B2B Marketing Features

Scot McKee, MD at Birddog gets down with digital and causes a ruckus as he says traditional B2B communications are dead

Scot Mckee, MD at Birddog looks at the growing mobile market and lack of capitalisation on it by most businesses

In The Origin Of The Species, which was published two centuries ago, Darwin said a number of things that brand managers would do well to listen to now.

Which brand could set up a business banking arm?

As B2B marketers turn their heads to 2009, there will be two macro factors they will have to address - the environment and the global economy, according to Stuart Wheldon, head of client services EMEA and Asia Pacific at Eloqua.  He looks at how marketers can approach green marketing in the economic downturn.

Fabio Torlini, marketing director of Rackspace Hosting, discusses the cyncism that CMOs feel towards social networking.

Direct Marketing Commission chairman Matti Alderson considers the merits of self-regulation.

John Lord of LBM believes the demise of IDMF sounds the death nell for the trade fair in procurement of marketing products and services

How can lead generation be made to work in a multi-channel world - and can the needs of sales and marketing ever be reconciled? Zina Manda, director of Mardev, considers the options for the future.

It is widely recognised that marketers need to update their skills and knowledge throughout their careers, but from an organisational perspective it is even more important in a downturn to improve or consolidate business performance.

Dr Lisa Turner, founder of Psycademy, warns that business owners are at risk of selling themselves short by not capitalising on their own abilities before taking on extra staff

Business TV 'personality' and long-term Dragon's Den resident Peter Jones is the star of BT Business's latest TV campaign. But bearing in mind that he is arguably best known for his apparent lack of sympathy for Dragon's Den contestants – who are also the company's target audience – is Jones really an ideal choice for BT Business's brand ambassador? B2B Marketing asked two practitioners for their views on this question

New Chartered Institute of Marketing chairman, Chris Lenton, responds to the article in the February issue 'Take our advice', and talks about his expectations for his new role in 2008

New Chartered Institute of Marketing chairman Chris Lenton has a busy year ahead of him if the opinions of these marketers and agencies are anything to go by. B2B Marketing asked them which issues they want to see Lenton tackle in 2008

Royal Mail's latest campaign website comes under analysis from Richard Bush, MD of Base One, who uses the Evaluator and SEO Evaluator tools to assess its merits

Richard Bush, MD of Base One, assesses the website of information capture solutions supplier Elision, using its Evaluator and SEO Evaluator tools

Professor Merlin Stone discusses the importance of implementing a structured marketing operation to complement a change management programme

Simon Lawrence, CEO of Information Arts, on how to measure the success of small businesses and the importance of searching for deeper insights than their financial results can provide

Professor Merlin Stone on how lack of specialists in B2B data is the main obstacle for sales and marketing integration

Paul Cash says B2B needs its own hall of shame

Professor Merlin Stone examines the logistics industry's transition from product to service proposition and explains why this has broad implications across a diverse range of industries

Oliver Chesher, PR account director at full-service agency Cicero, explains why simplicity is the most important aim in B2B marketing

With only one B2B brand picking up a medal at the IPA Effectiveness Awards, Francesca Brosan of Omobono says it's high time for agencies to put their best campaign forward and celebrate the merits of B2B

B2B direct marketers will find increasingly profitable hunting grounds overseas, says Malcolm Whitmarsh, marketing industry director at Reed Exhibitions

John Stanton, chairman of ABBA, calls for a working understanding from bith agencies and organisations, as the only way to build mutual trust

Keith Jones, chief executive of Reed Business Information and member of PPA Professional group says the trade publishing sector must work together to convince business marketers of the quality of its products

Peter Young, board member at the Association of Business to Business Agencies and chair of judges at the B2B Marketing awards 2006, says creativity must be more than a selection of clipart

As Christmas draws near, Simon Lawrence, CEO of Information Arts, hopes he's been a good boy as he writes Santa a list of business requirements

Will Shepherd, creative director at McCann Erickson Business Communications, tests the service levels of the ads in The Business

John Stanton of ABBA calls for businesses to take account of their marketing expenditure and realise the true level of value it adds

If you think that you are out of the firing line on environmental or social issues because you’re in the B2B space, think again

Nick Martin, general manger at Mardev, looks at the repercussions of the CTPS

John Stanton, chairman of ABBA, offers some useful advice for dealing with agency remuneration

John Stanton, chairman of ABBA, says that if a company wants customers to believe in its brand, it must be sure this belief system is initially understood by its staff

John Stanton, chairman of ABBA, examines the use of specialist business marketing agencies over using those with broader experience

Simon Lawrence, joint MD of Information Arts says having a small budget doesn't have to preclude SMEs from effective database marketing

Simon Lawrence, joint MD of Information Arts, argues that exhibitions are not the best or most cost-effective way to reach out to SMEs

The philosophy of branding and sub-branding; John Stanton, chairman of ABBA, delves into the world of B2B and B2C positioning

