MarketingProfs Daily

Some 9 in 10 B2B marketing organizations, regardless of company size or industry, say they've used content as a form of marketing in 2011, according to a study by the Content Marketing Institute and MarketingProfs. Moreover, those marketers also say they employ on average eight separate content marketing tactics to ... more

Nearly three-quarters (74%) of surveyed marketers say they are actively monitoring social media via paid or free tools, but less than one-quarter (24%) among them say they are extremely satisfied with their social monitoring tools, according to a survey from Web Liquid. more

Fully two-thirds (67%) of North American information technology (IT) professionals say they find vendor-produced content such as whitepapers "extremely useful" or "useful," according a new study from IDG Connect. IT professionals say thought-leadership content is the most useful, followed by analysis and survey statistics. more

Marketers can now identify their various industries' top 10 influential voices across blogs, articles, and social networks—and also see their own influence ranking vs. other voices in a given market—with the help of a free tool released this week. more

We love a good infographic. They can make vague ideas clear as day. Our pick du jour: The QR Invasion, which tells the latest story of QR codes. You can put these codes on just about any kind of item, and users can scan them with their phones to get ... more

You may still be a bit worn out from a crazed holiday season, and you might not want to think about in-depth analysis and reporting. But, as Kelly Lorenz of Bronto says, this is "the perfect opportunity … to improve [your tactics] for future years' holiday seasons." Although Lorenz acknowledges that ... more

Though B2B marketers report most of their new sales coming from current customers, only one-half (55.4%) say their companies have departments that focus primarily on customer retention, according to a survey by Loyalty 360 and SAS. Among those with formal loyalty programs, most are using traditional channels such as surveys ... more

If you want solid information, you should take great care when writing survey questions. "Leading and misleading questions always yield questionable data, based on which you are highly likely to report findings that can misguide stakeholders," writes Carrey V. Azzara at MarketingProfs. "Moreover, decisions they make based on such data ... more

When you write survey questions, it's important to ensure the information it elicits will produce meaningful analysis. "Data from mixed-mode questions are hard, if not impossible, to interpret accurately," explains Carey V. Azzara at MarketingProfs. To make his point, he uses this sample survey question: Please rate the effectiveness in achieving ... more

It's a given that market research will come in all shapes and sizes. "We see custom research that reaches into the six figures in cost," writes Mike Sweeney at the Marketing Trenches blog. "We see simple user research that can be executed for as little a few hundred dollars. We ... more

"If yours is like a lot of sales organizations," write Ed Tittel and Carl Eidson in a PRO article at MarketingProfs, "it may have intensified prospecting efforts lately as old customers downsized, cut spending, and, in some cases, went out of business." And if you follow traditional prospecting advice, your team ... more

Debra Ellis recently received an unusual question during a visit to her doctor: "Has capturing information replaced service?" he asked. The doctor had recently taken a vacation with his family, and had endured an excruciatingly complex check-in process at the campground; when his family added another day to their stay, ... more

It's easy to get lost in the Facebook hype. Everybody's on it—but is "everybody" relevant to you? Here's a quick way to find out. Check out Research Spotlight: Facebook, a new report from MarketingProfs that offers a cheat sheet on the social site, breaking down vital user data for marketers. ... more

Your B2C business might ignore anyone who doesn't fit the profile of your usual customer. Why, for instance, would you target recent graduates when you normally sell your product or service to affluent senior citizens? In certain circumstances, though, it makes sense to look at the bigger picture. Consider the case ... more

Unless you ask, you'll never know what a customer really thinks about your product or service. "By embracing a customer-feedback program," writes Carolyn Hall at MarketingProfs, "you can gain insight into customer attitudes and learn important truths about buying behavior as well as the evolving attitudes that will determine future ... more

At one of our favorite sites—Which Test Won?—Anne Holland presents results from actual A/B tests. And a recent post profiles a test run by Campaign Monitor in which the company asked its active customers to participate in a survey. "This was a clean test—both versions were sent at the same ... more

The next time you dine out, take a close look at the menu—even if you already know what you want to order. The reason? Restaurants have learned a thing or two about convincing their customers to spend more money on certain dishes. "The use of menu engineers and consultants is exploding in ... more

At a lot of marketing conferences, over-excited pitch people talk a lot about The New Thing that will Change Every Paradigm Forever. So much over-enthusiasm can jade just about anyone, so it was a relief to attend the Advertising Research Federation's (ARF) re:Think 2010 conference taking place in New York ... more

"Especially in a down economy," writes Barbara Bix in a Pro article at MarketingProfs, "it's important to understand where the opportunities are—and how to capitalize on them." To learn how one company has approached the challenge, she spoke with the head of marketing intelligence for a midsize provider of B2B ... more

"According to the 2009 Spencer Stuart survey of more than 300 senior-level marketers," write Kevin Clancy and Peter Krieg in a Pro article at MarketingProfs, "55% said emphasis on a short-term response to the economic downturn has led them to neglect long-term strategy." As the economy begins to stabilize and ... more

When a salesperson talks budgets with a CEO, the chief's eyes may either light up or send sparks, depending on the news conveyed. But when a search marketer brings up budgets, the CEO may just get that deer-in-the-headlights look. That's because "few marketers explain how search can affect the goals ... more

A recent Nielsen study found that global consumption of social media increased 82 percent from Dec. 2008 to Dec. 2009 in the 10 countries surveyed, with users spending an average of 5.5 hours on their sites of choice per month! US and Australian addicts are among the heaviest users of all, spending 6 ... more

A decade from now, the Internet will have redefined the way we read, write, and gather knowledge to skills largely built around gadgetry and applications, according to a new study from Pew Internet. more

It'd be an understatement to say 2009 was a tough year for Domino's Pizza, what with the awkward employees-abusing-food scandal. A quick recap: two bored employees recorded themselves doing unpleasant things with food, and the video wound up on YouTube. Domino's responded swiftly enough, both terminating the employees and releasing an apologetic YouTube video ... more

With 2010 Census questionnaires set to arrive in mailboxes across the country by mid-March, 84% of Hispanics intend to be counted this year and are confident that personal information collected won't be shared with other government organizations, according to a survey from Telemundo and Ipsos Public Affairs. more