Benchmark conversion rates for most email types appear higher for B2B than B2C companies in the US, according to [download page] results from an Econsultancy survey released in February 2012, conducted in partnership with the Email Experience Council of the DMA. Within the lead generation category, benchmarks are significantly higher for B2B than B2C companies for newsletter conversion rates (4.1% vs. 1.8%) and sales email conversion rates (3.9% vs. 1.5%). Read More »

75% of US organizations say that competition with social media for recipients’ time and attention is either “very challenging” or “somewhat challenging” to their future success in email, according to [download page] a report released in February 2012 by Econsultancy in partnership with the Email Experience Council of the Direct Marketing Association. Other challenges to email’s success include young people abandoning email as their primary channel (69%), getting the deserved budget and attention (65%), and integrating email with other marketing channels (61%).
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54% of global IT and business professionals say that their iPad has partly replaced their laptop, while a further 16% say it has completely replaced their laptop, according to [download page] a survey released in January 2012 by IDG Connect. Adoption of the iPad has also curtailed usage of other devices: 43% say it has partly replaced their smartphone, while about one-third say it has partly replaced their PC, TV/DVD player, and MP3 player. Just 28% say the iPad has partly replaced their games console. Read More »

Content creation (23%), is the most time consuming task for community managers, beating out Facebook engagement (19%) and customer service (13%), according to a survey released in January 2012 by Social Fresh. Another content-related task, managing an editorial calendar, came in fourth on the list, on par with comment moderation and Twitter engagement (all at 10%). Community engagement (5%) and analytics/reporting (3%) also appeared on the list, but were voted the most time consuming task by a much smaller proportion. Read More »

When reviewing and evaluating agency relationships, the majority of multi-national client marketers look at strategic contributions (57%) and business value created (56%), according to [download page] a CMO Council survey released in January 2012. Other key considerations include agency efficiency and effectiveness (50%), market impact and success of campaigns (42%), and creative excellence (42%). Yet although senior marketers appear to have an array of methods by which to evaluate their relationships, slightly more than two-thirds do no have solutions or hosted services that improve the agency benchmarking and evaluation process. Read More »

A “one-staff-fits-all” strategy may not be the best approach for local media companies, according to a January 2012 report from Borrell Associates, which finds that sites with dedicated digital account executives (AEs) outperform those without by a factor of 2.5. In fact, gross online revenue per sales representative (online dollars divided by all representatives selling digital products) is roughly $186,000 for sites with digital AEs, compared to $73,300 for those without any dedicated AEs. Read More »

Three-quarters of marketers rank specific sector experience between a 7 and 10 on a 10-point scale of importance (with 10 being the most important) when looking for a new agency, according to [download page] a survey released in January 2012 by RSW/US. In fact, the highest proportions of respondents rank sector focus a 10, 9, or 7 (all at 20%) in importance when looking for a new agency, compared to only 8% combined ranking it a 4 or lower.
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Enterprise-level companies of over 1000 employees now average 178 corporate-owned social media accounts, according to a survey released in January 2012 by Jeremiah Owyang of the Altimeter Group. The average enterprise company owns the most accounts on Twitter (39), followed by blogs (32), Facebook (30), and LinkedIn (29). Read More »

Hourly SEO costs vary across countries, but $76-200/hour is the most common range, covering more than 50% of firms in all countries surveyed by SEOMoz with the exception of India, according to an AYTM January 2012 infographic. The pricing range is highest in Australia/New Zealand (62%), followed by the US (58.1%), and Canada (56%). Within the US, the most common pricing range is $101-150/hour (29.4%), followed by $76-100/hour (17.6%).
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73% of US small and medium businesses (SMBs) with fewer than 1000 employees plan to purchase a tablet in the next 12 months, according to The NPD Group’s Q3 SMB Technology Monitor, representing a 7% rise from 68% in Q2. Among the SMBs surveyed, 90% anticipate spending the same amount or more on tablets over the next 12 months, with the iPad being the most considered tablet among those firms planning an upcoming purchase. Read More »