Most people evaluate businesses before striking a relationship with them, but how many businesses actually score customers? Scoring customers or evaluating them on what they bring to the business is important. Why? You can’t assume you know your prospects and customers – there are far too many flavors. Organizations are learning the hard way it […]
Online ad spending has seen a steady rise over the years. eMarketer estimates the total US online ad spending is at $39.5 billion in 2012, and will reach $62 billion by 2016. A May 2012 survey by RSW/US, a business development company, reveals that 44% of respondents will spend at least half of their total […]
Web. Blog. Social Media. Email marketing. The list goes on and on. Each channel by itself is easy to engage, but integrating these cross-channel activities to work cohesively to promote the company’s objectives, including branding, is hard work indeed. One way to ensure effective integration is to align the matrices of all the different channels […]
Much has been debated and written about the changing role of marketing. Regardless of your opinion on the topic, it’s clear that today’s marketing looks almost nothing like the practices of just 10 years ago.
In the past 10 years, no job has changed as much as the marketer’s. The rise and fall of various social media channels, the influx of consumer-generated content, the exponential growth of accessible data and the availability of technology tools and solutions for marketers are calling for a new kind of marketer–what I like to call the “Informed Marketer.”
Lead scoring allows the marketer to optimize the use of their time and other resources to greatly improve the prospect to conversion ratio. But, the important question on everybody’s mind is how should we score leads? Especially with limited resources. A lead by its very definition indicates probability or likelihood. The straightforward answer as to how […]
Customer Lifecycle Marketing, Customer Relationship Management
The Key Challenges to Automating Customer Engagement
Automating marketing and customer engagement has tons of potential, but such potential translates to reality only when automation is done right. Technology is the least of a marketer’s concerns when considering automation. With adequate funds and executive management support, marketers can easily adopt the right software to automate crucial marketing and engagement processes. The key […]
Customer Relationship Management, Customer Scoring
How to Measure Effectiveness of Different Channels in Lead Generation
Today’s hyper-competitive world breathes ROI. Every marketer conducts a thorough analysis of which channel (social media, paid searches, ads, email and others) works best in delivering leads and achieving revenue goals. In reality, this is easier said than done. Even though we admit that social media has become ubiquitous, a recent study conducted by Abode […]
Customer Lifecycle Marketing, Customer Relationship Management
Use Exchanges and Refunds to Your Advantage
The online marketplace is becoming highly glutted and increasingly competitive. So, what makes an e-business more attractive? The answer is obviously providing a better customer experience. But, with technology helping to level the playing field, how can you beat the customer experience that a competitor provides? A February 2012 survey conducted by UPS and comScore of more than […]
Marketing automation software is an incredible tool. And, yes, it makes a marketer’s life easier. But, don’t let yourself fall into the trap of considering it to be an end-all solution. Marketers who consider their work done when they have an automation software in place are in for a rocky ride. The most crucial part […]