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.
Two sayings sprung to mind recently as a project came to a close ‘We learn from our mistakes’ and ‘You are never too old to learn’. The glossy new corporate web site was ready to go live. We’d had the normal arguments over design, struggles to get content in on time and all the familiar tensions between departments about who should do what. Everything – or so I thought – had been tested and tested again and finally it was ready to show to the Senior Management Team.
0 comments | Full storyWhy 2012 is the year you absolutely must get up to speed with mobile
Amid the doom and gloom of the Eurozone crisis, the possible knock-on effect of double-dip recession and the ongoing carnage for many High Street retailers, we should all feel bullish about the prospects for mobile in 2012. Market leaders in most sectors now have a taste for what mobile can achieve for their business, whether growing the customer base, building targeted CRM and loyalty programmes, or harnessing the uptake of mobile commerce with transactional sites and apps. However, the majority of brands are still coasting down the hard shoulder. Few have moved from trial phase and fully harnessed mobile to drive greater efficiencies by better optimising their marketing budgets, to improve customer retention, or to generate an effective, robust new revenue channel.
0 comments | Full storyData industry heading for the rocks?
The fate of the Costa Concordia has been seen by many in Italy as a metaphor for the country itself. A noble ship brought to disaster by a captain allegedly more interested in showing off than in the safety of his passengers. Offsetting this is the everyday heroism of ordinary people going about their jobs and saving lives. Two sides of the tragedy – two dimensions to Italian life.
0 comments | Full storyAre events still effective marketing activities?
If you asked any sales director in IT and telecommunications the question: are events still effective marketing activities? I believe you would receive a variation of the same response: “I think so but I don’t know for certain, I would have to ask my marketing team.”
2 comments | Full story10 Things I wish I’d known…
Beverly Barker F IDM was recently awarded the prestigious IDM Educator of the Year Award for her exceptional contribution to direct and digital marketing education. A seasoned marketer with 20+ years experience and one of the leading tutors across the IDM qualifications portfolio, we asked Beverly what ten things she had learned in her career that she would love to have known when she started out.
4 comments | Full storyIs the past an indicator for success in the future?
The question that keeps me awake at night is will the risk pay off or will I fail? I have a huge passion for digital, media and technology and before I began my current role at Nectar I worked for News International. I am sure most of you are drawing breath right now but up until a few years ago it was thought of as a leader in its industry and very much an innovator. I remember being in many meetings where it was the News International way for new start-ups to be grilled by the M&A department to find out if it was worthy of investing and one thing always struck me, NI was a risk taker and would take chances in times of uncertainty and was not afraid of failing. Yes it has made many poor decisions along the way but looking back I didn’t appreciate how unique it is to take risks in our industry.
0 comments | Full storyMarketers – stop whining and pick up a bat!!
Marketers you need to start standing up for yourselves if you want to succeed and be taken seriously. Too many marketers are setting themselves up to fail by agreeing to requests from the business without acquiring additional support. If the business is asking you to change what you deliver, you need to ensure you have the right knowledge, capabilities and tools in place.
3 comments | Full storyHumans – we’re a fickle lot!
“Byrdes of on kynde and color flok and flye allwayes together.” According to William Turner (1545) – humans find some comfort in behaving like sheep. Nothing wrong with sheep of course! This behaviour was probably observed many hundreds of years prior to being put into print as a proverb. Even Plato makes reference to this flock-like tendency in his words of wisdom. I’m sure that the basis of its origination was more to do with survival rather than opinion but there is no excuse today for always adopting the same flock-like behaviour as everyone else.
0 comments | Full storyWhy train marketers up when you can buy them in ready-trained?
I can see how the Royal Family goes about its succession planning: have children. But what about businesses where bloodlines are irrelevant? Where do we expect our future managers and directors to come from?
6 comments | Full storyB2B Marketing Skills: which ones do you need?
Last week at the IDM B2B Marketing Conference I was part of a panel, tasked with discussing the key skills and knowledge that a B2B marketer will need for the future. The starting point and the backdrop for the whole event (which also unveiled the IDM’s new name and branding) was that B2B marketing today is more complex than ever before. Technology has changed how customers research and buy, and the range of tools and channels that a B2B marketers has at their disposal. So what knowledge and skills are required by today’s and tomorrow’s marketer?
5 comments | Full storyBuyersphere 2011: would the real Customer 2.0 please stand up?
There’s a lot of talk going on about the new breed of customer. Not only on this blog, but throughout the B2B marketing world and, of course, at next week’s IDM B2B Marketing Conference, where it is understandably the main theme of the event. But with all this talk, there is a big question to ask: is this Customer 2.0 real or imagined?
2 comments | Full storyIn denial. My world is fine without any changes, thank you!
We live in a world of denial. It’s a human mechanism – a weakness. We spend money and don’t worry about paying it back. We damage our environment and see it as the responsibility of others. We pursue activities that may not be kind to our bodies but refuse to accept the potential consequences. Some might say that denial is born from naive optimism. Sadly, reality is often too hard to face so we park the unpleasant bits or those tasks we just don’t want to face in the back of our minds – sometimes to our detriment.
0 comments | Full story9 lessons in a B2B marketing year
It’s amazing how fast the last year has gone by. Whilst gearing myself up for my session at next week’s IDM B2B conference I pondered on what lessons we’d learned since the last one (as well as from the downturn that preceded it). And what are the implications for the year ahead?
1 comment | Full storySmartPhones need SmartMarketers
In this new mobile, social and collaborative world, nearly everyone carries a SmartPhone or tablet. With several people carrying more than one mobile device, we now have a UK average of 1.33 devices per person! According to a US report, 26% of adults read the news on their mobile device and 75% contribute to, comment on, or forward news stories. The shift is relatively recent and marketers need to quickly adapt their programs to be mobile and socially effective.
0 comments | Full storyChange is good – it will give you a new lease of life
You may have read ‘Who Moved My Cheese’ by Spencer Johnson. It tackles the concept of change using an allegory to convey the need to embrace this unsettling occurrence – it’s brilliant but has been used in some dubious ways I believe! For many businesses, change is not a welcome guest – in fact, in some instances, it can threaten the very being of existence. ‘Where’ and ‘next’ are not found in the same sentence for fear of upsetting the status quo.
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