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We're drowning in data. We generate it from our own activity or research; we collect and capture tons more from external sources. But action doesn't always follow collection. And more data does not always translate into better insights. more
Before you can use a new channel, you must create a strategy around it. But many marketers struggle to create strategies. So, how can you begin to chart a successful social media route? Map out these five areas. more
Many marketing professionals are having serious challenges in executing a content marketing program at a very basic level. How can you address those challenges and implement a successful content marketing program? By following these four steps. more
Larger companies may be less concerned about the direct correlation between content marketing efforts and deals. But, for the rest of us, it's critical. So, how do you gauge the power of content and the value of your content marketing initiatives? more
Many companies at all stages invest time in planning but lack the processes and leadership needed to ensure a strategy achieves the desired results. Failure is expensive and wastes precious resources. To avoid both and to achieve execution success, check out these four tips. more
The average value of a brand fan on Facebook in key consumer categories increased to $174 in 2012, from $136 in 2010, according to a new report. more
A lot of marketing organizations today think that they are on the path to greater insight because they now have analytics technology. The reality is that it takes a significant investment in four foundational areas to ensure analytics success. Here's a look at each area. more
Education, retail, and computer hardware/electronics are the best-performing verticals in email marketing, according to a new study that benchmarked open rates, click-through rates, and churn metrics across 14 industries. more
Google Analytics is a great free tool for e-commerce websites. It can allow marketers and webmasters to record specific data about items purchased, learn how a user navigates the website, and focus on specific, actionable ways to increase sales. more
Though email campaign process metrics such as delivery, open, and click-through rates have their place, if you don't look beyond them... the true impact of your email marketing—and opportunities for continuous improvement—will go undetected. more![A Century of Marketing Media and Measurement: The Evolution of the 'Growth Hacker' [Infographic]](http://i.marketingprofs.com/assets/images/daily-chirp/ifbyphone-growth-peek.jpg)
To demonstrate how marketers have adapted to media innovations through the last century and developed measurements for them, IfbyPhone created the following infographic about the evolution of the "growth hacker" from the 1920s to today. 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
Today's teens, though digital natives, by a wide margin prefer to shop in stores than online, and even their use of what they consider their favorite social networks is decreasing in importance for them, according to the 23rd semi-annual Taking Stock With Teens survey from Piper Jaffray. more- Understanding how the customer behavior you can monitor influences the buying process... is key. Here are three areas to monitor and how to tie them to more outcome-based metrics. more
Conversion-rate optimization can be intimidating, especially since marketers don't have many sources of clear advice on how to avoid common pitfalls, generate strong ideas, and run tests that get real results. more![Nonprofit Benchmarks: Email, Social, Audience, Fundraising [Infographic]](http://i.marketingprofs.com/assets/images/daily-data-point/130409-ddp-lg.jpg)
Online nonprofit fundraising is on the rise, with explosive growth in sustaining gifts and a larger audience of supporters reached via social networks, according to an analysis of leading US nonprofits. However, the long-term decline of email response rates is continuing, even as online revenues increase and social media audiences ... 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
Social media is full of numbers, but most of the time we don't use them in any actionable way... because social metrics are often too complicated. But here are some easy (but rough) calculations that will give you a general idea of success. They may not be perfect, but they ... more
As SXSW winds down, insights come flying: See videos on the most buzzed-about tech and startups, and learn to tell better brand stories via social. We've also got tips on ROI-effective Vines, Pinterest's new analytics service, updated mobile advertising guidelines, and the usual tidbits about Twitter, Facebook, Google... and even ... 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
Although the exponential increase in the availability of customer and business data has enhanced our ability to measure success, it has also increased our chances of misunderstanding and misinterpreting it. Avoid these common errors when setting out to measure your marketing efforts 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
Slapping a QR code on a handout or a poster is easy, but creating something useful takes thought and planning. So what are QR codes good for? Plenty, including for your events, if you use QR codes wisely. more![What Big Data and Your Kids Have in Common [Infographic]](http://i.marketingprofs.com/assets/images/daily-chirp/bigdatakids_infochimp-peek.jpg)
