B-to-B ecommerce

SUMMARY: B2B marketers often face the challenge of getting the specialized industry knowledge their audience will value out of the heads of subject matter experts and into the hands of the media and content marketers.

This case study looks at how a global Internet security services company, with clients such as Google and Microsoft, leveraged its massive amount of internal data into easily consumable quarterly trend reports, and drove a 261% increase in media coverage over two years. read the complete case study

SUMMARY: One aspect of implementing marketing automation software is the use of first-party tracking to collect data about prospects for lead nurturing and scoring. This data also brings with it a certain level of privacy concerns and responsibility.

This article looks at five factors surrounding marketing automation and privacy, including the difference between first- and third-party tracking, regulation issues around the 2009 EU privacy directive, and why transparently handling your customer’s data is a good marketing practice. read the complete article

SUMMARY: "More than 1/2 of the companies surveyed (59%) said the value of B2B e-commerce to their organizations is increasing significantly; and 38% said it is increasing slightly." "57% of companies reported a significant increase in the transactional volume performed using B2B e-commerce." "More than half of the companies (56.4%) have annual revenue of more than $10 billion." view the complete research record

SUMMARY: Apps for the iPhone have generated considerable buzz in the consumer world, but do they have a place in a B2B marketing strategy? The answer depends on several key factors, including the nature of your audience and the functionality you can provide through an app.

We asked a marketer from a large law firm to share details from their recent experience developing an iPhone app. Read on for six key questions that will determine whether the approach is right for you, and how you can manage the process. read the complete interview

SUMMARY: In a struggling economy, organizations often feel pressure to accelerate sales pipelines and close deals that are currently in their systems. This week’s marketing research chart looks at the impact of this pressure on the average deal sizes of B2B companies. read the complete article

By Anne Holland, President

If you've read more than a few articles (or heard speeches) about what lifts email campaign response rates, you've probably noticed they all boil down to the same word: relevancy.

Now, it's all very well for experts to proclaim, "Be more relevant," from the podium. But how do you actually put relevancy into action?

I was just blown away by a real-life example based on data from our own programs and wanted to... read the complete blog post