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Added for You - Bridging the Chasm Between IT and Internet Marketing
Publicity will take your financial planning practice, your business, and your life to the next level. It’s going to bring you: more recognition more credibility more value to the marketplace more business It’s obvious that getting more publicity – exposure in the media – will yield you more marketplace recognition. But how do the other three “mores” work?By magic mostly, I have concluded. You see, there’s something powerful, magical, and perhaps even a little irrational about this – but I have found it consistently to be true:Something special happens when you are featured or quoted in the media. Not only do more people get to see more about you, but they somehow think more of you.The response is almost universal--and it's a marketing dream. It goes something like this: “Oh, Jennifer must be good at what she does. I see her quoted all the time.”Or – raise your hand if the description fits – you’ll tear an article from the paper because it talks about exactly the problem or need you’re f
3. Choose a project champion to lead both the IT and marketing aspects of a project, regardless of whether they are from the business or technical side. Also, get executive sponsors from both departments. Nothing kills an initiative faster than a lack of upper-management support.
4. Share funding between all departments that will realistically benefit from the IT project, rather than placing the financial burden on a single department.
5. Cross-train individuals on basic technology and marketing skills, or encourage the migration of tech-savvy marketers or business-savvy techies to the other side.
6. Develop shared metrics for IT and Internet marketing. IT is usually concerned about ROI and seeing projects implemented, while marketing wants leads, sales, and conversion. Develop metrics in tandem that apply equally to the objectives of each department.
7. Use collaborative knowledge management tools. By using a project extranet, shared MS project files, or a project weblog, members of both teams can be kept up to date on projects.
8. Build for CRM. Consider how you will be using the data that you will be collecting, and how it can be integrated with both existing, and future, systems, tools, processes, and initiatives. Don’t colle
Epublishing is the preferred method for sharing information worldwide. Ebooks and ebooklets are distributed promotionally or as part of a product line, providing increased exposure, revenues, and credibility. Epublishing creates leads to new customers, serves informative purposes, and are used as a reward when signing up for your service, ezine, newsletter, or survey. They can help solidify you as an expert in your field.Consider these quick tips to help increase your client base through epublishing:1) Write what you know. Chose a topic about which you have knowledge. This prompts readers to want more of what you've got.2) Listen to your subscribers and customers. Write about what they want to read. Read their comments and answer their emails personally, professionally, and promptly. If your ezine reader makes a suggestion you decide to use, let them know. Acknowledge them.3) Spelling and grammar: Use a spell and grammar checker on all epublications you write. Read what you wrote again. Ask an ass
For many companies, this proved to be a great strategy. Nimble e-commerce groups created websites and strategies quickly and started producing almost immediate results. However, this approach has lost its luster over the past few years as IT departments are finding their budgets shrinking and staff stagnating. In some companies where the IT department has not had a significant hand in Internet strategy and web site development, a great deal of animosity has grown on the part of IT managers toward anything “Internet,” including Internet marketing. Migrating from an exclusionary mindset to a collaborative mindset is not something that comes easily to some companies. Egos, politics, logistics, and relationships are usually altered in the process. Countless companies are still hobbled by the lack of communication between IT and marketing, inefficient vendor relationships, and archaic processes, all of which compromise customer service. Sure, there are positives to the aforementioned separatist strategy, but there are countless negatives, as many companies have recently discovered. The tide is slowly turning towards cooperation as marketers realize they cannot go it alone anymore in the Internet space, the customers and the technology simply move too fast.
Who’s to blame for this? Both marketing leaders who do not understand the need for soliciting cross-functional support and IT leaders who fail to bridge communication gaps across functional teams play a role in creating the gap that separates IT from Marketing.
A new study recently done in the UK by CatchFIRE Systems reported that nearly three quarters of IT departments are not involved in the initial planning stages of online marketing campaigns, leading to 24% of UK organizations suffering from web overloads and site crashes. Sound familiar? It does to me, I can recall bringing down our web servers SEVERAL times when we began doing email marketing before I thought to involve the IT department.
