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Many companies turn to newer, hotter media and technology when they want to increase profits. But being successful isn't about tech; it's about effectively engaging customers. Here are three ways to do that. more![Big Data: What It Is, Why It's Important [Infographic]](http://i.marketingprofs.com/assets/images/daily-chirp/Big-Data-peek.jpg)
The term "Big Data" keeps getting bandied about in business, but what does it mean exactly? And what makes data "big"? The following infographic by Wipro defines Big Data and highlights its importance. more
The retail industry has recognized that critical events in customers' lives can shift loyalties, or serve as opportunities to retain or upsell via event-driven marketing. That approach can also work with B2Bs... more
Though frequently at odds, marketing and IT executives agree that harnessing Big Data is imperative to building a customer-centric corporate culture; they also agree that a lack of alignment, rigid silos, unclear responsibilities, and a lack of leadership impede an organization from using Big Data to its full potential. more
Despite the hype, most organizations have yet to develop and implement a Big Data strategy, and few are taking advantage of product, customer, and other data sources, according to a survey of data management professionals by SAS and SourceMedia. more![Data-Rich and Insight-Poor [Infographic]](http://i.marketingprofs.com/assets/images/daily-chirp/data-rich-and-insight-poor-peek.jpg)
To find out how businesses are handling the deluge of information that's become available to them, Infogroup Targeting Solutions and Yesmail Interactive sponsored a study, then produced an infographic to highlight some findings. more
Seagate, a leading provider of hard drives and storage solutions, realized that they knew very little about a very big target market: college students. So it conducted focus groups to gain insight. Looking to host your own focus group? Here are steps you can take to put together a program. more
I'm a solo-preneur and a guy, and I run a women's jewelry and accessories store. I needed data to understand women's jewelry-buying habits. So I designed a survey, ran a contest, and marketed it via lifestyle bloggers. All for less than $350. Here's how. more![The Post-PC Revolution [Infographic]](http://i.marketingprofs.com/assets/images/daily-chirp/Post-PC-Revolution_peek.jpg)
Google estimates that by 2013 more people will use mobile phones than desktops PCs to go online. After gathering research about the migration of PC users to mobile, Moovweb created this infographic. more
Measurability is the battle cry of every digital marketer. The challenge is how to decide which measurements make sense based on campaign objectives. The ultimate challenge is how to optimize in real time to maximize impact on brand-marketing or direct-marketing objectives. more
People are watching more video content with their mobile devices: The proportion of total time spent watching online video via tablets and smartphones reached 8% at the end of December 2012, double the 4% recorded a year earlier, according to the 2012 Year-End Video Index Report by Ooyala. more
The idea of unlimited customer insights, in real time, guiding every decision, is attractive. But before you embark on a Big Data project, separate the buzz from the reality of turning the hype into insight, business value, and, ultimately, increased revenue. more
Your customers see the world through a lens of comparisons to meaningful reference points. That has repercussions for the design, measurement, and analysis of customer experiences—and, by extension, customer loyalty. more
If you're not deriving customer intelligence from social media to inform your marketing decisions, you're missing an important opportunity to extend the reach and effectiveness of your marketing efforts. more
When Pablo Sandoval faced Justin Verlander in Game 1 of the World Series, each had a season full of data at his disposal: what pitches Verlander tended to throw in certain situations, and which areas of the strike zone Sandoval was most likely to get a hit. We marketers can ... more
Have you heard of the phenomenon of “declared preference” versus “revealed preference?” If you haven’t, you may be in for a scary surprise this Halloween season if you are using “voice of the customer” research to drive the positioning and messaging for your product launch. more
