Tags: qlikview qliktech software selection business intelligence vendor evaluatio To carry on a bit with yesterday’s topic— QlikTech fascinates me on two levels: first, because it is such a powerful technology, and second because it’s a real-time case study in how a superior technology penetrates an established market. The general topic of diffusion of innovation has always intrigued me, and it would be fun to map QlikView against the usual models (hype curve, chasm crossing, tipping point, etc.)

I took a close look recently at Tableau data visualization software. I liked Tableau a lot, even though it wasn’t quite what I expected. I had thought of it as a way to build aesthetically-correct charts, according to the precepts set down by Edward Tufte and like-minded visualization gurus such as Stephen Few . But even though Tableau follows many of these principles, it is less for building charts than interactive data exploration.

Tags: marketing software marketing automatio I’ve often written about the tendency of marketing automation vendors to endlessly expand the scope of their products. Over all this is probably a good thing for their customers. But at some point, the competitive advantage of adding yet another capability probably approaches nil.

These may include: Banner ads Print ad artwork White papers Case studies Press releases Bylined articles Sales collateral such as product/service sheets and brochures Presentations Tradeshow giveaways Direct mail materials Online press kit (fact sheet, executive bios, photo gallery) Redesigned website Email template and content Video Email ads (HTML and text) Search ads Greeting cards Case studies Blog Executive biographies Photos (key people, products, software screen shots) Diagrams Competitive matrix Media, analyst and blog lists Lists of key organizations and tradeshows

Don't forget that software does NOT create collaboration. Companies that adopt effective lead management processes generate more revenue from their lead generation investment and have overall higher close rates on marketing generated leads than those that do not. But I've encountered very few companies that really do lead management.

B2B marketers rely on their targeted audience and customers to spread the word by forwarding on an email invite to a webinar or telling a fellow colleague about a great new software package that they just starting using. When comparing B2B marketing to B2C, many see B2B as having very generic campaigns that lack the excitement and creativity of B2C. For example, you rarely have celebrity endorsements or crazy contests that reach millions that you typically see with brands such as Nike or Coke .

Focused on software developers specifically, and the technology community more generally, DZone is the best place to tag software-related news and thought leadership content. Based on two months of testing across a half-dozen B2B websites and blogs, these Web 2.0 social bookmarking sites produced the best results, in terms of driving direct traffic and having active, engaged discussion communities.

Here are (part one of) some of the best posts and stories devoted to SEO in 2007: 20 Hard Core SEO Tips by SEO Theory and Analysis Blog A compelling mix of indispensable (Learn how to write Who, What, Where, When, and Why in 4 paragraphs or less. For example, if what you sell is "data privacy encryption software for Oracle HRMS," then it arguably more valuable for site to show up well for that term than simply for a search on "Oracle software." SEO is dead? Balderdash!

I’ve written about pretty much every variety of online marketing software here or elsewhere and have reviewed dozens of products in depth. If you’re familiar with these systems, you’ll immediately notice that search engine optimization is a world of $150 PC software, while all the other categories are dominated by large service providers. Tags: web analytics marketing softwar What with all the recent acquisitions in the digital marketing industry, I thought I’d draw a little diagram of all the components needed for a complete solution. The results were a surprise.

On the product front, they continue their long-time strategy of offering all the software a marketing department would need. The one major acquisition in 2007 was Marketing Central, which provides hosted marketing resource management. Probably the most interesting development Hally reported was a sharp rise in sales for Unica’s Affinium Detect, an event-detection system based on the Elity software acquired with MarketSoft in 2005. I recently caught up with Unica Vice President Andrew Hally as part of my review of developments at the major marketing automation vendors.