The study goes on to indicate that almost 75% of those organizations surveyed admitted to not knowing how many users the corporate web site could support. Even worse, over 60% were unaware of how many users were leaving web sites with incomplete transactions, and barely 1 in 10 could put a figure on the consequent monetary losses to their organization. These statistics underscore the basic problem: how can we act as goodwill ambassadors to our customers when we do not have an adequate technical understanding of the tools that are at our disposal? Any good sales manager knows how many calls his sales staff can make in a day, week, or month. Yet, the average marketing manager hasn’t taken the time to inquire about how many visitors her website can handle in a day. This status quo clearly indicates the need for increased contact between IT and Marketing.
Results and relations would improve appreciably if marketing were to send a representative to IT project meetings and IT were to assign a technical liaison to each marketing team. Even involving an IT developer in a weekly sales and marketing planning meeting will have a beneficial impact. While the developer may have little understanding of marketing concepts like CPM, CPA, ROMI, and what have you, at least he can give an honest answer on whether your current CRM technology can handle the sales management mandates or reporting requirements. The average IT person can also bring your meeting back to Earth in a hurry when you casually suggest launching your next product via a worldwide webcast of a real-time speech from your CEO and an exclusive Rolling Stones concert to millions of viewers.
At the end of the day, your sales and marketing team needs an embedded IT team member, especially if you are placing a great deal of emphasis on CRM, Internet marketing and your website to drive your sales numbers. Moreover, if you have designs on ANY integration of your CRM, ERP systems and your web presence, you’re in a far better position with an IT person on board than if you try to go it alone or make that integration happen through the flavor-of-the-month vendor that you’ve hired for the job. If you’re scratching your head on how to get more involved with IT, or what all the elements are in the equation, here are ten points to consider when engaging your IT department. 1. Treat IT like a partner. Your IT department is not a vendor that you can give orders to. Seek the department’s input. An IT solution is a tool that requires technical input and information sharing.
2. Embed IT personnel into your team. If possible, have IT and marketing staffs sit nearby so they can get a sense of each other's day-to-day activities and concerns. Have an IT person go on several sales calls to get a better sense of a rep’s daily needs.
3. Choose a project champion to lead both the IT and marketing aspects of a project, regardless of whether they are from the business or technical side. Also, get executive sponsors from both departments. Nothing kills an initiative faster than a lack of upper-management support.
4. Share funding between all departments that will realistically benefit from the IT project, rather than placing the financial burden on a single department.
5. Cross-train individuals on basic technology and marketing skills, or encourage the migration of tech-savvy marketers or business-savvy techies to the other side.
6. Develop shared metrics for IT and Internet marketing. IT is usually concerned about ROI and seeing projects implemented, while marketing wants leads, sales, and conversion. Develop metrics in tandem that apply equally to the objectives of each department.
7. Use collaborative knowledge management tools. By using a project extranet, shared MS project files, or a project weblog, members of both teams can be kept up to date on projects.
8. Build for CRM. Consider how you will be using the data that you will be collecting, and how it can be integrated with both existing, and future, systems, tools, processes, and initiatives. Don’t collec
Even though a nationwide criminal history search is practically impossible, many companies advertise that such a search can be made possible by hiring their services. Practically speaking, such a search would involve having access to records worldwide or at least access to the FBI database that houses national criminal records. This is an impossible task since the investigators would not have access to the records in each and every court in the country nor have access to the FBI records.Most of the companies that claim to provide a nation wide search would be able to investigate the records in a few specific states as well as the data available online. This does not ensure accurate data when it comes to an extensive search.The FBI houses the complete nationwide criminal records, but only a small part of it would be accessible to licensed investigators unless the background check is being conducted to catch a criminal. They also have records of the fingerprints of all criminals as well as normal citizens for reference. Hence, the investigators can get the FBI t
Who’s to blame for this? Both marketing leaders who do not understand the need for soliciting cross-functional support and IT leaders who fail to bridge communication gaps across functional teams play a role in creating the gap that separates IT from Marketing.
A new study recently done in the UK by CatchFIRE Systems reported that nearly three quarters of IT departments are not involved in the initial planning stages of online marketing campaigns, leading to 24% of UK organizations suffering from web overloads and site crashes. Sound familiar? It does to me, I can recall bringing down our web servers SEVERAL times when we began doing email marketing before I thought to involve the IT department.
