MarketingProfs Daily: General Management

How Marketing-IT Cooperation Can Improve Website Performance

Tue, 1 May 2012 14:00:00 GMT

Every so often, a major retailer makes headlines when its website goes haywire. But online glitches endanger small businesses, too. "Lost revenues and tarnished corporate and personal images don't discriminate by industry sector or company size," writes James Sivis at MarketingProfs. "Online disasters can happen to anyone. And the last ... Read the full article at MarketingProfs

Should You Hire, or Contract, Your Marketing Team? [Infographic]

Sat, 14 Apr 2012 13:00:00 GMT

The following decision tree will help you decide whether to hire or contract your marketing team. Why even consider the question? Because today's business climate requires agility and the ability to perform an ever-increasing set of tasks that require specialized talent, including marketing talent. This infographic flowchart will help clarify ... Read the full article at MarketingProfs

Four Ways to Keep Your Marketing Team Happy and Productive [Slide Show]

Thu, 12 Apr 2012 14:00:00 GMT

When you're trying to do more with a smaller budget, the quality of your marketing team becomes even more critical. Learn what it takes to keep the team happy, productive, and delivering its best work. Read the full article at MarketingProfs

Content Marketing Lessons From The Daily Show

Wed, 11 Apr 2012 15:00:00 GMT

The Daily Show had been on TV for three years before audiences took notice. Back in 1999, when the show first aired, its inconsistent format and lack of focus all but drove away audiences. So what changed to make the show beloved by the masses? High-quality content, consistently delivered. In ... Read the full article at MarketingProfs

What Can You Accomplish in 10 Minutes? (A Lot.)

Tue, 13 Mar 2012 14:00:00 GMT

In a post at Great B2B Marketing, Christopher Ryan recalls a fitness instructor who observed how members with New Year's resolutions crowd the gym in January&mdash;and often vanish by February. "He said that many people have noble intentions and set major goals," writes Ryan, "but they take an approach bound ... Read the full article at MarketingProfs

Before You Plan: Four Vital Questions About Your Content Marketing

Wed, 7 Mar 2012 16:00:00 GMT

Although he has helped numerous clients formulate content marketing plans, Mike Sweeney encountered what he terms "planner's block" when attempting to devise a plan for his own company. How could that happen? "The answer was simple," he writes in the Marketing Trenches blog. "I wasn't asking myself the right questions, and ... Read the full article at MarketingProfs

How We Should Think About Marketing. A New Model [Prezi]

Mon, 20 Feb 2012 18:00:00 GMT

To say that marketing execution has changed dramatically over the last 10 years is about the grossest kind of understatement. Then why do all the models of the marketing function look about the same as they always have? Read the full article at MarketingProfs

The Four Starring Roles Every Business Project Needs

Fri, 17 Feb 2012 18:00:00 GMT

As social media marketers know, social outreach projects need to function like clockwork&mdash;often in real time&mdash;to be truly effective. But how do you build project teams that consistently produce? Here's an interesting suggestion for achieving that goal. Michael Schrage recently challenged businesses to put their best people on their most boring, everyday ... Read the full article at MarketingProfs

'Branding 101' for New Employees [Slide Show]

Thu, 16 Feb 2012 15:00:00 GMT

Have you properly educated your employees about your brand? Branding 101 is a critical component of new-hire orientation for every company. Here are six items you should include in your Branding 101 package. Read the full article at MarketingProfs

Four Lessons From the Co-Founder of OfficeMax [Slide Show]

Thu, 9 Feb 2012 15:00:00 GMT

As co-founder of OfficeMax, Michael Feuer learned a thing or two about launching and running a successful company. Here are four of his invaluable lessons on empowering your employees, building your business, and outwitting the competition. Read the full article at MarketingProfs

The Case for Hiring an SEO Agency

Mon, 6 Feb 2012 18:00:00 GMT

Should you conduct search engine optimization in-house, or should you hire an outside agency to do the heavy lifting? It's a question you've probably asked your team before&mdash;and each solution has its pros and cons. In a guest post at the Future Buzz blog, Justin Champion of Search Mojo makes the ... Read the full article at MarketingProfs

Forrester: 'Customer Experience' Roles Gaining Popularity

Fri, 27 Jan 2012 14:00:00 GMT

Over the past six years, an increasing number of US companies of all sizes have appointed a single executive who leads customer experience efforts across a business unit or the entire company, according to a new report by Forrester Research. Read the full article at MarketingProfs

Ad Agencies Slow to Adapt to Online Marketing

Tue, 24 Jan 2012 14:00:00 GMT

Only 9% of senior-level marketers say traditional ad agencies are doing a good job of evolving and extending service capabilities in the digital age, according to a study by the CMO Council. Moreover, such firms are likely to be challenged by specialized digital marketing providers in 2012. Read the full article at MarketingProfs

