BtoB articles from September 2006

BtoB archives from September 2006

Homeland marketing; 9/11 has spurred vast demand for security products, but it's a tough market to enter.(News)
September 11, 2006... Byline: Sean Callahan ***** Correction: The photo of the Government Security Expo and Conference in the Sept. 11 issue (page 1) was courtesy of govsecinfo.com. ***** When the twin towers of the World Trade Center fell on...

Virtual trade shows stage a comeback; Web-based events gain traction as complements, not replacements, to traditional live shows.(Events)(InXpo)
September 11, 2006... Byline: Richard Karpinski ***** Correction: The relative cost of an online trade show compared with a traditional one was incorrectly stated in "Virtual trade shows stage a comeback'' (Sept. 11, page 16). An online trade show costs...

Advice on dealing with domains, broadband and optimization.(Deliverability)
September 25, 2006... Byline: Michael Della Penna Question: How can I optimize deliverability as anti-spam solutions become the norm? Answer: Corporate anti-spam solutions developed by providers such as Postini, MessageLabs and Symantec have been...

REACHING FOR RELEVANCE; Marketers move beyond the batch-and-blast era, finding success with targeted content.(Strategy)
September 25, 2006... Byline: MARY E. MORRISON Not long ago, most marketers' e-mail programs followed a simple batch-and-blast strategy: Send to anyone who might be remotely interested and hope for the best. Today, however, with the proliferation of spam and...

Making it into the in-box; B-to-b marketers must overcome unique filters to reach a fragmented audience.(Deliverability)
September 25, 2006... Byline: MARY E. MORRISON It's little wonder deliverability is such a big concern for marketers these days: No matter how good an e-mail's message or creative is, if it doesn't get through to the intended recipient, it's useless. Over the...

E-mail template essentials, plus maximizing your content.(Creative)
September 25, 2006... Byline: Heather Foster Question: What elements should I always include in my b-to-b message templates? Answer: E-mail templates help you focus on the content of your e-mail rather than the format. But while e-mail templates can speed...

Build relationships by asking 'why'; what you should test.(Ask the Expert)
September 25, 2006... Byline: Tricia Robinson Question: How can I increase the bottom-line effectiveness of my e-mail campaigns? Answer: Most e-mail marketers continue to examine only a few limited variables in their attempts to maximize the effectiveness...

Don't count on CRM solutions for e-mails.(customer relationship management software)
September 25, 2006... Byline: Tricia Robinson Question: Can my CRM solution be used for e-mail marketing? Answer: Several of today's CRM solutions contain a module for e-mail marketing. However, most e-mail packages in CRM suites significantly lack...

Looking out for spam traps, building vs. renting, ideal list size.(Ask the Expert)
September 25, 2006... Byline: Morgan Stewart Question: I don't send a lot of volume campaigns. Can my list quality really impact my e-mail deliverability rates? Answer: It's no secret that having a messy list can get you blocked at ISPs. If you send to too...

Make sure to measure all viral click-throughs for accurate ROI.(return on investment)
September 25, 2006... Byline: Tricia Robinson Question: What metrics should I track for my e-mail marketing campaigns? Answer: To ensure that e-mail campaigns become increasingly targeted and continue to drive results, it is important to track open,...

Making e-mail messages all they can be.(Editor's Note)(Editorial)
September 25, 2006... Byline: Ellis Booker Editor E-mail marketing is a staple for b-to-b marketers. Even at companies whose budgets recently have skewed heavily toward paid keyword search, the e-mail campaign remains an important marketing medium. E-mail is a...

Bullhorn develops strategy of finding leads by giving away info.(Strategy)
September 25, 2006... Byline: KAREN J. BANNAN Boston-based Bullhorn Inc. sells on-demand recruiting software to recruiters and staffing professionals, an industry that is growing at a fast pace. Like many start-up companies, Bullhorn ramped up its marketing...

General Binding offers treatment for ailing client brands.(Creative)
September 25, 2006... Byline: KAREN J. BANNAN General Binding Corp., an ACCO Brands business, offers custom presentation solutions and binding equipment designed to help companies boost brand image on client-facing materials. Its customers are marketers and...

Xerox supports direct campaign with 'eShout' e-mail newsletter.(Xerox's Production Systems Group )
September 25, 2006... Byline: KAREN J. BANNAN Xerox's Production Systems Group sells high-end printing products targeted at the professional printing industry and includes customers such as book publishers, commercial printers and creative agencies. Until...

Looking to avoid burnout; By carefully managing their e-mail lists, companies hope to stem the tide of opt-outs.(List Management)
September 25, 2006... Byline: MARY E. MORRISON List management is arguably e-mail marketers' greatest challenge. Once they clear the first hurdle-getting the customer's or prospect's data-they then have to keep that information current and use it in a way that...

DIGGING DEEPER INTO METRICS; E-mail marketing is not exempt from the pressure to perform, leading to increased ROI.(return on investment)
September 25, 2006... Byline: MARY E. MORRISON Marketing managers-and the C-level executives they answer to-are increasingly demanding analytics that will give them insight into a campaign's return on investment, and metrics gleaned from e-mail marketing...

Analyzing metrics helps AllScripts pinpoint physician programs.(AllScripts' Physicians Interactive )
September 25, 2006... Byline: MARY E. MORRISON AllScripts' Physicians Interactive group markets to a network of 200,000 physicians on behalf of pharmaceutical manufacturers. The group "e-details'' for the pharmaceutical companies, sending five-to-10-minute...

WebEx clears up cloud of poor delivery with a clean database.(Deliverability)
September 25, 2006... Byline: MARY E. MORRISON WebEx, a provider of Web conferencing, video conferencing and online meeting services, uses e-mail marketing heavily to acquire new leads and to nurture existing leads with event-triggered follow-up messages. The...

Creative differences; Getting your message across means knowing your way around variations in HTML code.(Creative)
September 25, 2006... Byline: MARY E. MORRISON The challenge marketers face in creating compelling and successful e-mail creative is twofold: Not only do they have to catch and hold the recipient's attention, they have to deliver a message that can be read,...

Mobile devices limit ability to receive rich media e-mails.(Ernst & Young L.L.P.)
September 25, 2006... Byline: MARY E. MORRISON No matter how strong the results of their previous efforts, marketers must adapt to the ever-changing habits and preferences of their target audience. Professional services firm Ernst & Young, for example, last...

In the middle of the mix; Flexibility, speed and tracking make e-mail campaigns great support for other channels.(Integration)
September 25, 2006... Byline: MARY E. MORRISON If e-mail marketers can agree on anything it's that e-mail is at its most powerful when it's integrated into a company's overall marketing effort-for example, driving a prospect to the Web site for more information...

How to ensure error-free last minute changes.(Ask the Expert)(Brief article)
September 25, 2006... Byline: Tricia Robinson Question: How can I ensure error-free e-mail campaigns when I am faced with last-minute changes? Answer: There's something about the speed and availability of e-mail that makes it easy to wait until the last...

Look for core qualifications in e-mail manager.(Ask the Expert)(Brief article)
September 25, 2006... Byline: Tricia Robinson Question: What qualifications should I look for when hiring an e-mail marketing manager? Answer: It was inevitable. Your quarterly e-newsletter is now monthly. A lone e-mail promotion to "test the waters'' has...

VistaPrint finds focus, and sales, by segmenting its database.(List Management)
September 25, 2006... Byline: KAREN J. BANNAN Online business card and stationery company VistaPrint.com has been doing e-mail marketing since it was launched in 2000. It started out with a newsletter format, which was e-mailed to everyone who opted for...