The study goes on to indicate that almost 75% of those organizations surveyed admitted to not knowing how many users the corporate web site could support. Even worse, over 60% were unaware of how many users were leaving web sites with incomplete transactions, and barely 1 in 10 could put a figure on the consequent monetary losses to their organization. These statistics underscore the basic problem: how can we act as goodwill ambassadors to our customers when we do not have an adequate technical understanding of the tools that are at our disposal? Any good sales manager knows how many calls his sales staff can make in a day, week, or month. Yet, the average marketing manager hasn’t taken the time to inquire about how many visitors her website can handle in a day. This status quo clearly indicates the need for increased contact between IT and Marketing.
Results and relations would improve appreciably if marketing were to send a representative to IT project meetings and IT were to assign a technical liaison to each marketing team. Even involving an IT developer in a weekly sales and marketing planning meeting will have a beneficial impact. While the developer may have little understanding of marketing concepts like CPM, CPA, ROMI, and what have you, at least he can give an honest answer on whether your current CRM technology can handle the sales management mandates or reporting requirements. The average IT person can also bring your meeting back to Earth in a hurry when you casually suggest launching your next product via a worldwide webcast of a real-time speech from your CEO and an exclusive Rolling Stones concert to millions of viewers.
At the end of the day, your sales and marketing team needs an embedded IT team member, especially if you are placing a great deal of emphasis on CRM, Internet marketing and your website to drive your sales numbers. Moreover, if you have designs on ANY integration of your CRM, ERP systems and your web presence, you’re in a far better position with an IT person on board than if you try to go it alone or make that integration happen through the flavor-of-the-month vendor that you’ve hired for the job. If you’re scratching your head on how to get more involved with IT, or what all the elements are in the equation, here are ten points to consider when engaging your IT department. 1. Treat IT like a partner. Your IT department is not a vendor that you can give orders to. Seek the department’s input. An IT solution is a tool that requires technical input and information sharing.
2. Embed IT personnel into your team. If possible, have IT and marketing staffs sit nearby so they can get a sense of each other's day-to-day activities and concerns. Have an IT person go on several sales calls to get a better sense of a rep’s daily needs.
3. Choose a project champion to lead both the IT and marketing aspects of a project, regardless of whether they are from the business or technical side. Also, get executive sponsors from both departments. Nothing kills an initiative faster than a lack of upper-management support.
4. Share funding between all departments that will realistically benefit from the IT project, rather than placing the financial burden on a single department.
5. Cross-train individuals on basic technology and marketing skills, or encourage the migration of tech-savvy marketers or business-savvy techies to the other side.
6. Develop shared metrics for IT and Internet marketing. IT is usually concerned about ROI and seeing projects implemented, while marketing wants leads, sales, and conversion. Develop metrics in tandem that apply equally to the objectives of each department.
7. Use collaborative knowledge management tools. By using a project extranet, shared MS project files, or a project weblog, members of both teams can be kept up to date on projects.
8. Build for CRM. Consider how you will be using the data that you will be collecting, and how it can be integrated with both existing, and future, systems, tools, processes, and initiatives. Don’t colle
Putting together a cell phone fundraiser for your group is quick and easy. Here are some tips on how to start your program and most importantly, how to collect large amounts of cell phones.Cell Phone Recycling First, when doing a phone fund raiser you need to know that some used cell phones are worth a lot more than others. Obviously, the newest models with all the bells and whistles are going to be worth the most.Second, some older mobile phones have little value because they are obsolete, not in good condition, the batteries won't hold a charge, or won't turn on at all. So, an important point is that you need a company to work with that will at least pay something for every phone, not just the good ones.Third, you don't want to spend your own money shipping in the cell phones that you are recycling, so you need a company that provides prepaid boxes. It works best if you can get boxes that are pre-addressed and have your group's ID number right on the shipping label. It works even better if you can use the shipping boxes as collection boxes, so all
Results and relations would improve appreciably if marketing were to send a representative to IT project meetings and IT were to assign a technical liaison to each marketing team. Even involving an IT developer in a weekly sales and marketing planning meeting will have a beneficial impact. While the developer may have little understanding of marketing concepts like CPM, CPA, ROMI, and what have you, at least he can give an honest answer on whether your current CRM technology can handle the sales management mandates or reporting requirements. The average IT person can also bring your meeting back to Earth in a hurry when you casually suggest launching your next product via a worldwide webcast of a real-time speech from your CEO and an exclusive Rolling Stones concert to millions of viewers.
