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OK, you got your prospect to raise his hand and seek out further information about your product or service. Now comes the really hard part: turning him into a buying customer. Here are 10 ways to address the challenge and improve your conversion rates of browser to buyer.

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In addition to the skills required 10 years ago, today's marketer must possess more sophisticated marketing skills and a slew of other core competencies. Along with a keen understanding of the creative development process, marketers today must demonstrate capability with business case development and project management. Quantitative analysis skills and the ability to evaluate and interpret customer data and behavior are now essential skills. Marketing departments are also seeking individuals who are familiar with database marketing, integrated marketing and various aspects of CRM. It's a superhuman expectation that any individual master skills in all areas. But here's the key to protect organizations from the backlash of overwork and exhaustion.

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The secret to successful copy is in all the thought, work and research you do before you write a single word. In the following 10 tips, Kranz lifts the curtain to reveal the backstage mechanics you can leverage for more effective copywriting. Get the full story.

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The way most companies are selling solutions just doesn't work in today's business world. Things have gotten so complex that most customers can't even comprehend what their problems are, let alone distinguish between you and your competitors. The answer is to quit selling your solution as you would sell any other product and start selling like a "business advisor," a job that requires the diagnostic skills of a doctor. Get the full story.

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As a rule, pre-merger expectations don't measure up to long-term results. Up to 70% of merged companies don't achieve their predicted revenue synergies -- a problem that's further complicated when companies have multiple brands and serve a variety of customer segments. If the newly combined company hopes to meet expected growth objectives, the executive team must create a combined offer that is uniquely valued by customers and differentiated from competitors. Marketers can help ensure the transaction lives up to its promise by following these three principles. Get the full story.

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Word-of-mouth, or WOM, has become the buzzword in many marketing and advertising circles. Whether you are working in the B2C or B2B space, having your customers tell their friends, family and work colleagues about your product or service is what we all hope to achieve (and translate) into new leads, new customers, increased sales and improved brand awareness. Get the full story.

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Let's face it, sales people are notoriously hard to impress—even when you can get their attention. They tend to be very opportunistic learners; they want information when they need it, not before, and if the content isn't completely relevant to their selling strategies—you've lost them. But your sales organization needs a deep understanding of your customer's business issues and the value of your solutions. So marketing teams need to find new, compelling and sales-relevant tools and techniques to educate sales teams. Get the full story.

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Marketers often delegate responsibility for thinking and decision-making to research companies. Yet much of the customer intelligence in these research debriefs already exists within organizations—and in a format that is easier to understand and remember, and is far more engaging, than PowerPoint presentations or documents. It also encourages innovative solutions. Such customer intelligence exists in the form of customer stories, which can replace the safety net of customer research. They can be a springboard for customer-based innovation. Get the full story.

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To get customers to consider a change to the status quo, you have to give them a good reason. A really good reason. They need to know about the tangible business results they'll get from using your product or service. One of the best ways to awaken prospective customers is to jolt them with a statement about the significant difference that your offering can make. And the bigger the jolt, the better.

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Your direct mail package clears a major hurdle when your prospect opens the envelope. The moment of truth has arrived. The next 3-5 seconds will largely determine whether your marketing effort is a success or failure, because it's during those critical first few seconds that your prospect decides whether to continue reading.

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With the start of autumn and a new school year comes a renewed emphasis on learning. That's true for those of us who haven't ridden a big yellow bus for many years. So, among the dozens of marketing books published every year, here are three (plus on bonus title) published in 2005 that are worth reading (and buying).

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One way to increase your conversion ratio is to make sure your Web site is easy to navigate and information is easy to find. In other words, ensure its "usability." Often, search engine optimization and marketing principles benefit a site's usability with people as well as search engines. Here are some tips on how to improve usability and improve your conversion rates.

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This week: How does a business determine how much to devote to its marketing budget? Unfortunately, there's no magic number or formula. The most common answer is, "It depends."

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If you're the CEO of a small or medium-sized business, your challenges not only include prioritizing the numerous demands on your time, balancing short-term opportunities with long term goals, managing cash flow and long sales cycles, solving resource shortages ranging from funds to people, but also wearing a the variety of hats. You are often responsible for closing key deals and serving as the company's primary marketer. Sound familiar? Then build this simple CEO marketing toolkit, designed to save you valuable time and money.

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To maximize value on your Web site, focus on your killer content. Delete the filler content. Yes, it's that simple.

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Compliance, corporate governance and recent legislation such as Sarbanes-Oxley are nothing new to corporate executives who run the risk of exorbitant fines and even jail time for failing to conform to recent mandates. But what's new is this: Accountability for corporate compliance and risk—areas that were once reserved for the upper echelons of an organization—is now making its way to the marketing department. That's because marketing's sizeable budget and activities have an enormous impact on customers and shareholders alike.

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After conducting thousands of marketing research studies and asking hundreds of thousands of questions, the author has come to understand one thing: There are no bad questions, only irrelevant ones. In other words, the majority of questions asked are irrelevant. That is, they don't result in answers that lead to actions.

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Pets are the new people. We've all seen celebrities prancing around with tiny dogs in tutus, or we've read a magazine spread featuring actors and their four-legged companions. Pets are an increasingly important part of the family, and giving them treats, services or special gifts is a fun way to celebrate one of our least-complicated relationships. What more, pets are big business. And even if your brand has nothing to do with pets, you can still to tap into your customer's deep love for their animals.

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Generating leads is easy. There, we've said it. Pick a decent list, say something meaningful, toss in an offer, and plenty of folks will respond. Plenty. If you want more, do it again. But if you want qualified leads—people that can can progress from being prospects to becoming customers and on to advocates—take the time to fine-tune your data and make sure that your messaging is personal and relevant. Like we said, easy.

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Deliverability is overwhelmingly the greatest email marketing challenge. What can you do to make sure your marketing campaigns avoid the obstacles and get delivered for the highest possible ROI?