If Big Data were personified, it'd be a kid. As anyone who has children or works with them knows, kids love to ask questions. Likewise, Big Data seems to be asking questions all the time. In this infographic, Infochimps playfully compares the questions of children to those of Big Data. more
![Content, Customer-Centricity, and the Power of Data: Acxiom's Tim Suther on Marketing Smarts [Podcast]](http://i.marketingprofs.com/assets/images/articles/lg/130327-podcast-tim-suther-lg.jpg)
This week's guest on Marketing Smarts is Tim Suther, chief marketing and strategy officer for Acxiom, a firm that Tim referred to as "the original Big Data company"; FRONTLINE called it "one of the biggest companies you've never heard of." more![How to Build a Testing Culture: Justin Rondeau of Which Test Won on Marketing Smarts [Podcast]](http://i.marketingprofs.com/assets/images/articles/lg/130306-podcast-justin-rondeau-lg.jpg)
Testing your online campaigns, landing pages, forms, website, and so on can't be an every-now-and-again thing. Testing must be iterative and ongoing if it is to produce results. Which means, among other things, that your organization must institute a culture of testing. more![Moving From Attribution to Prediction: Jim Lenskold Talks ROI Metrics on Marketing Smarts [Podcast]](http://i.marketingprofs.com/assets/images/articles/lg/130220-marketingprofs-podcast-jim-lenskold-lg.JPG)
Demonstrating value is certainly a fine reason to measure our actions and their results. But discussing marketing measurement with Jim Lenskold during this week's Marketing Smarts podcast got me thinking that we may be thinking about the purpose of measurement exactly backwards. more![Don't Let Data Drive, Let It Inform: Beth Kanter and KD Paine on Marketing Smarts [Podcast]](http://i.marketingprofs.com/assets/images/articles/lg/121812_kanter_paine_podcast_lg.jpg)
Beth Kanter and Katie Delahaye (KD) Paine, authors of Measuring the Networked Nonprofit: Using Data to Change the World, discuss performance metrics and nonprofits. more![People Respond to Stories: Rohit Bhargava Talks Likeonomics on Marketing Smarts [Podcast]](http://i.marketingprofs.com/assets/images/articles/lg/101612_rohit_bhargava_podcast_lg.jpg)
Rohit Bhargava, author and social media strategist, thinks business books need to be useful—to help you solve a problem you're facing. So it has to speak to you from the get-go, draw you in, and convince you it's going to help you solve your problem. And the best way to ... 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![You Are Getting Lead Qualification Wrong: Dan McDade on Marketing Smarts [podcast]](http://i.marketingprofs.com/assets/images/articles/lg/07031_mcdade_podcast_lg.jpg)
"Most companies are either under-qualifying or over-qualifying leads," says PointClear's Dan McDade in this episode of the Marketing Smarts podcast. He goes on to explain what he means and offers a three-point solution to the problem. more![How Do You Measure the Value of Sharing? Kurt Abrahamson of ShareThis Talks About Measuring Social Activity on Marketing Smarts [Podcast]](http://i.marketingprofs.com/assets/images/articles/lg/040412_kurt-abrahamson_podcast_lg.jpg)
"It's not just social media," Kurt Abrahamson says in this week's episode of Marketing Smarts. "It's socially engaged audiences that are important." Learn why social sharing is an important indicator of engagement—and more useful to publishers and advertisers than the traditional "reach" metrics. more
How can you convince the C-suite of the value of your social media efforts? The key is to translate social media metrics into "core metrics your company is already measuring," Marketing Smarts guest Nichole Kelly says. more
In this episode of Marketing Smarts, Aaron Weber of Spiral16 discusses what makes content popular, how effective algorithms are at parsing the Web's information, and how to connect with the people who are talking about you. more
Metrics & ROI 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.
This seminar is ideal for marketers who seek a deeper understanding of big data and want to understand how data can make a real impact on their marketing. Sponsored by AdRadar. more
Broadcast on Nov 8, 2012 with Skip Cox
This PRO seminar will provide marketers with a proven approach to accurately measuring the results of their events efforts. 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 Apr 12, 2012 with Philippa Gamse
This PRO seminar and first class of MarketingProfs University's Websites That Work course will ensure that you're investing wisely, making the most of all opportunities, and maximizing your ROI when it comes to your Web presence. more
Broadcast on Mar 8, 2012 with Sandy CarterIn 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 Feb 23, 2012 with Adele RevellaJoin us February 23rd for a PRO seminar with B2B marketing expert Adelle Revella, and discover a simple step-by-step process for building buyer personas to help you deliver messages that persuade buyers at each stage in the buying process.
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Broadcast on Feb 16, 2012 with Jason FallsJoin us for the PRO seminar, No BS Social Media: How to Drive Real Revenue with Social Media Marketing, and discover a relentlessly practical, business-value perspective of social media marketing that focuses on achieving results: measurable improvements in sales, profitability, efficiency, and brand value.
