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Web 2.0 reflects how the Web is changing from watching to "involving." What are the best ways to engage with customers in this new climate?

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Generating quality leads is a growing challenge for many marketing professionals. More than ever before, legions of marketing materials are competing for the attention of prospects. How can you be sure to stand out from the crowd?

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Every time the tradeshow season rolls around, marketers ask themselves the same old question: how can I tap into the special sales markets without using last year's hats, bags, Frisbees, pens, and other boring gimmicks? The solution is so simple and effective—good old-fashioned books.

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Marketers assume that "Googling" for information is an automatic response the instant a Web surfer opens a browser. And for many Internet users, the theory is true. But for a number of reasons, and with increasing regularity, many people bypass search engines altogether in favor of a technique called direct navigation. Simply put, direct navigation is when a users directly types a Web address into a browser.

CONTENT TYPE: Article | TOPIC: Writing

For marketers, technologically sophisticated products and services pose a special problem—translating the technical talk that engineers love into the plain talk customers need and will act upon. From the depths of my experience with bits, bytes, high-voltage devices and semi-toxic chemical compounds, we offer a few suggestions that will help you turn good science into compelling marketing copy.

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Done well, e-books deliver authentic thought leadership, branding an organization as one to do business with. Here are some examples of successful e-books to get your creative energy flowing....

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In Part 1 of this two-part article, the author looked at how MySpace (and the social networking industry in general) has evolved. Here in the second part, Cliff examines how he has applied what he has learned and observed to the MyCityRocks testbed, which he launched in Houston in 2005.

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If your visitors like your Web site, there is a very good likelihood that the search engines will, too. With this in mind, the following 10 tips focus on how to develop your site with your visitors in mind, and also effectively conduct search engine optimization.

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In grade school, one of the key determinants of popularity on the playground was how quickly you were selected when the time came to choose up sides for basketball, baseball, or soccer. In the same way, the developing business model for the next 10 years depends hugely on which set of developer and ecosystem partners pick you. However, unlike grade school, you might have more ability to influence this selection.

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A fundamental question in selling is not why people sell, but why people buy. People buy for their own reasons—not for the seller's. In fact, their motivation to buy may have very little to do with the reasons sellers think they should buy. When it comes down to it, people buy something to meet their needs or resolve the problems they are facing. A good sales professional can help customers come to that realization. But it doesn't happen as easily as you might think.

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Why should you create a Voice of the Customer program? And what steps should you take to do so?

CONTENT TYPE: Article | TOPIC: Social Media Marketing

There's an invasion of little orange buttons on Web sites, and it has nothing to do with a new marketing campaign from Home Depot. Often labeled "XML," "RSS," or more recently "Subscribe," feeds are playing a leading role in the user-controlled distribution and fragmentation of Web content.

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A customer reference program can have a significant impact on all customer-related functions in an enterprise. To maximize and demonstrate the strategic business benefits of a program, an effective RMS needs—at a minimum—the following capabilities....

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It is the beginning of the fiscal year, and the marketing budget is fully funded. Giddy with delight, you begin diligently signing contracts and distributing spend for marketing investments throughout the year. But pretty soon, you begin to get the funny feeling that something—perhaps the cost-cutting chainsaw—is in the offing. Your worst fears are confirmed when, four months later, the CFO knocks on the office door and mentions the marketing budget has just been cut by 70%. Suddenly, you are a candidate for "stressed out" marketing.

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This week: When done right, desktop-based applications are beneficial tools that give marketers a way to keep customers engaged with their company by providing them with entertainment, information, or functionality. Here's how marketers are tapping into their power.

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The growth of MySpace has been front and center in the media over the past 12 months, in part because of the continued incredible growth of the venture but also because of social outrage generated by those who view it as an inappropriate and unsafe environment for teenagers. Here, Cliff looks at what has happened with MySpace, what has changed, and what he's learned about the online social networking business model over the past 12 months.

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