Archive for the ‘Uncategorized’ Category
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
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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 »
Monday, November 15th, 2010
Your marketing department has limited resources. There’s a lot you could be doing to enable Sales. The question is where should you focus?
The increasing importance of this question really hit home for me last month while attending the Future of Digital Strategy session at Future M.
While it sounded fascinating, it also sounded complex, labor-intensive, and expensive. I wondered about the implications for very small B2B marketing departments.
What are the implications for very small B2B marketing departments?
This is a preview of
Digital marketing: How B2B marketers can use it to pick the best marketing strategies
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Read the full post (604 words, 4 images, estimated 2:25 mins reading time)
Posted in Uncategorized | 2 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
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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 | 8 Comments »
Monday, October 25th, 2010
In a recent post, Laura Ramos observed that business-to-business marketers have long struggled to reach decision makers and measure marketing results. She observed that they may encounter difficulties because they don’t spend enough time understanding who their best customers are and what distinguishes them–noting that understanding buyer behavior is much more than conducting customer satisfaction surveys or publishing success stories.
I found her post timely. I’ve been struggling with articulating the very concepts that she relayed so fluently as I revise own website.
Shorter sales cycles depend on deep customer insights
This is a preview of
B2B marketers struggle to reach decision makers and measure marketing results
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Read the full post (704 words, 4 images, estimated 2:49 mins reading time)
Tags: attract business, B2B marketers, behavioral data, business-to-business marketers, buyer behavior, buying criteria, buying process, customer research, customer satisfaction surveys, high-tech marketing, increase revenues, lead generation campaigns, marketing collateral, marketing processes, marketing systems, product managers, product marketing managers, professional services marketing, web analytics
Posted in market intelligence, Marketing strategy, Uncategorized | 2 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 »
Thursday, September 23rd, 2010
Bostonians refer to our city as the Hub. To me, this often sees like a self-important and provincial perspective. Yet, today, I found reasons to believe otherwise.
The occasion was a meeting about Emerging Technologies for the Silver Tsunami: Aging in Place through the use of Integrated Technology convened by the Massachusetts Technology Leadership Council at the Boston office of the British Consulate. It was the panelists’ presentations and the questions and comments from the audience that convinced me that Boston may very well be “the hub”–at least when it comes to leading the charge on “Aging in Place”.
This is a preview of
Marketing technology to help seniors “Age in Place”
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Read the full post (842 words, 5 images, estimated 3:22 mins reading time)
Tags: Aging in place, Beacon Hill Village, emerging market, Houseworks, market opportunities, professional caregivers, referrals, seniors, technology
Posted in health care, Speaker notes, Uncategorized | No Comments »
Tuesday, September 14th, 2010
Believe it or not, I think the answer to smarter, greener cities may be more compelling communications. I reached this conclusion after hearing a number of experts propose other solutions. This post explains why.
Background
This morning, I had the good fortune to attend Building the Future: Opportunities for Energy Innovation and Efficiency hosted by the Massachusetts Technology Leadership Council at Foley Hoag’s Emerging Enterprise Center. The keynote speaker was Dr. Joan Fitzgerald, Northeastern University Professor and author of Emerald Cities: Urban Sustainability and Development. The other panelists were Cambridge, MA urban planner Iram Farooq, Architect and Autodesk Industry Programs Manager Erin Rae Hoffer, and entrepreneur and developer Kenneth H. Smith. Attorney Adam Wade from Foley Hoag moderated the discussion.
This is a preview of
Want to develop smarter, greener cities? Maybe the key is compelling communications
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Read the full post (1135 words, 6 images, estimated 4:32 mins reading time)
Tags: B2B marketing consultant, effective marketing, Energy, Massachusetts Technology Leadership Council, social media
Posted in Energy, Marketing communications programs, Marketing strategy, Speaker notes, Uncategorized | 1 Comment »
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, July 12th, 2010
Thanks to Olga Taylor for today’s guest post. Olga is a freelance copywriter from Jamaica Plain, MA who enjoys sharing insights about her work. To reach her send mail to olga.taylor@quartesian.com.
Her post:
I am a people pleaser. This means that not only do I want clients to be happy with work process & outcome, I also want them to feel good about my price. I’ve learned that it is often a challenge even with old clients who like and trust what I do. But more so with the segment of new clients who need original & creative work on a shoe string.
Tags: copywriter, Pricing
Posted in Pricing, Uncategorized | No Comments »
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