How to Create a “Drip” Direct Marketing Campaign
B2B Marketing, Creative, Direct Mail Marketing, Direct Marketing, Marketing Campaigns, Marketing Strategy, Sales Strategy B2B Marketing, Creative, Direct Mail Marketing, Direct Marketing, Marketing Campaigns, Marketing Strategy, Sales Strategy

How to Create a “Drip” Direct Marketing Campaign

"Drip" direct marketing can be a smart marketing strategy for business-to-business (B2B) marketers. Here’s why drip marketing works and how to create a drip direct marketing campaign, from Cleveland, Ohio marketing consultant and strategist Jean Gianfagna.

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Targeted Marketing Gone Wrong: No, I Didn’t Just Have a Baby
Creative, Direct Mail Marketing, Direct Marketing, Marketing Campaigns, Marketing Strategy, Public Relations Creative, Direct Mail Marketing, Direct Marketing, Marketing Campaigns, Marketing Strategy, Public Relations

Targeted Marketing Gone Wrong: No, I Didn’t Just Have a Baby

Shutterfly.com made a big mistake with an email campaign. It's a classic reminder of the most fundamental rule of effective direct marketing: It’s all about the list. Here are some tips from Shutterfly’s example for your smart marketing strategy.

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Advertising, B2B Marketing, Creative, Direct Mail Marketing, Direct Marketing, Marketing Campaigns, Marketing Strategy, Social Media, Websites Advertising, B2B Marketing, Creative, Direct Mail Marketing, Direct Marketing, Marketing Campaigns, Marketing Strategy, Social Media, Websites

Association Membership Marketing: 12 Steps for Success

Member acquisition is a constant challenge and a top priority for most trade associations. Who do you target? How do you reach prospective members? And how do you convince them to join your organization?Here’s how the American Advertising Federation-Cleveland (AAF-CLE) developed a successful membership marketing strategy and campaign that exceeded its goals and laid the foundation for future member acquisition.

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B2B Marketing, Creative, CRM, Direct Mail Marketing, Direct Marketing, Marketing Campaigns, Marketing Strategy, Sales Strategy B2B Marketing, Creative, CRM, Direct Mail Marketing, Direct Marketing, Marketing Campaigns, Marketing Strategy, Sales Strategy

Big Ideas in a Blue Box: A B2B Direct Marketer Gets It Right

Direct mail is a powerful tool in a B2B marketing strategy. Here are 12 lessons for using direct mail effectively in B2B marketing from a campaign by 4imprint, a Wisconsin ad specialties marketer.

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Shut Up, Already: How Over-Marketing Kills Relationships
CRM, Marketing Campaigns, Marketing Strategy, Social Media CRM, Marketing Campaigns, Marketing Strategy, Social Media

Shut Up, Already: How Over-Marketing Kills Relationships

Permission-based marketing is now at the heart of relationships between companies and their customers and prospects. People opt-in to receive your emails, like your company on Facebook, subscribe to an RSS feed from your website or your channel on YouTube, or follow you on Twitter or LinkedIn.But having permission to market to someone isn’t a license to bombard them with marketing messages. In fact, not knowing when to shut up is a classic marketing mistake.Here’s how over-marketing can kill a customer or prospect relationship and 7 ways to avoid this costly error in your smart marketing strategy.

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Advertising, B2B Marketing, CRM, Direct Mail Marketing, Direct Marketing, Marketing Campaigns, Marketing Strategy Advertising, B2B Marketing, CRM, Direct Mail Marketing, Direct Marketing, Marketing Campaigns, Marketing Strategy

The 7 Most Important Things to Do with a Sales Lead

Business-to-business (B2B) marketers often use such tactics as direct marketing, e-marketing, advertising, trade shows, and web marketing to generate sales leads.But a smart lead generation marketing strategy goes well beyond the creation of the marketing campaign.If your goal is to build a relationship with a business prospect, increase your sales conversion rate, and maximize the value of your sales resources, you need a careful plan for what happens after the lead comes in.Here are the seven steps you should take with a marketing-generated sales lead to achieve success.

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B2B Marketing, CRM, Marketing Strategy, Social Media B2B Marketing, CRM, Marketing Strategy, Social Media

21 Tips for Power Networking: When the Product is You

If you break into a cold sweat at the thought of walking into a business networking event as a complete stranger, you’re not alone.Networking is essential to building and growing a business, especially for business-to-business (B2B) marketers who participate in professional associations and trade shows.But it takes skill and experience to feel confident in a networking situation, and it takes careful planning to capitalize on the value of networking for lead generation.Here’s what I’ve learned about personal marketing and successful networking at B2B events, and 21 tips you can use to make networking a powerful component of your smart marketing strategy.

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CRM, Direct Marketing, Marketing Strategy CRM, Direct Marketing, Marketing Strategy

How a Sloppy List Can Sabotage Your Email Marketing

Savvy direct marketers know that the list is the most important factor in the success of a direct marketing campaign. That’s why so much time and effort goes into keeping mailing list data current and complete. But too many direct marketers fail to pay this same kind of attention to the cleanliness of their email lists. Case in point: The Wall Street Journal. Here's how a major marketer's poor email list hygiene ruined their promotion, and five lessons you can apply to a smart marketing strategy.

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