On Focus.com , Holly asks: “Does marketing automation work if I only have a cold list of records? My response: It’s true that most marketing automation implementations involve either customers or existing prospects – people with whom the company has had prior contact – but there’s no reason why you couldn’t use the same technology against a cold list. The client sourced the names from their CRM database and outside lists and has taken great pains to verify the contact information. How effective would using this cold list be?&#. and so on. MORE >>

Summary: consolidation isn't new among marketing software vendors. As I wrote in my June 30 post on consolidation among marketing automation vendors , I expect the number of competitors to shrink fairly quickly as new buyers concentrate their purchases among a handful of leading vendors. This is a natural result of a maturing market, as technology-oriented pioneers are replaced by buyers less likely to research their options in depth. Will weaker marketing automation vendors merge with each other to establish a larger market presence? MORE >>

recently completed a new point-of-view for my firm which outlines how I think marketing will be changing in the next few years.  Given that disclaimer, here’s what I see as the big issues facing marketers next year: Customer engagement is not a passing fad. Now that there’s so much more data with the advent of social media, marketers must look beyond their traditional sources of data warehousing.  Marketing analytics are red hot. Social media marketing will mature. 2010 was the year social media exploded onto the marketing scene.  Kenyon Blunt. MORE >>

About | Advertise | Submissions | Write for Us CrowdsourcedFRD Home Advertising Branding Content Marketing Lead Gen SEO-SEM Social Media More Strategy Design PR eBooks Educational Facebook Guest Posts Twitter B2B Social Media Strategy: 5 Steps to Gaining Executive Buy-in June 10th, 2010 | By Michael Brenner You’ve just been handed the job of setting your company’s B2B Social Media Strategy and gaining executive buy-in across the leadership team. One great example of a social roadmap is the Altimeter Group’s Social CRM: The New Rules of Relationship Management. Or Does It? MORE >>

Continue Reading Marketing for 2011: Five Critical Considerations for Success Dec 27 2010 As we close out the year and jump into 2011, I find myself looking back at the year to figure out how effective our marketing was and which marketing trends will serve us well next year. Continue Reading Going Mobile Dec 17 2010 What can't you do with your mobile device these days? Continue Reading The SEO Impact of the Long Tailed Keyword Dec 9 2010 Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is an integral part of any online marketing strategy. ” routine. MORE >>