Top of mind for most CEO’s these days is a return-on-investment in every area of their companies’ spend.  Most marketing pros know that marketing is always under the microscope, pushing marketing analytics front and center on a daily basis.

CMO’s now need to set the stage in their organizations for achieving the CEO’s confidence in the marketing spend and marketing dashboards can help step up that process.

Demand Metric , the Analyst Perspectives Blog, frames the importance of a good marketing dashboard and how to build one.

The 7 key stages of implementing a marketing dashboard:

1. Discuss the Project with Steering Committee
2. Assemble a Project team & Complete Project Plan
3. Review Data Sources & Identify Gaps
4. Select Critical Performance Metrics
5. Build a Framework for Measuring Results
6. Develop a Brand Scorecard
7. Select a Marketing Dashboard Solution

Read more on the execution at Demand Metric.

While marketing dashboards are not for every organization, measuring marketing effectiveness and identifying gaps in opportunities may result in gaining or losing revenue, as well as increasing the efficiency of the marketing spend.

According to MediaBistro, only 22% of Fortune 500 companies have corporate blogs.  That percentage should climb considering that corporate blogs have so much upside.  PR works.  More important, a corporate blog is interactive and gives you instant connectivity to all your stakeholders.  A well done corporate blog can communicate a company’s values, pride, passion, and customer engagement, as well as delivery performance, all in one platform. 

One corporate blog that often gets showcased as a best practice by blog reviewers is General Motor’s Fastlane blog.   GM’s Fastlane blog is packed with information, is well organized, includes lots of pictures, and is updated frequently.  It implies action and innovation.

Like other marketing platforms, you decide your rules of engagement.  In addition to your company spokesperson, you can open the doors to other industry gurus as well.  You can continually replay your messaging in a variety of ways.  Keep it interesting.  Make sure it’s interactive.  Serve your customers.

 Frequently visited sites such as Bloggingtips.com can give you guidance from coming up with content ideas to production and posting.  Copyblogger.com is one of the kings on blog writing.  Technorati.com provides some useful tips including what not to do with a post on some reasons why corporate blogs fail.

In the world of business buyers, product directories are essential.  Marketers looking for product directories to do business with should choose directories that offer state-of-the-art technology.  Reason:  When buyers go to a directory to do research, they want as much information as possible on the products and the company in a single user experience.  Once a directory becomes a research destination, it quickly becomes a transaction destination as well. That translates into more leads and more sales.

At the same time, you want to make sure that the directory you choose is supplier-friendly.  You too want a good user experience as you upload your products specs and other sales collateral.

State-of-the-art directory features include:

1. Powerful search functionality that helps buyers quickly and easily find and research your products.
2. A comprehensive taxonomy.   The classification system of content items assigned to hierarchical categories is relevant.
3. The ability to conduct side-by-side product comparisons.
4. Request-a-quote capabilities.
5. A content library to host all types of collateral from whitepapers to videos.
6. Self-service capabilities so suppliers can load their own content onto their product pages.
7. A variety of online marketing tools beyond category placement, including lead generation, display advertising, and content push such as placements in content newsletters.
8. A choice of advertising bundles to get the right fit for your needs.
9. An easy-to-use supplier portal.
10. Real-time marketing metrics that is easy to understand.

Your marketing goal in a product directory is to get on the radar screen of every potential buyer. Choose a product directory where you can gauge the buyer experience and get the most for your marketing spend.

As business-to-business marketing focuses more on using technology and less on creative, the argument for using MaaS platforms becomes more compelling. Self-service means low cost. Transactional payments mean efficient pay-per-use. Budgets are controllable. Return on Investment gets easier to measure. You can take steps toward relationship marketing in a more cost-effective manner than through traditional channels.

Traditional ways of driving marketing campaigns that include using print, tradeshow advertising, billboard exposure and others channels involve high labor costs, long process times and expensive creative work, and ROI is less readily apparent. The unqualified reach that often comes with using these tactics over vast audiences is expensive. You can isolate wasted reach with MaaS. You can test audiences and decide early in the marketing spend if you are getting good rates of return.

Marketing-as-a-Service revolves around the ability to lighten financial burdens on marketing budgets while zeroing in on target audiences.

