To view this issue on the Web, use this link: http://www.marketingprofs.com/webnews/7/news9-18-07_0.asp ============================================================== MARKETINGPROFS - TODAY ============================================================== September 18, 2007 Volume 6, No. 38 ============================================================== made possible by: NETFACTOR You'll Get More Website Leads - Automatically It’s Like Caller ID for your Website. Now Capture Business Visitors as Leads with No Registration. Get Companies. Contacts. Phone. Emails. Try it - FREE http://www.netfactor.com/webleads4.htm =============================================================== THIS ISSUE'S ARTICLES: 1 - Three Simple Ways to Add 'Personal Power' to Your Emails 2 - Make Every Word Count: Q&A With Jonathan Kranz 3 - MP Classic: Four Ways to Get More out of Your Annual Planning and Budgeting 4 - Which Metrics Measure Marketing's Impact on Business and Influence Strategic Direction? 5 - Repackage, Rebrand & Relaunch? Or Do We Need to Dig Deeper? 6 - Outsourcing and Delegating: Two Keys to Excelling in Your Career 7 - The Death of the PR Handler in a Viral Environment + Advertising Info. for MarketingProfs + Top articles from our last newsletter - in case you missed it A NOTE TO READERS: Intuition v. Analytics MP contributor Paul Barsch wrote a great blog post this week about the “perils” of intuition – at least in marketing. He tells a story cited in the Wall Street Journal about a hotelier who keeps an eye out for guests sporting Hermes ties or carrying Prada bags, or similar “distinctive signatures,” with intent to shower them (and their fat wallets) with affection. But Paul says that such “thin-slicing,” or segmenting and treating your customer’s differently based on seasoned observations and intuition, can be a dangerous strategy. “Solely relying on ‘at a glance’ decision making, or decision making based on gut instinct, can be very costly to our business and careers,” Paul writes, concluding, “For [the hotelier] to make better decisions on which guests should receive special attention, both observational data (visual cues) and hard numerical data are necessary.” Check out Paul’s post here, and drop a comment if you feel so inspired! And by the way, you can hear Paul Barsch in person at the MarketingProfs B2B conference on October 1st and 2nd, where he’ll be speaking on both intuition and analytics, and how marketers can use both to become better marketing decisions. Hope to see you there! Until next week, Ann Handley Ann@marketingprofs.com Chief Content Officer MarketingProfs ============================================================== made possible by: SILVERPOP Inside the Secret World of White Listing Enterprise email marketers can greatly enhance deliverability by getting added to ISPs’ white lists of trusted senders. Navigate the process with insight from Silverpop Silverpop – Your Partner for Email Marketing Success Download your free copy today! http://www.silverpop.com/landing/profs/25.html ================================================================ 1 - THREE SIMPLE WAYS TO ADD 'PERSONAL POWER' TO YOUR EMAILS Almost without exception, the automated emails sent to confirm an action a customer has just taken are uniformly drab and impersonal. Which is a crying shame -- because when a customer first gives you his or her email address, you have a small window of opportunity: Customers are expecting a confirmation email from you. They are waiting for it. And when it arrives, almost 100% of people will open it. In other words, this is your first and best chance to make a great impression. Here are three things you can do to give some "personal power" to any email communication. Get the full story. Please note: This article is available to paid subscribers only. Get more information or sign up here. http://www.marketingprofs.com/7/add-personal-power-to-emails-usborne.asp **************************************************************** 2 - MAKE EVERY WORD COUNT: Q&A WITH JONATHAN KRANZ What's the most common mistake companies make in crafting collateral? What are the keys to creating content that reflects a company's credibility? And how does a company stop talking about itself... and focus on its customers? Here, the author of "Writing Copy for Dummies" shares his insider secrets and expertise. Get the full story. http://www.marketingprofs.com/7/make-every-word-count-qa-jonathan-kranz-collier.asp **************************************************************** 3 - MP CLASSIC: FOUR WAYS TO GET MORE OUT OF YOUR ANNUAL PLANNING AND BUDGETING In this MarketingProfs Classic, Jim Lenskold reminds us that, since the dreaded annual planning and budgeting process isn't going away, it's time to make the effort to get more value out of the process. Jim writes, "Here are four ways to use financial insight to create more profitable strategies and tactical plans while building greater credibility with your executive team." Get the full story. http://www.marketingprofs.com/7/get-more-out-of-annual-planning-budgeting-lenskold.asp ============================================================== made possible by: TEXT ADS ================================================================ 4 - WHICH METRICS MEASURE MARKETING'S IMPACT ON BUSINESS AND INFLUENCE STRATEGIC