Why aren't we better stewards of demand generation?

Posted: May 21, 2012 at 1:53 pm by Adam B. Needles, Marketing consultant

BIO

Adam B. Needles, marketing consultant Marketing consultant Adam B. Needles helps companies build buyer-centric demand generation programs, and has led marketing strategy and b-to-b demand-generation programs for such companies CA Technologies, Dell Inc., E-Trade Financial, Lenovo Group, Platinum Technology, Pitney Bowes, PNC Bank, PTC and Target. He is the author of "Balancing the Demand Equation: The Elements of a Successful, Modern B2B Demand Generation Model" (New Year Publishing, 2011).

With all the talk these days of revenue, buyer centricity, content marketing and marketing automation, you would think b-to-b marketers would have the perfect mix of ingredients to build and manage modern demand-generation programs.  Read more

Focus on the power of one page

Posted: May 18, 2012 at 12:20 pm by George Stenitzer, Tellabs

BIO

George Stenitzer, VP-marketing and corporate communications, Tellabs George Stenitzer leads a staff of 16 that handles internal and external communications for Tellabs, a manufacturer of telecommunications equipment. He previously was VP-corporate communications at R.R. Donnelley & Sons Co. and held communications positions at Ameritech and SBC Communications. He is also past president of the Chicago and St. Louis chapters of the Business Marketing Association.

How many PowerPoint slides did you view last month?

For me, it was more than 1,500 pages, including about 100 of my own making. Many executives see that many or more in a week.

The problem is: our attention spans are now as short as nine seconds.

To adjust to shorter attention spans, forget about the song and dance of PowerPoint. Focus on the power of one page.

Are Facebook ads valuable or a waste of money?

Posted: May 16, 2012 at 11:38 am by Sharon Crost, Hitachi Data Systems.

BIO

Sharon Crost, Integrated marketing and social media manager, Hitachi Data Systems Sharon Crost is integrated marketing and social media manager at Hitachi Data Systems (HDS). She develops integrated strategies and leads social marketing awareness and lead generation campaigns, social engagement programs, brand advocacy and integrated social and online analytics. Sharon is a member of the Collaboration and Social Media council and also runs the HDS Social Media Ambassadors club, a club designed to mentor employees to success in new social technologies.

I’m a marketer, which some might say would mean that I love all those banner ads. The fact is, like many of you marketers out there, I can get annoyed by some of those flashy ads— like the weight loss ones that I see over and over until I do my best not to see them any more. I bet that any marketer can name a top irritant.  Read more

Deducing ways to appeal to today's and tomorrow's business leaders

Posted: May 14, 2012 at 12:21 pm by Ginger Shimp, SAP America

BIO

Ginger Shimp, marketing director for small and midsize enterprises, SAP America. With more than 20 years’ experience in marketing, Ginger Shimp has been with SAP for the past seven years. She has won numerous awards and honors at SAP, including being designated “Top Talent” for two consecutive years. Not only is she a Professional Certified Marketer with the American Marketing Association, but she's also earned her Connoisseur's Certificate in California Reds from the Chicago Wine School. She holds a bachelor's degree in journalism from the University of San Francisco, and an MBA in marketing and managerial economics from the Kellogg Graduate School of Management at Northwestern University.

I’m a sucker for Sherlock Holmes. Have been since I was a very young child. I was reading a friend’s review of the complete works on Goodreads and I thought, "Would Holmes’ services be necessary today, given that so much information is available via the Internet?  Read more

Marketing budgets increase, but with some surprises

Posted: May 09, 2012 at 12:50 pm by Jeff Ernst, Forrester

BIO

Jeff Ernst, Principal Analyst, Forrester At Forrester Research, Jeff Ernst serves CMO and marketing leadership professionals. He is a leading expert in marketing strategy, solution-based marketing and selling, sales enablement and building thought leadership through social media for b-to-b companies. His research focuses on b-to-b marketing for non-high-tech companies, with an emphasis on sales and marketing alignment and marketing's effectiveness across the entire lead-to-cash process

B2B marketing leaders have always had to fight for budgets, and I don't expect that will ever change. But it finally feels like the tide has turned, as we're seeing the budget increases that started last year continue to benefit marketers across many industries and all company sizes.

