have invited our Panel of B2B Marketing Experts to reflect on 2009 and answer the following question: What was your aha moment in 2009 ? B2B Lead Generation Benchmark Study 2009. Her blog is Phoenix Rising and her business is People Who Know. Powerful business lessons, thought provoking perspectives and a community of professionals whose generosity astounds me every day. I’ve met my speaking coach and mentor, two new clients, more new business associates and partners than I can count – all on Twitter. We are a virtual business team! MORE >>

5) Brand Promise/Reality Gap Reduction: The trend that social media kicked into high gear in 2009 will continue into 2010; any organization that has a significant gap between their brand promise, and their brand reality will have that gap mercilessly exposed through social media and community-created content. It’s coming around to that time of year again when we all offer up predictions for what the coming year will offer. As with any of these, it’s a guess, and entirely my own opinion. Here are some of the trends and changes I think we’ll see in the coming year. Sort of. MORE >>

CSO Insights says companies need to improve the way they generate leads through great  lead generation campaigns and implement processes for business to business lead generation. Businesses leverage  database marketing to optimize their lead generation campaigns and continually publishes the best lead generation ideas , so his readers can determine the best lead generation strategy to find new customers. It’s about time. This is where the money should be going — toward driving revenue. And demand generation is number one. MORE >>

In fact, visitors searching our site for the phrase “content marketing” increased by 85% in 2009 over 2008. Six Steps to a Successful Small Business Content Marketing Strategy. Why Being Visual Can Bring Beautiful Business Results. Top 10 Lessons Small Businesses Can Takeaway from Smart Content Marketers. Secrets to Making Online Video Work for Small Business. Reasons an eBook Should be a Core Component of Your Content Marketing Strategy Of course, I’m assuming that you already have a website and are probably doing some business blogging. Not at length. MORE >>

have written before about the importance of adding visual elements to content so it was particularly gratifying to find that Mark Smiciklas had represented my article, Six Steps to a Successful Small Business Content Marketing Strategy simply and clearly with a big graphic accompanied by five bullet points. Inspiration from ‘Visual Blogger’ Mark Smiciklas of Intersection Marketing. It’s hard to make things easy. And, it’s even harder to be amusing at the same time. Just the right visuals make those ideas even more memorable when they are funny as well. MORE >>