The move to relating to the customer who absorbs and shares products and information in 140 characters or less culminated with the rise of social customer relationship management (CRM). The market for social CRM, and the applications it has produced to track customer habits, relationships and activity via social media platforms, has drastically orbited into relevance in the past year. Everyone is abuzz about social CRM , and social CRM applications are now a must have. For example, Productivity in sales teams using social CRM increased by more than 25 percent. MORE >>

We've already made the case for list segmentation in email marketing , and we sure hope you've bought in. Still in need of a little refresher on the merits of email list segmentation? How about the fact that, according to eMarketer , 39% of email marketers that practice list segmentation see better open rates; 28% see lower opt-out and unsubscribe rates; and 24% see better email deliverability, increased sales leads, and greater revenue. So to get your creative juices flowing, take a look at this ultimate list of ways you could segment your email lists! 1) Geography. MORE >>

Prospect with no Previous Response — Among this segment we found the response rates are influenced by the touch method used. Customer Segment — The highest response rate we measured is from customers that are repurchasing more of the same product category. SIGMA Marketing Group has developed a number of analytic scoring models that define the likelihood of a site to purchase. We then calibrate the models to estimate the likelihood that the site will purchase a product in the next 12 months. Mike Sullivan. 3) customers. OBTM = Outbound Telemarketing. Tweet This! MORE >>

Wednesday, November 12, 2008 B2B CRM / Branding Model I was doing some more thinking about a specific B2B CRM and branding model. This relates to a previous post on CRM. The concept, while not earth-shattering, does provide some clarity to the role of branding and CRM in a B2B organization. Basically the framework divides up the CRM value chain into four parts. There are five primary elements of listening: sampling (tracking studies); chatter (web or otherwise); engagement (two-way conversations); purchase (buying); and loyalty (staying a customer). MORE >>

For many new users of marketing automation tools, one of the biggest challenges is segmenting the CRM database in a way that drives results. When you purchase data for your marketing automation campaigns, the data will seem expensive.  Many people let the cost of the list drive unproductive behaviors – such as asking the sales force to research and input prospects into CRM. Prospect identification and CRM segmentation should focus on finding contacts that can be included as well as contacts that should be automatically excluded from searches. It is.  MORE >>