Build risk-assessment confidence through D&B’s Material Change predictive analytics

Build risk-assessment confidence through D&B’s Material Change predictive analytics

   May 15, 2014       prabhakardalvi

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Your lumber business just scored a large contract to supply materials to an expanding hardware store chain in California. You’re looking at ramping up production and hiring a score of new employees. But how can you be sure that your new star customer will remain on its current growth trajectory? Businesses are faced with similar decision-making challenges on a daily basis. Without the proper data tools, it is difficult to see beyond the immediate outlook and predict when a material-change event will occur. Fortunately, new analytical tools are arriving on the market to help companies more accurately assess the future risk or potential of a business partner.

For instance, D&B’s patent-pending new analytic capability, “Material Change,” enables customers to better identify whether a business is poised for expansion or headed for decline, reaching out 12 months, 18 months, and on into the future. This new tool is the most recent in D&B’s family of predictive analytic tools. The company has traditionally provided market-leading business scores, credit scores, and ratings. The predictive analytic tools build on the traditional scores and can help transform data into intelligence that also helps manage risk and identifies new opportunities. Predictive tools already available from D&B include Viability Rating, Total Loss Predictor, and Delinquency Predictor.

Material Change PredictorsMaterial Change builds on D&B’s existing predictive analytic capabilities by adding anticipatory signals, such as a company’s payment behavior and financial obligations, to provide a long-range view of the firm’s risk profile. Where D&B’s existing tools allow businesses to move forward on deals with prospects, suppliers, and customers, Material Change gives customers the confidence to make future plans based on the predicted stability of those commercial relationships.

Advanced analytics like Material Change are designed to help customers anticipate a partner’s behavior and insulate against surprise developments. For the lumber business looking at expansion, the insecurity of relying on a large contract relationship is mitigated and confident business decisions can be made. Taking on 20 new employees and adding a new production line won’t cause unnecessary worry that those operations may have to be shuttered a year or two down the line. Anne Law

Predictive analytic tools on the market are also helping companies target key prospects, identify most valuable customers, and leverage successful products and marketing campaigns, according to EMC Corp.’s Bill Schmarzo. Modeling and forecasting tools allow businesses to answer futuristic questions such as: “Who will be my top customer next year?” and “What new product will be the top seller?”

Predictive analytics allow businesses to recognize patterns and correlations between customer behavior, store traffic, promotional activities, geography, and other elements that drive risk or profitability. Examples of successful data crunching initiatives range from Netflix’s predicted success of blockbuster TV show House of Cards to the Carilion Clinic’s identification of critical-risk heart patients.

–D&B is currently testing the Material Change predictors to determine how the capability can best be ingested and used by customers.–

anticipatory analytics, D&B Material Change, Dun & Bradstreet, material changes, predictive analytics, risk management, Biz Trends, Buzzworthy, Customer Intelligence  

Author : 

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Market News for BSE NSE - 04 June 2013

Market News for BSE NSE - 04 June 2013

   June 03, 2013       Unknown

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Sensex rallies over 100 points; fifteen stocks in action

Nifty is expected to head lower till 5880. In this period the key support will be around 5916, said Somil Mehta of Sharekhan.

Economic Times, 

Also from: First Post.com, Money Control and 5 other sources

Infosys slips as investor euphoria on Murthy's return cools

Analysts have welcomed Narayana Murthy's return as executive chairman, however, there are a lot of challenges ahead, including getting its earnings growth back on track with the wider industry.

Money Control, 

Also from: SME Times, Smart Investor and 3 other sources

Lanco Infratech jumps on bagging EPC contract worth Rs 3293.96 crore from GIPCL

Lanco Infratech is currently trading at Rs. 9.41, up by 0.65 points or 7.42% from its previous closing of Rs. 8.76 on the BSE. The scrip opened at Rs. 9.25 and has touched a high and low of Rs. 9.64 and Rs. 9.13 respectively. So far 3,55,000 shares ...

Indian-Commodity, 

Also from: Business Standard India, Financial Express and 9 other sources

Govt. likely to bring ordinance on food security at Cabinet meet today

The Central Government is likely to bring an ordinance on Food Security Bill at the Cabinet meet today.According to television reports, the government has spoken to all the allies on the proposal.Amid talk of a special session of Parliament on the ...

Business Standard, 

Also from: Business Standard, Yahoo! India

TCS likely to sack nearly 300 employees at Finland office

Tata Consultancy Services, the countrys largest software company, may sack as many as 290 employees at its Finland office, a move that the workers say is an attempt to shift jobs to India. ...

Business Line,

Also from: Business Line, Smart Investor and 2 other sources

Shanghai joins Tata Comm`s telepresence

Tata Communications announced the addition of a state-of-the-art virtual meeting telepresence suite to its global network, situated in the heart of downtown Shanghai. Launched in partnership with China Mobile and JW Marriott Hotel Shanghai, the new in-hotel ...

Myiris, 

Also from: India Infoline, SBICAP Securities and 1 other source

Emerging East Asia's local bond markets grow 12.1% YoY: ADB

The quarterly Asia Bond Monitor assesses the bond markets of the PRC; Hong Kong, China; Indonesia; the Republic of Korea; Malaysia; the Philippines; Singapore; Thailand; and Viet Nam. Emerging East Asia's local currency bond markets expanded 12.1% ...

India Infoline, 

Also from: New Delhi News.Net, Mumbai News.Net and 2 other sources

Suzlon bags two contracts for 13 wind turbines

Suzlon Group-subsidiary, REpower Systems SE, today announced two contracts with ABO Wind for the supply of 13 wind turbines. The turbines of MM92 type will be installed for two wind farms in Burgundy. The wind farms will generate a total output of ...

