When a top Web site took a close look its landing pages, company officials noticed something unacceptable: The landing page for the company's most popular search term converted about 30 percent less frequently than the company's general landing page. By simultaneously testing four new versions of the landing page, the site ... more

This week: Do you compensate a sales team on gross sales or gross profit for services? See if you agree with our experts. Coming up: Hate meetings? How can you make them productive? Add your two pesos. more

Attending networking events can be frustrating and ultimately a waste of time for many business owners and professionals. Here are three ways to make them pay off for you. more

Tradeshows can be one of the most expensive forms of marketing. Paying to act as an event sponsor (complete with a booth and travel for employees) often runs into the tens of thousands of dollars. But there are options to tradeshow sponsorships that will still get you out in front of ... more

ITtoolbox was looking for a way to increase ROI on lead-generation campaigns for its 700 advertisers, among them such big guns as IBM, Microsoft, and Accenture. So ITtoolbox built its own contextual keyword engine, which provided a greater than 50% boost in lead volume and dramatically increased relevancy, boosting conversion ... more

Whenever people strive to buy a complex product, they want to learn as much as they can prior to talking with a sales rep. For example, people spend almost two months researching new cars online before ever stepping into a car showroom. Or they download user manuals for expensive cameras ... more

Luke runs MySpace marketing campaigns on a daily basis. Here, he shares his real-world experiences and tips, including the best way to leverage MySpace to zero in on your target market. more

When you've schlepped your staff and booth to numerous tradeshows throughout the year, with no concrete results to point to, it's time for a change in your marketing approach. Euchner-USA, Inc. all but jettisoned its traditional print advertising efforts and embraced a comprehensive B2B online marketing model. more

Watching CRM dashboards is like monitoring stocks online—it's easy to get mesmerized by the merest up tick or downturn in lead flow. But like savvy investors, savvy marketers need to do the legwork to understand what's really being measured—before getting seduced by graphs and charts. more

The Points of Light Foundation's annual event had grown moribund, and the house list stagnant, says Chief Creative Director Todd Potochnik. But he and his team were able to boost attendance from the previous year's conference by more than 25% and garner an 85% "satisfactory or above" approval rating from ... more

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Establishing credibility is one of the most critical elements in securing a new customer. The customer must see you as a credible and trustworthy resource. Here's how to establish credibility with a prospective customer. more

Most adopters of search engine optimization have been B2C companies operating in an e-commerce environment. However, as business-to-business marketers recognize the potential of search, many are seeking ways to implement an effective B2B search engine optimization strategy. To be successful, however, you need to understand the critical differences between B2C ... more

Here's a popular way to generate online leads: Buy a keyword ad on a search engine site. In your ad, offer free content -- such as a white paper -- to respondents who complete a short form. In theory, this type of campaign works well: The people who respond get something ... more

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Here's a look at how Annie's Homegrown used grassroots marketing to propel itself from a home-based startup selling a commodity food item—packaged macaroni-and-cheese—in small mom-and-pop natural food stores to a vibrant business with products that are sold by supermarkets in all 50 states. more

Ah, sales and marketing. They're like two siblings fighting in the back seat while mom, pop—or a company executive—drives the car. Jonathan doesn't know how to stop all this bickering (and he's not interested in "who started it"), but here he suggests a few ways those of us on the marketing ... more

Most midsize-to-large companies have long learned the value of the press release, but the vast majority of small companies haven't. The notion seems to be that, to make it into the newspaper, companies must have some momentous news to break. But, by forfeiting the newspaper coverage to the "big boys," small ... more

The Sideways Wine Club, launched in April 2005, improved sales 161% year over year through July 2006, despite the fact that most online wine marketers experience an average visitor-to-buyer conversion rate of about 0.0085, or 0.85%, much lower than most other online retailers' conversion rates. The company's founder, Dave Chambers, ... more

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There are many resources on the Web for small budgets, and they can enhance the way you interact with your customers. They key is to understand what you need and find the service that best fits your needs. more

In the world of engineers, where numbers and measurable impacts reign supreme, marketing communications may seem like a bunch of mumbo jumbo, a pointless exercise in corporate frivolity. But not to electronics components manufacturer Minco. more

One of the critical parts of generating a large number of quality referrals is, of course, getting quality referrals, as opposed to just getting names and phone numbers. You can assure yourself of getting quality referrals if you take the time to learn who your client knows prior to asking for ... more

Practicing these eight simple strategies will help reduce your quarterly revenues, delay deals, and consume resources foolishly. But making a few changes may move you from being a "victim of momentum" to achieving your numbers predictably. more

Microsoft's PowerPoint long ago became one of the most popular tools for business presentations. That's likely because of its efficiency and simplicity. But what about cases when PowerPoint's resources are not enough to deliver on the goals of communication? more