But, the relationship with a MaaS supplier should be the same as it would be with any supplier of traditional marketing services. While MaaS is self service, choose providers that support strong customer service. Make sure you can always call someone at the company if your account is not functioning correctly or you need to change the way you derive value.

Make sure also that metrics reporting is simple and easy to understand. You should be able to see in one screen what your marketing dollars are producing. For example, if it’s lead generation, make sure each type of lead is defined. From beginning to end, you are accountable for your firm’s marketing dollars; make sure your Marketing-as-a-Service supplier is accountable as well.

The new JAZD reporting system:

• Saves you Management Time
• Gives you Metrics that Matter
• Provides Lead Nurturing Intelligence at your Fingertips

The dashboard below demonstrates your payout.

• You get details on the number of touch points to your potential customers and fine-tuned metrics.
• We’ve calculated your dollar value for you.  You don’t have to pore through reports.
• We have categorized your online leads with behavioral data and other elements to help you transition effectively from marketing through the sales cycle.

Today is a great day at Jazd Markets. We are thrilled to announce we’ve formed a partnership with the technology content gurus at Technology Business Research, Inc. (TBR)!

We’re committed to forging strong, mutually beneficial partnerships with like-minded businesses (learn more about partnering with Jazd Markets here) and this relationship with TBR is a perfect fit for us.

Both TBR and Jazd Markets are committed to providing their customers with the expert knowledge they need to make smart buying decisions. This mutual commitment to empowerment through education is at the core of this new content interchange.

TBR’s expert market research and analysis will contribute to and enhance the industry news and analysis Jazd Markets directories already offer.

Come August, Jazd Markets users will be able to leverage new content on computer, software, telecom, mobility and the professional services industries through TBR’s market research and customer satisfaction studies.

That is the question.

Ever tried to use a hammer to tighten a screw? No? Then I would stay away from using Twitter as a push marketing tool.

Confused? Well, I bet if you did use a hammer to slam in a screw you wouldn’t be irate at the hammer manufacturer for the dents and cracks its product left behind. You’d know those marks were left because you used a great tool for the wrong purpose.

This is how I approach the Great Twitter Debate. Is it a huge Marketing Time Suck or is it an Innovative Marketing Tool?

Now, I’m by no means a Twitter fan girl. Its frequent crashes are frustrating and finding the right platform with which to access your stream can be annoying. I mean, come on. Why isn’t the Twitter platform the best platform?

That aside, I believe Twitter is an Innovative Marketing Tool . . .  When used correctly.

I’ve found it to be a very useful to listen in on conversations about my company’s brand.

Twitter allows us to be the flies on the wall in our customers’ and in industry experts’ closed-door meetings. Think your latest product launch went off without a hitch? Well, before you give you and your team the proverbial pat-on-the-back, head to twitter and search your company name. What was your customers’ experience? Did the industry have a reaction to your incredible new product or service? If they did, was it positive or negative?

In the positive and negative scenario, creating and keeping up a corporate Twitter account allows you to react to customer feedback and industry feedback in real-time.

Find an unhappy customer? Reply to their Twitter handle and offer your personal assistance. Find a brand evangelist? Reply to their Twitter feed with a heartfelt “Thank You,” or better yet, a tangible reward. Doesn’t need to be big reward – ask them to Direct Message you their address and send them a tchotchke you keep on hand. The people at TechSmith do this very well. Tweet something positive about their screen capture tool Snagit and they’ll send you a titanium spork!

My advice to you is, if you haven’t set up a twitter account for your brand yet, do so soon. Use it as a tool to engage your customers and to network with like-minded businesses in your industry.

Just stay away from hammering your products home. You’ll only wind up bruising your brand.

Video adds immediate value to any marketing campaign. It’s an engaging means of communication and if done well can enjoy a life long after its initial marketing campaign is completed.

Here a few suggestions where to use a video after its campaign has run its course.

• Social Media: Don’t forget to update your corporate Facebook or Twitter status to include a link to your video and a quick sentence telling your fans what they’ll get out of watching it. Include it on your company’s LinkedIn page. You could add a link and a call to action in your status or you could create a discussion forum for your customers based on the subject of your video.

• Newsletters/Emails: What benefit to customers does your video spotlight?  Create a newsletter or an email campaign around this topic and send it to your customers and prospects down the line.

• Blog: Embed your video in a blog on the same topic. Including video to a blog not only adds content value, it also adds value from a visual standpoint.

