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I have been extremely busy over the summer and have been on a “blog sabbatical” so to speak. Now I am inspired to write on a number of different topics and here is the first-my review of Marketing Profs Digital Marketing World Virtual Conference.

Last week I attended this virtual conference which was included as part of my Pro membership. The webcasting platform used was On24.

I found the virtual conference concept to be pretty cool, with so much more to offer than a traditional webcast. Read the rest of this entry »

I recently wrote this article for Willow Printing Group’s (www.willowprint.com) WeConnect e-newsletter, and this article is re-published with their permission.

There are so many complex academic theories on segmentation approaches and models that we could write an entire book on the topic that would literally make your head spin. However, we are going to keep this brief article focused on the essentials so we will take a look at the reasons and benefits for segmenting and targeting, different ways to segment, how to obtain the data that will help you define your segments and target audience, and a recommended segmentation process.

Read the rest of this entry »

I recently wrote this article for Willow Printing Group’s (www.willowprint.com) WeConnect e-newsletter, and this article is re-published with their permission.
Volume 1.1 of our new BeyondPrint magazine talked about the importance of incorporating research into your business and marketing process – confirming the best decisions are informed decisions.

Why Survey?
Companies who want to achieve the best return on the Marketing and Communication dollars they spend (and who doesn’t?), take time to ask customers for input as they strive to improve their Marketing and Communication efforts.

There are many reasons why you may want to do a survey with your clients, prospects, employees or even possibly other supply-chain partners. Before you begin creating your survey it is important to very clearly articulate what your survey objectives are.

Whether you are in Marketing, Sales, Human Resources, Product Development or Purchasing, your organization can benefit from the insights you gain from surveying. Read the rest of this entry »

This post features an article I wrote for Willow Printing Group for their January issue of BeyondPrint magazine. Their content marketing strategy includes a quarterly print magazine and a monthly e-newsletter.

Know Your Audience-Do Your Research

Has this ever happened to you before?

You wake up in the middle of the night in a euphoric state with an amazing epiphany. You have just figured out the solution to a business challenge and come up with an incredibly brilliant marketing approach. You stumble around in the dark, groping for a pen and paper to write that life-saving idea down so it isn’t forgotten in the morning. The next morning you leap out of bed and race to the office, narrowly avoiding a speeding ticket. You can’t wait to call a meeting and tell everyone your magnificent idea. Your team applauds –“Bravo! Bravo!” -and everyone gets to work turning your genius into reality.

A few months later, another meeting takes place, but this time, the team is a little less elated. “What happened?” everyone is asking, “Why didn’t that ingenious innovation work? Why aren’t the customers flocking to our doors? Why did this inspired idea turn out to be a gigantic flop?”

Read the rest of this entry »

I want to share a great story that illustrates the power that print still has.

You might want to read my post Online Buzz-Free Pantyhose with Survey Completion for some background on this scenario. Last week the Silks team completed the mailing of the remainder of free pantyhose as promised to those who completed the online survey. Read the rest of this entry »

Last week I watched an AMA webcast on “in brands we trust”—how simplicity, affordability, and sustainability can be the key drivers for packaging in the new decade and beyond, presented by Peter Clarke (CEO Product Ventures). Although this is not necessarily related to online marketing, as I embark on the management of a major repackaging project for a consumer goods manufacturer, I really appreciated the point of view Peter presented and thought I would summarize the key trends here. Interestingly, the company that has engaged me to manage their packaging project decided to change their packaging after I launched a new website for them.When they saw their products online, they realized that their packaging was dated and didn’t necessarily resonate with their target audience.

Here are the key trends in branding/packaging according to Peter. He was clear to reiterate several times that the trends he highlighted in the webinar reflected his individual point of view based on his experience: Read the rest of this entry »

Happy New Year!

i am jammed with assignments and proposals (not complaining-what a great way to start the New Year!)

But no time to do a meaningful, thought-provoking post.

Someone sent me this YouTube video on Social media, which is extremely (and professionally) well done. Filled with some amazing stats. Read the rest of this entry »

That was the topic for my AMA presentation for Small/Medium Businesses Dec. 8th.

If you are interested, check out my slide presentation on Slideshare.

Otherwise I thought I would share a few quick tips on what I have learnt so far from my testing in terms of getting on the first page of Google, and would love to hear other ideas anyone would like to share. These were the key takeaways from my presentation: Read the rest of this entry »

Before I get to my story about the online free pantyhose hype, I am going to take the opportunity to shamelessly plug a conference I am speaking at for AMA Toronto at the Board of Trade on December 8, 2009.  If you are the owner of or in charge of marketing for a SMB (25-100 employees) in the Greater Toronto area, you will definitely want to check out the agenda.

What I like about the focus of this conference is that it has been designed to be extremely practical and useful. A case study has been crafted specifically for this event, and the speakers are presenting their material around the case. So instead of preparing a general lecture, we all have to think about solutions to the challenges presented in the case.

This is the mandate I have been given: “Creating Buzz - A social networking expert will show you how to dial up the buzz around your business.” And now, I have my own little story to tell about some buzz that was created around a website I launched for Silks Hosiery about 6 weeks ago. Read the rest of this entry »