Although B2B marketers may use the terms drip marketing and closed-loop marketing interchangeably, they are actually two distinctly different approaches to lead nurturing, says Maria Pergolino in a recent post at the Modern B2B Marketing blog. She offers a breakdown of the differences between the two techniques. Some highlights: A ... more

Changes in the way customers receive and process information via social-networking sites, mobile phones, and the Internet, combined with shrinking margins, deteriorating customer loyalty, and increased demand for marketing accountability, suggest the need for a new approach to customer-centricity. A. G. Lafley, CEO of Proctor & Gamble, signaled this reconfirmation best ... more

Mick Jagger sang, "I can't get no satisfaction," and that's apparently how many SEM professionals feel about their efforts these days. A recent report from [x+1] found that even though organizations are still investing as much if not more in SEM during this down economy, they have been somewhat unhappy ... more

Mark Brownlow of Email Marketing Reports says he learned a thing or two while working in a cardboard-box factory as a teenager. "The first was the importance of proofreading," he says. "There are not a lot of alternative uses for 200,000 boxes advertising ‘Premium banannas.’ " Another lesson was the ... more

News flash: mascara is recession-proof! At present, the most popular and recession-resilient videos on YouTube come from the "makeup tutorial" subgenre. Now, don't let those $5 words fool you: this cottage industry is composed of girls barely out of their teens, producing tutorials on everything from applying mascara with a ... more

"How much do you know about your customers right now, at this moment?" asks John Kembel in an article at MarketingProfs. You can't depend solely on the static nature of composite profiles, he argues, when the current downturn has put needs and attitudes in a state of flux. "[Y]ou need ... more

At the Red Pill Email blog, John Caldwell presents one of the most common questions he receives from Web marketers: "We get great open rates and lots of clicks, but not very many conversions. Why?" His answer is swift and blunt: Because you're still selling on the landing page. Stop ... more

In a post at the Emma blog, Edwin Acevedo tells the story of VideoLink, a video-production company that wanted to highlight its skills in an email campaign that showed off new features at a redesigned website. "They made a short video [hosted by CEO Gina Chudnow]," he says, "added a ... more

In an article at the MarketingProfs website,  Mike Volpe explains that SEO is one of the most effective ways to help your customers find you. He compares SEO to a gigantic onion, noting that "there is always another layer you can peel off." For your site to show up first ... more

Frugal American consumers have forsaken their favorite national brands in the case of many food and household, health, and personal-care products, but they are reluctant to switch to store brands on purchases for children and pets. more

"Lately," says Ken Magill in a post at DIRECT, "I regularly get messages from frustrated email managers whose bosses are trying to prod them into doing something self-destructive." It seems they're dealing with upper management who believe that doubling frequency will double profits, and that anything is fine as long ... more

"I predicted back in January that 2009 would be the year of the email marketer," says Stephanie Miller in a post at the Daily Fix blog. "Times got rough mid-last year, and executives were scrambling to maintain revenue and keep customers happy." As a result, she thought, the low investment ... more

One reason social media sites have caught on like wildfire among users is that, by and large, they operate on basic principles of social decency. Now, be honest: Do your social-media skills match the subtle standards set at sites like Twitter and YouTube? Not sure? Well, here are a few site-inspired rules ... more

Surefire lead nurturing may well be the Holy Grail of B2B marketing. Marketers remain in constant pursuit of the golden tactics that will consistently convert prospects into paying customers. Well, sound the trumpets! A recent whitepaper from DemandGen Report and Marketo, "Calculating the Real ROI from Lead Nurturing," may help ... more

In an article at MarketingProfs, Josh Nason suggests you might be letting valuable customer data go to waste. "In every campaign that you send out," he says, "you should have direct links to specific pages on your website, helping you gauge and track what's moving the meter in your emails ... more

It's tough out there. Budgets are being cut. Markets are shrinking. Prospects aren't buying the way they used to. But you can still sell effectively. You just have to think differently. The message is important, but it's effective only if the right people read it. The process that you use to ... more

In every email campaign, you should have direct links to specific pages on your website, helping you gauge and track what's moving the meter in your emails. If you're using a proper email service provider (ESP), you should be able to easily see in real time who clicked on those ... more

How Jelly Belly earned double-digit growth in Web traffic, conversions, and sales. (And you can, too.) more

B2B buying has changed: Customers have more control than ever over what information they see—and choose to dismiss. They're also using social media to learn about technology and solution providers. In an interview posted on the Modern B2B Marketing blog, Kristin Zhivago offers insights to help marketing and sales organizations ... more

"In the world of multi-channel and [multi]-location opt-in and opt-out, how do you keep your lists in sync?" asks Dylan Boyd in a post at the Email Wars blog. "Can you?" To explain what he means, he outlines the ways that one client—a retailer—builds its email list: Customers opt in ... more

"Talking to your customers is a key strategy to weathering bad times," says Jennifer Berkley in a post at the Customer Experience Optimization blog. "It's a great way to keep your finger on the pulse of how loyal your customers are and to increase their loyalty to you—a very critical ... more

"Email programs tend to start with slow and cautious frequency, produce easy ROI, and become stars," says Karen Talavera in an article at MarketingProfs. The problems start, though, when management decides that more email would be even better. "[A]s with all good things," she notes, "increased consumption eventually leads to ... more

Marketing analytics used to simply be about measuring the hits on your website and the number of opens and clicks on emails. But as marketers we know that the times are changing. Today, marketers must find a way to manage leads through the lead life cycle, which requires visibility into how ... more

In Part 1 of this series, we discussed leveraging site-search data about the terms your customers use on your site and the items they click on most in your search engine optimization and paid-search efforts, email marketing, and other promotional campaigns. Here, in Part 2, we'll talk about how to put ... more

Forget the norms. For Cisco Systems, reinvigorating its security line and authenticating its leadership spot meant something truly heroic. more