Marketing in Real Life

Very interesting development in the research conference series with the EXPLOR Awards moving from the AMA Research Conference over to The Market Research Event. This takes what in my opinion was already the best research conference on the market and makes it even better. I had always assumed that EXPLOR was an AMA offering, but this is just another signal that the AMA needs to step up their game if they want the conference to remain viable. Speaking for myself, I would have had a hard time justifying two west coast conferences in two weeks, especially when I found last year's Boston based event to be very disappointing. As a former local AMA President and AMA member, I wish them the best of luck and hope it rebounds. Read more at: http://www.iirusa.com/research/track-six.xml http://www.reuters.com/article/pressRelease/idUS161794+11-Mar-2009+BW20090311

In case you missed it, here is the wrap up from our recent Technology Pulse Series on IT Services. Series Summary: IT Services This week marks the final installment of our Pulse series on IT Services. Before moving on to our next series on Operating Systems and Web Browsers, we've pulled together some of our key findings from the IT Services series research. You can also get a full rundown of the results by watching last week's webinar on the topic. Click here to watch a playback. What We Learned: IT Services provisions are increasingly becoming the standard across organizations and verticals to enhance internally deployed IT services. Although these services can be extremely varied within companies we chose to focus on 3 generic types: professional-consulting, annual subscription (most often maintenance and monitoring) and outsourcing services. Overall, we found that these IT services have become essential to the enterprise. This is illustrated by the fact that few IT profess...

We're looking forward to supporting our client, Andrew Vranesic from GE Healthcare as he presents on B2B Segmentation at The Market Research Event coming up soon in Las Vegas. If you're attending, make sure you check it out and swing by the CMB Booth to say hi! B2B Segmentation: Helpful Hints to Address Challenges in Segmenting Organizations While its true that even in a B2B setting people buy from people, research conducted to understand the decision making process needs to incorporate a different set of parameters to make sure the insights are actually useful.B2B purchases often involve multiple and sometimes competing belief systems, have longer decision and product life cycles, and unit purchase amounts that, as a consumer, can be hard to comprehend. This session will share some of the valuable lessons we have learned over the years that you can use to craft a successful B2B segmentation model. Know what type of segmentation is appropriate to use Using pattern recognition t...

Seth Godin's blog post today is about marketing (or the lack thereof) to the second circle - beyond the people who already know you, the ones who the people you know talk to about your products and services. In research we see this issue every day, clients who only want to research the people who know them well - those who have considered, purchased, repurchased, etc. This is, of course, necessary, but its only telling one part of the story. The people who are not currently considering you (or your category) may be just as viable a target. You need to understand their goals, needs, and hot buttons so you can either add them to your target set or rule them out altogether. But wihtout understanding where they stand, you'll never be able to significantly grow beyond your core market.

Nothing huge today, but did want to share a nice write-up by Charles Nicholls, Founder of SeeWhy on a new study by the University of Glasgow and agency Amaze . The study found that 87% of online shoppers had abandoned an exommerce shopping cart in the last 3 months, but that 74% planned to return later to complete the transaction. This behavior reflects a trend to use shopping carts as wish lists, where items can be stored for later purchase. Not shockingly, there is huge dropoff between planned and actual. Read more...

A couple of months back a friend of mine was looking for someone to help on a telemarketing project. In the end, the project never happened but she did receive a follow up email this week to see how things were going. There are lots of ways to follow up effectively, but this one goes a bit over the top. Enjoy, its good stuff! Subject: Happy Labor Day Dear XXXX, Labor Day lies ahead of us and there are many things that are going on with all of us, both professionally and personally. This time of the year represents the "harvest period" and I wish that all will benefit the from the Fruits of your Labor. Please let me know how I can assist you as you begin harvesting those seeds you have planted. I wish you a wonderful Holiday weekend and look forward to speaking with you soon. Sincerely, XXXX

A couple of months back a friend of mine was looking for someone to help on a telemarketing project. In the end, the project never happened but she did receive a follow up email this week to see how things were going. There are lots of ways to follow up effectively, but this one goes a bit over the top. Enjoy, its good stuff! Subject: Happy Labor Day Dear XXXX, Labor Day lies ahead of us and there are many things that are going on with all of us, both professionally and personally. This time of the year represents the "harvest period" and I wish that all will benefit the from the Fruits of your Labor. Please let me know how I can assist you as you begin harvesting those seeds you have planted. I wish you a wonderful Holiday weekend and look forward to speaking with you soon. Sincerely, XXXX

This month's Quirk's Magazine enewsletter has a nice little piece on whteher or not people should go to trade shows. Its a tricky question that really depends on your goals and your execution plan. In my mind there are four main benefits to attending. 1) Spending quality time with the clients we are co-presenting with (this year includes Facebook and GE Healthcare). 2) Connecting with potential clients who are both interested in high quality research and work for organizations willing to invest in finding good partners. 3) Acquiring a lead source we can utilize throughout the year. 4) Listening to the "industry conversation" and getting involved. In my last job, co-workers often lamented about the lack of booth traffic but I believe that quality outpaces quantity at conferences. We also build a strategy around setting up meetings in advance, gathering key learnings, and making every opportunity count. Without those pieces in place it may be a waste, but for us it pay...