"The key to being a good consultant of any kind is to ask the right questions," Michael Teitelbaum notes in a recent post at Marketing Trenches. "I've seen that the best sales and account managers I have worked with treat initial interactions with prospective clients as fact-finding missions rather than ... more
What causes customers to flock to one brand rather than another, even when their offerings aren't substantially different? The ability to listen to customers. But effective listening is not intuitive: We have to work at it. Here's how. more
"A/B testing is one of the most methodical and sure-fire methods...to gauge the viability of your marketing strategy," writes Ruben Corbo in a guest post at Remarkablogger. With A/B testing—which simply compares two versions of one campaign or creative—you can identify what works, what works better, and what doesn't work at ... more
We've mentioned Pinterest numerous times—enough to show we're Pin-crazy. But we're not the only ones! To back us up on our Pin interest, Compete has published charts about Pinterest's growth and its impact on marketers. Some quick stats: Pinterest has grown from 700,000 to 20,000,000 unique users ... more
Most commonly, market research is viewed as a method to improve advertising and marketing initiatives and to develop products that are friendlier to specific markets. However, the true range of uses for market intelligence is much larger than most businesses think. more![Will Mobile Commerce Overtake E-Commerce? [Infographic]](http://i.marketingprofs.com/assets/images/daily-chirp/BigCommerce_M-commerce_e-commerce-full-peek.jpg)
How vital is mobile commerce becoming? Worldwide, mobile commerce is set to hit $119 billion by 2015. The projected amount of retail purchases made online by 2014 is 54%. more![Paid vs. Organic Search: Are PPC Ads Winning the Google Click Wars? [Infographic]](http://i.marketingprofs.com/assets/images/daily-chirp/google-ads-wordstream-sneak-peek.jpg)
Are those pay-per-click (PPC) ads on search engine results pages (SERPs) effective? Does the average Google searcher even click on them? Seems so... more![Six Reasons Your Company Needs Millennials [Infographic]](http://i.marketingprofs.com/assets/images/daily-chirp/gen-y-in-the-workplace-infographic-mba-at-unc-infographic-sneakpeek.jpg )
To help managers better understand Millennials and their value, The Young Entrepreneur Council (YEC) partnered with MBA@UNC to share their research about Millennials, who constitute a market (and workforce) numbering 80 million. more
Though online marketing is still a work in progress for many organizations, most corporate management teams are fully supportive of digital investments, driven by the benefits of improved marketing ROI, stronger customer analytics, and richer online engagement, according to a report by the CMO Council. more
![Did You See That? EyeTrackShop's Jeff Bander Talks Eye Tracking on Marketing Smarts [Podcast]](http://i.marketingprofs.com/assets/images/articles/lg/121128-jeff-bander-podcast-lg.jpg)
Before we can effectively communicate with our customers, we need to get their attention. According to Jeff Bander of EyeTrackShop, this means that when evaluating the effectiveness of our ads or calls-to-action or emails or whatever, we need to answer the question, "Did they see them?" more![Every Message Must Be Relevant: IBM's Yuchun Lee on Marketing Smarts [Podcast]](http://i.marketingprofs.com/assets/images/articles/lg/092612_yuchunlee_podcast_lg.jpg)
According to IBM's Yuchun Lee, "every communication has to be relevant. That has to be the bar." So how do you make sure that the messages you send out, the offers you make, and the content you create are relevant? more![Email Marketing for Rebels: DJ Waldow and Jason Falls on Marketing Smarts [Podcast]](http://i.marketingprofs.com/assets/images/articles/lg/080712_waldow_falls_podcast_lg.jpg)
All rumors to the contrary, email marketing is not dead or dying. In fact, email is thriving, according to DJ Waldow and his co-conspirator Jason Falls, co-authors of the forthcoming book, The Rebel's Guide to Email Marketing, which explodes many email myths and "best-practices." more
Whether you are selling complex technical systems or burgers with fried pickles on them—like my guests in this week's Marketing Smarts—you need to understand your customers and interact with them face-to-face. more![The Rise of the Savvy Auntie: Melanie Notkin on Marketing Smarts [Podcast]](http://i.marketingprofs.com/assets/images/articles/lg/060612_melanie_notkin_podcast_lg.jpg)