MyIris, 

Also from: SBICAP Securities, Myiris and 1 other source

SAIL records 11% rise in production of saleable steel in May

State-run Steel Authority of India (SAIL) has recorded best-ever production of saleable steel for May at 1.087 million tonnes (MT), up by 11% over the corresponding month previous year. The production of value added and special steel too surged ...

Indian-Commodity,  

Also from: Business Line, Myiris and 1 other source

Idea rallies on tower sale talks with Axiata; up 25% in 2013

The Aditya Birla group-owned company said that it is in discussions with its second-largest shareholder, Axiata of Malaysia, for selling its towers.

Economic Times, 

Also from: India Infoline, ASAPP and 1 other source

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How to Win in the Next Stage of the Cloud Data

How to Win in the Next Stage of the Cloud Data

   April 06, 2015       prabhakardalvi

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Two types of fear, or how to win in the next stage of the cloud

As companies look to move their core business applications to the cloud, smaller, more specialized industry cloud providers have a chance to be the new heroes of business tech.

"The real opportunity is moving mission critical systems in the cloud. [Industries] are the biggest hold out. We see that as the biggest opportunity." That's how Stephan Scholl, co-president of Infor--an enterprise software company that specializes in solutions for specific industries--explains what he sees when he looks at the cloud market.

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How small businesses can gain actionable insights from big data

How small businesses can gain actionable insights from big data

   May 15, 2014       prabhakardalvi

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Are these a sci-fi film’s dystopian vision of a future where Big Data has paralyzed life on Earth or simply the stuff of nightmares for small-business owners around the world?

The out-of-control growth of global data (40% year-over-year) — aka Big Data — has created an information blizzard through which it is hard for businesses to see the actionable insight. Data that is not relevant and actionable is just that — data. Small businesses must be able to make sense out of their existing data to answer the questions about customers and prospects that need to be answered. 

Nevertheless, according to a recent Nielsen poll, many small businesses are still hesitant to access and leverage big data. The responses from a poll of 2,000 US small businesses found that 41% think that conducting market research is too expensive, while 42% think that they don’t have time to conduct research. But the most shocking thing in the poll is that 35% reported that they have never even considered it.

Whatever the reasons for resistance — intimidation, lack of expertise, limited time and financial resources — small businesses must get on board. Winners and losers are being determined by what insights businesses are able to gain from their data. Dun & Bradstreet (D&B) chief data officer Paul Ballew cites a Forrester Research report saying that a scant 12% of companies use data-driven intelligence, resulting in substantial lost business opportunities.

According to a white paper, Generating Value from Big Data Analytics, from global IT membership organization ISACA, big data insights shed light on “customer needs and buying patterns, the reputation the company holds in the marketplace, and the emergence of new risks.” The risk of ignoring these insights is great, according to the organization, resulting in “the company being left behind as its competitors embrace the technique to leap ahead.”

Accessing big data is of course the easy part. The key is finding the right tools to help small businesses extract the insight from the information blizzard — tools that help them target the right customers, create growth, and grow revenue.

Ballew advocates D&B’s market-sensing predictive analytics suite, which unlocks the business insight from a small business’s data set to gain a competitive advantage, create a comprehensive view of customers, and allow for a more disciplined approach around testing and learning.

The big data storm is only getting stronger, but businesses that use tools to navigate through the tempest will prosper while those who remain snow-blind will find themselves frozen out of business opportunities.

actionable insights, Ballew, big data, credit risk, customers, D&B, data overload, discern, external data, global economic outlook, global economy, growth, insight, intelligence, predictive analytics, product development, risk, small business, tools

Category:Biz Trends, Buzzworthy, Customer Intelligence

Author : British editorial veteran Stuart Hampton has been covering oil and gas companies for Hoover's since the Neogene-Quaternary period. Well, actually, since the early 1990s. For the best overview of the oil industry and its history he recommends Daniel Yergin's "The Prize." 

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SEM and Pay Per Click Advertising

SEM and Pay Per Click Advertising

   March 28, 2013       Unknown

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The growth of the internet and its penetration into the everyday lives of people around the world has made it a growing marketing channel. And since search engines are used by most to find information on the internet, search engine marketing or SEM has emerged as among the most targeted, measurable and effective channels of marketing your business online. From ecommerce to social networking, and blogging to publishing, it has emerged as the most preferred means for websites to increase visibility in the online world.

There are various ways to advertise your business online. For marketing in search engines, SEO and PPC (pay per click) advertising are two of the most powerful channels. This article provides an overview of pay per click advertising, its uses, limitations and more.

Uses of SEM and Pay Per Click Advertising

• PPC is targeted: Lets you decide on the geography, time and user segment to advertise to

• PPC is measurable: You can see which ads worked, which didn't, and refine your campaign based on this information

• Get eyeballs: PPC helps you increase the visibility of the website in search engines, and by extension helps you popularize it in the industry

• Quick results: With PPC, there is hardly a time lag between starting your campaign and getting visitors, generating leads, sales and business growth

Advantages

The growth of competition has made it essential for businesses to advertise and market their businesses online. When you have a good PPC campaign, there are many advantages it lends to your business. These include:

• Since PPC ads appear at the top of search results, chances of someone clicking on them and visiting your website are high

• If a company is willing to spend money on a PPC campaign, the perception of reliability increase

• It also helps you establish credibility and seriousness if you manage your campaign intelligently