At the end of the day, your sales and marketing team needs an embedded IT team member, especially if you are placing a great deal of emphasis on CRM, Internet marketing and your website to drive your sales numbers. Moreover, if you have designs on ANY integration of your CRM, ERP systems and your web presence, you’re in a far better position with an IT person on board than if you try to go it alone or make that integration happen through the flavor-of-the-month vendor that you’ve hired for the job. If you’re scratching your head on how to get more involved with IT, or what all the elements are in the equation, here are ten points to consider when engaging your IT department. 1. Treat IT like a partner. Your IT department is not a vendor that you can give orders to. Seek the department’s input. An IT solution is a tool that requires technical input and information sharing.
2. Embed IT personnel into your team. If possible, have IT and marketing staffs sit nearby so they can get a sense of each other's day-to-day activities and concerns. Have an IT person go on several sales calls to get a better sense of a rep’s daily needs.
3. Choose a project champion to lead both the IT and marketing aspects of a project, regardless of whether they are from the business or technical side. Also, get executive sponsors from both departments. Nothing kills an initiative faster than a lack of upper-management support.
4. Share funding between all departments that will realistically benefit from the IT project, rather than placing the financial burden on a single department.
5. Cross-train individuals on basic technology and marketing skills, or encourage the migration of tech-savvy marketers or business-savvy techies to the other side.
6. Develop shared metrics for IT and Internet marketing. IT is usually concerned about ROI and seeing projects implemented, while marketing wants leads, sales, and conversion. Develop metrics in tandem that apply equally to the objectives of each department.
7. Use collaborative knowledge management tools. By using a project extranet, shared MS project files, or a project weblog, members of both teams can be kept up to date on projects.
8. Build for CRM. Consider how you will be using the data that you will be collecting, and how it can be integrated with both existing, and future, systems, tools, processes, and initiatives. Don’t colle
Whether you are looking for a job, new clients or feel the need to expand your list of professional contacts, networking is the answer.So what are you saying to yourself right now? “Yuck, I hate networking. I’ll go to a networking event one of these days, if I can figure out where the REALLY good connections are.”Hello? These are all excuses that keep you in the same place and move you no closer to your goals!Guess what? We all hate networking. It’s just that some of us have gotten better at it because we actually force ourselves to do it!For all of you first time networkers, or those that have to be pushed out the door or accompanied by a friend, here are tips to get you started:The TipsExtreme self-care. Say what? Pamper yourself before you go to an event. Have a massage, talk with a friend who makes you laugh or have lunch at your favorite eatery. The goal is to get to the event feeling relaxed and confident.Arrive early. The pre-event time is a great chance to have a slightly longer
At the end of the day, your sales and marketing team needs an embedded IT team member, especially if you are placing a great deal of emphasis on CRM, Internet marketing and your website to drive your sales numbers. Moreover, if you have designs on ANY integration of your CRM, ERP systems and your web presence, you’re in a far better position with an IT person on board than if you try to go it alone or make that integration happen through the flavor-of-the-month vendor that you’ve hired for the job. If you’re scratching your head on how to get more involved with IT, or what all the elements are in the equation, here are ten points to consider when engaging your IT department. 1. Treat IT like a partner. Your IT department is not a vendor that you can give orders to. Seek the department’s input. An IT solution is a tool that requires technical input and information sharing.
2. Embed IT personnel into your team. If possible, have IT and marketing staffs sit nearby so they can get a sense of each other's day-to-day activities and concerns. Have an IT person go on several sales calls to get a better sense of a rep’s daily needs.
3. Choose a project champion to lead both the IT and marketing aspects of a project, regardless of whether they are from the business or technical side. Also, get executive sponsors from both departments. Nothing kills an initiative faster than a lack of upper-management support.
4. Share funding between all departments that will realistically benefit from the IT project, rather than placing the financial burden on a single department.
