[Posted by Stephan Dietrich]

“Use the web to innovate and as an early warning system to manage and protect your brand. After all, it’s theirs, not yours.”

The CMO frowns. “But we make hubcap fasteners and our customers are happy to buy them. If it’s their brand, will they still pay us for it?” – “The Dangerous Lure of the Social Web” by Jonathan Salem Baskin

As marketers, we can be distracted by glimmering new communications channels and tools that offer the promise of better customer engagement, instant customer dialogues and, ultimately, share of wallet. We are hyper-motivated to sell our products and services anywhere and everywhere our customers may be – in stores or on the web, email, social media or mobile phones. But in fact, this frenzy of customer contact is often a disguise for potentially mediocre, commoditized wares. That approach to selling isn’t based on listening or learning, or making intelligent offers. The promise of instant gratification from new social media tools in particular can dilute the benefits associated with good branding – specifically differentiation, value and loyalty.

Read the rest of this entry »

[Posted by Stephan Dietrich]

More than ever before, consumers and businesses alike are flooded with information while making purchase decisions. Since that data is available to customers through various communications channels, it’s a challenge for marketers to be everywhere the customer is most likely to be researching and buying. So, it’s critical for marketers to choose the right mix and be able to justify investment decisions to senior management by demonstrating ROI.

Read the rest of this entry »

Neolane enjoyed yet another rewarding experience at eTail this year.
There were many interesting and thought-provoking conversations taking place, both offline and online.

Listed below is a sampling of tweets we thought best encapsulated the theme of eTailWest 2010:

Read the rest of this entry »

[Posted by Stephan Dietrich]

Neolane will again be a sponsor at eTail taking place at the JW Marriott Desert Spring Resort in Palm Desert, Calif. from February 22 – 25. This year, however, Neolane will be doing things a little differently.

Neolane will be hosting its first ever Olympic Twitter Challenge, where event attendees can take part in a trivia contest for a chance to win a Nintendo Wii Fit Power Pack.

Read the rest of this entry »

There are so many interesting and insightful conversations taking place in marketing right now, so we thought this was the perfect opportunity for Neolane to jump in and provide our perspectives on various topics impacting our customers, partners, and the industry as a whole. This blog, The Cross-Channel Conversation, will not be just Neolane-focused, but instead community driven – written by marketers for marketers.  We invite you to join in the conversation!

Read the rest of this entry »