Your virtual identity: Be anonymous at your own risk

Posted: May 07, 2012 at 1:03 pm by Jeff Perkins, Autotrader.com

BIO

Jeff Perkins, director-customer marketing, AutoTrader.com Jeff Perkins is responsible for all b-to-b marketing programs at AutoTrader.com, including print and online ad campaigns, website development, collateral, trade shows, direct mail and email marketing. Prior to joining AutoTrader.com, he spent 10 years working in the advertising industry in New York, most recently at Euro RSCG Worldwide as an account director, where he led all digital advertising efforts for Volvo, launching Volvo’s multimillion-dollar promotional tie-in with the hit film Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest. He received his B.A. from American University and his MBA from Emory University’s Goizueta Business School, where he is a frequent guest lecturer. He can be reached at jeffrey.perkins@autotrader.com, or follow him on Twitter at @jperks74.

There's a lot written about how you have to be so careful about what you post online because it might hurt you with your current employer or in the job-search process.  Read more

Quit blogging and just go with … Facebook?

Posted: May 02, 2012 at 2:24 pm by Cindy Kim, JDA Software

BIO

Cindy Kim, Director of Marketing and Social Media, JDA Software Cindy leads the social media team at JDA Software, a supply chain management company, and serves as a strategic advisor on all social media activities across the company. She works to integrate social media into every facet of the company’s business. In this role, she is responsible for driving JDA’s social media vision, execution and brand reputation management while overseeing the social media policy and education program.

Wayne Usie (@waynejusie), SVP of Retail at JDA Software, recently shared a USA Today article with me titled, “More Companies Quit Blogging, Go With Facebook Instead,” by Roger Yu. According to the article, more companies are replacing blogs with nimbler tools requiring less time and resources, such as Facebook, Tumblr and Twitter.

Marketing innovation lessons courtesy of 'dry farming' and 'truffling'

Posted: April 30, 2012 at 12:55 pm by Ginger Shimp, SAP America

BIO

Ginger Shimp, marketing director for small and midsize enterprises, SAP America. With more than 20 years’ experience in marketing, Ginger Shimp has been with SAP for the past seven years. She has won numerous awards and honors at SAP, including being designated “Top Talent” for two consecutive years. Not only is she a Professional Certified Marketer with the American Marketing Association, but she's also earned her Connoisseur's Certificate in California Reds from the Chicago Wine School. She holds a bachelor's degree in journalism from the University of San Francisco, and an MBA in marketing and managerial economics from the Kellogg Graduate School of Management at Northwestern University.

About 25 years ago when I lived in San Francisco, I would frequent a wonderful bistro named "Lefty O'Doul's." Situated just off Union Square, near the theaters and shopping, Lefty's was the perfect place for college students just scraping by. My husband and I would sidle through the cafeteria-style line past the glistening hand-carved turkey and beef, and head straight for the spaghetti special. Roughly $3 would buy a salad, pasta, dinner roll and drink. They had a big-screen television, and we'd buzz right through the line and be at our table exchanging small talk with other Giants fans before the national anthem.  Read more

Transforming from a house of brands to a brand house

Posted: April 27, 2012 at 11:34 am by Liz McClellan, Sage Small Business Solutions

BIO

Liz McClellan, senior director of marketing, Sage Small Business Solutions Liz McClellan, who oversees Sage’s Online Strategy Team, has almost 20 years of marketing experience on both the agency and client side, as well as an early stint in TV news. She joined Sage in 2002 and has held various marketing roles with the company, overseeing product marketing, marketing communications and customer acquisition. She is a graduate of Hollins University, where she majored in communications. She can be reached at liz.mcclellan@sage.com.

I have had the great fortune of working for an amazing company over the last 10 years, built over a period of time through a series of acquisitions and with has a solid reputation in the marketplace. We have operated for the most part as individual business units, each with our own budget and revenue targets.  Read more

Walking the Path of Content Marketing

Posted: April 25, 2012 at 1:11 pm by Pam Didner, Intel

BIO

Pam Didner, Global Integrated Marketing Manager, Intel Pam Didner develops worldwide enterprise and small-business go-to-market plans. She is responsible for deploying the full spectrum of outbound marketing communications programs supporting product launches on a global scale. She also provides strategic guidance on audience development, messaging architecture, editorial planning, content creation, media buy directions and social media outreach. Didner joined Intel in 1995 and has held various management positions in marketing, strategic planning, finance and operations.

Recently I came across a blog by Altimeter Group analyst Rebecca Lieb entitled The Future of Content Marketing. Ms. Lieb skillfully described many of the lessons I myself have learned in my tenure at Intel. I subsequently downloaded the report upon which her blog was based, "Content: The New Marketing Equation. Why Organizations Must Rebalance."  Read more