It’s that time of year again; time to stash away the holiday décor and party hats, go out on a limb and boldly predict the big-time marketing trends for 2011.  So, without further ado (drum roll please), my prediction for this year’s big marketing trend is: an explosion in mobile marketing! 

Phew, I’m glad I got that off my chest.

Actually, now that I’ve announced it, I guess it is not a very bold prediction after all, especially considering the fact that SmartPhone sales have increased by 96% over the past year; a trend that shows no signs of stopping any time soon.  According to Mary Meeker of Morgan Stanley, SmartPhone sales will overtake PC sales by 2012.  This huge shift in technology will not only impact the general work environment, but it will also significantly change the way marketers communicate in the B2B sector. 

Over the past few years, B2C mobile marketing has grown tremendously, allowing marketers to reach customers and influence decision makers directly at the point of sale.  This growth has led to a major expansion in retail-based mobile technologies designed to generate foot traffic and increase loyalty. 

But now with the continued growth of SmartPhones, it is time for B2B marketers to step into the forefront and focus more attention on developing communications that are optimized for mobile devices as well.  More and more firms are starting to accept Apple and Android operating systems on company-issued mobile devices, providing an opportunity for B2B marketers to communicate to customers in fresh, creative ways. 

Only time will tell how the increase in demand of SmartPhones will impact the presence of B2B mobile marketing.  But one thing’s for certain; it is now up to us as marketers to take advantage of this open gateway and speak to our customers on the most accessible medium possible; their mobile device.

Do you think there will be a huge increase in mobile B2B marketing in 2011? How are you preparing to use mobile in your 2011 marketing mix?

This week I had an e-mail show up in my inbox that had 5 calls to action in it. Yikes! As I ponder which of those actions I was supposed to take first (call one of the 2 phone numbers, RSVP, visit the booth or e-mail), I was reminded of the important role design plays in something as simple as an e-mail marketing campaign. Not just design in the sense of images and graphics, but also how you design content, and the fact that the two go hand-in-hand.

There are plenty of mistakes made when designing an e-mail campaign. These mistakes include content that is hard to read or unclear, images everywhere and multiple calls-to-action. Below are my top five suggestions to help you avoid these digital marketing catastrophes.

1. Be clear about the audience you write for. Speak to that one person in the audience and keep it brief! Think about what you want the reader to do after they read your content and make the one call-to-action obvious.
2. Don’t make it hard to read. Break up large text boxes with sidebars or callouts. Highlight specific copy points that the audience will respond to. Use easy-to-read typefaces that are high contrast and stick to one or two.
3. Make sure it’s not dull. Write headlines to pull people in. Make sure the headline is easy to see—remember, the purpose of a headline is to get the reader to read the first line of your copy.
4. Don’t be overly decorative. Be careful using to many colors, drop shadows and every effect Photoshop has. This can often make your content hard to read. In e-mail marketing, less is more.
5. Make it believable. Create trust with design and tone consistency. Your company’s brand should already be doing this. Make sure you roll this into your digital – including e-mail – campaigns.

If you’ve got a digital marketing campaign and you need some help avoiding these mistakes or narrowing your call to actions, give Canyon a call at 480.775.8880.

Last month my fellow Canyonite Rob posted a blog about Fast Company expert blogger, Wendy Marx who defended the PR industry from a blogger decrying the role of PR in B2B marketing.

Well, she did it again. (I must note that I love her integrity to defend the role of public relations, particularly in B2B).

Marx refers to the Economist’s article titled “The Rise of Image Man” that defines PR pros as manipulators and spin doctors. She responds to the post stating that B2B public relations has nothing to do with the spin and manipulation; it is about strategy and content development to get clients visibility and credibility.

I completely agree with this statement. As a PR account coordinator, much of what I do for Canyon’s clients is create content—particularly newsletters and website copy—to accurately communicate to their audience what it is they do and why it’s important.

Along with this, our PR department reaches out to the media to establish a long-term relationship on the client’s behalf. This is what B2B public relations is all about. PR isn’t about trying to manipulate the media; our job is to create messages that present the hard facts about what it is our client does, gain trust with the media and keep those relationships strong (along with the traditional media relations role).

I think public relations has become more and more of an integral part of any B2B marketing communications campaign because it is a tool that can easily position the overall marketing strategy.

Along with Marx, I see great things happening for the PR industry in the near future. Do you see a bright future for B2B public relations? Why or why not?

Many people ask me where they should purchase their list of Business-to-Business (B2B) sales prospects. They’re always asking which have the highest-quality prospects, Hoovers or Harte-Hanks? InfoUSA or NetProspex? Jigsaw or Spoke? The short answer, from my perspective, is that there is no single perfect source of raw B2B sales leads. All list sources have their pros and cons and, unfortunately, in most cases, they all will provide a fair amount of stale data.

A few months back, B2B Magazine published an article about a study that was conducted regarding compiled lists. One of the sources quoted in the article concluded that although the information provided in the study was more accurate than initially expected, there was a wide variance between the volume of contacts provided by each list source vendor.

So, what are the best list source options for B2B marketers? My view is that you must take a holistic approach with your list acquisition strategy and map it to your organization’s target industries, goals and budget.

With that in mind, here are my top ten tips to keep in mind when purchasing lists for your B2B marketing communications efforts:

1. Don’t expect a miracle: If you’re expecting upwards of 90% data integrity and accuracy, you’ll be sorely disappointed every time.
2. Look for quality over quantity: Don’t necessarily think that the vendor who can provide the most contacts for the least amount of money is the best, find out how each vendor compiles their lists.
3. Try association lists: Because association members pay for their memberships in trade organizations, and typically consent to the sharing of their information, this is a good route to explore.
4. Start with a purchased list, then cleanse and append: It’s always a good idea to scrub the raw list in order to update contacts and gather new decision makers by phone or through online research. If you need help with this process, I’ve got a great company to recommend!
5. Request a test list: Before purchasing a list from a broker or vendor, request a test list of 100 or so contacts to vet out the quality.
6. See if they have a return policy: Some list vendors will replace a certain percentage of contacts that are determined to be bad.
7. Shy away from lists with e-mail addresses: Purchasing e-mail lists can get you into hot water really quickly.
8. Use web aggregators for database building: Try online web ‘scrapers’ such as SalesView that can plug in directly to your CRM system.
9. Use ‘inbound’ list sources: TechTarget is a great option for list building because it provides information about people who are searching for and interested in particular technologies.
10. Build your own list: The best way to develop a list of sales leads for your B2B organization is to build it yourself using online lead capture forms, trade shows, referrals, teleprospecting activities, etc.

What do you think? Have you experienced success with a particular list source that you can recommend for B2B sales leads? Any horror stories you’d like to share? Do you have any other tips for purchasing lists of B2B sales leads?