• It is among the most potent channels of building awareness about your business

• Even a short PPC campaign can generate noticeable results quickly

• PPC allows you to decide where you want to advertise (down to a city), what time of the day, to which target groups, etc. This gives you a high degree of control over who sees your advertising and minimizes advertising wastage

Drawbacks

While it is an extremely powerful online marketing channel, PPC has certain limitations and drawbacks. These include:

• For the first time advertiser, starting a PPC campaign can be confusing and you may end up spending on ineffective advertising initially

• If your campaign does not immediately result in an increase in sales, then PPC can prove to be an expensive marketing channel, especially for someone with small advertising budgets

• Depending on your strategy and its effectiveness, PPC can result in wasted money if it doesn't get the desired results

• Where to place your ads can be a daunting decision at times

• Unless you outsource, managing and optimizing the PPC campaign can be time consuming

In spite of its disadvantages, PPC cannot be discounted. It continues to be a very important element of marketing and you should consider some PPC advertising while developing your marketing strategy. The more you read about online marketing, practice and refine your campaign, it will help you improve your quality score with search engines, bring down advertising costs and improve the success rate of your campaigns.

Yet another powerful search engine marketing channel is SEO. With SEO, you do not pay a search engine for every visitor to your website. This can often make it a very cost effective marketing channel as compared to PPC. You can even consider partnering with a cheap SEO services company to get your online marketing started and build on your SEO successes by complimenting the efforts through targeted PPC campaigns.

There is no formula for online marketing success. There is no right or wrong marketing strategy. What works for one business may not for another. This is where working with specialists can be helpful. You can learn from the experience of an agency and minimize errors. Especially for first time advertisers, it is wise to consider working with a good online marketing partner to kick start your online marketing, SEO and PPC campaigns.

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Inbound Marketing Goals - Make Smart Planing

Inbound Marketing Goals - Make Smart Planing

   May 21, 2015       Unknown

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Like most adages, the saying “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it,” resonates. 

While the SMART acronym has been around for years, it applies perfectly to inbound marketing, so there’s no reason not to use it when setting inbound marketing goals. For the uninitiated, SMART means your goals should be all of the following:

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Important Ten Questions to Ask Your Digital Marketing Partner

Important Ten Questions to Ask Your Digital Marketing Partner

   July 16, 2014       prabhakardalvi

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The Top Ten Questions to Ask Your Digital Marketing Partner - Max Starkov & Mariana Mechoso Safer

It's challenging to find a good digital marketing partner these days. As more and more companies join the market as 'experts in hotel website design and digital marketing,' hoteliers are faced with a difficult decision. 

1. Do you consider yourself my property's digital marketing partner or vendor?

To achieve the highest long-term success rate, the hotelier-agency relationship must be based on trust and the client's best interests must be at the heart of everything the agency does. What does it mean to be a partner vs. a vendor?

Your digital marketing agency consistently offers proactive recommendations vs. simply "taking orders." Is your agency just an "order-taking" outfit or do they come up with consistent recommendations on how to tackle your occupancy, seasonal and other business needs? If you find yourself making all the effort to communicate with your agency first, you are working with a vendor.

Your digital marketing agency is an extension of your property's sales and marketing team. Are your agency's recommendations based on what's best for your property's business needs and what will generate the highest ROAS (Return-on-ad-spend)? Or are these recommendations based on how high a commission the agency receives? You'll need to do your research to find this out.

Your agency's company values are aligned with your values. If your partner has not identified any brand values, it has not clearly positioned itself in the marketplace. A team that stands behind its values strives to provide excellent customer service and produces better results for its clients. Aligned goals build authenticity and trust between a digital marketing agency and its clients.

2. Are you utilizing any proprietary digital marketing technology?

Digital marketing is becoming increasingly complex, especially compared to what it was just over 3-4 years ago. In this day and age, there is a complete convergence between digital marketing and digital technology. Crucial revenue-generating initiatives such as Meta Search Marketing, Dynamic Rate Marketing, and Content Management Systems equipped with personalized marketing capabilities are an equal part technology and marketing.

Today, you should choose a partner that has both digital technology and digital marketing capabilities under one roof to help you keep up with the rapid development and marketing opportunities available in the industry.

In this multi-device world we live in, hoteliers must meet the needs of their guests on each device. This means investing in technology that allows for the best user experience on the three screens: desktop, mobile and tablet, which many hoteliers find hard to do due to their website's antiquated Content Management System (CMS) technology.

Your digital marketing partner should be able to develop technology in-house that you can benefit from. Examples include a CMS with functionality developed specifically for the hospitality industry, interactive marketing applications, social media applications, dynamic rate marketing technology, and meta search marketing enablement technology.

3. What percentage of your total business is dedicated to providing digital marketing and web services?

A company that has too many 'core competencies' often finds itself not excelling in any of them. Giant global companies like Sony claim to have only two core competencies. Ask your marketing firm what percentage of their business is dedicated to digital marketing and web services. If you are working with a firm where these services constitute only a small part of their overall service offerings, you are taking a risk that your business will not be as important to them. There is also the chance that the team dedicated to your account, if you do have a dedicated team and not a general 'client services department contact email/phone number,' also has other responsibilities that can take them away from providing your account the attention it deserves.

4. What percentage of your clients are in the hospitality space?

The answer to this one should be close to 100% because of the uniqueness, complexity, and fast moving dynamics of the industry. Hoteliers need customized, expert advice that is specific to their needs.

This multi-billion hospitality industry is so large and dynamic that specialization in hospitality provides a unique and competitive advantage to mixed-industry and GDS-focused companies that are late and inexperienced to the online hospitality channel.