DIRECTION? Results from a recent survey found that only 17% of us indicated that our CEOs would give marketing an A. What's more, this study and others continue to suggest that a gap remains between a company's business goals and the metrics marketing uses to measure their impact on these goals. The need and opportunity remains for marketing to improve the linkage between marketing expenditures and delivered results. But what should we measure? And which metrics are best? Get the full story. http://www.marketingprofs.com/7/quality-metrics-enable-marketing-influence-strategic-direction-patterson.asp **************************************************************** 5 - REPACKAGE, REBRAND & RELAUNCH? OR DO WE NEED TO DIG DEEPER? Leading consumer-products companies are looking to rebrand, repackage and relaunch... often too frequently. Sometimes, the effort is merely putting a bandage on a deeper sore. It's far less painful to assess lagging sales in a superficial manner than it is to dig deeper into company practices, customer-service issues, and the actual product mix being offered—not to mention how customers are experiencing the brand and whether that brand is delivering on its promises. In fact, companies that really want to dig for the truth ought to seek answers to these questions... . Get the full story. http://www.marketingprofs.com/7/best-bang-marketing-buck-customer-feedback-mininni.asp **************************************************************** 6 - OUTSOURCING AND DELEGATING: TWO KEYS TO EXCELLING IN YOUR CAREER Marketers often lament, "If only I had more time...." Improving your productivity by using something like GTD (Getting Things Done) will take you part of the way there. But you also need to become "ruthless" at delegating. The more effectively you delegate, the faster you will excel in your career. Get the full story. http://www.marketingprofs.com/7/outsourcing-your-job-smart-career-move-spencer.asp ============================================================== made possible by: B2B EVENT OCTOBER 2007 MarketingProfs B2B Forum 2007
What's New, What Works, What Sticks Join us for two days of intensive learning, networking, and learn the secrets of B2B prospect acquisition and management from the industry’s leading experts. Check out the complete conference program October 1 & 2, 2007 Renaissance Chicago Hotel Register Today https://www.marketingprofs.com/events/register.asp?evid=1 ================================================================ 7 - THE DEATH OF THE PR HANDLER IN A VIRAL ENVIRONMENT At a time when business and marketing strategy changes at the speed of light, and competitors, partners and customers have instant access to information, the days of the handler -- the publicist -- are numbered. Get the full story. http://www.marketingprofs.com/7/death-of-pr-handler-viral-environment-marken.asp **************************************************************** TOP ARTICLES FROM OUR LAST NEWSLETTER THE SEVEN DIRTY WORDS YOU CAN'T SAY IN EMAIL SUBJECT LINES (PLUS 100 OTHERS YOU SHOULDN'T USE, EITHER) http://www.marketingprofs.com/7/seven-dirty-words-email-subject-lines-ayan.asp WHAT WEB MARKETERS SHOULD KNOW ABOUT TWITTER http://www.marketingprofs.com/7/what-web-marketers-should-know-about-twitter-owyang.asp 25 METRICS TO PROVE MARKETING DRIVES SALES http://www.marketingprofs.com/7/25-metrics-prove-marketing-drives-sales-young.asp WHAT THE WEB MARKETER SHOULD KNOW ABOUT FACEBOOK http://www.marketingprofs.com/7/facebook-what-web-marketers-should-know-owyang.asp **************************************************************** SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FUTURE NEWSLETTERS Not a subscriber? Get the latest web and off-line marketing know-how delivered bi-weekly. Solid ideas backed by theory, experience and understanding. We give it to you free without the hype and self-promotion found elsewhere. http://www.MarketingProfs.com/Newsletter/signup/subscribepage.asp?t=MPnews **************************************************************** INFO ABOUT MARKETINGPROFS.COM MarketingProfs.com is an online publishing company that specializes in providing both strategic and tactical marketing know-how to Internet and offline marketing professionals through a combination of provocative articles and commentary. Get original, not recycled ideas. ADVERTISING INFO If you want to reach a marketing audience, won't find a better place to advertise on the web. Go here to get our contact info., demographics, and our current media kit. http://www.marketingprofs.com/about/adproducts.asp **************************************************************** You received this newsletter at this address (%%email%%) as part of your membership to MarketingProfs.com, or because you subscribed to our newsletter. You can easily change the newsletter format to text or html, change your email address by going here http://www.MarketingProfs.com/d.asp To stop delivery, please send us a blank e-mail here: mailto:%%remove%% Copyright © 2006 MarketingProfs.com. All rights reserved. We protect your privacy MarketingProfs, LLC | 419 N. Larchmont | #42 | Los Angeles, California | 90004 All logos and names are the copyrights of the respective owners Helping marketers from all industries succeed online through highly effective email technology and professional services.