B2B Marketing Traction

MAY 29, 2015

Marketing guru. Social media expert. Digital genius. Dynamic speaker. Prolific writer. Does anyone really believe these words when they read them on a marketing provider’s website? Something’s been bothering me as I sift through marketing information and visit other marketing providers’ websites, About pages and bios on social media.

B2B Marketing 100

B2B Marketing Ethics B2B Ideal Customer Profiles 100

B2B Marketing Traction

APRIL 23, 2015

'Google changed their search engine algorithm to favor mobile friendly websites. But don’t let a web developer or SEO vendor sell you a bill of goods as a solution. Here’s what you need to know. Google announced this algorithm change early – a few months ago – letting website owners know that they would begin to favor mobile friendly websites in the search results starting on April 21.

Google 100

Google Mobile Advertising Budget Programs Mobile Marketing 100

B2B Marketing Traction

APRIL 21, 2015

'Everyone wants to sell their technology services and products to CIOs, but many CIOs are expert at avoiding solicitations. Here’s what you need to know to market successfully to CIOs. I read with interest a Wall Street Journal blog post by Rachael King that references the research of Joe Peppard, a professor at the European School of Management and Technology.

Peer-to-peer 100

Peer-to-peer Planning Marketing Management Cross-Selling 100

B2B Marketing Traction

APRIL 17, 2015

'Still haven’t dipped your toe into business-to-business social media marketing waters? Here is the easiest and most foolproof way to get started. A professional services company found me online last week and inquired about my outsource marketing services. I provided some information, but they decided to hire a sales person instead of investing in marketing.

Social Media 100

Social Media Linkedin Social Marketing B2B Marketing 100

B2B Marketing Traction

APRIL 13, 2015

'There’s a big difference between what B2B marketers are using in their marketing programs and what is effective. Here are three things you need to act on to increase your marketing results. A survey conducted in 2014 called the 2015 B2B Marketing Benchmarks, Budgets and Trends in North America by the Content Marketing Institute and MarketingProfs provided lists of what tactics B2B marketers used and what they found most effective.

Top of Funnel 100

Top of Funnel Customer Surveys B2B Marketing B2B 100

B2B Marketing Traction

APRIL 9, 2015

'Deciding what kind of content to include in your B2B eNewsletter isn’t easy. It’s a challenge to stand out when your prospects’ email inboxes are overflowing with hundreds – maybe thousands – of emails begging for their attention. I have found that the eNewsletters I like include a combination of interesting and valuable content.

Work Management 100

Work Management B2B Marketing B2B Thought Leadership Planning 100

B2B Marketing Traction

APRIL 1, 2015

'Email marketing is easy, right? You decide on a message, create the email using one of many email programs, send a test for review and, when it looks good, hit send! Right? Wrong. A few days ago I got an email from a company announcing their name change. I didn’t recognize the company, and I didn’t recognize the sender. I scanned the email subject line, introduction, body content and signature line, and I still had no idea what the company did.

Email Marketing 100

Email Marketing B2B Marketing Planning B2B 100

B2B Marketing Traction

MARCH 26, 2015

'Once upon a time it was thought that businesses could get better search engine performance if they owned multiple keyword-rich URLs that open separate, optimized websites and link to their main business website. Now, there is more information about this approach. Here’s what you need to know to make an informed decision. Yesterday I presented to a group of manufacturers who plan on growing their business through exports.

Domain 100

Domain Keywords CAN-SPAM Blogger 100

B2B Marketing Traction

MARCH 20, 2015

'Too many business people jump right into tactics when it comes to marketing. They think that all they need to do is get the word out about a product or service and people will buy. Build it and they will come! But this is why a lot of marketing – and a lot of businesses – fail. Executing marketing tactics before you’ve analyzed whether or not there is a target market that wants or needs your product is like putting the cart before the horse.

Analysis 100

Analysis Tactics B2B Marketing Planning 100

B2B Marketing Traction

FEBRUARY 27, 2015

'With all the news and hype about content marketing these days, you would think it’s one of the most effective marketing tactics for B2B marketing, if not the most effective. But, it’s not. I spent quite a bit of time going through the results of a recent survey of B2B Marketers by the Content Marketing Institute (CMI) and Marketing Profs sponsored by Brightcove.

