Link up for the pilot of the new online meeting and webcast service to MML subscribers - MarketingLIVE.tv

| http://twitter.com/marketinglivetv

You have no doubt sampled and used some online virtual conferencing systems, and indeed there are many out there - but this is the FIRST dedicated service, specifically developed for MARKETERS.

It is simple - so that all can attend with just a browser and broadband connection, and you can conduct meetings and webcasts with ease. No other call in technologies or phone line required ..... and no additional sneaky charges! All comes with a low straightforward monthly payment - so you are never penalised for using your own system! (And neither are your meeting participants.)

We are shortly to stage a pilot and invite 30 MyMarketingLife subscribers to try MarketingLIVE - so make sure you are following things on twitter, and be ready to try things out when we make the announcment shortly:

| http://twitter.com/marketinglivetv

Hmmm . I have wondered for some time, as an arch-sceptic of the 'mad dash into any new technology' approach to marketing, that in placing technology INBETWEEN us and the customer, we are actually in danger of isolating our relationship with them?

Consider all the technology we place in the middle - mad press #1, #2 phone systems; internet sites that simply try to replace customer service but end up wrecking it; email that no-one answers; FAQs to stop us having any dialogue with those pesky customers. Etc. Etc. .....

Add to that the traditional marketing 'shotgun and market segment splatter' approach, and from the customer or prospects perspective, they think we want their money, and that is all.

Consider a REAL market, or at least where REAL MARKETING works. At the Farmers Markets all around the globe. Face to face, real interaction. It is ironic that at a time where we should be increasing valid and worthwhile interaction, we actively try to reduce it. Or cut it out altogether.

Take Ryanair - with ...

> By Ian Johnstone-Bryden

Collecting marketing intelligence was once a very simple matter of reading reports from the sales team, reviewing enquiries at exhibitions, test sampling consumers, and buying analysis from established market watchers. Over the years the process has become much more complex and, although the potential for greater intelligence has increased, so too has the potential for catastrophic error. At the same time the cost of intelligence, which was once well defined, can now include significant hidden costs.

The opportunities are enormous for those who are able to cope with access to considerable volumes of information. Marketing intelligence is experiencing similar challenges to those faced by government intelligence services. Many of these challenges come from the same set of technology advances.

Once upon a time, intelligence services depended on HUMINT, human intelligence. This was not just information obtained by spies, but information gathered from ship’s captains, soldiers, diplomats ...

The economic downturn continues. Consumer confidence is at the lowest point for years, and retail sales fell by 1.2% between October and December 2008 compared to the previous year.[1] As a result, marketing budgets are being cut to the greatest extent ever recorded in the history of the IPA Bellwether Report.[2]

So how are organisations going to make the most of their remaining budgets? Every year between £20 billion and £25 billion of the annual £44 billion UK marketing budget is spent on promotional marketing. Yet, as recent research undertaken on behalf of Valassis reveals,[3] much of this promotional activity is based on several misconceptions about consumer attitudes and behaviours in this area.

Brand managers need to gain real insight into the way customers behave in response to promotional activity if they are to maximise annual spend and drive greater returns for their brands and deliver commercial gains to their Board and Shareholders, says Charles D’Oyly, managing director, Valassis.

Understanding ...

Will 2008 be remembered as the real start of business to business (BtoB) social marketing in a way that is much more than just debating whether to start a blog? Can we finally see a change in the way marketeers communicate!

The answer on social marketing for BtoB seems to revolve around the real purpose of the activity itself; whether it’s business people networking to gain personal benefit or to market their product/company brand! A new report (ref1) by thinktank Demos has concluded that staff should be encouraged to use social networking as part of their business activities as it can boost staff loyalty and morale.

It would reasonable to predict that social networking sites like Viadeo, Linkedin, Plaxo, Ning Ryze will see their membership ranks soar in the next few quarters as widespread insecurity drives people to connect with others to boost their social capital.

Can the same be said of product and service placements in blogs, podcasts, business groups in networking sites, etc? In recent months ...

The 10 Biggest Marketing Mistakes and How to Avoid Them

> 1) Advertising

The simple fact is most advertising simply does not work. Unless your business is the size of Macdonalds or Coca Cola advertising is a complete waste of money. If you are spending money on advertising and you do not know if it is working (and by working I mean delivering a substantial return for every pound spent) stop it – immediately.

> 2) Copying competitors

Lots of business owners I speak to fall into this trap. They see competitors in a magazine, at a trade show or on a piece of direct mail and then copy them because otherwise they feel left behind. There are 2 reasons not to do this.

1 - Unless you know what return they make from their marketing activity there’s no reason to assume it’s successful, they might be bankrupt!

2 – 90% of businesses are average, doing average marketing, achieving average profits. To be ultra successful you need to avoid what everyone else does and do the extraordinary.

> 3) Failing ...

Building communities of interest has become a key objective for many marketing departments, especially those within the FMCG sector that struggle to attain a direct customer relationship.

The online community enables a massive step forward from the use of demographic data to drive tailored marketing campaigns, to the creation of opportunities for truly relevant one to one marketing and the building of relationships between a brand and its consumer.

Indeed, creating a community should be just the starting point. Organisations need to work out how these communities can actually deliver tangible commercial value and how membership of the community can provide value to its members.

This online community is a vital source of marketing insight that should be used to drive the customer experience in real time – from proactively managing customer complaints to leveraging cross and up selling opportunities and improving the relevance of product development campaigns, explains Gary Schwartz, Confirmit.

> ...

The rise of social networking sites over the past few years has been nothing short of phenomenal, yet how are marketers using them and are they only for use in the B2C space? Ian Truscott, Vice President of Alterian’s Web Content Management product strategy explains why this doesn’t necessarily have to be the case.

Social networking can seem daunting to a marketer, given the potential loss of brand control and product messaging. In reality though, any organisation is at risk of that given that we are all at the mercy of a democratisation in publishing that means anyone can express their views on the internet and in turn influence others with those views. With large of numbers of people grouped together based on shared interests and common goals, social networking sites should be a marketers’ dream, but whilst B2C marketers are starting to get on board, B2B has been a little hesitant to capitalise on their potential. All this could be about to change.

The benefits far outweigh any potential issues. People ...

> Wider definition and inclusion of 'stakeholders'

This brief article aims to consider the wider definition and beneficial inclusion of stakeholders by the boards and marketing leaders of major organisations in the commercial and public sectors.

> Stakeholder types are numerous and varied

The term stakeholder is now generally used to represent any organisation or individual that contributes to or benefits from (i.e. has a stake in its success) the operations and outcomes of your organisation.

The most obvious stakeholder examples are customers and employees, but there may also be groups that represent these, such as workers representatives, trade unions or third sector (usually charitable) organisations such as Help The Aged, or the Citizens Advice Bureau – or even the citizen’s MP or a civil rights group such as Fathers 4 Justice.

Shareholders of commercial companies are also recognised as stakeholders, as lenders, suppliers, creditors and partners could be too. For public sector organisations ...