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Broadcast on Aug 25, 2011 with Geoff LivingstonLearn how to apply SMART goals (Specific, Measureable, Attainable, Relevant, Time-Bound) to your social media campaigns and measure audience Attention, Attitude, and Action. Includes advice based on use studies from Dell, LinkedIn, the Humane Society of the United States, and others. more
Broadcast on Jun 23, 2011 with Stephen DennyAuthor and consultant Stephen Denny discusses how speed can be used as a weapon to beat your competition in this insightful PRO seminar. Learn how creating a speed culture can not only help you move faster, but push you to make better decisions and pull forward revenue. more
Broadcast on Apr 21, 2011 with B2B Forum SpeakersJoin us for this FREE preview seminar of the B2B Forum 2011 and discover what's working now in B2B marketing. Journey with four speakers from the B2B Forum 2011 and explore ways to generate more leads and sales from four key programs—marketing automation, online communities, email, and video marketing. 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 24, 2011 with Jay Baer, Amber NaslundIn this session, social strategists and authors, Jay Baer and Amber Naslund, will explain the key changes companies are making to succeed—and thrive—in a world where five minutes feels like an eternity. more
Broadcast on Mar 17, 2011 with Dan McDadeLearn the little-known secrets that focus your lead-generation efforts, align your sales and marketing organizations, and drive revenue growth. Seminar instructor Dan McDade will present 10 provocative questions to help you determine the effectiveness of your sales and marketing efforts. more
Broadcast on Dec 9, 2010 with Heather Lloyd-MartinJoin us for this exciting and fast-paced Hot Seat Lab where you'll learn best practices for writing SEO content that will achieve higher rankings in search engines. Plus, you'll witness several live website critiques where Heather Lloyd Martin will provide actionable tips for improving content in a way that will draw more customers to your site. more
Broadcast on Sep 16, 2010 with Jim SterneDiscover what it takes to make the most of the tools and data you have to become an indispensable source of business insight for your organization. more
Broadcast on Jun 3, 2010 with Avinash KaushikLearn how to run multi-channel analytics to measure your non-line impact. You'll get practical tips that will help you identify how to measure your campaigns (and hence claim as much of the credit as possible for your hard work!). more
Broadcast on May 20, 2010 with Jim SterneMeasurement is an essential part of any marketing program. Don't miss this seminar that provides the latest best practices and tools to set social media marketing metrics and measure your social media marketing programs. more
Broadcast on Jan 14, 2010 with Tim McAtee, Roy YoungGet the Full Monty on what 5,140 marketers are doing with social media in this look at our newest research results. more
Broadcast on Aug 20, 2009 with Beth HarteYou have formulated a social media strategy, but have you put metrics in place, too? Here's how. more
Metrics & ROI Take 10 Webcasts—tactical marketing know-how in just 10 minutes from subject matter experts
In just 10 minutes, we'll provide you with guidelines you'll want to follow in order to set clear objectives. If you follow these tips, you'll be able to clearly demonstrate marketing success in a language that your senior management team understands. more
In just 10 minutes, you'll learn easy, do-it-yourself tips for measuring your trade show program—in real time. more
In just 10 minutes, you'll learn how to successfully use predictive analytics to optimize your campaigns and improve customer experience. more
In just 10 minutes, you'll learn how to create custom URLs for your campaigns that will improve your Google Analytics tracking tenfold and, ultimately, improve your campaign performance. more
In just 10 minutes, you'll learn how to best engage with your customers, why engagement is important, and how to put it to good use! more
In just 10 minutes, David B. Thomas will walk you through a step-by-step approach that will help you understand how to measure the bottom-line value of your social media efforts. more
In just 10 minutes, learn how to integrate free (or inexpensive) tools like Google Analytics and HootSuite Pro into your website and social media campaigns to help track social media performance and report on social media results. 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
In just 10 minutes, SEO expert Janet Driscoll Miller guides you through the process of setting up a multivariate test using Google Website Optimizer. more
Broadcast on Mar 4, 2011 with Janet Driscoll MillerIn this Take 10 webcast, optimization expert Janet Driscoll Miller walks you through how to set up an A/B experiment in Google Website Optimizer. She demonstrates each step in the process. more
Broadcast on Feb 18, 2011 with Michael Miller
This 10-minute webcast gives a quick rundown of the top online marketing activities, then helps you decide which ones your business should use. more
Broadcast on Jan 28, 2011 with Michael Miller
This webcast is your guide to creating an effective plan for your digital marketing and traditional marketing activities. 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 Nov 5, 2010 with Michael MillerLearn how to access the right data so you can slice and dice it to better understand which videos are working, and which could benefit from a little reconstructive surgery. It's all covered in this short but comprehensive tutorial presented by online marketing specialist Michael Miller. more
Broadcast on Aug 27, 2010 with Justin CutroniAs the old saying goes: "Garbage in, garbage out." We don't want to fill Google Analytics with garbage or it will be useless when it comes time for analysis. In this Take 10 Justin Cutroni will walk you through some of the basic settings in Google Analytics to help make sure your data is correct and useful. more
Metrics & ROI marketing guides and reports for the busy professional
- The Modern Market for Market ResearchMarket research is no longer a tactic isolated to the largest corporations with the biggest budgets and executed by door-to-door foot soldiers painstakingly collecting small samples of customer data. The data in this report reveals a clear disconnect between businesses' appetite for customer information and the budget and execution they use to acquire it. This report explores that further and dives into several other interesting revelations.
