B2B Marketing Features

Being sensitive to customer behaviour and needs is just as important online as it is in the physical world, says Darren Guarnaccia, VP of product marketing, Sitecore

Once you have chosen your CRM system you must make sure your choice of model reflects the ability of your IT staff to ensure smooth roll-out and on-going support of implementation

Making sure your staff can understand, and access, your flexible CRM system is vital if you want to see good ROI

Planning should encompass an organisation's current and planned software systems, the budget and the implementation requirements, but it is also about the people, processes, structure and information involved.

Alistair Blaxill, executive director, Communisis says marketers need to go beyond personalising activity and individualise it

Reinier Willems, marketing manager at LeasePlan International, suggests a practical approach to collaboration to help marketing and procurement work together

There are some simple steps marketers can take to impress their financial directors and raise the profile of marketing within their organisations, writes Alex Blyth

It's not the availability of online analytics that poses a problem for B2B marketers: the real issue is how to make sense of it all, finds Brett Mathews

Not so long ago, CRM was blasted as an inflexible and expensive marketing tool. But changes in technology have breathed new life into the concept, finds Claire Weekes

Marketing automation is growing in popularity. And it doesn't have to be expensive, finds Alex Blyth

Mark Carter, marketing manager EMEA, Maximizer Software outlines the four key stages for managing leads through a CRM system

Times are still tough but there are some simple strategies marketers can use to convince their financial directors to part with much-needed cash, finds Brett Mathews

Doug Kessler, creative director and co-founder of Velocity, on how to use content marketing in order to ensure your brand voice is heard

Telemarketing is one of the oldest forms of marketing still in widespread use by B2B marketers – but how has it changed to keep pace with new developments? Lucy Fisher asks the experts how to manage this most interactive of media

James Hepton, marketing manager at Sense Internet, on how to develop a bespoke application and cash in on the meteoric rise of the iPhone as a business tool

Monitoring the social media buzz about your brand is an essential part of understanding how it is perceived by your customers. There are many free and paid for services out there to help you.

Effective integrated marketing is more complex than simply sending DM and email with the same tagline, says Brett Mathews

However email marketing offers a cost-effective, accurate and non-intrusive way of conducting customer research says Marc Munier, commercial director at Pure360.

Darren Guarnaccia of Sitecore, a global enterprise content management systems provider, draws parallels with Stephen R. Covey’s seminal work The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People and the challenges faced by business managers and marketers in harnessing Web 2.0 effectively for their companies.

Outflanking your competitors requires you to use email to do more than simply push messages; it has to be the spark that generates a relationship.

Businesses that really understand email marketing know that the key differentiator is the ability to track, measure and tweak.

The philosophy and practice of lead nurturing, also known as demand generation, has made leaps and bounds over the past couple years. Alex Blyth examines if marketers are embracing the opportunities presented by these techniques, and if not, what is holding them back

"Right click here to download pictures. To protect your privacy, Outlook prevented automatic download of this picture from the internet". What does this mean from a marketing perspective?

Creative ideas and imagery are key to effective B2B marketing, but with the nature of the work being so subjective, how can you be sure that the idea is right for your objectives? Claire Weekes asks creative experts for their top tips on how to successfully evaluate design

There's no point in embarking on an email marketing campaign unless you're sure your message is going to arrive where it should.

Finding new customers in an economic downturn can be tough, which is why now might be the perfect time to focus your efforts on keeping the ones you've got. Claire Weekes looks at what it takes to keep customers coming back

Your message has arrived. It's in the inbox, but where does it go next? Straight to trash, or into the mind of the recipient?

Michael Spencer, MD of corporate communications via sound specialist, Sound Strategies, shares hot hints on how to use audio to buff up your brand

How does your marketing department cope when disaster strikes the company? For a start, panicking will get you nowhere, says Brett Mathews, who provides some calming advice on how to keep your cool in a crisis

We all know China represents a huge opportunity for business brands, but how do you communicate with companies that are based there? Matthew Harrison, director of B2B International China, offers some insights

Newsletter specialist Denise Cox shares tips on how to prevent your readers from unsubscribing.

It's almost Christmas and you are no doubt facing the annual dilemma -  do you send an electronic Christmas card (e-card) to your customers and contacts this year, or follow traditional ways and prop up the Post Office. twentysix director of new business  Ian Anderson gives some tips on how to send an online card that will deliver you kudos and won't leave you looking like a pudding...

Jo Garcia and Lucy Stafford of the DMA Inserts Council share some tips on how to be environmentally friendly with insert marketing.

