B-to-B General Advice

SUMMARY: Getting support from your own employees is critical when you’re trying to rebrand your company in the marketplace. All team members need to understand the strategy and embrace the company’s new identity.

See how a technology marketer used a comprehensive internal PR strategy to educate 7,000 employees in offices around the globe about the new name, logo, tagline and focus. read the complete case study

SUMMARY: Establishing your brand as a leader in its field can make a real difference for your sales team when trying to convert prospects, especially if your brand is not well known or difficult to differentiate from your competition.

See how a software firm focused on thought leadership to help get its brand to stand out in a crowded marketplace. Includes 10 steps for using client forums and MP3 distribution. read the complete article

SUMMARY: "31.1% of marketers plan to boost their marketing budgets next year, while 43.5% plan to keep budgets flat." "About one-quarter plan to decrease their marketing budgets next year." "Of those planning decreases, almost 30% plan to cut them by more than 20%, and 16.7% plan decreases between 15% and 19%." view the complete research record

SUMMARY: Your best-laid marketing campaigns can suffer when disaster strikes. You still have to get your message out, but you face a state of crisis and turmoil.

Discover strategies you can use in a time of crisis. Two marketing vets of two of the largest nonprofit disaster-relief agencies in the U.S share how they continue to solicit donations and get their messages out even when disaster strikes. read the complete interview

SUMMARY: We’re seeing the signs: consumer spending is down, the stock market is on a roller coaster and everyone is using the “R” word.

In part 1 of a two-part Special Report, we reveal 8 new data charts and 10 key insights for B-to-B and consumer marketers, including:
- Whose marketing budgets are shrinking the most
- What tactics are getting the biggest budget increases
- Your CFO's view on the budget read the complete article

By Anne Holland, Founder

I woke with a start at four in the morning in a hotel room in Scottsdale, Arizona, where I was conducting research at a marketing trade show in October 1999.

Back then, as now, marketing, PR and advertising professionals were nearly deafened by a deluge of media "serving" them. Magazines, events, newsletters, etc., etc. But, as a 20-year veteran, I felt that huge amount of content hadn't been terribly... read the complete blog post