Archive for the ‘Internet marketing’ Category
Thursday, April 21st, 2011
By Barbara Bix
Shortly after I got up this morning, I strolled over to Marketing Over Coffee for a quick shot before heading off to work and found this great article, entitled How to restore the faded luster to marketing by Rich Guha. In my opinion, it’s a “must read” for anyone looking to build a business or aiming to build a career in marketing.
It’s about the big picture
Referencing management heroes such as Peter Drucker and Ted Leavitt, the article discusses what companies have lost as marketing becomes more specialized. Guha advises marketers that wish to add significant value to the business to:
Tags: 6 Ps, behavior, branding, buyer personae, click stream, customer, customer needs, Drucker, Leavitt, market intelligence, market value, Marketing, Marketing Over Coffee, marketing research, marketing specialization, priorities, strategy, tactics, value of marketing, value proposition, voice of the customer
Posted in Framework, How to, Internet marketing, market intelligence, Marketing communications programs, Marketing strategy, Pricing, Uncategorized, value propositions | No Comments »
Friday, March 11th, 2011
By Barbara Bix
Stimulating? Exciting? Scary? Each of these are words that came to mind this morning as I listened to Google National Industry Manager, Seth van der Swaagh’s presentation to members of the Associated Industries of Massachusetts (AIM) on Google’s Digital Vision – The Acceleration of Everything.
Accelerate with AIM
The topic and the speaker were an interesting choice when you consider that AIM represents companies in industries that have been around since the Industrial Revolution. Yet, one of the conversations I had prior to the meeting shed light on how the Digital Age affects everyone.
Tags: AIM, engaging, Google, MA, manufacturing, Massachusetts, media, mobile, mobile strategy, relevant, video
Posted in Internet marketing, Marketing communications programs, Marketing strategy, Speaker notes | No Comments »
Friday, December 31st, 2010
Recently, I lost my crystal ball. So, I won’t be adding to the posts about predictions for the new year. Instead, I took a look backward to see whether previous year end posts still apply. I think they do.
Learn from the past, capitalize on success
At the end of 2008, in Shorten the sales cycle next year: Year end marketing planning, I advocated taking stock of what worked and what didn’t—so that you can capitalize on your successes and avoid repeating what turned out to be mistakes. In particular, I suggested focusing on buyers’ perceptions in four areas: the desirability of the solutions, the reputation of the vendor, the effectiveness of the communications, and the responsiveness of the individuals leading the sales or business development effort.
Tags: buyer personas, buyers' perceptions, buying process, customer development, customer insights, customer research, demand generation, lead gen, market planning, online communities, sales cycle, sales enablement, web analytics
Posted in Internet marketing, market intelligence, Marketing communications programs, Marketing strategy, social media, social media marketing, Uncategorized, value propositions | No Comments »
Monday, November 29th, 2010
This is the third in a series of three posts on insights I gleaned from a conversation with Dave Wieneke, who blogs on the future of digital marketing. The first post described how B2B marketers can set up digital signals to help them monitor marketing performance against their business goals. The second post described actions marketers can take to figure out what’s working and what’s not.
This post discusses what Dave sees as the four steps to digital marketing: Segmentation, Integration, Automation, and Optimization. In it, I will tie together all three posts, and return to the questions I raised on behalf of B2B marketers at small companies at the beginning of the first post.
Tags: B2B marketing, digital marketing, digital marketing campaign, editorial calendar, integrated marketing campaigns, marketing goal, marketing performance, social listening, web analytics
Posted in Internet marketing, Marketing strategy, Uncategorized | 6 Comments »
Tuesday, November 23rd, 2010
This post is the second in a series about how B2B marketers can use digital marketing to help them make the most of their resources online and off. The series summarizes insights from an interview with Dave Wieneke, a Director of Digital Marketing who blogs at UsefulArts.us
The first post described how B2B marketers can set up digital signals to help them monitor marketing performance. This post describes how B2B marketers can use digital marketing to determine what they need to do to improve marketing performance.
Start with market segmentation
This is a preview of
Digital marketing: How B2B marketers can use it to improve their performance against goals
.
Read the full post (834 words, 5 images, estimated 3:20 mins reading time)
Tags: B2B marketers, digital marketing, marketing campaigns, marketing performance, search, web analytics
Posted in Internet marketing, Uncategorized | No Comments »
Tuesday, November 9th, 2010
By Barbara Bix, B2B Marketing Consultant
Here’s an example of how a professional service provider can apply the do-it-yourself guide for creating value propositions in 3 steps. It uses the same formula as the green value proposition example I posted last week (immediately below). This time, I’ve used it to describe the value I offer my clients as a B2B strategic marketing consultant (below the value proposition formula).
