Every business big or small requires using CRM. This includes being organized in tasks, events, meetings, emails, notes, data etc, enhancing communication between team members, better reports, metrics and analytics, customer status and need updates, communication record and history, tracking and scheduling, and availability of centralised data for easy access and data protection.

Information needs to be available to sales personnel outside the office as well which brings in the need for mobile CRM. It allows employees’ to access information anywhere improving sales performance and team information collaboration. Collection and recording of information is made easier with mobile CRM, easy updates on source cuts the waiting time of the sales personnel in getting back to the office and then updating through CRM.

read more at:  http://www.whatech.com/crm/blog/25523-smbs-do-i-really-need-a-mobile-crm

The Internet is the great equalizer as it gives small businesses marketing opportunities on par with their larger competitors. The good news is that a number of inexpensive small business marketing methods can help a business achieve its goal-and some are even free. The following are the small business Marketing Tips one can afford: 1. Post videos online

2. Post case studies on one’s website

3. Use company’s blog to reach out to prospects and customers

4. List the company on Google Maps/Local

5. Search forums for customers

6. Share information all over the Web

7. Use content curation to drive interest in the products

8. Use online services to re-target lost sales and to list products

9. Use Facebook's sponsored stories

10. Use online services to get the media's attention.

Not every marketing tactics listed above will work well for every company, but a combination of several of them—or adaptations to any of them—should be helpful to just about any company.

Read more at: 

http://www.smallbusinesscomputing.com/News/Marketing/10-affordable-small-business-marketing-strategies-3.html

With the advancement of measurement and analytics, the pressure on marketers to demonstrate return on investment also advances. According to McKinsey & Company, an integrated marketing approach is essential to uncover meaningful insights and drive growth. Integrated measurement reduces biases in any one measurement method and enables leaders to identify which activities produce the best return.  Standout measurement approaches include: • Marketing mix modeling. Marketing mix models quantify the sales impact of various marketing activities and determine the effectiveness and ROI for each.

• Media measurement. Marketers can measure the reach, cost and quality of components to assess performance — more specifically, the number of target consumers reached, the cost per unique touch and the quality of engagement and/or media placement. 

• Attribution modeling. Attribution modeling, or crediting converting traffic to online touch points, has become increasingly important for media buying and marketing execution.

In order to boost marketing ROI companies use: 

• Marketing mix modeling to track how well each activity generates audiences; 

• Attribution modeling to pinpoint which activities within the marketing mix generate the most conversions (such as search vs. display marketing in digital)

• Media measurement to monitor marketing activities via print, which will help it capture a new audience and generate more revenue.

Although some companies rely on one analytical technique, organizations that use an integrated measurement approach will see the optimal ROI.

Read more at: 

http://www.cyberalert.com/blog/index.php/using-integrated-marketing-measurement-to-make-better-decisions/

Many investors think whether or not investing in stocks is worth. Inspite of the real problems, the following common myths often arise.

 • Investing in Stocks Is Just Like Gambling.

Investors often mistake that stock represents the ownership of a company. Gambling on the contrary takes money from a loser and gives it to a winner.

• The Stock Market Is an Exclusive Club For Brokers and wealthy People.

Most brokers are notoriously inaccurate. Furthermore, the discovery of the internet has made the market much more open to the public.

• Fallen Angels Will Go Back up, eventually.

Buying companies entirely because their market price has fallen will get you nowhere.

• Stocks that go up must come down.

If you find a renowned firm run by excellent managers, there is no way the stock won't keep on going up.

• A Little Knowledge Is Better Than None

It is important in the stock market that every investor has a compact understanding of their investment.

