Answer: The reliability of bounce data is a legitimate concern that was raised by both mailers and ESPs in a recent Email Experience Council (EEC) survey.

However, this concern cannot become an excuse for e-mail marketers not making good use of the data that are provided, leveraging bounce management systems that allow them to “see” the data, and agreeing on common definitions for the actions to be taken. The EEC survey found these to be significant problems as well. Read the complete article on BtoBOnline.

Companies increasingly are turning to online preference centers as a way to allow b-to-b customers to easily update their e-mail address or get off an e-mail list. That’s important because b-to-b e-mail lists churn at a rate of about 25% a year, according to MarketingSherpa’s e-mail marketing benchmark guide. Read the complete article on BtoBOnline.

What's the role of Second Life for business? What steps can marketers take to explore these new online communities, invest wisely and achieve outstanding results?

Join John Jainschigg, Director of CMP Metaverse, and Kathy Mandelstein, Director of Worldwide Developer Programs for IBM, for best practices on securing strong ROI from metaverse investments. CMP is the only global multimedia company registered as a metaverse developer, and IBM is one of the largest and most successful users of Second Life, and a strong proponent of 3D virtual reality as a strategic tool for collaboration, customer engagement and marketing. Moderated by Kate Maddox, Senior Reporter, BtoB Magazine and Media Business. View the webcast archive....

To receive the complete list of questions asked on this webcast, and the answers, email John Jainshigg, Executive Director, CMP Metaverse.

ComScore, an online measurement company, Monday announced the debut of comScore Ad Metrix Publisher, a service that reports where display ads are viewed across the Internet and characteristics of the people who view them. Read the complete article on BtoBOnline.

A mere 15% of viral campaigns prompted people to pass them on, according to an Aug. 21 JupiterResearch report, “Viral Marketing: Bringing the Message to the Masses.” As a result, viral marketers plan on decreasing their targeting of “influentials” by 55% over the coming year, the report said. Yet abandoning viral marketing efforts may not be a marketer’s best bet because the tactic—when done right—can still be an effective way to reach new prospects. Read the complete article on BtoBOnline.

Answer: The e-mail industry is full of acronyms and catch phrases. The newest on the scene is “bacn,” which is not to be confused with the pork product commonly served with a side of pancakes. Bacn (www.bacn2.com) is e-mail that recipients want—just not right now. While bacn represents a real issue in the e-mail industry, it has sparked some of the most counterproductive banter I have seen. Read the complete article on BtoBOnline.

Tech marketing spending will be up 6.1% this year over last, revised down from an earlier estimated 8.0% growth rate projected in March, according to IDC’s 2007 CMO Tech Benchmarks study. Read the complete article on BtoBOnline.

Reaching CIOs has long been a priority for b-to-b marketers, yet never before has the challenge been more complex or more interesting. When it comes to talking to CIOs many sophisticated marketers still seem to stumble, choosing either the wrong message or the wrong approach. Read the complete article on BtoBOnline.

Integrating customer data is the greatest challenge for marketers, according to a survey of marketing industry executives by Alterian. The enterprise marketing software company conducted the survey at its Annual Summit last month.

Forty-three percent of respondents said their e-mail marketing channel is integrated with offline channels such as direct mail, according to Alterian, and 12% said it is integrated with online channels such as search, Web sites and RSS. A third (33%) said e-mail is a standalone channel for them. Read the complete article on BtoBOnline.

Each year, BtoB selects 10 b-to-b Web sites that do an exceptionally good job of communicating with their audiences. These sites find innovative and compelling ways to share product and services information and, just as important, they make that information easy to find. Though they use different means, the end is the same: meeting the user's needs. As simple as it sounds, it's an approach that's too rare in the world of business marketing. Read the complete article on BtoBOnline.

Did you hear the one about the VP of marketing who demanded budget and IT support for a $10 million enterprise application that he promised would revolutionize how his company did its marketing? Read the complete article on BtoBOnline.

Understanding the effectiveness of a particular marketing campaign in the b-to-b space isn't easy. The sales cycle can be lengthy, and tying revenue and incremental sales to any particular program is difficult.

At best, measuring overall promotion effectiveness may come down to the sophistication of internal screening processes that produce quality leads.

"Any of the current measurements of marketing ROI are actually a measure of organizational effectiveness, not promotional efficiency," said Erik Madsen, director of marketing and strategic planning at Adtrack. Pricing, follow-up, competition, sales training, new channel partners and many other factors determine the effectiveness of any campaign. Read the complete article on BtoBOnline.

The IT vertical encompasses multiple subcategories—networking, security, storage, application development and wireless, to name a few—but companies successfully marketing to the professionals in this space have found there are some strategies and tactics that have universal appeal. Read the complete article on BtoBOnline.

As VP-strategic marketing and business development of CMP's Channel business, Kate Spellman knows how to reach IT decision-makers. Prior to her current role at CMP, she was the publisher of the company's SmallBizResource .com; she has also served as senior VP- corporate marketing. Read the complete article on BtoBOnline.

When enterprise infrastructure software and services provider Novell debuted its "Your Linux Is Ready" campaign last August, the objective was twofold: to introduce the company's SUSE Linux platform and to establish Novell as a serious player in the Linux market. Read the complete article on BtoBOnline.

Answer: Your objective should be to restore communication with customers as rapidly as possible. This not only helps your bottom line, it helps you to avoid spam complaints that may result from a long lapse in communication. Read the complete article on BtoBOnline.

Marketers often view e-mail marketing as a form of broadcast marketing: They create an ad, send it out, hope for the best and move on to the next campaign. However, old e-mail campaigns can be very valuable when planning and executing new ones. Read the complete article on BtoBOnline.