The value proposition formula
We help [your most promising prospects] that [need help with the pressing concern you address] succeed by [providing the material improvement you will deliver]. Unlike [the alternative solution], [your solution] [describe the reason why your company is a better choice] as demonstrated by [evidence that you will deliver as promised].
This is a preview of
Value proposition example for a professional service provider
.
Read the full post (590 words, 4 images, estimated 2:22 mins reading time)
Tags: B2B strategic marketing consultant, call to action, compelling value proposition, sales productivity, value proposition, value proposition formula
Posted in How to, Internet marketing, Marketing communications programs, Uncategorized, value propositions | 7 Comments »
Monday, October 11th, 2010
As I’ve mentioned in previous posts, Boston is rapidly rebranding itself as what Boston Globe columnist Scott Kirsner, and perhaps others, have dubbed as the Innovation Economy. This week the focus was on marketing.
MITX, under the umbrella of FutureM, organized dozens of (mostly free) events dedicated to exploring and sharing how the newest technologies and insights are changing the way that marketers think, create, engage, and measure. It was information-packed, exhilarating, and exhausting.
This post focuses on what excited me most as a B2B marketing consultant. Hint: My company’s tagline is “using customer knowledge to increase sales”.
This is a preview of
The future of marketing will be all about customer data
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Read the full post (878 words, 5 images, estimated 3:31 mins reading time)
Tags: B2B marketing consultant, customer development, customer engagement, customer feedback, customer information, customer research, customer-centric, digital marketing technologies, FutureM, innovation, market need, marketing research, minimally viable product, web analytics
Posted in Buying process model, Internet marketing, market intelligence, social media marketing, Speaker notes, Uncategorized | No Comments »
Friday, August 13th, 2010
Last night, 50 Wharton alums gathered in downtown Boston to hear Professor Peter Fader speak about “The Paradoxes of Interactive Media”. Of special interest were Dr. Fader’s comments on how target marketing has changed. His message: when profiling your most promising prospects, focus on differences in behavior rather than demographics.
To illustrate his point, Dr. Fader looked at the data underlying a study that concluded that Hispanics were more likely to purchase DVDs than Caucasians. He began by acknowledging that the conclusion was accurate–but not particularly useful.
Lies, Damned Lies, and Statistics
Tags: Boston, demographics, market segmentation, market segments, marketing campaigns, purchasing behavior, target marketing, trigger events, Wharton
Posted in Buying process model, How to, Internet marketing, market intelligence, Marketing communications programs, Marketing strategy | No Comments »
Thursday, July 15th, 2010
Lee Odden, a recognized expert in the areas of search and social media, recently ran the 2010 Digital Marketing Poll on the TopRank Online Marketing Blog. The poll, presumably directed at marketers, asks: “What 3 online marketing channels & tactics will you emphasize in 2011?” 
TopRank used Twitter to promote the poll–and did so on multiple occasions. Presumably, a lot of people received notice of the poll: @TopRank has 6061 followers, the update was retweeted 262 times, “liked” by 45, and likely got additional visibility through other social sharing media*.
How Odden attracted responses
Tags: 2010, @TopRank, content marketing, conversion rates, digital marketing, direct response campaign, engagement, Lee Odden, marketing channels, marketing tactics, mobile, online marketing, response rates, search, social media, targeted audience, Top 10, Top Rank Online Marketing Blog
Posted in Internet marketing, Marketing communications programs, Marketing strategy, social media, social media marketing, Uncategorized | No Comments »
Monday, June 14th, 2010
In today’s guest post, fellow Wharton alum , Craig James, offers tips for leveraging Linked In to generate sales. Craig is the founder of Sales Solutions, a sales productivity improvement business located in suburban Boston. Contact him directly toll-free at 877-862-8631, or by e-mail at craig@sales-solutions.biz
Sales people and others responsible generating business for their organizations will find LinkedIn a valuable tool. Unlike sites such as Facebook and MySpace, LinkedIn tends to attract those looking to develop business relationships, as opposed to friendships.
Tags: "premium LinkedIn", "sales results", Boston, LinkedIn, LinkedIn applications, Marketing, Marketing consultant, marketing materials, personal brand, sales, sales presentation, sales productivity, targeted message, thought leadership, top of mind, trusted advisor, value, Wharton
Posted in How to, Internet marketing, Marketing communications programs, social media, social media marketing | 2 Comments »
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