5. Do you offer full-service digital marketing?

Managing multiple vendor relationships is a job in itself. By partnering with an agency that offers full-service digital marketing, your team can stay efficient and focused. Does you agency offer the full spectrum of digital marketing initiatives such as website design and CMS technology to SEO, SEM, online media and retargeting, dynamic rate marketing, meta search marketing, social media, mobile marketing, and email marketing?

Additionally, the more vendors involved, the higher the chance for mistakes, campaigns that do not produce, and communication struggles.

For digital marketing campaigns to generate the highest ROIs possible, goals and teams need to be fully aligned. For instance, Paid Search and SEO go hand in hand. Google updates its search algorithm 500 times each year, and the Panda and Hummingbird updates directly affected how Google indexes and values the underlying website landing pages. With Google constantly updating its algorithm, paid search professionals must treat search dynamically. SEM should align with the site's SEO in order to maintain a high Quality Index. Managing your SEO strategy should include a business analysis, comp set analysis, keyword analysis, etc., and having another company manage paid search, which includes exactly the same business analysis, comp set analysis, and keyword analysis, translates to double the work and double the cost.

6. Is multi-channel marketing part of the overall strategy for each client?

In today's multi-device, multi-touch world, digital marketing must be handled in a multi-channel campaign fashion to reach consumers at every touch point. All three screens (desktop, mobile and tablet) must be integrated in the hotel's multi-channel marketing strategy. These campaigns utilize the right combination of online channels effectively (paid search, email marketing, SEO, online media, social media, etc.) to promote one campaign theme. This strategy is the most effective way to increase reach and boost revenues for a need period.

7. Do you offer Dynamic Rate Marketing?

Today's always-connected traveler demands instantaneous hotel information with real-time pricing and resents any type of price promotion that feels like bait and switch.

The latest digital technology and marketing innovation available to hoteliers, Dynamic Rate Marketing, enables marketing campaigns featuring the property's real-time availability and rates. DRM is a next-generation direct-response marketing category, which allows real-time hotel inventory availability and pricing to be inserted in various marketing initiatives: from meta search to banner advertising, paid search to email marketing.

Does your agency utilize the technology needed to support Dynamic Rate Marketing? Dynamic Rate Marketing offers a multitude of benefits for both the travel consumer and hotelier. By combining online advertising and marketing campaigns with real-time hotel inventory availability and pricing, hoteliers can satisfy travelers' demands for instant and truthful hotel pricing information, as well as respond in real time to changing market conditions and comp set behavior. The main benefit here is that advertised rates in ad campaigns (banners, meta search, email, etc.) change automatically when the hotel changes their rates in the PMS or CRS.

The results? DRM dramatically increases campaign effectiveness, boosts conversion rates, and increases direct online bookings

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8. What percentage of the work on my account is handled in-house?

In-house services translates to total control over the quality of the work as well as the ability to offer services at more competitive prices. If your partner is outsourcing any or most of the business, you may be charged a higher commission than you realize and you will not have direct communication with the people who are handling your account. More services done in-house means less room for error, more intelligence surrounding the status of your marketing initiatives, and quicker turnaround times.

9. How many people work at your firm?

A team of 60-70 people is the absolute minimum for a digital technology+marketing firm to be able to handle all of the complexities of today's digital world: from SEO and Paid Search, online media and retargeting, social media and mobile marketing, dynamic rate marketing and meta search, website design and CMS technologies, dynamic content personalization, and more. Smaller and "one-man-team" agencies simply cannot handle today's complexities and there is a high likelihood of outsourcing or not having the resources you need available to drive the online revenues your property is capable of producing.

10. Are your employees considered industry though leaders and experts?

The management and employees of many digital marketing agencies that offer their services to the industry have no hospitality experience. They don't understand the needs of the hotelier, do not speak their language, and are incapable of providing the consulting and strategy services needed to grow the direct online channel.

Are employees published authors on hot industry topics and best practices related to online distribution and marketing? Also, ask your agency if their principals and experts are frequent guest speakers at major hospitality and digital marketing industry events and conferences. A company that employs team members who are frequently asked to share their expertise at major industry events every year is a company made up of thought leaders. The wider the variety of subjects they are asked to speak about, the better.

A company that is passionate about what it does also wants to stay ahead of the curve, creating products and services that will benefit the marketplace and its clients. In the highly competitive hospitality industry, this is a must. Hotels that fail to work with innovative digital marketing partners run the risk of losing market share, operating inefficiently and running campaigns with decreasing ROIs.

Important Ten Questions to Ask Your Digital Marketing Partner

When choosing your digital marketing partner, look at the web as the most critical and fastest growing revenue stream for the property. You should not settle for anything less than the best, a firm that will lead your property in achieving maximum revenue from the property website/direct online channel.

{{ The Guest Post Blogger organization was not involved in the creation of this content. - Dalvi Prabhakar B., Founder & Digital Manager (SEO,SEM,SMO) }}

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Free Resources for Building a Media List for ROI

Free Resources for Building a Media List for ROI

   May 08, 2014       prabhakardalvi

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Below 14 Free Resources for Building a Media List : 

The Internet Public Library

The Internet Public Library includes a list of popular magazines and newspapers organized by their respective subject area or geographic focus. Each individual listing includes a brief description of the outlet’s coverage area, along with a link to their website. Other similar directories include World Newspapers & Magazines (some of these listings are outdated, but it’s still a good starting point), the Yahoo! News and Media directory and Mondo Times.

