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

An online demo is a powerful tool that can connect your prospects with your software in minutes, showcasing a full array of features and helping you drive home the value of your solution. But it can do much more than that, writes Jayson Gehri in a MarketingProfs article titled "The ... more

"While most people think of social media as a non-business arena, many savvy marketers are ... leveraging [it] to gather intelligence about prospects," says Dan McDade in a recent post at the DemandGen Report blog. In short: B2B marketers are turning into virtual 007s—in a good way. "Social media can provide ... more

At its core, market opportunity is your sizing forecast for a specific product or service, now and over the next several years. At a minimum, you should know that information in terms of sales dollars. A solid understanding of opportunity will guide you to the best markets and warn you ... more

The consumer electronics industry is forecast to reach nearly $166 billion in US shipment revenues this year, with the wireless handset category as the primary revenue driver, according to the semi-annual industry forecast by the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA). more

According to research from SEMPO, more than 64 million US wireless subscribers surfed the mobile Internet in May 2009—almost twice as many as in the previous year. That accounts for more than 20% of the total US population, 28% of US wireless subscribers, and more than 40% of desktop Internet ... more

Accurate and timely decision-making is a key component of creating competitive advantage, yet only 3% of business leaders describe their companies as "experts" in using business data to drive better decisions, and only 27% agree that their company makes better, faster decisions than their main competitors, according to a survey ... more

B2B communities are often aimed at highly specialized populations and may even be closed to outsiders. However, a growing number of enterprises regard their B2B communities as a secret weapon that gives them a powerful competitive advantage. more

Sir John Hegarty, the man behind the Levi's jeans and Lynx deodorant ads, once claimed, "Music is 50% of an ad's success." Yet even today very few metrics are regularly applied within the planning and creative processes to measure the value of music and sound to a brand's marketing. more

In a recent post at the Retail Email blog, Chad White highlights a host of interesting takeaways from this month's Winter Email Insider Summit. Among them are some hot email marketing tactics you may want to consider implementing, such as these: Give email credit where credit is due. "By withholding emails and monitoring sales," ... more

"The problem with market research is that, while it can generate some pretty actionable insights, it's expensive," says Josh Bernoff at the Groundswell blog. "If you do surveys, it's always a struggle to get enough people to generate a large enough sample without breaking the bank—and when the survey's done, ... more

"[T]here is altogether too much guessing and not enough proving in email marketing," says Stephanie Miller in a post at the MarketingProfs Daily Fox blog. "With inboxes overflowing, subscriber fatigue growing and competition from social networks increasing, it's no longer enough to broadcast out your best guess as to what ... more

Increasingly, marketers are turning toward brain-imaging techniques, such as functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), in the quest for the Holy Grail "buy button." We call it neuromarketing. The brain, however, is reluctant to reveal its code. more

Few things are as irresistible as a mobile game that lets players rack points up during waiting-room or bus-ride lulls. But if you're a brick-and-mortar shop, or a restaurant, there isn't much incentive for throwing another branded version of Tetris out into the ether. What to do, what to do? Solution: Hook up ... more

This holiday season, almost half of holiday shoppers (46%) plan to spend less on holiday gifts compared with last year, according to a recent Harris poll. Young consumers are an exception: Just 37% of Echo Boomers (age 18-32) plan to spend less. more

The Conference Board Consumer Confidence Index, which had declined in October, increased slightly in November and now stands at 49.5 (1985=100), up from 48.7 in October, according to the Conference Board's Consumer Confidence Survey. more

"Our experience suggests that most companies use a crude approach to gathering vital customer data," says David Jackson in an article at MarketingProfs. "Periodic, often annual, surveys that are disconnected in time from the events they are purporting to measure are the norm." Jackson dismisses such efforts as vain "Do You ... more

Your studies are not appropriate for participants found on purchased lists, and the participants will take part in a series of in-depth interviews. So how do you find your interviewees? more

Based on the premise that data's no fun (and no use!) without insight, BrandZ has launched BrandZ 100, an iPhone app that takes its annual Top 100 Brands Report and actually makes it fun to read. Developed by IconMobile, the app—decked out in crisp black, white and red—takes you straight to ... more

Warren Katz uses a post at the Elephant Bites blog to discuss the recession-driven microtrend of "glamping"—a freshly coined portmanteau for glamorous camping. In essence, its proponents want the low-budget benefit of a holiday in the great outdoors, but don't care to leave all the luxuries of home behind. "So, who ... more

Last summer, Morgan Stewart of ExactTarget quizzed 2,400 people on their attitudes toward marketing and made an interesting discovery. "70% of consumers who visit Facebook at least once a month and are a 'fan' of at least one company or brand, don't believe they have given those companies permission to ... more