Although football metaphors abound in business, this article explores the idea of "outkicking your coverage," which is when an overly strong player can actually be harmful to a team's performance. "Outkicking" refers to when an exceptional punter kicks the ball so far down the field that the runner for the receiving ... more

It's that time again: the end of another fiscal year. Time to assess this year's successes and start planning for next year. What does that mean? It means it's time to write your business plan. A business plan can be hundreds of pages or just a few. Whatever the volume, however, ... more

Today's marketers are challenged to implement multiple techniques—from search to affiliate to media advertising and more—to achieve different results. Each channel has its own set of rules, its own potential results, even its own manager (whether outsourced or in-house) to keep things running smoothly. Although, in theory, each channel can operate ... more

To grow revenue and market share, professional and B2B service firms keep looking for the business version of the Holy Grail in all the wrong places. All too often, those ballyhooed initiatives fail to deliver on the expectations of increased effectiveness in an enterprise's marketing and business-development efforts. So what DOES ... more

There's nothing we love more than solutions—top-notch insights from top-of-the-line experts that help solve common marketing problems. Here's this week's solution, featuring SAS, which offers us a solution to the following problem: How does Marketing convince the CEO that it's time to embrace social media? more

There are many approaches to using email-campaign metrics to measure and improve marketing performance. The following are the top five approaches, along with appropriate measures and usable insights for each. more

Despite the emphasis on and progress in marketing performance measurement and management over the past decade, research continues to show that the link between marketing and the business still needs to be stronger and clearer. more

What are so-called Trust Agents? Trust Agents have established themselves as non-sales-oriented, non-high-pressure marketers. They are digital natives using the Web to be genuine and to humanize their business. They're interested in people (like prospective customers, employees, and colleagues), and they have realized that the tools that enable more unique, ... more

Without careful planning, your e-book may become a sinkhole of confused agendas, missed opportunities, and poor distribution. Here are a few key things that might help you avoid the pains and achieve the gains. more

Putting a measurement discipline in place involves going beyond the occasional campaign measurement or results tracking; it means establishing standard processes across the organization. Within large marketing organizations there are usually a few measurement "champions" who recognize the benefits of and push to improve their own results with better measurements. However, ... more

Your employees are already on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and the like... so isn't it high time for companies to acknowledge that activity and implement a protective framework that will assist them in mitigating the risks related to employee productivity, confidentiality, brand representation, and company reputation? more

If you are going to implement a corporate social responsibility program, do so responsibly. A poorly executed program can negatively affect the business in many ways. It takes one missing element, one arrogant blogger, or one angry ex-employee to publicly point out the failings of the good works that the ... more

We're five or so years into the "Era of Accountability," and what do we have to show for it? Is marketing any closer to demonstrating to CEOs and CFOs what they're getting for their money? Are we marketers more comfortable in our own skins, confident of our ability to measure ... more

There's no one-size-fits-all solution to survival during challenging times. But there are some strategies that will help no matter what situation you and your business are in. more

You just sent out a request for proposal (RFP). Will it give you the responses you want? Will it set the stage for a great long-term relationship? An RFP is a key step in engaging an outside marketing partner. Don't underestimate its importance. It's not simply a straightforward business communication; it's ... more

It's tough out there. Budgets are being cut. Markets are shrinking. Prospects aren't buying the way they used to. But you can still sell effectively. You just have to think differently. The message is important, but it's effective only if the right people read it. The process that you use to ... more

Marketing analytics used to simply be about measuring the hits on your website and the number of opens and clicks on emails. But as marketers we know that the times are changing. Today, marketers must find a way to manage leads through the lead life cycle, which requires visibility into how ... more

This is no time for business as usual. To keep the customer and win the sale, a marketer has to outsmart the competition. But how do you motivate your customers to spend their marginal purchasing dollars on your product instead of the competition's? more

Convinced that social media will further your marketing goals but having trouble getting the message across to your skeptical boss? Try speaking in terms that he or she will understand. more

With marketing teams being challenged to deliver results despite tighter budgets and smaller staffs, how is it possible to improve measurements and ROI analysis now, when they did not get addressed in prior years, when more resources were available? more

If the company you work for is like many companies in today's economic climate, it isn't hiring too many people and its marketing budget has been cut. Employees are being asked to do more with less. Now more than ever, however, marketing efforts are needed to drive sales. What options do ... more

The Hispanic market seems to be the only one still flourishing these days in the face of economic doom and gloom. Foreign-born Hispanics in the US have been historically unaffected by economic downturns. Why? And how can you tap the market effectively? more

As communications experts, we should find it easy to convey the value of our services to the business managers in our organizations. Yet many public relations professionals struggle with expressing results in a way that allows senior executives to easily recognize the impact that PR has on the success of ... more

It's time to start investing in the future, for real. Brand equity from the old economy is about dead. The financial collapse is a sign of a larger movement that would have us stop draining off reserves, and get us back to the business of making promises to tomorrow's customers. more

Have you heard this one? "All the research shows that companies that spend on marketing during a recession come out ahead of the competition as the economy rebounds." It's a catchy buzz phrase—and if people believe it, even better. But here's the thing: What research, exactly? more