LinkedIn Search

LinkedIn is a great resource for finding professional journalists. With LinkedIn’s new search features, you can dive deeper into user data to find contacts that fit your criteria. For example, I recently created a search to find contacts with “reporter” as their professional title within a 30 mile radius of my zip-code. 

There were more than 18,000 contacts, but I could easily narrow this search by limiting other fields or adding a keyword like “business”. LinkedIn also lets you save five searches, so you can be alerted to new contacts that join LinkedIn matching your criteria.

MediaOnTwitter Wiki

We’ve talked about the MediaOnTwitter wiki several times in this blog already, but it’s worth mentioning again. The database is currently going through an upgrade and will soon be much easier to use. 

As Twitter continues to experience explosive growth, no doubt will it continue to expand as a medium for reaching journalists and bloggers. You can learn more about the MediaOnTwitter wiki from PRSarahEvans.com. While MediaOnTwitter is the most comprehensive list, there’s also a Media People Using Twitter wiki that was created by My Creative Team (in case you wanted more).

Alltop

Alltop is an alternative to setting up RSS feeds for all your favorite blogs on a subject. Alltop has a team of keen-eyed experts that work to aggregate “All” the “Top” blogs on a particular subject. I regularly read the “PR” and “Journalism” categories on Alltop to keep up with current trends and developments relevant to the subjects I write about on this blog. With a few mouse clicks, Alltop will show you any number of the “top” outlets you’ll want to consider for your media list.

Technorati

Technorati is a blog search engine. You can use it to search for blog posts on any subject. The company also manages a list of the Top 100 Blogs, which is a great place to find the world’s most popular blogs on subjects you’re interested in. You can also explore Technorati by many different categories to find relevant blogs. Some of the more popular categories include Technology, Business, Entertainment, IT and Finance.

Congress.org Media Guide

This is a useful directory of media outlets organized by your geographic area. You can click on an interactive map to find newspapers in different areas of the country. Each listing includes a description of the outlet, along with some contacts for the publication (geared toward those that cover politics, but still useful).

Audit Bureau of Circulations

The Audit Bureau of Circulations (ABC) lists its members on its website, including Business Publications, Consumer Magazines and Newspapers.

PRSourceCode

PRSourceCode provides a variety of paid PR services for agencies and professionals working in technology-related sectors. While the company provides paid services, it has a free listing of business and technology publications on its website, linked to the sites. This is an excellent place to start if you’re building a tech-focused media list.

FAIR’s Media Contact List

This organization provides a list of media outlets – really designed for you to voice your opinion (or complaint) about media bias and censorship. Most of the contact information is generic, so you could use it as a jumping off point for major outlets. This list has basic contact information for outlets like CNBC, CNN, Fox News Channel, USA Today, Newsweek and Time.

HARO (Help A Reporter Out)

I’m sure you’ve heard about HARO. If you’re not one of the nearly 80,000 people using the service, it’s a free service that connects journalists with expert sources. Each email (there are three a day) includes reporter queries that you can respond to (provided you have a relevant pitch or expert to offer up). 

But what if you’re not a fit for the opportunity, but are for the outlet? Keep track of journalists and bloggers that regularly write about topics related to your subject areas – then research those outlets and contacts to add to your media list. What better way to learn what a journalist is interested in than to see the types of experts they regularly reach out to through HARO.

Regator

Regator aggregates the best blog posts on different subjects. While Alltop will show you the best blogs on a subject, Regator shows you the best posts, saving you even more time. I’ve just started using this service (it’s another of our favorite Atlanta-based startups), and its useful for finding the most relevant posts on subjects I’m interested in. The best posts are hand-selected by experienced journalists, so you’ll find nothing but great quality here.

TradePub

TradePub works with business and trade magazine publishers to market free subscriptions to qualified professionals. This is your one-stop-shop for subscribing to a wide-range of free business and trade publications of interest to you. It’s also a great place to find outlets you’ll want to add to your media list.

TVA Productions

TVA Productions is a top independent studio that just happens to have an awesome directory of media outlets in many different categories. The directory is well-designed and easy to navigate. The only downside is the directory only lists the name and location of each outlet per category, so you’ll still have to find the outlet’s website to continue your research from there.

None of these resources will provide anywhere near the volume or accuracy of information found in commercial media databases like Vocus or Cision. It’s true that you get what you pay for when it comes to media research. If you’re managing media relations for several organizations, consider investing in one of these solutions. If you just need to create a media list for your small business or startup, you can do this for free with a moderate amount of effort, using the resources I’ve provided in this post.

Is there another resource people should know about? Do you have other suggestions for building media lists on the cheap? Please share your thoughts.

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Dont make tricky campaign in Email Marketing for Business ROI

Dont make tricky campaign in Email Marketing for Business ROI

   July 07, 2014       prabhakardalvi

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Don't make tricky campaign in Email Marketing for Business ROI

Email promoting has been around since the Internet was invented. Although some spam filters have been able to remove unwanted messages from going into an individual’s inbox, when marketing via email is done right, it is helpful for the recipient and the sender. The solid advice, below, will show you how to earn more and keep your customers happy, at the same time.

Do not continuously insist that your subscribers “Buy Now.” People can recognize this kind of approach easily. If you do so, your work looks like spam. Trust me, all of them know you are trying to sell a product or service; however, you will realize greater success if you first build a relationship with them and then promote both yourself and what you are offering, professionally. Your customers will appreciate you not doing this, and this will increase the odds of them purchasing one of your products.

Don’t email people that you do not know. Otherwise, you risk being known as a spammer. People will not recognize your brand and will not trust you at all. They will just send your email to their spam folder, and it will be a huge waste of your time.

