blog

Picture this.  You are an IT professional.  For the sake of argument, let’s say you are an IT Manager at a medium-sized financial services firm.  You have a desk with one of those little bird weather thingies.  You have an iPad, but not the one with the data plan – rip-off.   A Computer (of course).  A Smartphone (the smartest).  You drink coffee in the morning and then again around 3:00pm.  Maybe a Diet Coke replaces the afternoon cup.  On Tuesday’s you like to pay extra for lunch. Sit down lunch if possible.  The Italian place around the corner has really good chicken parmesan. Steve, the Sys Admin’s Fantasy Football Team is beating yours, but barely.  Your boss is ok, but he spits a little when he talks and should probably wear collar stays.  Also, “Where does he go for two hours every Thursday afternoon,” you wonder… For all intents and purposes you are not that different, give or take a grey hair, from most of your colleagues. Read the rest of this entry »

It was back in 1991 when the famous Bill Swerski’s Superfans skit aired on Saturday Night Live. Good ole’ Chris Farley sporting Chicago Bears gear and a memorable accent expressing how delicious Chicago’s “Saasage” is. Marketing is a whole new ball game today than it was twenty years ago. We still connect with basic marketing methods such as direct mail, but can they actually be more effective now that social media has created continuous exposure of marketing advertisements? Social media is clearly an effective method of marketing, but if you could actually place a piece of direct mail in the hands of your target market, wouldn’t that be ideal? We make that happen. The first step is becoming a Superfan of our clients.

When you take on the role of “Superfan” there is a responsibility to uphold. As an IT marketing company, we commit to being a Superfan of each one of our clients. Putting ourselves in our clients’ shoes allows us to dig deeply into exactly what their customers are looking for and how we can generate individualized and focused campaigns to reach those customers. More specifically, we create effective questions to ask our clients’ customers using tailored, attention-getting strategies to reach net-new leads. We hit them with a 1-2 punch. First, we line up a marketing program that will have a large number of target customers holding in their hands a marketing piece with information that draws the customer to an online survey. The second punch comes after they answer a few questions – Do you have a problem with XYZ? Yes? BAM! Here’s a solution! Let’s set up a call to discuss.

Yes, it takes the dedication of a client Superfan to drive success. No, we have not attempted to obtain the Chicago Bears as a client…yet.

Oh, yeah…Da Bears!

It’s the marketing mix that leads to better demand generation — not a focus on one particular approach. To fill your sales pipeline, it’s best to use a combination of new and traditional marketing techniques. Don’t ignore social media, but at the same time, be sure to build in some direct mail and telemarketing. The key is to pull it all together into an integrated go-to-market strategy.

Instead of thinking about marketing tactics, start with your objectives. What do you want to accomplish? This can include revenue goals, new account wins and existing client penetration. Once you’ve figured out what you want to reach, it’s time to figure out how you’re going to get there.

Read the rest of this entry »

The potential for social media to build your brand and drive sales is salient, but there’s more to marketing than electrons. Direct mail remains a powerful way to engage IT decision-makers and lure them into your sales cycle.

Direct mail is both effective and increasingly unexpected. E-mail inboxes fill up quickly with newsletters, pitches and white papers, making it easy for yours to get lost in the shuffle. But, a well-designed mailer with a powerfully conveyed message can pop – and it has to be touched, put on a desk and opened.

Paper isn’t easily deleted!

As you put together and execute your marketing plan, be sure to include a significant direct mail component in your mix of marketing tools. It’s another way to reach your market, and one that will make you stand out.

Read the rest of this entry »

There is no shortage of IT marketing agencies on the market that would be thrilled to have you as a client. You get calls regularly, have listened to countless pitches and reviewed what feels like a never-ending stack of presentations on demand generation. So, how do you choose? If you have a partner in place, how do you evaluate its effectiveness?

The most important aspect of your relationship, of course, is the result generated. You are looking for a return on your marketing investment, and sluggish demand generation is probably an indicator that you need to take a closer look at your IT marketing agency. And, strong results may be effective now, but you need to think toward the future — is your agency equipped to help you grow and mature?

To help you answer these questions, you’ll find below five characteristics of an
optimal IT marketing partner. Take a look to get a sense of what you are receiving
from your current relationship.

Read the rest of this entry »

All the buzz has been focused on online and social media marketing, but it would be unwise to forget about direct mail. According to the Direct Marketing Association, direct mail marketing is set to increase by more than $1 billion in 2010. In 2009, $44.4 billion was spend on direct mail, with the 2010 total expected to reach $45.5 billion.

The DMA has also found that non-catalog direct mail is still delivering a solid ROI. For every dollar spent on non-catalog direct, the DMA found that it returned $15.22 this year. E-mail, on the other hand, isn’t as effective as the marketing community once believed. Commercial e-mail led to $26 billion in sales in 2009 — compared to $445.8 billion for non-catalog direct mail.

[Via deliver magazine]