to your own marketing mix.

As Alan Smith of web design firm Sphinx points out, why not look into your own inbox and take a notice of the emails that pique your interest and the ones that are so unremarkable you didn't even realise you missed them in the first place.

"Pay attention to the emails which you prefer to open and the reasons behind it," he comments.

"See which type of wordings and presentations attract you and serve the purpose for which they are created."

Posted by Suzanne Stock – Communications Director, HR, Online Advertising, General MarketingADNFCR-8000151-ID-800055014-ADNFCR

 

SaaS is emerging as an indispensable B2B marketing tool

The last few years have witnessed an explosion in the number and variety of technological solutions open to B2B marketing professionals who are looking to manage their cross-channel marketing strategies.

One such solution is Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) cloud-based systems, which have emerged as an effective alternative to more traditional methods of business data management.

Although there are some unavoidable risks involved in managing your sales and marketing technology without the expert guidance of a seasoned and dedicated team of IT specialists, SaaS is an excellent way to manage your marketing communications, improve sales and capture prospects.

According to Marketing Profs, SaaS gives you a certain level of freedom from the constraints of traditional IT systems, allowing you to streamline your business and divert some of your attention to other areas that need seeing to.

"IT slows down production [and] deployment," Marketing Profs commented. "Cloud-based solutions decrease your reliance on IT so you can get better results, faster."

Moreover, Saas is easy to scale up or down as your company's budget needs require.

Posted by Suzanne Stock – Communications Director, HR, Online Advertising, General MarketingADNFCR-8000151-ID-800055007-ADNFCR

 

September 6, 2010

Marketing impact of real-time search ‘not yet clear’

The impact of the emergence of real-time search on the marketing industry is not yet fully clear, E-consultancy has said.
Jake Hird, senior research analyst at the company, explained that with real-time search, the stream is now almost instantaneous, but nobody knows how it is being indexed or what firms need to do to be indexed.

He went on to say that although the technology is still in a grey area at the moment, it will continue to develop and become much clearer over the course of this year.

B2B marketing firms keen on exploiting the benefits of search marketing were urged to make sure they continue to monitor their online brand profile.

"Even before they start putting in real-time results, companies should be looking at how to manage their search visibility and they need to be taking everything into consideration," Mr Hird said.

A report published earlier this year by the Search Engine Marketing Professional Organisation found that 71 per cent of client-side B2B marketing professionals questioned pay to advertise on the Google search network.

Posted by Daryl Jay, Business Development Director – Sales, Industry News, General Marketing
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Diversifying your marketing lists improves your shots at success

Many marketers are fully aware that marketing lists are an excellent way to reach a wide and extensive range of clients and consumers.

But some tend to forget that there are varying types of lists out there - and not all marketing lists are created equal.

According to B2B marketing copywriter and consultant Susan Fantle, the very best and most effective B2B email lists available today typically consist of subscribers to specific industry publications.

These types of lists enable you to be sure that you are obtaining full opt-in; however, email lists tend to average only 30 per cent of the target available from direct mail lists.

"B2B marketing only using email is, therefore, missing two-thirds of available prospects," Ms Fantle comments on the B2B marketing smarts blog.

"With the delivery loss from spam filters, the missing number is likely to be even larger."

Armed with this information, the next step you need to take is to make sure that you are implementing a fully integrated multi-channel marketing strategy in order to achieve the best chances of marketing success.

Posted by Suzanne Stock – Communications Director, HR, Online Advertising, General Marketing
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September 3, 2010

ASA’s increased scope ‘will not affect online marketing tactics’

The expansion of the Advertising Standards Authority's (ASA) digital remit will not affect online companies' marketing techniques, the Direct Marketing Association (DMA) has said.

Caroline Roberts, director of public and legal affairs at the industry organisation, explained that the new agreement, which extends the ASA's scope to include online marketing communications, does not change existing rules governing digital marketing.

Although B2B marketing firms and other companies that fail to adhere to standards set out by the ASA will not suffer any consequences, the ASA can take action against firms that fail to comply with CAP Code sanctions, requiring them to amend or withdraw offending material.

"The ASA is a self-regulatory body, so it doesn't have the power to impose sanctions such as fines," Ms Roberts commented.

"However, the ASA can [require firms] to seek pre-approval for all future adverts."

From March 2011, the rules in the UK Code of Non-broadcast Advertising, Sales Promotion and Direct Marketing will apply in full to marketing communications online, as will the rules relating to misleading advertising, social responsibility and the protection of children.

Posted by Julie Knight, Managing Director – General Marketing, Industry News
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September 2, 2010

Don’t go it alone when it comes to online marketing

The ease with which digital communications can be devised and disseminated has led to some B2B marketing professionals taking lax attitudes to their promotions and thinking they can do it all by themselves.

