March 21, 2012

Customer service is the new marketing

by Christopher Rollyson

bigstock_Customer_Service-featured image

In most brand organizations, marketing investments rest on 20th century marketing principles whose results are diminishing every year. At the same time, an increasing portion of products and services are commoditizing, which puts more pressure on marketing to “create” differentiation and value. In many cases, there is no escape — except by changing the rules.

Here I’ll show how marketing can reinvent itself by using social business to tap a hidden gold mine. Here are the ways that CMOs can leverage digital world of mouth: Continue reading →

March 13, 2012

How social business will transform B2B Sales & Marketing

by Christopher Rollyson

Social business is permeating client networks and changing client behavior and expectations. This has created a rare opportunity for B2B sales and marketing people who understand and respond ahead of the market. Here I’ll do a deeper dive into how legacy Sales and Marketing functions will evolve, using social business as a lever. Continue reading →

March 9, 2012

How to get over social media writer’s block

by Chris Abraham

We’ve all had it. Writer’s block. You need to write something and there’s nothing there. No idea. Nothing seems like the right approach. Why does it happen? There are six reasons why you’ll have chronic writer’s block when it comes to producing content to feed your social media dragons: blog, Twitter and Facebook. Once you recognize some of these reasons … Continue reading →

March 6, 2012

2012: The year of B2B social business adoption

by Christopher Rollyson

Based on CSRA’s recent research as well as my 25 years’ experience with guiding B2Bs’ adoption of disruptive technology, I predict that 2012 will see significant social business takeup among B2B pioneers. First, a critical mass of B2B executive leaders are familiar enough with social technologies to consider them for the first time. Second, the business driver will be the economy. During the past 4-5 years, enterprises have continue to cut costs wherever they could, but few are performing at the level they want to be. Continue reading →

February 29, 2012

The quantum method of reaching out to bloggers

by Chris Abraham

Look for the cumulative power of the long tail My long tail blogger outreach strategy is periodically challenged or criticized as being too aggressive. The argument generally goes as follows: If you send thousands of email pitches to topically and demographically relevant bloggers and online influencers in one go, you’re spamming. The real way to do it right is … Continue reading →

February 22, 2012

How one author won over the gun buff message boards

by Chris Abraham

In order to mine social media marketing gold, you really need to roll up your sleeves, put on a pair of sturdy work boots, get into that little elevator, and descend that deep shaft into the gold mine yourself, pick in hand, and get to work. Message boards and forums are full of marketing gold, but if gold were that … Continue reading →