Any content you intend on emailing out should be proofread and edited. Accuracy is important in all forms of correspondence, including emails and newsletters. Before you ever hit “send,” test your email layout to ensure your satisfaction with the way it looks. If you have put any links in your emails, make sure they are able to be clicked.

Make sure that email formats are tested. Put your important information and any new offers near the beginning of your messages. But you should try different formats to see which one gives you the most responses. When you find one that works, stick to it. When you do this all of your customers know where they need to look for when searching for information they are interested in reading.

Continue learning about email marketing techniques through all the resources available to you. You will find a lot of helpful books or websites. You should also try to attend local email marketing classes and workshops.

Your marketing emails should contain rich content to complement the request for business. Information that is useful to readers and can’t be found on your site is particularly appreciated. Also give your valued subscribers some exclusive offers only available for people on your mailing list. Send greetings for holidays or a personalized message for birthdays for instance.

Test a variety of different formats for your emails. Your email should be like a funnel, with the most important items at the top and the least important items at the bottom. But keep trying new formats and ideas until you discover the one or ones that provide you with the greatest number of responses. When you determine what works, continually use it. This will ensure your customers will know what they are getting from your emails and where to go when they need more information.

In order to ensure that every single customer on your list has given their permission for you to email them, you should have customers opt-in to your list twice before you send the first email. While it may seem like overkill, it is a great way to guarantee that your customers actually want emails from you, which could save you from future trouble.

It’s a great idea that you require people to double opt in if they’re wanting to receive emails from you. This may appear like an unnecessary extra feature, but this can, in fact, ensure that only those who sign up who are genuinely interested and this eliminates trouble for your company.

Branding is something that extends throughout your business, even down to marketing via email. For this reason, you should be careful to develop a well-designed template for your marketing materials. Make sure to include your company logo, with color complimentary backgrounds, and professional fonts that are an accurate reflection of your brand. This will enable your customers to quickly recognize the source of the email.

Keep in mind that major holidays are not the best time to send out important emails. This is because people are usually out of their office and not next to their computers, so they won’t notice your emails. There are always exceptions, though! This may include emails regarding things like Black Friday and other sales or specials that go on.

Don’t use images for important information in marketing with email. A lot of email clients do not display images right away. This could possibly make for ugly messages or ones that are unreadable if they rely too much on images. Make sure that the most crucial information is readable and that images have alt tags.

Be certain that every recipient of your email messages has indicated a willingness to accept them. Skipping this step may not only cost you subscribers, but they may talk to others, which can further damage your business’s reputation. Some ISPs and web hosts will also refuse to do business with you, which isn’t exactly good for a business that relies on the internet for survival.

It is a legal requirement to get someone’s permission before adding them to your mailing list. If you do not, your emails will be viewed as spam. You will quickly lose subscribers and be banished to the junk mail pile. If your ISP gets many complaints, they could block you from sending emails because you can be viewed as a spammer.

Your opt-in should have a field for customers’ first names at the very least. This allows you to personalize the message to each subscriber. This will help build customer relationships.

Use email previewers to your advantage when using preheaders. Simply put, a preheader is the highlighted first line of email text. Email providers such as Gmail put this section of text right after the subject of the message, and therefore it is easy attract the attention of your reader.

It is important to only target people who have agreed to be contacted with your email marketing campaign. The people you add will be left angry, leading them to report your email and cause you a headache. Also, it is possible that the host of your e-mail service will remove your account.

Directly Opted

Be certain your email marketing plan has an option for unsubscribing or opting out. There is a cost to sending email, even if it is small. Furthermore, the negative publicity and blowback from being seen as an aggressive spammer is not only bad for business, but can result in blocks and black listings online.

Stay away from including emails on your emailing database that have not been directly opted-in by the specific subscriber. Padding your list with subscribers who have not directly opted into receiving your marketing via email can build ill will towards you by both the email owner and your potential clients. Additionally, ISPs and web hosts won’t hesitate to cancel spammers’ accounts.

To increase the size of your mailing list, include simple ways for potential customers to opt in to receiving your emails. This can be done on your website by making a link that subscribes to your newsletter.

Try testing the layouts of your messages on various platforms. Once you have perfected your materials, test them using all major browsers, various email clients and different operating systems, including Linux. A message in Hotmail may look entirely different from a message opened in Gmail.

Grabbing the reader’s attention is key in a successful email marketing campaign. You might have to tweak things a bit before everything falls into place. Changing components that aren’t working is key. Test out new techniques continuously so you can stay on top of marketing.

In order for your subscribers to feel special, try to personalize the emails you send them any way you possibly can. If it feels more like a form letter to them, they are more likely to just delete it or block it from receiving any more. Adding in their first name is very easy, but take it step further. For instance, you should have information that tells you when and where a reader subscribed, as well as why they did so. This information can be used in your emails.

Your marketing emails should be reasonably short. Your language should be as direct as possible. This will demonstrate your respect for the value of your readers’ time. This will also prompt most readers to take in the full message. Remember the importance of this, as your important links and content will probably be near the end of the email.

If you are doing it properly, your marketing with email efforts won’t even seem like a sales pitch to your readers. If you make your emails interesting and informative, a reader might actually look foward to seeing them in their inbox. This is beneficial to more than just your brand. It also might bring you customers who are more than willing to purchase your products and offerings. Use these tips to take your email promoting campaign to the next level.

Use social networking sites, such as Facebook, Twitter and YouTube, to help expand your email marketing efforts. These networks make it easier for customers to share your information with others, and you can grow your mailing list organically by interacting with visitors at your social networking sites, drumming up interest for your content.

