The Feedback Success Formula: 1. Encourage your customers to complain. 2. Fix their problems. 3. Repeat.

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Keith Peterson, the senior vice president of the data division of Experian Marketing Services writes this piece for Target Marketing outlining strategies for reactivating stagnant customers. This can be some of the most rewarding ‘cold-calling’ one can do. These folks have bought from you before and just need a little nudge to bring them back into the fold. Today, this nudge can take many different forms (perhaps more than one), given the new social media explosion.

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Access the TM article online here

Ralph Drybrough & Dan Harding of Target Marketing delve into smart marketing to SMBs (small and medium businesses). I had no idea that MICRO businesses (those with 1 to 4 employees) were such a huge segment.

Complete article here

Print article pdf here

As a shopper at Petco.com clicks on pages showing cat food, the pet supplies retailer can make an educated guess about which cross-selloffers to feature. But there would be less guesswork if Petco knew that the same customer had visited a Petco store in Syracuse, N.Y., last week and purchased a self-cleaning CatGenie Cat Box for $300.

For that customer, an accessory like the CatGenie Washable Granules might be just the thing. And, knowing that the same customer has bought dog food at that Syracuse store for years, the site could also feature the spring closeout offer on fleece dog vests. That’s the level of personalization Petco Animal Supplies Inc. hopes to offer on its site this year. It’s the product of an initiative that combines in a single customer database not only what a customer has purchased in stores and online, but also information about what products she viewed on the web site and which e-mails she responded to.

Complete Article HERE

The down economy pushes B-to-B marketers to embrace digital tactics: b-to-b marketers tinker with online channels, watch social media emerge and fret over fitting it all into a marketing mix dominated by conventional approaches. As the current recession continues through 2009, a company’s marketing mix must produce sales-ready results using less expensive channels.

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Take a look at who your customers really are Most multichannel marketers think of customers in straight-forward terms: females, 45 to 60 years old, $75,000-plus household incomes, for example. These broad-sweeping demographic descriptors have a place in customer definitions but aren’t the end-all, be-all in defining who does business with you.

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Two principles guide ICM. First, the customer portfolio – the universe of prospects and engaged customers with the brand-is an organization’s most strategic asset. Second, an organization’s ability to optimally manage and grow the value of this customer portfolio is the key differentiator between market leaders and, well, everybody else.

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Your marketing efforts are under attack! They are costing more to produce and getting lackluster results, right? Your efforts must be stepped up in order to survive. In most cases , every marketing effort your company has produced could have been stronger, more strategic and garnered better results. Almost every time the culprit that keeps you from stellar results can point back to the kickoff meeting.

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Lead scoring takes on new meaning in today’s competitive marketplace
“Why can’t I get more qualified leads?” the sales manager pleads. “You give us inquiries, but we don’t know what they want, when they want it or if they are budgeted. It would help to know if they are qualified to buy.” He continues, “You send them a package of literature, and marketing doesn’t reach out to them again. How about giving us more qualified leads and skip the raw inquiries?” Sound familiar?

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Which works best for B-B generation – inbound or outbound marketing? Inbound refers to prospects contacting marketers “out of the blue,” because they are actively interested in specific products or services. Conversely, outbound marketing requires marketers to reach out and touch prospects proactively, e.g., with a postcard, telemarketing call, e-mail or magazine advertisement.

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