5. Cross-train individuals on basic technology and marketing skills, or encourage the migration of tech-savvy marketers or business-savvy techies to the other side.
6. Develop shared metrics for IT and Internet marketing. IT is usually concerned about ROI and seeing projects implemented, while marketing wants leads, sales, and conversion. Develop metrics in tandem that apply equally to the objectives of each department.
7. Use collaborative knowledge management tools. By using a project extranet, shared MS project files, or a project weblog, members of both teams can be kept up to date on projects.
8. Build for CRM. Consider how you will be using the data that you will be collecting, and how it can be integrated with both existing, and future, systems, tools, processes, and initiatives. Don’t colle
Some say the eBay eBook market is dead. I say it’s not. I’ve cracked the eBay eBook selling code and in this article I will outline the three major rules I follow to ensure that my eBooks fly off the shelves while others struggle to get rid of their 99c eBooks.Rule #1 – Be Original!This is the most important rule in eBay eBook selling. If you can market your auctions in a unique and original way compared to others, then you will experience success. You can be original by creating new auction titles, getting new product graphics, manipulating the eBook sales letter and creating a unique twist to your product like adding unannounced bonuses. By doing this you build your reputation and create a solid customer base of clients who trust you and are likely to return to your auctions at a later date.You could also consider locating new and hidden eBooks that no-one else is selling. This way you can dominate the market for that particular eBook.Being original will cause eBayers all over the world to talk about your auctions and this will create a stampede
3. Choose a project champion to lead both the IT and marketing aspects of a project, regardless of whether they are from the business or technical side. Also, get executive sponsors from both departments. Nothing kills an initiative faster than a lack of upper-management support.
4. Share funding between all departments that will realistically benefit from the IT project, rather than placing the financial burden on a single department.
5. Cross-train individuals on basic technology and marketing skills, or encourage the migration of tech-savvy marketers or business-savvy techies to the other side.
6. Develop shared metrics for IT and Internet marketing. IT is usually concerned about ROI and seeing projects implemented, while marketing wants leads, sales, and conversion. Develop metrics in tandem that apply equally to the objectives of each department.
7. Use collaborative knowledge management tools. By using a project extranet, shared MS project files, or a project weblog, members of both teams can be kept up to date on projects.
8. Build for CRM. Consider how you will be using the data that you will be collecting, and how it can be integrated with both existing, and future, systems, tools, processes, and initiatives. Don’t collect information in a vacuum, even worse, miss opportunities to collect it.
9. Forge vendor relationships together. If marketing is going to be using an ASP for email marketing or web analytics, involve the IT folks in the decision and implementation to extract the most value from the tools.
10. Work out an SLA (service level agreement) between the parties. IT has many projects on its plate and marketers are almost never on time. Make sure the SLA requirements and expectations are clearly and unambiguously defined, along with measurement criteria, consequences, and performance monitoring contingencies. This will help keep things honest and serve to sustain consistent levels of expectation.
If you’re a marketing consultant and you’re reading this thinking, “Whew, glad I don’t have to deal with that stuff,” think again. If you’re in a meeting with a client during the advanced stages of an Internet marketing campaign that will have a significant impact on site traffic or the IT infrastructure, you will need to make sure that your client has involved their IT partner in the planning of the initiative.
Are you ready to start working together with your IT department? It’s amazing, how little it actually takes to build a strong bridge between your IT and marketing camps, when everyone is focused on the needs of the customer.
Links to article sources and additional resources on the web:
[1] Communication Chasm Between IT and Marketing to Blame
URL: http://catchfs.com/News/2003nov18.htm
[2] Marketing campaigns 'can paralyze Web sites'
URL: http://news.zdnet.co.uk/internet/security/0,39020375,39117987,00.htm
[3] MARKETING and IT don't talk
URL: http://www.geek.com/news/geeknews/2003Nov/gee20031120022762.htm
[4] Bridging the Gap: Marketing Versus IT
URL: http://www.clickz.com/em_mkt/em_mkt/article.php/844361
[5] The Weenies vs. the Geeks: Bridging the gap between Marketing and IT
URL: http://www.myplanview.com/expert104.asp
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