3/31/09 - Chart of the Week
Anticipate Consumer Interests not Your Product or Service
compliments of Marketing Sherpa

Click to see Larger Chart

Consumers are not necessarily interested in your new product or feature (unless you happen to work for Apple); they’re interested in what’s happening in the industry or economy that’s inspired your product or service.

Unfortunately, most organizations work from their needs and work outward. The top two reasons above speak to the needs of the marketer, not the consumer.

The best reasons to update content on your site are to be found in the middle of the pack; news, trends, events and research are all about the reader...

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Bonus: Two charts this week.

3/24/09 - Chart of the Week
3 Steps to Turn Email Opt-ins into Subscribers
compliments of Marketing Sherpa

Today, many email relationships begin with what might be called a quasi opt-in event. For example, the pre-checked box for email subscriptions has become the norm rather than the exception. People who were simply looking for a receipt or a white-paper download ended up with an email subscription they didn't really ask for.

Aside from the implications this might have on best practices, the question is how this affects the relationships that result. Here are a few tips to turn the subscriber into the kind of advocate who’s happy enough to subscribe, if given a second chance...
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The Real Culprit Behind Email Unsubscribes
compliments of Marketing Sherpa

Inbox Clutter Isn’t the Problem. The real culprit is companies delivering emails and content that is not relevant to the subscriber...
View PDF > >

3/17/09 - Chart of the Week
Strongest Performing Advertising Channels
compliments of Datran Media

Here's an interesting chart from Datran Media's annual survey. Datran Media has been conducting this survey for three years now. Each year advertisers show a decrease in performance in offline media like TV, radio, print and an increase in performance for internet media like email, display (online ads), and search.

Each year the performance gap grows yet I see many of my clients continue to pour huge percentages of their annual marketing budget on offline media and paltry amounts on internet media, despite the fact that it works better. I only wish my clients would listen not only to me but to data like this.

Imagine how effective a company's advertising would be if a company allocated the budget by activities that actually perform the best?

Click Here to see the full Survey at Datran >>

3/10/09 - Sorry, no chart was published this week.

3/3/09 | Chart of the Week:
Integrating Social Media into the Marketing Mix
compliments of Marketing Sherpa

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While agencies and their clients are aligned on the importance of integration of social media with other online tactics, marketing and PR professionals who work at an agency or consultancy are far more likely than those who work at a client-side company to integrate social media with both online and offline tactics...
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2/24/09 | Chart of the Week:
Search Budgeting for Efficiency
compliments of Marketing Sherpa

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We noticed huge variations, within any industry, in the understanding and use of online marketing. For some, the online revolution embodies profound positive changes; for others, the Internet threatens long-established business models and some companies themselves.
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2/17/09 | Chart of the Week:
Best Social Media Use – Boosting Brand Reputation, Awareness
compliments of Marketing Sherpa

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More than 90% of companies believe that social media is most effective in building brand reputation and awareness. That result is followed closely by goals for attracting website visitors, according to exclusive research in MarketingSherpa’s new Social Media Marketing and PR Benchmark Guide.
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2/10/09 | Chart of the Week:
Most Effective Social Media Tactics
compliments of Marketing Sherpa

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Marketers obsessed with tracking social media results quantitatively are missing the point. They may find themselves employing much less effective social media tactics for the sake of measurability.
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2/3/09 | Chart of the Week:
Barriers to Social Media Adoption
compliments of Marketing Sherpa

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Two-thirds of marketers at organizations that have not used social media marketing or PR said they are “very” or “somewhat” knowledgeable about the subject. Without social media experience, however, this level of knowledge is unlikely.
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1/27/09 | Chart of the Week:
Top Performing B2C Tactics
for 2009
compliments of Marketing Sherpa

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House email, SEO and paid search continue to enjoy the best ROI. The biggest share of marketers plan on boosting their budgets in these areas

1/13/09 & 1/20/09 | Chart of the Week:
Top Marketing Priorities
for Big B2Bs Part 1 & Part 2
compliments of Marketing Sherpa

Click here to enlarge chart.

Part 1: Note two of the highest priorities – retention marketing plan/tactics and marketing analytics. The two go hand in hand and can be expected to rise in importance over the course of the recession.

Part 2: “Mapping content to the sales funnel “ is an immensely important aspect of success in lead nurturing for the complex sale. It deserves to be among the top priorities for 2009.