 Read more at: 

http://www.investopedia.com/articles/02/061902.asp

Market Research explains what customers and target market participants are thinking, doing and why. But, the question is: is it worthwhile, or a waste of time and resources? Three reasons why Market Research is a waste of time and resources: First, we already know our customers, prospects, channel members, industry pundits and even competitors. Second, research is too vague and directional. Third, research is often flat wrong. These are the most prevalent or compelling reasons to doubt the efficacy of market research. But a question that arises is why does market research is favored, in spite of this well-deserved criticism? The answer is because some knowledge is better than none. Second is serendipity: the focus on the critical market assumptions supporting a decision break down into subtle sub-questions that get answered in unexpected and unanticipated ways, and are both exciting and useful. Any good research answers a lot of questions, but raises even more questions to be answered; some are answered in the process unexpectedly. Last reason is being wrong is career-threatening. Read more at: 

Strategic Focus report analyses drivers, current trends and inhibitors, outlines the evolution of BI technologies, identifies and assesses the best performing vendors in the market. The BI market is going through a transformational phase where vendors are looking to develop analytical tools for broader market usage and not just for power users. BI vendors are striving to enhance the functionality of their mobile. The top ten BI vendors constitute a significant share of the total market. The reasons to buy are: It helps the reader to understand the BI market landscape, drivers, the recent trends and inhibitors shaping the BI segment, provide an assessment of business intelligence vendors and their relative performance in the business intelligence market. The most exhaustive and up-to-date report providing revenue opportunity forecasts in the business intelligence market from 2014 to 2018 and extensive technology growth predictions based on adoption indicators, end-user technology demand, and macroeconomic factors. Read more at: 

There are two myths that need to be disproved about Marketing Research: Expensive and time intensive. The internet has two important sources of information: Firstly, the websites which companies, organizations and individuals have created to promote or communicate their products, services or views; secondly, user groups that are made up of people who have an interest in a particular industry or subject. A few tips work well for internet market research. One should draft a list of questions and ask the same questions of every customer, to obtain better comparisons and validate the data. There are many free online survey cloud options to collect information. One should look for a free package that provides a link to the survey which he can post the link on social networks and email out to the customer or subscriber base – ensuring to get a feedback from people. He may offer an incentive prize that will be appealing to the audience, if he wants to improve survey response rates. Read more at: 

There are many CRM packages, the best ones linked to accounting software systems, that provide easy storage of customer and supplier information to answer the questions of who, what, how much, where and when your customer buys. Internet technology today has reduced costs and shortened time frames by using online surveys. A major criticism of internet surveys is that that they don't represent an accurate sample of the population and so a skilled marketing research person really adds value that is worth paying for. There are two tests for accuracy and soundness of the marketing research results: A skilled marketing research person ensures validity and reliability by accurately defining the problem to be solved; the correct questions to ask; and whether there are other cost-effective ways to get the result. After gathering the information from the correct primary sample; a skilled marketing research person adds value by being able to spot differences, draw conclusions and make recommendations.To know more, follow the link: 

Instead of conducting traditional in-person focus groups with these difficult to reach audiences, webcam-enabled online focus groups engage the audiences in real time group discussions. These tools have improved our ability to collect in-context consumer feedback and it is easy to conduct research with participants that are more difficult to recruit, widely geographically dispersed, or otherwise challenging to engage in research. Respondents seem to be more relaxed and are thus more open and willing to share their true thoughts, because they are participating from their natural home or work environment. Online focus groups participants seem willing to disagree with one another because there is not an in-person social pressure to conform to group opinions. Online focus groups also eliminates the need for research teams and clients to travel providing further benefits of convenience and travel cost savings. Read more at: 

A survey reveals that moving to a new home may damage more than your personal belongings and scars personal relationships. It is found that of those in a relationship, more than one third say moving has scarred their relationship due to decreased intimacy, increased fighting and financial strain. 46 percent of respondents say they disagreed over where to move and 42 percent say they fought over the reason for the move. Those with children say the stress hit the whole family with "choosing the right school" and "helping the kids find new friends". Nearly one in three respondents admitted they had "accidentally" lost one of their partner's prized possessions. More than half of the respondents said that today's neighbors are not as friendly as the neighbors they remember as a child because they "seem too busy" where nearly half of respondents also voted "meeting new neighbors" as a top three requirement to feeling comfortable and settled in a new home. Today's movers need a helping hand to feel comfortable and learn more about their brand new surroundings. Read more at:

