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This week, add your own two cents to the following dilemma: How do you go about promoting a product on a global scale? Also this week, read your answers to a previous week's question: What do you do when an initial marketing campaign isn't flying?

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Not since 1998 has the banking industry experienced the pace of consolidation taking place across the country today. From national mega-deals to local ones, it seems every bank is in the "great game" as a buyer, seller or interested flirt. Should merging commercial banks care about brand?

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How much of our company's corporate overview presentation should you include in a demo meeting? The answer: as little as possible! Many salespeople and technical staff feel comfortable opening a demonstration meeting with a "brief" overview of their company. Most customers refer to this as "Death by PowerPoint." Instead, start the meeting with a "situation slide."

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Web sites run by small businesses far outnumber the Web sites run by large corporations. This means that most sites are produced and operated on a relatively small budget. Each dollar counts, and must be used carefully. But few small business owners are spending enough time figuring out what constitutes an effective Web site before they pour money into the project. Time and time again, small business Web sites waste their resources on the wrong Web site elements.

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Hidden away like some Cinderella before the prince discovered her, online pressrooms do not often attract much attention, much less a second look. But like the fairy tale character, online media rooms can offer a striking example of the power of Internet to transform a humble servant into an essential information hub. Indeed, the ability to harness the power of the Web to market and communicate in new ways is the new competitive advantage—and companies who ignore that fact do so at their own risk.

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There are many approaches a company can take to blogging, each of which has its strengths and weaknesses. A blog written by top management, for example, has the potential of providing news straight from the decision makers. But the downside is that CEOs and senior executives are also wary of stockholders' perceptions and don't provide the bare honesty expected of a decent blog. A blog written by those at the lower rungs of the organization also has its strengths and perils. Here are blogging tips for bloggers at every level within a company, from the top down.

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This week, post your answer to the query: How successful are webinars as a marketing approach? What works and what doesn't work? Also this week, read your answers to last week's dilemma: blog, forum or Wiki? Which format best meets the needs of a small community?

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Recently, search engine revenues have rocketed, with pay-per-click advertising providing much of the fuel for growth. The other side of the coin: advertisers have been using PPC keyword advertising to meet their marketing objectives. But even with such heightened competition, there may be untapped, hidden opportunities for online marketers interested in participating in keyword advertising. One of the greatest opportunities may be in the area of something known as keyword breadth.

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From press releases to event announcements and customer memos, syndicating content with RSS offers a way around spam filters and ensures that interested parties receive your company info. Still, PR and marketing professionals are slow to adopt RSS. Many of you may believe it's too difficult or too technical. Perhaps the information you've read about RSS has scared you away. RSS can be an easy, viable way to publish corporate information. Here are five key reasons for adopting RSS as part of your communications strategy.

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It's always been conventional wisdom that the fastest and most efficient way to research products and pricing is on the Web. But is search engine marketing cost-effective enough to increase profits for B2B marketers? You bet, and here's why.

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When you are drowning in numbers from your quantitative efforts, talk to women to gain clarity. Remember: women make or influence over 80% of all consumer purchases. So, they are basically your boss. (You listen to your boss, right?) There are eight traps to beware of during qualitative research. If you hear yourself saying any of the following, you should stop for an immediate reality check.

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Hispanics have recently become the largest minority in the US, and a lot of marketers are trying to tap into this growing market. While many businesses now publish their information in Spanish and advertise in Hispanic print media and TV, relatively few are considering the Internet as a medium for reaching Hispanic consumers. The truth is that the Hispanic community is going online in large numbers, and it's happening right now.

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This week: Past success don't guarantee future success for products. So what do you do when a marketing effort flops? Join the conversation! Also this week, read your advice on: What works (and what doesn't) when an organization wants to invent a brand?

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To have a successful career in marketing, performing well is no longer enough. You need a solid reputation that extends beyond the walls of your company--and you have to be proactive in building it. One of the best ways to reinforce your reputation is through your online identity. In fact, you should be actively building (and managing) your online presence.

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Search optimization is about getting links. The more links you get to your Web site, the more likely you are to get into the first page of search engine results. In other words, killer Web content gets killer Web links. Last week, we covered the basics. Here, we continue the conversation.

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Online communities have been around for years, but we now have more tools for building them. The options include Weblogs (blogs), wikis, forums (bulletin boards), email discussions and online chats. Each has its strengths and weaknesses. Which one best suits your needs? Also this week, read your suggestions for the previous dilemma: How does a company determine which collateral format works best for particular activities, or to target specific decision makers?

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Marketing partnerships can be one of the cheapest, fastest and easiest ways to grow your business and test new market opportunities. It can also be a black hole for resources. During the Internet heyday, it was enough to identify a potential partner and a cool idea, sign a contract and "see what happened." But we've begun to realize that although a partnership has no up-front costs, it still can be expensive in terms of time, resources and mindshare. To maximize success, keep the following rules in mind.

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Services marketing efforts are moving online not because a few marketing consultants and strategists say they are—but because your clients and prospects are online, and their online experiences are influencing all buying decisions. Here are four arguments you can use to help your firm boldly enter the new world of online marketing.

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If infrastructure-focused IT departments want to stop seeing themselves cut out of the conversations with their own companies' marketing departments, they've got to start speaking the language of business. Until IT departments are willing to make changes, their power will continue the steady decline that began with the recovery from the economic downturn. And marketing departments will continue to look externally for support.

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Your credit card company invites you to attend a meet-and-greet with your favorite rock band before the upcoming concert. Your financial institution offers you a private golf lesson from one of the professional golfers in a PGA tournament. Your airline offers you the chance to attend spring training for your favorite MLB team. Sound impossible? Not at all. Welcome to the new world of sponsorships.