According to a study by MarketingProfs and the Content Marketing Institute, it was found that Business-to-consumer (B2C) content marketers struggle tracking their content marketing return on investment (ROI). According to another study by B2C Content Marketing: 2015 Benchmarks, Budgets and Trends—North America, Only 23% of B2C marketers say they are successful at tracking the ROI of their content marketing program, and nearly as many (21%) do not track ROI at all. Read more at: http://www.marketingprofs.com/charts/2014/26252/2015-b2c-content-marketing-benchmarks-budgets-and-trends

According to a recent report from Marin Software, 88% of enterprise marketers are using digital retargeting to re-engage users who haven't purchased on initial visits. The most popular tools for retargeting come from Google. 89% of marketers re-target using the company's Remarketing Lists for Search Ads (RLSA) or the Google Display Network (GDN). To know more, follow:  http://www.marketingprofs.com/charts/2014/26218/marketing-retargeting-benchmarks-trends-and-challenges

The KYC platform launched by eClerx enables both seller and buyer clients to establish and conduct KYC processes. Reduction of regulatory risk and compliance across multiple jurisdictions is ensured under high level of supervision. Clients using eClerx's KYC offering are able to extra proficiently involve in business relationships and decrease the possibility of illegal activities such as money laundering. Organizations, not properly managing their KYC, face risk and reputation. Therefore KYC has come into the regulatory forefront and is an indispensable component of enterprise risk. Read more at: http://www.hedgeweek.com/2014/10/13/211289/eclerx-launches-know-your-customer-solution

Audio Branding is an important aspect nowadays. But, what is Audio Branding? It is a distinct musical identity that expresses a product or service's promise, personality.  It defines your brand essence and value. The best practice is to have a clear process for developing your audio brand. Colleen Fahey (US managing director of Sixième Son) and Laurence Minsky (an associate professor in the marketing communication department at Columbia College, Chicago), writes about the processes which audio branding agencies have developed some methods to keep the team from going off track. Read more at:  http://www.marketingprofs.com/articles/2014/26202/how-to-get-the-most-of-out-of-best-practices-in-audio-branding

A lot is at stake in the stock market because average stock valuations are in high-normal range. Most analysts agree that if the average P/E Ratio of S&P 500 is anything greater than 20, it means stocks are in a rather high-priced region. There are several factors however that might create problems. To know more go through the article by Julian Close (business writer, PRA International and the United Nations Department of Peacekeeping) at: http://www.marketintelligencecenter.com/articles/612420

A recent report from Retention Science said that 31% of online retailers in the US with annual marketing budgets exceeding $1 million do not personalize their websites and of the 69% of companies that do personalize their websites, just 21% offer personalized offers to visitors. The most popular form of website personalization for companies is product recommendations. To know more, follow:  : http://www.marketingprofs.com/charts/2014/25927/how-much-do-retail-marketers-personalize-websites-and-emails

In today's world, agriculture is not enough for farmers to sustain and to move on to the next level. Business-oriented agriculture should be encouraged. Without proper market intelligence, profit making is impractical. Farmers are not aware of the market demand and what consumers want. So, farmers and traders should work together to promote products required in the market and fix prices using technology in farming. A programme focusing on this issue was organized by National Horticultural Research and Development Foundation, Coimbatore, and Department of Horticulture, Madurai, under the Mission for Integrated Development of Horticulture. They are trying to identify the horticultural needs of farmers and bring out solutions. Read more at: http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Madurai/market-intelligence-is-crucial-for-farmers/article6454553.ece

Smartphones and tables enable consumers to stay connected and share their good and bad experiences. Marketers have to think mobile devices as a way of collecting valuable feedback. Mark Penson (CMO of Survey Anyplace), writes in his article how marketers can tap into customers' thinking to build their brand. Read more at: http://www.marketingprofs.com/articles/2014/26150/always-on-marketing-to-the-always-connected-five-ways-to-tap-into-customer-thinking

Nowadays, the success of digital marketing depends on analytics and if it is used effectively, then marketers can recognize trends, uncover insights and take action such as personalizing content and remarketing. But, data loses its value if action is not taken timely. Now, the question arises that how marketers tackle the immense volume of data and take action. JD Nyland (Director of product management for Adobe Analytics), writes in this article how analytics can help in taking smarter action. To know more, follow:  http://www.cmswire.com/cms/digital-marketing/5-ways-analytics-enables-smarter-action-026782.php

Today's small businesses are setting their focus on their own unique products and services rather than the best piece of real estate for showcasing. They now cater to local markets and potential customers and are shifting their focus towards local SEO. There are many valid reasons for this. Customers simply choose to spend their hard earned money locally as it gives a feeling of economic stability. To know more about why and how to optimize a small business presence with localized SEO efforts, read the article by David Goehst (Entrepreneur, Expert Blogger, and Search Engine Pro) at: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/david-goehst/how-local-seo-speeds-up-small-business-growth_b_5830646.html

Organizations should keep their marketing strategy flexible. Goals and strategy should be different. Caroline Melberg (Chief Engagement Officer, Small Business Mavericks) writes in her article about some ideas of different goals and strategies that a company should follow. Read more at: http://www.socialmediatoday.com/content/your-marketing-strategy-flexible-0