Understanding your competitors is an essential, but often disregarded facet of B2B marketing. Alex Blyth presents a five-point plan for effective evaluation

Duncan Heaney, copywriter at Prompt Communications, helps UK B2B marketers make sense of US English in seven easy steps

Online networking is becoming an accepted facet of our business lives, but what are the legal implications of its use by staff? By Alan Delaney, senior solicitor at Maclay Murray & Spens LLP

Chat Moderators director Rob Marcus gives advice on how can businesses can harness the real benefits that UGC has to offer while still protecting their brand

James Bunting, director of strategy and research at The Communicator Corporation, shares tactics on how to make the most of email marketing during a recession.

The hype surrounding corporate social responsibility is on the increase, but what does it mean in practice for B2B brands? Claire Weekes reports

The more B2B brands rely on the Internet as a channel for their marketing strategies, the more they are at risk of falling victim to a new form of cybercrime: brandjacking. Tom Newton, product manager at SmoothWall, explains how his organisation tackles this thorny issue.

Denise Cox, Newsletter Specialist for Newsweaver, points out the 10 fundamentals of constructing newsletters.

If you want your company to have a strong, useful presence on the social web, you need to be able to answer ‘yes' to just three questions.

Concerned about how to prioritise your marketing focus during an economic slowdown? It doesn't have to be all doom and gloom – shift perspective and make it your business to turn the current climate into a positive marketing opportunity, say our eight industry commentators

Planning your activity for next year? Only fools rush in, says Brett Mathews

A recent survey found that two thirds of managers don't feel fully engaged with the brand they work for. But communicating to your external audience without a thought for your workforce could be a mistake. Lucy Reiter discusses the importance of sending the right message to your staff

Generating leads is one thing, but how do you make the jump and persuade prospective clients to sign on the dotted line? Bad data and a breakdown in communications between sales and marketing can cause unnecessary headaches. Brett Mathews looks at how to overcome these challenges and convert leads into sales

All good marketers know that keeping up with your competitors simply isn't good enough if you want to succeed – you have to keep one step ahead. Alex Blyth presents the six golden rules of product development

The demand for businesses to develop environmental policies is greater than ever. Chris Underhill, CEO of smartFocus, explains why businesses should embrace the call to go green, and how streamlining marketing communications can save them money in the process

In the run-up to National Ideas Week (10 - 14 March), Mark Manton of financial and professional services marketing agency, M Consulting, explains why brainstorming sessions are important and comes up with his own ideas on how to run them

Professor Merlin Stone says companies must recognise that some customers are better than others

With love in the air this Valentine's Day, how do you cement those all-important relationships with your B2B customers? Claes Fornell, founder of the American Customer Satisfaction Index, and founder and chairman of global customer satisfaction consultancy, CFI Group, explains why he believes customer complaints should be maximised over customer satisfaction

If you think it's enough to 'fly the green flag' without making any genuine changes, think again. At a time when so many businesses are paying lip service to green marketing, Alex Blyth calls for all environmentally-conscious companies to up their game, suggesting five top tips for becoming eco-friendly

Professor Merlin Stone considers how companies can get to grips with their customers' buying habits

Professor Merlin Stone considers how call centres can be profitable while providing a valued service for customers, consulting the ERIC measurement system

Sustainable practices can cut your costs, but are you marketing them to increase sales? Josiah McClallan reports

Partnership marketing has been described as an old concept on a new stage. Despite some marketers' mistrust of the idea, there is no denying the benefits it can bring to a business if it is implemented properly. Alex Blyth weighs up the pros and cons for B2B marketers

There's a saying that the customer is always right, but what is it that keeps someone coming back to buy your products or services? Lucy Reiter explores the issue of customer experience and what it means to the B2B marketer in the 21st century

Damian Thompson, head of consumer insight at MEC MediaLab, EMEA on how to avoid getting the cold shoulder from CEOs

Giving might not be as much fun as receiving, but in the business world giving a gift can add a personal touch that lingers in the recipient's memory. Sara Goodwins discusses the dos and don'ts of corporate gifts

B2B marketers are evolving their use of the sponsorship medium, taking it beyond the corporate box and onto the pitch to show audiences what their product is really about. Claire Weekes reports on the sophisticated techniques brands are employing to get results

Many companies don't place as much emphasis on training as they should do. Good, structured, ongoing training programmes can form the basis of an efficient, mobilised and intelligent workforce, who take pride in what they do. Sara Goodwins reports on the latest in learning at work

Encouraging user-generated content on the web can prove highly beneficial to a company's reputation. However, there are risks involved. Tamara Littleton offers six tips on how to protect your brand online