{{ The Guest Post Blogger organization was not involved in the creation of this content. - Dalvi Prabhakar B., Founder & Digital Manager (SEO,SEM,SMO) }}

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Solid Advice On Building A Great Marketing With Email List - Online

Solid Advice On Building A Great Marketing With Email List - Online

   April 28, 2014       prabhakardalvi

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The world wide web has turned conventional marketing on its head. Email marketing can help your business maintain relationships with its customers. By reading the article below, you will discover tips to help you implement a successful email marketing campaign.

When researching email promoting, use as many resources as possible. Online books or articles will be greatly helpful. In addition, lots of local classes and workshops can be discovered in your area. Therefore, it would help you to attend these when you can.

Keep track of the subject lines on e-mails that get opened and those that do not. For a single email, split your mailing list in half randomly, with each half receiving messages that have different subjects. This way, you will be able to gain insight as to which subject lines will encourage the highest open rates. You will also see which subject lines people will skip over without reading.

TIP! Try not to overuse urgent language and phrases such as “Hurry!” or “Purchase immediately!” Stay away from harsh sales techniques such as bombarding them with the need to immediately “Buy Now!” This will make you look like you are spamming them, which will in turn affect your business. They are aware that you want to increase sales, so it would be best if you built a solid, professional relationship with them before encouraging them to buy anything.

Test different formats for your email. Include important details and the latest information right at the beginning of your emails. You should however experiment with various formats in order to identify which format elicits the most responses. Stick with what works. This consistency will make it easy for customers to know where to locate your information and maneuver through your emails quicker.

Don’t send out emails without getting the permission of the person you’re sending it to. If you start sending unsolicited messages, you will be unlikely to be taken seriously. You could lose customers and get reported for sending unwanted emails.

Don’t send more than one email promoting message per week. Your customer base is likely made up of people who are busy and receive many messages each day. Customers may skip your emails if they receive too many of them.

TIP! Test your subject line using two variations for the same email. Split the mailing list in half.

The more you allow your customers to customize their experiences, the better your campaign will be. Allow your subscribers to choose the number of messages they would like to receive and how often, as well as what information they want to disclose. Giving your customers more control over the process will make them more comfortable.

Develop a strategy that addresses your customer base. However, persistent you are with your marketing campaign, it needs to be geared towards the right people in order to be successful. Bugging the wrong customers creates ill will and wastes resources you could be using on other customers.

A lot of your customers will be opening your emails on their smartphones or mobile devices. Such devices have just a fraction of the resolution of a standard computer monitor, so your messages will look quite different. Know the limitations that you have when it comes to these small displays, and ensure your emails can be read on a phone screen.

TIP! Use consistency in your message. Use your logo and a standard color scheme in each email you send.

Provide an incentive with each email you send to your customers. They are more likely to conduct business with you when they have a reason to do so. One common example of such an incentive is to offer free shipping if a customer’s total order exceeds a certain amount.

This may seem like obvious advice, but make sure that when you are doing email marketing, that you have the correct addresses for all your contacts. It would be a waste of time looking for email addresses and having to resend emails after they didn’t go through. This just wastes your precious time!

Get your customer’s name when they sign up for your marketing via email list. This allows you to address each customer individually in the email, personalizing your message. The emails that you send to them will stand out because recipients won’t feel quite so anonymous.

TIP! Always get customer permission before you begin contacting via email marketing. Unwanted emails are usually viewed as spam, and are ignored or deleted without being read.

Make sure all of the marketing emails you send are short. Your language should be as direct as possible. This can demonstrate that you value the time your readers take to correspond with you. It will also increase the chances of your readers reading all the way to the end of the email. This is crucial. Don’t forget that the last part of your email will probably have important links and information.

If you are new to e-mail marketing, get in the habit of proofreading your emails before sending them. Many people forget this step, which is unfortunate. After all, it’s only email, isn’t it? That is incorrect! Your marketing via email strategy is an important part of your marketing campaign and must be done correctly and attractively.

If your company already has branded their emails, make sure all new emails stay consistent with previous branding. Use the same color pattern you use regularly, while also including your company logo on each email communication you send out. Your emails will benefit from being associated with the good reputation of your established brand.

TIP! Remember that your email list is meant to increase your business profits. Every email that is sent should entice the readers to want to buy a product or service.

Email Promoting

The Internet has created many great new ways to promote your business. In order to connect with new customers and seek out new ones, a business owner can take advantage of the powerful communications tools offered by email promoting. The ideas and tips you learned above should help you in your email promoting efforts.

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Biggest Networking Mistakes that Salespeople Make

Biggest Networking Mistakes that Salespeople Make

   May 29, 2014       prabhakardalvi

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Sales people often are natural networkers – after all, we tend to be “people persons” who love to meet new people, build relationships, and create conversations, both in “real life” and on social media. But many sales people, without realizing it, are making some big mistakes with their business networking. 

Business networking is one of the sales person’s oldest tools. We use our network of relationships and contacts to get in touch with decision makers, get advice, and get connected with new opportunities. But if you’re making some of these networking mistakes, you might not be reaching your full potential as a sales professional. 

Here are a few of the most common networking mistakes – and how to avoid them: 

Mistake #1: Networking without a strategy. Building relationships is a long-term activity. You can’t just expect to run out and immediately find the contacts or opportunities you’re looking for without investing some time and effort. Just as you would develop a marketing plan or a sales strategy to land a big client, spend some time mapping out some short-term and long-term goals for your sales networking. 

