Where’s the ROI in Social Media? (Part Three)
This is the third part of ongoing series. Part One & Part Two are available. Part One of this series introduced the topic. Part Two was about setting the right mindset. Now is the time to evaluate some mathematical equations for measuring social media ROI. Special thanks to Angie Schottmuller of Search Engine Watch for writing a detailed article entitled “Social Media ROI: 14 Formulas to Measure Social Media Benefits”. I’m only taking a look at 3 of the equations she proposes today due to time & space constraints. I recommend reading her full post when you have some time Read More
Distributed Marketing Management Software: What’s the Point?
Distributed marketing management software has the potential to tremendously benefit an organization. But what are the benefits? What is the point of distributed marketing management software as a marketing automation solution? Marketing automation works well in an organization that is structured via a distributed model. In a distributed model, there is corporate marketing structure that centralizes brand management. In essence, this does not differentiate a distributed model organization from a company like Procter & Gamble, the company that truly defined the modern concept of brand management back in the early 20th Century. Distributed marketing organizations would diverge from Procter & Read More
Distribion, a Leader in Distributed Marketing Software, Had an Exciting Year in 2012; Looks Forward to More Excitement in 2013
Distribion, a leading provider of marketing automation software, had numerous accomplishments in 2012. The company is also looking forward to making 2013 just as much of a quality year as 2012 was. One thing that can be perceived as quite impressive was the fact that Distribion was named by the Metroplex Technology Business Council as the 4th fastest growing company in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. Considering that the Dallas-Fort Worth area is routinely touted for being economically dynamic and performing well relative to the United States as a whole, this is a quality achievement. But Distribion does not intend to Read More
Why Centralized Marketing Control Benefits a Brand
One of the chief desires of corporate marketing management is control. Brand managers can’t control the outside world (even though they would like to!), but they can control the way in which they react to the external marketing environment. And the external marketing environment presents a host of challenges that must be scaled. Distribion knows all too well the importance of centralized marketing control. Forrester Research indicates 34 million workers ignored company policies and installed unsupported software to help them more effectively do their jobs. Gleanster research also indicates that 89% of large companies with regional or global brands indicated Read More
Distributed Social Media Marketing
The CMO Council recently reported that seventy-nine percent of marketers are expected to implement some form of social media technology platform this year —from community building (30 percent), social monitoring and data mining (30 percent), and social media tracking and analytics (19 percent) to automation platforms that will help take the next leap in optimizing social engagements and relationships. Social media marketing has certainly become a key strategic communication channel for most organizations in the world today. Many companies within the financial services, insurance and healthcare industries are currently not embracing the social media marketing channel to the same extent as Read More
Distributed Marketing Organizations Need An Extreme Makeover
This year’s LIMRA Distribution Conference theme “Extreme Makeover” highlights the need for organizations to rethink their sales, marketing, education and recruiting strategies to adapt to the new ways local agents and consumers communicate, learn and buy today. This call from LIMRA, a financial services and insurance association, should not be limited to only the industries it serves. Just about any industry that leverages a local marketing and sales model (e.g., financial services, insurance, franchise, hospitality, healthcare, telecom, etc.) needs to heed the same call and also consider a makeover of their sales and marketing strategies and supporting technologies. Gleanster Research Read More
Local Marketing & Local Content Optimization Rank High In 2013
According to The CMO Council, over 61% of marketers surveyed ranked the need to better localize content and messaging a high priority in 2013. The shift to a more local marketing messaging tactic has certainly been heavily influenced by the social media revolution as consumers and prospects look for recommendations from trusted sources within their local communities and networks. An organizations ability to execute effective local marketing campaigns will be critical in 2013 as relevance and personalization of content are now more important than ever. Marketers face a real challenge moving to more of a local marketing mindset due to Read More
Marketers To Upgrade Email Marketing Software In 2013
A recent survey conducted by The CMO Council found that almost 50% of marketers are looking to implement new Email Marketing Software in 2013. One reason for this is that marketers have moved beyond simplistic email marketing features and are now needing more sophisticated solutions. Investing additional marketing dollars in email marketing is certainly justified as it still ranks among the most effective and inexpensive direct marketing channels. In fact, a recent 2012 survey conducted by BtoB Magazine found that 59% say email is the most effective channel for generating leads. Three primary drivers for this email marketing retooling are: Read More
Survey Findings Point To Distributed Marketing Platform
The CMO Council recently released its findings from a survey it had conducted after gathering insight from over 550 marketing executives as to their plans for 2013. Many of the findings were inline with expectations but a few were surprising. One thing is clear, a multi-channel distributed marketing platform with permission management capabilities appears to align nicely with marketers needs in 2013. A summary of those findings are below: Marketers feel there is still misalignment and somewhat of an adversarial relationship between marketing and sales but that improvement was made last year. However, marketers feel that the relationship between marketing Read More
Anatomy of a Distributed Marketing Platform
Distributed marketing technologies were primarily introduced five years ago to address the challenges distributed organizations face when selling and marketing their products and services through local channels (independent agents, franchisee, resellers, etc.). However, many of the same challenges faced by distributed marketing organizations now apply to almost all organizations. Today, just about all organizations face the same challenges associated with managing, optimizing and distributing content across channels and throughout various layers of the organization (sales, partners, regional offices, etc.). (Of note, “The Rise of Distributed Marketing” is a great video that explains this in more detail). As multi-channel distributed marketing Read More