You can use an array of sophisticated technology to help carry out your marketing campaigns, but as Sue Norris reports there's nothing quite like word of mouth when it comes to getting your message across

Winning an industry award can give you and your team a huge morale boost, but with so many to choose from, how do you decide which to enter? And once the application form falls though the letterbox, how can you enhance your chances of taking home that coveted prize? Sue Norris reports

Customer loyalty programmes have been proven to work well in the B2C space but B2B has been slower to take them up. Do these types of programmes have any place in B2B, and if so, how should they be utilised? Sue Norris reports

Simon Lawrence, CEO of Information Arts, explains why in the broadband market, quality of service, rather than continuous price-slashing, is the way to lure SMEs

According to some, fax marketing is dead and buried, a casualty of the digital revolution. Not so, say experts in the field – there are unique benefits to be reaped from this channel. But what are the issues surrounding data? Alex Blyth reports

Mark Higginson, database consultant at data management bureau, Qbase, explores the ways in which companies can reduce their carbon footprint and accomplish more enivronmentally-friendly marketing, whilst maintaining, or even increasing their revenues

Paul Cash, director of Tidalwave says migrating to variable digital print need not be a nightmare

Key decision makers are a vital, but extremely difficult audience to reach, with limited time available to view marketing material and obstacles such as gatekeepers barring the way. Alex Blyth provides 10 crucial steps for grasping the attention of this time-poor audience

Corporate social responsibility seems to be growing in importance for organisations of all sizes; but how should you be implementing it? Fran Laws, marketing manager at Mason Zimbler, offers essential best practice advice

Intellectual property is widely recognised as essential for any business, and so must be protected effectively. But what is involved and how should it be addressed? Tom Farrand, trademark attorney at IP21, explains

Events have long been recognised as a highly effective B2B marketing tool, but with a bewildering range of formats to choose from – including conferences, seminars and roadshows – how do you find the right one for your requirements? Sara Goodwins reports

Rob Bamforth, principal analyst of service provision and mobility at Quocirca delves into the world of IT marketing decision making

Helen Westgate, MD of Westgate Communications, offers some best practice advice for starting out in the PR process

The ability to accurately measure the effectiveness of marketing activity is the Holy Grail for B2B marketers, but how is it done? Dave Howell reports

Recent statistics show that salespeople spend a large part of their working week prospecting and generating leads; a significant finding when considering the importance of lead generation. Alex Blyth provides a five-step guide for effective sales lead generation

Recent statistics show that salespeople spend a large part of their working week prospecting and generating leads; a significant finding when considering the importance of lead generation. Alex Blyth provides a five-step guide for effective sales lead generation

John M. Coe, B2B marketing pioneer and president of the Sales & Marketing Institute, offers five clear steps to improve lead conversion

'I'll scratch your back if you scratch mine' and the politics of something for nothing; Alice Johnson investigates why corporate hospitality is no longer just about champagne and caviar

Richard Corbett, CEO of Ricall, looks at one of the toughest challenges in marketing: devising campaigns for a marketing audience

What strategic advice is available to B2B marketers anxious to develop their business, and how does this differ from that provided by creative agencies? Catherine Chetwynd investigates

It isn't just consumer brands who are likely to be promoting their wares to you in public places such as stations and airports this summer; increasingly, B2B brands are waking up to the benefits of experiential marketing, and are jumping on the bandwagon. Alex Blyth reports

Lead generation can be a time-consuming and arduous process, but its importance cannot be overstated. Sara Goodwins offers some advice on the best ways to use the techniques available

There is more to promotional marketing than BOGOFs. But, as Catherine Chetwynd reports, planning is the secret of the perfect promotion

The limited number of business contacts, the difficulty of recruiting new business customers and the cost of some business products or services all mean that maintaining customer loyalty is key to B2B marketing success. Sara Goodwins looks at some popular approaches to this problem

The process of entering awards may sound tedious, but winning an award for your business efforts not only improves morale amongst the whole team, but is a symbolic mark of success – one that lingers for much longer than a moments glory up on stage. Sara Goodwins explains

Legal issues are increasingly encroaching on the marketer's lot – from product placement to promotions. Sara Goodwins highlights the areas effected by the law and advises marketers on staying on the right side without having to pay extortionate lawyer's fees

Keith Bamber, director at 35 Communications, says companies write-off the annual report as a boring statistical document at their peril: its potential as a highly effective marketing and communications device is huge, and easily exploited

