Concepts & Fundamentals
Featured Article
The Future of Marketing
Synopsis: Marketing is about building relationships with key stakeholders through brand engagement, and there are several strategies that a company can take to succeed at it.
Creative Conquest: How to Grow Ideas
The more there is to do, the harder it can be to know WHAT to do. Marketers have a particularly open-ended Things to Do list! One entrepreneur threw out her list when it climbed to sixteen pages! No conscientious professional is immune. With more tools, the list of possibilities for time investment gets longer.
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Going Native in B2B Marketing LOGIN REQUIRED
The next time you hire a marketer, new business developer, or market researcher, it might be wise to look for someone with a degree in anthropology – particularly if your are in a B2B business.
Know Thy Customer LOGIN REQUIRED
Leading business marketers are focusing on the core of their mission: profiting from the knowledge that drives their art and science of acquiring and keeping customers. Improving their knowledge of customer needs, market segments, and the drivers of customer value heads business-to-business marketers’ 2005-2007 list of priorities, according to the recent Trends Survey of marketing experts conducted by the Institute for the Study of Business Markets (ISBM).
The Wonderful World of Words LOGIN REQUIRED
Human beings come in all sizes, variety of colors, different ages, and with unique, complex and changing personalities. So do words. There are tall, skinny and short, fat ones, and strong ones and weak ones, and boy words and girl words and so on
Ten Steps to Deploying Self-Directed Teams LOGIN REQUIRED
How can teams be fielded to deliver both the advantages of small teams and the power of a larger organization?
Confessions of an Impoverished Marketer LOGIN REQUIRED
I have been cursed, some might say—or blessed, I would counter—with several business experiences where I have been challenged to overcome a dearth of marketing funds with ingenuity and, on occasion, sheer determination.
The Cold Hard Truth About Innovation (11/06) LOGIN REQUIRED
Innovation is all the rage, and why not? Six Sigma is becoming tapped out, acquisitions are out of vogue for failing to deliver the promised synergies, and we need to grow somehow.
Marketing and Compliance: What Every Marketer Must Know About Risk and Liability LOGIN REQUIRED
Compliance, corporate governance and recent legislation such as Sarbanes-Oxley are nothing new to corporate executives who run the risk of exorbitant fines and even jail time for failing to conform to recent mandates.
Diagnostic Marketing:“It’s not about us – It’s about the customer!” LOGIN REQUIRED
Companies everywhere are struggling to differentiate their offerings. They dream of establishing an unassailable market position for their solutions, a position that will enable them to capture a lion’s share of the customer’s mind and wallet.
Make the Most of Marketing Resources (05/06) LOGIN REQUIRED
Marketing organizations face greater pressure than ever to improve accountability and performance and generate significant ROI for marketing spending.
Defining 'Moments of Truth' in a Business Customer’s Lifecycle LOGIN REQUIRED
There are several critical times during a customer’s relationship where a decision is made – by the customer – to continue or discontinue interacting with a company.
Strategic Sales Lead Qualification: Why do it, How to do it, and What it can mean to you and your firm LOGIN REQUIRED
A shared B2B Internet interest group participant of a large international marketing association recently queried members as follows:
Client-Focused, Easy and Effective: Six Sigma Marketing LOGIN REQUIRED
Imagine sitting at Jack Welch’s table, his fiery eyes trained on you, riveted to your every word and you have only seconds to give your presentation before he can finish it for you.
A frank and lively discussion of marketing issues LOGIN REQUIRED
Same topic - two very different points of view
Driving Instinct throughout the Workforce LOGIN REQUIRED
Though it’s almost 150 years since Alice in Wonderland was penned, today’s corporate world could learn a lot from Alice’s adventures.
The Budget Conundrum LOGIN REQUIRED
As a young, earnest, but somewhat naive account executive, I once asked an advertising director how he got his advertising funds…
Pass the Creativity, Please LOGIN REQUIRED
Every time I pick up one of the “bibles”, of our industry I see on display in its pages what is thought of as the best of the best.
Back to Basics: Media Placements Rule LOGIN REQUIRED
During the height of the dot.com gold rush, public relations agencies held the cards and were able to pick and choose exactly whom they wanted to work with.
Stop Taking Your Career Personally LOGIN REQUIRED
Not getting what you want in your career these days? Are the resumes you’ve been sending not getting a response? Are your phone calls or e-mail not getting replies?
