One of the first things consumers look for when considering a purchase is a review of the product or service. They look to their peers for input and advice and trust those voices far more than your brand's, especially if they've had little to no interaction with the brand.

How do you get those first few reviews to help curb the concerns of new purchasers?

1. Why should you encourage online reviews?
2. How do you encourage online reviews?
3. How do you respond to negative reviews?

Competition is very steep at tradeshows; you will need to make it a priority to capture and keep the attention of the attendees. But how can this be done assuming that the attendees already have plans on which booths will complement their interest? The answer is “Go Mobile”.

Mobile technology continues to outburst usability in marketing, even in tradeshows. Think about, for example, the impact that QR (quick response) codes have to the adoption of smartphones. QR codes let attendees communicate with the presenters and booths while leaving an impressive first impression.

Leads are categorized in different ways: some are ready to purchase, some are undecided and others are not interested at all. How do you deal with them? Lead management uses tools to filter or categorize them appropriately. This way you will never lose the leads that are ready to purchase. Proper lead management is necessary to be able to see who your prospects are, encourage those who have potential and work on those who are not interested at all. Here are 7 benefits to implementing effective lead management.

Here are some eye-popping marketing stats for the growth of Internet Marketing and Mobile Marketing in 2012.  These stats come from a recent usage report done by eMarketer. 

The amount of money spent on advertising online is way below the usage of online.  Mobile advertising is just a blip right now compared to the amount of time people use their smart phones.  The two media channels where companies spend way more than the usage is in TV and Print.  Companies are spending 75% more on Print advertising than the usage of that channel.

This information is based on results from ad spend compared to time spent on each media channel within 2011.  The results show the obvious shift consumers are making from the majority of time spent on things like TV, magazines, etc. to a more balanced usage across traditional and digital mediums. 

As you can see in the graph, consumers are moving away from the amount of time they spend on TV and especially print media.  However, the ad spending in TV and print are higher than the usage of those two channels. 

We all know that online advertising provides the most cost effective awareness generation of all media channels.  Due to it's targeting capabilities and extremely low CPM (cost per thousand impressions) there's virtually no waste.  Heavy ad frequency to those prospects that line up directly with your best customers.

This information was gathered by surveying 1092 B2B marketing representatives in diverse industries and across company sizes.  The survey was conducted in August of 2011.

The following information shows the findings for usage and effectiveness, goals and measurements, budgets and production and best in class best practices.

Local marketing includes several different Internet and mobile marketing tactics.  This article summarizes the list of local marketing initiatives.  People in general want to belong to something and want to be treated special.  Local marketing gives that customer the idea that your brand is part of the community vs. being a “chain.”  People today associate the word “chain” with national or the opposite of being local.

Marketing is changing at an alarming pace.  The industry is spinning itself around like
a top.  New Internet marketing and mobile marketing ideas are coming out every day. 
With the new economy adding to the pressure of a CMO it's easy to distracted.  To keep
up with this pace CMOs must work harder than ever to stay ahead of their competition.

To make it easier for our CMO friends we have put together five major changes taking shape
in 2012 that a CMO should not ignore, unless they are willing to commit career suicide. Feel free to contact us if you need any help, it's what we do.

As the search landscape continues to change, we have put together a list of local search tips that will help you get started on the path to local search success.  Enjoy, and feel free to leave comments, suggestions or more tips for readers.

1. Claim Your Local Listings on Google, Yahoo and Bing

Get out there and claim your listings. Not only can you verify the accuracy of information you can also ensure your listing doesn’t get hijacked.  Claiming your listing is simple, takes very little time and, in my opinion, is the most important step to local search success.

It’s well documented and widely known that the industrial and technical audience has migrated to the Web to search for suppliers, products, and services. Online marketing programs offer you the best opportunities to connect with potential customers in both current and new markets. According to the GlobalSpec Industrial Marketing Trends Survey, most industrial companies understand this and are increasing the percentage of their marketing budget allocated to online programs. If you are still devoting more than half your marketing resources to traditional media, you are likely missing out on market opportunity and new customers.

Each year the numbers come out on Internet usage.  In 2011 social media made another jump.  Facebook being the majority of that online social media usage. 

From a marketing standpoint you must understand how people are using the Internet within these subchannels.  Social media is almost predominately being used to communicate between friends and family.  Even though social media is the big buzzword in interactive marketing it's still predominately a way to stay in touch with your friends and family.  We just don't go onto Facebook and look for companies to browse.

When you go online and start to do your purchase research you’re bombarded with sites wanting to give you quotes, have you call them, fill out forms, etc.  They want you to make your decision right now and buy from them right now.

This is mainly because many lead-management programs make the mistake of treating all prospects as if they're ready to make a purchase right now. The following helps you give the researcher what he/she wants while still trying to make a sell: