No matter how savvy the marketer, the impact that ROI marketing will have on the corporate culture can be an eye-opening experience. ROI isn't just a nifty tool to keep vendors in line. The infrastructure frameworks that serve the ROI model will lay bare the decisions of everyone who touches ... more

Often regarded as a soft science, the ROI of marketing programs can be difficult to measure. Here are essential tips that should form the basis of the initial stages of your quantifiable marketing strategy. more

So you're looking for an impresario of innovation, a doyenne of the different, a marketing maven. But how do you know if the person you're interviewing is really the Wizard of Wow that your organization can count on to help pep up its profits? And how do you know your ... more

When the clients of SalesTrac, Inc., were looking for more in-depth consumer insight to determine the effectiveness of their promotional events, SalesTrac seized the opportunity to provide increased value through an all-in-one system that added survey management and real-time reporting of consumer feedback to its services. Check out the results. more

Let's face it: If we want to realize the vision of integrated marketing and strategic marketing, of a more collaborative and enjoyable work environment, of more stature and influence in our organizations, we need to let go of the old. Marketing needs a new MO. more

The sales playbook captures your company's knowledge about its markets, value propositions, offers, competitors, and best practices. These are the very elements that fall within the marketing organization's domain, which is why marketing plays a strategic role in developing the playbook. more

Privately held Pavilion Technologies knows how important it is for businesses to track ROI. But two years ago, its marketing department realized it was having trouble tracking its own ROI. Pavilion ultimately found a solution through a software system that helps monitor all prospects who visit its Web site. more

Part 1 of this series discussed the evolution of customer reference programs and gave guidance on how to create a program that's a strategic asset to your company. Here, part 2 discusses the next steps of customer program evolution... and how to change corporate culture by focusing on customers. more

By dynamically changing content on its start page to targeted segments of site visitors, along with testing the placement of additional product offerings within the transaction funnel, American International Underwriters upped the conversion rates of several of its products. more

How rare is it to see a senior marketer from any professional service firm—even one as prominent as BearingPoint—leading a series of cutting-edge conversations that do not appear to be directed at just his internal colleagues? We checked in with Paul Dunay and learned the extent to which he has ... more

Picture three email campaigns. The first is poorly written, with broken links. The second has a fancy design, but it renders so badly that half the recipients can't see the offer. The third has great content and great design—but gets not-so-great results. Our third entrant—by all accounts the creative "winner"—in fact ... more

We often complain that we have too few success stories or lack examples in specific verticals, or in specific geographies, or find that the customers' quotes are bland and lack specific metrics of success. Even worse, all success stories age. Those that are a few years old may cease to ... more

As today's markets consolidate and become increasingly competitive, and as buyers become more sophisticated and demanding, customer references gain even greater importance. But many customer reference programs are stuck in outmoded thinking, and that could be significantly holding your company back. So how can your reference program evolve to meet today's ... more

by Loren McDonald Email is the most-used tool in the marketer's arsenal—but there's a pretty good chance your CEO just doesn't understand its contribution to the bottom line. Unfortunately, that's because most marketers don't get it either. And, as long as we don't get it, we also won't get the ... more

For more than a century, Boston's Museum of Science has depended on government grants and donors to finance its stated goal of encouraging "interest in and further understanding of science and technology and their importance for individuals and for society." The Museum attracts about 1.6 million visitors a year, including ... more

The day just ended, and you can't stop thinking about the cool new feature that may improve your online venture. Basic questions keep popping up. Is it going to bring more visitors? Is it going to improve their experience? How much is it going to cost? And then, you recall ... more

Sandra Zoratti, vice-president of worldwide marketing of the soon-to-be-formed InfoPrint Solutions Company, a Ricoh/IBM joint venture, added interactive marketing to the InfoPrint Solutions Company marketing mix to multiply the reach of the sales force in pursuit of the coveted small and medium-sized business market. Here is an overview of Sandra's ... more

If you're like most marketers, you're probably struggling with the best ways to help your salespeople have more meaningful conversations with customers and prospects. Here are five quick tips for creating scripted conversations to help salespeople more effectively communicate your company's business value to customers and prospects. more

With spring comes not only a new season but a "sticky" new segment. Book Club is back for "Round Three" with the hottest book of the year, "Made To Stick" by Chip and Dan Heath. "Made To Stick" analyzes why some ideas survive while many others die. But that's not ... more

In an era of increasing federal regulation and greater competition in the mutual fund market, a financial firm found itself needing to modernize its marketing efforts. Rydex Investments, a private company that sells funds and other financial products primarily to institutional investors, decided to try some new techniques to get ... more

The customer development group at a large, publicly held high-tech company needed a central repository of data to help identify satisfied customers willing to be references when sales associates approached new prospects. By putting together a customer reference management database filled with relevant data on customers, the company was able to ... more

CEO "dashboards" can be a great way to shed light on customers and sales process performance and get feedback on how you as the CEO are performing your role. CEOs who want to know sooner what will be coming down the pike later will design a dashboard to track the following. more

Many CEOs say that the way marketing happens in their organizations is ineffective. What's more, many CEOs believe that within the management teams and employees at companies they have worked in, marketers are focused on the wrong things. So what really matters to CEOs? more

Issues like inbox deliverability or rendering are not the real problems that confound email marketers. Here's the real issue: Most companies are uninformed about email-marketing best practices and lack in-house expert resources. But because even poorly done email tends to perform fairly well, companies don't realize how much money they ... more

Yet another responsibility has been added to the CEO's already considerable load.... Because we live in an increasingly complex world, and the sales organization is the most critical link to the customer, it should be the driving force. That's why the CEO must understand every aspect of the sales process—to ... more