Using CMM to Tear Down Sales/Marketing Walls Helps Boost Productivity Co-operation and the Bottom Line LOGIN REQUIRED
When farmers think of silos, visions of grain storage and agricultural operating efficiencies pop into their heads. When marketers think of silos…
Enterprise Content Management: The Ultimate Marketing Tools LOGIN REQUIRED
In the past few years, many companies have developed strategies that involve the use of web sites as primary communication vehicles.
Your Numbers Don't Add Up LOGIN REQUIRED
Career Corner: Misrepresenting facts is a key cause for loosing the job opportunity. It's all a numbers game when it comes to selling yourself on the resume.
Fourteen Common Mistakes Product Managers Make LOGIN REQUIRED
Turning ineffective Product Managers into high performance Product Marketers.
PRINTING, PREPRESS AND PACKAGING LOGIN REQUIRED
BMA White Paper - Printing, Prepress and Packaging
Key Concepts of Business Marketing LOGIN REQUIRED
BMA White Paper - Key Concepts of Business Marketing: A guide for marketers in the communications age
Business Intelligence LOGIN REQUIRED
BMA White Paper - Business Intelligence: Tool for Strategic Advantage
Are You Standing In The Way Of Your Next Job? LOGIN REQUIRED
Are you having a hard time finding your next job? Are you going on interviews and not getting offers? Are you at the point where you are ready to give up?
Spring! And How Does Your Garden (Business) Grow? LOGIN REQUIRED
The first step is to map out how large an area you want for your garden (business plan) and what types of seeds (new products) you want to plant (launch).
Marketing Audits LOGIN REQUIRED
How to implement a program that can identify where change is needed, improve sales productivity and increase customer retention.
Is PowerPoint Killing Your Brand? LOGIN REQUIRED
PowerPoint has been dubbed a “killer application” for corporate America. But is it also a killer application where your brand is concerned?
So much to do, so little time LOGIN REQUIRED
Chairman's Forum
Looking for a New Job LOGIN REQUIRED
Everyone who has ever been through outplacement or read a how-to book on job hunting is all too aware of this truism: "finding a job" is not only a "job"-it's the ultimate exercise in self-marketing
12 Ways to Make Sure Your Messages Are Dead-On, Not Dead on Arrival LOGIN REQUIRED
Despite its acknowledged importance, the message is often the most neglected and underestimated component of a marketing communications campaign.
Your Resume Will Tell LOGIN REQUIRED
Is your career going up, going nowhere or going bust?
The Steak Behind the Sizzle LOGIN REQUIRED
Effective Marketing Using White Papers
14 Ways LOGIN REQUIRED
Yes, sure, you are bright, energetic, hard-working and dedicated. Still, nothing much great is gonna happen 'til you have management's confidence.
Channel Traps LOGIN REQUIRED
Although we introduce 365 products a year, the majority of them failed. This was the market equivalent of cannon fodder - sending anything into the marketplace hoping that one in ten would survive.
Barbie and B-to-B LOGIN REQUIRED
When you think about it, virtually every object in our lives starts out as a business-to-business transaction.
Your Old Ideas are Your Biggest Liability LOGIN REQUIRED
Now is a good time to reflect on the past year and recognize your successful and not so successful moments
If the Axe is about to Fall… LOGIN REQUIRED
Folks know when the company they work for is facing hard times. First, the Friday morning bagels disappeared, then the fresh flowers at the reception desk
Finding the Needle in the Haystack LOGIN REQUIRED
Who is the perfect hire? How do you find that one-in-a-million employee, the perfect candidate whose past results prove they can contribute to your company's bottom line NOW?
Job Satisfaction on the Decline LOGIN REQUIRED
Discontent Reported Among Workers of All Ages, Regions and Income Groups.
Time: Making it Work for You LOGIN REQUIRED
Few of us grasp the reality that time is not real. It's an illusion. It's something we have made up. Time is not something you can control. The only thing you can control is your actions and behavior around time.
Four Tips For Better Creative Meetings LOGIN REQUIRED
Meetings, for most in the workaday world, they can either be energizing and inspiring or, more typically, mind-numbingly dull.
Why People Hoard Knowledge LOGIN REQUIRED
Despite the call for information sharing by many corporate leaders and management gurus, companies face an uphill battle against tradition and history, according to an article in Across the Board, the Conference Board magazine.