Businesses are shifting to cloud based systems to boost business intelligence. Small to medium business enterprises are now shifting to cloud based applications to enhance their marketing strategies. However, large firms are using these solutions to expand their market. Cloud business intelligence (BI) provides productivity tools and applications that will benefit organizations. These benefits include the speed of deployment speed and implementation of various business apps, scaling up of web applications and the integration of business intelligence apps to enhance business productivity and cost effectiveness. There are many cloud business intelligence solutions available in the market today. To know more about the best cloud business intelligence solutions that you can find in the market today, read the article by Jason Bowden (contributor to Business 2 Community) at: http://www.business2community.com/cloud-computing/best-cloud-business-intelligence-solutions-marketing-analytics-01006959#4THfUeqShLhspv3m.99

With the growth of business, one has to cater to a larger audience and that is the time to consider a new email service provider (ESP). Often CMOs and CTOs who want to upgrade ESPs meet with disappointment, because migration to a new platform can be tricky and it can have a positive or negative impact on a company's reputation and, therefore, in customer communications. Email is a channel that companies rely on for generating revenue, and mistakes can have a negative impact. Anthony Marnell (VP, North America of Mailjet), writes in his article about the mistakes that companies can avoid and save time and can expect a positive outcome. Read more at: http://www.marketingprofs.com/articles/2014/26101/five-deadly-email-platform-migration-mistakes-to-avoid

Retailers are using analytical tools in order to drive sales. Organizations use tools such as pricing and assortment optimization, location analytics, and customer-driven marketing. Still, many retailers are puzzled to prioritize their analytical approaches. Some companies are astounded by the large number of options they have, while others find it difficult to manage data provided by various point-of-sale systems, websites and other internal transaction processes. Another reason is a lack of skilled analysts which hampers progress. Thomas H. Davenport (Distinguished Professor of Information Technology and Management at Babson College in Massachusetts), writes in his article about the strategies and approaches organizations must follow while choosing their analytical tools. To know more, follow: http://www.teradatamagazine.com/v09n04/Viewpoints/The-potential-of-retail-analytics/

In today’s world, marketing is everything. If you cannot influence your customers, you will suffer loss. So, for that marketers try out different kind of things to influence customers. They bombard them with messages about how their products or services are better than those of others. Every company is giving such messages. The competition is stiff and that’s why companies have to make sure that they are heard. Hence, a new concept has come up - influencer marketing. But to understand influencer marketing, we need to understand who influencers are. Influencers are people who have established credibility and influence by their reliability and authenticity.  They can be bloggers, influential customers, thought leaders, journalists, consultants, industry experts. Andrew Cravenho (CEO of CBAC) writes in his article about some important steps that will help you build a successful influencer marketing strategy. Read more at: http://www.marketingprofs.com/articles/2014/26058/how-to-build-an-influencer-marketing-strategy

In today’s world, social marketing media is important and companies should take advantage of it. But, you must know how to take advantage of this. So, understanding of social media marketing is an important to understand social media fundamentals. Susan Gunelius (CEO of KeySplash Creative Inc.), writes about 10 laws of social media marketing and how this will help build a base that will serve customers, brand and most significantly – the bottom line. Read more at: http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/218160

According to Darian Shirazi (founder of Radius and a Forbes contributor), marketers measure success based on the dollar value of pipeline they are able to generate in order to increase revenue. The marketers, who can reach their goals, work closely with their sales team who can find appropriate customers. The ones who struggle to reach their goals are not aware of their sales team's ability to close deals. To highlight pipeline, and to find customers, marketers need to understand deeply how to market properly. Hence marketers today, have access to new data sources, superior analytics, and better integrations that allow them to generate high value pipelines. Read more at: http://www.forbes.com/sites/darianshirazi/2014/09/16/marketing-automation-2-0-marketing-intelligence/

Nowadays,Ice Bucket Challenge has gone viral in social media. According to the author, Gabrielle Boko (Executive Vice President of Marketing at Sage North America), startups, established firms and marketers can learn from the success of the Ice Bucket Challenge. Those companies who are trying to develop a viral campaign can take into account the following points: 1 Identify the goal or cause. 2 Make it fun and easy. 3 Add immediacy. 4 Understand the power of multiplication. 5 Share on many platforms. 6 Give participants a chance to feel good. Read more at: http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/236843

Customer loyalty is very important for any organization. Organizations must focus on how to build customer relationship and create customer loyalty. Chris X. Moloney (Director of Market Development and Strategy for Maritz Loyalty Marketing) writes about some tips on how to build customer loyalty and improve customer retention. They are: 1. Forget Price, Quality and Service Levels. 2. Satisfaction does not equal Loyalty. 3. Know your Best Customers. 4.  Treat Different Customers Differently.5. Understand and Use Marketing ROI. To know more details about these tips, follow: http://www.customerfocusconsult.com/articles/articles_template.asp?ID=19#.VB-mgZSSyJI

Content Management System (CMS) is an important part of success of any corporate website. But, to choose CMS is a difficult task. Here are five points we can consider while choosing a CMS for an organization. 1. Open Source vs. Proprietary. 2. Know Your Business and Technical Requirements. 3. Editing and Workflow Functionality 4. Customization Support 5. Social Community Support. To know more about the above points, follow Will Kelly (technical writer and analyst focusing on enterprise mobility and analyst at Studio B)’s article link: http://it.toolbox.com/blogs/insidecrm/5-things-to-consider-when-selecting-a-cms-62901