Consultants and pharmaceutical companies alike control the market intelligence channels to better understand their target patient population. Big Data offers a lot of opportunities to optimize commercial strategies from helping to identify opportunities for new therapies to assessing the success of current products. Surveyed companies are using Big Data initiatives to better target products or to assess the performance of products already on the market. Pharmacy companies are more likely to focus Big Data initiatives on current products, mainly on the success of drugs on the market. Many surveyed consultant companies use Big Data to assist in developing new therapies compared to the pharmaceutical companies. As data become more useful and the benefits more obvious, the prevalence of Big Data-driven market intelligence initiatives will continue to increase. A decision on regulations guiding social media marketing in particular also help companies decide which market intelligence strategies to attack. From the earliest to latest stages of drug marketing, companies are working quickly to discover the opportunities posed by Big Data. Read more at: 

One of the marketing questions is: "Is there a pattern to how best customers are acquired, and if so, how to repeat it?" If customers' interactions are tracked prior to their first purchase, and track which ones remain good customers and which ones we never see again, then we much more informed decisions can be made about spending precious customer acquisition marketing budget. Three things we should consider are:  Firstly whether you're an online-only or a multi-channel retailer, think about how to collect pre-purchase activity data, even if the data is anonymous. Secondly, think about how you can correlate this data with your customer purchase history. Thirdly, look for repeatable acquisition patterns among your customers, and don't forget to look at timing patterns as well as the usual sources and marketing types. Read more at: 

A research suggests that people still think charities are spending more than double the acceptable amount on administration costs also think only around a third of income is actually spent on the cause. People think charities spend 37% of their income on administration costs, more than twice the 15% they feel would be acceptable. The public overestimate how much is spent on fundraising and 'admin' and underestimate how much is spent on the cause. The public is much stricter than charities when it comes to defining spending on 'the cause'. To close the gap between public perception and charity reality, charities will have to work much harder if they are. Charities must start talking to donors, volunteers, public to help people understand not only what their money is being spent on, but also why it is money well spent. 65% people see a charity's chief executive as an admin cost and 45% think a director managing several medical research projects is admin, the same as paying volunteer expenses. Read more at: 

According to research iOS users constitute the majority of the mobile commerce market across iOS, Android, Windows and Blackberry devices in UK. Apple's domination is even greater in case of tablet users, with iPad owners representing a higher proportion of the user base and also being more likely to shop. Apple's dominance is also for purchases made via apps. Windows users are also more regular shoppers than those on Android for both Surface tablet and Windows Phone users. The variety of purchase choices in the top five suggests that it is convenience rather than price that drives mobile purchases, as users are opting for high-value items such as hotels, train tickets and clothing alongside less expensive items. When it comes to location, mobile does not necessarily mean 'out and about' as 64% of mobile device owners say 'at home' is the primary place where their mobile website browsing takes place, and 80% for tablet browsing. The overriding lesson from the study is that commerce must be increasingly Omni channel in order to meet customer demand. Read more at:

Having the right market intelligence tools, talent and processes is the key to success. The programs help companies manage this increased uncertainty by taking a greater responsibility for strategic analysis. B2B brands achieve world class market intelligence in the following ways: Firstly, create external networks by identifying low value and time-consuming intelligence deliverables, encourage the involvement of investment relations teams in market intelligence, participate in market intelligence conferences and workshops Secondly, link to business strategy like conduct an intelligence needs survey and analysis to show how the market intelligence team can better support the business. Thirdly, become a trusted advisor. Fourthly, tackle sidetracking issues. Market intelligence needs to be put into the decision-making process in key areas such as innovation, strategy, sales and marketing. Read more at: 

Relying on very basic customer information such as demographics to influence marketing campaigns and limited internal sources and fragmented marketing systems limits sending personalized mails to customers. For companies having multiple marketing agencies and technology partners demographics cannot alone give a complete view of audiences as it leaves other important information. Customer relationship management programs relies on basic data which excludes customer nuances and encourages the mentality that marketers own and drive customer conversation which is no longer true. Due to CRM programs customers put little effort in knowing their customers. On the other hand using resources which contains a vast array of information about the customers enables a better interaction between customers and the brand. Customer Managed Relationship is the better option over CRM these days. To achieve a personal connection with customers, marketers should follow three key rules, namely communication, consistency and trust. Witty comments, 24/7 service or multichannel experience, sending similar number of mails in similar language and color schemes in all channels, personal messages, giving consumers what they expect might do the trick.