Improve Your Creativity & Innovation LOGIN REQUIRED
Take time alone, away from the distraction of co-workers and the telephone, out of the office if necessary, and dedicate that time to thinking.
The 99 Greatest Idea Killers of All Time LOGIN REQUIRED
If you have ever been involved in a creative enterprise of any kind, you’ve probably endured the incredible frustration of having to hear one of the lines in this article.
Shopping for New Ideas? LOGIN REQUIRED
Effective, forward-thinking organizations are in constant search of unique products and services, more efficient processes and revelations on doing more with fewer people and fewer dollars.
Five Essential Factors For Being Creative LOGIN REQUIRED
Not long ago, product life-cycles were measured in years–if not decades. They are now measured in months, sometimes weeks.
Some Ideas About Newsletter Editorial Material LOGIN REQUIRED
A reader recently sent me an email requesting some advice. After addressing to her concerns, it struck me that the response might be beneficial to other people in the same position. Here’s her message, and my response.
Smart Graphic Design Means Less Red Ink LOGIN REQUIRED
A good graphic designer can do more than create pretty packages. Good designers should also understand printing. That's more important than you may think.
Marketing Vs. Advertising LOGIN REQUIRED
Definitions Have Changed. Has Your Mindset?
21 Action Steps for a 21st Century Leader LOGIN REQUIRED
Become the CEO of Your Life
The Sameness Problem LOGIN REQUIRED
Rare is the month when somebody doesn't ask us to go to Herculean lengths to establish our bona fides. Have you done work for a business process consulting firm before?
How to Sell Information in the Information Age LOGIN REQUIRED
Is the "information explosion" a good thing for information marketers? Actually, it's a mixed blessing.
Environmentally Friendly Mailing Programs LOGIN REQUIRED
26 Ideas That Help Protect The Environment
Save Dollars Lit Fulfillment LOGIN REQUIRED
Seven Ways To Solve Fulfilment Woes.
Coping can take a little effort LOGIN REQUIRED
Eleven survival tips for home-based entrepeneur.
Does the Word Marketing Mean Anything Anymore? LOGIN REQUIRED
For rhetorical purposes, let's ask the obvious questions: Should a supposed expert in marketing need help finding clients for his or her business?
Strategic Solutions for Marketing Problems LOGIN REQUIRED
The term “marketing” is probably one of the most misused terms in business. To many people it is synonymous with “sales.” To others it means “sales promotion.” Still others confuse it with “advertising."
The Ultimate Marketing Challenge LOGIN REQUIRED
Mastering Both Analytical and Conceptual thinking
1-to-1 Marketing Meets On-Demand Printing LOGIN REQUIRED
Marketing and print have made strange bedfellows. In fact, customized short-run printing was, at best, expensive and impractical for marketing efforts.
Videoconferencing: Think Before You Link LOGIN REQUIRED
Here’s a warning if you’re going to be in a videoconference meeting. Don’t let the sight of yourself shock you. If you haven’t seen yourself on video, or haven’t done so lately, be aware that the sudden image of yourself may be shocking.
Making a Corporate Video? LOGIN REQUIRED
What every marketer should know about making a corporate video.
Advertising Techniques For More Leads LOGIN REQUIRED
Your advertising has to work harder than ever before to earn a favorable return on investment. How? By generating more high-quality inquiries your salespeople, representatives, distributors or dealers can turn into sales.
Why business/industrial copy is different LOGIN REQUIRED
To expand on the idea further, here are seven specific ways in which business/industrial ad copy is different and why you need to know.
Separate but Unequal LOGIN REQUIRED
Building relationships is just as important as creating awareness.
Database Marketing Is An Art Form LOGIN REQUIRED
Like a craftsman or artist who skillfully use a combination of many different tools to create their masterpieces, marketers have many database marketing tools from which to choose in creating their marketing masterpieces
5 Frequent Writing Mistakes - Do You Make Them? LOGIN REQUIRED
The best writing is clear and simple. But business professionals too often shy away from simple language because they want to sound sophisticated.
B2B Advertising Should Be Like Juggling Babies LOGIN REQUIRED
Instead of looking at B2B ads from an academic, by-the-book stance, it may be more advantageous for advertisers to craft ads the way they might juggle babies.
Key Differences Between B2B and Consumer Marketing LOGIN REQUIRED
Yes, there are similarities. But there are also differences in selling to business and professional buyers vs. the general public.