Author: Brandi Skrtich, Media Supervisor

Contact, Content and the Consumer

According to a recent BtoB Magazine research study, in 2013, B2B marketers will likely spend on the channels they think are effective in getting content in front of prospects.  Of those surveyed by B2B Magazine, 93% said they would be updating their website as this was their highest source of information sharing.

The New YorkerBut no matter what, a flashy website will only work for so long.   And as cliché as it sounds, content is King.  And The New Yorker is continuing to build its empire.  Over the past several years, The New Yorker has launched numerous new Web channels and looks to continue the trend in the next couple of months with the launch of a Science and Technology channel as well as a Business channel.  The Science and Tech channel will expand the number of blog posts from writers such as Ken Auletta, Gary Marcus and Tim Wu.  While the Business hub will feature more infographics and video content and will feature the magazines most popular writers such as Malcolm Gladwell.

Another established brand looking to reinvigorate itself is NPR.  With the birth of digital radio, the organization is launching its first advertising campaign in four markets to push its digital radio assets this month in four markets: Dallas, Indianapolis, Orlando and San Diego.  The campaign will run for three months and include TV, billboards, transit, print and digital advertising and will be funded by a grant from the Ford Foundation.  While it doesn’t rely on advertising for support, NPR understands the importance of maintaining relevancy to its current audience and the need to expand its digital offerings to complete with the number of digital radio formats now available.

Metrics That Matter

Ask any business professional what matters and you’re bound to get as many answers as people who have answered the question.  No two companies want the same thing, but they know that they want it, and that their marketing dollars better be delivering against it.

Keeping that in mind, I came across a very interesting research study conducted by Forrester Research that took a deeper look into what B2B/B2C companies should be looking for from their marketing dollars and how they can use their analytics to guide their future marketing decisions.

To start the conversation, it’s important to note that marketing now owns most of the buying cycle.  Think about that for a minute.  When was the last time you spoke to a sales person to “research” an item.  People are smart and are now researching items on their own…they simply go direct once they’ve made up their mind and are ready for a price quote.  And at that point, discovery is over and the product has been weighed and measured.

It’s also important to keep in mind the new customer life cycle.  Ultimately you want to drive you’re consumers from the “unknown” stage all the way down to “loyal customer”.  And once this is in place, marketers can measure and analyze important metrics such as:

In an environment that offers such a wide range of metrics, the above measurements gives marketers a great look into how they should be viewing their marketing campaigns.

You can purchase the study here, or R&R internal can contact Brandi Skrtich for a copy).