Engaging with different channels to get a better understanding of customers and targeting customers specifically using CMR is important. Brands should use CMR based marketing strategy to consider customers purchase behavior and social engagement. Further brands can create rich, useful content to guide customers into repeat purchases. Customers now want to tell brands how to engage with them using necessary technology instead of brands driving into a conversation with customers. Thus all marketers have to listen and adapt.

Read more at: http://www.business2community.com/marketing/crm-dead-now-0947236#!bibims

An ethics checklist along with a list of common unethical market research concerns that may arise during the research process are: Answering "yes" to any of the following questions could suggest that decision should be changed or more discussions should be conducted to ensure the business is making the most ethical decision. First, does my decision treat me, or my company, as an exception to the rule? Second, would my decision lose profits if customers were aware? Third, would I repel qualified job applicants by telling them about my decision? Fourth, does my decision meet other employee's opinions? Fifth, is my decision partial or biased? Sixth, does it divide the goals of the company? Seventh, will I have to pull rank to make others follow it? Eighth, would I prefer avoiding the consequences of this decision? Lastly, did I avoid any of the questions by telling myself that I can get away with it? Some biggest ethical concerns in market research are: First, conducting unnecessary research. Second, performing the wrong research will waste both time and money. Third, ignoring ongoing studies since Market research is constantly evolving. Fourth, Misuse of research according to licensing agreements which occurs because the user does not fully understand the limitations of the different license types.Read more about this at: 

Market research fits into the functionality and needs of each institutional department in the following ways: College and university libraries can benefit greatly by providing faculty, research departments and students with a database of diverse market research content. Students will have access to the same real-world business intelligence that professionals use on a daily basis, which allow them to produce higher-quality research projects. These students will be better prepared to enter the workforce after gaining a realistic and accurate insight into the world of market research. Business school classes also incorporate market research, and design assignments to reflect some of the research-based professional problems that students will encounter in business.  Students will begin to develop critical research skills, analytical thinking, and strategic planning. Utilizing a variety of published reports allows you to gain a comprehensive view based on numerous perspectives. Maintaining a database of diverse content across numerous industries is also beneficial for academic institutions.Read more at: 

In the world where responding to customers online promptly has become so important having a successful social CRM has become compulsory way of business.

According to Meg Bar, a comprehensive platform which comprises of rich listening, monitoring and engaging capabilities integrated with sales, marketing, service and commerce is a priority.

According to Justyn Howard, an unequipped social medium where social help requests are mismanaged can be a reason of frustration for customers. Only putting marketing and PR professionals behind the wheel is never an efficient solution.

As Katya Constantine says social media tools like Simply Measured or Peak Analytics links the brand to the most loyal users and builds a managed relationship with them. Further, retaining those customers through client loyalty code, a prospect discount code, positive feedback notes and snail-mailed brand goodies is also important according to Stacey Acevero. Moreover, using list and group features like Clients, Prospects who have considered us, positive feedback from clients and desired client or influencers for engaging each segment is also a good idea.

Having a two way conversation with consumers instead of just pushing information to them and realising the importance of feedback by engaging customers as fast as possible is also necessary as according to Constantine and Brian Coughlin.

Further as others add that having a human touch to the conversation which follows the brand image, monitoring customer conversations for fast reply, not feeding on trolls by responding to inflammatory and controversial statements, unifying and centralizing customer related communication, posting frequently asked questions (FAQ), and giving importance to basic CRM functions is also important.

read more at : http://www.cio.com/article/2385481/customer-relationship-management/17-tips-for-achieving-social-crm-success.html 

There are four main stages of the product life cycle: Introduction, Growth, Maturity, and Decline. Some examples of the different types of marketing styles and research necessary for each stage are: First, Introducing a new product into the market is going to require knowing information on your competition, buyer behavior, and distribution channels. Second, Growth-You will need to recognize new or improved competitors, possibly consider expansion in production and markets, and figure out how to maintain a positive image to your consumers. Third, Maturity- When your product becomes you will need to research your competitors more than anything else so you can potentially obtain their customers. Fourth, Decline- If your product reaches the decline phase, you will need to work diligently to get as much profit out of sales as possible. As your product comes to a decline stage, you might also want to consider going back to the drawing board to get creative with new ways to change the product completely to revamp sales. Read more about this aspect at: