For marketers who walk the walk
You know the theory. Now here's the practice. If you want opinions you can trust, advice you can use and real-world experience to learn from, then there's no better collection of marketing experts than here.
Do you have the right stuff?
This was the question asked of the pilots that applied to be NASA astronauts in the 60s. The same could be asked today of applicants for B2B marketing jobs. Do you have the right stuff for the new frontier of business marketing? What skills do you need to get a job? What skills should you recruit? What skills do your team members need to develop?
1 comment | Full storyProof of identify, proof of trust
Lloyds Banking Group’s chief executive, António Horta-Osório, shocked the financial world earlier this month when he revealed that 25 per cent of the claims being submitted for mis-sold PPI were fraudulent. One in four had never held a Lloyds product, he said. And the source of these wrongful submissions was the specialist claims management companies who were driving 45 per cent of all cases. His revelation would not have come as a shock to anybody working from home. I routinely get half a dozen calls each day asking if I had ever held a payment protection insurance policy that might have been mis-sold. On one occasion, having told the cold caller that I never took out PPI, I was told, “it doesn’t matter – they never check”.
0 comments | Full story3 key tips for delivering insight in data
In this era of ‘Big Data’, capturing insight from data can appear more daunting than ever. However while the volume and number of sources of data have increased exponentially, the methodology to really drive actionable insights on both companies and buyers revolve around some key activities. Here are some key things to think about to get you started.
4 comments | Full storyB2B mobile marketing – 5 top tips
Mobile technology is one of the biggest drivers of change in the way marketers do business, both in how we communicate with our customers, and the way smartphones and tablets have transformed our own processes and daily routines. When we think of mobile and marketing, often it’s consumer focused apps that come to mind first, but how are the best B2B marketers capitalising on the opportunities that the latest mobile devices can offer as business tools for their teams and channels to their clients?
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The debate is long over with the majority of UK businesses adopting a cloud strategy in one form or another. Even in public sector, where data hosting concerns have meant that government trailed the private sector, there has been enormous progress. Over 30 public sector organisations are now procuring IT from the Government Cloudstore which launched in February 2012. Now that Cloud has taken grip, how is today’s marketer affected?
0 comments | Full storyWhat can social do for your business?
Social media has revolutionised thinking about customer relationships and how our customers think and talk about us. They have democratised markets, shifting the power of customers relative to suppliers. They allow us to engage customers more relevantly. Social media enables the brand to extend its personality to engage with customers on their terms, at the time they want, where they want, when they want and through channels that they chose.
1 comment | Full storyInspired and engaged at Internet World
Innovate, inspire and engage…just some of the recurring buzz words integral to both Internet World and the HRD 2012 shows last week (at Earls Court and Olympia respectively). Story telling and collaboration were key topics for each show too. I flitted between the two, which perfectly complemented each other, and were both of huge relevance for my role. HRD provided insight on constructing top notch training courses and creating the best learning experiences, and Internet World helps keep us at the top of our game, responding to and anticipating new marketing training needs and leading the way in new courses for the marketing profession.
0 comments | Full storyVendor Funding: Accrued or Discretionary, what is best for the partners?
During September and October I created a simple Survey Monkey entitled ‘Vendor Funding: Accrued or Discretionary, what is best for the partners?’ My objective was to receive 50 genuine responses. The primary reason for this survey is that I worked with many funding processes both at Avaya and Nortel and I continually see large vendors from all sectors changing the way that they fund their channel programs. One year it’s accrued and then the next year they change to discretionary, but does anyone ever ask the partners what they want from the program and how this affects their businesses?
0 comments | Full storyUnderstanding cultural differences in global research
Any global market research company, accustomed to delivering research findings collected from a myriad of customers around the world knows the importance of understanding individual country differences. If you assume that all humans are the same and you then make a decision to enter another country based on your previous knowledge and assumptions, you will very quickly realise you have made a big mistake. Differences might be cultural, behavioural or attitudinal, but a researcher needs to know what lies behind a given score, action or opinion before making informed recommendations for action.
0 comments | Full storyWe came, we saw, we met the Socially Skilled Business Marketer
Spectacular pre-event thunder and lightning didn’t deter the audience at last week’s IDM Knowledge & Networking evening Meet the Socially Skilled Business Marketer (#socialskills).
We left inspired to harness the power of people talking to people:
1 comment | Full storyWhat’s in your cookie jar?
With time ticking away before the end of the ICO’s moratorium on enforcement of the new Cookie Law, only the bravest of brands have taken the plunge to implement consent on their websites.
By 26th May, all but “strictly necessary” cookies will need opt-in consent. Both Government and the Information Commissioner’s Office have expressed concern that many website owners are leaving it perilously late to the deadline to get their houses in order.
0 comments | Full storyHow essential is it that B2B businesses get social?
Just as email has become a ubiquitous business tool, so too will social media in the coming years. Therefore it is imperative that businesses take notice of social. When I first started my digital career at Hyundai back in 1997, I was the only person within the organisation that had an email account and access to the Internet. Gradually over time more people were provided with email and Internet access, and nowadays it’s expected you would have access or you cease to be efficient and effective in your work.
5 comments | Full storyGood business management starts with good data management
When calculating your marketing performance, you will know for certain what each element is costing you. After all, you get invoiced for everything that happens. But do you know what the real price is of achieving those activities? Can you reliably size your market and establish what share you have in it?
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“This isn’t homework boy this is someone else’s work!”
“Yes sir”
“You haven’t even bothered to copy it out, you’ve just sent me a link to it!”
“You don’t have to know anything these days sir, you just link to someone who does and take the credit. It’s called content curation.”
1 comment | Full storyJust because others are worse than you doesn’t make you any better!
In my previous blog piece I talked about a formula for success, beginning with the basic need to understand your target audience.
The key benefit of this is engagement – the ability to engage in a positive conversation that will ultimately generate a desired result.
But engagement isn’t just about getting your creative right, it’s also about adopting an appropriate communication strategy – using the right media as well as having a good appreciation of any timing considerations.
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