In this week's Marketing Smarts, Melanie Notkin, founder of SavvyAuntie.com, discusses an important niche market neglected by marketers—women without children of their own, but with children in their lives. more![How Community Management Can Help Your Business Grow: Rachel Happe [Podcast]](http://i.marketingprofs.com/assets/images/articles/lg/041812_rachel_happe_podcast_lg.jpg)
There is no question that communities are going to play a bigger and bigger role in the way we all do business. The question is, Is your company ready for it? Rachel Happe of the Community Roundtable offers insights. more![Marketing Is Habit-Forming: Charles Duhigg Talks About the Power of Habit on Marketing Smarts [Podcast]](http://i.marketingprofs.com/assets/images/articles/lg/031412_Charles_Duhigg_podcast_lg.jpg)
"During major life changes, our habits are up for grabs," Charles Duhigg says in this week's episode of Marketing Smarts. But when companies gather customer data to shape future buying habits, are they helping customers or helping themselves? more
Market Research online seminar broadcasts from the best minds in marketing
Be sure to check out our Upcoming Online Seminars. Tune in LIVE or watch the recordings at any time.
Broadcast on Jun 21, 2012 with Tim Riesterer
Discover how to develop content marketing messages that help your salespeople close the deal and convince prospects to choose you. more
Broadcast on May 17, 2012 with Eshwar Belani
Learn how to dramatically improve the effectiveness, reach, and ROI of your Facebook campaigns and how to use ad targeting and optimization tools outside of Facebook to create, launch, and test thousands of ads targeted at just as many (if not more) micro-segments. more
Broadcast on Apr 19, 2012 with Clay Shirky
In this seminar, Clay Shirky will show you how to tap into your customers' cognitive surplus by providing a platform for customer collaboration—and how this collaboration can turn into big positive results for your business. Plus you'll discover how you, as a marketer, can become more valuable to your company through the insights you gain by fostering this collaboration. more
Broadcast on Mar 8, 2012 with Sandy Carter
In this seminar, Sandy Carter of IBM will share how you can create your own social business agenda for greater competitive advantage. You'll discover how to use social tools to create new opportunities for growth, innovation and productivity across the business network—employees, customers and partners. more
Broadcast on May 19, 2011 with Sean Campbell, Scott SwigartSean Campbell and Scott Swigart explain how you can obtain clear and correct competitive insights (on a moment's notice)—and then use that information to strengthen to your marketing and business plans, and accelerate sales growth. more
Broadcast on Apr 28, 2011 with Jennifer CisneyJoin us for this PRO seminar with Jennifer Cisney, Kodak's chief blogger, and learn the keys to blogging success. Based on best practices learned firsthand at Kodak—an early-adopter of social media, which launched its first brand blog in 2006—she'll cover how blogging and social media tactics can inform product improvements and brand experiences through real consumer interactions. more
Broadcast on Apr 7, 2011 with Steve RubelAs the kick off of MarketingProfs University Social Media Marketing Fast Track, Edelman Digital's Steve Rubel and David Armano will share 11 digital trends to watch in 2011. Learn about these trends and their broader implications, and how you can use this information to design and modify effective marketing strategies for your organization. more
Broadcast on Mar 10, 2011 with ChristineThis seminar will highlight best practices and strategies for managing your reputation in a social world. You'll learn guidelines on how to make the most out of conversations with customers. more
Broadcast on Aug 5, 2010 with Bill AlbertiLearn how to frame market research in terms of profitable impact. You'll discover how to establish the connection between using research to understand your customers and improved business performance. more
Broadcast on Jul 12, 2007 with Blaire BorthayreThe Hispanic population has become a powerful economic force in the United States. These 43 million consumers now command enough buying power to make companies sit up and pay attention. But in this booming market, it's easy to be misled by the varied demographic information (and the lack of a conceptual framework) available to marketers.
We will bring statistics to life in this online seminar, showing you how to pull together data that's relevant to your marketing goals. more
Broadcast on Jun 22, 2007 with Michael GoodmanThe amount you spend on market research isn't the most important consideration. The key is asking the right high-gain questions and knowing what to do with the answers.
This seminar will cover not only the various options for market research, but also six do-it-yourself approaches that can yield better results than studies costing thousands of dollars. And the turn-around time is often a fraction of what a major project would involve. more
Broadcast on Jul 25, 2006 with Kelly GotoVeteran Usability expert Kelly Goto takes you through the basics of informal usability testing—demystifying it in the process. Learn about rapid testing techniques that enable you to ramp up, execute and implement results in just a week. more- Broadcast on Jun 1, 2006 with Carey Azzara
This seminar will discuss the best practices for conducting online research. You will discover what must be considered when building a research sample, crafting a questionnaire, and fielding the study. more - Broadcast on May 11, 2006 with Robert KadenRobert Kaden, author of Guerrilla Marketing Research,presents tools to develop action-oriented research and guidelines for stretching your research budget. more
- Broadcast on Sep 15, 2004 with Stephan M. Spencer, Nancy BlachmanLearn how you can become a Google expert searcher and extract invaluable data about your competitors and about the market like never before -- with laser-like accuracy and extreme efficiency. more
Market Research Take 10 Webcasts—tactical marketing know-how in just 10 minutes from subject matter experts
In this Take 10 Author Series webcast, David Meerman Scott explores the implications of the "You are what you publish" mantra, then offers advice on producing good content on a regular basis. more
In this Take 10, competitive intelligence expert Scott Swigart tells you which Q&A sites are prime spots for unearthing a mother lode of information on your competition and how best to stake your claim. more
Broadcast on Apr 15, 2011 with Scott Swigart
In this Take 10 webcast, competitive intelligence expert Scott Swigart explains how you can gather data from a variety of public information sources, such as Google and LinkedIn, and then connect the dots to gain insight into who your competition's customers actually are. more
Broadcast on Mar 25, 2011 with Douglas MetzgarIn this short webcast, community marketing principal Douglas Metzgar demonstrates how you can monitor conversations online for free. more
Broadcast on Jan 7, 2011 with Scott SwigartLet competitive intelligence expert Scott Swigart show you the way as he explains which sources to tap, what types of information to look for, and how to corroborate your findings when researching publicly traded companies. more
Broadcast on Dec 10, 2010 with Sean CampbellTake a quick tour of the advanced Google tools the pros use to guide their online research, gather insight on competitors, and get a solid read on the state of the industry in this Take 10 presentation by market research specialist Sean Campbell. more
Broadcast on Nov 19, 2010 with Sean CampbellIn this Take 10 webcast, market research specialist Sean Campbell outlines some of the basic search modes you can use to save time and push the good stuff to the top. more
Broadcast on Oct 22, 2010 with Sean CampbellFind out how the competitive intelligence experts make the best use of their time on Twitter in this short, 10-minute presentation by Sean Campbell. more
Market Research marketing guides and reports for the busy professional
- Marketing Automation Management: Basics and Best PracticesMarketing automation can have a big impact on your sales and marketing efforts. Learn the ins and outs of marketing automation capabilities, how to make the best use of them, and resources for selecting the best system for you with MarketingProfs' Marketing Automation Management: Basics and Best Practices guide.
- Research Spotlight: TwitterA successful Twitter program requires extensive research on whether your audience is there, what everyone is interested in, and what they're doing. Lucky for you, MarketingProfs has done the work for Research Spotlight: Twitter. Download it now to access close to 70 pages of Twitter research from 30 unique sources.
- Research Spotlight: FacebookResearch Spotlight: Facebook helps you focus on the most popular social network today. Get the research insights you need to create successful Facebook campaigns. Learn who's on Facebook, what they're doing, and how best to reach them.