Tactics 100

Tactics B2B Marketing Effectiveness Planning 100

B2B Marketing Traction

FEBRUARY 19, 2015

'Hosting a Twitter chat can offer a great marketing benefits or turn into a total failure. Here are some of the things to consider when designing your new Twitter chat. My niece is a music therapist and the founder of Maine Music & Health. She does her own marketing, and recently mentioned that students from a class she teaches keep reaching out to network with her, and she thought a Twitter chat might be a good way to connect and share information.

Twitter 100

Twitter Web 2.0 Planning Social Media 100

B2B Marketing Traction

FEBRUARY 6, 2015

'In the last two years, LinkedIn has quietly added fields and features that can help you manage your contact relationships on LinkedIn. This blog post shows you how that works and what pros and cons of you should consider in trusting your valuable data to LinkedIn. In a recent LinkedIn workshop the participants asked me why LinkedIn allows you to edit contact information for your connections.

Linkedin 100

Linkedin CRM Work Management Marketing Management 100

B2B Marketing Traction

JANUARY 20, 2015

'A blog is an important marketing tactic for businesses and professionals who want to get found online for their products, services and expertise. In this workshop, you will learn how to blog, what makes a successful blog, and how to get results from your blog. On Friday, February 20, 2015, New Incite is offering its new How to Blog for Business Results workshop in Los Angeles.

Consulting 100

Consulting Marketing Mix Planning Tactics 100

B2B Marketing Traction

JANUARY 19, 2015

'Your newsletter sent by email is still an important marketing tool for staying in front of customers and prospects. But how can you produce an interesting eLetter with fresh and compelling content with minimum time and effort? I sent an email complimenting my colleague, Management Consultant Terry Schmidt , on his recent eNewsletter. I know Terry from my work on the board of the Association for Strategic Planning.

Process 100

Process Product Newsletter Template 100

B2B Marketing Traction

JANUARY 15, 2015

'Do you want to learn how to get found on LinkedIn, stay connected in a credible way and even generate qualified leads on LinkedIn ( without spamming people )? New Incite presents a new workshop, Mastering LinkedIn: A Practical Approach on Friday January 23, 2015, in Los Angeles. At the two-hour workshop, you will learn how to improve your LinkedIn profile to get found and get business, how to use the new, free, blogging feature on LinkedIn, how to join groups and participate in discussions and

Linkedin 100

Linkedin Ideal Customer Profiles CAN-SPAM Work Management 100

B2B Marketing Traction

NOVEMBER 24, 2014

'Learning to use Twitter can be perplexing, because it has it’s own language and coding. In this blog post I provide answers and how-to’s for the six most common questions B2B companies have about getting started on Twitter. 1. What is the difference between a # (hashtag) and the @ (at) signs? The answer is that hashtags are used to tag your tweet with a keyword that clues readers in to the topic of your tweet.

Twitter 100

Twitter Web 2.0 B2B Conference 100

B2B Marketing Traction

JULY 2, 2014

'What does a perfect blog post look like? In this post I paint a picture and show and explain the eight elements of the perfect post, so it’s easy for bloggers to visualize. I recently curated an article on the perfect blog post by Kevan Lee of Buffer. It was chock full of great tips and best practices for blog posts proven by research, but some of my followers commented that the long and detailed article was hard to put into action.

Opinions 100

Opinions Paid Search Agency Studies Blogger 100

B2B Marketing Traction

JUNE 27, 2014

'I recently published one of my most popular blog posts on the Business 2 Community blog and was happy to see that it was widely shared and liked by readers. Happy, that is, until “the comment.” A person who says they are also a “B2B Marketing Consultant” wrote a comment that was dismissive of my entire post and, in my opinion, snarky in tone.