Half the problem of attracting new clients is recognising their character and, therefore their needs. Simon Lawrence, joint MD of Information Arts, provides insightful comment on the 'chemistry session'

When should you consider outsourcing your data function? When can you be sure the benefits outweigh the costs? Simon Lawrence, joint MD of Information Arts, ponders this tricky issue

John Stanton of the Association of Business-to-Business Agencies says the potential for clients to post-rationalise their decisions when being questioned for market research can have a big impact on conclusions

Are you targeting a SME owner who's passionate, expert or just a grubby moneymaker? Simon Lawrence, joint MD of Information Arts, explains why this is worth knowing

'She shagged me' was managing director of Birddog, Scot McKee's defence when he broke the fundamental agency rule: 'Never Shag The Client'

John Stanton, chair of the Association of Business-to-Business Agencies, says measuring effectiveness is fundamental in B2B marketing

Simon Lawrence, joint MD of Information Arts, says companies must instil a culture of data excellence if they are to gain the maximum rewards from their marketing

Simon Ward, managing partner of B2B agency Promodus and former SME director, explains when to break with tradition – and when not to – for better results

Simon Lawrence of Information Arts, says that once they have got their data sorted, the next obstacle for B2B marketers is to avoid hackneyed use of copy and images

John Stanton, chairman of the Association of Business-to-Business Agencies, on the importance of a proper brief

A science which was first invented by a Victorian philanthropist seeking to understand poverty can have resonance today for B2B marketers, says Simon Lawrence of Information Arts

John Stanton, chairman of ABBA, says experiential marketing is not just for consumer marketers

Simon Lawrence, joint MD of Information Arts, makes the case for targeting SMEs with value-based insight

Internet advertising has finally come of age, says John Stanton, chairman of ABBA, but he urges businesses to use it in conjunction with – and not instead of – other mediums

IT directors don't speak a different language to the rest of us, but to target them effectively it is useful to know a little more about who they are and how they think and behave, says Paul Cash, director of Tidalwave

In life the best things are generally worth waiting for. Jonathan Edwards, head of B2B marketing at Meteorite, illustrates how this truism applies to advertising

John Stanton, chair of the Association of Business-to-Business Agencies, says recent breakthroughs in neuroscience proves that branding is becoming increasingly important in B2B

Agencies must accept and revel in the role of the good butler, says David Evans, chairman and CEO of Grass Roots Group

John Stanton of ABBA and Base One says many business-to-business clients need to turn the planning process on its head

Simon Lawrence, joint MD of Information Arts, says prospect relationship management (PRM) will help raise the temperature of your marketing

Gerry Hopkinson, CEO of Band & Brown, says straight-talking ads can be a powerful brand building tool in B2B

For a young account exec there's nothing more daunting than the first campaign. Julian Dodds, managing partner at Geronimo, remembers his first time: the swarm of flies, the Sears Building and a bevy of ashen-faced clients

John Stanton of ABBA and Base One says clients must understand how to draw the line between their market knowledge and their agency's creative and communications expertise

Convincing SMEs of the need to invest hard cash in your offering can be a tough job, and requires a mix of compelling communications and prospect relationship management techniques, says Simon Lawrence of Information Arts

Julia Hutchison, director of the Association of Publishing Agencies says B2B marketers may be missing out opportunities presented by customer magazines for retention and brand experience purposes

Surgery the night before a big pitch is not ideal – a gaping, bleeding, oozing wound during a pitch is a nightmare. John Houston, director of Houston Associates, remembers the day a client actually bled him dry

Paying an agency a retainer fee does not have to be bad news for clients, argues John Stanton of the Association of Business-to-Business Agencies (ABBA)

Really understanding existing customer behaviour can help pinpoint the most profitable – those worth investing in, says Simon Lawrence, joint MD of Information Arts

Gerry Hopkinson CEO of PR agency Band & Brown on why nice guys always finish first

Business networking has learned lessons from friendship websites – such as Friendsreunited – and is rapidly becoming a major force in B2B marketing, says Adrian Melrose, managing director of iConcertina Creative

Marketers must become thought leaders, says Graham Jarvis, spokesperson for CIMTech, focusing less on efficiencies and more on strategic effectiveness to attain competitive advantages

The established practice of asking agencies to pitch for new business is expensive, convoluted and just plain wrong, says John Stanton of the Association of Business-to-Business Agencies (ABBA)

For many years marketing has given procurement a wide berth but with an ever-increasing demand for proving purchase need and ROI, co-operation is proving to be the only way forward. Liz Cullen of CIPS outlines the benefits

Malcolm Whitmarsh, marketing industry director for Reed Exhibitions, says practitioners are reawakening to the importance of the marketing exhibitions, and the power of face-to-face contact for sourcing suppliers and generating new ideas

The imposition of the Corporate Telephone Preference Service has spurred much debate, particularly in the pages of this magazine. James Farmer, publisher of B2B Marketing, offers a clients-eye view of the debate