I have seen some marketers forget the importance of working collaboratively and insist on embarking on interactive marketing campaigns single-handedly without consulting other members of the team.

It's extremely important not to fall into this treacherous trap, because not only will it lead to corporate discord and a lack of communication within your organisational structure, but it could, perhaps more importantly, result in sub-par marketing communications, which could ultimately negatively affect your bottom line and cause serious brand damage.

A recent study from Booz & Co highlights the importance of a cohesive marketing strategy suitable for the peculiarities of the interactive marketing sector.

"In a Web 2.0 world, taking part in that market isn't simply a matter of throwing some banner ads against a few likely websites and seeing what sticks," the study states.

"It demands a close collaboration between CMOs and CIOs to build technology to automate new marketing processes and provide real-time decision support."

Posted by Suzanne Stock – Communications Director, HR, Online Advertising, General MarketingADNFCR-8000151-ID-800049415-ADNFCR

 

September 1, 2010

The print approach helps stimulate lapsed customers

Many marketers are usually perplexed when it comes to stimulating lapsed customers and prospects.

When a customer gives you a vote of no confidence, trying to win back their affection may seem like a daunting task and you may not even know which channel is the best medium for the job.

This is where print comes in - the tried and tested marketing approach of yore that many marketers seem to have relegated to the sidelines in favour of the trendy interactive digital platforms that are now all the rage.

As Gordon Plutsky, director of marketing and research at King Fish Media, notes on Marketing Profs, print allows you to "finely target your list for both acquisition and reactivation of lapsed customers".

For those who cannot bear to part with their beloved digital platforms, never fear - the print medium is the perfect complementary channel for an effective cross-platform approach.

"A print catalogue or magalogue can help drive people to your commerce site or to a digital edition of the catalogue; there, you can convert the sale," Mr Plutsky maintains.

Posted by Julie Knight, Managing Director – General Marketing, Industry News
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Firms ’should value clients on their existing B2B mailing lists’

Companies should value the existing clients on their B2B mailing lists, an expert has suggested.

George Derbyshire, chief executive of the National Federation of Enterprise Agencies, urged firms to appreciate the clients they already have a relationship with because it is usually much easier to sell to existing customers than to news ones.

Commenting on the BBC News website, he explained: "They know you and your products, so you've got a head start and the costs of servicing existing customers are much less than marketing to new ones."

Mr Derbyshire also urged firms to make sure they have a loyalty strategy in place and that they always reward repeat business.

He suggested that companies can even go a step further and cultivate solid relationships through emails, newsletters and phone calls.

Firms were also advised to encourage existing customers to spread the word to their friends.

Writing in an article for Nasdaq.com, Stefan Topfer, chief executive and chairman of WinWeb, recently urged B2B marketing professionals to thoroughly research their corporate clients so they know how to target them appropriately with their marketing strategies.

Posted by Suzanne Stock – Communications Director, HR, Online Advertising, General MarketingADNFCR-8000151-ID-800047599-ADNFCR

 

August 31, 2010

Social media ‘plays crucial role in online marketing’

Social media plays a vital role in online advertising, an industry expert has revealed.

Gordon Borrell, chief executive of Borrell Associates, pointed out that social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter "put a magnifying glass" on one of the most powerful and effective sales drivers of all: word of mouth.

He explained that before the advent of the internet, B2B marketing firms and businesses simply had to make do with people saying good or bad things about them - either in person, or on the telephone - which took some effort.

Today, however, someone can simply tweet about a company and thousands of people will see it within hours.

"We hear a lot about the internet disintermediating newspapers and television, but the biggest opportunity of all, I believe, is the disintermediation of the small gaggle of people, who could make or break a business by talking to others," Mr Borrell said.

A recent survey of 137 marketing professionals by Pivot, a marketing conference for brand marketers, found that 87 per cent plan to increase their spending on social media marketing over the next 12 months.

Posted by Suzanne Stock – Communications Director, HR, Online Advertising, General Marketing
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Blogs offer ‘an excellent B2B marketing tool’

An expert has suggested that B2B marketing professionals can demonstrate how in touch they are with their clients via a blog.

Nick Baggot, founder of Navigate Consulting, said maintaining a public-facing corporate blog enables B2B marketing firms to show that they are leaders in their fields and allows them to engage more readily with their readership.

"Blogs allow brands to connect with their customers in a more informal way," he commented.

"This means that they can appear more approachable and in touch with the market. [Blogs] can also be updated quicker, enabling brands to react fast to news and market changes."

Mr Baggot added that blogs are particularly effective for B2B marketing because readers in these markets are usually more involved in lengthy purchasing processes and will thus have the time and inclination to read online content.

A recent US-focused survey conducted by eMarketer found that more than a third of companies use blogging as a marketing technique.

Posted by Julie Knight, Managing Director – General Marketing, Industry News
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