Social Media 100

Social Media Media Class Consulting 100

B2B Marketing Traction

JUNE 25, 2014

'Now more than ever your customers matter. Not only for revenue from ongoing sales, but importantly for brand advocacy. Since today’s buyers rely on the recommendations of other buyers to decide what product or service to purchase, your customer’s recommendation of your brand means more than it ever did before. The customer’s satisfaction with your product and service is a key factor to their recommendation, but there are other aspects of their brand experience that make a diff

Loyalty 100

Loyalty Brand Identity Branding Customer Satisfaction 100

B2B Marketing Traction

JUNE 23, 2014

'Many B2B marketers get so caught up in new lead generation, their marketing and communications to existing customers can fall by the wayside. Now we have more tools to stay in front of our customers, keep them engaged and increase their loyalty. Here are five ways to improve your marketing to your customers. 1. Remove any friction in your customer’s experience with your brand.

Loyalty 100

Loyalty B2B Marketing Planning B2B 100

B2B Marketing Traction

JUNE 20, 2014

'We’ve been recommending open source website technologies for our clients, namely WordPress. There are many benefits, but there are also some disadvantages to these cost-effective, “easy-to-use” website platforms. Here’s one of the biggest. For most businesses, it doesn’t make good business sense to get a website developed in a proprietary platform that only the website developer can modify.

Marketing Websites 100

Marketing Websites Guidelines Paid Search Agency Vendors 100

B2B Marketing Traction

JUNE 17, 2014

'Since 1998 we’ve developed many successful business-to-business websites that generate leads and revenues for our clients, and we’ve also seen how B2B websites can go terribly wrong. Here are eleven website mistakes and tips on how to avoid them. 1. You don’t have a plan or strategy for your online and social media presence. You can’t market well if you don’t know your buyers, your brand and what you stand for, your competition, or your industry.

Marketing Websites 100

Marketing Websites Paid Search Agency B2B Guidelines 100

B2B Marketing Traction

JUNE 6, 2014

'My answer to the question, “How long should my blog post be?” has always been, “As long as it takes.” I took to the web to see if others think differently, and what I found surprised me. Most seem to concur that a good post answers a question or completes a thought or opinion with supporting information and is as long as it needs to be.

Opinions 100

Opinions Blogger Stats Paid Search Agency 100

B2B Marketing Traction

MAY 21, 2014

'Content marketing requires strategy and discipline for successful results. I recommend creating a strategic plan and schedule for execution. For success in content marketing, you need to be strategic and disciplined. Understanding your audience, how to leverage your services and products, and how to execute content are key factors. Know your audience.

Planning 100

Planning Content Marketing Content Marketing & Strategy 100

B2B Marketing Traction

MAY 2, 2014

'Flickr Photo by Scott McCleod, Some Rights Reserved. I am a CMO who has worked with CIOs my entire career. In this blog post I share some of my observations about the differences between the two, and what is needed to bridge the gap. I read a a report on the most recent Global C-Suite Study by IBM that recommends Chief Marketing Officers (CMOs) establish close working relationships with Chief Information Officers (CIOs).

Enterprise Management 100

Enterprise Management Work Management CMO Marketing Management 100

B2B Marketing Traction

APRIL 30, 2014

'According to IBM’s new Global C-Suite Study , CMOs are now second to CFOs in terms of influence, but most are still not ready to fully take advantage of the benefits of social media adoption and digital marketing. According to the study, two-thirds of CMOs are still not ready to fully implement social media and digital marketing, a number only slightly reduced since 2011.

CMO 100

CMO Social Media Media Correlation 100

B2B Marketing Traction

APRIL 28, 2014

'Some business to business (B2B) marketers are still hesitant about investing in social media. They may view social media as a business to consumer (B2C) activity or they think that their target audience isn’t on social media. Here is why they are wrong. It is on social media that marketers are able to share content, and content marketing is what helps buyers find you online.

Social Media 100

Social Media Social Marketing B2B Marketing Marketing Strategy 100

B2B Marketing Traction

FEBRUARY 13, 2014

'Flickr photo by Ivete Tecedor, Some Rights Reserved. Adding the simple words “Thank You” to your business and marketing communication can go a long way. Unfortunately, it’s becoming more and more rare to hear these words. According to Dave Kerpen, author of Likeable Business , those who are grateful have less depression, envy, and grief.

