Research, Measurement & Database Marketing

SUMMARY: If you want email subscribers to respond to a call-to-action, you need to understand what motivates them. The problem is, different groups within your database have different motivators.

See how the marketing team at the American Heart Association solved this problem with a take on segmentation called "mind type." By researching its database and uncovering the key interest areas of four unique groups, the AHA created an email nurturing campaign that spoke directly to subscriber motivations and increased donation rates 42.5%. read the complete case study

SUMMARY: Before you conduct your next email test, make sure you're not falling into a trap that can muddy your results or limit the gains you might otherwise achieve.

We spoke with an email testing expert from our sister company, MarketingExperiments, to uncover common mistakes marketers make when running email tests. Read why good analytics and segmentation are crucial forerunners to testing, and why a blockbuster discovery from one test actually can be a risky thing for a marketing team. read the complete article

SUMMARY: "Advertising on blogs or social networks" was rated the most accurately measured (32%), and was also rated the least effective (16%). More than 90% of companies believe that social media is the most effective in accomplishing brand building goal, followed closely by goals for attracting website visitors. view the complete research record

SUMMARY: There is often reluctance to fix a machine that’s not broken. But when the machine is wasteful, minor tweaks can bring greater efficiency without sacrificing performance.

See how a menswear retailer brought their catalog circulation issues under control, realized huge savings, and invested in customer acquisition. Includes six lessons from their experiences. read the complete interview

SUMMARY: B2B marketers considering a lead scoring and marketing automation solution typically wrestle with two major issues: How do I know if I need it -- and if I do, how can I attain budget for it?

We tapped Emily W. Salus, Sr. Marketing Manager, CollabNet, to answer these questions. She first shared her experience in implementing lead scoring at MarketingSherpa’s 2009 B2B Marketing Summit. In the first installment of a two-part Special Report, she explains how to know when you’re ready to adopt lead scoring and marketing automation, and offers three strategies for justifying the investment. read the complete article

By Anne Holland, Content Director

Search pay per click (PPC) URLs are fairly short because of the nature of the beast. You are not given much room to type in a long URL.

So, the hot search PPC testing tactic is specific wording and capitalizations. Example: Should your text ad say www.ClickHere.com, or will you get better response with www.ClickHERE.com, or perhaps www.ClickHereFREE.com?

As all experienced search marketers know, organic search results get the lion's share of... read the complete blog post