The heart of my presentation on Wednesday ended up as a list of 37 “best practices” for marketing automation / demand generation programs. The best practices are organized around those steps. Best practices here involve the types of data, and, in particular, expanding beyond traditional sources. leads, promotions, responses, orders: these are the traditional data sources used in most marketing systems. Best practices would link actual orders back to the individual leads, and do accurate customer data integration. But I digress. Step 1: Gather Data. MORE >>

Still, questions remain: how do I use social media most effectively across the enterprise? How do I use my time and resources most effectively? Read on for answers to these questions and more from some of the best minds in social media in some of their best blog posts and articles of 2011 so far. Social Media Strategy and Best Practices. He lists nine steps its imperative for companies to take in order to “build enough social karma (yes, I said karma) to facilitate things like guest posting opportunities, retweets, likes, etc.&#. What to do? MORE >>

Whether you’re anxious to get started marketing on Facebook, already there but looking for better results, or not sure if Facebook is right for your company (despite the eye-popping audience numbers), you’ll find guidance here in some of the best posts on Facebook marketing so far in 2010: tips, tactics and best practices for building Facebook pages, growing your fan (or “like&# ) base, advertising, optimizing for search, using Facebook apps and tools, and more, from experts like Mari Smith, Lisa Barone, Ching Ya, John Haydon, Brian Carter, Marty Weintraub and Shel Holtz. MORE >>

To make their coaching efforts more effective in this evolving environment, managers should ensure that they steer clear of some common coaching pitfalls. However, while effective coaching increases retention of star performers, it does not impact low-performers significantly. However, managers often tend to share generic views or examples that sellers find difficult to relate to or implement. Many managers focus coaching interactions on resolving immediate deal-level concerns in order to meet sales targets, rather than long-term skill development. MORE >>

ROI remains a contentious issue, but in at least a few areas best practices began to emerge. Discover the answers to these questions and more here in 55 of the best guides to social media strategies, tactics, tools and statistics of the past year. Dan Neely discusses which social networking sites get the most attention from marketers (Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, no surprises there), how marketers can best use social media for branding and business development, and concerns about the use of social media in brand planning. Adoption soared. 85% of Inc. Mistakes were made. MORE >>