Marketing to marketers

SUMMARY: Red alert for business marketers sending email newsletters to house lists -- according to MarketingSherpa's new IT Marketing Benchmark Guide, your average open rates dropped 10 points in the past year. (Actually that's not a drop; it's more like a plummet.) We suspect increased filters may be one reason, but the biggest factor of all may be boredom. Your marketplace has been getting same-old, same-old newsletters from you (and/or your competitors) for a couple of years now. Newsletters used to be exciting. Now they are routine delete-button-fodder. So, how can you put the oomph back into your house list email program? Check out this Case Study for ideas. read the complete case study

SUMMARY: Do you market products or services to marketing leaders at large companies? Just because you're also a marketer yourself doesn't necessarily mean you understand them. We created this special research-based report for you, detailing the motivations, fears, and passions of a typical CMO. You'll understand what wakes a CMO up in the middle of the night and how your benefits should be pitched to appeal to them. Plus, which lead gen offers work best for this job function. Must-read if CMOs are your target market... also kind of fun if you're a CMO yourself (do you fit the profile?): read the complete article

SUMMARY: "Spend money on word-of-mouth campaigns rather than on advertising." "Try to keep your launch budget stable throughout the implementation phase." view the complete research record

SUMMARY: So you've lost your marketing job and decided to begin consulting. This short article on Moira Vetter's Cracker Communications launch will definitely inspire you. Go for it! read the complete interview

SUMMARY: Despite the lagging US economy, the US dollar is still fairly strong on the exchange rate, mainly because everyone else's economies are also lagging. Now marketing firms outside the US are hoping to take advantage of this by promoting their low-to-Americans rates. read the complete article

By Anne Holland, President

Late last year, the folks at Three Deep Marketing (a firm offering survey software to the marketing community) asked me if I would help them get the word out about a questionnaire they wanted marketers to take.

I said yes -- as long as the questionnaire was truly for research purposes (not a lead gen device asking for contact info) and as long as I could share the resulting data with you guys.... read the complete blog post