• Other People’s Blogs: Add a google alert on the subject of your video and see if you can find people writing about a similar subject. Leave a thoughtful comment – no dry marketing speak allowed – along with a link to your video.

• Press Releases:Don’t forget to include your video in a press release! Studies have shown press releases with video included see more views. It’s great for SEO purposes as well.

Have other ideas on where to post video? Let us know in the comment field below – we always love feedback!

I was an early adopter of Facebook.

Actually – to date myself in Internet terms – I was an early adopter of Friendster. And then MySpace. And then, finally, once it opened up to more than just college students, Facebook.

Now, I’m not bragging about my Social Media savvy here. Rather, I’m admitting that I am an Internet Addict. And because of my addiction I’ve noticed a few things . . . a few things about how companies use Facebook to engage a wider client audience.

Here are a few practices I suggest avoiding.

Posting a Zillion Times a Day

No one is that interested in your company’s goings-on. Not even your mother.

For the most part people don’t use Facebook to find out what’s new with the corporate sites they’ve trusted enough to “Like.” In fact, they have little tolerance for too much interaction with companies.

It’s a personal tool, so when you use it for your company you’ve got to keep that in mind and respect that your fans have let your company into their inner circle.

I suggest updating once or twice a day in pre-determined and thoughtfully spaced out intervals. What does that mean? That means don’t post twice, right in row, at lunch time. It means post once around lunch and a second time as you’re leaving for the day.

Think about how you check your own personal Facebook and take your own habits into consideration. I check mine around lunch and then when I leave for the day. If your corporate Facebook follows suit then I’ll see both of your posts before they’re buried in my news stream. And I won’t be frustrated that I saw your company’s posts when I snuck on to Facebook on my iPhone around 10 a.m., and then again at 3 p.m. You get the idea.

Including a Link and Only a Link in Your Status Updates

Think about it. If you were in a business meeting and someone asked you about what your company has been up to lately, you wouldn’t write down a link to a recent Press Release and mutely pass it over to them, would you? If you would, then we’ve got more to discuss than Facebook practices.

When given a chance to show personality, passion and enthusiasm for your company, TAKE IT.

Sounds like a no-brainer, right? But you have no idea how many corporate Facebook pages I’ve seen that just throw links up, SMACK! in their status updates. No explanations, no engaging text. Just the ugly URL to whatever it is on which they want to direct their audience to click. Avoid this.

No Logo

Now I know internally everyone thinks the picture of a seedling depicts the potential growth your clients companies could see if they just sought out your services. But I can guarantee these potential clients with whom you’d like to engage – as well as a fair share of your current clients with whom you already engage – will have no idea who your company is or what it is your company does.

If you think your logo needs a bit of dressing up to attract Facebook fans, by all means (after discussing it with your marketing team) dress it up a bit. Just don’t forget it.

What are some Facebook tips you suggest?

Enter any online-online marketing help forum or discussion group and you’re guaranteed to see a myriad of posts about the subject.

“SEO Help!” “Long-Tail Terms, Worth It?” “Five SEO Tips to Drive Traffic.” You get the idea.

Well for those of you who swear by the Three-Word-Rule you can give yourself a big ol’ pat on the back for being right . . . for the most part.

Chitika, an ad network (you may know them from their iPad tracker), recently published results showing that there is a “SEO Sweet Spot.” And according to their findings, most organic search traffic was the result of three-word searches.

Chitika came to this conclusion after looking at a sample of 41,103,403 impressions of search engine traffic coming into their network between June 13th and 19th.

“Within the sample, 10,710,579 impressions – some 26% of all search traffic – came from three-word searches,” Chitika posted. “The next top word counts were two-word (19%), four-word (17%), and finally one-word (14%). “

And if your query is longer than five words you can forget about it being effective. According to Chitika “Any query beyond five words will see dramatically lower traffic, throwing into perspective just how fragmented traffic from long queries really is.”

Chitika also took a deeper look into whether there was a correlation between the word count of a query and a visitor’s intent when it comes to advertising click rates.

Turns out there is.

In the case of advertising click rates; having 5, 6, and 4 word search terms is best.

The conclusion? There is a definitive window for success in search optimization and it lives between three and five word long queries.

Will this change how you about the way you approach SEO terms?