The magic of genius... the spark of an original thought... did you think you or someone has it in them? Are you hiring people based on how creative they are? Or do you care to check something beyond? 

Improvement of your business is hard to come by in times like these. Unless you have a major funding source, a sizeable investment, or an already well-established fast selling brand, making a satisfactory ROI is always difficult. It has always been that way. However, just like the internet gave SMEs an impetus, a new technology, based around the internet, is making life better for many. But you may think that big data is a normally morally contentious. That is one of the major confusions creating a great deal of hindrance to the progress of big data usage. But if you have been a fan of direct marketing, direct approaching, and transparent prospecting, big data can only do good to help you. So let's see where the once all-American small business idea is going wrong by avoiding big data... Firstly, it's people who do bad things - not technology Secondly, you need to be compliant with multiple privacy laws just to stay in business Thirdly, using big data in a sly way n...

Millions of people from certain industries  and hundreds of thousands from others FOUND! Finding what is the email or phone number of your perpetually  migrating friend is quite easy.  It's a little more difficult when it is 100 invitees! We're talking about 32 million people.

Marketers are becoming aware of the importance of timeliness. It is everything, and it will always be. Finding what is the email or phone number of your friend at the moment, is quite easy. It's a little more difficult when it is 100 invitees. So imagine how it gets when we have to collate the correct information of 32 million people. And it's not just multi-channel contacts, but actually inviting them to our database. If they don't wanna give out, they don't. And it's about millions of people from certain industries, and hundreds of thousands from others. There are various ways to do this. However, to stay in business, you've gotta do it legally. We have about 400 calls being made from our floors - by each person - in a team of 150. That's 60,000 calls a day, 12,000,000 calls a month - AT LEAST! These are the invitation calls, and there's no wine, feast, or even an occasion. So why do they care? Technology sellers in every industrial city of ...

Indian SAP professional Nandita Lohit has been encouraging honest thinking about big data. This has been one of the most refreshing things for me today. You can be highly innovative with maintenance techniques in your marketing database system, but here's what you may have missed !

Pristine messaging is all about knowing, preparing the report, and sharing at the right places. However, that's really not enough. Preparing the message is not just about knowing, but investigating, as well as getting your company's brand out there. Subtly. So here's what a good technology PR should have - Reach to the right social media channels (that's obvious!) An investigative approach Elements that spark conversation Knowledge about competitive technologies Understanding of the industry's delivery requirements Particular advantages each feature provides in yout technology (these can be examples) Exposure of the visionary approach in your company Long-term strategies that spell leadership All these elements are great for branding of a serious business. And once your press releases can capture them, you will be able to generate respect and trust for your brand. Coming to PRs for specific events, you can rely on information provided or made avail...

Ever thought of attracting traffic to your website without SEO? Well, even the most unassuming techniques qualify as SEO techniques, but I'm talking about something else. The idea of marketing to get noticed on a search results page is all about that optimization. However, wouldn't you feel a little prouder if people came to your website through word-of-mouth marketing? Here's what the deal is. In order to generate that word of mouth, you need get a little social savvy. I'm not talking about tweets, updates, or anything interesting for a large number of people. The idea is to have a massive effect on individuals. People who really need your skills are waiting to hear what you can offer. Getting that word out is where it begins. One of the ways to get word of mouth out, is to tell really good stories. But what is a good story? First of all, it should feel heavy with investigations, interviews, research, and most importantly, a long-term understanding of relevant...

