by Jon Miller (@jonmiller) Measuring the contribution that a given marketing program has on revenue and profits is the holy grail of marketing measurement. As a result, perhaps the most common question marketers ask is, “ did this program (this tradeshow, this email blast…) deliver a return on our investment (ROI) ?”. This blog post is all about how marketers can answer this challenging question – and build a sensible framework for measuring the effectiveness of their decisions. Why Measuring Marketing Programs is Hard. Full Market Mix Modeling. MORE >>

Whether you need to more efficiently manage B2B social media efforts, or more accurately determine the marketing ROI of your last email campaign, a tool exists to eliminate some of your headaches. Once you have a marketing automation solution in place, there are a host of free or low-cost resources available to provide additional support. Here, we’ve identified 5 absolutely free marketing tools for B2B marketers. Google Analytics Annotations allow marketers to flag certain events, such as a sudden spike in traffic. Social Mention. MORE >>

by Liz Smyth In the second part of our Marketing in a Downturn series, we’re examining the importance of content marketing. As B2B marketing budgets have become strained, many marketers believe they should be doing more with less. Here are our top 7 tips for getting the most value from your content marketing during an economic downturn: 1. The B2B marketer that takes the time to know and understand the challenges their prospects face has a better chance of creating content that’s relevant. Optimize Content for Inbound Marketing. MORE >>

by Maria Pergolino B2B social media marketing involves a carefully planned mix across multiple channels to build relationships and increase lead generation. To ensure the effectiveness of such marketing mixes, it’s important to continue checking initiatives against overarching business goals, and allow time to calculate ROI of marketing efforts. To ensure the most effective return on Twitter, consider the following 9 tips for B2B marketing success: 1. The same holds true when developing strategies for Twitter. MORE >>

Yesterday’s Fall 2009 MarketingProfs Digital Marketing World Virtual Conference was the perfect event to prepare for the planning of Q4 marketing programs. focused on the B2B sessions along with hosting a one hour chat session on Email Marketing and Lead Nurturing in the network lounge during the event. Here are my top takeaways from the event: Social media should be embedded into your marketing campaign s Social media isn’t a standalone activity. Instead, it should be part of your marketing mix, to enhance your current campaigns. MORE >>