How to avoid: Spend some time asking (and answering) some “big questions” that can guide your networking activity. For example, who are you trying to meet? Which types of companies would you love to get connected with? Who do you already know who works at these companies or knows some of these higher-level people, and how can you strengthen your relationships with your existing circle of influence?

Mistake #2: Networking only to “get,” never to “give.” Too many sales people only look at networking as a way to get what they want. Too many sales people only network in order to get closer to a decision maker, or get their foot in the door at a company where they’re trying to make a sale, or to get in front of someone who might offer them a new job. This is the biggest networking mistake of all. If people feel that you are in it only for yourself, they will be reluctant to trust you or help you. Networking is a two-way street – and some of the most successful sales people are also the most generous with their time and with their contacts. 

How to avoid: When networking, always look for opportunities to “give” more than you “get.” Examples of “giving” might be as simple as sharing a timely article about a prospect’s business or industry, or connecting a contact with an opportunity that is valuable to them (even if it is unrelated to your business). Your generosity might not always be rewarded immediately, but in the long run you will build a reputation as someone who can be trusted, and someone who is willing to help others and connect others with opportunities. 

Mistake #3: Networking only with the “usual suspects.” Especially if you sell a complex B2B solution, it can be understandably tempting to spend most of your time focused on networking with people in your niche market. But if you spend all of your time connecting only with a small circle of people, you might miss out on opportunities that could come from connecting with people from other facets of your life.

 How to avoid: Remember that everyone you know, and everyone they know, can potentially be a valuable contact for you. Take a look at all of your social circles – work, family, community activities, social organizations – and see how you can become more of a connector. Someone you know from church or from your kids’ school might have a friend or relative who works in a business that needs your help. 

Networking is the constant, never-ending work of the sales professional. Sometimes networking feels like trying to navigate a maze – lots of blind corners and uncertainty and wrong turns. But at its best, networking is not a maze, it’s a safety net. 

One of the comforting truths about networking is that we are all supported by our own “safety nets” of contacts and all of their combined expertise, experience and relationships. If sales people can learn to network with planning and purpose (instead of just impulsively grasping around with no sense of direction), if sales people can learn to broaden their networks and connect other people within their networks (instead of only talking to the “usual suspects”), and if sales people can use networking as a way to deepen their relationships and build trust (rather than only trying to get what they need), networking will become a more purposeful and helpful tool – and a better way to operate as a sales professional.

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Tips For Sales Survival & Recovery - Prabhakar

Tips For Sales Survival & Recovery - Prabhakar

   May 29, 2014       prabhakardalvi

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One of the most unpleasant situations to be in as a sales person is when the client blames you for what the client perceives to be a failure or shortcoming of your product or solution. Clients might go from being happy and reliable, to being angry and threatening to cancel their contract. 

“Getting thrown under the bus” in this way by clients can be demoralizing, to say the least. You have invested many hours in building a business relationship, only to find out that the client doesn't trust you as much as you thought. 

As a vendor, we are often the easiest people to throw under the bus. We work outside the client’s organization, and so there is rarely any internal political cost to blaming the vendor when something goes wrong. Vendors are also (wrongly) seen as expendable, since the company can always go put the project out to bid and find some new vendors and solutions. 

If you want to salvage the business relationship, or better yet, avoid getting thrown under the bus by a client in the first place, here are a few tips for what to do and what to avoid. 

Here are a few ways to identify clients who are likely to be “bus throwers.” Often there are several of these factors in play, and the more there are, the more of a toxic mix you have:

1) Clients who are new to their positions. They might not have encountered a situation like the one they’re hiring you to help solve, or they might not have been responsible for implementing this type of solution before.

2) Clients who are new to their jobs and “in way over their heads.” If a client is inexperienced or lacking in management skills, this raises the risk that they will blame you first when things go wrong.

3) Clients who are in their jobs and “in way over their heads” and who were hired by bosses who are also “in way over their heads.” This situation multiplies the risk. Clients who feel insecure in their positions will want to make themselves look better and make their bosses look better – and they will protect their own reputations even if that means throwing you under the bus.

4) Company culture of “micro management.” If your client and your client’s company aren’t good at delegating and letting people do their jobs, this is another risk factor for an unpleasant client experience.

5) Companies in new industries where there is no previous operational or marketing path to follow. These folks are making it up as they go along. They have “great” new ideas that they ask you to execute, but any mistakes will soon become your blunders.

6) Clients who come from other industries where they have been very successful and are now taking over a new business segment and begin to apply rules that worked in their previous experience – without knowing whether the rules will work. 

What happens if you get thrown under the bus by a client?

First, keep in mind that it’s not personal, it’s just business. Even though you might feel frustrated, angry, or even betrayed, try not to let your emotions get in the way. 

Instead, try to salvage what you can. Find out what parts of the contract can still be upheld. Try to talk to other allies or key decision makers within the company and find out if there are other opportunities to serve other parts of the company away from your bus-throwing client. 

If the business relationship cannot be saved, look to minimize the damage to your company’s reputation. Deal with the situation gracefully. Don’t give the client any ammunition to use against you by bad-mouthing you and your company in the marketplace. 

Closing a sale can be tough enough, without having to worry about the deal blowing up in your face. Getting thrown under the bus by a client is never fun, and once it happens there isn't always much you can do to minimize the damage. Instead, prevention is the best medicine. Try to avoid the clients who are most likely to throw you under the bus. Watch out for potentially toxic situations. Try to work with clients who are secure in their jobs, who are trusted by their bosses, and who communicate with candor and authenticity (without seeming to have any hidden agendas).

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