Archives

[2003-05-30] Marketing Beyond the Hype
Hype is just an icebreaker. It puts people in the mood to hear the rest of your marketing message.

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[2003-05-29] Change Now, Change Later
Why do corporate image and Name Identities die a slow death?

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[2003-05-29] A Brand New War of the Words Just Started
The war of words between oversize American cuisine and fatty French gourmet food is just a big joke, oui monsieur? Suddenly, French wines are being poured out on the sidewalks.

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[2003-05-29] How To Hire A Marketing Professional
Resumes are good at revealing quantity but not quality of work. Unless you put a candidate on probation, it's difficult to assess his qualifications except through interviews and reference checks.

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[2003-05-27] Build Your Permission Marketing Database
Hi Eran: You mention "target customer permissions" in your article and I'm just trying to understand this concept. Here's an example: I buy my target lists from companies and use them to conduct direct marketing. (Large AS/400 companies). Now, gathering customer permissions - is this the ability to obtain information about a direst mail respondent and to now add them to my marketing contact 'mix'? - Do I need permission to add them to the mix?

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[2003-05-23] The Five Key Elements Of B2B Branding
Lately, I have come across a number of articles and colleagues pronouncing the demise of B2B branding. I would like to offer a different viewpoint: B2B branding is not obsolete. At the same time, it has to be redefined to fit the context of B2B today.

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[2003-05-22] The Seeds of a Marketing Plan
Question: I am Product Manager at food distribution company. We have many international brand in our product range. How to make good marketing plan? What is the important parameter should be considered?

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[2003-05-19] The Fallacy of Qualified Leads
"We don't get enough qualified leads!" How many times have you heard your VP of Sales make this statement? The common answer from marketing is "we have generated lots of leads, but sales doesn't follow up on them." "But these leads are not qualified", would be the familiar rebuttal from the sales trenches.

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[2003-05-19] Emergency Marketing Response: The SARS Outbreak and Toronto Based Clients
The panic was real. Even before the World Health Organization issued its now rescinded advisory against unnecessary travel to Toronto, the media had hyped fears of SARS into plague-like proportions leading to significant declines in tourism and travel to Toronto. Conventions were cancelled, hotel rooms left vacant and empty seats at Jays games told the story of millions of dollars suddenly withdrawn from the downtown economy. Businesses based on providing services to tourists or other businesses experienced an immediate loss of revenue and are expecting to continue losing money until public perceptions change and visitors return to the city.

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[2003-05-15] Affiliate Marketing Means Using Email Marketing
As an affiliate in an affiliate program you need to be good at affiliate marketing. One of the most important aspects of affiliate marketing is email marketing.

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[2003-05-15] E-Mail Builds Brands
E-mail - today's preferred business communication tool - provides you a simple, powerful, affordable way to develop, manage and maintain relationships as well as sell products and services. Let's briefly examine how permission-based e-mail marketing positively affects:

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[2003-05-14] Market By Email Without Getting Persecuted
You provide a Web service such as Web site design, Web site evaluation, search engine optimization, graphics design, or copy writing. You find a Web site that could sorely use your services. You send a friendly email message to the Web site's owner.

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[2003-05-13] Six Steps to Selling By E-mail
Free. . . Sale. . . New . . . Hot. . . Act now! These words announce yet another e-mail sales message. We're inundated with e-mail pitches and wary of anything that sounds too good to be true. So, how do you write your e-mail sales messages so customers will open, and most importantly, act on them?

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[2003-05-12] Internet Marketing Strategies -- Paying For Traffic
If you've been struggling with your website traffic and your sales aren't what you had hoped for, then maybe it's time to start paying for traffic.

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[2003-05-12] Internet Marketing Strategies -- Purchasing Advertising
If free advertising ventures aren't providing you with the response that you had hoped for, maybe it's time to consider purchasing some advertising.

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[2003-05-06] Relationship Marketing King: Wal-Mart Still No. 1
The economists are still telling us how bad the U.S. economy is, but don't say anything about the bad economy to your local Wal-Mart greeter. His or her employer just witnessed revenues grow by 12 percent in 2002, to $246.5 billion. He or she will probably proudly let you know that Wal-Mart Stores Inc. was just ranked number one-again-by Fortune magazine, leading the top 500 corporations for a second year in a row. How do they do it?

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[2003-05-02] Weighing Risk and Reward
For years, one of my favorite quotes has been "you can't steal second base with one foot on first." Too many direct marketing users don't understand the risk involved in keeping their feet on first base; they see only the risk of stealing second. An even higher percentage of direct marketers don't seem to understand the risk of not swinging for the home run occasionally. Let's look at a few specific cases in which the risk vs. reward axes are warped.

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[2003-05-02] Measuring Marketing ROI - How Low Can You Go?
Following a previous article on marketing metrics, many of you raised the question of measuring marketing impact on the company bottom line. While the general consultant answer - "it depends" - would hold true here as well, my real answer to most of you in the enterprise software world is simple but disappointing: YOU CANNOT.

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[2003-05-02] Accelerated Proof
The happy 90's were all about speed. Speed is still important, but it has taken on a different meaning. Where speed is most important today is in proving your solution to potential buyers. I call it Accelerated Proof. Put yourself in the customer's shoes. When you make a major purchase, you want to try it out first. Purchasing enterprise software is a major commitment with financial, operational, and strategic implications. Fear of failure could be the number one reason for people not to buy your product. How can you help them overcome their fears?

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[2003-05-01] Develop E-Newsletter Software, Or Buy Off The Shelf?
In this Q&A with Michael Katz, e-newsletter expert, Ron Wright asks about developing his own application for creating and sending emails. Ron wants to avoid proprietary programs -- is this a wise idea?

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[2003-05-01] Selling the Value Proposition
Pricing your product or service is one of the thorniest marketing decisions you will make. Typically, you will consider the costs of producing and providing that product or service, distribution, advertising, and the competitive environment. And, of course, profit. Maybe there's a little wiggle room to make more or less profit and still stay in business. And then you hold your breath and hope the market finds your pricing acceptable, and hope the competition doesn't blindside you with an aggressive pricing strategy. There doesn't have to be such angst.

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[2003-05-01] The New Mature Market: How Mature Is It?
Today's "mature market" is not your father's "mature market." It is, on average, healthier, wealthier, and more active than any similar cohort in history. More than 80 million strong, with another 40 million to be added to its ranks by 2020, Americans who are 50 or older comprise a critically important market for a number of categories-some of which may surprise you:

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