Finding the right job for a B2B marketer – or the right marketing manager for a B2B brand – can be a convoluted process given the cost of media and the fragmentation of opportunities. Fortunately, the pragmatism, creativity and determination of both parties has so far ensured that staffing commitments are being met. Joel Harrison reports

Business coach Rasheed Ogunlaru says businesses must be able to visualise success and then plan for it. Once they have done this, marketing is the most effective way of achieving it

How would you describe the relationship between sales and marketing? Oil and water? Chalk and cheese? Or would you enthuse more about fish and chips, Morecambe & Wise, or even – for the esoteric among us – yin and yang? Sara Goodwins explains why too many people see sales and marketing as rivals, when they're so much stronger as a team

Suppliers are crucial to effective marketing – this is obvious. But getting the best out of them may not be so straight-forward. By Kate Walsh

Have you ever considered promotional merchandise but shied away because of the overwhelming choice of items? Or maybe it's the negative preconceptions that hang over this industry which deter you. Kate Walsh looks at promotional merchandise and finds that, well-executed, it can serve your brand well

Motivation of staff, channel partners and service providers is a crucial element of a marketing manager's job, writes Catherine Chetwynd, and time invested in it will drive significant results

Successful marketing is built on sound understanding and analysis. Sara Goodwins explains the key issues relating to market research and advises on how to get the right information from the right people at the right price

With so much more to trade promotions than 'buy-one-get-one-free', Sara Goodwins offers advice on using an agency, costing the campaign and adhering to company and country regulation

Networking has a bad press. Often viewed with suspicion, it's labelled as everything from a support group to pyramid selling. The truth, as Sara Goodwins discovers, is rather different

Thinking of outsourcing the database? Alan Timothy, CEO of Rocket Science, highlights 10 key areas where you should grill a prospective supplier

B2B marketers must learn by heart the seven deadly sins of graphic design in order to make best use of their marketing material, says Andy Laurillard, director of Neale Network

Good B2B copy must sell to people at work. Andy Maslen, specialist B2B copywriter at Sunfish, offers a no-frills guide to engaging copy and urges practitioners to drop the jargon in favour of a good story

One billion pounds is spent annually on market research. Kate Walsh looks at 10 areas where minor adjustments can ensure this is money well spent rather than frittered away on worthless white papers and extraneous stats

Think that successful printed communications are all about the layout and typography? Think again, says Oki's colour psychologist, Angela Wright

Rik Burrage, managing director of Grass Roots Group, says defining a set of corporate values can be key to developing a high performance culture for your business

Knowledge management sounds airy-fairy, but addressed properly it can lead to a more effective working environment – neglect it, and the repercussions are time wasting and potentially embarrassing. Mark Tobin offers a practical guide to this pertinent issue

As businesses become more sophisticated in how they target potential customers on a local level, SMEs are coming under increasing pressure to get their marketing right. Kate Walsh looks at the changing landscape of provincial peddling

All too often branding and ROI appear to be mutually exclusive objectives in B2B marketing activity. But it doesn't have to be this way, argues Alec Rattray, director of Henrion Ludlow Schmidt. Here, he offers a practical guide to squaring this circle

Transparent company values can boost the happiness and productivity of a marketing team, and this can be sustained through a more sophisticated approach to recruitment, says Claire Owen, MD of Stopgap

Marketing an SME is complicated by a lack of internal resources. What's the solution – outsource everything or delegate to employees with little marketing knowledge? Ian Sclater looks at the options

Too many companies are so focused on the potential rewards of sale promotion that they underestimate the associated risks, according to David Lebond, director of Fotorama

To be successful, today's marketers must be experienced, highly-trained and have qualifications which are recognised worldwide. Sara Goodwins talks to the experts and picks up eight pointers for fast-track career development

Increasingly marketing is becoming a science replete with software and systems – but what of the more traditional methods? Kate Walsh looks to sponsorship and finds that lead generation and brand exposure are just some of the benefits

Proving ROI is no longer an option for the B2B marketer – it's mandatory. Alex Blyth asks the experts five pertinent questions that will help you determine ROI from the outset

Business-to-business marketers are missing out on the opportunities presented by telephone-based customer contact to measure customer satisfaction, says Maggie Evans, head of marketing for iSky Europe

Selecting an agency can take 10 minutes or 10 weeks, it can involve a two-step or 20-step process and ultimately it can lead to a successful or an unsuccessful campaign. Kate Walsh looks at the options

Lead generation for SMEs is tantamount to survival. Ian Sclater looks at the best channels for propagating this life-blood and advises how to optimise each one at minimum cost