In the age of online shopping, marketing automation, point-of-sale computing and other instant customer feedback, Big Data has become the recent buzz word, touted as the be-all and end-all answer to the marketer’s prayers -but what is Big Data really?...read the entire post »
According to this recent infographic developed by OfficeArrow.com, while the majority of small business owners use social media personally, and acknowledge its usefulness, very few of them plan to invest heavily or hire anyone to help them with Social Media Marketing in 2012.
Additional insights:...read the entire post »
Companies that still provide phone support for customers are looking to the Internet to provide a lower cost, more efficient channel to connect customers with the resources they need to solve their problem. From the customer perspective, though, the Web can be the least satisfying channel through which to seek customer service, especially if those resources are difficult to find and
Customers are now presented with the ability to choose the level of personal interaction they expect from a company....read the entire post »
So you’ve created the perfect email with the perfect offer, and you’ve enticed recipients to answer the call to action by “clicking here.” Now what? According to a 2008 MarketingSherpa report, 44% of clicks for B2B companies are directed to the home page, not to a special, trackable landing page[1]....read the entire post »
When I think about the steps I take to triage my email inbox, it usually goes something like this:...read the entire post »
Ten years ago, a marketer designing an email campaign could predict with 95% accuracy what email client was being used to receive one of their messages, and whether they were receiving HTML and images. Today, there are about five primary inbox providers (Microsoft, Yahoo, Google, Hotmail, AOL) handling about 80% of messages[1], with the remainder being viewed on lesser clients and across a multitude of mobile devices. Fewer than 33% of emails are being delivered with images[2]....read the entire post »
Ask anyone who’s been marketing a product or service via email for a while and they’ll tell you that their email database is their most valuable asset. The people on your list are your fans, friends, brand ambassadors, former and future customers. For a business starting out and eager to get their message to as many possible customers as possible, it’s tempting to buy or rent a list that you found online or through a service. There are however a number of compelling reasons why this may not be the best strategy....read the entire post »
With the proliferation of new mobile devices and the evolution of business communication, email as a marketing mechanism is going to evolve extensively in the coming years. In earlier times, purchasing a list from a list vendor and sending out an email blast to everyone on that list was thought to be an effective email marketing strategy....read the entire post »
The other day as part of establishing Ayantek, I had to do a fair bit of research on the steps needed to officially create a firm. Given that this was my first independent venture, one of my initial steps was to research and become informed on the topic. Starting my search at Google, I read about the benefits of an LLC vs. incorporating the firm, the costs/benefits of establishing the firm in Delaware as opposed to Massachusetts, and also looked at the web site of several firms that would manage the entire company formation process for me....read the entire post »