The biggest fear of any marketer is: Not being able to reach the right contacts? Procuring a crass marketing database? Or is it simply not reaching the minimum targets (leads/sales/etc)? It is simply not being able to reach minimum targets their bosses set for them. It doesn't really matter whether you make it with a marketing database or not. What matters is whether you make it. But what makes marketing databases important? It is efficiency and ease . You can do more in lesser time. That is only if your database is of top quality. And how do you know that? Well, the only way to know about a database is to test it. Perhaps stress test it! So what is your homework today? To get a free sample data set for whatever business purpose you have To stress test it by contacting the given contacts (for survey only) And if you care, provide a feedback - on if it made you happy, angry or excited (in either way)

This post  in The Atlantic has it all. But in case you are a jargon hater like me, you would prefer this after a few seconds of that. It's baloney all over again! Times are looking up, and yet there is the same behavior to be seen all around. Companies have started doing well - well, what else do you expect to happen after the phase when everyone was brutally getting shown the door out of the marketplace. People get fired, and the remaining start pulling their socks up. The bosses become more careful and number driven. Profits start trickling in spite of turbulent conditions. But all that's natural. If profits never trickled for a company that fired people for meeting its targets, something is seriously wrong. Too wrong to hide for the Fed. So, profits are natural. They are the babies of the free market. Coming to think of that, don't we remember 'the invisible hand'? And yet, America is going back to where it started, in the 20th Century that is. Bl...

Being in competition, in a realistic way that is, doesn't happen from day one. Getting there is all about being the better of the start ups, a leader among the promising, or essentially becoming a shaper of things! If you are wondering why the wonderful technology of Big Data is not really helping you, you may be really lacking somewhere. Mediocrity never helps, especially if you have nothing new to offer. Yes, even "new" can be mediocre. Therefore, it is always about being good. But it is also about doing good. Good for people whom you think you will be catering to. Make the life of a software professional easier, think about how to reduce the errors he makes every day, think how his boss would feel more secure. Or say how medicines can reach the needy faster, how research can reach the labs without surreptitious influencing, so on and so forth. And we've been telling you data can solve all your problems. It can't if you have nothing worth selling. But if ...

Converting people who show interest in your technology is a difficult task for anyone who is not updated with the latest selling strategies. Precarious marketers usually fail. And why not, what makes them precarious is the obvious fact that old marketing strategies are something every layman knows.  The latest marketing or selling strategies are dependent on nothing. Well, they are, on things like mass behavior and other observations, but the real deal is to get past them as they become old and irrelevant in weeks, or even days. Sometimes marketers lose the value of their findings within hours! While strategizing to sell, the first thing you want is to avoid appearing predictable, strategic, or even business minded. In person and in ads. And we know that's easier said than done. A more direct approach often helps.  Check out this to know a little more...

This video might leave you in a perplexed state, confuse you, or remove all your misconceptions, and let you predict the tottering European market more confidently than ever before. It is important to allow yourself clearer understanding of how markets are working. That you will have to do especially to find your opportunities. Remember, economies don't recover by themselves. Only successful business attempts contribute to economic health. That is all.

How does any of the businesses in this world get to the top? Well, differently of course, but is there anything in common at all? I'm not talking about diligence, customer recognition and all that... we already know that. But how does a business turn diligent, innovative, useful and stuff overnight? Hard work in the company, or an attitude change can only help very little. What really works is the ability of a company to be time relevant, and more importantly intelligent. The business of making a business work is all about intelligent thinking. There's a customer, a customer for my product, and I have to get my money. The question is how. If it really was that simple, business help books wouldn't have sold at all. But they did, and people made a lot of money. But you know what, the authors are going out of business. Here's why! Today it is possible to track, trace and capture your customers in a legal way. That means you can't piss them off. But still sel...

A larger number of market predictions today was quite predictable! The German elections have stolen all the spotlight, and traders are sticking to their TV screens like never before this year. Fluctuations will always happen. And even if they don't, steady markets can keep you unaware about many things. Good that marketers are on their toes because of tumultuous times. Starting trade in Europe always made you receive optimistic reactions, no matter which economy you belonged to. Now you may not be able to receive even a tenth of the encouragement you would have a decade back. Or even half a decade back. However, what's annoying is the fact that most geopolitical experts believe that the western economy will take a long time to get back where it was. I mean... everyone knows that! But it's not entire chunks of the international economy that have to 'get cured' by some miracle or stimulus. It's businessmen like you who have to do something about it. A...