Archive for November, 2014

Engaging Customers in Real-Time Product and Service Development

Wednesday, November 26th, 2014

Traditional forms of marketing often pose a challenge for businesses in that they are often necessarily reactionary. Generally, marketers can’t determine customers’ satisfaction with a product or service until it’s already been created and introduced. By that time, it may be too late. (more…)

The Critically Important Audience You May Be Overlooking

Monday, November 24th, 2014

It’s probably no surprise that poor customer service can have an enormous amount of negative impact on your business. But what about poor service to employees? Does the internal satisfaction of your employees weigh on that metric? A recent article by Christine Porath in Harvard Business Review would suggest that it does. (more…)

Why You May Want to Avoid the Visual When Communicating With a B2B Audience

Tuesday, November 18th, 2014

Like virtually every industry, marketing has been transformed dramatically by advances in technology, particularly the increasing ease with which high quality digital media can be produced and distributed relatively cheaply online. Professional audio and video can be incorporated into a website or distributed through email marketing with ease, and this has led to an increase in the use of such media when marketing for a variety of products and services.

Marketers have taken advantage of new technology and digital content techniques by increasing their use of such material to promote their products and services. According to a dual survey of content marketers and the B2B audiences they serve, (more…)

A Wake-Up Call to the Newspaper Industry

Tuesday, November 11th, 2014

I had an experience recently that made me think: “Hmmm. Maybe this is one of the reasons the newspaper industry is struggling.”

After landing a new account recently, I began setting up my files and processes for gathering information about the client and sources of information that would help me stay on top of issues impacting them externally. This generally includes some combination of online sources, industry trade publications, etc. In this case, because of the type of business the client does, I decided to subscribe to the local paper because I wanted to add it to my morning reading ritual.

So, I went online to their website to subscribe. And that’s when the fun began. (more…)

Walking The Talk: Do Your Actions Match Your Words?

Tuesday, November 11th, 2014

PricewaterhouseCoopers U.S. chairman Robert Moritz recently discussed the issue of engaging younger employees in an article for Harvard Business Review titled “The U.S. Chairman of PwC on Keeping Millennials Engaged.” While the article contains a number of intriguing insights, one point that stood out from a marketing perspective was (more…)

Do Your Metrics Reflect Value or Vanity?

Sunday, November 9th, 2014

Measurable, reliable, quantitative data is constantly being sought after by marketers. In comparison to relatively more concrete elements of a business, such as finance and operations, marketers often feel pressure, whether real or perceived, to provide some sort of measurable return on investment for their efforts. Sure, your new website design looks great, but has it directly contributed to increased online sales? Unfortunately, for many marketing efforts, it can be difficult to convincingly tie a dollar spent on marketing to dollars earned in new business.

This pressure is evaluated in a Harvard Business Review article by Eric Ries called “Entrepreneurs: Beware of Vanity Metrics.” Vanity metrics, Ries explains, (more…)

Content Curation – Getting it Right

Thursday, November 6th, 2014

There has, perhaps, never been a time when the old saying “content is king” was more true than it is today. Why? Because the concept of “content marketing” is taking the world by storm. Marketers have embraced the opportunity to share content with their audiences through a variety of channels including websites, blog posts, social media whitepapers and more.

The big challenge: Continuing to create content that will connect with an audience and connect them to some action–even if that action is simply feeling favorably about an organization and its products or services or considering someone a “thought leader.” (more…)

Unlikely Collaborators Come Together to Tackle Ebola

Tuesday, November 4th, 2014

In the midst of the current Ebola outbreak, there has been much made of the role of big pharma in the race to stem the tide of the deadly virus. Many commentators, non-governmental organizations and governments have been critical of drug companies in the past and currently for what is seen as their lack of interest in developing vaccines and cures for illnesses that are deadly, but just not profitable.

But numbers are numbers, and the decision-makers of publicly-traded companies are obligated to conduct their business in a way that returns an acceptable return on investment to shareholders.

In an editorial for Forbes (more…)