Marketing Strategy 100

Marketing Strategy Marketing & Strategy Advertising Agencies Lead Scoring 100

B2B Marketing Traction

JANUARY 6, 2014

'Ad agency JWT publishes a list of 100 trends to watch in the coming year. Reviewing this is a fun exercise in the New Year, since many trends affect marketing. (And some are just plain fun.) Here are my top picks from the 2014 list : #5 Algae which is booming as an ingredient in many products from cosmetics and industrial products. The fun one is Dino Pet, a pet that comes to life through bioluminescent algae. #6 Ambient commerce , the practice of using sensors in products to automatically noti

Trends 100

Trends Paid Search Agency Broadcasting Mobile Marketing 100

B2B Marketing Traction

JANUARY 3, 2014

'Happy New Year! Marketing continues to change at lightening speed. Here are 5 top tactics (four new, one timeless) I recommend for your marketing success in the coming year. . 1. Substance is king. SEO Is dead. Google’s algorithmic changes in 2012 and 2013 have been a big nod to substance. So it’s not that “content is king,” it’s that “substantial content is king.” The SEO tactics of yore (keywords, links, guest blogging, short blog posts for the sake o

Planning 100

Planning Tactics Marketing Plans Trade Show 100

B2B Marketing Traction

DECEMBER 20, 2013

'Businesses that have experienced high-growth can get myopic and full of themselves. Some make the big mistake of failing to listen to the marketplace. I recently read an email newsletter by Seena Sharp of Sharp Market Intelligence. Seena wrote “ Playing the Blame Game ,” about leaders and companies who ignored market and customer signals and blamed external factors for their product or business problems.

Paid Search Agency 100

Paid Search Agency Companies Class Communities 100

B2B Marketing Traction

DECEMBER 17, 2013

'Now more than ever, a “legacy” or old website can keep you from getting found online. One of the reasons is Google’s recent emphasis on website performance and compatibility with mobile devices. Websites programmed with older technology platforms and methods often don’t perform as well as those created or updated with new technology and methods.

Marketing Websites 100

Marketing Websites High Quality Lead Social Media SEO 100

B2B Marketing Traction

NOVEMBER 25, 2013

'Flickr Photo by HeavyWeightGeek Some rights reserved. How do you measure your online marketing performance? How do you know if you need improvement, and how to improve your online marketing? There are many analytic applications that you can use to track the technical details of your online presence. The most commonly used is Google Analytics. If your website does not have this free tracking program installed on it, I highly recommend that you add it.

Conversion 100

Conversion B2B Marketing Marketing Analytics Tools Lead Scoring 100

B2B Marketing Traction

SEPTEMBER 20, 2013

'Doing business today requires transparency, which builds trust with your customers and partners. It leads to increased business, since people buy from people they know, like and trust. Last night I attended Peter Coffee’s Annual Tech Update at the AITP Chapter meeting in Los Angeles. He talked about the many revolutions technology is creating (see the list at the end of the post), and many affect marketing.

Transparency 100

Transparency Trust Marketing B2B Marketing Ad Building 100

B2B Marketing Traction

SEPTEMBER 11, 2013

'In a few years, almost half of your workplace will be made up of millennials. Here is a great infographic that describes some of their characteristics in the workplace. Interestingly, flattery, feedback and a collaborative environment appeal to millennials. So does social media, and you may be able to leverage their knowledge and skills to create more social capital and buzz for your business.

Social Media 100

Social Media Media Buzz Creativity 100

B2B Marketing Traction

AUGUST 26, 2013

'Flickr Photo Some rights reserved by andrechinn. There are many Do’s and Don’ts of writing press releases (below see the fun Infographic from Skadeedle ). In my opinion, the number one “Don’t” is writing too much in one release. Here is why it happens and how you can avoid this major press release don’t. Many business owners want to include every detail about their company or product in one press release.

Press 100

Press Distribution Opinions Tactics 100

B2B Marketing Traction

JULY 9, 2013

'I follow several search engine optimization blogs, and I thought I’d share some observations now that the algorithm changes rolled out in several Google releases code-named “Panda” According to Eric Enge of Search Engine Watch , the algorithm changes in Panda affect websites that Google sees as “flat” for a couple of reasons.

Marketing Websites 100

Marketing Websites Google Landing Pages CAN-SPAM 100