Don't Let Doubt Kill Your Big Idea

Tue, 17 Jan 2012 15:00:00 GMT

It happens to any innovator: As you develop a big idea, doubt inevitably sets in. "If you are doing something that hasn't been done before, careful analysis will by definition highlight reasons to not proceed," writes Scott Anthony at Harvard Business Review. "Market demand can't be validated. Experts dismiss technological ... Read the full article at MarketingProfs

Integrating Social Media Still Challenges Marketers

Tue, 17 Jan 2012 14:00:00 GMT

Although most US companies use social networks--66% have a Facebook page, 51% have a Twitter account, and 44% have a LinkedIn page--only 16% say their social marketing efforts are fully integrated across the organization, according to a study by InSites Consulting. Read the full article at MarketingProfs

A Social Platform That Serves Your Team Members One at a Time

Fri, 16 Dec 2011 18:00:00 GMT

There are plenty of internal computer platforms that promise to make employees more efficient: standalone CRMs, heavy-handed intranets and project management software that needs managing all on its own. Then there are social platforms that, on top of everything else, vow to improve morale and boost collaboration! It's easy to ... Read the full article at MarketingProfs

What Guy Kawasaki Learned From Steve Jobs [Slide Show]

Fri, 11 Nov 2011 15:00:00 GMT

When Apple mastermind Steve Jobs died in October, tributes praising his genius flowed forth. As Apple's chief evangelist for years, Guy Kawasaki knew Jobs well--and learned invaluable lessons from him. Here are four of them. Read the full article at MarketingProfs

Four Tips for Promoting Content Marketing to the C-Suite

Mon, 17 Oct 2011 17:00:00 GMT

"You know content marketing can do big things for your brand," writes Corey O'Loughlin at MarketingProfs' Daily Fix blog. "The only problem is: The powers that be may not know enough about content." How do you persuade the C-suite about content marketing's value to your SEO efforts? You'll need a solid ... Read the full article at MarketingProfs

Booz: Adaptability Is Key for Social Media Success

Mon, 17 Oct 2011 13:00:00 GMT

Among a list of 12 social media success enablers, the ability to react and adapt quickly to change is ranked as the most important factor for succeeding in today's social media environment, according to a new survey from Booz & Company and Buddy Media Research. Read the full article at MarketingProfs

What You Can Learn From Steve Jobs

Tue, 4 Oct 2011 14:00:00 GMT

"Few of us have the chance to achieve 1/100th of what Steve Jobs has achieved," writes Bill Taylor at Harvard Business Online. "But all of us can look at his body of work, and the reaction to that body of work, and use it as an opportunity to ask more ... Read the full article at MarketingProfs

Three Keys to Maintaining Google-Style Business Innovation

Thu, 15 Sep 2011 15:30:00 GMT

In an interview at Adweek, Google's Head of Global Ad Marketing Lisa Gevelber explains the mission of Think Quarterly, the company's new business magazine. Google realized that "a lot of our partners wanted access to the same kinds of insights and conversations that inform our decisions and strategies," Gevelber says. ... Read the full article at MarketingProfs

CMOs: Where Are the Marketing Innovators?

Fri, 2 Sep 2011 13:00:00 GMT

In-house marketing executives say they want to be challenged by the agencies they work with, but only 3% say agencies most often lead the charge for marketing innovation in their companies, according to a new study by The Horn Group and Kelton Research. Read the full article at MarketingProfs

Loyalty: Getting Internal Buy-In and Gauging External Success, Part 4 [Video]

Tue, 23 Aug 2011 14:00:00 GMT

Part four of this five-part video series on digital loyalty explores new stats about consumer loyalty behaviors; how to convince internal stakeholders about the benefits of loyalty platforms; and why consumer loyalty has become more accountable than ever. Read the full article at MarketingProfs

Four Lessons From the Social Business Trenches

Fri, 19 Aug 2011 17:00:00 GMT

On CMSWire, Web engagement strategist Dion Heathcliff shares what he has learned from successful&mdash;and not so successful&mdash;social businesses in recent years. The lessons he offers address "what to focus on and what drives improved outcomes when applying social media within a large organization." Read the full article for the meat, but here ... Read the full article at MarketingProfs

Grinder, Minder, Binder, Finder: Four Roles a Successful Employee Should Fill [Slide Show]

Fri, 19 Aug 2011 14:00:00 GMT

Getting your employees to produce exceptional work requires your telling them concretely what you expect from them. Here's how one employer paved the way to success for her staff using four simple words. Read the full article at MarketingProfs