- Slowpoke's Guide to Digital MarketingFeel like the digital marketing race began without you? Don't worry—you can still catch up to the social media superstars. The Slowpoke's Guide to Digital Marketing puts rocket fuel in your engine to propel your digital marketing campaigns.
- LinkedIn Success StoriesLinkedIn is used by 55 million professionals as a place to network, trade advice, and demonstrate business expertise. See how 11 companies, including PR firms, advertising agencies, and software companies, are using LinkedIn to show expertise, generate leads, and conduct research.
- Customer-Centric Innovation: How Companies Engage Customers in Product Development and Radical InnovationEngaging your customers can help increase satisfaction, loyalty, and brand awareness. This research report will help you understand the role of customers in product development.
- B2B Marketing in 2009: Trends in Strategies and SpendingGet the truth about B2B marketing in a tough economy from people who know the business best—B2B marketers themselves. Our special report, B2B Marketing in 2009, provides the most current research on trends in strategies and spending, and how they affect your business.
- Benchmark Research: Marketing in the Economic CrisisThese economic times have everyone concerned and asking, "How does this effect marketing?". Well we surveyed our very own members to help give marketers a sense of how others are dealing and adapting to these tough times.
- Email Marketing Benchmark Report 2008This 150-page Email Benchmark Report 2008 was developed by surveying our very own MarketingProfs members. Find out what the competition is doing so your 2009 email marketing budget makes sense!
- B2B Sales Lead Generation: Integration of Web 1.0 and Web 2.0 MediaResearch on how Web 1.0 and Web 2.0 can be used in effective Lead Generation campaigns
- Small Biz How-To Guide: Market ResearchNeed to learn about your customers without the big price tag of market research firms? This guide on do-it-yourself market research will help you get the information you need to position your business without emptying the corporate coffers.
- Small Biz How-To Guide: Avoiding Key PitfallsLet's face it, more small businesses fail than succeed. Make sure yours is one of the winners with this guide to getting your small business off the ground and solidly on the road to success.
- SWOT Analysis How-To GuideThis comprehensive, step-by-step how-to guide will help you assess the position in the market of your product or firm, by identifying the product's Strengths and Weaknesses, by considering the potential Opportunities the product has in the marketingplace, and by assessing the potential Threats posed by either the competition or the marketplace.
- Online Research How-To GuideSet clear objectives and a realistic scope to online research projects. These are just two of the steps that this comprehensive, step-by-step planning guide will help you to accomplish to insure your online research results in the most relevant and useful information possible.
- Benchmark Survey: Voice of the CustomerLink directly to the raw (aggregate) data in this 2006 survey of the ways companies are incorporating the voice of the customer into their marketing, their product development, and their management. With access to the raw data, you can view the results, and even filter them to see how a subset of companies in your country or industry answered. In this way, you can interpret the data in the most meaningful way for your business.
- Benchmark Survey: Marketing to HispanicsLink directly to the raw (aggregate) data in this 2006 survey of the ways companies are targeting their marketing efforts, and adjusting their business processes, for the lucrative Spanish-speaking segment. With access to the raw data, you can view the results, and even filter them to see how a subset of companies in your country or industry answered. In this way, you can interpret the data in the most meaningful way for your business.
- Competitive Analysis TemplateA thorough competitive analysis is a critical component of a solid marketing plan. It is an exercise that will provide you with valuable insights to guide the development of your business strategy. This 20-page template will make the project quick and easy, and you can end up with a leg up on your compeition.
- Using Google as a Research ToolThis in-depth handbook will walk you through the ins and outs of using Google as a powerful resource for market research. In 27 easy-to-follow pages with a dozen screen shots, this PDF is a handy tool you will want to print and keep nearby as you learn to incorporate the new techniques into your search routines.
- Sales and Marketing AlignmentBenchmark Sales Mtkg Alignment
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