- 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.
- Website Conversion Success StoriesMany marketers spend too much time and money trying to get people to visit their sites, and not enough boosting the number of sales from the people already visiting. See how 11 companies, including Jelly Belly Candy Company and Kinaxis, are transforming their landing pages, and get great ideas for optimizing your own site to increase sales.
- Social Media ROI Success StoriesLearn how social media is changing the way we market to consumers and businesses, and how 11 companies are measuring and monitoring the success of their social media campaigns.
- 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 Lead Generation: Marketing ROI & Performance Evaluation StudyMarketingProfs research studies the effectiveness and performance of lead generation comparing quantity to quality.
- Benchmark Report: Marketing ROI (Year 3)In this 2007 survey, the third annual on ROI, respondents who use ROI for their marketing efforts expect greater growth and enjoy greater confidence from their senior management than respondents who don't use ROI.
- 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.
- E-Newsletter How-To GuideThe e-newsletter has become ubiquitous. Almost a dime a dozen. How do you make yours not only stand out in the inbox, but make a positive impact on your bottom line? This guide will show you how.
- Marketing Metrics How-To GuideMetrics is the guiding light of your marketing efforts. Without measurements, you're operating in the dark. Make sure you are tracking the right metrics, and get tips on interpreting the data with this comprehensive guide.
- 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.
- B2B Direct Marketing How-To GuideDirect marketing is one of the fastest changing disciplines within marketing today. What worked 10 years ago, isn't working today. Heck, what worked last week sometimes doesn't even work today, so keep your skills sharp with his How-To guide, focusing on the B2B market.
- Benchmark Report : Marketing ROI (Year 2)This 2006 survey, the second annual ROI study, demonstrates that companies are definitely getting the ROI message. This study shows a significant increase in the number of companies that have implemented some form of Marketing ROI measurements. And let's face it, Marketing ROI is here to stay. Jim Lenskold says, "Marketing ROI will continue to be a priority as long as maximizing profits is a priority for corporations." Well said, Jim.
- Benchmark Report: Marketing ROI (Year 1)In a 2005 survey, the first in an annual series, Jim Lenskold found that only 1 in 5 respondents was actually using ROI measures for marketing efforts -- 99% of those respondents indicate increased profitability due to the use of ROI. See this and subsequent reports for a full picture of the evolution of marketing ROI.
- Sales & Marketing Alignment - Apr. 2005Need a little help getting your marketing efforts in sync with your sales efforts? Look no further. A 2005 study of MarketingProfs members worldwide found that companies that successfully aligned sales with marketing perform better in many sales measures than their “unaligned” competition. Aligned companies enjoyed 5.4% faster growth, 38% more proposals closed, 36% fewer customers lost, and 40% more new business coming from marketing leads than unaligned firms. Read the complete analysis and take advantage of the recommendations from this exhaustive report.
- Marketing ROI and the Sales FunnelIn this guide, you will learn how to structure, motivate and measure the marketing and sales functions to maximize profit. Topics include: 1) a high-level self-assessment to determine potential sources of profit leakage; 2) how to map out and improve strategies related to the buying cycle; 3) how to apply marketing ROI principles to create strategies to reduce and recycle leakage from the buying cycle; and 4) how to leverage insight on your key profit drivers and customer-level analysis to improve profitability.
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